I am Jiang Weiguo in World War II

Page 594

"Damn Yankees!" The two surviving Japanese soldiers looked fiercely at the American armored soldiers who were covered in flames, and did not go up to make a shot or a knife, but let them burn alive, so as to vent their hearts hatred, but just when they saw it deeply relieved, the ground trembled again.

The two Japanese soldiers turned their heads and saw more American tanks approaching.

"Why are there so many Yankee tanks?" The two Japanese soldiers were a little dazed, and then, a tank shell roared over and blasted them to pieces.

Washington, the White House.

President Roosevelt sat in a wheelchair as usual and was pushed into the conference room by the black servant George. More than a dozen senior US military officials were standing and waiting for him.

"Gentlemen, sit down!" Roosevelt looked much better than before, because the situation of the war was improving, "You all already know the theme of today's meeting.

Yes, after the Battle of Guadalcanal, we have finally turned the tide of the war and can fight back against the Japanese, so we must formulate new countermeasures against the Pacific battlefield!"

General Marshall, Army Chief of Staff, said: "Mr. President, you mean..."

Roosevelt smiled subtly: "George, when you were young, you went to China and learned Chinese, right? I believe you know Chinese people better than me.

Our war against Japan cannot bypass China.

To be honest, I admire Jiang Weiguo very much, and I appreciate him very much, but I don't like him. The United States of America and myself are by no means his tools or pawns.

I think we can't let the Chinese continue to sit back and watch us fight the Japanese!"

Chapter 686 The storm continues (6)

The streets of Tokyo are empty.

If you can take a bird’s-eye view of today’s Tokyo in mid-air, you will find that the crowds in Tokyo are swarming like iron filings attracted by magnets. Those “magnets” are all set up by the Ministry of Finance (Ministry of Finance) of the Japanese government. Places similar to registration stations, the people who gathered at these places and flocked to these places formed a long winding queue. The length of the queue even formed several circles around these places, like lollipops Spiral pattern on.

All the staff in the venue were sweating profusely and counting money. People in the queue were all overjoyed and scrambled to hand over the things in their hands, either bankbooks, or stacks, bags, and bags. banknote.

This scene is very weird, the people in line are all elated and beaming, as if these places are not collecting money but distributing money. Outside the place, sun flags are flying everywhere, and a huge map and a huge map are hung high on the ground. The banner on the map is "Great Japan when the great cause is finally completed", that is, "Great Japan" including Japan, the Korean Peninsula, the Ryukyu Islands, the eastern and central parts of North Asia, India, and Oceania. The vast territory, The vastness of the territory fascinates all Japanese who see this map. As for the huge banner, there are thick bold characters on it that can be seen clearly even by highly myopic eyes without glasses:

For the future of Japan!For a better life for future generations!

A small black car was parked near one of these places indistinctly. Apart from the driver, the other two people in the car were attentively looking at the crowd that surrounded the place. One was overjoyed, the other The one who was overjoyed and overjoyed was the Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, and the one who was overjoyed was the Minister of Finance (Minister of Finance) Konobu Kaya.

"Minister Kaya, you really deserve to be a 'master of financial management'! I admire you so much!" Fumimaro Konoe turned his head and looked at Konobu Kaya excitedly, "You are so clever! The enthusiasm of the people I was mobilized by you all at once! Can you tell me how you did it?"

He Wu Xingxuan said proudly: "Your Excellency, please forgive me, you are too kind-hearted, so you act with caution and care about gains and losses. If it is in peacetime, you are of course worthy of praise, but now, it is war. It’s a time! In an extraordinary time, you must use extraordinary means! Last time, I reported to you the financial situation of the empire. Indeed, the situation is not optimistic. It takes time for new land and natural resources to be digested and become a source of wealth for the empire. Because of the huge cost of the war, most of the real wealth flows into China, which makes the financial situation of the imperial government even tighter.

Winning a battle can obtain a huge amount of wealth, but the process of fighting a war needs to consume a lot of wealth. The empire is now in this difficult period.

Both the imperial government and the imperial army need money, but where does the money come from?The treasury is almost empty!However, the government has no money, but the people still have money!Most of the people's savings are spare money, and the people don't really need it.

Within a country, wealth can be divided into two major parts, one is in the hands of the government, and the other is in the hands of the people.

The government has no money and can only borrow money from the people.

