The Rise of the Third Reich

On the morning after the Soviet Pacific Fleet broke out of the Northern Kuril Islands chain, the Five Prime Ministers' Imperial Meeting was held in the Prime Minister's Residence. Although the Imperial Council of Five Prime Ministers is the highest-level meeting on Japan’s national policy, as it is today, not only Tojo Hideki (Prime Minister and Land Minister), Yamamoto Isoroku (Marine Minister), Shigemitsu Aoi (Foreign Minister) and Kaya Konobu (Tibetan Prime Minister) All are present, including the two "myth spreaders" Prince Kanin Miyazahito and Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyo, as well as former Prime Ministers Konoe Fumimaro, Yoneuchi Mitsumasa, Abe Nobuyuki, Hiranuma Kiichiro, and Hirota Hong Yi, Okada Keisuke and others all came to attend meetings one after another in the name of important ministers, but they rarely appeared. In addition, Chief of the Army Staff Headquarters Gen Sugiyama, Navy Chief of Staff Osamu Nagano and Army Education Director Yamada Otsuzo also appeared at the meeting.

This shows that today’s meeting of the Five Prime Ministers will discuss the fundamental national policy of the Japanese Empire! Therefore, it is necessary to listen to the advice of these important ministers who have the power to report on the curtain. In addition to the former prime minister and the two princes, the Chief of the Army Staff Headquarters, the Chief of Naval Command and the Director of Army Education also have the power to report on the curtain.

Tojo Hideki was sitting in his distinguished position as prime minister, his eyes a little dazed, and he suddenly felt that he was powerless. As a prime minister who led Japan into a world war and seemed to win, Tojo himself was not outstandingly intelligent and was even a bit stupid. The reason why he succeeded was entirely because he had the courage to jump off the platform of Kiyomizu Temple with his eyes closed. As a result, I caught a ride with the Germans, and it can be said that I created a world empire covering millions of square kilometers in a daze!

But when the victory Tojo dreamed of came, he found that the Japanese Empire was unprecedentedly isolated. The Germans are not Japan's true friends, they are just using Japan as cannon fodder - Tojo Hideki has known this for a long time, and he is also using Germany to achieve Japan's hegemony. However, he did not expect that the alliance between Japan and Germany would take a turn for the worse when victory was about to come.

In Tojo's view, the reason for this situation is not Japan's fault, but the "European Community-United States of Europe line" pursued by Germany.

The essence of this route, according to the analysis of European intellectuals such as Shigemitsu Aoi and Matsuoka Yosuke, is actually to turn enemies into friends in Europe.

On the one hand, it used pan-Germanic and pan-Aryan lines to unite those countries in Western Europe and Northern Europe that had blood ties with Germany; on the other hand, it used the Russians' desire to integrate into Europe to support the Romanov dynasty and win over Russia to join the European Community.

The implementation of such a line has caused Germany and Japan to lose the basis of their common interests - because the basis for Germany's leadership of the world is no longer its alliance with Japan and Rome, but the European Community and the United States of Europe!

As long as Germany can unite Britain, France and Russia, neither the United States, Rome nor Japan will be able to challenge Germany's hegemony.

Moreover, if Germany wants to unite Britain, France and Russia, it must safeguard the interests of Britain, France and Russia to a certain extent! The proposed United States of Europe and the already formed European Community are, in a sense, heirs to the assets of the three intercontinental empires of Britain, France, and Russia.

Therefore, Germany's position has changed from joining Japan and Italy to carve up the assets of Britain, France and Russia, to wanting to legitimately inherit the assets of Britain, France and Russia - since it can be monopolized, why share it with others? Even if the Germans don't care, the British, French and Russians are not happy either. And now Germany wants to coax the British, French and Russians to vote for the United States of Europe and drag them along to extort money from the Americans. Of course, Germany will sit on the side of the British, French and Russians.

As for Japan...are you really not scared at all when you see the prospect of the merger of Germany, France, Britain and Russia? Do you really want to see the unification of Germany, France, Britain and Russia?

Of course this is impossible!

Ishihara Wanji's theory of "Mongolia, Southern Song Dynasty and the Great Jin Kingdom" is still very reasonable! Even if Germany can now treat Japan sincerely, reasonably distribute the assets of Britain, France and Russia, and at the same time provide enough assistance. For the sake of world balance after the war, Japan also had to leave the "gold" of the United States to contain the "Mongolia" of the United States of Europe.

Unless Germany is willing to give up its unification line of inheriting the "European Community-United States of Europe" while solidly supporting Japan.

But this is also impossible!

Therefore, the alliance between Japan and Germany has actually ended. What Japan can do now is to strive for a post-war situation that is most beneficial to itself while maintaining that Japan and Germany do not oppose their goals.

And a post-war situation that is most beneficial to Japan is undoubtedly to maintain the strategic confrontation between the United States and Europe...

Although Tojo Hideki is ridiculed by some people as a superior soldier, he still has this political wisdom.

At this time, there was a burst of chaotic footsteps on the wooden floor of the corridor, and then I saw the Minister of Internal Affairs Kido Koichi walking in with two secretaries from the Imperial Household Ministry. He was attending and presiding over the Imperial Council on behalf of the Emperor - Imperial Council Theory The meeting was supposed to be held in front of the emperor, but in fact the emperor rarely appeared directly. Because the emperor is a god! Although Japan since the Meiji Restoration appears to be a somewhat Westernized European country, in fact Japan is a democratic theocratic country.

The emperor is a god! And if you die fighting for the emperor, you can become a god after death! This is the spirit of the atomic bomb that supported millions of Japanese soldiers to move forward bravely in this war. With the expansion of the Japanese Empire, the emperor's power has also increased. Naturally, he cannot be admired casually. This is also for the sake of the ministers. The emperor is a descendant of Amaterasu, which is about the same as a high-power searchlight. He cannot be looked at directly. Otherwise, they will be blinded, and all the dignitary ministers will be blinded by Emperor Showa. How is this decent?

"I have been entrusted by Your Majesty to preside over a meeting of important ministers. If you have suggestions, please feel free to speak out. I will report the matter to your Majesty for your reference."

After Kido Koichi finished speaking, he sat down in his seat. With an inscrutable gaze that he had practiced for many years, he glanced at the ministers and important ministers present over and over again, waiting for them one by one. speak.

"Your Excellency, Interior Minister," Prime Minister Tojo tapped the table lightly and spoke first: "Today, our empire's strategic goals in the Pacific and Southeast Asia have been basically achieved. To the west of the Hawaiian Islands, to the east of the Strait of Malacca, and to the east of Australia The north is the inner lake of the imperial state. Emperor Meiji's dream of spreading the country's prestige to the world has been realized. Therefore, the future development of the imperial state should turn to the mainland. The current primary goal is to capture the Soviet Far East in the north to form an absolute defense in the northwest of the imperial state. lock up……"

Tojo talked eloquently, Kido said nothing, and the two secretaries beside him were immersed in taking notes. Kido's task is to act as a Bodhisattva on behalf of the Emperor, and at the same time bring back the results of the imperial meeting to the Emperor.

"Prime Minister." Mitsumasa Yoneuchi, a former prime minister with a background in the navy, asked at this time, "Does the adjustment of national policy mean making peace with the United States?"

Mitsumasa Yoneuchi was a pro-British and American faction and had always opposed an alliance with Germany and Italy when he served as Navy Minister and Prime Minister. It has not completely changed its views now. It advocates "coexistence of the United States and Japan", which is similar to the "Three Kingdoms Theory" of Ishihara Kanji and others.

"Peace negotiations with the United States have been ongoing." Tojo replied, "The current operations in the Central Pacific are actually to gain more bargaining chips in the peace talks."

"What about Germany? Germany's attitude doesn't take it into account?" Miney asked next.

"The Central Pacific Operation is conducted to take into account Germany's attitude." Tojo Hideki said, "But the future national policy of the Imperial Kingdom should be to maintain a balance between the United States and Germany, while strengthening itself to ensure that the future world will not be dominated by any one. Dominated by great powers.”

"What about the Hawaiian Islands and the Aleutian Islands?" Miney asked again, "Can we give up?"

"Try not to give up as much as possible." Tojo Hideki glanced at Yamamoto Isoroku when he answered this question.

Yamamoto said: "Yonei-kun, the Combined Fleet will adopt protracted tactics to delay the main force of the U.S. Pacific Fleet in the Hawaiian Islands and wait for opportunities to reinforce Oahu. Since the United States is now eager to deploy troops to reinforce the Atlantic-Caribbean battlefield, the delaying tactics will eventually It might work."

Yamamoto's original attitude was to fight a war to deal with it, but now he has pushed it a step further and changed it to delaying - delaying is more conducive to saving the ship than fighting!

Moreover, the Soviet Pacific Fleet now gave the Japanese Navy an excuse. After breaking through the Kuril Islands chain, the Soviet Pacific Fleet turned east and sailed towards the Aleutian Islands.

Theoretically, the Soviet Pacific Fleet may also go to the west coast of the United States, and then sail to the Atlantic through the Panama Canal... Therefore, the main force of the Japanese combined fleet going north to intercept and annihilate them is also helping Germany.

In the direction of the Central Pacific, Yamamoto and Nagano hope to use the First Mobile Fleet to deal with it-although the aviation battle will lose a large number of pilots, it may lose the last elite pilots of the Japanese Navy. However, the losses caused by aviation warfare to the fleet are relatively controllable.

Because there are currently 19 aircraft carriers dispatched with the main force of the Japanese Combined Fleet (including the First Mobile Fleet). Except for the 8 aircraft carriers such as Akagi, Kaga, Zuikaku, Shokaku, Taiho, Unryu, Katsuragi, and Amagi, which are more valuable, the rest None of the 11 aircraft carriers are of high value. It will definitely be eliminated after the Pacific War, and it would not be a pity if it sinks.

If 4 aircraft carrier escort battleships are taken out of 8 expensive aircraft carriers, they will cause trouble for the Soviets. If the remaining 15 aircraft carriers are deployed in dispersed formations, then the probability of high-value aircraft carriers being discovered by the US military will be greatly reduced - it is already difficult to find dispersed enemy aircraft carriers in the vast ocean, so Once discovered, I will definitely attack with all my strength, and I won’t be picky anymore.

Therefore, from a probability perspective, if the Japanese Navy loses an aircraft carrier in the Central Pacific Battle, there is only about a 26% chance that this aircraft carrier will be a "high-priced aircraft carrier." If 4 aircraft carriers are lost, one of them will "definitely" be a high-priced aircraft carrier. , 8 ships were lost, of which 2 were theoretically high-priced aircraft carriers.

After destroying 8 aircraft carriers in World War I, the Germans will definitely think that their Japanese friends did their best, while the US Pacific Fleet must have suffered heavy losses...