Chapter 938 The Sunset of the Empire (End, 7500 Votes Plus More)

"I don't think it's the best time to march northward," Horikichi said. "The war in India is not over yet, the situation in Southeast Asia is stalemate, and the U.S. military is eyeing the Pacific. There is no strength, no supplies, and no friendly forces to march north. I'm afraid Repeat the mistakes of the Xianbelia war..."

The Xianbelia War was an intervention war against Soviet Russia after the October Revolution. Japan originally sent more than 80,000 troops to invade the Far East and Siberia. It lasted for five years and invested more than 900 million yen (currency value in the 1920s) in military expenditures - equivalent to Two years of naval military expenditures could build 20 Kaga ships. In the end, the troops were withdrawn and nothing was gained.

This huge military expenditure eventually became a huge burden for Japan, causing most of the money earned in World War I to flow out again. This was also the reason why Japan's economic problems were so great during the 1929 economic crisis.

Everyone's hearts trembled because Horikichi's words had a lot of implications.

"It can be concluded from the situation in Delhi that if the enemy defends desperately, our army will have to pay a huge price. The Russians are not as good as the German armored forces in plain field fighting, but their level of defense, especially street fighting, is not bad. Otherwise, there would be no Moscow Defense War. Victory. The German army will no longer engage in offensive battles in large cities and focus on destroying opponents in field battles - this is stated in the inspection team report. Compared with Germany, our army is inferior to Germany in terms of training level and equipment, and the Far East Red Army has not. After the war in Europe, the gap between them is much smaller than the gap between the Soviet Union and Germany, so I dare to conclude that attacking with a small force will lead to failure," Horikichi said slowly, "From political considerations, since Germany has chosen to let Stalin and Red Russia exist and own Asia. Territory shows that Germany has no intention of eradicating the Bolsheviks. What’s the point? Have you considered it?”

Everyone was shocked, and the face of King Higashikata Minuhiko suddenly became solemn: At first, everyone only thought that Germany was concerned about casualties and was unwilling to be distracted by the war in Europe and the United States, but Horikichi now concluded that the trouble was huge.

"So." King Higashikata Minuhiko slowly suggested the possibility, "Germany is going to betray its alliance? Or is it going to use the Soviet Union and Russia to contain us?"

Horikichi sighed: "It is impossible to betray the alliance in the short term, and it is not true to contain it in the short term. However, as the war between Europe and Russia gradually advances, our relationship with Germany is undergoing subtle changes. Do you feel it?"

Yamamoto Fifty-six and others all nodded with heavy expressions.

Japan-Germany relations are still very good now. Even though Japan has been pushing back and refusing to engage in a second Western Expedition, Germany did not say much. The new carrier-based aircraft scheduled to be provided, the Tiger tanks, armored vehicles and even the Me-262 purchased were all delivered as scheduled. Japan also responded positively to its requests for railway guns, rockets, etc. As for the supply of oil and other industrial products, it was also very smooth.

But there are a few things that Japanese high-level officials sensed subtle changes in Germany’s attitude:

First, Germany's credit limit is shrinking. Not only is there no new credit limit, Japan is also required to make up for the original excess as soon as possible. Japan has increased its exports of minerals, agricultural products, rubber, etc., but overall supplies are in a state of substantial oversupply, which must be compensated with precious metals. More than 600 tons of gold and 1,400 tons of silver have been filled in. Precious metals collected from India and Southeast Asia , most of the surplus traded from mainland China and Soviet Russia refilled this gap.

Second, Germany formally proposed territorial claims to the Indian mainland - the reason was to achieve reconciliation and an armistice with Britain and to reserve a colony for Britain. However, senior Japanese officials believed that this was Germany's intention to interfere in Indian affairs. They were dissatisfied, but not dissatisfied. Dare to refuse categorically. Although the Spruance fleet in the Indian Ocean broke into the fleet and avoided Madagascar's detection, the first staff officer Matsuda Chiaki raised a point - what if the Germans insisted on letting the British in continuously? This made everyone break out in a cold sweat.

Third, Germany has been seeking peace with the United States, and the United States is also seeking peace with Germany. No matter how slow Japan is, it will not know the relevant information, but it can only pretend to be deaf and dumb. Although Germany has repeatedly claimed that it will continue to maintain its alliance with Japan, if the United States imposes conditions that Germany cannot resist, Japan will be in a dangerous situation. As for peace between Japan and the United States, Japan has been trying and is even preparing to return the Philippines. Now it seems that the United States would rather make peace with Germany than peace with Japan.

"In the final analysis, since the war has started, the relationship between Japan and Germany and the balance of power have become imbalanced. Germany has less and less to ask of us, and we have more and more things to ask of the Germans. The German naval power is rising rapidly. Ito sent a telegram: Starting from the end of this year, Germany's new aircraft carriers will be launched continuously. In addition, the Axis class has been built in 7 European countries. After the Iceland campaign, he believes that the United Kingdom is likely to join the ranks. If not. Due to resource supply and manpower constraints, Germany can build 30-36 Axis-class ships a year.”

"30-36 ships?" King Higashino Miyazaki was horrified. Japan's proposal to build 10-12 ships a year has been considered to be unrealistic and somewhat difficult to achieve. Germany actually built 3-4 times this number. scale?

