usatvline Chapter 1846: 1 vote
Chapter 1846: 1 vote
Chapter 1846: Do Something
Hirohiro Fukada took the secret message, glanced at it, and then waved his hand.
Kono Akira retreated obediently.
When he left, he glanced at the director of the telecommunications room, Masaya Moriyama, who was standing there respectfully and did not leave.
After Kono Akira left, Moriyama Masaru also closed the door.
"The worst has happened." Hirohiro Fukada sighed.
At the Imperial Court meeting a few days ago, His Majesty and the Cabinet had a heated discussion on whether to "advance southward" or "advance northward".
Foreign Minister Matsuoka firmly believed that Germany could quickly defeat the Soviet Union. This famous diplomat who had previously facilitated the signing of the Japan-Soviet Neutrality Pact suggested that the Empire should immediately attack Siberia and postpone the southward advance.
Then the heated debate at the Cabinet meeting gradually evolved into whether the empire had the ability to "advance north" and "advance south" at the same time.
Matsuoka's opinion of attacking the Soviet Union was strongly opposed by the military led by Army Minister Tojo.
In view of the lessons of Zhanggufeng and Nomonhan, Army Minister Tojo did not advocate rushing to go to war with both the Soviet Union and the United States at the same time.
The Navy Minister also strongly opposed this, believing that it would be difficult to fight naval battles with the Soviet Union, Britain and the United States at the same time.
Matsuoka criticized others for being timid, believing that this was a great opportunity for Japan to dominate Europe. "If the Empire does not act quickly, once Germany destroys the Soviet Union, we will no longer be able to sit at the table and cut the cake."
In the telegram, the word "crazy" was used to describe the Empire's foreign minister, because Matsuoka even said something inappropriate for a foreign minister at the Imperial Conference:
Bloodshed is a better way to resolve problems than diplomacy.
……
"Commander-in-chief," Moriyama Masaya asked, "has the high command decided to 'advance north' or 'advance south'?"
"It's unclear." Hirohiro Fukada shook his head and said, "It's precisely because it's unclear that it's the worst."
In his opinion, whether it is 'going north' or 'going south', a decision must be made as soon as possible and then preparations should be made towards the goal, instead of being indecisive like this.
Of course, in his heart, he naturally prefers "advancing northward". Only advancing northward is in the best interests of the army.
……
Xinjing.
Heitaro Imamura's eyes were full of fatigue.
He had just returned to Xinjing, the capital of Manchukuo, from Tokyo.
At this Imperial Conference, Foreign Minister Matsuoka almost single-handedly debated with the crowd.
After quarreling with the Minister of War and the Minister of the Navy, the Foreign Minister asked again the next day: "Which is more important, the south or the north?"
The Army Chief of Staff replied: "There is no priority. All we need to do is wait and see how the situation develops before making a decision."
The Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Mr. Tsukada, also immediately said: "Everything depends on the situation. When the time comes to make a decision, we will naturally know the result."
Mr. Matsuoka sarcastically said that the army was afraid.
Mr. Matsuoka then went to argue with Army Minister Tojo, saying that according to the German report, the war with the Soviet Union would soon end. In addition, Britain would inevitably surrender before the end of the year.
"If the Empire hesitates, once Germany defeats the Soviet Union, the Empire will completely lose the best opportunity to divide Europe. In addition, the most important point is that if the Empire attacks the Soviet Union immediately, the United States cannot join the war."
"And if the Empire attacks the Soviet Union, the American economic blockade of the Empire will have a turning point."
Matsuoka Yosuke firmly believed that if the empire attacked the Soviet Union, he could use diplomatic skills to improve relations with the United States, or at least delay the United States and prevent it from joining the war for at least half a year.
"If we wait for the results as the High Command suggests, the Empire will lose a great opportunity to conquer the world. It is even possible that the Empire will have to face the unfavorable situation of both the Soviet Union and the Americans at the same time in the future..."
At that time, Heitaro Imamura, who was responsible for recording and providing intelligence support to Matsuoka in the corner, saw the Foreign Minister talking incessantly and arguing with everyone. However, the problem was that the situation at that time was that no cabinet minister was willing to talk to him and simply ignored him.
This made Heitaro Imamura feel something was wrong at the time.
He was not a staunch supporter of Matsuoka Yosuke's "Northward Advance" strategy, but as the young diplomat most valued by Matsuoka, he absolutely did not want to see Matsuoka fall.
……
The final result of the Imperial Conference was:
The empire was not completely sure whether to "advance north" or "advance south".
Your Majesty and the Command have decided to wait and see how the situation develops, while at the same time making every effort to prepare for the "Northward Advance" and "Southward Advance" so that they can strike at any time if the situation changes.
