1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

"Your Highness, why are you here today..."

Since being transferred to Northeast China, Fujiwara Kanezane only visited them once after the "Northeastern Counteroffensive" was basically over and they beat up Shen Honglie. Then he immediately returned to Japan and went to the United States.

Of course, everyone knew that this did not mean that Fujiwara no Kanezane did not value them, and they had no complaints. They just calmly started to build the new "Manchukuo Navy" from scratch according to the other party's reserved requirements.

Oh, it should be called "Five-Star Eastern Republic Navy" now.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to see how your navy is developing, and to ask if you have any ideas or difficulties, and if you need any support from me..."

Fujiwara no Kanezane glanced around and without hesitation named every officer present:

"Kimura Masafuku, Terauchi Masamichi, Koyo Keiji, Matsuda Chiaki, Tobita Kenjiro, Sugama Ryokichi, Sakai... all of you, come and share your thoughts!"

These were the "people" he had collected from the navy with great difficulty, and then he relied on these "people" to collect more "people", which became the foundation for the establishment of the Republic's navy. Of course, he had to listen to their opinions.

A group of Japanese naval officers, the highest rank being Lieutenant Colonel, looked at each other, and finally one of them boldly asked:

"Your Highness, do you really intend to allow that horse... that gambler, Yamamoto Isoroku, to serve in our navy? Will he become our commander?"

You know, Yamamoto Isoroku was already a major general in 1929. If he came here, he would undoubtedly be the person with the highest military rank. So, that is...

Fujiwara Kanezane took a closer look and saw that it was Matsuda Chiaki. He sighed inwardly that it was indeed the guy who had cursed Yamamoto Isoroku and Tojo Hideki all his life. He smiled and said:

"Matsuda-kun, if he really wants to come, I would certainly be happy to accept him, but the prerequisite is that he can accept my philosophy and the philosophy of you and others."

"Concept? Are you talking about our views on naval development? In that case, I'm sorry, Your Highness, I'm not an aircraft carrier..."

"No, no, no, I'm not talking about this kind of concept in the development of military weapons and equipment."

Fujiwara no Kanezane glanced at the silent Nobuhito and said something that made him shudder;

"What I'm talking about is faith. I think this is more important than who is right or wrong, the 'aircraft carrier faction' or the 'battleship faction'."

"Belief?"

"Yes, faith."

Fujiwara Kanezane stared into Kudo Shunsaku's eyes and asked seriously:

"Kudo-kun, if you were in a fierce naval battle and sank an enemy warship, and a large number of their soldiers fell overboard, and you were running low on food and water, and rescuing them might cause your own ship to run out of supplies, what would you do?"

Kudo Shunsaku was silent for a moment, then confirmed that Fujiwara Kanezane was not joking, and replied generously:

"Even if they are enemies, even if I am running low on food and water, now that the battle is over, they are no longer enemies but prisoners. I will order everyone to do their utmost to salvage them and treat them well."

"So, you support treating prisoners well?" "Yes!"

Kudo Shunsaku said firmly:

"I believe this is the spirit of Bushido! A true samurai can gain prestige by fighting the enemy to the death with his sword, but once the enemy has lost their ability to resist, violence should not be used against them."

"Ah."

Fujiwara no Kanezane remained silent and looked at another person:

"Gu Yaojun, let me ask you, if your warships are struggling to resupply, and a large number of low-ranking soldiers haven't had a full meal for a long time, what would you do? Answer me honestly."

Gu Yaoguici thought for a moment and replied:

"I will make a plan to evenly distribute the limited food on board, ensuring everyone has the same food. This will calm any unrest and resentment. At the same time, I will organize everyone to salvage seafood to replenish food supplies, strengthen unity, and boost morale."

"Ah."

Fujiwara no Kanezane remained noncommittal and asked again:

"Mr. Tobita, I've heard that you're a very skilled sailor. If you were the captain of a destroyer and a large number of enemy planes were bombing the harbor, what would you do?"

"Your Highness, I will lead the entire fleet to leave the port immediately and head to the sea to avoid bombing."

"Aren't you going to meet the enemy?"

