As the sun set, Marine Corps Commander Major General Thomas Holcomb set aboard a Higgins landing craft to Kwajalein Atoll, the main island of the Marshall Islands. At this time, the battle was all over, and in addition to the sea fish killed by naval guns, the corpses scattered all over the ground, and the ships transporting supplies, there were also some anchored M2 medium combat vehicles and LVT-1 Alligator tracked landing vehicles -- this was the major general's strong request to equip the marines to participate in this experimental landing operation. A few of them did break down, but a few of them were burning, and the black smoke was blown away by the sea breeze of the habit, and the mist dispersed throughout the messy landing field.

"It's terrible...... Colonel Holland Smith, the former Marine Corps Headquarters Operations and Training Commander and now the commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, complained to Major General Holcomb that the Marine Operations Commander, known as the Crazy Howling Man, had howled countless times in the morning and noon, but he still howled when he saw the commander.

"The one-point, four-and-five-inch cannon on the chariot is too small......," the maniacal howler was the first to complain about the chariot. In fact, when the navy and air force have a strong advantage, the Higgins landing craft is also performing normally, and only the combat vehicle can complain. "It was powerless against the makeshift fortifications built by the Japanese, and they even blew up six of them." The crazy howler paused, an indescribable worry flashed in his eyes, and then continued: "If those **** people in Washington want to use the previous stockpiles to win this war, then to hell with them!" ”

"Holland...... everything is not going to be okay!" Major General Holcomb caught the easily agitated subordinate, and he knew that this kid from Alabama was a good officer who did his job. The question he asked had been raised in previous training - the caliber of the gun on the M2 tank was too small. It was impossible to effectively destroy the enemy's beachhead improvised fortifications during the landing operation, which greatly increased the time and casualties of the beach; Meantime. The light-colored khaki uniforms and 1917 steel helmets used in the last war do not cover the soldiers well on the beachhead, but rather highlight them. Be a good target for the enemy;

To make matters worse, the soldiers were still using the Springfield M1903 (Springfield) rifle from the previous war, as well as the M1918 Browning automatic rifle. The former has excellent performance, but compared with the modification of the Jimmu Type 23 semi-automatic rifle and the Showa 4 semi-automatic rifle equipped by the Japanese, there is a gap in the rate of fire; Although the Browning automatic rifle can make up for the firepower, this gun weighs 16 pounds (7.25 kg), and it is not suitable to control the accuracy when firing in bursts, and it is also less equipped, which is a drop in the bucket for actual combat. The M1919A6 7.62mm light machine guns and the Maxim water-cooled heavy machine guns, which were the most commonly used in the last world war, really added firepower, but they were just too heavy. Landing tends to be the last place. It was also difficult to move, and the Japanese mortars and grenadiers found the right machine gun positions to hit, and once they lost heavy fire, the results were catastrophic.

The problem has been there for a long time, and it has been fed back many times, but Maj. Gen. Holcombe, as the commander of the Marine Corps, knows that the bureaucrats in Washington do not value the Marine Corps. The M1 Garand rifle, which is not inferior to the Japanese semi-automatic rifle, was finalized and produced last year, but the problem is that this rifle must first be equipped with the army before it can be rotated by the Marine Corps. There was also other equipment, and the War Department had always believed that the Marine Corps should be supplied with stockpiles of equipment, so it was all from the last war. Even the helmet was from twenty years ago.

The Marine Corps is a unit that is given 'special' treatment, and in order to gain the support of the Army, the Admiralty has always acquiesced in the Army's contempt for the Marine Corps. Fortunately, the upcoming war is in the vast Pacific Ocean, where there are countless islands that need to be attacked and defended by the Marines. Only a good record can be obtained, and Major General Holkum believes that everything in front of him can be changed.

"Holm, how's it going?" After restoring calm to the subordinate through a trusting gaze. Major General Holcomb began to inquire about the war - before the war, everyone had an inexplicable taboo about the Japanese, and some people said that they had actually been baptized by the devil.

"Very bad. Checkmate. "Colonel Smith has a bit of a hard time to say." The Japanese abandoned the beachhead, or rather, our shelling did not effectively destroy their fortifications. The firepower of the next landing operation will be increased by at least three times. ”

"Yes." The further he went, the more corpses of his own soldiers he saw, some of whom had died entangled with the diminutive Japanese soldiers, and their chests and abdomen were brutally blown apart. "How many casualties have we had?" The Major General asked.

