607 Conciliationism III: Anglo-American appeasement

"Your Excellency, I don't think you fully understand what I mean." Ambassador Jensen smiled and nodded, explaining: "The United States just wants China to ask for 150,000 tons of aircraft carrier tonnage at the Conference on Limiting Naval Armaments, not that you build or own these aircraft carriers." ”

"Oh" Luo Yaoguo nodded, and his eyes rolled to understand the intentions of the United States. The Americans wanted China to take the lead in provoking a new arms race in aircraft carrier construction in order to eliminate Britain's maritime supremacy built on battleships. Although the United States is still in the midst of an economic crisis, their economic aggregate and industrial base are still far greater than those of Britain, and if Britain and the United States start to reduce their battleships and build aircraft carriers at the same time...... It would be a heavy financial burden for the UK, and for the US, it would be bailing out under-run shipyards and steel mills. Of course, China is the villain who provokes an arms race and destroys peace, and the United States is still the angel who saves the world.

But what about being a wicked person? The British Empire won't be able to jump for a few years...... Just when Luo Yaoguo was about to agree to the conditions of the United States, he heard a bang, and the door of the living room was slammed open.

Luo Yaoguo turned his head and saw a lieutenant colonel wearing a blue U.S. Navy uniform walking in, hurriedly walking to Ambassador Jensen's side, leaning over and muttering a few words in his ear. Jensen's face suddenly changed dramatically, and he waved his hand to let the naval attaché leave.

"Your Excellency, Marshal." Ambassador Jensen took a deep breath and calmed down what seemed a little uneasy: "Now the U.S. Navy is confronting the Japanese fleet in the waters near Palawan Island that is trying to enter the Sulu Sea."

……

The long and narrow island of Palawan acts like a dam separating the South China Sea from the Sulu Sea. To the northwest of Palawan is the South China Sea, where a sea and air war is taking place, while Palawan is part of the U.S. Philippines, and the Sulu Sea southwest of Palawan is the U.S. sphere of influence. However, the width of the territorial waters of the United States is 3 nautical miles, and theoretically, the Kuomintang's First Air Fleet and the Japanese Combined Fleet can now enter the Sulu Sea from the straits at the north and south ends of Palawan.

However, that is only a theory, at least for the fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Takuzo Kobayashi, the width of US territorial waters should be elastic.

The two "flat-deck" destroyers were very arrogant in blocking the Japanese fleet, which included a battle cruiser, an aircraft carrier and a heavy cruiser. And he kept playing the signal that this was the territorial waters of the United States and that he would leave immediately, which made Commander Kobayashi really a little unhappy.

On the bridge of the battlecruiser Zhenmei, Kobayashi looked anxiously at the sky, the sky had gradually darkened, and it would not be long before it would be dark, and then the Shina aircraft carriers would be able to escape without a trace with their speed under the cover of the night.

"Hasn't the Nagato replied yet?".

Kobayashi Jizao gritted his teeth and turned around to ask the chief of staff and Shiro Kawako. Of course, those two "flat deck" destroyers are not a problem, and if they can fight, Kobayashi is sure that the battle will be resolved in a few minutes, but ...... That would mean the end of imperial Japanese history

At present, Japan has been beaten up by China, which has just been revived, and if you provoke the world's first industrial power, the United States, then China's population, the weapons of the United States, and the powerful navies of the two countries, will be wiped out.

So Kobayashi could only wait, waiting for the results of diplomatic representations. But what favorable outcome can diplomacy negotiate? The current attitude of the United States is clearly inclined to China, otherwise they could have banned Chinese and Japanese ships from passing through the waters near the Philippines. This seems to be the real neutrality, where is the reason to allow the Chinese fleet to pass and the Japanese fleet not to pass? It's such a bully

"Your Excellency, Commander, please refrain from doing so." And Kawakoshiro is also as anxious as Kobayashi, this is the battlefield, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, but it is not like diplomatic negotiations, which can be carried out slowly and leisurely, and when they negotiate, the China aircraft carrier has long been unable to know where to go.

