China passed the Lend-Lease Act to Britain, and the first batch of supplies was fully prepared. The huge Chinese fleet headed straight from Guangdong to the Strait of Malacca. In order to ensure the safety of the fleet, China dispatched two ships, the Ningyuan and Jingyuan.
Aircraft carriers form a powerful battle group and provide maritime escort for the entire fleet.
It is impossible to keep such a fleet secret. Besides, China has no hidden plans. It just sends things out openly. No fleet in the South China Sea dares to challenge China's authority.
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"President, Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo sent a personal letter!"
Qiao Yu knew very well that the little Japan around him was not a peaceful country. Germany was sweeping Europe, and they would definitely be tempted to take action. However, China still didn't know how Japan planned to start. At this time, Tojo sent
Qiao Yu had to take the handwritten letter seriously.
Tojo's tone in the letter was very polite, but the content was not very polite. Tojo's core meaning was to ask China to stop military trade with Britain and abandon the Lend-Lease Act.
He listed a series of reasons, such as Britain being a colonial empire and committing unforgivable crimes against Asian people, including the Chinese people. Until now, they still occupy Asian lands and plunder Asian wealth. This kind of country should not
support.
The second point is that both Germany and Japan are willing to respect China's interests and will never let China suffer losses. As long as China can maintain a neutral attitude in the next war, China will be able to get everything it wants.
Get along with the Western peoples!
Qiao Yu was completely scornful of Japan's self-righteousness. How could China's policies be influenced by Japan? Qiao Yu immediately asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a statement warning Japan not to collude with Germany and not to try to destroy the tranquility of Asia, otherwise China will take
Comprehensive sanctions will completely cut off trade between China and Japan!
Although Japan has been developing Southeast Asia for many years, it has seen results. It is basically self-sufficient in oil, food and other materials. Rubber can also be exported, but Japan still has a serious shortage of non-ferrous metal ores. Without these important materials, Japan cannot produce high-performance materials.
At first, Japan was able to import part of it from China, and the United States would also export a lot of precious materials to Japan in the name of selling scrap steel. However, as Germany wreaked havoc, both China and the United States regarded fascist power as the biggest threat.
Japan, allied with Germany, has become a scourge in the Asia-Pacific region, and China and the United States have jointly tightened sanctions.
Especially after Japan's espionage operations in the Philippines were exposed, trade between the United States and Japan has actually come to a standstill. Now that China is also cutting off Sino-Japanese trade, the impact on Japan can be said to be fatal.
Tojo Hideki did not expect China's reaction to be so violent. He summoned all cabinet members and held discussions overnight. Tojo Hideki waved China's statement and roared loudly: "Gentlemen, China has betrayed Asia.
. Completely became a lackey of the United States and Britain. Not only did it not understand the empire's good words and advice, but it also threatened the empire. This is something the imperial government absolutely cannot tolerate. From this, it can be seen that the important task of liberating Asia can only be carried out by the tenacious Empire of Japan.
Taking responsibility, the empire will work with its German allies to shape a comprehensive world order, establish a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and bring happiness and peace to the people of Asia."
Tojo's speech won the support of most cabinet members. In fact, they had no other choice. Since Japan's defeat at the hands of China, all the elite of the combined fleet were lost. It would take several years to restore a powerful fleet.
investment, building warships, training personnel, etc.
In addition, Japan is also aware of the serious shortage of equipment in its army and air force, so it needs to develop equipment. The tanks need to be large and have strong defense capabilities. The aircraft also need to change from the biplane era to a monoplane.
While Japan is working hard to exploit Southeast Asia, it is also intensifying its deprivation of the Japanese people. In the past ten years, more than 30 armed uprisings have occurred in Japan.
The Yamato nation is a nation with such endurance. They all had to choose armed uprising, which shows the ruthlessness and cruelty of Japan's expropriation. Everyone at the top of the Japanese government, including Emperor Hirohito, knows that the people's patience has limits. If it continues
If the suppression continues like this, without external force, a large-scale uprising will break out in Japan. By then, it will be too late.
Since ancient times, the best way to divert conflicts is to engage in foreign wars, launch aggressive wars, plunder huge amounts of wealth, and divert the attention of the people. Tojo had already determined this strategy before he came to power.
Japan has no way to retreat. They can only go to the end of the road. After gaining support from all parties, Tojo immediately dispatched the two aircraft carriers Soryu and Hiryu to speed north to seize the opportunity before the Chinese fleet enters the Strait of Malacca.
Intercept them and stop trade between China and Britain.
Japan's move is not crazy. This move is tantamount to challenging the two major powers of China and Britain. If you are not careful, it will cause a war. However, Japan also has its own calculations. They believe that Germany is gaining momentum now, and they will take the lead.
Intercepting Sino-British trade is tantamount to helping Germany.
