Great time travel

Chapter 37. A Chaotic World in which the Empire Collapses

As a classmate of the former commander of the United Fleet, Yamamoto 56, and the chief of Naval University graduates at the same time, Admiral Horityoshi, who participated in the Battle of Tsushima on the flagship of the United Fleet when he joined the army, had a lot of hardships in his life. .He participated in the Battle of Tsushima, witnessed the exuberance of Russia’s Second Pacific Fleet in ashes, and served as an observer of the French battlefield on the Western Front in World War I, as well as a proud official career as a representative of the League of Nations Navy. Was involved in political struggles at the time, because Horitiki, who was a trendy thinker, advocated the theory of aviation victory, demanded to build more aircraft carriers, and opposed the building of battleships, but was kicked away by the old-fashioned navy minister, who was forced to retire and go home to become the chairman of the board. .

(In the early 30s, in view of the turbulent situation in the world, there were two completely different views on the naval armament treaty within the Japanese Navy. Some people believed that the treaty should not be abolished and were called "treaty faction". The main members were Hori Tiki, Sakon Sikyong San, and Terajima Ken and other important officials of the Navy Ministry, in contrast to the Fleet faction, advocated the abolition of the treaty and the construction of battleships. After a struggle for power, in 1934, the Fleet faction headed by the Minister of the Navy Otsuka Sensheng led the Treaty faction Senior military officers underwent a large-scale purge, and most of them were dismissed from the military and incorporated into the reserve force. Yamamoto 56, a marginal figure of the treaty faction, escaped under the cover of the big bosses. On December 12 of the same year, Japan withdrew from the "Washington The Naval Treaty and the London Naval Treaty. Unexpectedly, Feng Shui took turns, and when Japan and the United States really went to war, it turned out that the treaty faction Yamamoto 29 was the one to show off.)
It wasn't until the outbreak of the Pacific War that Horie Tikichi was able to come back with the support of his old classmate and old friend Marshal Yamamoto 56.But the problem is that his qualifications are too high, and he can't find a suitable position in the United Fleet (if he hadn't been forced to retire, the commander of the United Fleet when Japan and the United States started the war should be Hori Tikichi) .Therefore, in the end, Hori Tikichi could only be allowed to continue to be the chairman of the newly established "Nanyang Heavy Industry" using the resources of the occupied area. In Japan, it is "director and president", responsible for the production of various military materials on the Pacific front battlefield.

——The so-called "Nanyang Heavy Industry" is actually a series of automated factories established by the ship's mother Sophie in New Guinea, Australia and the islands of the Western Pacific by using the power of faith and Nanyang resources.Since everything from factory buildings to machinery is created out of nothing, labor force can be recruited from occupied areas or prisoners of war, skilled workers can be transferred directly from the army, and mines are also spoils of war, which do not require any cost, and are escorted by the army, so the development is extremely rapid .In just a few years, a new giant chaebol was formed, as well as a bond of close ties between the navy and army on the South Pacific front.

Although the navy and army of the Japanese Empire have never been able to urinate in the same pot, to put it bluntly, it is mainly because of the competition for military expenses that this happened. In fact, everyone likes money equally.Therefore, when the United Fleet threw out the suggestion of "making a fortune together", a considerable part of the army on the Pacific front was also brought in.Then, after receiving certain benefits, the generals of the Tokyo base camp had to acquiesce in this.

That is to say, in the eyes of the navy and army generals in the headquarters during the war, this "Nanyang Heavy Industry" was actually the army's own small treasury. After the war, everyone became shareholders together according to their seniority and military exploits.Since most of the machinery and equipment are secretly provided by the navy's lady ship, and the transportation of materials between islands also needs the escort of the navy, so this Nanyang heavy industry can only be led by the navy, and at the same time let the army deploy some manpower and share dividends.

As for the leader of this economic group, Admiral Horitiki, who has deep experience in the navy, extensive contacts, and "has been in business for several years", is naturally a well-deserved No. 1 choice.And the generals of the United Fleet are also very happy to have one less god to compete with them for a seat.