"Qiyu, this is the high seas, we are the Imperial Japanese Navy, we are going to the Sulu Sea to attack the Shina Navy and let them leave." Although he knew that it would not work, Kobayashi could only hold back his resentment, hoping that it would be useful in case it was useful, and begged the Yankees to get out of the way with the flag.

"Report, Japanese ......"

The communications officer's words were not finished, and Major Vincent had already stopped the report, which had been heard for a full two hours, and it was nothing more than that the other party was going to enter the Suluhai Sea to fight, etc.

Still, looking at the Japanese battlecruisers and heavy cruisers on the other side, Major Vincent could still feel his heart beating at a superfast rate. Although I knew that those Japanese should not be able to fire, but ...... It was said that those people were crazy people who could cut their stomachs with knives, and perhaps the commander of the Japanese navy who commanded the fleet was about to go insane.

"It's so unlucky to have such a errand"

Vincent cursed in his heart, complaining about the decision made by the Admiralty, which was simply an act of war against Japan, did these bastards want to involve the United States in a terrible war again? You must know that the country is currently experiencing an economic crisis, and the public is extremely disgusted with war

I hope that the Japanese Admiralty has not lost his irrationality. Major Vincent prayed in his heart before ordering the Japanese to continue to display flags, telling them that this was now the territorial waters of the United States, and that they were not allowed to pass and ask them to leave quickly.

……

Tokyo, Asakusa.

The heart of the Japanese Empire is still covered in silver. This year's weather was surprisingly cold, and at the coldest time, there were even some shallow ice floes in Tokyo Bay. But there is an extraordinary shortage of coal for heating, at least for ordinary citizens. Because a desperate battle was raging in Northeast China, which was originally an important coal supplier, the British and American powers once again imposed a trade embargo on Japan, resulting in a serious shortage of fuel supplies in Japan, and the limited amount of coal had to be supplied to the army, arsenals, heavy industry manufacturers, power plants, and so on. In addition to coal, the supply of food, cloth and other civilian goods has also become tight, and although the British and American embargo does not include civilian goods, Japan's depleting foreign exchange reserves have made it impossible for them to import these civilian goods that have "nothing to do with the war".

In the face of this difficult situation at home, those high-ranking Japanese figures who were still sober-minded had already realized that the war was about to be defeated.

Ugaki Kazunari's car stopped in front of Hamaguchi's mansion, where the former imperial prime minister had hung a banner to pray for the sick. The black-colored flags have the coat of arms of the Hamaguchi family on them, and they sway slightly in the cold wind. In Ugaki Kazunari's eyes, he only felt a little sad. After the secretary opened his car door, Ugaki got out of the car and saw the brand-new Rover Meteor car belonging to Kishigero Bihara parked there. Thinking that the shame of defeat finally fell on his head, Ugaki Kazunari couldn't help but envy Yuyuki Hamaguchi, who was deeply ill.

In the mansion, which is as quiet as a mourning hall, the lower women wearing only socks come and go silently, which adds to the heavy atmosphere here. Under the guidance of Secretary Yuyuki Hamaguchi, Ugaki walked to Hamaguchi's dormitory with his head down.

The door opened, in the dim light. Hamaguchi's thin body was not lying down, and he still did not lose the spirit of a lion prime minister, half-leaning and half-sitting on the tatami mat, but that weak appearance still made people feel that his life had reached its last moment. Kishigero Bihara and Junnosuke Inoue sat on both sides of him, both of them are now in the wild, and they seem to have a lot of complaints about Ugaki's rebellion at the Imperial Council, and they don't stand up to greet Ugaki when they see them coming in, but just bow slightly to show politeness.

"Thank you for coming to visit me, Ugaki-kun...... Japan's future is up to you. ”

"The future of Japan? This burden is too heavy, and it is stormy outside, and even the British and American powers ......"

