1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

"Hey, what idiot brought this stupid ship that's still under heavy modification?"

A Japanese naval officer who was running in front heard this, his face froze, and he cautiously came forward and asked:

"Your Highness, do you know the Fuso?"

"Haha, I know. It was chosen from 35 designs..."

That’s right, the large and conspicuous ship floating on the sea not far away is the first super-dreadnought battleship designed independently by Japan - the "Fuso".

Anyone who knows a little about the Japanese Navy probably knows the famous "Fuso", or at least has heard of its bridge, which is 60 meters high at its highest, equivalent to a 15-story building, and has no elevator.

By the way, the crew of the Fuso later strongly requested the installation of an elevator, otherwise climbing the stairs would be a life-threatening task - but their request was not approved.

Although it has not reached that level yet, it has already taken shape as the "big chicken... with a small battleship under the bridge" of 1942.

The only function of this B bridge is to intercept enemy aircraft and help the air force gain air superiority, just like the air defense tree.jpg.

The Japanese way of thinking is sometimes really strange.

When designing the Fuso, the Japanese put a lot of effort into achieving the title of "world's first" and chose the largest 356mm main gun at the time.

口径大也就算了，byd鬼子还在这艘B船上塞了整整6座12门主炮、16门152mm副炮和4门76mm高射炮，一下子把扶桑本来还算大的躯体给塞得比被NTR的人妻还满。

Well, having more guns isn't necessarily a bad thing, at least it provides more firepower. However, based on past experience, the Japanese foolishly believed that the maximum effective engagement range for naval vessels was 10 kilometers.

Therefore, they designed the Fuso's main guns based on this principle with an inaccurate maximum range of only 20 kilometers. This was quickly refuted – the average effective engagement range between British and German warships at the Battle of Jutland was at least 20 kilometers...

Okay, okay, what's the point of having more firepower now?

In addition, the excessive number of main guns caused the two central main guns to be too close to the bridge, which not only affected the visibility, but also smoked everyone in the command tower into a special version of naval bacon when firing.

The main guns also took up more than 67% of the deck area, leaving the Fuso with no space to even place motorboats or rescue boats, because once they were placed on the deck, the wind from the main guns would blow them away when they were fired.

To solve this problem, the Japanese came up with a "little trick" - why not just raise the main gun a few meters above the ground and hang the motorboats and other things on the side strings?

However, this also resulted in the main armor having to be extended, making the Fuso's main armor, which was only 305mm, even thinner. The front and rear ammunition depots could not even be covered by the armor!

You know, the Fuso has 32 guns, so it goes without saying how much ammunition can be stuffed into the ammunition bays.

Once hit, there is no room for error and the entire ship will spiral upwards like an Armstrong.

Therefore, in order to solve the problem of thin armor, the Japanese added a lot of additional armor to the Fuso, which further increased its weight and seriously reduced its combat speed.

As for the equipment such as the "cock spear" installed on the triangular mast for modernization after 1937, and the seaplanes and catapults installed for reconnaissance... I simply don't have the energy to describe them.

Therefore, the shortcomings of Fuso have accumulated to date, including but not limited to:

The main armor is too thin, the ammunition magazines are poorly protected, the range is too short, the funnel smokes the bridge, the firepower is inferior to Nagato, the speed is inferior to Kongo, the maneuverability is extremely poor, and a round of salvos is not only inaccurate but can also damage the hull and even cause it to capsize...

In short, the Fuso became a mascot that could not be defeated even if it could catch up with it, could not catch up even if it could defeat it, was forced to "paddling" throughout World War II, was finally easily sunk by a torpedo, and never saw an American battleship until its death.

Well, the birth, transformation and destruction of the Fuso are very consistent with Japan's national strategy - the typical Japanese thinking of "add water if there is too much noodles, and add noodles if there is too much water", and wanting to eat a big fat man in one bite without leaving any room for maneuver.

Other countries, especially the United States and Britain, have encountered the same problem as the Fuso, but their choice is to rebuild a new ship;

What if something still goes wrong?

Then build another one.

Poor imperialism.jpg.

With the help of his agent, Fujiwara Kanezane counted the flaws of the Fuso on his fingers, and then curled his lips at the officer and said:

Yamamoto, you brought this wreck here, aren't you planning to sell it to Manchuria... no, to my Five-Star Eastern Republic?"

Yamamoto Isoroku and the Fuso's current captain, Captain Sadaki Araki, laughed awkwardly. The Fuso's arrival in Northeast China was truly intended to "sell itself." Relying on Fujiwara Kanezane to continue providing the Navy with technical data on the Yukikaze (enhanced version), obtaining more American intelligence and military funds, and suppressing the Army, the Navy was now desperate to worship this man.