Objectively speaking, this result was disappointing to Heitaro Imamura.
He was inclined towards the 'Southward Advance' strategy, but if the Empire decided to 'Advance Northward', he could also accept that. The important thing was to make a decision and not hesitate any longer.
And for Imamura Heitaro, the worst happened:
At an extraordinary cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Konoe asked all cabinet members to resign collectively and then form a new cabinet.
As Foreign Minister Matsuoka was ill at home, the proposal passed smoothly without any objection.
Thus, Mr. Matsuoka, the most eloquent foreign minister in the history of the empire, resigned in disgrace.
This was a big blow to Heitaro Imamura, who was admired and respected by Foreign Minister Matsuoka.
The person who succeeded Mr. Matsuoka as the Imperial Foreign Minister was Admiral Toyoda.
Although at the previous imperial meeting, the headquarters still insisted on making preparations for "advancing south" and "advancing north" in parallel, it seemed that no choice had been made.
However, now that Prime Minister Konoe has nominated Admiral Toyoda to be foreign minister, this in itself seems to have made a biased decision.
……
"Counselor." There was a knock on the door, and the voice of Hojo Hidetoshi.
"Come in." said Imamura Heitaro.
Hojo Hidetoshi pushed the door open and walked in.
"Is your uncle in good health?" asked Heitaro Imamura.
Hojo Hidetoshi's uncle was General Nobuyoshi Yamamoto, Minister of Weapons of the Imperial Kwantung Army Headquarters.
This time, when he returned to Shanghai via Xinjing, Hojo Hidetoshi was able to take some time to visit his uncle.
"My uncle is in good health, and he is very grateful for your concern for him," said Hojo Hidetoshi. "My uncle invites you to visit him when you have time."
"Let's do it next time. We are short on time this time." said Heitaro Imamura.
At this time, there was a knock on the door.
Hojo Hidetoshi opened the door and saw that the person knocking was Eguchi Hideya from the Military Attaché's Office.
"Counselor," Jiangkou Yingye reported with a serious expression, "something happened to the diplomatic delegation of Wang Tianhai's government visiting Xinjing."
"What happened?" Imamura Heitaro asked immediately.
"Yes, three days ago, the special train of the visiting delegation was attacked by a bomb. The train derailed, killing three members. The leader of the visiting delegation, Chu Liuyan, was seriously injured and unconscious." Eguchi Yingya handed the report document to Imamura Heitaro with both hands.
"Why didn't anyone report to me what happened a few days ago?" Imamura Heitaro asked in a deep voice while reading the report.
"The counselor was in Tokyo at the time, busy with the Imperial Conference." Eguchi Hideya said, "Perhaps he was afraid of disturbing the counselor's work..."
Imamura Heitaro waved his hand. "I am not satisfied with this explanation. Remember, no matter where I am in the future, all reports that should be sent to my desk must be delivered in a timely manner."
"Hayi." Jiangkou Yingye said quickly.
……
Imamura Heitaro frowned.
The visiting delegation was attacked, resulting in heavy casualties, especially Chu Liuyan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Wang Tianhai's regime, who was seriously injured and unconscious. This directly led to the forced interruption of the diplomatic visit between Wang Tianhai's Nanjing government and Manchukuo.
Imamura Heitaro's heart skipped a beat. He quickly flipped through the report and was relieved to see that the name 'Cheng Qianfan' was not on the list of casualties.
Cheng Qianfan was arranged by Chu Mingyu to join the visiting group, and Kentaro had reported this matter to him.
"Is Cheng Qianfan injured?" Imamura Heitaro asked Eguchi Hideya.
"He is injured, but the injury is not serious." Eguchi Yingye said.
"The visiting delegation is now stranded in Jinan?" asked Heitaro Imamura.
"Yes, Counselor." Jiangkou Yingye said, "Because Chu Liuyan is still in a coma and the injured need treatment, the delegation is still in Jinan."
Heitaro Imamura thought for a moment and made a decision.
"Make arrangements and go to Jinan tomorrow." Imamura Heitaro said to Hojo Hidetoshi.
"Counselor, aren't you going back to Shanghai directly?" Hojo Hidetoshi asked in surprise.
"Go to Jinan." Imamura Heitaro said, "At the same time, call Chu Mingyu and ask him to fly directly from Nanjing to Jinan."
"I'm going to meet him in Jinan," said Heitaro Imamura.
"Hayi." Hojo Hidetoshi nodded and said.
……
After Hojo Hidetoshi and Eguchi Hideya left, Imamura Heitaro became increasingly depressed due to the series of bad news. He suddenly swept away the documents on the desk.