Don't underestimate people's savings, there are [-] million people in Japan!Although an ordinary person does not have much savings, if hundreds of millions of ordinary people add up, it will be like gathering sand to form a tower and accumulating water to form an abyss!What's more, the [-] million people in Japan are not all ordinary people with little savings. There are also millions of middle-class people, tens of thousands of wealthy businessmen, and hundreds of consortia who will gather together to form a financial power that is not inferior to or even exceeds the government's treasury. 'Folk Wealth'!What we have to do is to transform 'private wealth' into 'government wealth', so as to solve the immediate urgent needs of the imperial government!"

"Listening to your words is better than reading ten years of books!" Konoe Fumimaro nodded repeatedly.

He Wu Xingxuan became more and more proud. He talked eloquently: "How can the government take the savings of the people as its own? Increasing exorbitant taxes is the most direct way, but the disadvantages are huge, no less than drinking poison to quench thirst and cutting flesh to heal sores. It will even bring about the serious consequences of killing chickens to get eggs and exhausting the river to catch fish. In addition, it will also affect the prestige of the government, hurt the hearts of the people, and hit the people's support for the imperial government and the imperial army. Therefore, the imperial government cannot do that.

The imperial government wanted the people to willingly lend their savings to the government.

How to do it?This requires the formulation of reasonable measures. The imperial government must provide enough benefits as dividends and promises to the people, so that the people are full of confidence and hope, and only then will they willingly hand over their savings to the imperial government.

Look, Prime Minister, the empire is now wide open. In addition to the mainland of the empire, there are also northern states, southern states, India, and Australia that is being seized. What is the most in the hands of the imperial government?It is the land!Therefore, I formulated such a policy, calling on the people to donate generously and support the empire's "Daxing Jihad" (the Japanese high-level officials named the war Japan participated in as "Daxing Jihad", which means "After this holy war, Japan will get The previous prosperity", the original so-called "Great East Asia Jihad" must have been abolished, after all, the "Great East Asia Jihad" also listed China as one of the targets of aggression, and continued use would definitely offend China), and as thanks and rewards, the Empire The government will heavily reward those who lend money to the imperial government at this time after the victory of the jihad.

To put it bluntly, this policy is like this: lending money to the imperial government at this time is equivalent to making an investment. After the empire wins the war, you will get a generous return with interest, and the capital will be returned in installments. Will be rewarded with land in the new territory of the empire.

For example, a Japanese commoner lent his [-] yen savings to the government at this time, and [-] yen can buy almost [-] acres of land in Japan at this time. Then, after the war, the government will lend his savings [-] yen will be returned to him, and he will be given [-] acres of land in the new territory of the empire, a full [-] times the return of land, northern states, southern states, India, Australia, pick whatever you want.

So why aren't people scrambling to lend their savings to the government?At this time, they can spend all their family savings in exchange for a prosperous life in the future, so that their children and future generations can live a good life!You know, these are just ordinary civilians, and those wealthy business consortiums are even more eager. They invest more, and the returns are naturally more generous.

For example, Mitsubishi Corporation has lent 3000 million yen to the government. After the war, Mitsubishi Corporation can obtain a full 180 million mu of land in the new territory of the empire! 180 million mu!And the underground resources of the allocated land also belong to Mitsubishi Corporation.

With such a lucrative prospect, why don't those wealthy business consortiums flock to it?Because for them, they are seizing business opportunities!After the war is over, the empire will inevitably enter a period of comprehensive development, construction, and development, and there will inevitably be wealth and business opportunities everywhere!They are the first to "book" future financial resources and business opportunities right now, so they will naturally get the biggest cake after the war, right? "

"That's brilliant!" Konoe Fumimaro was full of praise, "In this way, a large amount of private wealth will be transferred to the government, and the financial crisis of the empire will be greatly alleviated! Mr. Kaya, you really deserve to be 'Financial master'! I admire you so much!"

Kaya Xingxuan was flattered by Konoe Fumimaro's compliment.

Konoe Fumimaro was very excited, but he immediately thought of a "small problem". After hesitating for a while, he looked around first, and then lowered his voice: "Mr. It is full of high confidence, the empire will definitely win the final victory, but... just..." He hesitated, "If... I mean just in case, just in case... the empire does not win the final victory, when the time comes, what will the imperial government do? Return the money to the people? How can the land be returned to the people?"

Konobu Kaya looked at Fummako Konoe in surprise, and then laughed out loud, as if Fummako Konoe was asking a mentally handicapped question.

"Master Prime Minister, you are too humorous!" He Ya Xingxuan laughed so hard that he almost leaned forward.

Konoe Fumimaro was a little anxious: "He Ya-kun, why did you say that?"

