"This treaty is too lenient for China, and the front-line soldiers will not agree to it."

To the surprise of the cabinet members, Hideki Tojo, the deputy secretary of the army, who was supposed to observe the meeting, stood up against it, Tojo was short and strong, with a shiny head, a little beard on his lips, and a clean and tidy military uniform.

The deputy minister of the army was the assistant to the minister of the army, and Tojo knew that he should not stand up against his direct commander, but he really couldn't suppress his anger, he had already seen clearly, Mitsumasa Yonechi did not really intend to conclude the Triple Alliance, and Shunroku Hata was weak at will, first conceding on the Triple Alliance, and now he was ready to concede on the issue of China, which made him feel anxious and angry, and he couldn't help but stand up against it.

Tojo waved his left arm and roared loudly: "Withdraw the troops, there is no reparation, what is this not a defeat?" This is surrender, a disgrace to the Empire! The soldiers who fought bloody battles on the front line will never agree, and neither will the people who have worked hard to support the war! ”

After finishing speaking, he pointed the finger at his boss Shunroku Hata again: "Your Excellency, the withdrawal of the army is a retreat, since the incident in China, there have been millions of soldiers of the imperial army who have stained the battlefield with blood, and the withdrawal of the army means that their blood has been shed in vain!" Your Excellency, this treaty is absolutely unacceptable! ”

For the first time in the history of the Army, the Vice-Minister of the Army challenged the Minister of War at a cabinet meeting, and all the members of the Cabinet, including Prime Minister Mitsumasa Yonechi, were shocked.

The meeting was silent, and Toshishi Hata's face was ashamed, and Nagano Shushen leaned back in his chair with a smile on the corner of his mouth, as if he was mocking the army's infighting. Mitsumasa Yonechi frowned, and he scolded sternly: "Vice Minister Tojo, you are just attending the cabinet meeting. ”

Tojo waved his left arm without scruples: "I know, but I returned from the front, I think I should express the opinions of the front-line soldiers to the cabinet," Speaking of this, he changed his arrogance just now and became extremely heavy: "The front-line soldiers fought for two years to drive Chiang Kai-shek to the southwest, and the imperial army had just won a great victory in Wuhan, but the cabinet was discussing such a treaty, and it was transmitted to the front, what would the soldiers think?" What other reason do we have for soldiers to fight? If the Cabinet insists on doing so, I fear that something like February 26 will happen again. ”

Tojo was one of the few undefeated generals who returned to China, and when he learned of the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident, Tojo was the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, and after he learned of the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident, he personally led nearly 10,000 special troops of the Kwantung Army from Inner Mongolia to Chahar, captured Datong in one fell swoop, and forced the Chinese troops fighting in Nankou to retreat, which won him high praise and laid the foundation for his later return to China as deputy chief of the army.

"What are you talking about? Is it a threat? Mitsumasa Yonechi was furious and asked sharply, and the cabinet members were also very dissatisfied and expressed their opinions one after another.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Tojo knew that he had committed public anger, so he quickly explained: "Of course not, I am just worried that there is a high demand in the army for the continued severe punishment of Chiang Kai-shek's political axe. ”

At this time, Shunroku Hata also felt that he could not show too much weakness, and the young officers of the Ministry of War were all fanatics who fought the main battle, and if Tojo talked about his performance at the cabinet meeting, he was afraid that it would be difficult for him to lead the Ministry of War again.

"Prime Minister, this treaty can be revised, the activities of the Eighth Route Army in North China GCD are very strong at present, and it should be clearly stipulated in the treaty that the Imperial Army can withdraw after eliminating the Eighth Route Army in North China, and let Ying Zuo and Imai negotiate with Wang Jingwei again." Shunroku Hata suggested.

Tojo raised his eyebrows, wanting to refute it, but in the end he didn't speak, and his indignant eyes revealed the dissatisfaction in his heart. Mitsumasa Yonechi was a little puzzled, but after thinking about it, he still nodded: "Since this is the case, then tell Akisazhen Showa and Imai Takeo, Toshi-kun Hatata, the incident in China was provoked by your army, and your army should bear the main responsibility for resolving the incident. ”

"Prime Minister, it is precisely because the empire is facing a great crisis that I believe that we should strengthen the alliance with Germany and Italy, contain Britain and the United States, and at the same time prepare for war with Soviet Russia, and the Triple Alliance is the key to this." Shunroku Hata brings the conversation back to the Triple Alliance, and he understands Mitsumasa Mine's ventriloquism, which tells him that it is necessary to control the main fighters in the army, who provoked the Shina Incident and caused the country to be in trouble.

Shunroku Hata replied by telling Minai that in order to control the hardliners in the army, you have to make concessions on the issue of the Triple Alliance, otherwise, I can't control it.

"On the issue of an alliance with Germany and Italy, we must take into account the progress of the war in Europe and the situation in the country in a comprehensive manner, and we cannot make a decision on proximity." Mitsumasa Minei did not budge.

The first cabinet meeting of the Minai cabinet did not make any important decisions, the issue of the Triple Alliance was still stalemate, the domestic economic difficulties remained, and the only decision was for Kagesashi Showa and Imai Takeo to revise the agreement reached with Wang Jingwei.

When he received Wang Jingwei's decision to agree to the treaty, he immediately prepared to set off from Shanghai to Nanjing to report to Tada Jun, who was very satisfied with their work, and after the Wuhan operation, the military headquarters called and transferred 18 divisions to Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, which directly led to the disintegration of the offensive near Wuhan, and Tada Jun had to order Okamura Ninji to stop the attack and turn to rest, and the entire frontal battlefield calmed down.

