Yosuke Matsuoka has been waiting in the throne hall of the Winter Palace for a long, long time. {

These days, he has not made any progress in his work in Petersburg. The former Japanese foreign minister, who is now openly serving as the imperial Japanese ambassador to the Russian empire, is in fact directly under the orders of Prime Minister Fumihiro Konoe, and his specific job is to find a diplomatic solution to the war between China and Japan. On the one hand, the Japanese government did not offer any specific conditions for peace talks, but only asked him to try to mobilize the Russian empress to mediate the war. On the one hand, the war between China and Japan has not yet been decided, and the basis of the negotiating table is, after all, the battlefield. If the Japanese army can achieve some victories on the battlefield, even if it is a partial victory, the waist of his secret envoy can stand up, and the peace work can be easier. Otherwise, even if it is a "movement", what if the Russian empress intervenes to mediate? Can the empress's face be greater than the millions of troops on the battlefield? Even if peace can be reached, it is necessary to have a large amount of land and a large amount of compensation, and when you return to China, you may become a national thief pointed out by thousands of people, and it is not necessary to give people "heavenly punishment". Therefore, Matsuoka still felt that he had to wait and see what the battlefield would turn around. ，

As a result, we waited for the news of the defeat of the Korean army and the landing of the Chinese army at Incheon. In just a few days, the Imperial Japanese Army was defeated! And it was a fiasco, and the defeat was so bad that Yosuke Matsuoka felt unbelievable. The squadron is so powerful! Will Japan survive this war?

What followed the defeat was Japan's bottom line of seeking peace. Cession of the Japanese Philippines, Japanese East Indies, Japanese Katai Island, and Korean independence, as well as China's support for Japan's continued war against the United States. The last of these, of course, was for Germany. Now there are signs that the war between Germany and the United States is descending into a protracted war, although Puerto Rico has been defeated. Tens of thousands of American troops were captured. The Americans, however, deployed heavy troops in Haiti and Cuba. The Japanese forces on the Central American front were also losing ground and had now retreated around Panama City. At this time, Japan threw out the condition of continuing to fight against the United States in order to win Germany to exert pressure on China...... However, in Matsuoka's view, this is just Konoe Fumiro pretending to be clever, and the Japanese army has been defeated like this on the battlefield. Where is the surplus to throw into the distant Americas? Even if they can negotiate peace with China, they will definitely have to sit at home and lick their wounds, and how can the German side not understand this truth? Therefore, when the Oshima ambassador to Germany informed the German side of Japan's terms for peace, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop did not show any diplomatic intervention at all. I just wish that peace can be reached between China and Japan at an early date.

It seems that the key to ending the Sino-Japanese war lies with China, and the first issue now is to get the representatives of the Chinese government to sit down at the negotiating table. This was precisely the purpose of his visit to the Hermitage of the Russian Empress early in the morning.

But the empress, who had a lot of chance, hung him here for hours and did not show up, and I don't know if he didn't wake up, or if he was busy communicating with the marshal in Shenyang by telegram? However, with the housekeeper of the Winter Palace bringing him to this splendid throne hall, Her Majesty the Empress of Russia was obviously moved by the priceless diamond necklace he gave him, and she would always help Zhang Luo to negotiate peace with Japan, right? I just don't know how much weight this empress has to speak to Chinese Marshal Luo Yaoguo? Luo Yaoguo looked at her face and agreed that there should be a possibility of contact with Japan, but Japan wants to retain the peace conditions of the "new Japanese state", I am afraid it is still a little ......

At that moment, a crisp trumpet interrupted Matsuoka's thoughts, and then a door in the throne hall was pushed open by two young Empress Guard officers, and a mature beauty in a magnificent court dress and a diamond crown walked in surrounded by a group of equally richly dressed court maids. Yosuke Matsuoka quickly stood up respectfully and bowed his head to show his respect for the Russian dictatorship. Russian Foreign Minister Marquis Nikolayevich, who accompanied him, also stood up at the first time, bent down and bowed to the empress.

