"This little gain?" Xu Rui said, "Old Wang, don't underestimate this. The advantages of China mentioned by *** in On Protracted War. In addition to its vast territory, the biggest advantage is its large number of characters. Our population They have a nearly inexhaustible supply of troops, but little Japan does not."
After a pause, Xu Rui continued: "If consumption continues like this, not only will the supply of young Japanese soldiers be exhausted, but domestic industrial and agricultural production will also be affected due to the massive loss of labor force. Therefore, in the end, Japan's national economy will be There will be a total collapse, and defeat and surrender will not be far away at that time.”
In the historical circles, there has always been a wrong view that it was the United States, not China, that defeated Japan in World War II. But in fact, the decisive force that defeated Japan was China! Before the Americans entered the war in 1941, Japan had actually been exhausted by China. Even without the participation of the Americans, China could still defeat Japan independently. The entry of the United States into the war only accelerated this process. It's just a process.
Therefore, the Chinese can confidently claim that the Chinese battlefield is one of the main battlefields of World War II, and the Chinese army is the decisive armed force among the Allied forces! After the Second World War, China, as one of the four major victors, deserved its position as one of the victorious members of the Security Council.
Let’s get down to business first.
Xu Rui is a time traveler and knows this fact, but Wang Husheng does not.
Wang Husheng doubted: "The soldier supply has been exhausted? That's not it. Japan has a population of 70 million. If based on this population base, there should be tens of millions of soldiers of the right age. Even if we calculate too much, even if it is If one or two million people are lost on the Chinese battlefield, it won’t deplete Japan’s troop supply, right?”
"Not that many." Xu Rui said, "Under normal circumstances, the number of military-age soldiers in a country should be about one-tenth of the total population. Japan has a population of 70 million, and the number of military-age soldiers is nearly 7 million. But, Lao Wang, you It must be understood that among these seven million soldiers of working age, only about 700,000 are standing soldiers that can be recruited at any time. The rest are workers, or farmers, who are responsible for the same indispensable production activities. When the Japanese government forces Due to the increasing pressure of the front line, if workers or farmers start to be recruited into the army, they will fall into a vicious cycle."
Wang Husheng asked: "What kind of vicious circle?"
Xu Rui said: "The longer the front is drawn, the greater the number of troops required, and the Japanese government must recruit more labor from the country. The more soldiers are recruited, the more serious the reduction in the labor force will be, and the industrial and agricultural production will be affected. The greater the impact, the less output, and the scarcity of war resources!"
After a pause, Xu Rui continued: "The scarier the war resources, the more it forces the Japanese government to expand the scope of aggression and plunder resources from more countries and larger regions. Then as the scope of aggression expands, the front becomes longer. The longer the front, the more troops are needed, and then more troops can only be recruited, and then domestic production will become weaker, repeating, and deteriorating. In fact, at this time, Japan's military resources have already exhausted!"
Wang Husheng said: "Old Xu, are you saying that Japan's military resources have been exhausted?"
"This is obvious." Xu Rui said firmly, "After the Wuhan Battle, Little Japan's military resources were exhausted, and the reason why Little Japan brazenly launched the Far East War was because the military resources were exhausted, and the Japanese government recruited a large number of workers and farmers Enlistment has the direct consequence of affecting domestic production.”
Wang Husheng said: "You are saying that because the Japanese government recruited a large number of troops, resulting in a serious reduction in domestic output, the Japanese government could not make ends meet, so it expanded the scope of its aggression and plundered war resources from the Soviet Union? But how did I hear that the Japanese government Is the Far East War launched to plunder oil?”
"This is just an appearance." Xu Rui said firmly, "The essence of the Far East Battle is that Japan's domestic economic output is no longer enough to sustain huge consumption. With no choice but to expand the scope of aggression, it can seize more from a larger area. War resources, Lao Wang, I’m just piling my words here, it won’t be long before little Japan will send troops to Southeast Asia!”
"Sending troops to Southeast Asia?" Wang Husheng asked, "Southeast Asia is the British sphere of influence. The United States also has interests in Southeast Asia. Japan's sending troops to Southeast Asia is to become an enemy of the United States and Britain. Isn't that seeking death?"
Xu Rui shook his head and continued: "As I said before, little Japan has now fallen into a vicious cycle. It can no longer stop even if it wants to. It won't be long before the Japanese government will find that the domestic economic output is basically It is not enough to make up for the huge consumption. At this time, we can only send troops to plunder in a larger area!"
Wang Husheng frowned and said, "Even if it's plundering, little Japan doesn't necessarily have to plunder Southeast Asia, right?"
Xu Rui shook his head and said: "China's most fertile coastal areas have long since fallen. The remaining southwest and northwest are not only barren but also difficult to chew. The Far East of the Soviet Union has also fallen. The remaining half of Siberia is also barren and difficult to chew. Central Asia is even more barren and difficult to chew. It’s barren and too far away, so the only thing Japan can grab is Southeast Asia.”
