Iron Cross

The screen quickly cuts to the scene where Hori Teikichi commanded the South Pacific Campaign. The first shot is the Combined Fleet bombarding Guadalcanal. It looks very intense on the screen, but in fact, because the scene is too large, the military reporters only shot a small part of the scene. It is difficult to shoot the shock of Guadalcanal's continuous artillery fire and full coverage.

For Yamamoto and Inoue Shirumi, they have experienced much richer scenes than this, and it looks ordinary. Unfortunately, not many people in the audience have seen such scenes, so of course they feel it is exciting and heart-wrenching. In particular, the actor who plays Hori Teikichi said coldly before the order was issued: "Don't the Americans want to compete with us in steel and consumption? Use artillery fire to tell them that although Japan's steel is a little less, it is not without. Let them also taste the wrath of the Combined Fleet!" After saying this (the specific scene can be revisited in the wrath of the Combined Fleet), the audience applauded, and even Yamamoto and Inoue Shirumi were moved.

The next scene is the scene where Hori Teikichi led the fleet to charge forward during the Battle of the Solomon Islands. When an officer advised him to lead the Yamato to retreat first and let others continue to advance, he firmly refused the advice and insisted on charging forward.

Narrator: The scarred Yamato led the fleet to a great victory, shocked the enemy, defended the status of the world's first battleship, and washed away the disgrace of the "Yamato Hotel". However, the prince nitpicked and accused the commander of not taking risks with the Yamato...

Then there was a series of scenes in which the Combined Fleet accepted the request of the German allies to march west:

Destroyed the main forces of Britain and the United States in the Indian Ocean;

Seized enemy ships and intercepted supplies in the Horn of Africa;

Coordinated landing in Madagascar;

Entered the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean...

Even Yamamoto and Inoue Narumi had not seen this part, so they understood the actual situation. As the fleet won consecutive victories, the atmosphere in the theater was very lively.

The subsequent key shots are the European inspection and the training on Socotra Island, where there are of course carefully created conflict scenes: in recognition of the contribution of the Combined Fleet, the actor who played Akamatsu Sadaaki received the medals and awards from the head of state on behalf of the grassroots officers and soldiers, and then arranged for several German pilots to learn carrier-based aircraft technology from him. The latter is obviously an excellent pilot with rich experience and outstanding military exploits, but because he has no officer rank, he must salute and call the trainees "sir" every day, and then the other party greets him as "instructor", until Marshal Richthofen discovered the problem and awarded him a German rank, showing that Akamatsu Sadaaki still gave up the generous treatment promised by the German side and served the country even though he encountered such unfair treatment.

Voice-over: Commander Hori Teikichi was thinking deeply about the pilot issue at this time. When air power had become the decisive factor in naval warfare, the empire was unable to change due to the constraints of the old system. The enthusiasm of pilots was greatly dampened. He had to make up his mind and must reform...

Inoue Shirumi said: "So you are thinking about this problem at this time. No wonder, no wonder..."

Then there was a series of shots of the American battles. Everyone watched them with interest. The scene of the air raid on New York was only a group of planes. The most intense one was the Caribbean battle, one after another. A downed fighter plane crashed into the sea. When Tsukahara commanded the god to turn around, the whole audience cheered; when they saw the Mutsu's final desperate charge and destroyed the Panama Canal, everyone sighed...

Then the scene was when Hori Teikichi returned home and asked Germany for a combat reward fund, so that the soldiers could see the prosperity of Europe and buy souvenirs after the victory. The theater was full of discussions: "So this is how the navy soldiers get their money..." In order to commend Hori Teikichi's contribution, the German side presented a separate check for 5 million. When his subordinates persuaded him to After returning to Japan and purchasing property, he just smiled and said: "This is not my money, it is earned by the officers and soldiers who fought bravely. You will know how to use it in the future."

The climax of the movie is the last battle after returning to Japan - the Battle of Tarawa. The war scene is portrayed very simply (because it cannot be filmed), but there is only one contrasting shot that is particularly eye-catching - when Shibasaki Keiji was isolated and out of ammunition and food, he received two telegrams at the same time: one was from the prince, asking him to "die in glory and serve the emperor"; the other was from Hori Teikichi, asking him to He said, "Hold on till the end, I will come to save you"... Many people couldn't help but stand up, throw whatever they could find at the screen, and yell "!!"

The Combined Fleet finally repelled the U.S. military and rescued the remaining defenders on the island. When the camera passed over the bodies of countless dead soldiers on the island, the theater was filled with crying. The scene was frozen at the moment when Hori Teikichi led the officers to bow to the dead soldiers at the memorial ceremony: "Gentlemen, I am late, I am very sorry, rest in peace..." The whole audience, including Yamamoto and Inoue Narumi, stood up and bowed to the screen.

Voice-over: The Combined Fleet returned to Japan for rest and recuperation. Commander Hori Teikichi took out a check for 5 million yen, and together with other generals, he collected more than 7 million yen. More than 270 lieutenant-level officers of the fleet went door to door to distribute condolence money equivalent to 10 years' salary to the dead in battle, and silently endured the attack on "political donations". Then, the confession written by the prince himself on the screen was compared, admitting that he had embezzled the pension that should have been given to the soldiers.