"Mr. Matsuoka, Marquis Nikolayevich, please take a seat." The empress was already leaning on the throne, her posture was a little lazy, and she raised her hand to Matsuoka and her foreign minister to signal them to sit down, and then turned to the other side, and said in fluent Chinese: "Mr. Wanyan, you can also sit." ”

At this time, Matsuoka Yosuke found out that a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of a lieutenant general of the Chinese National Defense Forces had also appeared in this hall at some point, apparently walking in with the empress. Matsuoka recognized this person as Wan Yanhao, the Chinese ambassador to the Russian Empire, and according to intelligence, he was also a confidant of Chinese Marshal Luo Yaoguo! The appearance of this person here obviously means that the priceless diamond necklace was not given away in vain, and the line of contact with the Chinese side has finally been hit.

After a few people exchanged pleasantries, the Russian Foreign Minister, who also accepted a generous gift from Matsuoka, well, Marquis Nikolayevich, the former Soviet ambassador to Germany and a former member of the Bolshevik Politburo, opened his mouth to mediate.

"Any good politician knows that the purpose of waging war is to end it, and that it is easy to start a war, but it is difficult to end it. And this time the Sino-Japanese war ...... Truth be told, in the eyes of every clear-headed and sharp-eyed politician, the winner has been struck and the time has come to seek a solution to the conflict. What China and Japan need most now is not to continue this war with huge casualties, but to turn the outcome on the battlefield into a binding peace agreement that redistributes the interests of Asia and the Pacific through some diplomatic efforts. And the Russian Empire, as one of the most important powers in the world, as a common friend of China and Japan, is very willing to intervene to mediate this war between the two countries. ”

Speaking of which, the mild-looking Russian Foreign Minister smiled at Wan Yan Hao and said in Chinese: "Ambassador Wan Yan, the Japanese ambassador has brought a peace plan, of course, it is only a preliminary plan, everything still has room for discussion, I think you are willing to listen to the opinions of the Japanese side, right?" ”

Wan Yanhao smiled noncommittally: "This is exactly the purpose of my coming to the Winter Palace. ”

Yosuke Matsuoka sat up very solemnly and took out a document that had been prepared long ago from the briefcase he had brought with him. The female secretary who was waiting at the side of the Russian Empress asked her to pass it on to the Chinese ambassador. Then he smiled at Wan Yanhao: "This is the bottom line of the peace conditions that are acceptable to the Japanese Empire at present." Japan could transfer the Japanese Philippines, the Japanese East Indies, and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula to China for disposal. In addition, the Japanese Empire hoped that China would resume normal trade with Japan. So that Japan could obtain the military supplies needed to continue the war against the United States. ”

Wan Yanhao took the document with both hands. Didn't look through it on the spot. just put it in the briefcase casually, then stood up and bowed slightly to the empress: "Your Majesty, forgive me for taking the liberty of telling the Japanese side of the conditions for peace talks to China as soon as possible." He bowed to the Empress and turned away. And the Russian Empress also nodded at Yan Hao. Seeing him leave, he turned his head and smiled bitterly at Matsuoka Yoyo and said, "Mr. Ambassador, to be honest, I can do my best to mediate the war, and I also believe that China's Marshal Luo will come into contact with your country because of his personal friendship with me. But...... You also have to come up with genuine and sincere conditions for peace. All right. That's all I have to say, Mr. Ambassador. Do you want to stay for lunch with me, the French dinner at the Hermitage is very authentic......"

……

Shenyang Marshal's Mansion, Tiger Hall.

A soft sound. Luo Yaoguo threw the secret message sent to him by Wan Yanhao on the table. Wan Yanhao is now the Chinese ambassador to the Russian Empire and head of the Chinese National Defense Forces military delegation to Russia. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still in charge of such matters as diplomatic peace talks, and the official report must be submitted to Foreign Minister Zeng Qi, who will then transfer it to the Ministry of National Defense, which in turn will transfer it to the General Staff Headquarters. This process takes a lot of time, so Wan Yanhao simply passed the price code offered by the Japanese side to Luo Yaoguo through a secret telegram as soon as possible.

And Luo Yaoguo's reaction was a big sigh of relief.