Colonel Smith was silent about his superior's question, and after a while, when his subordinates did not answer, Major General Holcomb had to ask again: "Holm, how many children have we killed or wounded?" Tell me! ”

"Probably ......" The crazy howling man's face was bitter, but in the end he replied, "About a thousand people......" The major general's solemn face was about to return to normal, but the colonel made him extremely dignified, "General, about 1,100 soldiers were killed and 1,600 wounded......"

After a long day of dumbfounding, Major General Holkum was incredulous, "Can ...... But the reconnaissance plane said that there were only more than 2,000 Japanese! ”

"Yes, there were only about 2,000 people, but civilians also participated in the fighting." "They...... They fought tenacious, yes, very tenacious! ”

"And how many Japanese did we capture?" The Major General was silent for a moment before asking. He was supposed to do so after a few days of bombing, and as soon as the Marines landed on the Japanese, they would surrender, and then things could be settled 'peacefully' according to Washington's ideas, not wanting that to be the case at all.

"No prisoners!" Again, Colonel Smith gave an unexpected answer. "Not even civilians, including women and children."

"Why?!" Not even a woman and a child, Holcomb couldn't believe it. As far as he knew, there were several hundred Japanese immigrants on the island.

"The woman killed her own child before committing suicide." Smith endured his nausea and said, "There were some Japanese wounded who were treated by us, but without exception, they killed the medics with hidden grenades or daggers. General, they should be Satan's army! It's the devil from hell! It is the mortal enemy of all Christians!! ”

"Oh. Oh, God! Major General Holkum couldn't help but scratch a cross on his chest. He never expected this to be the case.

"General, I think we should take advantage of the present, while the devils are not prepared. Washington is going to declare war on Japan right away! Smith said his first thought after the war. He thinks that there should be no pretense of searching for and rescuing Miss Emilia, and that war should start immediately.

I sighed unconsciously. Major General Holcombe, who felt very bad, said: "Holm, I will report every word you say to Washington...... but," he shook his head slightly, "However, Washington has its own plan, and there are still many voices in Congress against the war, so this time we can only search for Miss Emilia in the Marshall Islands." ”

Because of the proximity to the International Date Line. Time in the Marshall Islands is three hours ahead of Tokyo. When the Wing Commander of the 30th Wing stationed at Kwajalein Atoll, Makoto Iga, at the last moment of the battle, forwarded a jade farewell telegram sent from a half-good, half-bad radio to Tokyo through Truk, the people of Tokyo who learned the news were all boiling! If it weren't for the nearly 1,000 police officers from the Tokyo National Police Agency who happened to protect the embassy ten minutes ago, the angry crowd would have blown up the building to powder and torn all the rice animals to shreds.

It's really infuriating!

After the disappearance of Earhart, a female pilot in the United States, his partner, Mr. George Bodman, who was waiting for her triumphant return in San Francisco, submitted a search and rescue request to the Japanese Consulate in San Francisco, and then Mr. Hull, the US Secretary of State, also requested assistance in the search and rescue to the Japanese ambassador to the United States, Hiroshi Saito, and the Japanese Navy also planned to send an oceanographic research ship and the seaplane carrier Kamui to assist in the search and rescue.

But suddenly the tone of the Americans changed, not to say that the plane was forced to land in the Marshall Islands. American public opinion also claimed that the beautiful Queen of Flying was shot down by the hated Japanese on the Marshall Islands because of her proximity to the Marshall Islands. Like Charlie Chaplin, the great comedy star who was killed by Japanese soldiers six years ago. Later, the United States formally submitted a request to land on the island to search for the island, but this request was naturally sternly rejected by Tokyo, and then the two sides clashed. And judging from the actions of the U.S. military to seize Kwajalein Atoll as soon as they landed, where is this searching for a female pilot? This is simply aimed at seizing the Marshall Islands!

The whole of Tokyo is filled with people, but the Matsunokaku inside Nijubashi Bridge is as quiet as ice. The Imperial Council was being held, and Prime Minister Takeshi Inukai was bowed, and his eldest son-in-law, Foreign Minister Kenkichi Yoshizawa was flanked by him; The Emperor's side. It is the chief of the Naval Command Department, King Fushimi Miyahiro, the chief of staff of the army, Prince Kanin Miyajihito, and the Duke of Saionji who took the initiative to enter the palace.

The topic of the meeting was very clear, that is, how to deal with the forced landing of the United States in the Marshall Islands. The princes, of course, demanded that the cabinet immediately declare war on rice. However, the Duke of Saionji and Inuyang Yi strongly advocated temporarily backing down and leaving the matter to the League of Nations to investigate and solve. If the United States does not withdraw from the Marshall Islands after the League of Nations investigation, it is not too late to declare war again.

