Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 48: Special Envoy for Diplomacy (Part 2)

　　 After the shock, all the cabinet staff's eyes swept toward their emperor, and then followed their emperor's eyes to focus on the shiny bald head of Tojo.

　　 "This is impossible...!"

　　 After a few seconds of silence, Tojo stood up abruptly and shouted. But the only response to him was the suspicion of everyone present.

　　"Kei Tojo... Sit down."

　　 Hirohito's voice was a bit dry. Although it was his usual weak voice, everyone present felt the anger contained in it.

　　 Hirohito is really angry this time.

　　 He can see what the army has done in recent years, and he has also seen a lot of things that go against his personal philosophy and personality. But as the only ruler of the Japanese Empire, he also had to take into account the interests of Japan, so he often adopted a tacit and conniving attitude towards the military.

　　The historical evaluation of him as a rubber stamp just proved Hirohito’s success in personal disguise. He is as simple as a rubber stamp. As the only person in Japan who could influence the opinions of the military at that time, Hirohito's authority was absolutely beyond ordinary people's imagination. The Emperor Hirohito of Japan is definitely not a guise used by the army to confuse the nation, let alone a puppet that is emptied.

　　 Under the environment of Japan at that time, the emperor’s mythological status in the hearts of Japanese people has reached the highest point in history. No one dared to take the emperor upright, and even possessing such an idea is dangerous, even if it shows a trace of horses’ feet, Those zealous officers and soldiers would make him dead in an instant. Hirohito is not a puppet, he is a real master. Although the young and strong officers in the Japanese army have repeatedly ignored his orders, they wantonly cause trouble and take the opportunity to expand the war. However, when those young and strong are making those preparations, they may be worried that Hirohito will counterattack in their hearts. In fact, as long as Hirohito issued an imperial decree afterwards, even the lieutenant general would have to obediently perform the path of self-dissection, not to mention the few small Zhongzuo Shaozuo.

　　 However, most of the violations were forgiven by Hirohito afterwards. Not only did the perpetrators not get punished, they were also rewarded by Hirohito. The only ones who were punished were due to the failure of the action. It's not that they defy the holy will. This is a kind of naked indulgence. Hirohito gave those young and strong officers an obvious hint that as long as they succeed in the end and let Japan gain vested interests, he can forgive him for anything he does. Of course, everything must be within his control. If it gets too ridiculous, he will also intervene.

　　 Hirohito is the greatest performance artist among the leaders of World War II. He has successfully established a transcendent image in people's minds, a puppet who seems helpless to the army, a wooden god. He successfully paved a way for him to escape punishment. After the end of World War II, he used a little bit of indulgence and then matched the well-designed puppet image. The number one American performance artist MacArthur was also hit, patting his chest and awe-inspiring Hirohito’s name from the list of the Tokyo trial. Up.

　　 But this time, Hirohito finally couldn't help throwing away his disguise and was really angry. The Army made a big mistake for him this time.

　　 It's not that he doesn't believe in his army, it's that the military has too many similar criminal records. The military seems to have developed the habit of cutting first and then playing, and every time it is unable to deal with it, it remembers to report to him. Hirohito felt that it was necessary to make the wooden heads of those soldiers sober. It was time to pull the bridle of the military.

　　"Your Majesty, I guarantee with my life and honor that the Army has never made any plan to assassinate the German head of state. Please allow me to personally investigate this matter. If the investigation turns out that it is indeed the responsibility of the Army, I am willing to have a Caesarean section to apologize."

　　 Tojo left his seat and fell to the ground begging Hirohito.

　　"Can I trust the army? If the Germans do not have conclusive evidence, will they detain the mission members in violation of diplomatic standards?"

　　 Hirohito glanced at Tojo, who was kneeling on the ground, with a cold face, then turned to Matsuoka, who was frowning while holding the document.

　　"Matsuoka, what do you think about this matter, how should we respond."

　　 "Well, your majesty, judging from this document, the lower officials feel that the matter is not as serious as we thought before."

　　 Matsuoka answered respectfully.

　　 "Oh?"

　　 Hirohito raised his eyebrows in surprise.

　　 When he heard the news, even he was dumbfounded on the spot. There should be no more serious diplomatic incident in the world. Matsuoka will say that it is not as troublesome as he thought. Is this guy scared stupid?

　　 "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, please listen to the next official to explain to you."

　　 Matsuoka nodded to Hirohito and the guards, then said slowly with the document.

　　 "Indeed, judging from the seriousness of the problem, this incident really exceeded our expectations. It is an extremely serious diplomatic incident that can even be a reason for declaring war. But..."

　　 said this, Matsuoka stared at Tojo who was still lying on the ground and said.