"At this point, these little Japan still want to keep Eastern Australia...... It's wonderful, it's wonderful. Seriously, I'm afraid that these little Japan will have a strong man break his wrist, then the Diet will definitely agree to an armistice, and I, the chief of the General Staff, will have nothing to do at that time. ”

At present, the reactionary dictatorship of the Kuomintang reactionaries in China is basically coming to an end! It won't be long before most of the provinces today will also enter the constitutional period, which is a major policy set by Sun Yat-sen more than ten years ago, even Luo Yaoguo does not dare to change it, otherwise it will be the only man and the thief referred to by Wanfu! Therefore, once the conditions for peace talks proposed by the Japanese passed the hurdle of the Congress, Luo Yaoguo could only hold his nose and order a ceasefire.

Of course, the Diet, which is controlled by the national bourgeoisie, will not let Japan go so far...... According to the information that Luo Yaoguo has in his possession, the Kuomintang congressmen, who account for the majority in the Congress, agree that one of the price codes is that Japan ceded Dongao, the Japanese Philippines, the Japanese East Indies, and the Ryukyu Islands; There was also the independence of Korea, and the Chinese National Defense Forces were granted the right to station troops in Japan. The coalition of left-wing parties in the Diet further demanded that Japan abolish the emperor system and hold democratic elections to elect a democratically elected government that can represent the people, but it does not demand the right to garrison troops in Japan itself, and at the same time allows the independence of the Japanese Philippines and the Japanese East Indies.

In short, both left-wing and right-wing parliamentary groups have a resolute view of East Australia's seizure and annexation! It's not negotiable. In the eyes of parliamentarians, the more than 4 million square kilometers of land is just a lot of votes and a lot of political donations......

Chen Lifu, who was sitting opposite Luo Yaoguo, picked up the telegram, read it several times, and sighed softly: "More than 4 million square kilometers, if Japan swallows this territory, it will suddenly become a small Japan into a big Japan!" If I were the Emperor of Japan, I would rather not have the mainland than give up Eastern Australia. It's just that...... Is the movement of the Australian Front a little sluggish? Japan had no more than 600,000 troops there. I really want to remember that An Shuai also seems to have an armored army in his hands, right? ”

Luo Yaoguo smiled noncommittally, An Sihua's Australian Front was still fighting a slow positional battle with the Japanese army in the Victorian Desert and the Nullarbor Plain, as if they were not in a hurry to seize Eastern Australia.

Looking at Luo Yaoguo's meaningful smile, Chen Lifu frowned slightly. His current position is the Minister of Colonial Affairs, that is, the position that was originally intended to be assigned to Jiang Jshi. This time, he came to Shenyang to discuss with Luo Yaoguo the post-war disposal of the Korean Peninsula. Do you want Korea to become an independent country, or do you want to make it a colony of China? However, in private, the real purpose was for the appointment of Jiang Jshi as commander-in-chief of the Japanese Front.

And Luo Yaoguo has also been idle in the past two days. The overall situation on the Yunshan side has been decided, although the Japanese army is still resisting stubbornly when it turns from offensive to defensive. But the trend is gone. It's just delaying at the cost of tens of thousands of lives every day. The situation in Incheon is also good. After the kamikaze attack launched by Japan on an unprecedented scale turned into a complete "turkey fight," Japanese planes never showed their faces again, and the entire Inchon landing became a major exercise of the Chinese navy, army, and air force.

At the same time, the defense line of the Yalu River, which had been held by the Japanese for several days, had completely collapsed, and hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops and refugees (Koreans loyal to Japan and Japanese in Korea) had crowded all the roads south. Chinese bombers can also blow them to pieces piece by piece with their eyes closed. There are also some Japanese troops that were left behind and broken, and they were crushed by the squadron ** that was chasing after them in formation, and the 18th Division, the 56th Division, the 70th Division, the 106th Division, the 108th Division, the 122nd Division, and the 123rd Division have been determined to have been completely annihilated! There are also as many as four captured wing flags! Even the armies at the front reported the capture of a large number of Japanese officers and soldiers, totaling as many as 10,000 people! It was clear that the Japanese army in Korea was on the verge of complete collapse.

Therefore, Luo Yaoguo, the chief of the General Staff of the National Defense Forces, who personally supervised the war, has turned his attention to the Japanese mainland.