While digesting this information, the Japanese Navy discovered many of its own problems, including the Fuso, a ship that had been in service for 17 years and had long been a source of headaches for them, a ship they were unwilling to abandon despite having lost interest in it.

After comparing various data, he quickly made a judgment - damn, the "Fuso" looked good in the past, it's just okay now, but it will definitely become a waste at sea in the future;

If nothing unexpected happens, the "Fuso" will become worse and worse with each modification, and it may not even be ranked first, and can only be included in the reserve training fleet.

Therefore, the battleship, which had begun its second round of renovation in April 1930 and was nearing completion, was pulled out of the shipyard by the Japanese Navy and sailed to Northeast China.

Their idea was that if Fujiwara no Kanezane's opinion of this ship was too low, they could simply sell it to the navy here in exchange for funds to build a new ship...

"Uh...if His Highness likes it..."

"I've already mentioned so many shortcomings, do you think I'm interested? I think your navy treats this place as a naval garbage disposal site, right?"

“Hehehe…Hehe…”

“That’s it!”

Seeing the embarrassed faces of Yamamoto Isoroku and several other naval officers from mainland Japan and the Fuso, Fujiwara Kanezane waved his hand nonchalantly.

"The Fuso will be of little use in future naval battles, but it's still very useful in attacking the Kuomintang Navy and performing some near-shore missions. I can purchase it on behalf of the Republic Navy for 1000 million yen..."

“Thank you, Your Highness!!”

Yamamoto Isoroku was overjoyed.

The cost of building the Fuso was approximately 2542 million yen, and including other miscellaneous expenses, it would not exceed 4000 million yen;

Although a lot of extra money has been spent over the years due to various modifications, especially the conversion of coal-fired boilers to heavy oil-fired boilers, that is "experimental funding" to reserve technology for future construction and modification of warships, and cannot be included in the cost.

So, after serving for seventeen years and causing countless troubles for the Navy, it was still sold for 1000 million, which is a very generous price;

If it weren't for the Fuso's great political significance, and if it weren't for the need to keep up the boasts it made back then so it could continue to defraud funding, the navy would have long wanted to use this broken ship as a target ship.

(Note: When the Fuso was built, the navy touted it as "the world's most powerful ship." However, shortly after its launch, major flaws were discovered, making it difficult to fix them even if they wanted to.)

What? You're saying the Fuso needs to be modified? Damn it! Didn't you say it was a perfect super battleship? You must be trying to defraud military funds! Get out of here! --- by Congressman

"But I have two conditions."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"First, the Navy must send more personnel to serve here and open more supporting factories. Just like before, I must select whoever I choose. I cannot refuse..."

"Your Highness, this condition is no problem!"

In fact, the Japanese Navy was eager to send personnel to the Manchukuo Navy and increase investment in various aspects!

Because this would not only help him improve his relationship with Fujiwara no Kanezane, but also allow him to sell more old ships and get more military funds. It would also expand the navy's influence in Northeast China and seize the army's territory!

Some time ago, Navy Minister Osumi Tsuneo and Army Minister Araki Sadao exchanged blows at a meeting. Was it really just because of a sarcastic remark?

Isn't it because of the inherent conflict of interests between the two parties?

Without the Hachimangu Shrine to keep them in check, would the Army allow the Navy to mess around on their territory?

If the navy wanted to expand its own interests, it had to rely on Fujiwara no Kanezane to stay in Northeast China.

It is only natural to send skilled workers to the Northeast and build naval supporting factories. The combat of a ship has never been about the ship itself.

As for whether people are willing to come...

Who in Japan doesn't know that under the rule of His Majesty Prince Kanezane, Northeast China has become a paradise?

It's okay for generals like them, but ordinary officers, soldiers, and workers who don't want to come are idiots!

"2. The income from purchasing naval equipment and hiring personnel can be excluded from the annual budget. However, this money cannot be used to continue building large battleships, such as the Yamato you are currently developing..."

Alas?

Isoroku Yamamoto was severely shocked.

Although the development of the Yamato battleship was kept highly confidential within the navy, it was not surprising that Fujiwara Kanezane knew about it;

The key point is that Yamamoto Isoroku heard from this condition something that was very likely to affect the future of the Japanese Navy:

Lord Hachimangu Kanezane does not support the battleship route!

There is no need to introduce the "aircraft carrier faction" and "battleship faction" in the Japanese Navy. Yamamoto Isoroku undoubtedly belonged to the "aircraft carrier faction" and firmly believed that aircraft carriers and aircraft would become the main force in future naval battles.

How firmly did he believe it?

When he attended the Second London Naval Disarmament Conference in 1934, he actually asked all countries to abandon the development and use of aircraft carriers!

When asked why, he replied:

"It is precisely because of this that I know the extremely aggressive nature of aircraft carriers and how much misfortune they will bring to humanity. I shudder at the thought of this. It is only natural that they should be included in the restriction treaty."