Obviously, for the old chaebols such as Sumitomo, Mitsui, and Mitsubishi, who have long regarded the post-war dividends as their pockets, the military's practice of enclosing land in the front is tantamount to poaching their corners.But at this time, Japan has entered a wartime system. Even the factories, mines, and fleets of these chaebols must be controlled by the wartime headquarters, otherwise they are "non-nationals" who are not protected by law.Even the political party activities in the Congress have been abolished, and all legal channels of opposition have been closed. Under the protection of the army, as long as the war does not end, they have nothing to do with Nanyang Heavy Industries.Even many skilled workers and engineers in local factories were conscripted to Nanyang by the military, and then turned into engineers on the spot to join Nanyang Heavy Industries.

Therefore, relying on the crazy plundering and conscripting of labor by the Japanese navy and army, the rich natural resources in the South Pacific region, and more importantly, Miss Sophie, the ship's mother, who conjures factories and ships out of thin air, the scale of Nanyang Heavy Industries has expanded rapidly like a snowball. Soon it was no longer limited to heavy industry, but expanded into a super-large comprehensive consortium spanning various industries of industry, agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery.However, this consortium is not finance-centered like the West, but implements a Soviet-style planned economic system. Workers wear uniforms like soldiers, live in dormitories, and eat rations. ...But this is more in line with the army's preferences: this is what a wartime society should be like!

As a result, by the time of the Tokyo nuclear explosion in October [-], Nanyang Heavy Industries had actually performed government functions in most of the Japanese-occupied areas south of the equator and a considerable part of the occupied areas north of the equator. The chairman is also known as the "Nanyang Prime Minister" by the people... If it wasn't because he hadn't fought a war for more than ten years, everyone was a little worried about his command ability, otherwise he would be the new commander of the United Fleet.

The large-scale northward march of the joint fleet not only involves military tasks of combat and evacuation, but also involves the complicated political work of negotiating and forming alliances with various local resistance forces. Came with the transport group.

At present, the domestic war situation in Japan has temporarily fallen into a stalemate, but it is still not optimistic.Generally speaking, after the Battle of Nagoya, the Allied forces suffered heavy losses and even the commander was unfortunately captured. They were forced to basically stop their offensive on the battlefield of the Japanese archipelago. Continue to maintain high-intensity air strikes and bombings in an attempt to "soften" the strength of Japan's various red bases and stubborn main fighters.

In addition, under the personal supervision of Secretary of State Hull, the Allied Forces and the Japanese Provisional Government also strengthened the political inducement to surrender, and achieved a lot of results: just like the old Tsarist Russian aristocratic officers established White Guards to rebel after the October Revolution in Russia.With the over-expansion and civilianization of the old Japanese army, after getting rid of the control of the government and the emperor, it quickly "turned to the left", and the children of the powerful and powerful in the Japanese army also became dissatisfied.

However, the current domestic situation in Japan is different from that in Russia after the October Revolution.It was not that the people at the bottom rebelled and overthrew the government and the royal family, but that the two atomic bombs of the US military lifted the entire capital to the sky.Therefore, instead of calling on the people to overthrow the government and the king, the Japanese Red Army could justly shout the slogan "Revenge for the Emperor".Next, the U.S. troops who boarded the Japanese territory killed at least 700 million people in just a few months!If a military officer from the upper class of Japan wants to seek refuge in the "Interim Government of Japan" supported by the US military under such circumstances, it is tantamount to betraying the army, the country, the nation, the king, the faith, and the Bushido... The level of psychological barriers of such six-fold betrayal is at least equivalent to the collective conversion of the Knights Templar to Green Christians during the Crusades, or the conversion of European Jews to Hitler. It is definitely a hell-level difficulty: The Japanese who were educated in the doctrine and respect for the emperor are not the Chinese who are used to the changing banners on the top of the city. In fact, since the birth of Japanese civilization, there has never been any precedent for accepting foreign rule!