　　"I believe what the Tojo Prime Minister said, the army cannot participate in any action to assassinate the German head of state. Although the army often makes its own claims in some aspects, they cannot act recklessly on such matters.

　　 What's more, participating in this kind of thing will not only bring no benefit to the Army, but it will also cause great trouble to the Army.

　　 This time the team is led by two distinguished senior generals, and it is impossible for them to agree that the Army will participate in this kind of incident that will cause serious damage to Japan. What's more, the two generals are very fond of Germany, how could they agree to assassinate the German head of state? "

　　"Minister Matsuoka, what you said has not been proven yet. Maybe the Army Ministry has their own consideration. They have done this kind of thing more than once. Think about those things in Manchuria back then. I won’t talk about it here. And now, the German protest is in your hands, and the two army generals have also been confirmed to be detained in the German hands. What I don’t understand now is that if they were not involved in this matter, Will the Germans risk the destruction of diplomatic relations between the two countries to frame them? What's more, it is their head of state involved this time. If there is no conclusive evidence, they will dare to find innocent Japanese envoys to commit crimes. You know. Once the truth of this kind of thing is revealed, it will not only cause the breakdown of the relationship between the two countries, but also make them a laughing stock in the world."

　　 Admiral Yoshida gently rubbed his temple and said slowly.

　　 "The Minister of the Navy Yoshida! How can you say such irresponsible things!"

　　 Tojo, lying on the ground, couldn't help shouting angrily.

　　 "Listen to me, everyone!"

　　 Matsuoka waved his hands and said.

　　" Master Yoshida’s words are very reasonable. The Germans will not risk damaging the diplomatic relations between the two countries and detain our envoys. Especially since this matter involves their heads of state, they will not allow their heads of state. Honor is compromised. Being assassinated is not an honorable thing, so it is impossible for the Germans to lie about this kind of thing. So now, what we can confirm is that the German head of state was indeed assassinated. And there are Japanese soldiers involved in this assassination. If the Army really hadn’t made a plan to assassinate the German head of state, I can only think of one conclusion at the moment. There must have been a very serious misunderstanding in this incident, Japan. The mission personnel must have been involved in this serious assassination because of some accident."

　　 "You said this was a complete misunderstanding? Then why the Germans have not released our detained personnel, and why are they sending this protest now."

　　 Yoshida asked coldly, tilting his head.

　　" As I said earlier, it must be a very serious misunderstanding, a misunderstanding that the mission personnel cannot explain clearly. Of course, all these inferences are based on the fact that the Army did not participate in it. I. I would like to ask Mr. Tojo again, whether you have heard relevant remarks in the army or if you noticed whether the two generals were unusual before they set off."

　　"Absolutely not, there has never been any anti-German remarks in the army. And the two generals, I personally sent them on the ship, they have been looking forward to this visit for a long time, and they are all about completing this mission Full of confidence."

　　 Tojo answered loudly.

　　"What mission?"

　　 Yoshida interjected slowly.

　　 "Of course it is the mission of observing the new tactics of the European army and the use of weapons. Your Excellency Yoshida, what do you want to say!"

　　 Tojo glared at Yoshida angrily.

　　 "Alright, don't make unnecessary quarrels. Tojo, sit down."

　　 Hirohito suddenly said coldly on one side, the army and the navy immediately closed their mouths, and then the Emperor of Japan turned to Matsuoka.

　　"I now also think that the Army is unlikely to be bold enough to do this kind of thing. I think that Matsuoka's argument is more realistic, and all of this may be caused by a misunderstanding. But what should we do now Do you have any preliminary plans for this matter?"

　　 "Your Majesty."

　　 Matsuoka bowed slightly to Hirohito and said.

　　"This is what I’m going to say next. I said earlier that this matter is not as serious as we thought it is because of this reason. The Germans may also feel suspicious of the matter, and they are not sure about it, so This telegram of negotiations will be sent instead of a public protest letter."

　　 "You mean this is not a protest book?"

　　 Tojo, who had just climbed back to his seat, widened his eyes.

　　 "Yes, this is not a letter of protest, but an official document of diplomatic negotiations, and it is not the German Foreign Ministry but the German High Command that issued this negotiation document"

　　 The guard who had been squinting his eyes to ponder the problem nodded and said, "I understand. This shows that the Germans have the willingness to negotiate with us to resolve this matter. Otherwise, they can publicly protest to Japan in the world, if If they do that, the relationship between Japan and Germany will have no chance of being redeemed."

　　 "Your Prime Minister is right. This is the basis for my previous words. The Germans have signaled us that there is a great chance of easing this matter, just to see how we react."