"You and I are like cherry blossoms of the same period, blooming in the courtyard of the same military academy.

With the awareness that they will wither as soon as they bloom, for the sake of the motherland, let's scatter calmly!

You and I are like cherry blossoms of the same period, blooming in the courtyard of the same military academy.

We are connected by blood and are equal, but why do we have to separate when we are so compatible..."

The movie finally came to an end with the tragic song "Same Cherry Blossom".

Of course, Yamamoto Isoroku and Inoue Narumi knew that the so-called Fushimi Miyahiro Prince's embezzlement of pension funds was false, but they had repeatedly smeared and attacked Horikichi. Now it doesn't matter if they smear him with just a few words. The key is this handwritten confession. It makes people unable to even express doubts.

"Your Highness?" Yamamoto asked hesitantly.

"Dead."

"How did you die?"

"You won't believe me when I say he died in a traffic accident, so just let me kill him."

"You..." Yamamoto and Inoue were speechless by this sentence. Judging from this frank answer, the death of Prince Fushimi Miyahiro was definitely not caused by Horikichi's instructions or orders. It was probably because his subordinates were unhappy with this. They decided to let the tiger return to the mountain and left alone, but now Horikichi refused to tell them, and they couldn't find out the truth.

The atmosphere in the car back was very dull. It took a long time for Yamamoto Isoroku to speak: "Did you shoot the movie in the past two days?"

"No! Most of the shots are documentaries shot by reporters accompanying the army. During my stay in Europe, I also shot some daily scenes and systematically organized them. More than 70% of the scenes you see today basically existed at that time. After returning to China, they were mainly from India. The section with Tarawa was newly edited," Horikichi recalled. "When I went to Europe, I met with the Führer and visited Dr. Goebbels, who was in charge of German propaganda. I learned a lot about it and watched it. One of the patriotic films he directed was about the struggle of the ace pilot Marcelo, who I also met; the other was about the agent Rank, who led the troops to destroy the British cryptographic agency and ultimately destroyed it. Those who died in Britain were not considered big figures. I was very moved when I saw it, and wanted to take pictures of our soldiers. As you know, the Japanese system can only take pictures of big figures. Everyone advised me to take pictures of my own experience. After much deliberation, I decided to add you..."

"At that time, you were thinking of raising an army to break up with His Highness?"

"Where is that? Didn't you see that these shots are obviously updated? Were they reshoots in the past two days? The time was very rushed, the technology was not as good as the Germans, and the editing and pictures were poor. At first, I just wanted to make the history of the United Fleet's war Let's take a good picture and tell the troops and the people about the situation of the two of us leading the troops, so that they can understand how the empire fights the war. The original script was not arranged like this - the theme was that the two of us relayed the fire. According to legend, the soldiers of the entire army fought bloody battles and constantly fought against the enemy. But the Battle of Tarawa made me think a lot, and I decided to take pictures of other situations. This is how the conflicts and pensions of Akamatsu Sadaki and others came to be. . Only the actors’ parts were added in the past two days. The director and actors have worked very hard. They just finished today. Are you satisfied with the actor who plays you?”

"The film was okay, but it glorified me. I have to bear the main responsibility for the Midway incident. I can't just blame it all on Nagumo. Besides, His Highness...hey." Yamamoto Isoroku sighed.

"I never thought I would reach this point. Admittedly, when I refused the orders of the Military Command and crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to fight in the Panama Campaign, I thought it might be difficult to get along with His Highness in the future, but I never thought he would be so stubborn. When the combined fleet had won consecutive victories and his route was obviously wrong, he still insisted on this and refused to change. In the end, it became a firestorm. "At this point, I have to have an explanation for the troops. On the one hand, there must be an explanation to the people. Is it fair to him not to put all the blame on him? But on the other hand, it is even more unfair to others. I can't do it. Even if it’s perfect, it can’t satisfy everyone.”

"Are you going to release the movie?"

"This is for sure. Not only the navy officers and soldiers need to watch it, but also the army officers and soldiers, Tokyo citizens and even all over the country. Let them understand that the rebellion is not random, we have a just goal. Necessary propaganda must be carried out. The Germans are doing this They have done a very good job, and they have even established a military force composed purely of American soldiers. The 'Voice of Europe' radio station is a program that many American families listen to - the content cannot be faked, and no one will believe it soon. You must keep most of it The content must be true, so that it can be contagious and target the enemy's weak points," Horikichi said with a smile, "So this time we took control of all newspapers, radios, telegraphs, and telephones, and we still have it today. Fighting with the Guards Division."

"I've seen it, and with the release of this movie, I'm afraid there will be no chance for His Highness to turn his reputation around." Inoue Narumi interjected, "How are you going to explain to Your Majesty?"

"The movie is my explanation to him!" Horikichi suddenly became serious, and his eyes became very sharp, "I am helping His Majesty."

Yamamoto knew the background of the royal military order, and Inoue Narumi subconsciously asked: "Help?"

"Yes, it's the gang!" Horikichi explained his logic...