Therefore, even if the 1 Bolshevik muddy legs that have turned over are not pleasing to the eye, in the face of the righteousness of "revenge for the king" and "rescue the barbarians and save the country", those stubborn militarists are not active if they still have a little bit of shame. To devote himself to it and follow the trend of the times, at best, he would choose to abandon his post and abscond, and go away with his crown: His Majesty the Emperor and almost the entire imperial family died at the hands of the U.S. military, so it’s fine if he doesn’t have the ability to avenge His Majesty, how can he help the evildoers?To take refuge in the Bolsheviks is certainly to betray one's own class, but to take refuge in the U.S. Army is simply not worthy of being a Japanese!
However, even so, after all, there are still many guys who have no sense of shame at all, or who no longer want to be Japanese, relying on the instinct of obedience and following the strong, they voted for the enemy's side—for example, in the last Last week, when the iron cage that escorted Marshal MacArthur's "touring exhibition" was paraded in Hiroshima to boost morale, a mutiny broke out in the headquarters of the Kwantung Army that had just moved from the mainland.A few rebellious guys were bewitched by the lobbyists sent by the provisional government. They first forged official documents to rescue MacArthur, and then attempted to kidnap Commander Yoshijiro Umezu and coerce the entire headquarters to surrender to the U.S. military... Although this conspiracy failed in the end , but MacArthur was rescued in the chaos.

At the same time, Kyushu Island and Hokkaido Island, which are the rear of the Japanese resistance force, after the establishment of various Soviet regimes, various anti-Japanese rebellions by local gentry and rich families in collusion with the US military also emerged one after another.It is also difficult to distinguish the authenticity of the news in the wireless telegram - after the Tokyo nuclear explosion, the establishment of the Japanese Provisional Government and surrender to the enemy, the Japanese Navy's telegram code is no longer reliable, full of all kinds of false news released by the US spy agency.It is even difficult for the main force of the United Fleet stationed in Okinawa to know exactly which ports in the country are under the control of their own people.

Faced with such a kaleidoscope of chaos, Horitiki still dare not rush north despite knowing that it is meaningless to stay in Okinawa.

——The essence of the entire United Fleet and most of Japan's maritime capacity are gathered here. Once something goes wrong, Japan will be hopeless.

Therefore, Hori Tikichi needs a reliable leader who understands the real situation in China.

And this leader, or the official commander of the United Fleet, has already flown over from Wugang Township Mansion to meet up.

"...Report! Commander Narumi Inoue's landline is about to arrive! Please order the runway to be cleared! Fire the flare!"

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——As a super giant ship with a displacement of 30 tons, the "Ocean Oasis" is 420 meters long and 85 meters wide. The area of ​​its top deck is about four or five football fields, larger than any aircraft carrier in the world Both are much larger.

If it is a luxury cruise ship, the first reaction of the designer is probably to build an open-air swimming pool or a golf course on the sea, but as a military transport ship, the first reaction is to build a hangar and runway, even if only one or two reconnaissance planes can be parked That's good: with the performance of most small and medium-sized propeller aircraft in this era, with a hull length of 420 meters, even without catapults and arresting cables, it is enough to take off and land safely on this ship.

In short, under the instructions of the signal flag and the radio, the landline of the combined fleet commander Narumi Inoue landed steadily on the top deck of the "Oasis of the Seas".General Hori Tikichi immediately went up to greet him, and asked about the situation in the mainland, ignoring the polite greetings.

"...The domestic situation... can only be described as a mess. At present, our army has retreated westward to the Kobe line. Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and other famous cities and ancient capitals have all fallen, and Awaji Island and half of Shikoku Island have also fallen into the enemy's hands. Even on the remaining territory of our army, civilian communications and transportation have almost collapsed. Most of the factories were either bombed or forced to stop working due to lack of electricity and raw materials. Under the bombing of the US military and looting by mobs, In many cities, even the minimum food rations can no longer be maintained. Every day, thousands of citizens are starved to death, frozen to death, or flee to the countryside... Whether it is our side or the place occupied by the US military, It's all the same..."

Admiral Narumi Inoue sat down on a pine bench by the side of the ship, and said with a sad face, "...you have heard about the Hiroshima Mutiny a few days ago, right? Well, Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo were all in trouble. , the rear has been unstable, and now even the Seto Inland Sea is no longer safe! Kurita and I have been tossing on Eta Island for more than a month, and finally roughly organized the remaining local fleet. , all moved north to the Sea of ​​Japan to avoid bombing, and then relied on submarines, destroyers and torpedo boats to block the route and prevent the enemy from using Osaka Port for resupply. Overall, it was a success, sinking more than 10,000 free ships of the US military. , but the loss is not light, and the inventory is getting tighter and tighter, and even the food is almost out of food... Due to the sudden influx of [-]+ Kwantung Army, the food consumption has increased sharply, and the rations of Hiroshima citizens have been forced to cut When it comes to two and three tablespoons of brown rice per person per day, which is equivalent to four or two or six dollars, this amount of brown rice is difficult for people to maintain a normal life without other non-staple food. There are starving people everywhere in and outside the city. The people are all pale and emaciated. I really don't know what will happen after the food reserves are exhausted..."

