Ask for tickets

Tokyo, Japan, Akasaka Imperial Palace

"I can't fight anymore...... The Far Eastern Army is no longer capable of fighting! To the north of Xin'an Tu, millions of refugees retreated north in panic, blocking the roads, making it impossible for the four divisions of the Far Eastern Army to retreat as planned, and the main forces of the 19th Division and the 20th Division behind the palace have been exhausted. At noon today, a telegram was sent to burn the military flag, and it was already difficult to hold out for more than two hours! The situation of the North Korean army is also grim, the 4th Division of the 1st Division was divided and surrounded by three times the Chinese Army in the Phoenix Mountains, the headquarters of the 1st Division and the regiment were no longer able to contact, and the 4th Division also reported that the military flag was burned, and it was a matter of the past two days that all the gods became gods! Moreover, the domestic material reserves are also in an emergency, especially the grain, steel, and coal mine reserves are unsustainable, and the foreign exchange reserves are about to be exhausted, and the civilian commercial activities have long been stagnant because of the dilapidated war in China and the requisition of a large number of commercial ships by the army and navy, and military production will soon shrink because of the lack of raw materials...... Your Royal Highness, this war can no longer be sustained! The Empire must seek peace......""""UpdateFastest full-text hand-hit

At a special meeting of the base camp held in the Akasaka Imperial Palace, Tanaka Yoshiichi elaborated on the impending collapse of the situation, and finally gritted his teeth and once again proposed a proposal for peace

Hearing Tanaka's last words, Emperor Hirohito seemed to be stimulated by something, his face turned pale, and his eyes turned cold at Tanaka and said in a deep voice: "The Imperial Kingdom has already made a request for peace, and now it is the peace sincerity of the Imperial Kingdom that has repeatedly rejected it!" So there is no way out for the whole imperial kingdom! We must fight with all our strength, the imperial kingdom has reached the juncture of the final decisive battle, take a step back, and the entire imperial kingdom will be shattered! """ latest chapter

The corners of Tanaka's mouth twitched slightly, bowed deeply to Hirohito's throne, and said in an almost pleading tone: "Your Highness, it is not impossible for Shina to propose certain conditions for peace talks...... For example, the return of Taiwan and the compensation of $200 million in military spending...... Taiwan was originally seized by the empire from China, and it is only 30,000 square kilometers, which cannot be compared with 200,000 square kilometers of Korea and 300,000 square kilometers of the Far East coast, and as for the 200 million US dollars, the British government has expressed its willingness to help raise loans......"

"There seems to be another condition for China!" Hirohito interrupted sharply

"This ...... Weichen can personally go to the branch to apologize, even if it is a minister, there is no problem, and he will definitely not let His Highness take responsibility."

"What if you don't accept it?" Prince Zaihito of the Imperial Palace of the Idle Yuan loudly questioned this prince marshal who is known as the king's herald in history, has always been a die-hard supporter of Hirohito, has long held the post of chief of the army staff headquarters in history, and is now the most fierce main battle faction around Hirohito

Tanaka Yoshiichi lowered his head with a wry smile when Jae-in asked this, the current situation is much more severe than when China first put forward these three demands! Even if Japan accepts all three conditions, China is likely to make even more stringent demands! If Japan still wants to bargain over these three conditions, China will probably not accept it, and what will Japan do then? There is no bottom in the center of the field at all

When Tanaka didn't speak, Hirohito's voice became a little colder, "Tanaka Qing, the foundation of diplomacy is strength!" Decent peace is based on military parity, and the current imperial army on the battlefield is not able to win any decent peace for the empire! So now there is no need to think about peace, but think more about how to reverse the unfavorable situation! What do you have in this regard? ”

"Wechen can't do anything," Yoshiichi Tanaka sighed bitterly, "I implore His Highness to agree to Wetomitomi's resignation as Prime Minister of the Cabinet and Minister of War"

"No!" Hirohito said in a deep voice, "Now is not the time to change the cabinet, if Tanaka Qing feels incompetent, he can resign from the post of Minister of War," he pointed to Prince Zaihito of Kanin Palace, and said, "You can be appointed Chief of Staff of the Army by Kanin Palace, and Tian Zhongguo, the former Chief of Staff, can be reappointed as Minister of War. ”