Konobu Kaya managed to hold back his laughter, put his mouth in Konoe Fumimaro's ear and said, "If the empire really loses this war, then the imperial government must have gone bankrupt by then, and Japan's political situation will inevitably be turned upside down." Changes, the old government will collapse, and the new government will replace the old government. The money and land owed by the old government to the people will naturally be out of the question and written off. Even the current legal currency, the yen, will become waste paper, so many Bad debts, who else can I ask for? The creditors don't exist anymore!"

Konoe Fumimaro was stunned for a moment.

He Wu Xingxuan's new financial policy is as follows: Zhang San intends to rob the bank. In order to make sufficient preparations, Zhang San borrows a lot of money from Li Si and promises to share half of the robbery proceeds with Li Si after the robbery is successful. After getting the money, if Zhang San succeeds in robbing, everyone will be happy. Zhang San and Li Si have made money. If Zhang San fails to rob, he is already dead. Naturally, there is no way to talk about the money he owes to Li Si. How can Li Si collect debts from the dead?I can only admit that I am unlucky.

Zhang San is the Japanese government and the Japanese army; Li Si is the Japanese people.

In order to maintain the war, the Japanese government tightened their belts, and the Japanese people also tightened their belts.

It is certain that when Japan was defeated, not only the Japanese government lost everything, but the Japanese people also went bankrupt.

The country and the people are impoverished.

Relying on this method of squeezing the people in disguise, the Japanese government still maintains a huge trade with China, and at the same time, the wealth accumulated by the Japanese government from Japan and the wealth looted by the Japanese army from outside Japan continue to flow into China.

On the waves of the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea, there is an endless stream of merchant ships from China and Japan, which are even more busy than the Sino-German trains on the North Asian Railway Network. A large amount of industrial raw materials and strategic materials are imported from China to Japan. The wealth from Japan flows into China, and in the South China Sea, the scene is the same, except that more transport ships than merchant ships sail on the sea, and more arms are used instead of industrial raw materials and strategic materials.

In Darwin Port, teams of Chinese Navy transport ships slowly entered and left the port. The ships carried the No. 34 tanks, T-[-] tanks and Iron Fist anti-tank rocket launchers that the Japanese army most needed. The Japanese military personnel waiting on the land in the port to receive the arms could not wait. They urgently needed these weapons to fight the increasing number of American tanks on the Australian battlefield.

当近卫文麿看着哗啦啦犹如流水般的开销账单为之焦头烂额时，蒋纬国则在数钱数得不亦乐乎：“1000万美元、2000万美元、3000万美元、4000万美元、5000万美元…”

Outside Meiling City, there are huge crowds of people.

Black people, like a black tide, blocked the main entrances and exits of Meiling City, shouting outrageously, "Protest against racial discrimination", "We want independence", "Africa belongs to Africans", "White and yellow people go away!" Out of our Africa" ​​"We want to get the treatment and rights we deserve" "Immediately abolish the 'apartheid system' and other unfair laws" slogans.

At the entrance and exit of the city, armed soldiers and armed police were standing in front of them. Behind the soldiers and police, the Chinese mainland residents who immigrated here and the original white people in southern Africa (mainly Dutch and British descendants) watched this scene nervously. .

At the same time, Caiyu Port (formerly known as Port Elizabeth) at the southernmost tip of Africa was renamed "Caiyu Port" by Jiang Weiguo after the Nanjing Army occupied it.

Jiang Weiguo’s move was to commemorate his grandmother, and at the same time to “flatter the old man”), more than a dozen transport ships slowly docked, and a group of heavily armed, white-skinned and blue-eyed men walked off the ship in an orderly manner. soldiers.

"Sometimes it's freezing in North Asia, and the next moment it's freezing hot in South Africa!" Cheng Kang, the general adviser of the Yellow Russian Army, looked at the African continent in front of him and couldn't help shaking his head and smiling wryly.

The White House, the office of President Roosevelt.

In this not-so-big room, there are seven high-level American people. In addition to Roosevelt himself, there are also Vice President Henry Agard Wallace, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Admiral George Cartlett Marshall, Navy Secretary and Commander-in-Chief of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Ernest Joseph King (former Secretary of the Navy, Admiral Harold Stark, was dismissed because of the surprise attack on Hawaii), Secretary of War Henry Lewis Stimson, and Roosevelt's Personal consultant Harry Lloyd Hopkins, and Albert Wedemeyer, who has repeatedly made secret missions to China.

Roosevelt gathered these confidantes and the core figures of American decision-makers in his office, and naturally he wanted to discuss major issues and make major decisions with them.