China would probably be wary of Germany's attitude and would not dare to actually fight Japan, so Japan's two aircraft carriers dared to go north.
The Japanese have never thought that since China dares to sell to Britain, it proves that China does not take Germany seriously. As for Japan, it is not an issue. Such a crazy move now will only cause a huge backlash from China.
Because China's fleet has a large number of transport ships, its speed is not very fast. It is still nearly a hundred nautical miles away from Singapore. Britain has transferred its main fleet back to Europe. The largest warship in Singapore is a heavy cruiser.
, when learning that the Chinese fleet was about to arrive, the British sent their own warships to greet them.
The fleets of both sides were about to converge soon, but at this time, Chinese reconnaissance aircraft had discovered the Japanese aircraft carrier heading north.
China's own maritime territory is extremely vast, and China's main combat areas are in the Pacific region. China needs to expand the range of its carrier-based aircraft as much as possible. Initially, the Phoenix carrier-based aircraft developed by China had a range of less than a thousand kilometers. This distance
It has been able to meet the needs of the offshore, but it is not enough to go to the ocean. China has successively launched several improved models, the latest of which has increased the range to 1,500 kilometers. With the addition of auxiliary fuel tanks, the range can exceed
Two thousand kilometers.
This data is already very prominent among the carrier-based aircraft in the early days of World War II. The Phoenix carrier-based aircraft was the first to discover the Japanese aircraft carrier. There was a tacit understanding between China and Japan in the past that Japanese aircraft carriers were not allowed to enter the South China Sea. Now
The huge Japanese fleet appeared near the South China Sea without any notice. This can be regarded as an act of war.
Shen Honglie, who was on the Ningyuan, received a report from a reconnaissance plane. The Japanese aircraft carrier appeared near Malacca. This was definitely a provocation to China. In the face of this kind of behavior, China would never back down. Shen Honglie immediately ordered the ship to All carrier aircraft took off and entered a state of war.
In addition, he also sent a report to the country, requesting domestic authorization to attack Japanese aircraft carriers at any time.
At this time, Tojo Hideki submitted a diplomatic note to the Chinese government through the Japanese ambassador to China, hoping that China would stop selling weapons to Britain, accept Japan's friendly advice, and not get involved in the European war.
Japan dared to use aircraft carriers to threaten China, which was unacceptable to all China. Qiao Yu immediately authorized Foreign Minister Gu Weijun to issue the most severe warning to Japan.
Gu Weijun faced reporters from various countries and made a stern declaration that China passed the Lend-Lease Act to Britain and provided weapons to Britain to defend the country. This was entirely a matter between China and Britain, and Japan had no right to interfere. Now Japan has reneged on its past agreements and will The approach of warships to the Strait of Malacca is a serious threat to international shipping routes. China will never accept Japan's blackmail by force.
Finally, Gu Weijun pointed out that Japan has signed a military alliance agreement with Germany. This is an out-and-out aggressive alliance agreement. China is seriously opposed to it. It is best for Japan to give up its alliance with Germany and not try to satisfy its greed with war of aggression. , this is a road of no return!
At the same time as the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement, China's carrier-based aircraft were ready for battle and could launch a strike against Japan at any time. Shen Honglie and all naval soldiers were ready for battle to completely end Japan's war. Capability is China's consistent proposition. Now that the opportunity is right in front of us, how can we let it go!
China's carrier-based aircraft have already flown towards the Japanese aircraft carrier, assuming a posture of starting a war at any time. However, the Japanese side is not ready for war. They just want to test it out. They did not expect China to react like this. If the two sides start a war, Isn't this playing with fire?
The Japanese aircraft carrier did not take tit-for-tat measures. Instead, it sent a clear telegram stating that this was a misunderstanding and hoped that China would not misjudge. Then the Japanese aircraft carrier began to retreat. The confrontation of several hours disappeared and calm was restored on the sea again. .
But everyone knows that this is just the beginning. Japan already wants to use force, and war will never be too far away.
Qiao Yu immediately issued an order to expand the Chinese army, increasing the total number of Chinese army to three million. In addition, he stepped up the construction of naval bases on the Ryukyu Islands and South China Sea islands to build a solid maritime defense line.
In addition, the most important thing is to strengthen the military strength of North Korea and the Far East. This is the land border between China and Japan, and it is also the most important springboard for Japan to attack the Asian continent. Once a war breaks out, China must defeat it as soon as possible, so Qiao Yu ordered the establishment of the Northeast Asia Theater and appointed Shi Yi as the commander-in-chief of the theater.
The theater is under the jurisdiction of four armored divisions, two motorized infantry divisions, and eighteen infantry divisions. The total number of tanks exceeds 1,000, and there are more than 800 combat aircraft. The Yellow Sea Fleet is also under the management of the theater, forming a A powerful iron fist integrating sea, land and air. To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (. Vote for recommendation, monthly vote, your support is my biggest motivation.)