When Kanin Gong Zaihi walked into the imperial study, he saw that Emperor Hirohito had completely restored his calmness. At least there was no abnormality in the expression on his face. However, Kanin Gong Zaihi knew that in less than fifteen years,
Minutes ago, Emperor Hirohito lost his temper in his study and even broke a pair of blue and white porcelain from the Yuan Dynasty.←,
Seeing Hanin Gong Zaijin walking into the study, Hirohito said leisurely: "Uncle Emperor, two hours ago, my palace guard held an equestrian competition with the visiting British delegation. Although it was only a friendly match, regardless of the British,
It was my guardsmen who worked hard and fought bravely, and the result was not unexpected."
Xianyuan Gong Zairen whispered: "His Majesty's guard must have won."
Hirohito nodded and said: "Yes, my guard won the game, but the British did not admit defeat. They said that the game is just a game after all, not a war. No matter how good the game is, it does not mean that it has reached the battlefield."
I will definitely win the battle. Faced with the British doubts, I was speechless. Because in the Sino-Japanese War, the performance of the imperial army was indeed not outstanding. It was not enough to convince the Western powers, let alone to impress them.
Be afraid!"
"Hai." Xianyuan Gong Zairen paused and said, "It is my incompetence that caused Your Majesty to be humiliated by the British."
Hirohito shook his head and said: "It's okay for me to be humiliated by the British. If my humiliation can exchange for the imperial army's brave fighting on the battlefield, I would rather be humiliated by the British a hundred times, ten thousand times, but..."
Speaking of this, Hirohito paused suddenly, and then his tone became more serious, and he added: "But what I can't bear is that I was humiliated by the British just on the equestrian field, and after returning to the palace, I was immediately humiliated by the Chinese again."
It’s humiliating that our commander, General Shanshan Yuan, the commander of the Imperial Army’s Central Front, actually committed seppuku and committed suicide!”
Hirohito's anger boiled up again as he spoke, and he swept all the ornaments on the desk to the ground, including a pair of inkstones and smashed them into pieces. However, Hirohito didn't even blink and said sternly: "Tangtang
A front army commander, a majestic imperial army general, was actually forced to commit seppuku by a district commander of the China Army!"
Xianyuan Gong Zairen could not utter a single word of defense, he could only feel his face burning with shame.
Hirohito was still angry, and then said angrily: "Xu Rui, this damn Xu Rui again, first Iwane Matsui, and then Yuan Shanshan, two commanders of the Central China Front have been killed by this Xu Rui."
Under his subordinates, if you include the former uncle Fushimi Miya Toshihiko, three senior generals of the empire have been destroyed by this man. Xu Ruisi people have simply become the mortal enemies of the empire and the enemies of the imperial army.
Nemesis!"
Seeing Hirohito getting furious, Hanin Gong Zaijin didn't dare to say a word.
The two commanders of the Central China Front, Matsui Iwane and Sugimoto Yuan, both performed poorly. As the Army Chief of Staff, he also had a disgraceful face. In any case, he recommended these two commanders to Hirohito, and
What made him even more troubled was that he had to recommend the candidate for the third commander.
After Hirohito calmed down, Hanyin Gongzai Rencai asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Shan Shan Yuan has safeguarded the dignity of himself and the Shan Shan family in a samurai manner. It is not appropriate for the empire to be harsh on the royal family. The top priority is to elect Huazhong as soon as possible.
The successor to the commander of the front army, and then rush to the battlefield of the Central Branch as soon as possible to preside over the crisis situation in central Anhui."
Hirohito frowned and asked, "Is the situation in Wanzhong really that bad?"
"Your Majesty." Xianyuan Gong Zairen sighed, "It's not that bad, but it's extremely bad!"
Hirohito had an intuitive feeling about Shan Shanyuan's seppuku suicide, but he lacked a concrete concept of the serious harm that the fall of Feicheng might bring to the Japanese army in central China, because he felt that the Japanese army would still be in an offensive posture no matter how defeated it was, so no matter how unfavorable the situation in central Anhui was,
As for the big reversal.
But after listening to Kanin Gong Zaijin's words, Hirohito realized that what he was thinking was a bit simplistic.
At that moment, Hirohito frowned and asked: "Uncle Emperor, please tell me specifically, how bad is the situation in central Anhui? Could it be that the fall of Feicheng will lead to the defeat of the entire Xuzhou battle?"
"More than that!" Xianyuan Gong Zairen said, "If the imperial army cannot recapture Feicheng as soon as possible, and if it cannot re-open the Fei-Wu Highway in the shortest time, then the northbound cluster on the Mengcheng line will have already advanced to Fuyang.
It had to stop because the logistics support could not keep up. In this way, the battle plan of the two major clusters from the north and the south to join forces near Shangqiu and to encircle more than a hundred main divisions of the National Army near Xuzhou came to nothing."
Hirohito frowned and said: "Isn't this still a defeat in the Battle of Xuzhou? Are there other consequences?"
"Of course." Xianyuan Gong Zairen said, "If Feicheng cannot be recaptured within seven days, the northward cluster will be forced to stop advancing. If Feicheng cannot be recaptured within half a month, the situation will be even more serious. By then
, the main force of the Fifth China War Zone near Xuzhou and the main force of the Third China War Zone in southern Anhui will advance from the north to the south and encircle the Northward Cluster near Fuyang and Mengcheng. By then, the 9th and 13th Divisions of the Northward Cluster will most likely repeat the fate of the 5th
, the fate of the 10th Division!"