Of course, the military angrily denounced the cabinet's remarks as weak, but the emperor clearly had the emperor in mind -- China's Weng cabinet is preparing to withdraw from the East Asia alliance, and the vote is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Was it to declare war on rice before the vote of the Chinese Prosecutor's Yuan, in order to draw China into war while the treaty of alliance was in force? It is better to take a step back for the time being, and submit the matter to the League of Nations for investigation as Inukai said, and wait for the investigation report to come out before settling it or declaring war. In this way, the China Inspectorate, which does not immediately face a choice, is likely to veto the proposal to withdraw from the East Asian Alliance, wait for the situation to change, and wait for Yang and others to form a cabinet again before declaring war on Mi?

The two choices are one urgent and one slow, but both are full of variables. Yang could indeed be trusted, having long been preparing for war against Mi, but the annoyance was that most of the Kuomintang members on stage were Westernizers who were undermining the sacred East Asian alliance.

Hirohito was weighing these two options, and vaguely, the shouts of the Imperial Empire in Hibiya Park on the edge of the palace demanding that the empire immediately declare war on Mi began to reach the inner court, and the palace secretary Kawai also ran in, holding a bloodstained white cloth in his hand, and the white cloth was full of angry young people's bitten off tail fingers.

"Your Majesty......" Kawai's hands are bloody. At this time, there was chaos outside the double bridge: in addition to biting off their fingers, more than a dozen people were cutting their stomachs in front of the double bridge. If the situation is no longer under control, then once the embassy of the United States and the overseas Chinese in Japan are attacked by the people, the decision to declare war will not be made by Tokyo, and the United States, which is under the pressure of public opinion, will declare war before Japan.

"Your Majesty......" The blood on Kawai's hand was still imprinted in Hirohito's eyes. The squire, the chief Suzuki Tetsutaro, came in through the apse. He glanced at everyone, then bowed to Hirohito and said, "Yang Wuming, the eldest son of the Yang family, has just arrived in Tokyo. I hope Your Majesty summons ......"

"Nani?! Yang Wuming ...... "Hirohito was thinking about why Yang Rui didn't send a telegram, and he didn't want to send his eldest son to come.

"Yes. Your Majesty, he came urgently from Tonghua, just outside the palace. Suzuki Tetsutaro wiped his sweat and said, he also received the news and came in a hurry, Yang Wuming's car was blocked by the angry crowd as soon as it entered the city, and he had to show his identity and let the two policemen take him to the palace on foot.

"Immediately announce Yang to an anonymous audience." Hirohito said a little anxiously, not realizing that Japan's every move at this time would be dependent on people's breath.

Under the gaze of everyone, Yang Wuming, dressed in the uniform of an Air Force major and holding a box of things, appeared in front of the hall. Despite his best restraint, he still limped when he walked. After the routine salute, Yang Wuming took out a letter from his arms. Said: "Your Majesty: My father heard that the US Navy landed in the Marshall Islands today, and he presented a special letter to His Majesty. ”

Yang Wuming didn't say anything, only presented a letter, and under the anxious eyes of everyone, the letter was quickly unfolded by Hirohito. The letter is only two pages, and although it is kanji, Hirohito can understand kanji, not to mention the Chinese language he has already learned.

After reading it in a hurry, Hirohito grabbed the letter in his hand and asked aloud: "Your Cabinet has said that it will vote to withdraw from the East Asia Alliance tomorrow, does Your Excellency the Duke know about this?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty: My father already knew about this. However, it said that it would not interfere in this regard. Yang Rui obviously explained some things before coming, so Yang Wuming answered truthfully, but the answer made the Japanese in the palace dissatisfied.

"Why don't you interfere?" Hirohito laughed angrily, he had long felt that the Kuomintang Weng clan came to power because Yang Rui was deliberately indulgent. This caused the crisis of the dissolution of the alliance today, and he couldn't imagine what Yang Rui was planning in his chest.

