"Hey...the Japanese troops are still too strong after all. We have to go a long way to defeat them." Zheng Boqu walked slowly away in the garden with his cane.
Everyone in the world knows how powerful the Japanese army is, and they are all clearly aware of the shortcomings of their own country. However, the backward industrial strength makes it impossible for the national army to defeat the well-equipped and well-trained Japanese army when the strength is equal.
But what everyone didn't know was that an imperial meeting was taking place in Japan.
The cabinet headed by Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro was sitting neatly in front of Emperor Showa Hirohito.
"Your Majesty the Emperor, I believe that at this moment when the war is officially at its most critical, it must continue. Otherwise, we will definitely be at a disadvantage for the China battlefield." Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro said solemnly.
"My dear, what is our situation on the battlefield in China?" Emperor Showa Hirohito said.
"Now the main force of our imperial army is trapped in the battlefield in China, and the Chiang Kai-shek government seems to have no intention of surrender. After we captured Nanjing, they still chose to resist to the end. Our country's war potential is actually limited compared to China. If If we cannot solve the China issue quickly, our country will be stuck in the quagmire of the war with China for a long time, which will probably be very detrimental to our country." Konoe Fumimaro said, and from his face that could vaguely see what he looked like when he was young, It can be seen that when he was young, he must have been a handsome guy who could charm thousands of girls.
It's just a pity that as I get older, a trace of gloom inevitably appears in those eyes.
"I also agree with what Prime Minister Konoe said. I have just withdrawn from the battlefield in China. I also know that if the Chiang Kai-shek government does not surrender, the stubborn resistance of the China army will inevitably continue to the end. Therefore, I also believe that China must be resolved quickly. Problem. Otherwise, there will be endless troubles." Seishiro Itagaki, who had already assumed the post of Prime Minister of Japan, stood up and bowed in front of Emperor Showa Hirohito very respectfully.
Looking at this minister who had made great achievements in the North China battlefield, Emperor Hirohito nodded imperceptibly, and then asked: "My dear friends, do you have any better suggestions?"
For Itagaki Seishiro, this meeting was the first one he attended after being recalled to the country.
As for why Itagaki Seishiro was recalled to the country to take up the post of Prime Minister, we have to start with the origins of Sugiyama Moto, the former Prime Minister of Konoe Fumimaro's cabinet (i.e. Army Minister), Vice Minister Umezu Yoshijiro, and Foreign Minister Hirota Koki.
These three people are all hard-line figures in the military against China, especially Gen Sugiyama and Vice Minister Yoshijiro Umezu. They have been clamoring to "destroy China in three months", which forced the cabinet of Fumimaro Konoe, who had just taken office, to coerce to carry out this expanded war against China.
In essence, Konoe Fumimaro is no different from other Japanese military officers who clamored to destroy China, but in terms of specific practices, Konoe Fumimaro has different views from these people——
Konoe Fumimaro advocates not expanding the war against China, taking everything one step at a time, and not becoming fat in one breath.
However, some hard-liners on China, such as Foreign Minister Hirota Koki, Prime Minister Sugiyama Gen, and Vice Minister Yoshijiro Umezu, do not agree with Konoe Fumimaro's approach. They believe that China's problems must be solved as quickly as possible.
More importantly, these people have strong prestige in the army.
Not only did Konoe Fumimaro scold these hard-line military officers in private for being too domineering, he also thought that his own prime minister was too weak and too cowardly. To what extent are these people overbearing? Even Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro can no longer command them!
It is precisely because of these frictions and the fact that the end of the war with China is far away that Konoe Fumimaro took the opportunity to seize the positions of Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and brought the hard-line China officers Hirota Koki and Sugiyama Moto Kicked out of the cabinet.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Konoe Fumimaro began to use Itagaki Seishiro, who looked like a "good boy" and also had a certain prestige in the army.
The foreign minister is held by Ugaki Kazunari, the leader of the ruling faction. As for the appointment of this position, it is not Konoe Fumimaro's original intention, but a compromise.
After all, in Konoe Fumimaro's heart, he still prefers the Imperial Way faction - otherwise he would not have refused to take up the position of Prime Minister of Japan years ago, but he would have to wait until both cabinets collapsed before he could He came out to serve as Prime Minister of the Cabinet.
Therefore, taking advantage of this change, Konoe Fumimaro re-activated Sadao Araki, the leader of the Imperial Sect who was dismissed from his post due to the "226 Mutiny", as the Minister of Literature.
But no matter what, at least Itagaki Seishiro is relatively obedient, and generally knows how to advance and retreat and be measured.
Therefore, in this personnel change, Konoe Fumimaro has arranged for some of his "own people" to hold important positions in important positions.
After expelling two guys who didn't deal with him that well from the cabinet, Konoe Fumimaro's voice finally became much louder.
Seeing the silence in front of him, everyone seemed to agree with the opinions of Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro. Emperor Hirohito smiled and said: "Then, Konoe Ai Qing, how should we fight this battle next, which is more appropriate?"
Konoe Fumimaro thought for a while, and then said: "Historically, as long as Wuhan is captured, China can be controlled. We can achieve the goal of solving most of the China Incident by force through the Wuhan-Hankou Operation. As long as we control Wuhan , we can expel Chiang Kai-shek's regime from the Central Plains and reduce Chiang Kai-shek's regime to local power!"
When Japanese Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro said these words, everyone around him couldn't help but look at each other and could see the joy in each other's eyes - obviously, this sentence is the most important thing in the current imperial meeting. Important place!
Emperor Hirohito, who was covered in military uniform, sat on the throne, stroking his beard. After some careful thinking, he said: "Hey, what Konoe Aikyō said is very reasonable. If we If Wuhan can be controlled, then the day when the China Incident can be ended is not far away. Once the China Incident can be ended, our imperial army will no longer be in such an embarrassing situation."
Everyone knows what Emperor Hirohito means by the dilemma. Nowadays, Japan is full of domestic conflicts. Especially after the start of the war of aggression against China, it is faced with a series of financial problems and combat attrition problems.
In this war, the Japanese army suffered so many casualties. Especially for Japan's economy, it can be described as "suffering a heavy blow."
Let me ask, if Japan, whose economy is in such a difficult situation, cannot solve the problem of the war of aggression against China as soon as possible, they will face the problem of maintaining the livelihood of millions of combat troops for a long time.
This is an extremely difficult and difficult problem to solve.
What can be said is that in this war, not only China is facing very difficult problems, but even the top leaders of Japan are having a hard time...
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