On July 6, another funeral was held in Tokyo, Japan.

In the current situation of internal and external difficulties, the scale of this funeral can be described as very grand.

Among all the funerals held in Tokyo since the outbreak of the war, the funeral of Japanese Combined Fleet Commander Yamamoto Isoroku was the largest.

However, due to the attacks by the Chinese Air Force and Rocket Force, Yamamoto Isoroku's funeral was only the beginning and did not enter the burial stage.

After the blow, Yamamoto Isoroku didn't even have his ashes left, so his family had to build a tomb for him.

The man who was buried on July 6 had the same title as Yamamoto Isoroku, namely:

Commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, posthumously awarded the title of Marshal of the Navy.

Having the experience of the Navy A incident, the Japanese Navy did not conceal the death of the commander of the Combined Fleet, that is, the death of Koga Mineichi this time.

On July 2, MacArthur and Nimitz were getting closer to Okinawa.

Okinawa is the southern gate of the Japanese mainland and is crucial to the overall defense of the mainland.

The commander of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Koga Mineichi, decided to personally go to Okinawa to inspect the defense.

Taking a lesson from the shooting down of Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese Navy was very cautious in arranging the travel of the Combined Fleet Commander this time.

No telegrams were sent in advance, all travel arrangements were made via landline and notified until the last hour.

After everyone at the Combined Fleet Command believed that the commander's safety was 100% guaranteed, Koga Mineka took a Japanese Navy transport plane from Kyushu Island to Okinawa.

This time, neither China nor the United States took action.

However, the Japanese combined fleet committed too many crimes, and Koga Mineichi was destined to be taken over by heaven.

The transport plane Koga Mineichi was traveling on suffered a mechanical failure just after leaving Kyushu Island. When the pilot decided to return, the weather suddenly changed.

The transport plane struggled in the strong wind for more than 20 minutes and finally crashed in the outer waters of Kyushu Island.

Koga Mineichi and his accompanying staff were all killed.

When the news came back to the Japanese base camp, everyone was shocked.

The Japanese Combined Fleet lost two commanders in a row in less than a year, and all of them died on the way to the front line for inspections. Many people became suspicious.

The Japanese Navy found the wreckage of the crashed transport plane on the afternoon of July 3, but did not find the bodies of the Commander and his entourage.

On July 4th, some things belonging to Koga Mineichi surfaced one after another, and some body tissues were also found. It was determined that the Commander of the Combined Fleet had sacrificed his life for the country.

Emperor Hirohito of Japan and the new Prime Minister Suzuki Kantaro expressed their deep condolences.

The navy has fewer and fewer ships and aircraft that can fight. Now it has lost its fleet commander, and the army is almost in a state of collapse.

In order to boost military morale, Emperor Hirohito, who had already taken control of the military and political power, decided to hold a state funeral for Koga Mineichi.

But at the same time, everyone in the base camp began to worry again.

They were worried that when a state funeral was held for the commander of the Combined Fleet, Chinese missiles would fall from the sky again.

Based on various considerations, the Japanese base camp reduced the scale of the state funeral and did not organize people to see off the Marshal.

Emperor Hirohito personally presided over this funeral, which was nominally a state funeral.

After his power ambitions expanded, Hirohito would do it without hesitation as long as he could show his face and enhance his sense of existence.

The Prime Minister of the Cabinet led all cabinet members to attend the funeral.

The first half of the funeral was conducted in secret. By the time of the funeral, Hirohito and all cabinet members had already evacuated to a safe location.

"I heard that the quality of the aircraft parts was not up to par, which led to the crash." Kenji Doihara said in a long voice as he looked at the funeral procession in the distance.

Nan Yunzhong beside him nodded,

"Ninety percent of the factories in the country have suffered enemy air attacks. Many outstanding workers and technicians were killed in the air attacks. In addition, there is not enough supply of raw materials. At present, each factory is racking its brains and exerting all its efforts to produce, but the industrial products produced

The quality is still not up to par.”

"Sigh... I never thought it would lead to such a tragedy."

"Bagaya road!" Admiral Toyoda, the new commander of the combined fleet, was very angry and shouted:

"All those responsible should be sent to kaiten torpedoes and kamikaze fighters, and let them atone for their sins with their lives!"

