1941, October 14.

The Hans command concentrated 38% of the infantry and 64% of the tanks on the Eastern Front, totaling 53 infantry divisions, 14 tank divisions and 8 motorized divisions, and launched a major offensive against Moscow, thus beginning the Battle of Moscow.

On the same day, Umetoku Tojo, a war criminal from World War II, succeeded as Prime Minister of the Sakura Cabinet and immediately convened a cabinet meeting.

The meeting was held in Chiyo, Tokyo.

Those attending the meeting included Prime Minister Umetoku Tojo, Army Minister Korechika Anami, Navy Minister Mineo Ōsumi, Home Minister Genki Abe, Finance Minister Yutaka Hirose, Minister of Munitions Teijiro Toyoda, and State Minister Seizo Sakon.

The meeting was chaired by Umetoku Tojo.

"This is a tragic moment!" he said, his voice hoarse and his eyes bloodshot, clearly having not had a good rest in a long time. "I never imagined that something like this would happen in our country!"

"Prime Minister, the Empire is currently facing a shortage of various resources and urgently needs to replenish them."

Minister of Munitions Teijiro Toyoda stood up and bowed to Umeto Tojo. "If these problems are not resolved as soon as possible, the Empire may be plunged into crisis... Please allow me to make a suggestion: I hope to take action against Indochina as soon as possible!"

"Toyota-kun!"

Army Minister Korechika Anami frowned at him and said, "You're too eager for quick results."

"Too eager for quick results?"

Toyoda Teijiro sneered: "If it weren't for your army's incompetence in losing Indochina, we wouldn't have fallen to this state!"

"You bastard!" Anami Korechi roared angrily, "How dare you speak to me in such a tone?"

Why wouldn't I dare?

"you……"

“I know this is hard for you to accept. But it’s the truth,” Toyoda Teijiro interrupted him. “We have to make a choice. Either we take back Indochina, or… the empire is destroyed!”

"You idiot, you beast!"

"Enough, stop arguing!"

Tojo Umedo raised his right hand to stop the two cabinet ministers from arguing.

"I know that the Empire will face great hardship after losing Indochina, perhaps even unprecedented difficulties. But I believe that since we have already failed once, we must never lose a second time!"

Tojo Umetoku's voice became increasingly low and hoarse.

“I once prayed to God, hoping that He would forgive our mistakes and give us a chance to start anew. But I was not devout enough… I have failed God’s favor, and even more so, I have failed the soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the battlefield…”

The meeting room was silent as everyone listened intently to Tojo Ume's monologue.

“We have no way out…” Tojo Umeto paused for a moment, then continued, “Now we only have two paths before us: either we launch a full-scale attack on China, or we postpone the attack on China, send a large force to land in Indochina, seize resources, and keep the empire’s machinery running.”

The meeting room was completely silent.

After a long while, someone finally sighed softly.

"Prime Minister, I agree to postpone the attack on China and send a large force to land in Indochina," Anami Korechika stated first.

Navy Minister Ōsukaku Cham Sen also echoed this sentiment, stating, "According to intelligence gathered by our naval submarines, the Democratic Alliance of Vietnam has established three naval fleets in Haiphong, Da Nang, and Saigon, all of which are F-series warships."

"They not only have submarines, destroyers, cruisers, and battleships, but also dozens of aircraft carriers; their numbers and tonnage are no less than those of our Imperial Navy."

"What!"

Everyone was utterly astonished and speechless.

Tojo Umeto was stunned. "The Democratic Alliance of North Vietnam has no industry, no shipyards, no resources, not even a complete oil refinery... How could they possibly have so many warships?"

“Yes.” Ōsumi Mineo shook his head, a complicated expression on his face. “That’s what I’m worried about.”

"You should know that even at its peak, France didn't have this many warships, let alone an aircraft carrier; it only had one."

"But the Democratic Alliance of Vietnam has twice as many aircraft carriers as we do. The only country in the world that can produce so many aircraft carriers is the United States."

"You mean, this Democratic Alliance of Vietnam is actually an agent of the US?" Tojo Umetoku guessed a certain answer, his expression becoming serious. "If that's the case, then we're in big trouble."

The US has been constantly condemning the Democratic Alliance of Vietnam in the international community, but it turns out it was all a conspiracy!

Okabe nods: "Although the United States is still a neutral country, it is only a matter of time before it joins the war. Therefore, it is very likely that they are already secretly supporting proxies in order to restrict us."

"Damn bastards!" Tojo Umeto gritted his teeth. "We absolutely cannot stand idly by, or the Empire will be devoured by them!"

The meeting room fell silent again, everyone staring at Tojo Umedo.

Tojo Umetoku was silent for a moment, then said, "Regarding Indochina... As I just said, we have no way out, but given that the Democratic Alliance of Vietnam is a proxy of the US, if we rashly launch a full-scale offensive, the US will certainly have enough excuse to intervene in the war."

"At that time, our army will be bogged down in the Indochina quagmire, just like in the war in China. The US will also threaten our homeland from the Pacific! In that case, we will be completely finished!"

Tojo Umetoku's speech slowed down: "In order to accumulate strength, we will first take action against Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. The resources in these places are enough to support the continued operation of the empire's machinery."

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