"Gentlemen!" Roosevelt looked very good, "Thanks to General Nimitz and his brave men for their bloody battles. We have survived the most difficult period on the Pacific battlefield. If you fail completely, then the US-Australia sea transport line will be completely cut off, and the entire Oceania will fall. General MacArthur may have to take his subordinates for a "second retreat", and they can only retreat to the country. We barely had a foothold in the Pacific, but luckily we won that crucial battle.

Right now, although we are not yet able to counterattack the Japanese on a large scale on the Pacific battlefield, we have indeed gotten rid of the situation of being completely suppressed by the Japanese.

On the Australian battlefield, the Allied forces are vigorously counterattacking the Japanese army. Melbourne is already at ease, and Canberra is about to be recovered. General MacArthur has begun to formulate a battle plan to recover Sydney after the recovery of Canberra. Landed on Guadalcanal for the first time in an attempt to retake this crucial island, but were repelled by the US Marines on the island. It is said that the casualties of the Japanese army have exceeded 5000, although our fleet was captured by the Japanese fleet at sea It was hit hard a few times, but General Nimitz assured me that Guadalcanal Island will be firmly in our hands. With Guadalcanal Island, the US-Australia maritime transportation line can be guaranteed, and General MacArthur can keep Australia.

Gentlemen, we have every right to rejoice that we have turned the tide of the war in the Pacific! "

Wallace and others all showed joy, but there were also a few people who were unmoved.

Admiral Jin hesitated for a moment, and said: "I'm sorry, Mr. President, although I'm a bit presumptuous, I have to report to you with guilt that we are still in a very tight and even less optimistic situation on the European battlefield. situation.

The German army has taken great initiative in the sea and air of the English Channel. More German troops are setting foot on Britain and Ireland. The German army's heavy weapons and supplies are also being sent to Britain and Ireland in a steady stream. Our ground troops It's getting harder and harder to hold on.

We tried to re-block the English Channel, but unfortunately, the English Channel is too narrow, and the European continent completely controlled by Germany is right next to the channel. After our fleet enters the channel, it will become the German army's land-based aircraft, torpedo ships, and torpedo boats. target.

The German Navy followed the example of the Chinese Navy and manufactured a large number of torpedo boats and torpedo boats. They adopted the "swarm tactics" used by the Chinese Navy to intercept and kill our fleet in the channels of the strait. The distant oxygen torpedo made us helpless.

The Japanese navy suffered a lot from this tactic of the Chinese navy, but now it has been replaced by us.

General Eisenhower (Dwight David Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army in Europe) repeatedly asked us to cut off the German sea lines, but we really..."

"Okay, Joseph!" Roosevelt nodded with a smile, "Although the Pacific Ocean and Europe are thousands of miles apart, the two battlefields are closely connected, because the United States is participating in both battlefields, and there is only one United States, right? ?Gentlemen, if we can get the greatest improvement on the Pacific battlefield, we will naturally be able to draw more power for the European battlefield. It is also closely related, if the Pacific battlefield is improved, the European battlefield will naturally be strengthened accordingly, so we must formulate new countermeasures against the Pacific war!"

Marshall said, "Mr. President, you mean..."

Roosevelt smiled subtly: "George, you have been to China when you were young, and you have learned Chinese, right? (Marshall served as the chief of staff in the 1924th Infantry Regiment of the US Army in Tianjin from the summer of 1927 to the spring of 15, Learned Chinese.

) I believe you know the Chinese better than I do, our war against Japan cannot bypass China.

On the other side of our Pacific Ocean, there is not only Japan, but also China.

The relationship between the United States, Japan, and China in this Pacific War is very delicate. China and Japan used to be sworn enemies, but now they are allies. The United States and Japan are now belligerents. Don't you think the behavior of China's top leaders is very intriguing?Albert, you have secretly traveled to China on behalf of me many times, and you must know the situation in China the best among all the people here, so why not tell us!" He called by name.

Wedemeyer stood up, his rank and status were the lowest among all the people present, but his opinion was the most important.

After sorting out his thinking for a while, he said: "Mr. President, everyone, China is undoubtedly an autocratic country, and the country's ruling power is in the hands of the Kuomintang dignitaries headed by Chiang Kai-shek. Specifically, the leaders of China's decision-making are Chiang Kai-shek and Although his youngest son, Jiang Weiguo, and Chiang Kai-shek's eldest son, Jiang Jingguo, also actively participated in politics, his achievements, achievements, and influence were far inferior to his father and his younger brother.

