Iron Cross

In the early morning, the sky was bright, and the longest night of the mutiny was finally over. One after another, Comet Kai and Zero fighter Kai took off from the deck of the aircraft carrier. They carried not bombs, but paper bombs - all of which were special editions rushed out by printing factories and newspapers overnight.

In the base camp, Ishihara Kanji was busy all night with bloodshot eyes. Last night, on the one hand, he coordinated the dispatch of the Imperial Guard Division, and on the other hand, he had to keep in touch with Prince Higashikuni Norihiko at any time. At the same time, he had to implement Hirohito's instructions to prepare for the suppression, and also find a way to rescue Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi, who was trapped in the hospital and whose life and death were unknown. But he found that he didn't know how to start all this, because the anti-rebellion army controlled the entire situation, and his situation was very passive.

"No need to save Fushimi, he's finished..." Shimomura Sada walked in, his face gloomy, but his tone was gloating.

"What's going on?"

"You can see it by looking at this." He handed the special edition in his hand to Ishihara Kanji.

Ishihara took a quick look and suddenly became frightened and stood up, "How did it come?"

"Navy bombers visited Tokyo in the early morning. Didn't you hear the sound?" Shimomura looked at him strangely, "It's all over Tokyo. Now radio stations and mobile loudspeakers are all broadcasting this. Don't you feel it?"

"Oh... It seems to be there, but I was busy talking to His Highness on the phone and didn't pay attention." Ishihara Kanji pricked up his ears and listened, and found that what Shimomura said was true.

"We thought they were going to bomb, and we were in a panic, but they dropped all paper." Shimomura smiled bitterly, "Everyone is watching now, and many people think it's a dog-eat-dog fight within the navy. It's okay to watch it, just as a joke, so..."

"If the news is true, Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi deserves to die ten times." Ishihara Kanji flicked the newspaper, "Look, it lists ten major crimes in one breath:... deceiving the emperor, colluding with generals, embezzlement and bribery, corruption, framing generals, conspiracy to rebel, collusion with foreign countries..."

"The corruption of the royal family is a major event that shakes the foundation of the country. Look at these pictures." Shimomura said "tsk tsk" repeatedly, "They raided Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi's mansion and took pictures of everything. The old guy usually enjoys himself the most, and it's not the British and American High-end goods are not used, and now all of them have become charges..."

"It's cruel enough!" Ishihara Kanji suddenly recalled, "I was wondering why he was so submissive when Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi put the Midway loss on him. It turns out that the foreshadowing is here. Isn't this a crime of deceiving the emperor that he can't escape?"

"And the Midway victory!" Muto Akira interrupted, "The shameless navy idiot deceived the people and His Majesty! It's okay to deceive them, but he even deceived the army!"

"Now even if I want to defend myself, I don't know where to start." Shimomura Sada smiled, "But it's good that the navy has lifted the lid, and Private Tojo can't get away..."

"Let me see." Ishihara Kanji read the report carefully, "It seems that Hori Teikichi knows about this, so he won't let Tojo go. That's good, it saves trouble, but it also There is trouble."

"What trouble?"

"The military police had the obligation to collect these leaflets, but now they are directly targeting Tojo. How dare he give the order to collect them? Isn't it more obvious that he is trying to cover up his crime?" Ishihara Kanji sighed, "I have no confidence in confronting Hori Teikichi. It is much more tiring than fighting a war. If you are not careful, you will get into trouble."

The phone rang suddenly. It was Prince Tokuni Norihiko calling: "Have you read the newspaper?"

"Yes."

The other party spoke weakly: "The palace and the Imperial Palace have also received it. Your Majesty is furious!"

"Are you scolding Hori Teikichi for revealing the truth?"

"No, you are scolding Fushimi Prince for misbehavior, causing so much trouble, and giving the mutinous soldiers an excuse."

"Hey, this tone is wrong..." Ishihara Kanji said in surprise, "Your Majesty yesterday He was still shouting at Hori Teikichi last night, but today he has changed his temper? Are you ready to solve the problem peacefully? "

"No!" Prince Higashikuni was deeply distressed. "Commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, Koshiro Ikawa, has been ordered to send troops and will arrive in Tokyo soon. Your Majesty has no intention of stopping and has asked the Imperial Guard Division to suppress the rebellion immediately, at least not to let the anti-rebellion army be so arrogant."

"Why?"

"Shouldn't Hori Teikichi report this to Fushimi Palace and I punish him? How can you use such a violent method as a mutiny? Isn't this forcing me, bullying other government agencies, and inciting civil unrest? What is the use of giving him the power to report to the emperor? Is he here to force the emperor to abdicate?" Prince Higashikuni imitated Hirohito's tone and repeated the original words vividly.

"This is a bit unreasonable. Will it be useful if Hori Teikichi reports it?" Ishihara Kanji sneered, "We knew about the personnel issue at the time. Will we run into a snag again? If Hori Teikichi is so stupid, can he still lead the combined fleet to victory? How stupid must the opponent he defeated be?"

