The eighth day thin (2)
All the people sat upright, and the atmosphere was a little dull. This was the first time at the Imperial Conference. Kido felt a little uneasy. He glanced at Suzuki, and Suzuki sighed in his heart, feeling the bullet in his head hurt again. " "
"Your Majesty, there are huge differences in the cabinet's battles and issues. There was no agreement in several meetings, which made you worry about your Majesty's trust." Suzuki's voice was a little choked, his feelings were a little excited, and his pale hair was shaking gently.
"Your dear, you don't have to do this," Hirohito comforted calmly: "I am well aware of the difficulties faced by the cabinet. I hope that the cabinet will not consider me in terms of decision-making wars and issues. I can accept all the decisions of the cabinet."
In the last paragraph, Hirohito specifically emphasized his tone, and the meaning was very obvious. The cabinet members and the representatives of the base camp were both excited, but each entry had different performances. The main and political factions such as Togo showed joy, while military generals such as Nishio Suzuo looked dismal, and Mijiro Umezu showed excitement.
"Your Majesty is considerate, I am very grateful. The situation in the country is very serious," Suzuki continued: "Today's imperial meeting will fully report the current situation of the country to Your Majesty. Ishiguro, please tell me about the food situation first."
Tadashi Ishiguro opened the document in front of him and stood up to report to Hirohito: "According to statistics from the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Commerce, this year's grain output is 70% of last year, and the national quantitative will drop to 30% of every incoming (Japanese unit of measurement, 2 taels per contract); due to the interruption of transportation, fertilizer output will drop to 40% of last year, and it will further decline, that is, there will be a large-scale famine next year, and grain output will further decline.
The decline in materials closely related to the war was even greater. Steel plants across the country were blown up by 80% of them. Although they had worked hard to repair, they could only restore a small part of their production capacity. In August, the national steel production was 60,000 tons, which is estimated to be around 800,000 tons in the whole year.
At the beginning of the first half of the year, the monthly output could reach 300,000 tons. Due to the loss of Manchuria, the monthly output is now 60,000 tons. These coals mainly come from North Korea and the south of the China Yangtze River.
The production situation of gasoline and diesel is also very serious. In the past few years, the total production of gasoline and diesel is about 700,000 liters, which is 30% of last year. This is mainly due to the lack of sufficient crude oil, and the widespread bombing of refineries, the production capacity has been greatly damaged. What is even more worrying is that these outputs mainly come from reserve crude oil. There are very few crude oil shipped back from Nanyang. Last month, only 13,000 tons of crude oil were transported back to China, and so far this month, only 5,000 tons of crude oil have been shipped back to China.
Last month, aluminum production was 6,000 tons, and there were fewer and fewer alumina ores transported from Nanyang, and 2,000 tons were transported back this month...
In short, from all aspects, the output of various materials has dropped seriously, and the main factors affecting output are the bombing of the Chinese Air Force and the interruption of maritime transportation lines."
Ishiguro closed the documents in his hand, and then sat down after giving a slight salute to Hirohito. Suzuki called the Minister of Military Control and Prefecture Toyota to report on the production of military supplies.
When Toyota got up, he glanced at Nishio Suzu Emezu Mijiro next to him with the corner of his eyes. The two of them did not say anything. This was a meeting of the emperor. When he told lies at this meeting, he would be severely punished.
"Your Majesty, as Minister Ishiguro said, due to the serious decline in the amount of assets such as steel, aluminum, and copper, military production has been severely affected.
As of last month, this year, 160,000 rifles, 5,000 light and heavy machine guns, 170 tanks, 130 armored vehicles, 680 aircraft, and surface ships," Toyota looked at Hirohito, who was expressionless, swallowed his saliva and said, "Preface ships, zero, since the war started, we have lost about 100,000 tons of ships every month, which has exceeded our ability to build ships. The steel production has decreased, so we have no strength to build ships."
As a string of numbers popped out of Toyota's mouth, Toyota gradually calmed down, and his words became more stable and heart-wrenching.
Whether it is warships, aircraft, tanks and armored vehicles, light and heavy machine guns, and even military uniforms and shoes, the output of all weapons and equipment has declined across the board.
Some newly formed divisions still hold single shots of Russo-Japanese War morale. Some extreme brigades even had weapons at all, and tied swords to wooden sticks as weapons.
After Toyota finished speaking, the conference room fell into a dead silence, only Nishio Suzu's heavy breathing sound, Mejiro Umezu's face turned red, and he stared at the table fiercely.
Kido sighed softly and said, "It seems that the situation is very difficult. Prime Minister, what solutions have the cabinet proposed?"
Suzuki felt bitter in his mouth. He tried to swallow his saliva. Japan could not solve these problems at all. Now it was just the Chinese Air Force bombing. In a few months, the United States will complete the air bases in Saipan and Guam, and they will join in.