"What is the Cabinet going to do? What exactly does Toshi-kun Hata think? Imai Takeo was extremely disappointed, as a major participant in the negotiations, he was well aware of the importance that Wang Jingwei attached to the issue of the withdrawal of troops, and now that the treaty had been reached, any further revision would inevitably cause Wang Jingwei to distrust them, and even lead to the complete overturning of the treaty.

"Let's not be busy contacting Gao Zongwu first, and then we will fight with the cabinet, and call Itagaki Jun and ask him to dredge up more in the army province." Kagesa was in a frustrated mood, but not to the point of losing his mind.

"Okay." Takeo Imai immediately summoned Daizo Matsusho in and asked him to send a telegram to Itagaki and Shunroku Hatata, pointing out that it was not appropriate to revise the treaty now, and that the original treaty should still be ratified.

Even if Kagesa and Imai don't inform Itagaki Seishiro, Itagaki has already begun to take action. As the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff, Itagaki did not attend the Cabinet meeting, and when Shunroku Hata returned, he learned that the Cabinet had rejected the Kagesa Imai Treaty, which made him feel unacceptable, but instead of going to Tojo on the spot, he chose to attack at the meeting between the General Staff Headquarters and the Army on the counterattack of Zhang Gufeng.

"....This time Zhang Gufeng counterattacked, General Umezu Mijiro decided to dispatch the 2nd Division, 19th Division, and 4th Division to counterattack the Soviet troops in the Zhang Gufeng area, and to deploy four divisions in North Manchuria as a defense, and the Korean Front deployed two divisions to guard against the Soviet army." Itagaki gave an expressionless introduction to the battle plan reported by Umezu Mijiro, commander of the Kwantung Army, and pointed to the map with a wooden pole in his hand: "The start time of the entire campaign is set for May 1, and the main reason why it is set at this time is that the eight divisions and regiments drawn from the Kannai have all participated in the Wuhan operation, and the troops are very tired, and the replenishment of personnel and weapons and equipment is very slow. ”

"Not enough troops? What are these words? Hideki Tojo was very dissatisfied and interrupted Itagaki's words: "During the Lugou Bridge Incident, I led more than 8,000 soldiers of the Kwantung Army to capture Datong and occupy the entire Chahar, and now there are 1.5 million troops in the pass, even if more than 200,000 are transferred, there are still more than 1.2 million, how can we talk about insufficient troops?" ”

Itagaki stared at Tojo coldly, and said in his heart that if I hadn't contained the elite troops of Shina at the south exit, you would have been able to fight so smoothly? Now he still talks about cool words, and he is a simple-minded high-class soldier.

"After two years of war, I think we should all admit that we were wrong in our estimation of Shina before the war," Itagaki said in a slow tone, and he was a little disdainful to face Tojo, but turned to Shunroku Hata and said: "Now that the war will be protracted and a foregone conclusion, please make a decision as soon as possible on how to resolve the Shina incident." ”

"Wang Jingwei is going to reach an agreement with us, as long as Wang Jingwei moves, the political axe of Yucheng will fall immediately, and Itagaki Jun doesn't have to worry." Shunroku Hatata's gaze was a little evasive, the actions of Kagesa and Imai, Itagaki had revealed some to him, and he had acquiesced, but at the cabinet meeting, he failed to firmly support it, which made him feel a little guilty in his heart.

"Will Wang Jingwei agree to garrison troops in North China?" Itagaki asked calmly: "When Gao Zongwu arrived in Yueben, I talked to him, and he revealed that Wang Jingwei's main concern is the withdrawal of troops, if the troops in North China are garrisoned, Wang Jingwei will not agree, then when will the peace that His Majesty is looking forward to come?" ”

"Peace cannot come in a disgraceful way!" Hideki Tojo said loudly, "If you can't garrison troops in China, then why fight a two-year war?" How is this explained to the people? Tell the people why they are sending their husbands and sons to war? ”

"The Shina Incident cannot end with the concession of the Empire," Muto Akira of the Military Affairs Bureau stood up in support: "Concession will seriously damage morale, and the establishment of a new order in Greater East Asia will have a major impact." ”

At the beginning of the Lugou Bridge Incident, Muto Zhang and Itagaki Seishiro belonged to the same expansion faction, after the failure of the first operation to open up the Jinpu Road, the North China Dispatch Army was reorganized, and Muto Akira was transferred to the deputy chief of staff, in North China he presided over the liquidation operations of eastern Hebei and Chahar, and the counterattack operation of the Shanxi troops against Jin-Cha-Ji, etc., accumulated some military achievements, and after the Wuhan operation, he was transferred back to China to serve as the director of the Military Affairs Bureau.

"Director Muto," Itagaki stared at Muto Akira unceremoniously, "I remember that when you first came back, you said that you want to end the Shina incident as soon as possible, and if necessary, you can sacrifice some interests and reach peace, I would like to ask Your Excellency, isn't the treaty reached between Kagesa and Imai exactly in line with your ideas?" ”

Muto Akira was the first general in the army to propose a quick victory, and his one-hit theory and quick victory theory used to be the main theories of the hardliners in the army, but two years after arriving in China, he began to realize that the Chinese's will to resist was very tenacious, and his attitude began to change.

(To be continued)