Tanaka Yoshiichi and Tian Zhonghua took a look at each other, it really doesn't fit the system, but now it's a non-tide period, so I can't take care of it so much, anyway, the errand of the chief of staff of the army is also hot, and the Xianyuan Palace wants to be given to him Thinking of this, the two of them said in unison: "The ministers have no objections"

When the two surnamed Tanaka finally got acquainted, Hirohito's face had relaxed, and his imperial throne was temporarily thin! At that moment, he nodded heavily, and said loudly: "Zhongqing, now our empire is facing unprecedented difficulties in decades, and hundreds of thousands of army troops have suffered unprecedented defeats in the Far East Manchurian battlefield!" This is the greatest shame of the empire since the Restoration! It was the Army that lived up to the expectations of His Majesty and the people! It was the Army that delayed the implementation of the Imperial Continental Policy! Now the army must make a decisive attack to the heart of China with the greatest determination of sacrifice, survive the death, fight hard, and save the national fortunes of the empire! ”

Originally, Hirohito was not enthusiastic about the Shanghu War, thinking that it was a stupid move to disperse the use of troops, but now the situation in the Far East Manchurian and Korean battlefields has reached the point of no return, even if the last three divisions are put into it, it will be useless, and the only chance to turn the tide of the war is the Shanghu War! However, after the Chinese side put forward three conditions for peace talks, Tanaka's cabinet and the base camp hesitated on the question of whether or not to carry out the war in Shanghu, and their British and American powers would turn Japan's move to carry out the war in Huhu as ironclad proof that Japan was bent on expanding the war and had no sincerity for peace! In the next step, Britain and the United States are likely to force Japan back to the negotiating table by sanctioning Japan

There was silence in the conference room, Tanaka Yoshiichi and Tian Zhonghua did not speak, and now there are only two ways in front of the Japanese Empire, one is to seek peace with China; Since Hirohito is unwilling to sue for peace, the only thing left is to resolutely implement the Shanghu War in disregard of the attitude of the British and American powers, and I hope that this Shanghu War can achieve the desired success

Xianyuan Gong Zairen was in high spirits, and said loudly: "The rise and fall of the imperial country, all the army and navy officers and men in this battle will work hard to fight bravely, show our country's prestige, and force the landing in China!" Now, on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor, I would like to ask His Royal Highness the Emperor to issue an edict ordering the army and navy to carry out the Shanghu War! ”

Hearing this, the Japanese civil and military bureaucrats in the room were all stunned, and the Japanese emperor issued an edict to command the troops, and such a thing has not happened since the establishment of the armed forces! Now Emperor Hirohito wants to take advantage of the opportunity of the Shanghu War to implement the emperor's direct command of the army and navy

(According to the constitution of Japan at that time, the army and navy were not under the command of the cabinet, but under the direct control of the emperor, but in fact, the command of the army and navy was in the hands of the cabinet during the Meiji and Taisho dynasties, and it was not seized by Emperor Hirohito until the Showa era.)

But surprised, surprised, no one in the house of old foxes opened their mouths to oppose the battle, and it was like this, this command is almost a hot potato, Hirohito can take it if he wants, Hirohito to everyone, nodding with satisfaction, and standing up from the throne and walking a few steps, "The edict of the Hu War, and then it will be sent to the base camp and other solid hearts for the country, and His Majesty the Emperor will also be able to Jiana!" This battle is related to the fortunes of the imperial country, and Wang'er and other secretaries should act cautiously and not live up to His Majesty's high hopes! ”

……

Evening of 7/6/92

In the East China Sea near Okinawa, a huge fleet flying the flag of the rising sun is sailing mightily on the sea

Two Nagato-class battleships, two Fuso-class battleships, two Ise-class battleships, two Kawachi-class battleships, one Tsukuba-class battlecruiser and two Kurama-class battlecruisers, as well as six first-class coastal defense ships, thirteen light cruisers and twenty-four destroyers, and the only aircraft carrier of the Japanese Navy, the Hosho

Fifty-four warships, as well as more than forty troop carriers, transport ships, coal carriers, hospital ships, and oil tankers, the billowing smoke almost obscured the sky, and the officers and men of the Japanese Navy and Army on deck were excited, plus the four Kongo-class battle cruisers and six destroyers escorting them through the Tsushima Strait for the whole day

With the exception of a few Satsuma-class Katori-class and Shikishima-class battleships waiting to be dismantled, this combined fleet was almost all sorted, and many people even doubted that such a huge fleet would have scared the chairman of the Shina Committee in Nanjing, and if this fleet had been dispatched earlier, the war would have been won!