Doihara Kenji, Sugiyama Gen and others curled their lips, not taking it seriously.

Due to the different historical trends, Nagumo Chuichi did not die on Saipan. As senior officers of the Combined Fleet died one after another, his power and military rank were also enhanced.

Then he sighed and said:

"Your Excellency, Commander, the Navy has already done this, and none of them can escape!"

Deputy Chief of Staff Toyota nodded with great satisfaction.

Due to the emergence of Suzuki Kantaro, a peace-seeking faction, the navy and army rarely put aside their conflicts, and all the die-hards and radicals formed a new front.

Of course all this is only temporary.

Deputy Toyoda was surrounded by die-hards, while the other cabinet members who left with Hirohito and Suzuki Kantaro were the new peace-seeking factions.

There are major contradictions between the peace-seeking faction and the die-hard faction. Under the major contradictions there are also small internal contradictions. The situation is very complicated.

After the funeral, everyone returned to base camp.

Koga Mineichi died, but the crisis between Okinawa and Japan has not been resolved.

"My dear Toyoda, the United Fleet is entrusted to you. We must let the warriors regain their confidence in fighting!"

After the meeting began, Hirohito said to Toyota's deputy military officer "kindly".

Toyota's deputy commander deeply felt the great responsibility and bowed to accept the order.

"Thank you for your majesty's trust. I will do my best until my death!"

Hirohito frowned.

He couldn't bear to hear the word "die" being spoken now, and he felt extremely annoyed when he heard it.

When Yamamoto Isoroku was killed in battle, Koga Hoichi once said that he was very envious of Yamamoto-kun.

Unexpectedly, a few months later, Koga Mineichi also went there in envy.

Another life-threatening person came, and Hirohito's heart skipped a beat. He waved his hand and hurriedly changed the subject:

"The enemy army has approached Okinawa. Dear friends, do you have any good ideas?"

The first person to speak was Doihara Kenji, who was in charge of his work. After paying tribute to his boss, Hirohito, he said to everyone:

"The United States is sending 250,000 to 300,000 troops this time, and thousands of warships and aircraft, under the personal command of Nimitz and MacArthur. It's a menacing attack!"

"Thankfully, judging from the current intelligence, China's major fleets seem to be busy fighting in the direction of Taiwan Island and have no plans to participate in the battle against Okinawa."

"otherwise…………"

He sighed silently, paused and then said:

"Currently, our army stationed in Okinawa is mainly the 35th Army. They are the main defense force in Okinawa and are commanded by Lieutenant General Ushijima Mitsuru."

"In addition, some independent mixed brigades and task forces have been organized in the Okinawa region. Our army's total defense strength is about 120,000!"

Emperor Hirohito nodded,

"This is the preparation of the Army. What about the Navy?"

The Battle of Okinawa was the first battle after Toyoda took over as Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. He was determined to fight a big war, but at the same time he also wanted to preserve the strength of the Combined Fleet.

Yesterday, we had discussed with senior naval admiral Nagumo Chuichi, and he stood up and said:

"Your Majesty, the Navy is well aware of the importance of Okinawa to the security of the empire, so this time it will send a second fleet with the Musashi as the core of its combat power to the Okinawa waters to support the army's battle!"

"The specific plan is as follows:"

"The army let the enemy's marines land ashore. When the battle became intense, the Second Fleet suddenly came out of the ocean as a sea commando force, using the super firepower of the Musashi and the kamikaze to attack the United States in the waters of Okinawa.

warship!"

"The enemy's navy will be in chaos if it is suddenly attacked."

"The enemies who land on the island will also lose the support of sea artillery fire. The army troops will take advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack and strive to completely annihilate the enemies on the island!"

"…………"

After the specific plan was explained, everyone present was a little surprised.

Yamato and Musashi are Japan's last two national guardian ships. The navy is willing to use one of them, which shows its determination.

Emperor Hirohito was very satisfied. He looked forward to the cooperation between the navy and the army to win a beautiful victory at the gate of the country.

Cabinet Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki frowned deeply.

If the Battle of Okinawa hurts the United States, future negotiations will be even more difficult.

If Japan loses, it will have even less leverage at the negotiating table.

No matter what the outcome is, it will be detrimental to his new cabinet.

But now the die-hards have the absolute upper hand, and no one will listen to him.
Chapter completed!