"Stupid coward!" Heitaro Imamura cursed.
He was scolding Chu Liuyan, the head of the delegation of the Nanjing Wang Xianhai regime's Ministry of Foreign Affairs visiting Manchukuo.
Chu Liuyan did not dare to take a plane as he had a very serious fear of airplanes. Therefore, the delegation had to take the land route via the Jinpu Line.
If it were not for this reason, the visiting delegation would have come to Xinjing by plane. As the empire currently has a firm grasp of air supremacy, traveling by air would have been safer than taking the railway lines which were more vulnerable to attacks by the Red Party and the Eighth Route Army.
Heitaro Imamura thought for a moment, then he pressed the bell.
Immediately, one of his men knocked on the door and came in.
"Your Excellency the Counselor." Jiangkou Ying also came in.
"Call Rong Tieling and tell him that I will visit him in half an hour," said Heitaro Imamura.
"Counselor," Jiangkou Yingye said, "It's so late, should I call Minister Rong to come here to see you?"
"No, I'll go visit him." Imamura Heitaro shook his head and said.
Although he looked down on Rong Tieling, the Foreign Minister of Manchukuo, from the bottom of his heart, he would give the Foreign Minister the most basic respect, which was the diplomatic etiquette he believed in.
"Hai."
……
The next day.
Jinan.
Wulipaifang North Street.
This is a Chinese medicine shop.
It was already late at night and the Chinese medicine shop was closed.
In the backyard, the windows of the room were covered with quilts and candles were lit.
Ping Zhongheng skillfully rolled the cigarette with white paper. After rolling it, he dipped it in his saliva and then could not wait to light the cigarette, taking several puffs with great pleasure.
"Stationmaster, you might as well smoke dry tobacco instead of this cigarette." said General Qiao.
"Old man, I can't get used to smoking your pipe." Ping Zhongheng said with a smile.
He looked at his brothers and asked, "What did you find out?"
"They are in the Japanese Army Hospital." One of the men said, "The Japanese attach great importance to the safety of these traitors. It is not easy to sneak into the hospital to find out the situation."
"What the blind man said is correct." Another person said, "There are not many Chinese doctors in the Japanese hospital, and these people are willing to serve as doctors for Japanese soldiers. Who knows if they are determined to be traitors, so the brothers dare not get too close to them."
"General Qiao, please tell me." Ping Zhongheng glanced at General Qiao and said.
"It's difficult." General Qiao tapped his pipe and said, "We are short of manpower and firepower. If we want to storm the hospital..."
"Who told you we were going to storm the hospital?" Ping Zhongheng was stunned. He looked at General Qiao. "With our limited manpower, we are going to storm the Japanese army hospital? Who came up with this idea? It would be easier if all the brothers just hang themselves up with a rope."
"That won't work." General Qiao shook his head and said seriously, "Even if we have the rope, we have to hang the devils first."
……
"Okay, stop talking nonsense, you old man." Ping Zhongheng glared at General Qiao and said, "You are the one who is cunning and treacherous. Tell me what you are talking about."
"Let me say something first." General Qiao finally put away his playful smile and said seriously, "Stationmaster, if we want to take action against these guys, should we ask Boss Dai for permission first?"
"I would like to ask for instructions." Ping Zhongheng said unhappily, "If you can get me a radio, old man, no, no, no, if you can fix the radio for me, I will send a telegram to Boss Dai for instructions."
When General Qiao heard this, he took a few puffs of his pipe and said, "Don't ask me about this."
"Okay, these guys are the diplomatic corps of Wang Tianhai's puppet Ministry of Foreign Affairs visiting Manchukuo." Ping Zhongheng said, "God has sent these guys to Jinan. If we don't eat this dish, we will be sorry for God's kindness."
"Don't let it be a lump of iron that will break your teeth." General Qiao said.
"I told you to speak your mind, not to say weird things." Ping Zhongheng glared at General Qiao, "I said I would do this, didn't you hear me?"
"I've thought about it for a while." General Qiao said, "The hospital has been hiring laborers recently. I can try to get in."
"Are you sure?" Ping Zhongheng asked.
"It shouldn't be a big problem." General Qiao thought for a while and said, "I've asked around. The Japanese Army Hospital has been recruiting people these days."
"Okay." Ping Zhongheng nodded, "You find a way to sneak in."
After thinking for a while, he said, "The blind man will go in with you. The two of you will have a companion, and you can report anything easily."
"Row."
"clear."
……
Japanese Army Hospital in Jinan.
Ward.
Cheng Qianfan was lying on the hospital bed and had fallen asleep.
Just at this moment, the door of the bed was opened from the outside.
Cheng Qianfan suddenly woke up.
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