1942 was a glorious year for most Japanese people and soldiers, and it was also a year worth writing about.
Just a few months ago, Nagumo Chuichi led six aircraft carriers and 441 aircraft to attack Pearl Harbor thousands of miles away, catching those Americans who were busy spending the weekend by surprise.
After the war, looking at the billowing smoke in Pearl Harbor and countless corpses floating on the sea, the angry people immediately held demonstrations and requested a declaration of war against Japan, and the U.S. Congress also immediately passed a report declaring war on Japan.
However, in the initial period, the United States, which had just entered the wartime system, had not had time to exert its advantages and had no choice but to take a defensive position.
Therefore, in the first half of 1942, Japan was rampaging across the Pacific Ocean and no one dared to provoke it. It was in the limelight for a while. It was at this time that Japan's momentum reached its highest peak.
But the good times did not last long. The Battle of Midway was like a blow to the head that hit the entire Japanese top management.
If the Battle of Midway confused Japan's top brass, then Doolittle's air raid on Tokyo woke up Japan from the dream it had been immersed in for hundreds of years.
After August, the situation in the Pacific War took a turn for the worse, because the Americans who reacted began to attack Japan's Pacific defense circle. The ongoing Guadalcanal Battle is the most direct proof.
In the back garden of the Japanese Imperial Palace, Emperor Hirohito sat quietly in a small pavilion, looking at the rows of bare cherry blossoms in the garden and not knowing what he was thinking.
Today, Hirohito is wearing a pair of semi-new water-polished trousers, a loose robe on his upper body, and a pair of thick black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, making him look gloomy and a little dull, like a Japanese villager.
Primary school teachers.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." A soft voice sounded in Hirohito's ears.
"Well……"
Hirohito turned his head, and a maid knelt behind him and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Konoe and Chief of Staff Tojo have been waiting outside for a long time."
"Oh...let them come in." Hirohito waved his hand gently to signal the maid to go down, and he sat quietly and thought about his thoughts.
After a while, along with the sound of slight footsteps, two voices sounded from behind.
"Your Majesty, Konoe Fumimaro... Tojo Hideki has met your Majesty."
After hearing the voice, Hirohito turned around and said, "Well, Konoe-kun and Tojo-kun are here, please take a seat."
"Hi!"
Konoe Fumimaro and Tojo Hideki responded respectfully and then carefully knelt down beside them, and soon a maid served them tea.
After thanking each other, the two of them picked up the tea cups, touched their lips and put them down. After all, they were not here to drink tea, and as ministers, it was unbecoming to drink tea with the monarch in such a grand manner.
The two of them sat for a while, but still didn't hear Hirohito make a sound. The two of them could only kneel down on the mat quietly without daring to breathe. They couldn't help but feel panic in their hearts. They didn't know where they had offended His Majesty.
.
It took a long time before I heard Hirohito's voice floating out of the clouds, "Konoe-kun."
"I'm here!" Konoe Fumimaro quickly and respectfully replied.
"I heard that the Americans have launched an attack on the empire's Pacific defense perimeter recently? Is that true?"
"Yes, it's just that I'm not very proficient in military matters. Why don't you ask Tojo-kun to clarify your doubts?"
Konoe Fumimaro looked at Tojo Hideki, it's up to you to answer this question.
Hideki Tojo cursed in his heart, but had to sit up straight, cheer up and said: "Your Majesty, the war between the United States and the Empire in the Pacific has now entered a stalemate.
Especially on Guadalcanal, the commander of the 17th Army, Hyakutake Haruyoshi, is commanding the army to engage in a bloody battle with the US military on Guadalcanal. So far, more than 20,000 US troops have been killed."
Here, Tojo Hideki played a trick and secretly multiplied the number of people by 2. Emperor Hirohito would not check it personally anyway.
Hearing this, Hirohito nodded slowly, "I know Hyakutake Haruyoshi, and he is very loyal to me and the Empire of Japan. You can tell Hyakutake Haruyoshi later that as long as Guadalcanal is defended, I will personally protect him."
He awarded medals."
Tojo Hideki quickly left his seat and bowed deeply: "Hi... I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness on behalf of Hyakutake-kun!"
"Sit down..."
Hirohito waved his hand and asked Tojo Hideki to sit down again, and then asked casually: "However, I heard that the Imperial Army recently encountered some troubles in Shanxi, so much so that Okamura Neji personally went to Shanxi to personally
Sit in charge, is that right?"
As soon as these words came out of Konoe Fumimaro and Tojo Hideki's mouth, their hearts immediately rose to their throats.
Seeing that the two of them were silent, Hirohito sneered: "Why...are you speechless? Since you don't say anything, I will say it for you."
"The all-out war between the Empire and China has been going on for five years. Over the past five years, the Empire has invested countless manpower, material and financial resources. Countless imperial warriors have lost their lives for the common prosperity of Greater East Asia. Only then have they achieved this result. So
I will never allow anyone to destroy this hard-won situation, do you understand?"
"Hi!"
At this time, a layer of white sweat had appeared on the backs of the two of them.
Even though the emperor in Japan looks like a mascot most of the time, he actually has great power.
Let's put it this way, if Hirohito dislikes a minister, he only needs to reveal it inadvertently, and the minister will obediently resign.
What, shamelessly staying put? Don’t worry, no one in Japan dares to go against the emperor. Whoever dares to do this will make him understand what life is worse than death, and even be punished by someone as a national thief.
.
In Japan, the emperor's prestige is so great.
Now, hearing Hirohito personally express his dissatisfaction with the war in Shanxi, the two of them had no reason not to panic.
Tojo Hideki quickly explained: "Your Majesty, the reason why the war in Shanxi is disrespectful is because all the empire's aircraft in Shanxi were lost in the fierce battle with the local warlord named Gao Hongming.
The Chinese took the opportunity to mobilize more than 100,000 troops to attack Taiyuan. Mr. Okamura had no aircraft cover, so it was harder to fight?"
"Harder?"
Hirohito stared at Tojo Hideki and said solemnly: "But how did I hear that Okamura-kun has sent several telegrams to the headquarters and base camp of the China Expeditionary Force to allocate aircraft, but so far he has not received even a single aircraft.
ah.
Or is it that the empire’s fighter battalions are so short?”
At this time, Tojo Hideki had no time to curse who was snitching on the emperor. If he could not satisfy the emperor today, I am afraid that his position as chief of staff would be over.
"Your Majesty, this is really not the case. Please listen to my explanation..."