"No, you said a large number of planes have arrived outside the port, which means we have lost air superiority. It's impossible for a destroyer to defeat the enemy. I will not take my subordinates on such a suicidal mission."

"Kunma-kun, what do you think?"

"I think the same as Tobita-kun, but I might be a little more cunning."

"What?"

"I usually try to find ways to save and reserve fuel. Plus, I'm a tough guy, so if I encounter a situation like this, I might be able to hold on longer and even achieve good results."

"Hahahahahaha..."

Fujiwara Kanezane laughed out loud, and after he had finished laughing, he pointed at someone:

"Terauchi-kun, if you were the captain right now, facing a war that was absolutely impossible to win and meaningless even if you won, but your commander insisted that you go out to fight the enemy, what would you do?"

"If the commander leads the troops to attack, then I will follow him and have no regrets even if I die in battle. But if he just hides behind and lets us attack, then I will ask him why he doesn't go and die himself."

(Historically, when asked to launch a suicide attack, this guy publicly questioned the Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, Kusaka Ryunosuke, "Why don't you personally participate in the battle?", and then received a slap in the face from the other party. The Yukikaze almost gave Kusaka Ryunosuke a blow.)

Fujiwara no Kanezane asked a similar question to everyone, and although everyone answered according to their heart, they also felt a little puzzled.

All of these are things that never happened. Why are there so many assumptions? "Kimura-kun, you are a lieutenant colonel now, right?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

The older Kimura Masafuku vaguely understood what Fujiwara no Kanezane meant, so he deliberately added some more answers:

"I was fortunate enough to be promoted because I saved many lives during the 1923 Tokyo Earthquake."

"Yes, that's why I specifically called your name..." Fujiwara Kanezane suddenly raised his voice:

"Everyone! Your ideals and beliefs are the reason I specifically chose you to come here!"

Everyone couldn't help but stand up straight.

It is obvious that His Royal Highness Prince Hachimangu Kanezane is going to explain his ideas and requirements for them.

"We Japanese believe in Bushido, but what exactly is true Bushido? I've been thinking about this question, but apparently, the so-called Bushido currently popular in Japan can't give me the answer! Do you know why?"

Everyone was silent, and Fujiwara no Kanezane began to ask questions again:

"Kudo-kun, you bully the weak, humiliate women and children, stand by and watch others dying without helping, and even massacre prisoners. Is this true Bushido?"

"No! Your Highness!"

"Tobita-kun, beating and insulting soldiers at will, and inflicting 'spiritual infusion' on them, is this true Bushido?"

"No, Your Highness!"

"Kunma-kun, for the sake of your own fame and achievements, you are leading your subordinates to their deaths. Is this true Bushido?"

"No, Your Highness!"

"Koyao-kun, to demonstrate your high status as an officer, you let the soldiers eat steamed rice balls while you enjoy steak and wine. Is this true bushido?"

"No! Your Highness!"

"Terauchi-kun, when you see your superior making a mistake that could lead to huge losses, instead of standing up and admonishing him, you instead add fuel to the fire. Is this true Bushido?"

"No, Your Highness!"

Amidst the repeated cries of "No! Your Highness!", these officers, who were completely ignored in the Japanese military system, gradually understood Fujiwara no Kanezane's meaning and straightened their backs with pride and excitement.

Because, one by one, these are their ideas and beliefs!

In other words, His Highness has kept his word and intends to honor his previous promise to build a new navy that suits them!

"Everyone! This is the belief and philosophy that an army should have! In battle, we must be as brave as a tiger and as cunning as a fox. But outside of combat, I'm sure you all know what we should do!"

Fujiwara Kanezane shouted loudly:

"I don't care if he's Yamamoto or Yamada! I don't care if he's a major general or a lieutenant general! I don't care if he's a noble or a commoner! If they can't accept our ideals, then there's no way they'll join us!"

"Therefore, I ask you to mobilize your connections and resources to find more of our comrades and build a new navy that is uniquely ours, one that is faith-based, moral, and capable!!"

“Yes!! Your Highness!!”

