Chapter 768: Choice (12)
"I really don't understand politics. I don't want to be an official in the future. Teaching is more suitable for me. But I am concerned about what to do with the mobile fleet? The Taiho is about to be commissioned. Don't even have a decent commander by then. That's really a joke." Inoue Narumi said worriedly, "If Ozawa doesn't come back and Takasu refuses, all arrangements will be messed up."
"Not necessarily. If you really want to find one, there will always be candidates, but this candidate... is dangerous!" Yamamoto suddenly said.
"who?"
"Nagumo Chuichi."
"Him?" Inoue Narumi was shocked, "Isn't he already in reserve? Isn't Nagano Shushen still dormant? Why is he out?"
"I'm just afraid that he won't be lonely."
"Ah!" Inoue Narumi was dumbfounded, "This, this, this... won't you stop Nagumo from coming out? Sooner or later, this guy will defeat the entire aircraft carrier."
"He is from the fleet. Whether he will fight or not is not the first priority now. The military command department's first priority is loyalty, but I will not let this proposal pass." Yamamoto Isoroku added immediately.
The phone rang suddenly, and Narumi Inoue quickly picked it up with quick eyes and hands. It turned out that it was Lieutenant General Ito Seiichi, the deputy director of the Military Command Department, politely asking for Yamamoto Isoroku.
"I am Yamamoto Isoroku, Ito-kun, please tell me." Ito Zhengichi is a junior whom Yamamoto Isoroku is optimistic about, and he has been sparing no effort to cultivate him. However, now that the two sides have different paths and different positions, some words can only be hidden in his heart. On the face of it, he was polite.
"It's like this. Regarding the issue of mobile fleet commander, I have contacted many admirals successively, but they all expressed that they were not suitable or declined. Due to the need for combat command, His Highness nominated General Nagumo Chuichi, and specifically asked me to call you for solicitation. Opinion."
"Ito-kun, it's hard for me to answer what you said."
"I know it is difficult for you to nod, but Commander Oikawa is very annoyed by the little actions of Tsunoda and Nishimura. I have contacted Nagumo-kun. He has no prejudice against the two and said that he will try his best to appease them. At the same time, Tsukahara-kun He will not change the personnel he promoted or the system he left behind.”
Yamamoto Isoroku could sense the smell. Nagumo Chuichi had probably reached an agreement with Ito Seiichi to serve as commander of the mobile fleet on the premise of preserving Tsunoda and Nishimura, while retaining everything in Tsukahara as much as possible to appease the fleet - after all When Nagumo Chuichi was in charge of the fleet, he was relatively tolerant of the pilots.
"You have to let me think about this. Can I give you an answer in the evening?"
"Of course, I'm causing you trouble. Please support me for the sake of the overall interests of the Navy." Ito Zhengyi said in a very humble tone, "His Royal Highness is hospitalized and Commander Oikawa has just taken office. I am also a novice and don't know the rules. Everything is wrong. Please, your Excellency, especially the admirals, please come forward and say hello. This is just a normal personnel transfer. Your Highness has no ill intentions. Please don't think too much about it. "
"I know." Yamamoto Isoroku put down the phone and said to Inoue Narumi, "It is indeed Nagumo Chuichi, but Ito Koga Mineichi can talk and has a very good attitude. He not only asked for my opinion, but also asked me to help protect him. The big picture.”
"Sir, you can't be fooled easily." Narumi Inoue was anxious, "Sooner or later, this bastard Chuichi Nagumo will destroy the aircraft carrier force. Even if this doesn't happen, you shouldn't get too involved in the military headquarters. Think about it. How did His Highness treat you before? Ito just said a few nice words and then you were too easy on them!"
"So I was hesitant and said I would give my opinion in the evening."
The request for Yamamoto Isoroku's consent was made only after Ito Zhengichi tried hard to persuade Prince Fushimi Miyahiro Kyoto. It would have been better to directly make the appointment according to the latter's opinion, but Ito thought it was inappropriate. Now the fleet is in a state of intense emotion, and all the admirals are scolding each other. The nomination of Chuichi Nagumo will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire. The Military Command has separated from the fleet admirals. At this time, the relationship with the Navy Ministry must not be worsened, especially if he has served as The commander of the Combined Fleet, Yamamoto Isoroku, although he has left the Combined Fleet for more than a year, still has some influence. It would be better for the latter to come forward to appease the troops. Therefore, he must find ways to obtain Yamamoto's consent and is eager to prove himself again. Nagumo Chuichi himself also believes that it is crucial to obtain the support of the Navy Ministry at this critical moment. If even Yamamoto doesn't agree, this position will become unstable sooner or later.
"Do you want to call Horikichi?" asked Narumi Inoue. "It seems that the Military Command's decision to appoint Nagumo Chuichi is certain. I wonder what he will think."
"Sir, Lieutenant General Kusaka Ryuunosuke would like to see you."
"What is he here for?" Inoue Narumi was a little surprised, "Didn't he resign?"
"I guess he came to say goodbye to me...invite him to come in...no, I'll pick him up." Yamamoto Isoroku strode toward the door.
"Sir..." After meeting Yamamoto Isoroku, Ryunosuke Kusaka just choked up and cried, unable to speak.
"What's going on? Why are you crying so well? How can you behave like this? Is this what a Yamato man is?" Yamamoto Isoroku said with hatred, "Kusaga-kun, you have to be stronger. You look like this, let the grassroots Have you seen how bad the impact is?”
"I'm not crying for myself, I'm crying for the empire... The United Fleet, the United Fleet is going to end..."
"Nonsense. The combined fleet is battle-tested and invincible. New warships are being built and launched one after another. How can it be finished?"