"Back to Your Majesty: My father said that my country is late in self-improvement, and Western toxins have infiltrated a lot. And the folk customs are not as good as your country...... Not as good as your country... Wild... Brute," Yang Wuming couldn't help but wipe his sweat. But that's what he said at the time. “…… So lessons are needed. A war in the Pacific will be a great war that will determine the ownership and ultimate fate of world hegemony for hundreds of years to come. This was not a bloody battle for several years without success. If the people are not taught a lesson, our people will be in turmoil during the difficult times after the start of the war, and they will repeat the mistakes of Russia. It is not the work of the nobles to harm their allies and practice themselves in this way. Only when the Chinese people have learned the lesson of blood can they persevere in the most difficult time of the war, can the war be finally won, and the military flags of the three kingdoms can be planted all over the North American continent. ”

The words that the military flag was planted all over the North American continent said that the war faction was full of excitement, but Hirohito, who had read the letter, was not a fool, and he asked: "What if the United States does not heed the advice to withdraw from the Marshall after the investigation of the League of Nations, and Japan and the United States go to war and your country remains the same?" ”

"Your Majesty: My father said that the real purpose of the United States attack this time is to destroy our country, not your country, and your country is only located in the east and suffered on behalf of our country. Our country's dignitaries don't know this reason, but they blindly seek skin with the tiger and beggar-thy-neighbor ......" Yang Wuming said this, wiped his sweat again, and finally said hard: "... So cover your ears and steal the bell,... He's dead... You deserve it! ”

My father also said: He can indeed reverse the current situation, but after careful consideration, he feels that even if he can protect the nation for decades, the road to civilization is long, and who will guard China for hundreds or thousands of years in the future? Character determines the fate of a person, virtue determines the fate of the nation, since the people of our country betray their allies and betray their friends, have no virtue, no righteousness and no faith, then they should be allowed to be destroyed. Otherwise, even if we gain world hegemony, we will not have a bright future, but will invite even greater disasters.

And the war between your country and the United States is inevitable, but sooner or later. This is due to the fact that your country is competing with the United States for sea power in the western Pacific, but more often than not, it is due to the alliance with our country, so my father promised to ensure that your country will be invincible in this war. ”

"If your country does not declare war on rice, and not a ton of oil or steel is transported into our country, how can Your Excellency the Duke guarantee that our country will not be defeated?" It was King Hirokoshi Fushimi who spoke. Yang Rui's words are indeed frank and respectful, but he would rather bet on the awakening of the Chinese people than stand up to reverse the situation, which makes Fushimi, who is preoccupied with war preparations, very angry. In his opinion, this is already a betrayal. If the Chinese people never come to their senses and never declare war on rice, will Japan, which lacks steel and oil, be quickly defeated by rice and completely enslaved?

"My father said I could use this guarantee!" When he came in, Yang Wuming was holding a box of things, but he didn't hand it over to the waiter.

"What is this?" Hirohito looked at the box of things and couldn't help but ask.

"My father said it was a video tape of a weapon. With this weapon, you can definitely guarantee the invincibility of your country. Yang said namelessly. However, when he handed the film tape to the chamberlain, he added: "Because the matter involved is really important, please ask Your Majesty to watch the movie alone." ”

"Humph!" Fushimi heard that it was a weapon. Naturally, he thought of what Yang Rui avoided answering in the face of Ishihara Wan'er in Tonghua at that time, and at this time, things appeared in front of him, of course he was very curious. Unexpectedly, he couldn't see it, and his beard trembled with anger on the spot.

"Fushimi, don't be rude." Hirohito also knew that China had a secret weapon, and it was because of the secrecy that the Revival Society lost its position as prime minister. People always have selfish intentions, but the words that Yang Wuming relayed just now made him admire Yang Rui. Such a person is the collaborator he hopes for, and only by cooperating with such a person can Japan and China truly share world hegemony, otherwise. What will happen next after the defeat of the United States will be a Japanese-Chinese civil war.

Hirohito got up and led Yang Wuming to the apse, and two hours later he returned to Matsuno Pavilion as usual. At this time, Fushimi and the others were already impatient to wait, and when they saw Hirohito come out, they bowed again and waited for the holy judgment.

"Kawai ......" Hirohito did not speak to anyone else, but only instructed his own secretary general.

"Yes, Your Majesty." It was already dark outside, and poor Kawai was still holding the pile of tail fingers.

"Go out and tell the people, I will personally inform all the people of Marshall's coping strategy at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, so as to appease the hearts of the people of the Empire." Hirohito said that he would tell the people in person. The ministers were a little flustered. If this is the case, it will be the first time that the emperor has broadcast a jade sound, and the previous propaganda to the public said that the emperor is a living god and will not speak.