"I advised your Majesty to take advantage of the situation, but he refused to listen after talking to you dry. He was determined to suppress the rebellion with the combined fleet and the army! He said that he would not allow the precedent of mutiny - no matter what the reason!" Prince Tokyuuni Toshihiko's tone was heavy at first, but he immediately relaxed and whispered, "You acted quite quickly. Did you agree with Hori Teikichi so quickly? Tojo Hideki has been suspended and is awaiting further action!"

"I..." Ishihara Kanji thought to himself, I haven't mentioned this to Hori Teikichi yet.

"Well done!" Prince Tokyuuni Toshihiko praised, "Add more fuel to the fire and let this bastard commit seppuku."

Ishihara Wanji thought to himself: It was probably because the palace did not know about the connection between Fushimi Palace and Tojo Hideki, so Hirohito became angry. Rather than being exposed by Horikichi, it is better to say that Hirohito reacted like this because he was panicking and being ignored by his subordinates. . However, he still advised: "Your Highness must be careful in your words and deeds, and never show a gloating expression, otherwise..."

"Your Majesty asked Seishiro Itagaki to temporarily take charge of the military police force. The idiot Yuan Ben wanted to intervene, but Your Majesty did not agree."

"Your Highness, you have been fooled." Ishihara smiled and broke into a cold sweat.

"Why? Isn't Itagaki Seishiro your good friend? Wouldn't it be more advantageous for him to control the military police?"

"Your Highness..." Ishihara smiled anxiously, "It depends on the time and occasion. Normally, of course you can't ask for it, but when is it now? The military police are going to suppress the army and the people with force. In extraordinary times, they are directly on the front line. Now they are fighting against the rebels. With the radio, telegraph, and newspaper systems under control, we can’t make any sound. The military police have a heavy responsibility. If there is a conflict and casualties, what will happen in the future?”

"I'm confused! I haven't slept all night, and my mind is not so clear." King Higashino Miyazaki hit his forehead angrily, "What should I do now? Let Itagaki resign?"

"That won't work. His Majesty will think that we have second thoughts. I will communicate with Itagaki once and tell him everything. Let him not be impulsive. With the few military police in his hand, how can he defeat the Marine Corps Brigade that is armed to the teeth? ?”

"Is this the rhythm that forces us to go to war with the rebels?" King Higashino Miyaminuhiko cursed bitterly, "We will deploy a counter-insurgency plan later, first come up with a statement and let Tanaka Shinichi go Execute. Be careful, don’t rush forward, and don’t destroy Tokyo.”

Ishihara Wanji could only agree no matter how reluctant he was.

"Sir, the Army's phone call has been monitored."

After reading the transcript of the conversation, Horikichi and everyone smiled even more: In fact, the rebel army had taken control of the telephone exchange, but the telephone lines of the palace, army agencies and major government agencies were not cut off and were still allowed to operate normally. Although they The internal communication and discussions are unknown, but some of the phone calls between each other can be monitored, and important ones can be recorded. There are people in the military police who understand, but now Tojo has become a direct target, and people in the military police system are panicked. Who can care about this? People in the Army who knew wartime communications did not expect that Tokyo was being bugged, so the information was unilaterally transparent.

It may not be easy for the army to send telegrams, because the rebel army is not an outsider and knows the army's cryptographic system well. It has even intercepted various telegrams sent from the palace and knows every move it makes. Why capture the Military Command and the Naval Ministry first? Just to gain the commanding heights in this regard.

The navy, especially Horikichi's rebel army, does not have this problem because there is a second set of cryptographic systems for backup. The Combined Fleet used another encryption system in coordination with Germany during its stay in Europe. Now it happens to be used. The Army has no idea about it at all, and can only stare blankly if it intercepts it. The most important and critical core commands were handwritten by Horikichi and delivered manually by the Marines using jeeps, so the efficiency was not too low.

Chiaki Matsuda has made great efforts to study why the 226 mutiny failed and how to succeed. The first conclusion is to control public opinion. Going to Europe and listening to the Voice of Europe strengthened this judgment. During the 226 mutiny, although the grassroots officers and soldiers repeatedly believed that there were bad people around the emperor and killed many people, the people did not know it. Then the mutiny troops were quickly overwhelmed by the mass broadcasts, leaflets, and balloon banners. Until Hirohito's conclusion about "****", the morale of the entire team collapsed.

Now the situation is completely reversed. The rebel army controls the entire newspaper, radio and telegraph system. In the era when there was no Internet or even a TV network, controlling these is equivalent to controlling all channels that can disseminate information to the outside world. Now the army and the people are being controlled by the rebel army. The public opinion offensive of the rebel army was completely suppressed. The paper bullets this morning were just a small test, followed by a steady stream of killer moves.

In the words of Matsuda Chiaki: "The Fushimi Palace **** will not only be completely defeated, but also put ten thousand feet on him, so that his reputation will be ruined and he will never be able to stand up again!"

In the early morning, the Guards Division that had completed mobilization finally began substantial contact with the rebel forces. They vaguely formed an encirclement situation due to their large number of troops, but Horikichi was not worried. In terms of equipment, combat effectiveness, and In terms of cohesion, the Marine Brigade completely overwhelmed the Guards Division, and the second wave of public opinion war carefully prepared by the rebels was about to begin...