With just a few words, Fujiwara Kanezane won the hearts of these former Japanese naval officers, boosted their morale, and laid the foundation for the future "Republic Navy."

At this time, Xuanren suddenly spoke:

"Your Highness, may I make a suggestion?" "Hmm?"

Fujiwara no Kanezane and the other officers all looked at the prince who seemed to have little presence. Fujiwara no Kanezane nodded and said:

"Okay, you say."

"You said that our army should have faith. I fully support this, but is it enough for you and the officers to lead the way?"

"You mean..."

"Your Highness, you have to control the overall situation. The officers also have their own responsibilities. It is impossible for them to focus all their energy on educating the soldiers. Do you all agree on this?"

Everyone nodded.

"So I think that if we want to build the new navy that Your Highness and we envision, we should set up a position within the military specifically responsible for conveying our ideas and beliefs, right?"

Everyone still nodded.

Before Nobuhito finished speaking, Fujiwara Kanezane guessed what he was going to say. For a moment, he even thought that the other party was also a time traveler.

Fuck! Political Commissar!

Of course, this description is not entirely accurate. It can only be said that the role they play in some aspects is similar.

So, is there such a position in the Japanese army? The answer is, almost none.

Whether it is the Japanese Navy or the Army, they basically rely on strict hierarchy, superiors whipping subordinates, burning, killing and looting to maintain military morale and combat effectiveness. Even now that State Shinto and militarism have been created, this is still the case.

Why would such an old-fashioned feudal army need a political commissar? You can't have the gendarmerie as a political commissar, right?

You don't really think that the political commissar is the supervisory team, right?

The fact that they were able to come up with a staff system was already quite advanced.

What Nobuhito said inadvertently hit the mark of Fujiwara no Kanezane's plan: in the new republic's army, whether it is the army, navy or air force, there must be a "political commissar".

Of course, for the success of the overall grand strategy, we cannot openly call him "political commissar" for the time being, and we have to change the name.

Well, well, in that case, Xuanren, you will be the one to propose, perfect, and implement this plan!

Fujiwara no Kanezane calmly encouraged:

"Oh? How do you think this can be achieved? What are everyone else's ideas? Let's discuss it."

This time, everyone's thoughts were in a mess.

Some people think that someone like Kimura or Kudo could directly take on this position;

Some people think it's a waste of officers' command abilities; some think they should train "political commissars" from scratch; others think that's too slow...

But there is one thing that everyone agrees on:

The person who is qualified to hold this position must have thoughts, values ​​and outlook on life that are consistent with Your Highness's "Three Represents" and the ideas of the public.

So, Xuanren naturally began to promote Amway:

"I don't know, have you heard of the Almighty Gospel Church?"

The officers shook their heads.

I've been so busy lately just dealing with fleet deployment that I don't have the time to learn about an organization whose name sounds like a cult.

"Well, I'm sorry, everyone. I've been away from work for a while and left everything to you..."

Xuanren first apologized cunningly, then explained the "Almighty Gospel Church" and introduced the church's philosophy and beliefs:

"...I've had some contact with this sect a few times, and my initial assessment is that its ideology almost completely aligns with our needs. I think we can have them join us."

The officers frowned.

Adding religious elements to the military is nothing new;

Some Japanese troops who believed in Buddhism still retain "military monks" to pray for the troops, offer condolences, bury dead soldiers, hold religious ceremonies, etc.

However, these guys are called "monks", but in fact they are another form of supervision team.

For example, during the Russo-Japanese War, when the Japanese army was attacking Hill 203, they were unable to capture it for a long time, suffered heavy casualties, and had low morale. The top brass sent monks to incite the Japanese soldiers:

"Killing one person in order to allow many people to survive, killing the evil part of the world (referring to the Russians) and helping the majority of people to survive, this is the great Bodhisattva practice..." and so on.

As a result, some soldiers actually believed it and mustered up the courage to fight again, resulting in even greater casualties.

For this reason, the Navy even mocked the Army as a group of "monkeys who have turned the Buddhist scriptures upside down." Now, let such a group of people join the new Navy?

Although according to His Highness Xuanren's description, this sect seems to fully meet expectations, but...