In fact, considering the situation of the Japanese Navy at that time, this statement translates to:

Aircraft carriers will become the main force in naval warfare in the future, but Japanese aircraft carriers are not good enough. They are not as good as those of the United Kingdom and the United States in all aspects. Moreover, the top leaders of the Japanese Navy do not support the vigorous development of aircraft carriers. So everyone should not play with aircraft carriers, and play with giant ships and cannons together!

The fact that a vice admiral was forced to make suggestions to the Japanese high-ranking officials and the Japanese Navy in this tactful way at the time shows how powerful the "battleship faction" within the Japanese Navy was.

(The reasoning is the same as that of the treaty faction - if the size of each country's navy is restricted, Japan still has room to survive and win. If it is not restricted, the United States can directly overthrow Japan.)

There is no way. Anyone who has rationally analyzed reality will basically support the "battleship faction", including Americans and British.

Yes, from a God's perspective, even elementary school students know that aircraft carriers are the future, but the problem is that the navies of all countries have proven one thing through frequent exercises:

Aircraft carriers are useless and fragile, and there is no way they can defeat battleships!

The immaturity of torpedoes, aircraft, radar and other technologies has led to the fact that the actual combat capability of aircraft carriers is extremely worrying;

Either the battleship's location cannot be found at all;

Or if you encounter a thunderstorm, you'll be hit by someone's gun and sunk by a salvo of fire;

Or when everything is finally ready and the battle can finally begin, the aircraft carrier is completely unable to defeat the battleship...

No matter how many times or how many types of exercises it has gone through, the aircraft carrier has always lost miserably. Even the most ardent "aircraft carrier advocates" will probably have to soften their stance.

Why would Congress allocate funds to develop aircraft carriers when you can't even prove that an aircraft carrier can take out a fully loaded, high-speed battleship?

These days, let alone aircraft carriers fighting battleships, the navies of different countries have very different ideas about what an aircraft carrier should look like!

For example, many Japanese naval officers believed that a true aircraft carrier should be a "battleship-style heavy artillery aircraft carrier" that must be able to fly and fight, with comprehensive functions.

So, they created a modified version of the Akagi, with a "first floor for launching aircraft, a second floor for recovering aircraft, and a third floor equipped with heavy-caliber artillery." But then it was destroyed in the Battle of Midway...

With his thoughts in such a state of confusion, even Yamamoto Isoroku seemed to waver, or at least he did not dare to roar and charge at the battleship.

But he didn't expect that Fujiwara Kanezane, who had no naval background at all, seemed to be determined to support the development of aircraft carriers!

Major General Yamamoto couldn't help but lower his voice and asked: "Your Highness, are you pessimistic about the future of battleships?" "Battleships still dominate the world now, but not in the future." "You mean..."

"The speed of development of aircraft, torpedoes, and heavy bombs will exceed everyone's imagination. Many officers haven't yet adapted to this. Japan's military budget is already insufficient. If it doesn't adjust, it will be impossible to win the competition."

Yamamoto Isoroku took a deep breath, lowered his head, and when he raised it again, a gambler's gleam in his eyes:

"Your Highness, please let me join your navy! Please let me serve you!"

Yamamoto Isoroku said these words with such force that Fujiwara Kanezane could not help but roll his eyes:

"Yamamoto, do you think it's appropriate to say this now?"

"Ah? Ah!"

The two were so engrossed in their conversation that Yamamoto Isoroku only then realized that there were a bunch of naval officers around him!

Well, well, now I’ve been labeled “Hachimangu Dog” without even getting permission.

What if people don't want me to do it?

"Uh... sorry... sorry, Your Highness."

Isoroku Yamamoto was a little embarrassed, but he did not regret it.

Gambling!

Besides, he didn't think Fujiwara Kanezane would refuse.

"It's okay. I welcome you to join my Republic Navy, but you still have a mission to complete, right? Complete that mission first.

"Ah! Yes!! Your Highness, then I will..."

"Well, go ahead and do your work, don't worry about me, it's OK for them to accompany me.

"Yes!"

424 Military Chaplain! We want a military chaplain!

Yamamoto Isoroku left everyone behind and took the captain of the Fuso with him. His hasty appearance clearly indicated that he was intent on quickly completing the Fuso business, completing the transfer procedures, and quickly enlisting in the Northeastern Navy.

Fujiwara Kanezane then looked at the Republic Navy officers who had been waiting for a while and smiled apologetically:

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, for the delay and the delay." "No, no, your highness is too polite."

"Your Highness, you don't have to be like this."

As the first naval officer to be approached by His Highness Nobuhito, who was sent by Fujiwara no Kanezane, the tall Kudo Shunsaku stepped forward on behalf of the other naval officers, his attitude respectful: