Iron Cross

Chapter 759: Choice (3, Additional Chapter for the Leader "Fallen Yuji")

The Atlantic War had just ended, and the Allied Forces were faced with the decision of where to go. Thousands of miles away in Tokyo, Japan, Hori Teikichi was also making a painful but firm decision.

"What? General Hori Teikichi wants to do business with me?" In the Kwantung Army Headquarters in Xinjing (Changchun), Army General and Kwantung Army Commander Umezu Michiro touched his bald head and made a puzzled voice, "But, I don't have a deep friendship with him, and we belong to the Army and Navy respectively, why would he suddenly come to me?"

"It's a secret, please come in person, General."

"What a big air, to discuss business with me and ask me to go back to Tokyo."

"This... "The major general who was passing the message laughed, "After all, Commander Hori Teikichi has won consecutive battles and is in high spirits. He is also a military counselor and a naval admiral. He can't come here to pay you a visit, right? How embarrassing it would be if it got out?"

"Well, it's my bad luck. I have to give him this face." Umezu Mijiro arranged a Ju-52 back to Tokyo. Since receiving German aid, the Kwantung Army has transformed one of the Junkers into a special aircraft for the commander.

"I feel deeply ashamed to trouble Umezu-kun to come here..."

"No, no..." Seeing that Hori Teikichi personally greeted him, Umezu Mijiro's mentality improved a lot, and his attitude was very humble. In terms of military exploits, seniority, military rank, and status, Hori Teikichi was above him in everything, and he maintained a very decent attitude.

After the host and the guest sat down, Hori Teikichi immediately asked: "What would you like to drink, sake or something else?"

Umezu Mijiro looked at the furnishings in the room and sighed: "I heard that the Combined Fleet received a lot of Italian and French wines when it visited Europe. I wonder if you are lucky enough to taste them?"

"Hahaha, of course." Hori Teikichi asked someone to take out a bottle of red wine from the cellar, "This is a gift from Marshal Pétain, the head of France. It's just right to share with you."

Umezu Mijiro had a long experience in Europe. He served as a military attaché in Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and other countries. He was quite familiar with the European social system. He tasted the endless aftertaste of the wine after taking a sip, and praised it repeatedly: "Good wine, good wine."

The two chatted about some strange things in Europe and exchanged their experiences on weapons and equipment. Hori Teikichi didn't speak first, and Umezu Mijiro was not in a hurry.

After finishing almost a bottle of wine, Hori Teikichi suddenly asked: "I heard that the Kwantung Army and the Soviet Union have frequent trade exchanges. I wonder how the harvest is?"

"This..." Umezu Mijiro instinctively wanted to deny it, but looking at Hori Teikichi's half-smile, he knew that it would not help, so he answered vaguely: "Generally, it is just ordinary material transactions."

Hori Teikichi did not go into the matter in depth, but took the opportunity to say: "So the harvest is general. If there is a better way, I wonder if the Kwantung Army is willing to try it?"

"I have heard that your business is the first, I would like to hear the details..."

"Then I will speak frankly." Hori Teikichi smiled, "The Far East Soviet side uses Vladivostok as a base and receives a lot of American aid. This route is already controlled by our army. Although the Soviet flag is hung on it, it is actually all Americans. I want to lead the fleet to intercept it..."

"What?" Umezu Mijiro was shocked beyond words, "This this this... The Soviet Union and Japan are neutral."

" I know it is neutrality, but it is also a forced neutrality. Isn't the Kwantung Army looking forward to advancing north? I don't say advancing north, I just hope that the Kwantung Army can withstand the pressure from the Far East Soviet Army..."

"No, absolutely not..."

"Don't rush to refuse, I haven't finished the second half of the sentence yet." Hori Teikichi smiled, "After intercepting this fleet, the materials on it will be shared by you and me. In addition, the German side has also offered a reward. If you can cut off this transportation line, the German side will have another generous reward. I heard that you repeatedly complained about the lack of aircraft, tanks, and artillery last time. This time you will definitely be satisfied."

"This..." Umezu Mijiro did say this: When distributing front-line combat materials, although the Kwantung Army has a high status, it is not a front-line combat readiness force. After many distributions, the relevant army equipment has been greatly reduced. The mecha force that he values ​​most only got 40% in the end, and the Indian Expeditionary Force got a lot, which made him very dissatisfied. Therefore, when trading with the Soviet Union, he asked for tanks and artillery more than once, but these were urgently needed by the Red Army, so how could he give them to the Kwantung Army? In the end, the Russians took out some of the captured German equipment to offset it, but the Red Army's captured German equipment was too small after all, and it soon ran out of stock. The Chinese Expeditionary Force in the interior of the country could still do business with the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, but the Kwantung Army could only do business with the Red Army. The Russians were not interested in second-hand obsolete weapons. What they wanted were tanks, planes, trucks, and artillery in their prime years - these were even more in short supply for the Kwantung Army, so how could they trade them?

"I know what you are worried about. In this kind of situation, it was the navy who came out to do it, it was the navy who actually did it, and it was the navy who bore the blame. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of the war threat from the Far East Red Army? Don't take it as a joke. Stalin suffered a series of defeats on the Western Front and kept withdrawing troops from the Far East to Europe... It's no longer the time of Zhanggufeng and Nomonhan." Hori Teikichi looked at Umezu Mijiro with a smile, his voice very attractive, "As long as you nod, half of the arms will be yours. As for the German reward, Special Envoy Cole will provide you with a list. Could it be that the Kwantung Army doesn't want new tanks and new planes?"

"I..." Umezu Mijiro felt that his throat was being strangled, and his tone became unsmooth. The following complaints and grumbles about equipment have been made more than once, and some people are trying to get a way to join the Indian Expeditionary Army. What is the purpose? - Good equipment! Can fight! Quick promotion! Can't fight, it is harder than climbing to the sky to get seniority in the Kwantung Army that trains every day. Moreover, the Kwantung Army has a history of killing first and reporting later. Ishihara himself is a beneficiary of the September 18th Incident. How easy is it for those who came after him to stop the situation he created?

Umezu Mijiro is of course the one who has the final say in the Kwantung Army, but if he does not seek benefits and future for his subordinates, I am afraid that this commander will not be stable.

He hesitated, not knowing how to respond. After a long silence, he asked without anyone noticing, "How do we get the stuff?"

"Keep it secret after capturing the fleet, and transport it to Kwantung Province as quickly as possible. Once the matter is settled, it will be too late for Tokyo to object. Besides..." Hori Teikichi smiled slightly, "The Kwantung Army is the front line against the Soviet Union. Now it is facing the threat of the Red Army. How can it hold the line without strengthening its strength?"

"Ha...haha." Umezu Mijiro laughed and said he would go back and think about it and give an answer in a few days.

Hori Teikichi personally sent him to the door of his house and said, "Move faster. The transport fleet will arrive at the relevant location in 4 days. It will be too late if we don't act."

Two days later, Umezu Mijiro sent a message: he agreed to cooperate and the conditions remained the same, but the Kwantung Army was "passively" involved.

"You are not afraid, so what is Admiral Umezu afraid of?" Matsuda Chiaki muttered, "The ship was obviously hijacked by the navy... In my opinion, they are just sitting back and enjoying the fruits of their labor. Giving them one-third is enough." Hori Teikichi smiled and said, "When doing big things, you don't care about small details. Supplies are just external things. Only a small and poor country like Japan cares so much... In one word, short-sighted!" "But, sir, I wonder why you decided to do this secretly in private. Can't we discuss it?" "If we discuss it, this thing will never be done." Hori Teikichi sighed, "They don't understand the reasoning behind this. This matter must be dealt with quickly while I am still the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet."

"What?" Matsuda Chiaki's eyes widened as if she had heard a bolt from the blue. "They want to relieve you of your duties? Are the people above you crazy? This is a war period. It is natural for you to concentrate on being a military counselor after the war. Now the war situation should be the priority. If you don't come forward, who is qualified to succeed the commander-in-chief?"

"There will always be someone." Hori Teikichi waved his hand nonchalantly, "Send a signal to Kakuta Kakuji to notify him to take action. You need to inform Tsukahara that he is now troubled by the political donation case and too many people are watching him. "

"Will the fleet have any questions?"

"If even the fleet doesn't listen to me, why bother? Go to Germany as a consultant as soon as possible." Hori Teikichi laughed, "Then go to work for Ozawa-kun to make a living. He is very proud now."

On December 9, the telegram was sent to Kakuta Kakuji and Nishimura Shoji as scheduled. Some staff members did express different opinions, thinking that the order was a bit strange and contradicted the policy of letting relations with the Soviet Union go, but Kakuta simply waved his hand and refused. Absolutely: "What's there to think about? The commander has given an order, and we just have to execute it. Are you smarter than the commander or what?"

Shoji Nishimura also nodded: "The commander's move was unexpected, and we can earn at least 200,000 tons of supplies. What's there to be afraid of? With the Russian navy, there is no need for Yamato and Musashi to take action. The heavy cruisers in my hands can directly send them away! Now even the Americans have retreated to Pearl Harbor obediently. Who in the Far East dares to say no?"

Shoji Nishimura and Kakuta are both 39th-term marines, but the latter's hammock number ranking is higher than his, and he was promoted to vice admiral earlier. According to convention, he should obey the latter. After the Combined Fleet returned to Japan, with a large number of personnel promotions, new generations such as Shoji Nishimura, Kakuta Kakuji, and Shima Kiyohide began to serve as vice admirals and emerged.

In the early morning of December 9, after a period of rest, the Second Air Fleet, which began a new round of field training, began to deviate from the original route to execute Hori Teikichi's orders. After the Combined Fleet returned to Japan, the mobile fleet's aircraft carrier forces were reorganized. Shuangkaku formed a new First Air Fleet. After the death of Hayabusa and Hiyo, the Second Air Fleet was formed with two light aircraft carriers as the core. However, both the First Air Fleet and the Second Air Fleet belonged to the First Air Fleet (also known as the Mobile Fleet).

The shocking "Navy C Incident" finally broke out...

Chapter 759/1109
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Iron CrossCh.759/1109 [68.44%]