9.28

Seeing that what he said did not have any effect on the emperor, Konoe Fumiro was inevitably a little anxious in his heart. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 After looking around at the cabinet members, Fumiro Konoe turned his attention to the new Foreign Minister Kazunari Ugaki.

Now, probably only this Foreign Minister Ugaki Issei can fight side by side with his Konoe Fumi! Among a large number of main war factions, the two of them who hope that Japan will stop its military action against China and use peaceful means to end the war in this quagmire seem so unsociable!

Kazunari Ugaki, the head of Tanaka and Ugaki during the Taisho period, who stood side by side with Utsunomiya Taro, Uehara Yusaku, and Muto Nobuyoshi's Saga Left Shoulder Party. Inside the "Ugaki Valve" there are a large number of cattle people: Kanaya Bunzo, Minamijiro, Hidetaro Hatata, Nobuyuki Abe, Shigeru Honjo, Ishone Matsui, Kuniaki Koiso, Motomo Sugiyama, Shunroku Hata. All of them are tasks that dominate the Japanese political or military circles! Because the "Ugaki Valve" was born out of the Cheung Chau Valve, but it did not have the same strict birth restrictions as the Chosu Valve, it was also called the "Quasi-Chang School".

At the age of 16, Ugaki Kazucheng entered the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School to realize his dream of becoming a soldier, and in 1900, he graduated from the top six of the 14th class of the University of the Army, and was one of the so-called "saber groups". In that life-and-death era when the two feudal clans were fighting, Ugaki Kazunari skillfully maneuvered between the two factions, and finally became the central figure of the Japanese Army in the last years of Taisho and the early years of the Showa!

Originally, Ugaki Kazunari had a deep influence within the army, but later he turned against the army because of two things, one of which was disarmament, and the other was the "March Incident".

In 1925, during the Kato administration, an unprecedented economic crisis swept the world. Japan also entered the so-called "Showa panic", and many people starved to death in the northeastern prefectures, and the sale of children and daughters was everywhere. At that time, Japan could only be forced to embark on the path of "disarmament".

At the behest of the Emperor and the Prime Minister, Kazunari Ugaki carried out the so-called "Ugaki Disarmament". Its main content is to reduce one-fifth of the army's strength, that is, four divisions and regiments. In addition, Kazunari Ugaki ordered the closure of five army hospitals and two army junior schools.

In fact, the main idea of Ugaki's disarmament at that time was "quality for quantity", and it was not really intended to save money for the Japanese government's budget. He used the funds saved by disarmament to form a tank wing, an antiaircraft artillery wing, two aviation wings, and a Taiwan mountain artillery wing; In addition, an army automobile school and a communications school have been set up, and the army units have been equipped with advanced weapons such as airplanes, tanks, light machine guns, automobile-towed guns, and field heavy artillery. But even so, the disarmament was heavily criticized by the opposition in the army, and in the end, Kazunari Ugaki had to be forced to withdraw from active duty. Since then, there has been a gap in the relationship between Kazunari Ugaki and the Army!

In 1930, several junior officers such as Hashimoto Shingoro, Nagayong, and Tanaka Kiyoshi engaged in a failed "March Incident" with Okawa Shuaki in an attempt to push Ugaki to power as prime minister and establish a military dictatorship, but later the plan was aborted due to Ugaki's vacillating attitude. This failed "incident" was eventually detected by the emperor, which directly led to the forced retirement of a large number of young army officers from active duty.

In the eyes of the Army, Ugaki Issei is tantamount to playing tricks on their young officers! Therefore, when Ugaki Kazunari was ordered to form a cabinet after the resignation of the Hirota Hiroki cabinet in 1937, the army side made a strike and refused to send someone to serve as the Minister of War, which finally made Ugaki Kazunari's cabinet formation plan fall through!

For Kazunari Ugaki, who is eager to sit on the throne of prime minister. The army's move of "drawing wages from the bottom of the kettle" is simply equivalent to stabbing him in the heart with a knife! Since then, Ugaki Kazunari has become a well-known "lord and faction" in Japanese political circles, and he has wholeheartedly sung against the army! But Ugaki Issei has no real power in his hands, so the impact is very limited.

Finally, taking advantage of the opportunity of Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe to reshuffle the cabinet, Kazunari Ugaki became the new foreign minister, and now he finally has a stage to compete with the army!

