Chapter 243

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

After hearing the news that the Sui River Fleet had been completely annihilated, Commander Gu Qingchuan of the Navy completely collapsed.

Thus, the Third Fleet was no longer the Army's strongest support.

Army General Matsui Iwane said nothing more; the Navy had suffered such a huge loss that he couldn't very well go up and curse the Navy for incompetence.

Matsui Iwane had already figured it out—cursing the Navy no matter how much was useless.

According to intelligence, the Jiangyin section of the Yangtze River was now blocked by the sunken warships of the Sui River Fleet, its navigability greatly reduced, allowing only warships under two thousand tons to pass; even slightly heavier cruisers could not pass.

Under these circumstances, Gu Qingchuan's Navy Third Fleet could now only watch from the sidelines.

Matsui Iwane said nothing, but called out to Prince Asaka-no-miya Yasuhiko: "Your Highness, let's go!"

Saying this, Matsui Iwane and Prince Asaka-no-miya Yasuhiko left the Mutsu Battleship and hurried back to the Central China Area Army Headquarters.

Only Gu Qingchuan was left alone, standing dazedly on the deck of the battleship.

The Fleet Chief of Staff walked up and draped a greatcoat over Commander Gu Qingchuan: "Commander, the weather is cool; take care of your health."

Gu Qingchuan wrapped himself tightly in the greatcoat, his eyes fixed on the setting sun, and said: "Contact Vice Admiral Toyota Fuku of the Navy Fourth Fleet; have his fleet converge on mine!"

The Chief of Staff was startled and asked: "Commander, you mean to......"

"Execute the order!"

Outside the Imperial Palace, capital of the Imperial Japanese Empire.

The Army and Navy officials of the Imperial Headquarters shoved and pushed each other.

The two sides had just finished an imperial conference inside the Imperial Palace and had a loud argument in front of Emperor Tenghuang.

Emperor Tenghuang smoothed things over, spending a great deal of effort to ease the conflict between the two sides, but no result was reached on where the Central China war should go.

The two sides parted unhappily, pushing and shoving outside the Imperial Palace; the Japanese guards outside the palace dared not step forward to stop them, only staring helplessly.

"That idiot Matsui Iwane has made a mess of the war in Central China, and now he's caused the Navy Third Fleet to suffer heavy losses! Are you Army people trying to drag Emperor Chuo into the abyss?!" Navy Minister Minami Jiro shouted, pointing at the Army Minister's nose.

As the Army's number one figure, Army General Sugiyama Moto glared with wide eyes, one hand pushing against Navy Minister Minami Jiro's shoulder:

"What are you saying? Who is dragging Emperor Chuo into the abyss! Over these years, how much land of Xia Guo has our Army occupied, how many resources of Xia Guo have we gained?!

If the Navy Third Fleet had tried a little harder and opened the Jiangyin Fortress, by now the Army would probably already be at the gates of Jinling City!"

Navy Vice-Minister Yamamoto Isoroku stepped forward, shielding Navy Minister Minami Jiro behind him:

"The Army high command is nothing but a group of madmen, traitorous ministers beside His Majesty!

You formulated such a reckless plan, dragging His Majesty and our Navy into it, dragging the entire Empire into the abyss; I've had enough, this battle should stop while it can!"

More and more Army and Navy high officials were drawn in, the two sides pushing and shoving: "Who are you calling a traitorous minister?"

"You are the traitorous minister beside His Majesty! Last year's February 26 Incident—you think I don't know you were involved too?!"

"Dare to spout nonsense again, believe it or not, tonight I'll purge all you Navy traitorous ministers!"

"Hmph! Try it; our Navy's battleships are always aimed at the Army's camp—at worst, none of us will live!"

"Enough, all of you stop!"

At some point, Marshal, Army General, Chief of the General Staff, Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko had already appeared on the steps outside the Imperial Palace.

Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko was the de facto head of the Army, a member of the Imperial Family, Emperor Tenghuang's great-uncle, and no one in the military dared provoke him.

Everyone stopped their mutual greetings and looked at Marshal, Army General Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko standing on the steps.

"Emperor Tenghuang has said there are no traitorous ministers in the military, only loyal ministers!" Speaking was Marshal, Navy Admiral, Chief of the Navy General Staff Office, Prince Fushimi-no-miya Hiroyasu, also a member of the Imperial Family, and moreover the actual behind-the-scenes controller of the Navy.

Whether Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko or Prince Fushimi-no-miya Hiroyasu, both were members of the Imperial Family, trusted confidants of Emperor Tenghuang, actually controlling the Army and Navy.

In rank both were Marshal Army General and Marshal Navy Admiral, one level higher than ordinary generals.

Emperor Tenghuang of the Imperial Japanese Empire, as a monarch with real power, actually controlled the military through members of the Imperial Family, launching wars of aggression, bearing inescapable responsibility; Emperor Tenghuang was truly the primary person responsible for the war of aggression.

Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko and Prince Fushimi-no-miya Hiroyasu exchanged a glance; as Emperor Tenghuang's agents in the Army and Navy, they upheld the interests of the Imperial Family.

The Army and Navy falling into this state was not what they wanted to see.

Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko, who actually controlled the Army, swept his gaze over the generals arguing below until their faces were red, and said: "The battle has come to this point; mutual recrimination is meaningless."

Navy Vice-Minister Yamamoto Isoroku continued to argue: "Your Highness, Matsui Iwane, as an Army General, has caused such great losses to the military in the Central China region; he should be immediately removed from office and investigated!"

Army Vice-Minister Umezu Yoshijiro immediately retorted: "Oppose! General Matsui Iwane at least captured Songhu; if the enemy's capital were taken, then the Army's casualty figures would be acceptable!

As for the Navy, one reckless advance at the Jiangyin Fortress directly blocked the Yangtze River waterway, burying a huge hidden danger for subsequent operational plans; I think Commander Gu Qingchuan of the Third Fleet should be immediately investigated!"

"Enough, changing commanders in the face of battle is bad for morale; the Central China operation is already beyond remedy......

The enemy's resistance is so fierce, then don't blame us for playing our trump card; the victory or defeat of the Central China operation rests on the shoulders of Matsui Iwane and Gu Qingchuan!"

"The Navy officers, I do not wish to see you continue this meaningless argument here." Marshal Navy Admiral Prince Fushimi-no-miya Hiroyasu directly silenced everyone.

Marshal Army General Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko then said: "Indeed, Emperor Tenghuang hopes the Army and Navy will cooperate fully to take Xia Guo; by then, the Navy and Army will have endless benefits to divide. To achieve this goal, we have decided we must take the enemy's capital and force the enemy to surrender!"

"But, Your Highness, the Xicheng Line is impregnable; what should be done? Are we to wait for the North China Area Army to march south?" Army Minister General Sugiyama Moto asked.

Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko glanced at Prince Fushimi-no-miya Hiroyasu, who immediately said:

"The Navy General Staff Office has decided to establish the Xia Guo Front Fleet in Shanghai City, placing the Third and Fourth Fleets under its command; the commander of the Xia Guo Front Fleet will be Vice Admiral Gu Qingchuan of the Third Fleet;

Even if the Yangtze River channel is blocked, the Navy can still continue to fight with destroyers, cannonboats, aircraft carriers, etc.; this battle concerns the honor of the Navy; as the foremost naval power in the Far East, we must thoroughly wipe away the shame!"

Prince Kan'in-no-miya Naruhiko nodded with satisfaction after hearing this, then said to the assembled Army officers: "A few days ago I already sent powerful reinforcements to the Central China Area Army; success or failure hangs on this one move!

Minister Sugiyama, come with me!"