Chiang Kai-shek, Jiang Weiguo and his son directly determine China's national policy. As for the relationship between the father and son, Jiang Weiguo is very obedient to Chiang Kai-shek, and almost never does anything against Chiang Kai-shek's will, and Chiang Kai-shek is also very willing to listen to Jiang Weiguo's opinions. The relationship between the father and son is very harmonious of.

Gentlemen, the three core countries of the alliance are Germany, China and Japan. The relationship between China and Germany has always been extremely close. The two countries have always maintained a high degree of synchronization in global strategy. Although China and Japan are very close now, they have an unhappy past after all, so The level of intimacy is much lower than that of Sino-German relations.

Japan declared war on the United States, but China did not declare war on the United States with it. China's top leaders, namely Chiang Kai-shek and Jiang Weiguo, father and son, have a deeper mentality.

When I was in contact with Jiang Weiguo, he didn't reject or dislike me. On the contrary, every time he saw me, he talked and laughed happily with me. As for Chiang Kai-shek, his attitude towards me was better than Jiang Weiguo's, and he even had a bit of deliberate attitude towards me. closeness.

Although the United States and China have basically stopped all official and non-governmental exchanges, I have not felt the slightest anti-American and anti-American atmosphere in China, whether it is in the high-level or in the private sector, and even many Chinese Officials and folk celebrities all think that 'for China, the war is over, and the ongoing world war has nothing to do with China'. Their cognition is very direct. China is not affected by how fierce it is. After all, the war is outside of China. Although Germany and Japan are China’s allies, the United States and Britain are not China’s enemies. China is like a neutral country. China’s high-level, middle-level, and grass-roots are all busy with domestic construction , economic development, busy working, studying, making money, etc.!"

"Maybe it's a deception," Wallace said.

In order to attack us, the Japanese deliberately showed us closeness and friendliness, but the Chinese can do the same thing again, they are all East Asian yellow races, and their thinking strategies are highly similar!"

Marshall shook his head: "That's untenable.

The Japanese paralyzed us in order to sneak attack on us, because we did not participate in the war at all, but now that we have participated in the war, the Chinese cannot paralyze us with false closeness and friendship!"

Stimson said: "It seems that all walks of life in China are not hostile to the United States, and the top Chinese leaders, especially Chiang Kai-shek and Jiang Weiguo, have no intention of going to war with the United States!"

Wedemeyer nodded: "I personally feel that way, but although the vast majority of people in China think that China will not fight in the future, the world war has nothing to do with China, and it will not affect China. Even if it does affect China, China's The powerful army also has enough strength to defend China. However, the few high-level Chinese leaders represented by Chiang Kai-shek and Jiang Weiguo and his son did not really have an ostrich-like mentality. They were closely watching the battle situation.

Chiang Kai-shek summoned me alone many times without Chiang Weiguo present, and gave me some hints. He said that China and the United States are far apart in the Pacific Ocean, and there is almost no conflict of interest or ethnic hatred. There is no reason for the two countries to become enemies or rivals. , and the two countries can completely become friendly countries, he personally proceeds from the overall situation of world peace and the interests of China and the United States, and is willing to do his best for Sino-US peace, and at the same time hopes to get a positive response from President Roosevelt and other high-level US officials!"

Wallace nodded: "It seems that Chiang Kai-shek really has no intention of going to war against us.

In the early days of the war, although the Chinese army participated in the Battle of Hawaii and the Battle of the Philippines, it could be understood as a gesture made under the pressure of Germany and Japan. In fact, we have now confirmed that the United States that fell into the hands of the Chinese army Military personnel and American citizens are being treated humanely!"

Marshall showed a slight smile: "Chiang Kai-shek may not be pro-American, but at least he is 'harmonious', and his thought of 'harmonious beauty' most likely stems from his fear of the United States!"

"Where's Jiang Weiguo?" Wallace asked.

Wedemeyer said: "Jiang Weiguo is very different from his father. According to my many contacts with him, I can roughly confirm that Jiang Weiguo is not pro-American. He satirized the United States in front of me more than once. , because when the Sino-Japanese war broke out, the U.S. government did not adopt an active and effective strategy of aiding China. Instead, it increased trade with Japan.

Jiang Weiguo is a nationalist who is very similar to Hitler, but not as extreme and blatant as Hitler. In fact, he is not a moderate, but he is good at using more smooth methods. His behavior during the period was very serious. He did not show his willingness to fight the United States at the moment, but used all means to make huge profits for China through this war that China did not participate in. On the one hand, he did secret things with us, almost blackmailing us On the one hand, they wantonly sold industrial raw materials, strategic materials, and arms to Japan, earning a lot of wealth that the Japanese gained through war plunder and domestic oppression.