"What happened to the Anglo-American powers?" At this time, Kishigero Bihara suddenly "interjected" a sentence, he is a representative figure of the pro-British and American faction in Japan's high-level, and he has always advocated coordination with Britain and the United States, and during this period of time, he even called in the parliament to unite Britain and the United States to contain China.

Ugaki Kazunari shook his head and smiled bitterly, walked to the opposite side of Kishigero Bihara and knelt down and sat down: "Britain is okay, agreeing to support the peace conditions proposed by the Empire, and is also willing to help the Empire issue a public bond in London. However, the attitude of the United States is very worrying, and they seem to be single-mindedly in supporting China, and today they have put the aircraft carriers of the China Navy into the Sulu Sea, but at the same time prevent the entry of Imperial warships. Looks...... It's hard to have a decent ending to this battle. After saying this, he turned his attention to Hamaguchi Yuyuki for help.

"Do you think Britain will genuinely support your proposed terms of peace?" Hamaguchi Yuyuki raised his head and glanced at Ugaki:

"Britain today is no longer the empire on which the sun never sets more than 20 years ago, and the world war has already scared it and impoverished it. They will now only appease the strong at the expense of the weak, in exchange for the continuation of an increasingly aging empire. If the Empire had won the Manchurian War, won the War in the Taiwan Strait, and maintained its position as the great power in Asia, the British Empire would have sacrificed the interests of China to meet our expansion needs...... However, we have failed, and if we fail, we can only compromise in exchange for time and opportunity to make a comeback. Only if we make concessions and compromises in China, will Britain support us and give us another chance to rise. Because they need us to limit the expansion of China, but we also need to be able to accomplish this mission so that they can invest. ”

"If the United States can also ......" Kazunari Ugaki couldn't figure out how Britain and the United States could have differences over China. Aren't they all white devils? Don't they all have colonies in Asia? Is the United States willing to see a strong China to shake up white domination of the world?

"No ifs," Kishigero Bihara said in a deep voice, "The attitude of the United States is already obvious, and this time they are still supporting China." ”

"Aren't they worried that the rise of China will threaten the interests of the United States?" Ugaki still doesn't give up.

"The rise of China is for the Empire." Junnosuke Inoue, the former prime minister of the Treasures on the side, took over the topic and smiled bitterly:

"At present, although China's industry and economy have undergone a round of rapid development, they are only on a par with the empire, whether it is steel, electricity, coal, or oil, I don't know how many times worse than the United States. Moreover, with the threat of the Soviet Union to the north of China, the containment of the empire at sea, and the cancer of GCISM to be eliminated internally, where will they have the spare strength to threaten the interests of the United States until these problems are resolved? At best, it would shake the crumbling edifice of the British Empire. ”

"But give up Taiwan......" Ugaki Kazunari also knew in his heart that this was inevitable, and he was also very aware of the consequences of ceding Taiwan.

"Only after the empire gives up Taiwan will Britain really support us." Kishigero Bihara is a rare Anglo-American expert in Japan, and his grasp of the British mentality is still very good, he explained: "The purpose of Britain's support for Japan was to contain China, so the more the relationship between Japan and China deteriorated, the more reassuring they became, because they were also worried that the empire would turn to the South Seas after the failure of continental expansion, thus threatening British interests." ”

"Taiwan is the throat of the empire going south, if Taiwan is in the hands of the empire, the empire can go south, and the Japanese branch still has the possibility of going south hand in hand, but if Taiwan is seized by China, then the empire will have no channel to go south, and there will be a mortal enemy between the Japanese and the Chinese. In this way, if the empire wants to go south, it will not be able to cross Taiwan controlled by China, and if China wants to go south, it will face a war of revenge from the empire. The two countries of Japan and China contain each other, blocking each other's way south, and if China wants to expand, it can only choose to go north."