After a pause, Xu Rui continued: "Compared to China and the Far East, it is much easier to invade Southeast Asia. In view of the above reasons, even though the Japanese government knew that invading Southeast Asia would offend the United States and Britain, in the end it still It will send troops brazenly! Because it has no choice, this is what is called drinking poison to quench thirst!"
Wang Husheng said: "If this is the case, our new regiment's blitzkrieg this time will not be without gains! Not to mention anything else, at least through the blitzkrieg in North China and Northeast China, we have wiped out nearly 200,000 Japanese troops in total! This This will deplete the Japanese army's resources even more, and accelerate Japan's collapse to a certain extent!"
Xu Rui smiled and said: "Not only did the two previous blitzes accelerate the depletion of the Japs' manpower and accelerate Japan's collapse, but in Hunchun County, we will continue to put pressure on the Japs and fight as hard as possible through constant fighting. Extend the front line, kill as many Japanese as possible, consume as many soldiers as possible, and accelerate the collapse of Japan!"
Wang Husheng said: "Old Xu, I am suddenly full of confidence again!"
Xu Rui smiled and said: "This is necessary!"
…
In fact, Xu Rui is not the only one who realizes that Japan has fallen into a vicious cycle.
Also aware of this is Japanese Interior Minister Konoe Fumimaro. This is the second time that Konoe Fumimaro has served as prime minister. After Konoe Fumimaro stepped down as prime minister, several prime ministers were replaced in a revolving door in less than two years. But no one could solve the problem of declining economic output, so the royal family placed its hopes on Fumimaro Konoe.
Compared with the previous prime ministers who rotated like a revolving lantern, Konoe Fumimaro clearly understands the economy better.
It just so happened that today, under the guise of Hirohito, Kanin Miya Zaihito held another imperial meeting. Konoe Fumimaro proposed countermeasures at the imperial meeting: "The economic decline of the empire is not due to other reasons, but due to the massive decrease in the working population. , so the only countermeasure is to shrink the front line, reduce the garrison on the front line, and demobilize the reduced soldiers back to their jobs. In this way, not only will the consumption become less, but the output will also become more. Within two years, The economic situation of the empire will definitely improve, and in five days, it will be completely back on track!"
Unfortunately, Konoe Fumimaro's countermeasure immediately aroused opposition from the Army.
"Shrink the front? Reduce the garrison? Konoe-kun, are you kidding me?" The new Army Deputy Secretary Umezu Yoshijiro said suddenly, "Although the Empire and the Soviet Union have signed a non-aggression treaty, the Slavs are greedy He is not worthy of trust at all, so heavy troops must be stationed near Siberia and the Amur Peninsula!"
Konoe Fumimaro said: "If we only garrison Western Asia and the Amur Peninsula, it seems that there is no need for such a large and heavy force group as the Far Eastern Front. I think cutting the force by half can also do the job."
"Reducing the strength by half? This is absolutely impossible!" Umezu Yoshijiro said sternly, "Although the Far Eastern Battle was won, the Far Eastern Front lost half of its strength. Three days ago, the ten infantry divisions and the Eighth Infantry Division that originally belonged to the Far Eastern Front Three armored divisions have been incorporated into the North China Front. Now the strength of the Far East Front has been reduced to only 20 divisions and 10 armored divisions. The total strength is less than 500,000, which is no longer enough to garrison Siberia and the Amur Peninsula. , how can it still be reduced? I think that instead of reducing the strength of the Far Eastern Front, it should continue to be strengthened!"
Konoe Fumimaro said: "There are 500,000 people in the Far East Front. Do we need to continue to strengthen it?"
Umezu Yoshijiro said: "Konoe-kun, you only saw 500,000 people in the Far East Front, but do you know how many troops the Soviet Union has stationed in Siberia? There is also Vladivostok. Xu Rui's new regiment has just arrived from The Far East Front Army was surrounded and intercepted by more than a dozen divisions and escaped, and captured the Wujiashan Fortress. Faced with such a dangerous situation, the 500,000 troops really could not be reduced, otherwise, the Far East war situation would collapse. consider!"
"Will the war situation in the Far East collapse?" Konoe Fumimaro frowned in disbelief, "Umezu-kun, are you being alarmist?"
Umezu Yoshijiro no longer paid attention to Konoe Fumimaro, and turned to Kanin Gongzaihito and said: "Your Highness, the opinion of our Army Ministry has been made very clear. It is up to you to decide whether to reduce or strengthen the strength of the Far Eastern Front."
Kanin Gong Zaijin coughed lightly and said to Konoe Fumimaro: "Konoe-kun, the Far East Front Army is not only responsible for guarding the Soviet Union, but also encircling Xu Rui's new regiment. It is indeed inappropriate to reduce the size of the force. However, Considering the actual difficulties, it is not appropriate to increase the size of the force and maintain the current size of the force for the time being."
Konoe Fumimaro sighed softly, and it was still like this.