"30-36 ships is not difficult." Yamamoto Isoroku sighed, "The shipbuilding capabilities of the four major countries of Germany, Italy, Britain and France are not inferior to ours, even if they are slightly inferior, the average is 6 ships a year, which is 24 ships. Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece and even Western Russia also have some shipbuilding capabilities. Even if they have one ship a year, there are still 7-8 ships. Doesn’t that mean more than 30 ships? Of course, the time to form an army will be slower, both this year and next year. It won't come out, but there will be a large-scale explosion in the second half of the next year! As for personnel, I am more pessimistic than Hori-kun. Who stipulates that these warships must be the German Navy? Germany can recruit soldiers from other European countries to serve in the SS. How many foreigners? There are even American divisions! It is said that they are not bad at fighting, at least they fight the Russians harder than the Germans."

"The most difficult warships are so easy, and airplanes and tanks are even easier. So no matter what the Germans think, we can't leave Germany yet, and even the Russian side is trying not to offend us." Horikichi smiled bitterly, "The war has been going on so far. Japan is actually the country that needs an armistice as soon as possible.”

Ishihara Wanji nodded. New equipment such as the T-43/85, IS-1, and IS-2 have been known by the inspection team in Europe. The No. 4 tanks and Tiger tanks that Japan relies on are not invincible to the Red Army. Something difficult to deal with. Although the strength of the Kwantung Army is much stronger than before, it is comparable to the Far East Red Army, but it is definitely not as good as the main force of the Russian army. Therefore, although Horikichi's statement "not to offend the Red Army" is a bit abrupt, he thinks it is very wise.

Of course, this kind of thing cannot be said to the outside world. Hori Tikichi is right now and the navy will obey orders. If he says a few words, it might be fine. If Ishihara Kanji "shows weakness" like this, "Tenchu ​​****" might come. He felt a headache when he thought of these red deer - why didn't they all die in India?

"Then...what do you think we should do?"

"It is recommended to lease a piece of land from Russia."

"rent?"

"The military situation is raging and the public opinion is excited. It's impossible to stop him. If we can't protect him, someone will walk alone and cause trouble, so we still have to move." Horikichi walked to the map and drew a circle on it with his pointer, "Put Saha It is enough to capture the northern part of Lindao. The Soviet army there is not strong, and there are millions of tons of oil output. It can also block Russia's foreign exchanges, which will be a great deterrent to the Russian army. But in name, it must be polite, not to mention Russia. Cession, just lease it to us for 99 years, and pay some rent every year-for example, 200,000 tons of grain? "

"This..." King Higashikata Minuhiko didn't care about the food, but the 99-year lease made him feel uncomfortable.

"99 years is enough. If Japan is still strong after a hundred years, the Russians will not be able to take it back as usual; if Japan declines, it will be returned as time goes by. Stalin can also maintain his face. 200,000 tons of grain are very important to him. The grain east of the Ural Mountains The output is not that abundant.”

Tada Shun echoed: "I personally agree, but the navy must send a fleet to support us."

"That's no problem. The main force of the combined fleet will return home soon. When the army prepares its troops, we will attack. We will take it first and then issue a note to Russia to ask for a lease. You can rent it if Stalin agrees or disagrees, but you can never declare war. Horikichi sighed, "In fact, the Soviet Union will target us in the next step. If we don't provide guidance, the risk will be great, and the situation is actually extremely dangerous..."

"Tell me about it?" King Higashikata Minuhiko asked humbly.

"Russia used 700,000 to 800,000 troops to withstand our army on the front line in the Far East, and then the main force moved south from Xinjiang and Mongolia. How many troops stationed in Mongolia can withstand an armored assault on the grasslands? If the Soviet Communist Party strengthens its alliance with the Chinese Communist Party, the problem will be even greater big."

"Want to increase the number of troops stationed in Mongolia?"

"In order to increase, we need to continue to withdraw mainland China's troops. Wuhan must be returned to Chongqing. It doesn't matter if the price is lower. The rest of the troops must speed up the contraction towards the coast." Horikichi stared at the map and said word by word, "My opinion is very clear. When it is appropriate to promote the Ning-Han merger, adjust China policy, and conclude a peace treaty with the Chinese authorities as soon as possible, mainland China will no longer send troops except for the garrison in some port cities and leased areas."

This thought made Tada Shun feel stunned, and he blurted out: "Isn't this the same as a wasted fight?"

"The fight was not in vain, we took India."

"but……"

"Times will change! Gentlemen, with Stalin's character, if he suffered a loss on the Western Front, what will happen if he doesn't get it back in the East? He must not be broken into pieces? When the Russians swallow up Xinjiang, Tibet, and Mongolia - we will After withdrawing from almost most of China's territory, will China's most dangerous enemy still be us? As long as China and the Soviet Union are not opposed to us, and there is room for maneuver in India, life will be much more stable." Horikichi sighed, "The focus will not be on this in the future. War is construction, and India is the foundation of the empire for thousands of years.”

Ishihara Wanji, who had been thoughtful, stood up and bowed deeply: "I have learned a lesson."

Horikichi shook his head: "I dare not say whether it will succeed or not. At least this is the only way for Japan to survive. Gentlemen, the prospect is very pessimistic..."