"These white devils are really cunning," Ugaki sighed with emotion, and asked again: "Can the empire still be able to strike between Britain and the Soviet Union?" ”

Kishigero Bihara thought for a moment and nodded heavily: "Yes, Soviet-Japanese cooperation can also be regarded as a necessary measure to curb the southward movement of China." At the same time, however, the Empire was unable to maintain a strong army to show that it had no ambitions for the East Asian continent. Because Britain did not want to see the Reich and the Soviet Union caught between China. ”

Ugaki sighed softly, it seemed that although this Soviet-Japanese alliance was mostly useless, it could be used to appease those radical-minded army generals. Let them believe that the empire is lying on their back, in order to regain the lost Taiwan in the future.

"Then what if the empire does not sign a contract with China and does not recognize the cession of Taiwan and Penghu? Will Britain still support us? ”。 Ugaki asked again.

Bihara sighed, he knew that Ugaki Kazunari was determined to end this catastrophic war, but he would never dare to sign a contract to lose power and humiliate the country. He thought for a moment and said, "Then let's sign an armistice." It is stated in the armistice agreement that the Taiwan issue can be resolved slowly through negotiation and consultation, so as to leave a mouth to appease those patriots. ”

……

Tokyo, Miyakezaka, Army Ministry Building.

"Taiwan cannot be abandoned"

"Troops cannot be withdrawn from Manchuria"

"This is a betrayal, a betrayal of the soldiers on the front line"

"The empire has not yet failed, and the imperial army has not yet failed"

"We can fight again"

"Kill them, kill these old and incompetent national thieves"

I don't know what leaked the news, but the indignant youths of the War Ministry suddenly heard the news that Japan was about to abandon Taiwan and withdraw its troops from Manchuria.

The car of Japan's Prime Minister and Minister of War Kazunari Ugaki had just stopped in front of the Ministry of War building. Ugaki Kazunari's stocky body came out of the car, and he looked tired, and he just staggered up the steps. The officers in the hall surrounded them with a cheer.

"Your Excellency, you won't really give up on Taiwan, will you?"

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency, the army can still fight, half of Manchuria is still in the hands of the empire, you can't just give it up"

"Your Excellency, the blood of the soldiers of the Imperial Army cannot be shed in vain"

Ugaki Kazunari stopped, looking at this group of army officers who were about to burst out and hurt people, and barely squeezed out a smile: "Everyone, please rest assured, as long as I am still the prime minister and the minister of the army, the empire will not give up." ”

The officers around did not hear what Ugaki said, and they cheered one after another, and one by one respectfully saluted Ugaki Kazunari, and the director of the Military Affairs Bureau, Nagata Tieshan, separated the crowd and walked in front of Ugaki: "Your Excellency, Taiwan is the lifeline of the empire to the south, and it must not be lost, and if it is not possible, it can also be exchanged for Manchurian territory, including Jilin Province and Liaoning Province, which can be given to the Kuomintang." ”

Ugaki Kazunari hummed lightly, a trace of hesitation slipped in his eyes, the Nagata Iron Mountain's command faction is extremely powerful in the army, and it is the two major factions in the army alongside the imperial road faction. Now Ugaki Kazunari advocates returning the command power to the cabinet, which has been regarded as a thorn in the side of the imperial faction, and if he offends the unification faction again, it is not whether the prime minister has done it or not, and there is still a question of whether there is a "sex" life.

"Of course, Taiwan will never give up." Ugaki Kazunari smiled boldly: "Nagata-kun, you come with me, tell me what you think, what methods we can use to keep Taiwan from losing." ”

Saying that, Ugaki Kazutsu took Nagata Tetsuyama's arm and went up to the third floor and entered the office of the Minister of War. As soon as he entered the office, Nagata Tetsuyama didn't care about etiquette and hurriedly asked, "Your Excellency, has the navy suffered a big loss?" ”

Ugaki Yicheng's expression was grim, and he waved his hand to let the adjutant and secretary retreat to the door, and then said in a deep voice: "There is no way, the United States is supporting China, they put the China aircraft carrier into the Sulu Sea, and they don't let us chase it, the China aircraft carrier should have escaped, and now the combined fleet is ready to return." ”

607 Conciliationism III: Anglo-American appeasement

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