The lack of raw materials must be transported from South China Ocean, but this will break through the numerous interceptions of the US Navy and Air Force. Last month, in Manila, US aircraft carriers raided the Manila port and sank seven cargo ships docked in the port, losing a total of 70,000 tons.
Another fleet passing through the Taiwan Strait was attacked by the Chinese Air Force, and two freighters were sunk. The rest passed through the Taiwan Strait and were attacked by American submarines in the East China Sea. In the end, only one of the transport fleets of eight freighters successfully sailed back to Japan.
These two fleets lost 120,000 tons of transport capacity, and these precious transport capacity could not be supplemented once it was lost. The captains now mentioned that they were going to the South China Sea or returning from the South China Sea, and they changed their expressions when they heard this. This sea passage was about to become a synonym for death.
"I believe that to resolve these difficulties, the war must be stopped," Suzuki finally put the topic at the center of the meeting. He looked at Hirohito calmly: "The empire is unable to resist the bombing of the US Air Force, and the joint fleet is unable to ensure the smooth flow of maritime transportation lines; Your Majesty, I am unwilling to your Majesty's trust,..."
Suzuki choked and lowered her head, tears pouring out. Although she didn't say it clearly, the meaning was already clearly expressed. Japan was unable to turn the situation around and had to accept the conditions of the allies and surrender unconditionally.
Unconditional surrender, Japan's future cannot be determined, and it will be international trusteeship in the future. It is impossible to know whether there is a Yaohuang or even a central government.
The Suzuki Cabinet may be recorded in history as the last cabinet in Japan or the last cabinet under the Aohuang system.
"For peace, I think that unconditional surrender will not be possible. This will cause a heavy blow to the confidence of the people. The soldiers on the front line will not agree. To be peaceful, yes, but the national system must be guaranteed. The difficulties of the country must be considered in the future. War reparations cannot be paid too much."
Before Hirohito could comfort Suzuki, Umezu Mijiro made a tough statement. Yamada Yozo also spoke up: "The Imperial Army still has millions of people and the power to fight, so we can't just give up like this."
Nishio Suzusaki said coldly: "The rest can be discussed, but the national system cannot be changed! Your Majesty cannot be held accountable!"
Nishio Suzuo mentioned a question that everyone deliberately avoided, whether the war responsibility of Emperor Aoi Hirohito, will the allies hold Hirohito accountable for the war responsibility, and will the war crime court be sent to the court.
The allies publicly announced that war criminals would be investigated. In addition to the entry of troops that violated the Hague International Convention, war criminals would also be investigated for those political and economic enclosures that planned wars.
Japan launched a war of aggression against China, launched a war of invasion of the Soviet Union, attacked Pearl Harbor, and launched a Pacific War. As Japan's nominal supreme ruler, what would allied countries treat him nearby? All the people, including Suzuki, Kido, and Hirohito himself, do not know.
Suzuki was speechless. His wife was Hirohito's enlightenment teacher. He used to be Hirohito's attendant and was the most trusted person of Emperor Yao. He could not say some of the words.
"But can the army continue to fight?" Foreign Minister Dongxiang immediately set up another battlefield when he saw the situation was unfavorable: "If the army can fight and win the final victory, there is no problem!"
Yamada Yi San was furious and stood up: "How can you say that! Any soldier knows that without confidence, there will be no victory!"
"As an ordinary soldier, you can think so," Dongxiang said unceremoniously: "But as a leader of the country, it is not possible to think solely that this is the only way! We must foresee what happens one year or two years later. Can the army fight for a year? The joint fleet is not even enough oil to go to sea now, so how can we continue to fight?!"
Togo was very angry. In his opinion, Japan should have had a long time ago. After the Battle of North China, he immediately announced that he would accept the Tehran Declaration, and Japan would not suffer such great damage.
Seeing that the meeting might be out of control, Kido immediately stood up and made a calm gesture: "Don't be excited, all ministers, it's the Imperial Conference now."
Kido bite the two words "Omega" very much. Yamada and Togo glared at each other fiercely before turning to Hirohito to apologize: "I am missing the etiquette, please forgive me."
At this time, Hirohito spoke: "You are all committed to the country, why are you guilty of doing your best?"
Just as everyone thought this scene was the case, the meeting would return to the existing track, the military commanded the war, civil officials commanded the harmony, and the two sides argued endlessly, and finally left it alone.
But Yuren continued: "The country has reached a critical moment, so I don't want to think about it. The empire has been passed down for thousands of years, and the people's recognition of the national system is highly consistent. Even the enemy country cannot ignore these things. The important thing now is to avoid the harm of the people again, rather than considering my safety. If necessary, I can sacrifice like an ordinary soldier."