However, in the flagship Nagato, Vice Admiral Isamu Takeshita, commander of the Combined Fleet, and Vice Admiral Shoroku Suzuki, commander of the Third Army of the Japanese Army, were not as optimistic as the officers and men under them, and they were even a little apprehensive as they stood in front of Hang

Yes, very unsettling

And the two lieutenant generals are still uneasy for two different reasons! What made Vice Admiral Takeshita uneasy were the two E-class submarines of the Chinese! The commander of the Japanese Navy's Combined Fleet, who commanded a huge formation of hundreds of ships, including battleships and battle cruisers, was actually uneasy because of the mere two Chinese submarines! If such a thing is known to the master in the Akasaka Palace, I wonder if he will be mad?

However, Vice Admiral Isamu Takeshita knew that his seemingly powerful, but in fact non-Chenda naval fleet, had a fatal weakness: its anti-submarine capability was extremely weak! There is not a single active sonar in the entire Combined Fleet! The only way to determine the exact location of an enemy submarine is to rely on the two eyes of the lookout, if it is in a clear sea area with good visibility, it can barely be dealt with by relying on the two eyes of the sailor, but in the East China Sea, where the water is turbid, and it is a dark night...... How can more than 100 of his ships look like floating targets

Of course, according to reliable intelligence, it is impossible for the Chinese army's submarines to completely annihilate more than 100 ships on their side with only two submarines, but it will not be without results! For more than a month, those two damned submarines have made frequent sorties in the waters around the Ryukyu Islands, sinking and damaging no less than 20 Japanese ships! And they themselves were unscathed! So this time, these two Chinese submarines will definitely launch a sneak attack, maybe they are now ambushing in the area of Hangzhou Bay at the mouth of the Yangtze River and waiting for their fleet to collide with it!

What's worse is that this battle will definitely not end in a day or two, and the entire fleet will be in the waters near Shanghai for a long time, and every night, the submarines of the Chinese army will definitely come to find trouble!

This is no joke, every night 6 torpedoes are fired at their own fleet! God knows what they're going to hit? If the Nagato and Mutsu were to sink in the East China Sea with a few torpedoes, then he, the commander of the Combined Fleet, would have done it

If the commander of the Combined Fleet of the Navy, who has absolute superiority in strength and firepower, has reason to be uneasy, then Vice Admiral Shoroku Suzuki, commander of the Third Army of the Japanese Army, who is clearly going to die, has no reason to put down his heart at the mention of his throat

Speaking from the heart, the Japanese Army's performance in this war made him, a vice admiral, ashamed of himself, and looked at those admirals with contempt or sympathy, and Vice Admiral Suzuki was eager to plunge into the sea to feed the fish

But he can't die yet, because there is still a losing battle waiting for him in Shanghai!

"Takeshita-kun, has the location of the landing been finalized?" Suzuki Shoroku turned around and asked Takeshita Yong According to the instructions of the base camp, this Shanghu battle is mainly based on the navy, and the landing plan is also formulated by the navy's combined fleet, and the navy has formulated a total of three plans, namely: first, choose a suitable place to land at the mouth of the Yangtze River; 2. Choose an appropriate location to land in Hangzhou Bay; Third, to choose a landing site near Ningbo, Zhejiang, as for where the army would finally go ashore, it was up to Vice Admiral Isamu Takeshita to make the final decision

"Not yet...... It's not easy to do, Suzuki-kun, do you know that landing warfare has always been the most difficult offensive project for the Navy?"