"Do you know what Commander Oikawa was doing on board the warship? He was looking for people to talk to one by one, and he even invited Ugaki Matoi back to let these middle-level officers comment on their views on Commander Horikichi and Tsukahara. They didn't agree with him. Either be transferred from the post, or transferred to the reserve, and engage in nepotism... Colonel Matsushita, who caused the scandal of asking for Akamatsu Sadaki's car some time ago, was actually asked to be the chief of staff in the Second Air War. The pilots were all shocked! …I really can’t do it anymore!”
"What?" Yamamoto Isoroku was shocked. "When Oikawa met with me yesterday, he stated that he would take matters into his own hands and not interfere with the normal operation of the fleet. How did it become like this today?"
"Because Tsunoda and Nishimura ignored him with their fleet in Korea and gave half of the supplies of the captured American fleet to the army."
"This has been agreed upon a long time ago. The Kwantung Army is still at war with the Soviet Army."
"But he thought the offer was too much, and even if he had to give it, he would at least have to nod in agreement. He wanted to punish Tsunoda and Nishimura, but was dissuaded by Vice-Commander Ito, so he sent Matsushita to the Second Air War. I am going to make him sick of Tsunoda and force Tsunoda to resign voluntarily.”
"Nonsense!" Yamamoto Isoroku was furious, but he was angry, and there was nothing he could do. Oikawa Koushiro was older than him, so what should he say?
Koushiro Oikawa is quite famous for being unreliable in his work: At that time, he served as the Navy Minister in the Konoe Fumimaro cabinet, and strongly advocated the promotion of the "Three Kingdoms Alliance". At the same time, he was known as the number one "Sinologist" in the Navy. I don't know if he was. Whether he is sincere or not, after promoting the Three Kingdoms Alliance, he acted like he had no interest in work. He read "The Analects" and "Mencius" all day long, or else he just immersed himself in writing and practicing calligraphy, leaving all his work to the deputy chief Toyoda Sada. Jiro, until before the war with the United States, the Konoe Fumimaro cabinet could not stand the pressure and announced its resignation. Oikawa was transferred to the military staff officer, and later became the president of the Naval University, and then went to the Yokosuka garrison - a high position but actually to provide for retirement.
Inoue Narumi also found it strange. Logically speaking, Oikawa Koshiro, as a veteran of the Navy for many years and had been in the fleet for a long time, would not act like this, right?
"Currently Kondo and Ugaki are busy with the main tasks of the fleet, but the Commander is acting like this, and everyone is upset. I know of nearly 20 staff officers with the rank of Major and above at the Fleet Headquarters who have offered to resign or be transferred to other posts, but Shen Zhongzong Germany shamelessly thought it was irrelevant. Didn’t the Naval Defense Policy Committee get everything done? Without Horikichi, he could still coordinate with Germany, and the results would be better!”
The Navy's National Defense Policy Committee was originally a group of pro-German cadres who insisted on a tough attitude and advocated war against the United States, including Takada Toshitune, the first section chief of the Military Affairs Bureau, Tomioka Sadatoshi, the first section chief of the Military Command Department, and Tomioka Sadatoshi, the second section chief of the Military Affairs Bureau. Section Chief Shingo Ishikawa and senior member of the Operations Department of the Military Command, Takeji Ono, and others, Kamijugetoku was still a subordinate of Narumi Inoue at the beginning. They were arrogant when facing their immediate superiors. With the support of Keijun Arioka, they did not regard Narumi Inoue at all. The thing is, the latter had a very bad impression of him, which was several times worse than the impression of Kame Sennin, Yamamoto Isoroku's trusted advisor - Kame Sennin was just a bit eccentric, and Kami Shigetoku was almost crazy in Inoue Narumi's eyes!
"Who will be the chief of staff for that air battle?" Yamamoto suddenly said without any clue.
"Genda Minoru!"
"Him?" Now it was Inoue Narumi's turn to be surprised. "Isn't he just a lieutenant colonel? How can he be the chief of staff? This position requires at least a colonel."
"So the title is that the chief aviation staff acts as the chief of staff for the First Air War." Ryunosuke Kusaka said sarcastically, "Genda has always been naughty. Seeing that several of his superiors were dismissed, he immediately attached himself to Ito Seiichi. , the market is going up even more.”
Inoue Narumi sighed: "People...people..."
Yamamoto Isoroku asked: "Who will replace you after you resign?"
"Maybe Arima Masabumi can come."
Arima Masabumi once served as the captain of the Shokaku, and after the South Pacific Naval War, he returned to Japan and served as the Minister of Education of the Aviation Headquarters without going to Europe. In the eyes of Oikawa Koshiro and Fushimi Miyahiro Kyooh, this is a man who not only understands aviation operations, but also Generals who are not closely related to Yamamoto or Horikichi - available!
Yamamoto nodded and breathed a sigh of relief: At last, he didn't fool around. Masafumi Arima at least understands aviation operations. Minoru Genda, let's not judge his character, but his brain is still good. If Nagumo Chuichi wakes up after learning his lesson, he can maneuver The fleet's problem wouldn't be too big, and he finally felt relieved.
While he was talking, Nagumo Chuichi also called, hoping that Yamamoto Isoroku would agree to his appointment. He humbly hoped to be given another chance to prove himself, saying that he would "know shame and then be brave" and strive to do his best. , as for the troops and command system left by Tsukahara, he will find a way to preserve them and will never mess around.
"Okay..." Yamamoto sighed, "I hope you can be modest and prudent, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and create new situations. In addition, tell Vice Minister Ito for me that I have approved his inquiry and will not call him alone again. ”