After Kazunari Ugaki took office, his predecessor Hiroki Hirota took a tough stance toward the Wuhan government, and frequently signaled to China that the Japanese side was willing to hold peace talks. Finally, at the beginning of last month, Ugaki Kazunari hooked up with Kong Xiangxi, the executive director of the Wuhan government.

At present, in Hong Kong, preparations for negotiations with Wuhan have been fully rolled out! After showing Prime Minister Fumiro Konoe this good progress, Ugaki Kazunari finally has the heart to boycott the army! In the past month or so, Kazunari Ugaki has frequently shuttled between the prime minister's office, the military ministry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, trying to find powerful people from all walks of life to support his plan for peace talks.

Fu, who sent troops to Taierzhuang and Lanfeng in succession, most of the people who met with Ugaki Issei gave him enough patience! The attitude is also very respectful, which makes Ugaki Kazunari's heart full of joy! He even felt that he had given Japan a ray of hope for the settlement of China's affairs!

This optimism led Kazunari Ugaki to openly declare at a press conference held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "The war between Japan and China will end soon." If a third country intervenes to mediate, Japan is ready to accept it. ”

But just when Prime Minister Ugaki was in a posture of a bamboo in his chest, he shook the olive branch to the world. The new land minister, Seishiro Sakagaki, suddenly ran out and also issued a statement, and he was completely against Ugaki Kazunari!

In his statement, Seishiro Sakagaki said: "Japan is ready to fight for a long time. At this time, Japan will not accept any proposal. The Imperial Army had to beat the Chinese army to the point where it could not get up. ”

When newspapers around the world retweeted two diametrically opposed voices from the Japanese cabinet. Diplomats from various countries have regarded Ugaki Kazunari as an out-and-out diplomatic liar! Naturally, the Wuhan government would not remain indifferent to Itagaki Seishiro's demonstration-like statement, and Qiao Fuwang, the negotiator in Hong Kong, was ordered to temporarily suspend contacts with the Japanese side until the Japanese side gave an explanation satisfactory to the Wuhan government.

After Kazunari Ugaki got the news from Hong Kong, he was furious and scolded Seishiro Itagaki as a "bastard" in front of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ugaki Kazunari thinks that this is the army's calculation behind his back, and Itagaki Seishiro, an explosive household who has made a career in China, clearly does not want the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make achievements, and compares the incompetent army to him! For this matter, Ugaki Issei found Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe and tried to find the emperor, but Itagaki Seishiro was not severely punished as Ugaki Issei imagined! The emperor's favoritism towards Seishiro Itagaki made Ugaki Kazunari feel even more angry!

So when he saw Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe's eyes asking for help, Ugaki Kazunari, who had already hated Seishiro Itagaki and itched teeth, immediately jumped out!

"Your Majesty! I couldn't agree more with Prime Minister Konoe's proposal! Now that the central China region of China has entered the summer, the high temperature and scorching heat in Hankou on the Yangtze River are very unfavorable to the operations of the large corps. Therefore, the minister thought that the capture of Hankou should be postponed to get the plan! ”

As soon as Ugaki Kazunari spoke, he was immediately counterattacked by Seishiro Sakagaki, the prime minister of the land!

"Minister! The Army will never agree with you! The capture of Wuhan would completely destroy the confidence of the regime in China! Didn't the foreign minister want to conquer China sooner? ”

For such an aggressive Sakagaki Seishiro, Foreign Minister Ugaki will not feel jealous, compared with him Ugaki Issei, Sakagaki Seishiro's qualifications are still very shallow after all, and he is a newcomer who has joined the cabinet for the first time, compared to lip service, Sakagaki Seishiro is not Ugaki Issei's opponent!

"Land Phase! Do you have to say something nasty? The Central China Dispatch Army was defeated first in Taierzhuang, and then in Lanfeng! Until now, several brigades have been trapped in the Yellow Flood Zone! What exactly is your army planning to use to attack Wuhan? There aren't many troops on the ground now! ”

As the saying goes, scolding doesn't expose shortcomings, hitting people doesn't slap their faces, Ugaki Kazunari has committed all the taboo things at once today! The power of his words is no less than a few slaps from Seishiro Sakagaki!

Lu Xiang Sakagaki Seishiro stared at a pair of small eyes, and stared angrily at Foreign Minister Ugaki Issei, who was kneeling opposite him, he didn't expect that Ugaki Issei would actually tear his face with the army in front of the emperor!