"Nani?" Hirohito's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he said, "Repeat the mistakes of the 5th and 10th Divisions?!"
Hirohito still has fresh memories of the disastrous defeats of the 5th and 10th Divisions in Taierzhuang and Zaozhuang. This disastrous defeat also greatly reduced the image of the Japanese Army in the world. The German High Command even once had doubts about the capabilities of the Japanese Army.
Suspicion arose and a motion was made to suspend the alliance with the Japanese government.
Seeing that even the tone of Hirohito's words had changed, Kanin Gong Zairen quickly comforted him and said: "But don't worry, Your Majesty, this is just an extreme situation. As long as the base camp adjusts in time, as long as the Central China Front Army can recapture Feicheng in time and reopen Feicheng."
Wu Highway is the lifeline, so the situation will definitely not be like this."
Hirohito nodded and added: "So, does the Emperor's uncle have a suitable candidate?"
Kanin Gong Zaijin said: "Your Majesty, it can only be Hata Shunroku, no matter in terms of qualifications..."
"Qualifications, qualifications, qualifications again!" Before Yasuin Miyazaihito could finish his words, Hirohito immediately interrupted him rudely and said, "Uncle Emperor, you always talk about qualifications. Is it because of qualifications that I choose Matsui Iwane, or Sugimoto Sugimoto?"
Because of qualifications, no matter how old your qualifications are, can they be transformed into abilities? No! These people are already old and they can no longer keep up with this era. Uncle Emperor, why can't you choose a young man with outstanding strength?"
"What, choose a young man?" Xianyuan Gong Zairen said in shock.
"Why, is it so difficult to choose a young man?" Hirohito said dissatisfied.
Xianyuan Gong Zairen said with a bitter face: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten the 226 incident?"
"The 226 Incident?" Hirohito's face immediately darkened when he heard this.
The February 26 Incident that happened two years ago is definitely a lingering shadow in Hirohito's mind. The cause of the incident was that some young officers of the Kodō faction launched a mutiny in the name of Kiyoshi. Although their banner was to support the emperor.
, to eliminate the controlling bureaucracy around the emperor, but in fact it is to abolish the monarchy!
Fortunately, the 226 Incident was finally suppressed with iron blood.
But from then on, Hirohito no longer dared to trust young officers in the army.
Hirohito was in a hurry just now and had forgotten about this incident. However, after being reminded by Kanin Miyazaihito, he immediately remembered the matter again and said immediately: "Okay, then let's take Hata Shunroku."
Kanin Gong Zaijin said: "Your Majesty, although Hata Shunroku was born in the artillery, he once served as the military attache stationed in Germany. He systematically studied Western military theories and strategies and tactics in Germany. He also visited China twice for inspections and has a lot of knowledge about China.
I have a deep understanding of him, so I believe that it is most appropriate for him to succeed the commander of the Central China Front."
Hirohito nodded and said: "Uncle Emperor, I agree that Shunroku Hata will succeed the commander of the Central China Front. However, before Shunroku Hata goes to China to take office, I want to meet him and have a few words with him in person."
Kanin Gong Zaijin said: "Your Majesty, in fact, Shunroku Hata is already waiting outside the palace."
"The emperor's uncle is really scheming." Hirohito hit Kanin Palace Zaihi without leaving a trace, and immediately ordered the guards to invite Hata Shunroku in.
Soon Shunroku Hata walked into Hirohito's study room.
Shunroku Hata is thin and has a gaunt appearance. People who are not familiar with him would say that he is a drug addict.
However, few people know that Shunroku Hata was not like this at the beginning. Before the age of 25, Shunroku Hata was actually a typical Japanese soldier. Although he was short, he was very strong. It was only because of the Jiguan Mountain in the Russo-Japanese War.
In World War I, he was shot through the lungs by a bullet, which caused the root cause of his illness, and he became what he is today.
Shunroku Hata followed military etiquette and gave Hirohito a military salute.
Hirohito returned the military salute and said: "Hata-san, today the emperor's uncle specially brought you to see me. You must be aware of his intention. Regardless of your ability, qualifications or understanding of China, you are the commander of the Central Front Army."
I have high hopes for you as your best choice as an official, and I hope you will not disappoint the empire."
"Hai." Shunroku Hata crossed his legs and paused, "I will do my best to be loyal to the empire."
Hirohito continued: "I am not worried about your ability at all. I only remind you that Xu Rui is a mortal enemy of the empire. After you take office, your first priority is to recapture Feicheng and reverse Anhui."
But after the war situation in Anhui turns around, you must do everything possible to eradicate this beast first."
Hanyin Palace was worried that Shunroku Hata would raise questions, and then said: "Hata-san, you should be aware of the dangers of Xu Rui. Of the two commanders of the Central China Front, one was dismissed because of him, and the other because of his choice to commit seppuku.
In addition, my nephew Fushimi Miya Toshihiko also died at the hands of this person. If we add Chiaki Shigefuji, Yukio Tachibana, Shuichi Hamura, Heiji Kawaguchi and Ryota Adachi, eight generals have died at the hands of this person.
Hand, this person can truly be called the sworn enemy of the empire!"
"Hai." Hata Shunroku nodded solemnly and said solemnly, "I will definitely kill this beast with my own hands."