"...Is the food supply on your side already so tight? Two and three scoops a day... This amount of ration is really deadly!"

General Horitiki, who had just had a full meal of lobster fried rice and fried fish steak, couldn't help being startled, and then noticed that Inoue Narumi seemed much thinner, "... Inoue-kun, can't you come from the countryside or Is North Korea collecting some food for emergency?"

"...The local countryside is already full of starvation! Mr. Hori! The most important grain-producing areas in the country, the Nobi Plain, the Kanto Plain and the Kinki Plain, have all fallen into the enemy's hands. At present, our army can still control those in the western country. The place was originally a barren land, full of high mountains and high mountains, and could not find a few flat lands to cultivate, and food could not be self-sufficient since ancient times. Then, during the years when the Pacific War broke out, young and middle-aged people in the countryside were drafted into the army or responded to the call of the country, Immigrants have gone to Nanyang and Australia, and the local countryside is extremely short of labor, and this year's grain harvest has failed again..."

Narumi Inoue sighed, and took out dried wild vegetables, grasshoppers, cicadas, rat meat, etc. from the briefcase one by one, and put them on the table, "...even the farmers in the western country have already gone to the mountains to find these things The hunger is exhausted. Urban residents have nothing to do, and those with a little wealth are flocking to the countryside to exchange precious jewelry for food. One tael of gold can only be exchanged for a bag of radishes or twenty liters of rice! The food standard of the army can only be one Drop and drop.

As for North Korea... Although there are still some food stocks there, hundreds of thousands of expatriates, officials and troops are piled up in Pusan ​​Port, and it is thankful that we can not help them.Fortunately, because the port of Vladivostok was frozen in winter, the 200 million expatriates of the "Manchurian Pioneering Group" who were evacuated according to the contract were temporarily stranded in the Soviet refugee camps eating Russian black bread, otherwise if they all rushed in at once Come on, we can be eaten up in an instant!

But even so, with the existing food reserves, it can only maintain the ration of residents for another two months, and it will not survive the summer anyway.I wonder if you brought more food from the south this time?Hori-kun!The Etajima Naval Academy is now out of sugar supply! "

"...In addition to the supplies for the naval officers and soldiers, I also brought [-] tons of wheat and rice, plus some potato flour, sago, salted fish, dried coconut and canned whale meat... Obviously this amount is not enough Yes, I didn't expect the situation to be so bad!" Horitiki said with a frown.

"...There is even worse news!" Narumi Inoue said with a wry smile, "...when I just rushed back to the mainland, the oil depots in Hiroshima and Kure Port were almost blown up, and the oil storage in Sasebo and Nagasaki was only [-] tons, some have been consumed for combat these days, and the remaining heavy oil is probably not enough to fill up the entire combined fleet plus your transport fleet once... The naval arsenal in Wugang was also bombed to pieces, hoarding All the ammunition has been blown up, and there is no electricity available, so we can only stop working, so even the artillery shells and torpedoes cannot replenish the combined fleet..."

"...What a hell! There is no food, no fuel, and the naval arsenal is shut down. How should we fight this battle?"

"...Before we set off from the anchorage of Truk, didn't we already have a conclusion at the meeting? The battlefield of the United Fleet is in Southeast Asia! There is no fuel, metal and electricity in the mainland, and there is no raw material for military production, even food. Not enough to eat! There is no way to keep fighting here!"

Narumi Inoue shrugged, "...Anyway, the successful return of the United Fleet is a great boost to the morale of the people. As for the remaining things and troubles, we can only talk about them slowly. Anyway, Halsey did not intercept you Instead, the fleet was retracted into Tokyo Bay..."

He explained in this way, and then issued an order resolutely, "...there is no trace of enemies in the East China Sea. Now, the United Fleet should go north! From the day the Americans landed, people all over Japan Want to know, where is their joint fleet?!"