It stands to reason that Seishiro Sakagaki should immediately refute it, but what Ugaki Issei said is all true! Because the army's performance on the battlefield in China is really a little faceless, Sakagaki Seishiro can't find an excuse to fight back against Ugaki Issei!

If you blindly entangle this issue with Ugaki Issei, it is likely that the emperor will be dissatisfied with the army! That's more than worth the loss! So no matter how provocative Kazunari Ugaki was, Seishiro Sakagaki gritted his teeth and didn't say a word!

You must not fall for the foreign minister's strategy!

After the Battle of Xuzhou, the officers and soldiers of the Japanese Army on the front line were anxious to wash away the humiliation of the defeat of Taierzhuang, and frantically advocated a decisive battle with the Chinese army in Wuhan. They frequently called Tokyo, asking the military department to increase the replenishment of the Chinese battlefield. Seishiro Sakagaki, who had just left the Chinese battlefield for a short time, knew this situation very well, and he did not want to and would not betray the wishes of his former superiors and colleagues.

After all, without the army, there would be no Sakagaki Seishiro today!

After serving as the land minister, Seishiro Sakagaki was surprised to find that the influence of the front-line troops on Tokyo was far stronger than he had imagined! Subsequently, Seishiro Sakagaki made full use of this, and easily pulled the General Staff Headquarters, the Ministry of the Navy, and even some ministers of the Cabinet to the side of the army. Although the prime minister, foreign minister and some civilian officials have been moving around, trying to prevent the flames of war from burning to Wuhan. But in this contest, the "main battle faction" still easily gained the upper hand. In fact, the "main battle faction" in Tokyo had already controlled the situation before this imperial council, and the emperor's eyes had already crossed the vast sea to Wuhan and Guangzhou in China.

So Seishiro Sakagaki walked into the venue with full confidence, and he did not believe that the emperor would veto the opinion of most cabinet officials!

But now, things have changed!

Foreign Minister Kazunari Ugaki is really eloquent! He clung to the crucial point of the Army's inability to end the war in China, and brought what should have been a one-sided meeting back into a stalemate.

"Therefore, I think that it is not time to continue to expand the war, but to seize the time to negotiate with the Wuhan government to make up for the losses caused to the empire by the reckless statements of the prime minister!"

Kazunari Ugaki finally raised his eyebrows! After remembering the first situation on the battlefield in China, Emperor Hirohito's mood was obviously much calmer! He is now willing to listen carefully to Foreign Minister Ugaki Kazunari.

"If Wuhan is not attacked, the consortiums that fund the government may demand divestment! Without war, there will be no dividends, and the consortium will not let their money sleep in the treasury......"

Sadao Araki, who had not spoken before, suddenly spoke up, although his words were not much, but they made Prime Minister Fumio Konoe's heart tremble!

Oh, yes! Think about the military department, and think about the conglomerates who are counting on the windfall from the occupied territories behind the army's ass, can it be so easy for the imperial army to withdraw from the battlefields of China? Sadao Araki, the prime minister, has already said the most unworthy reason! The Emperor is clearly moved! It seems that this battle can only be fought again!

In fact, Konoe Fumiko's heart is also very chaotic now, since he set foot in the political arena, Konoe Fumiro has always fantasized about being able to govern Japan, a densely populated island country, like a paradise. Since becoming prime minister, Fumiro Konoe has been pursuing harmony within the cabinet. It's a pity that it backfired, and there was never peace in the Konoe cabinet! It's only been a few days since the foreign minister and the land minister changed? The cabinet quarreled again! Not to mention what big things you want to do, it's nice to be able to keep the outside world from seeing jokes.

Fumiro Konoe sighed in frustration. He knew very well in his heart that under the joint pressure exerted by the military department and the chaebols, the Japanese Government's negotiation conditions to China were even harsher than those put forward after the occupation of Nanjing at the beginning of the year! Thinking that the Nanjing government had been beaten to the brink and had not accepted the conditions for an armistice, it would naturally not bow to Japan today, and the emperor wanted the supreme authorities to step down, and this alone had actually blocked all the doors to peace!

Facts over the past year or so have proved that the foundation of the supreme authorities in China is still very solid! As long as he doesn't want to step down, no one in the Wuhan government wants him to step down! Even Wang Zhaoming is still a lot behind!