　　 Matsuoka said loudly.

　　"Then your Excellency, what do you think we should do now."

　　 Tojo was finally relieved, he is now full of gratitude to Foreign Minister Matsuoka who gave him a hand.

　　"Your Majesty, everyone. Based on my personal experience in diplomacy for more than ten years, the first thing we need to do now is to contact the Germans as soon as possible. However, judging from the news from the ambassador to Italy Toshio Shiratori , He is unable to negotiate with the Germans at all. The Germans must feel that there is nothing to discuss with an ambassador to Italy. According to international practice, Ambassador Shiratori is indeed not qualified to intervene in this level of incident. Therefore, we should send it now. A special national mission was sent out to negotiate this matter with Germany."

　　"But now it takes at least three weeks to send envoys from China to Germany. I am very worried about the changes in the attitude of the Germans during this incident."

　　 Konoe said with a worried look.

　　"I also thought of this, Prime Minister. We can directly dispatch personnel from Europe. I think Hiroshi Oshima, the ambassador to Berlin, is the best candidate for the head of the special mission. He has a very good relationship with the Germans. He not only speaks fluent German, but also has a deep understanding of German characters and customs. He also contributed a lot during the visit of the Army Observer Group. Moreover, he established personal friendships with many German officials. He is the only person I know who knows how to deal with Germans. He should be able to take on this difficult mission. I think Toshio Shiratori can be the deputy head of the mission. He also knows Germany well. Moreover, he was the first to get news about this incident, and he should know more about it than we did. The other members of the mission were transferred from the imperial embassy in Italy and Berlin. They all have very good diplomatic skills. I believe Their abilities."

　　"Then what is the mission of this mission, and should we decide."

　　 Yoshida asked slowly.

　　"To resolve the incident, explain the misunderstanding to the German side, and then try to eliminate the influence and ease the relationship between the two countries."

　　 Matsuoka replied loudly.

　　"Everything must focus on the great cause of the imperial nation, and the relationship between Germany and Japan must be eased to the original level. If possible, use this opportunity to negotiate with Germany to exchange alliance issues."

　　 Kanto interjected.

　　"Yes, if all this is caused by a misunderstanding, when the misunderstanding is resolved, Germany will definitely apologize and compensate us for it. We just took the opportunity to promote the establishment of the Tri-Nation Alliance. The Germans committed such a A huge diplomatic error, the initiative of negotiations will be transferred from Germany to our Empire of Japan. Moreover, we can also use this matter to add some more favorable conditions to the empire."

　　 Matsuoka said excitedly.

　　 "Everyone, although we are sure that the whole thing was caused by a misunderstanding. However, if we are found to have participated in the assassination during the negotiations, what should we do."

　　 Yoshida asked, frowning.

　　 "I don't think I need to worry about this problem anymore."

　　 Tojo gritted his teeth and said loudly.

　　"Well, if things are really like what Yoshida said, there are really Japanese soldiers involved in this matter. Then, we should still focus on the imperial southward policy, and we must maintain good relations with Germany. ."

　　 The guard was a little upset, he was tired of the stalker of the Secretary of the Navy.

　　"However, if it is really our fault, the German side will definitely not let it go~IndoMTL.com~If the Germans demand compensation from the Empire, do you have a plan to deal with it."

　　 Yoshida still speaks neither humble nor humble.

　　"If it is true that the relationship between Germany and Japan can be restored by compensation, I think it is worth paying any price. As long as it does not affect the empire’s Asian strategy, we can agree to everything. Our most basic goal is that Germany can continue to maintain good relations with the Japanese Empire."

　　 Matsuoka finished speaking and looked at the guards.

　　"Yes, as I said before, everything must focus on the empire’s southward strategy. As long as the impact of this incident on the southward strategy can be quelled, it is acceptable for us to pay some price. However, specific What will happen, it’s too early for us to say anything. We will wait until the diplomatic mission has formally negotiated with Germany. Now, everything is subject to His Majesty’s decision."

　　 After finishing talking, Konwei Fumio turned his face to Hirohito.

　　 Hirohito nodded slowly after hearing what the guard said, and then said solemnly.

　　"I agree with the views of Secretary Matsuoka and the prime minister. This matter is left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to handle this matter. The cabinet must fully cooperate with the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This matter is related to the imperial country’s Asian strategy, and there must be no slack. "

　　 Hirohito stood up after speaking.

　　"The ministers, please follow the holy orders."

　　The cabinet ministers quickly stood up and bowed to Hirohito.

　　 "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will definitely go all out to complete the mission, and will not disappoint your Majesty."

　　 Matsuoka replied respectfully, lowering his head.