Everyone was stunned and briefly shocked, Suzuki Kantaro stood up first, and all the ministers stood up one after another. Suzuki choked up again: "I am grateful to Your Majesty's holy virtue. All Japanese citizens will be brave for Your Majesty. No matter how powerful the enemy enters, I will never let Your Majesty be hurt."
Kido also seemed excited, but he knew very well in his heart that Hirohito's words would be recorded. This passage would become an important evidence for his support for peace after the war. This is the main reason why Hirohito said this, and it is also the fundamental reason why Hirohito allowed military generals to fight and he was reluctant to express his opinion.
All the troops thought that Hirohito had little control over the army, but Kido knew that the truth was the opposite. Without Hirohito's consent, no officer in the military, even a division commander or brigade commander, could take office. His control over the army far exceeded that of his grandfather Meiji Emperor Ao and his father Taisho Emperor.
"I hope that the ministers will take the people as their thoughts and assist the Prime Minister in handling national affairs well, especially the army, Nishio's dear Queen and Umezin's dear Queen, you must control the army well. The army cannot do its own business and obey the decisions of the cabinet."
In the end, Hirohito said this sentence extremely harshly, his eyes moved back and forth between Nishio Suzu and Umezu Mijiro. Both of them were shocked and said they didn't dare to.
Dongxiang seized the opportunity and immediately forced him up: "Your Majesty's heart has understood. I suggest that you accept the Tehran Declaration of the Allies."
Suzuki did not speak at this time. Ishiguro looked at Hirohito. Hirohito was expressionless. Kido sat down quietly. Yoko Yamada immediately resisted: "Although Your Majesty has such a kind heart, the national system is not just Your Majesty, but it is related to the entire Japanese nationals. You, if the people realize that the Yamato nation has fallen to the point of slaughtering, the national spirit will inevitably collapse, and its impact will exceed the defeat itself dozens of times, and it will affect how many generations it will be!"
After Hirohito's interruption, Yamada's aura was no longer as strong as before, but his words were soft and hard, which made the situation back a lot. Nishio Suzu and Umezu Mijiro, who were a little depressed, were much more excited.
"Is I willing!" Dongxiang was a little excited again, and he shouted sternly: "You cannot stop the Chinese planes that are bombing over Tokyo, you cannot defeat the Pacific Fleet, you cannot defeat the Chinese army that is attacking. If you...everything...everything... there is a way, I... need to propose...to accept such humiliating conditions?!"
Dongxiang said tears and said nothing. Seeing that the meeting was about to lose control again, Suzuki had to stop it: "Minister of Dongxiang, this is the imperial meeting. Your Majesty is generous. As a minister, you must be careful not to lose your manners."
Togo had to apologize to Hirohito again, but Hirohito did not express anything this time. Suzuki stood up and said: "The cabinet has no objection to peace, but there are differences in the way of peace. We can make some diplomatic efforts. Your Majesty, I suggest that we should make diplomatic efforts first and wait for the No. 1 battle before seeing the result."
Dongxiang looked a little dissatisfied, but Ishiguro gently pulled his sleeves beside him to calm him down. After Hirohito made such a statement, the meeting of God would not have a result, otherwise it would be considered that Hirohito was fighting for his throne, which made the people make such a huge sacrifice.
This result was something Hirohito could not accept, and the ministers here did not dare to accept it.
Suzuki obviously understood it, so he mentioned how to carry out the No. 1 battle after the No. 1 battle? This is what Hirohito is very concerned about.
"Secretary Mine, can the joint fleet go to sea to fight?" Hirohito asked.
Minai Mitsumasa stood up and replied solemnly: "Please rest assured that the joint fleet will definitely go out to sea to fight."
"I just heard that the Joint Fleet lacks fuel and aircraft. How do they go out to sea to fight?" Hirohito certainly asked aimlessly, his eyes fell on Nishio Suzuo and Umezu Mijiro.
Nishio Suzuo immediately stood up and said, "The Army can transfer the fuel that was distributed to the Army to the Navy."
Meijiro Umezu also immediately stated: "The Army's aircraft can be transferred to the Joint Fleet. There are still 200 combat aircraft at Sasaki Air Force Base that can be transferred to the Navy."
Hirohito finally smiled: "It is the blessing of the country and the people to be united in such a sincere manner; however," said Hirohito's tone changed and he said to Suzuki: "Peace work cannot wait for the end of the No. 1 operation to begin, and it can start now. Strictly speaking, it should not be stopped, it should continue. Whether peace can be implemented in the end depends on diplomatic efforts."
All the ministers, including Suzuki, knew that this meeting was like this, and all the people stood up and replied respectfully: "I respectfully receive the sage."
(To be continued)
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Chapter completed!