"Your Majesty. This is a must-do! Fushimi, Xianyuan, and even Inuyang Yi and Xiyuan Temple all blocked together, and Inuyang Yi said: "Your Majesty really has a decision that can be announced by the minister to the people. ”

"The people were so angry that once the Cabinet announced that it had requested the League of Nations to mediate the investigation. Cabinet ministers will be killed by the people. Hirohito insisted. He may have been protecting his ministers, but he had a sense of self-confidence in the world, even if the power of that self-confidence was borrowed from someone else. Seeing that the ministers still want to stop it. Hirohito said again: "I have made up my mind, so step down." ”

The emperor really wants Yuyin to be broadcast. Worried that this move would damage the emperor's prestige, Fushimi and Kanin were so angry that they wanted to glare at Yang Wuming when they found that this guy didn't come out of the apse at all, and finally had to go home in a huff. Although Inuyang Yi and Saionji were also dissatisfied with the emperor standing in the foreground, they were worried that this would damage the prestige of the cabinet, but after all, the emperor chose not to declare war and leave the landing of the United States in Marshall to the mediation of the League of Nations, which is equivalent to saying that peace has been temporarily preserved.

According to the previous practice of the League of Nations investigations, such a major case should be investigated for at least half a year, and if there is any further obstruction, it is likely to take a year. In the past year, there is certainly a possibility that the situation will be reversed -- it is not only China that has Westernized elements, but also Japan's Westernized elements who avoid war and compromise, but these people are hidden deeply and are not on the table.

'The Emperor's Divine Judgment has been issued, and tomorrow Yuyin will be broadcast. Outside Niju Bridge, Hibiya Park, and the streets and alleys of Tokyo ......, the angry crowd was shocked by these two words, but in a hurry, these people jumped and shouted, "The emperor is loaded." I don't know what the final outcome will be, but at least the emperor has heard his voice.

The forced landing of the US Navy in the Marshall Islands was a major event that shocked the world, and the Japanese Government's response was the most critical at this time. Whether there will be a war in the Pacific or not, the outcome will be known early tomorrow morning.

The diplomatic telegraph lines in Tokyo were extremely busy, and one of these telegrams was forwarded to the headquarters of the General Staff in the capital. In the conference room, after learning that the US troops had landed in Marshall at noon, Xu Jingxi was very worried, according to the common theory, Japan could not declare war without China's permission, but what if the little devil wanted to gamble? There is another one: the Japanese people have been educated by the emperor for decades, and this time they were actually knocked on the door, and so many people died, referring to the Hamaguchi cabinet six years ago, if the current cabinet does not declare war, it will definitely be all dead, and if the new cabinet still does not declare war after the death, it will also be all dead, and then it will die until the next ...... Until the Cabinet declared war on the United States.

"It was Mr. who sent Nameless an emergency flight to Tokyo!" Deputy Chief of General Staff Guo Bi whispered in Xu Jingxi's ear, "Otherwise, how could it be sent by Yuyin." ”

"Hmm." The moment he heard the emperor's Yuyin broadcast in the morning, Xu Jingxi sat down. The emperor wanted to come out and speak, obviously because the cabinet could not suppress the array, and the reason why he could not suppress the array was naturally that he would not declare war. He was relieved that Japan did not declare war, and what he feared most was that Japan declared war - everything was not ready.

"What about outside?" Guo Bi looked at the sky-rushing lights outside -- the waiter of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was obviously encouraging the students to continue to make trouble, and Premier Weng Wenhao deduced that he was in the hospital to comfort the students and comfort the deceased, and he had never come to the General Staff Headquarters, which was self-evident.

"What did the gentleman say?" Xu Jingxi asked. Now that the matter in Japan has been resolved, it is obviously difficult for the students gathered outside to solve it.

"Sir's telegram has only three words: non-interference." Guo Bi shook his head - as long as Yang Rui allowed it, even if the Inspectorate did not agree, the military could take over the capital overnight.

"Hey!" Xu Jingxi also shook his head, and then he said: "Since this is the ......, let's transfer an armored regiment into the city." Guo Bi was surprised when he said this, but he explained: "It's not a coup d'état, I want to take all the important documents here." After that, he added: "It's the same whether you shoot or not today, they will always stir up trouble." The aim was to remove me from the post of Chief of the General Staff so that their men could take over. In that case, I will not leave them half a piece of paper. ”

"Is one armored regiment enough?" Thinking about the information of the General Staff, Guo Bi felt that an armored regiment could not be transported away at all, and any piece of information left in the hands of the Americans would have disastrous consequences.

"Now those people must be worried that we will carry out a coup d'état, and the transfer of an armored regiment in the name of protecting the General Staff is the limit. As for the things that can't be taken away, they are all burned! Xu Jingxi sneered, his eyes full of piercing cold. (To be continued.) )