He glanced at Chen Lifu, who had a heavy complexion, and smiled: "Brother Lifu." We're all our own people, so we don't have to go around in circles when we talk. Today, you will give me an accurate word, is Brother Jie, willing to accept the job of commander-in-chief of the Japanese Front? ”

Chen Lifu's face was a little embarrassed, and after thinking for a long time, he still nodded and said: "The appointment of the General Staff has come down, and Jiegong is a soldier, of course, it is his duty to obey orders, what else do you have to say?" However, Jiegong is also a Japanese intellectual, who has been in Japan for many years, and has always known the tenacity and tenacity of the Japanese nation. With our overwhelming superiority in the sea and air and mechanized forces, it will not be difficult for us to defeat Japan in Korea and Australia. But in Japan...... I'm afraid this war will be difficult to fight, and if it doesn't work, it will fall into a quagmire and suffer heavy losses, and it will be difficult for Jiegong to explain it at that time. ”

Luo Yaoguo looked at Chen Lifu and asked lightly: "Brother Lifu, do you mean Jiegong when you say this?" Jiegong knew that this battle was difficult to fight, so I was relieved, and with him, who knew Japan, and sent troops to destroy Japan, he would definitely be able to get twice the result with half the effort. As for what the Jiegong wants, he can put it forward, as long as he can do it, the General Staff will definitely meet it. ”

Chen Lifu slowly stood up and looked at Luo Yaoguo seriously: "With the words of the auxiliary marshal, I believe that Jiegong will definitely be willing to take over the post of commander of the Japanese Front, but he will destroy Japan...... But it didn't happen overnight. Assistant, I hope you can go back to Wuhan, and I will also invite Jiegong back from India to discuss this matter in person......" Speaking of this, he raised his head and looked at Luo Yaoguo with earnest eyes.

Luo Yaoguo also looked at him quietly, as if he was discerning what deep meaning was hidden in Chen Lifu's words, and finally smiled faintly, nodded and responded: "Okay, when I take care of the affairs of Shenyang, I will go back to Wuhan and Jiegong...... How about a trip to Defense Minister He Jingzhi (He Yingqin), President of the Central Military Academy Zhang Wenbai (Zhang Zhizhong), and President of the National Defense University Yang Gengguang (Yang Jie)? ”

Chen Lifu sighed lightly, a smile appeared on his face, and he arched his hand at Luo Yaoguo: "Auxiliary marshal, you can do this, Jie Gong will naturally not shirk anymore, with you and Jie Gong working together, the death of Japan is waiting, but after all, it is the destruction of an ancient country with nearly 2,000 years of inheritance, and the time may be longer, I hope the assistant marshal will not mind." ”

Luo Yaoguo also stood up and arched his hand at Chen Lifu, and chatted and laughed with him a few more words before personally sending him out of the Shenyang Marshal's Mansion. When I returned to the Tiger Hall, I saw that the commander of the Air Force, Lee Soon-eun, was already waiting there, standing in front of a huge map of North Korea, contemplating something.

"The fourth brother is here." Luo Yaoguo walked up to Li Shunen, nodded at him, and said in a low voice: "Is the B1 bomber that carried out the 'Great God Launch' operation ready?" ”

Li Shunen only found Luo Yaoguo at this time, and hurriedly squeezed out a smile: "Third brother, look at me, just thinking about things, I didn't pay attention, I'm really sorry." ”

Luo Yaoguo waved his hand indifferently: "My brother, by the way, fourth, what are you thinking?" Isn't there something wrong with the 'Great God'? ”

Li Shunen frowned, nodded and said: "Air Force reconnaissance and intelligence show that a large number of personnel have entered and exited Pyongyang, Wonsan, and Busan in the past few days...... Large numbers of refugees are pouring into the three cities, while Korean civilians in all three places are being expelled from the cities by the Japanese army. It is estimated that the Korean Japanese army will use these three cities as their last stronghold, and now all the people entering the city are ...... They are all Japanese expatriates in Korea, most of whom are old and weak, women and children, and the number may be as high as hundreds of thousands! When the time comes, civilians and the military will mix, and our atomic bombs will be dropped, and we are afraid that they will ......" (to be continued......