World War: Battleship Arms Dealers

"Easy for you to say." Navy Minister Yashiro Rokuro spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice calm, but every word was like a needle pricking. "Okaichi-kun, do you know how many troops it would take to capture Qingdao? How many naval guns would be needed for support? How many Imperial soldiers' lives would be sacrificed?"

Okaichi's face darkened: "Yashiro-kun, the army is fully prepared. The 5th Division can be mobilized at any time, and together with the 18th Division transferred from the mainland, the total strength will reach 45,000 men. That's enough to deal with the 5,000 German defenders in Qingdao."

"Five thousand?" Yashiro Rokuro laughed, a cold, emotionless laugh. "Your intelligence is outdated, Okaichi-kun. According to the latest news from the Naval Intelligence Department, in the past three months, Germany has sent two thousand marines to Qingdao and transported at least twenty-four of the latest 210mm fortress guns. The current garrison in Qingdao exceeds seven thousand men, and its firepower is twice as strong as you estimated."

Okaichi no Suke frowned: "Even so, 45,000 to 7,000 is still a six-fold advantage."

"But what if Lanfang gets involved?"

Yashiro Rokuro's words silenced the entire conference room.

Ōkuma Shigenobu leaned forward slightly: "Lanfang? They do have close ties with Germany, but would they go to war with the Empire directly for Germany's Far East colonies?"

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the problem is not whether Lanfang will go to war for Germany." Yashiro Rokuro took a thick document out of his briefcase and spread it on the table. "The problem is that Lanfang itself is the biggest obstacle to the Empire's hegemony in the Far East."

He turned to the first page of the document, which contained a hand-drawn chart comparing naval strength.

"Let's look at the data. The Lanfang Navy currently possesses the following main ships: four Bismarck-class battleships with a standard displacement of 41,000 tons and equipped with eight 380 mm main guns; two Hood-class battlecruisers with a displacement of 38,000 tons and equipped with eight 381 mm main guns; at least six Omaha-class cruisers and a large number of destroyers."

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "And what about the Imperial Navy's Combined Fleet? We have four Kongo-class battlecruisers, equipped with 356mm main guns; two Satsuma-class, two Katori-class, and two Kawachi-class battleships, with main gun calibers ranging from 305mm to 356mm. The total tonnage is about 600,000 tons, which, on paper, does exceed the Lanfang Navy's 450,000 tons."

"So we have the advantage in numbers," Okaichinosuke interjected.

"We have the advantage in quantity, but what about in quality?" Rokuro Yashiro's retort was sharp as a knife. "The Bismarck-class's 380mm main guns have a range of at least 5,000 meters greater than our 356mm guns, and their armor-piercing capability is more than 15 percent stronger. Not to mention their fire control system, armor protection, speed... in every key performance aspect, we are half a generation behind."

He turned to the next page of the document, which was a map of Borneo with troop deployments marked in red and blue.

"Now look at the land. Lanfang has stationed at least six full divisions in Borneo, two of which are Arab divisions, whose equipment and training are no less than those of the Imperial Army. They completely wiped out Dutch resistance in four months, and now the entire Borneo has become an armed fortress."

Rokuro Yashiro took off his glasses and carefully wiped them with a velvet cloth: "If we take action against Shandong, what will Lanfang do? They might directly intervene with troops, or they might support the German garrison from behind. But the most dangerous thing might be..." He put his glasses back on, "while the main force of the Imperial fleet is heading north to attack Qingdao, they might head south to attack Taiwan, or even land directly on Kyushu."

"They dare!" Okaichi slammed his fist on the table, his face flushed red.

"Why wouldn't they dare?" Rokuro Yashiro's voice remained calm. "Ten years ago, they dared to build a country from scratch in the Persian Gulf. Four months ago, they dared to launch a surprise attack on the Dutch Far East Fleet and occupy the entire continent of Borneo. What wouldn't a country like that dare to do?"

The atmosphere in the meeting room plummeted to freezing point.

Ōkuma Shigeyuki tapped his fingers lightly on the table, a habitual gesture when he was thinking. After about a minute, he slowly spoke: "Yashiro-kun, your analysis is very insightful. So, in your opinion, what should the Empire do?"

Yashiro Rokuro took a deep breath; this was the moment he had been waiting for.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, gentlemen," his voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet room, "my suggestion is: before taking action against Germany, the Lanfang problem must be resolved first. Specifically, this means launching a decisive campaign aimed at completely destroying the Lanfang navy."

"Attack Lanfang first?" Foreign Minister Kato Takaaki frowned. "This would put us in a very passive diplomatic position. Although Britain and France are busy with the war in Europe, they will not stand idly by and watch a large-scale war break out in the Far East."

"Therefore, timing is crucial." Yashiro Rokuro had clearly given it much thought. "Once the war in Europe becomes a stalemate, Britain and France will have to withdraw troops from their Far Eastern colonies to reinforce their homeland. At that point, their presence in Asia will be at its lowest. The Imperial Navy can then unleash its full power to deal with Lanfang."

He pointed again to the naval power comparison chart: "Although our individual ships are inferior in performance, we have a numerical advantage. With proper tactics, we can completely cripple or even annihilate the main force of the Lanfang Navy in a decisive fleet battle. Once we gain control of the sea, Borneo will be ours for the taking—no matter how strong their army is, without naval transport and protection, they are just trapped beasts on an isolated island."

Okaichinosuke sat down again, staring at Yashiro Rokuro with a complex expression. As the Minister of the Army, he instinctively disliked the navy-led strategy, but he had to admit that Yashiro Rokuro's logic was sound.

"But," said Finance Minister Wakatsuki Reijiro, who was in charge of finances and most concerned about costs, "how much budget would such a large-scale naval battle require? Once the war begins, it will be beyond our control."

"Regarding the budget, I can give a rough estimate." Yashiro Rokuro was clearly prepared; he produced another document. "If the war ends within three months, the navy will need an additional 80 million yen. If it lasts six months, it might require 150 million yen. But please consider this—"

He stood up, walked to the map of Asia hanging on the wall, and drew a large circle with his finger: "Once we defeat Lanfang and seize Borneo, what will the Empire gain? All the rubber, tin, and oil resources of Southeast Asia will fall into the Empire's hands. The value of these resources alone is more than one billion yen a year. More importantly, it has strategic value: the Empire will control the entire South China Sea shipping route from the Strait of Malacca to the Taiwan Strait, becoming the undisputed hegemon of Asia."

These words made many people in the room's eyes light up.