"Where is it so hard?" Suzuki Soroku sneered: "During the Sino-Japanese War, the imperial army easily landed in Dalian Bay and Rongcheng Bay, and now the strength of the navy is dozens of times stronger than then, how did the landing battle become the most difficult offensive project?" ”

"There was no Chang Ruiqing back then," Takeshita Yong knocked lightly, and Hang sighed, "During the Sino-Japanese War, the Imperial Army was invincible, and it was no problem to find a place to go ashore, but now it doesn't work...... The purpose of the battle was no longer to defeat China, but to force peace with China, and the best way to achieve such a goal was to bombard the city of Shangbox, the economic center of China, with the large caliber naval guns of the navy, but ......"

"But what?" Suzuki Shoroku waved his hand impatiently and said in a deep voice, "Since you know what the best way is, what is there to hesitate about?" ”

"But that means the Marines and the Third Army must land at Haikou, the most heavily defended city in China!" Takeshita Yong knocked on the mouth of the Yangtze River on Hangzhou and said

"Is it well defended there? I don't have anything," said Suzuki Shoroku, who poked his finger at Hang, "The entire Yangtze River estuary seems to be unfortified, and there are no forts near the coast, but two forts have been built at the entrance of the Huangpu River, and I can completely allow the army to land in the Pudong area, seize the Gaoqiao Fort from behind, and then bombard the Wusongkou Fort with the cannons of the Gaoqiao Fort."

"Suzuki-kun, please don't use the standards of the army to land and fight, although the terrain around Shanghai is flat, but there are not many places suitable for landing, because those flat coastlines are made of silt and sand, and the seaside is full of mud ponds, and it is ten or twenty kilometers wide at low tide, which is not passable at all, and the water is not deep at high tide, and large ships cannot get close to small troops, maybe they can go up, but considering the combat effectiveness of the China Army, it is a meaningless suicide for a small group of troops to land!"

"This operation is suicide for the Third Army," Suzuki muttered nonchalantly

Isamu Takeshita said, "Then you have to die worthwhile!" He pointed to the port of Gaoqiao in Hangzhou: "Although the coastline around Shanghai is very long, there are almost no large ports...... It is impossible for a large force of three divisions plus 5,000 marines to supply through the muddy beach of Guò, so it is necessary to seize the port at the mouth of the Yangtze River, except for the port in the Huangpu River, there is only Gaoqiao Port Baoshan Port, Baoshan Port is not up to Baoshan Port, Gaoqiao Port is under the muzzle of the Gaoqiao Fortress of the China Army, and it is not far from the Wusongkou Fort"

"Then the Takahashi Fort must be destroyed! The Navy dispatched 5 battleships and battle cruisers, and it should be no problem to destroy a fortress, right? ”

"It's not easy," Takeshita shook his head with a wry smile, "Takahashi Port is more than 0 kilometers away from the mouth of the Yangtze River, and the battleship's main guns can't reach it at all."

"Then let's go in and fight!" Suzuki Shoroku stomped his foot, "The war has been fought like this, our army is almost exhausted, and your navy should stop treating battleships as treasures!" If the war is lost, the empire is finished! What is the use of so many battleships and battlecruisers? ”

Isamu Takeshita said: "It's not that I'm reluctant to battleships, but I've brought five old capital ships and six first-class coastal defense ships with me this time, which are ready to be thrown in Shanghai!" As long as you can rush into the mouth of the Yangtze River, find a place to run aground and use it as a land battery! But now the problem is that the people of China have blocked the main channel of the Yangtze River estuary with shipwrecks and mines! We must first salvage the wreck and remove the mines before we can enter the mouth of the Yangtze River."

"Then hurry up and salvage it!" Suzuki's voice was gloomy, "The empire is about to lose the war, and now there is nothing that cannot be sacrificed!" The 80,000 soldiers of our Third Army are ready to crush all the jade into the upper core! Please let the Navy do the same! ”

Isamu Takeshita was silent for a long time, and finally nodded with difficulty, "I understand!" Then the location of the first landing battle will be determined on Hengsha Island and Chongming Island at the entrance of the Yangtze River! Please get ready in 4 hours! The specific landing plan will soon be delivered to Suzuki-kun! He gritted his teeth and said, "The navy will run two first-class coastal defense ships aground on the beachheads of Hengsha Island and Chongming Island to provide fire support for the army!" (To be continued.)