It seems that Kazunari Ugaki's dream of a truce between China and Japan has been completely shattered! The efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than a month have been in vain! Japan has completely become a world of soldiers!

Konoe Fumiro thought it was a foregone conclusion, but what he didn't expect was that Minei actually stood up again and expressed his approval of Ugaki Kazunari's idea!

The sudden intervention of the Navy is not really trying to support the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in fact, it is just a habitual pull on the Army's hind legs! According to the previous practice, whatever the army is in favor of, the navy will definitely oppose!

The contradictions between the Japanese Navy and the Army have a long history. Since Japan's withdrawal from the Washington Naval Treaty, the Japanese Navy has entered a period of no peace treaty. Japan's special geographical conditions surrounded by the sea made Emperor Hirohito pay more and more attention to the construction of the navy. He successively made three large additional appropriations for the development of the navy. This aroused the jealousy of the Army.

With the launching of warships into the sea and the transfer of planes in batches, the ambitions of the navy, which are becoming increasingly huge, have swelled much faster than the development of the navy's own strength. They no longer wanted to be subordinate to the army, and began to exert their influence in the cabinet, in the military department, in the Privy Council, in all important departments, and fought against the army. This is where the contradictions develop.

The army and navy, one dream of "going north" and the other plan of "going south", are in opposite directions, even if Emperor Hirohito tries to match, he cannot be unified.

In the end, the Umi Prime Minister Yonechi, the Foreign Minister Ugaki, and the Land Minister Sakagaki pushed the problem between them to Emperor Hirohito. Now, we can only rely on Emperor Hirohito's "dictatorship"!

Emperor Hirohito knew about these contradictions between government departments in the past, but he did not expect them to be so complicated! He couldn't believe how it was possible to lead a resource-poor Japan to conquer a boundless China with such a chaotic and contradictory decision-making level.

The scorching sun did not let go of the descendants of this "Amaterasu", and fine beads of sweat slipped down Emperor Hirohito's forehead, itching. But he didn't wipe it, and the temperature in the palace had risen to about 35 degrees at this time. The generals in military uniforms and with straight waists are already covered with sweat! All of them are frowning!

The atmosphere was a little nerve-wracking!

After about ten minutes of silence, Emperor Hirohito waved his hand and ordered the meeting to be adjourned!

After nightfall, the meeting was held again, and the Chief of Staff, Xianyuan Palace, was the first to break the silence, and he slowly spoke: "Your Majesty, the current internal and external situation has prompted the empire to attack Wuhan and has no way out. We waited again and again for the Wuhan regime, but the Chinese did not repent, and despite the loss of lives, they still clamored to resist Japan. A political solution looks bleak at the moment. And the destruction of the dictatorship that is about to collapse is like a drain from the bottom of the kettle, and the war is hopefully over. Your Majesty, please. ”

Seeing this, Foreign Minister Ugaki Kazunari was about to speak, but was preempted by Deputy Chief of Staff Tada Jun: "Your Majesty, recent intelligence from all sides shows that the Wuhan regime is still clamoring for resistance to Japan in Hankou. They also inflamed national sentiment and set off a campaign to 'defend Greater Wuhan'. It seems that the Empire has no choice but to strike militarily. If the conquest of Canton is followed by the end of the Battle of Hankow, the naval blockade of China will completely deprive him of contact with the outside world, and I think that the Wuhan regime, which is tightly stuck by the neck, will have no choice but to finally give in. ”

Hirohito seemed impressed, and he nodded, but still didn't speak. At this time, Ugaki Kazunari hurriedly spoke: "Your Majesty, although it is possible to capture Hankou militarily, it is still uncertain whether the war can be ended. At present, the opening of peace talks and the resumption of large-scale war will show the contradictions in the government's diplomacy. Recently, the diplomatic attitude of Britain and the United States has become increasingly cold. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making every effort to adjust. All kinds of signs show that if the war expands further, Western countries may retaliate. At that time, the question of the origin of the Empire's war materials was a concern. The minister believed that Hankow's move should be considered in the long run. ”

After Morigaki finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Prime Minister Fumiro Konoe. But Konoe Wenlu didn't seem to see his gaze, so he turned his face away. The clever Konoe Fumiro had already seen the final direction of the meeting, and he was no longer willing to have a deeper conflict with the army for Ugaki Kazunari...... (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )