The British government panicked, and the Japanese government, as the protagonist, panicked even more. Unlike in the past, it is really a matter of life and death.

No one thought that European countries would be so undisciplined, and they all pulled the bias to the point of personal end.

An understatement of "economic sanctions" can cost the Japanese Empire half its life.

If it is really implemented according to the contents of the note, and the sphere of influence of the 18 countries of the European Continental Union is a forbidden area for them, then the Japanese government does not need to develop international trade, and it is better to directly close the country to the outside world.

If you look at the world map, you can see that the European Union's sphere of influence has covered more than half the world. With the hegemonic style of the great powers of this era, cross-border law enforcement is also a common thing.

Against this backdrop, Japanese merchant ships went to sea with no return.

At the same time, Japan lost its international market and maritime transportation capacity, and Japan was reduced to meat on the board, which could only be slaughtered by others.

This is still a civilized approach, if it is a little too much, the European Continental Union will directly send troops to destroy the Japanese Navy, and it is not impossible to have another "black ship incident".

The consequences of refusal are severe, as are the consequences of compromise. So far in the war, the Japanese government has done its best, and at this time the compromise has been all in vain.

Whether it was heavy casualties or huge military spending, the Japanese government was forced into a corner.

Taking a step back is no longer the sea and the sky, but the abyss. For the sake of this war, the Japanese people have been starving for a long time, and suddenly received the bad news of defeat.

The Imperial Council had begun, but this time no one spoke first. There was no way, it happened so suddenly, and there was no time for everyone to prepare.

Forced by the emperor's murderous gaze, Ito Hirobumi stubbornly spoke: "At this moment, everyone must be prepared in their hearts.

Since the beginning of the Philippine War, we have discussed the issue of intervention by the great powers, but we did not expect this day to come so quickly, let alone that the European countries could actually act together.

You can't hide from it, and now that the worst has happened, then we are ready to deal with the aftermath.

Don't worry too much, the current economic crisis in Europe is breaking out, and countries will not easily provoke wars, especially a war with no return. ”

Comforting words, Hirofumi Ito really can't make it up. The international intervention that was expected in advance was only for Spain to pull in a few countries with good relations to intervene, but it never expected that there would be a joint intervention of 18 countries.

What's going on?

took the script of "The Eighteenth Road Princes Seek Dong", the problem is that they are not Dong Zhuo, and they do not have a "Xiliang Iron Horse" that is powerful in the world.

There is no need for the Eighteen Nations to organize a coalition army from within the country, and the military strength of the people in Nanyang alone will be able to reach Tokyo in less than a month.

"Resistance", this is a false proposition. Spain alone and the southbound fleet are half a pound and eight taels, if you add the fleets of the Netherlands and the Shinra, the southbound fleet will definitely kneel.

The navy is finished, and the main force of the army, which is still fighting hard in the Philippine Islands, will be destroyed only a matter of time.

The army and navy are gone, what to resist?

"100 million jade pieces", that was a crazy plan in World War II. Today, there are more than 40 million people in Japan, and the government is known for its "rationality" in the "Meiji era".

Originally, Ito Hirobumi wanted to mention the British allies, but seeing the disdainful expressions on everyone's faces, he finally chose to swallow the words back.

Those who can enter here are those who understand, and everyone knows best what the "Anglo-Japanese Alliance" is all about.

It doesn't matter if you pull the tiger's skin in normal times, but when it comes to this fateful time, it is better to count on the help of the British, it is better to worship Amaterasu and ask for kamikaze to help destroy the enemy.

Kiyotaka Kuroda: "It is precisely because of the economic crisis in Europe that we are more dangerous. The European powers have always been fond of waging wars abroad to divert economic crises at home.

Especially in recent decades, almost every economic crisis has been followed by the climax of European countries' foreign expansion. Including the Ottoman Empire, which once dominated the Mediterranean, fell under the pace of expansion of the HRE foreign transfer crisis.

There are such lessons from the past, and we have to guard against them now. In the event that careless negligence causes the situation to spiral out of control, we become the sinners of the Empire. ”

As a rare rationalist in the Japanese government, Kuroda Kiyotaka has always opposed military adventures. The practice of gambling on the fortunes of the country is even more hateful.

It's just that the arms can't reach the thighs, and they can't stop the desire of the Chinese people to expand. Now that the southward strategy has been frustrated, it is a good time for Kuroda Kiyotaka to step on the brakes.

Anyway, it is not a shame to concede under pressure from the continental league. If you change countries, you will perform much better than them.

"No way!"

"Now we can't back down, the morale of the people has been stimulated, and there is no way to explain to the people at this time to make a compromise with the European Continental Union."

It's not that there is a friend in the county, but the Japanese government has been forced into an embarrassing situation. Neither the military nor the population can tolerate defeat.

If we really choose to compromise, maybe a revolution will break out in the country. Despite the raging economic crisis on the European continent, the situation in Japan is actually more serious than in other European countries.

Unlike European countries, no matter how bad the economic crisis is, the government will find a way to distribute relief food, even if it is poor. Although it is not good to eat, it can save your life.

The Japanese government will not be able to do it, the money has been spent on the war, and the pocket has long been empty. There is also no money, and European countries can take grain on credit from Shinra, but the Japanese government has nowhere to go on credit.

In an effort to stabilize the situation, the Japanese government has suppressed a number of riots. Today's Japan is a powder keg, supported by a breath of spiritual qi, and if the qi is dispersed, it will cost human life.

If the civilian population is a powder keg, the military is an explosives bag. With the outbreak of war, the radical faction in the army has begun to emerge and has a great influence among the middle and lower ranks of officers and soldiers.

Once these people make a riot, the destructive power is much greater than that of ordinary people to rebel. As a general who has just returned from the front, Yama County is well aware of how fragile the military is now.

Glancing at Hirofumi Ito, he slowly said, "The key to the problem now is not whether we should back down, but whether we can resist the pressure of the European Alliance."

Not only political and economic pressures, but also military pressures. If the European Continental Union intervenes with arms, will the military have the ability to keep the enemy out of the country?

It is a matter of life and death for the empire, and I hope that you will be able to answer rationally. Your judgment will have a direct impact on whether or not the Great Japanese Empire can continue.

Please! ”

As he spoke, the Xiyuan Temple Gongwang also bowed to the military representative.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense. As representatives of the military, Saigo Congdo, Oyama Yan, Yama County Aritomo and others instantly felt the pressure.

Now is not the time for political struggle, and one wrong step will not only be your own end, but even the Japanese Empire may be buried with you.

"The difference in strength between the two sides is too big, don't say that it is the joint intervention of the European Continental Alliance, even if the Dutch Nanyang Fleet and the Spanish Navy join forces, the Imperial Navy will not be able to keep the enemy out of the country."

After speaking, Saigo Congdao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the whole person relaxed. Although this answer is a bit demoralizing, it is the answer that is most responsible for the Japanese Empire.

After the outbreak of the Philippine Campaign, the Dutch government increased the deployment of troops in the South Seas. Although there were not many additional warships, and there were no 10,000-ton pre-dreadnoughts on board, it was enough to serve as the last straw that broke the scales.

"Are you navy all rubbish? It costs so much military spending every year, and now it's ......"

Without waiting for Dashan Yan to finish speaking, the Minister of Military Orders of the Navy, Shiki Kayama, directly replied: "Dashan-kun needs to be responsible for speaking, how much is the Navy's annual military expenditure?"

Did you know that Spain, which is at war with us, has spent twice as much on average as our navy in the last ten years?

The empire's annual naval military expenditure was at most comparable to that of Portugal, and even the Dutch could not compare.

As for the real naval powers, not to mention Britain and the Holy Roman Empire, people can build two imperial navies with a year's naval budget.

With limited funds, a modern navy can be built, and it is on a par with the Spanish navy, and the navy is worthy of the empire! ”

The ass decides the head, although Shikinori Kayama was originally from the army, but sitting in the position of the head of the navy's military command, he must protect the interests of the navy. It even needs to be done more thoroughly to be able to convince the people below.

In the case of ignoring the price level and strategic needs, the Japanese Navy can be regarded as saving money by simply looking at the annual military expenditure.

If the above factors are taken into account, the Japanese Navy has nothing to do with "saving money". The high cost of purchasing warships is inevitable, and the key is that the Japanese Navy has comprehensively learned from the Royal Navy, and in many places it has reached the point of madness.

Not only did the tactical training and operation instructions follow the British, but even the decoration of warships and the food of soldiers were copied from the Royal Navy. There are no domestic imports, anyway, everything is on par with the Royal Navy.

Whether there is waste or not, no one knows the answer. After all, the navies of European and American countries play like this, eating steak and drinking red wine are the standard, and it is far from being comparable to the army's bitter haha.

At a time when confidence was seriously lacking and foreign admiration was the worst, it was natural for the navy to follow the British in an all-round way, which was naturally beyond reproach.

However, these reasons can fool ordinary people, and if you want to fool the army of the rival, it is not enough. Don't think that the top brass of the army don't understand the navy, in fact, they don't necessarily spend less time studying the navy every day than some top brass of the navy.

Da Shanyan sneered: "Don't talk about these useless things, the Imperial Navy just needs to train in the harbor every day, and other people's navies will run all over the world."

Even the annual military expenses are earned by other people's navies themselves from the outside. If you have the ability to earn back the military expenses on your own, I don't have a problem with spending more money. ”

There is nothing wrong with it, the naval military expenses of the colonial empire are indeed earned back by themselves. Whether it's plundering wealth from the colonies or maintaining overseas trade, these are all about the navy.

This is the reason why the more colonies and richer the country, the larger the navy. Even if it is a loss on the surface, it is because the money goes into the pockets of individuals. If you really keep losing money, with the and urine of European governments these years, it is estimated that you will not play anymore.

Specifically, you can refer to Alaska, where the Russians threw this hot potato that lost money to Austria. Before the development of gold, there were also calls for renunciation within the Vienna government.

It is only in recent years that the winds of the Vienna government have changed. More and more people realized the value of the territory, and it was only then that they went to the other extreme - planting the flag when they encountered a borderland.

Of course, this "extreme" has little impact. After all, it was just planting a flag along the way, and it was not actually sending people to occupy it. The Vienna government still has no shortage of money for a few chess pieces.

Shiki Kayama rolled his eyes, his disdain overflowing. If you haven't done a single Spain, and you have to go out to rob the colonies, that's definitely a manifestation of brain water.

Seeing that the topic was off track, Emperor Meiji glared at Oyama Yan with dissatisfaction, and scolded sternly: "Now is not the time to listen to your quarrels, the empire is in danger, can't you save some worry?" ”

There is no doubt that Emperor Meiji was very dissatisfied with the Army's practice of diverting the subject.

No, no, this is something that everyone knows, is it so difficult to admit that you are not strong?

The answer is: hard, very hard.

The Army, unlike the Navy, is not so rational. The Navy can roughly know the difference in strength between the two sides when it looks at the warships, and no matter how hard it is to face a difference in strength of more than ten times, or even dozens of times, it is difficult to be stubborn!

The most important thing is that the European Army and Navy are close at hand, and if they hold on, they will come directly. Bragging is about to be a goof, and you can't admit it if you want to.

The army is different, and smart people can see at a glance that although the European Continental Alliance is powerful, it is impossible to send hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Japan, and it will lose money.

Since you don't need to fight the European Union, it doesn't hurt to brag behind closed doors. Of course, even if the enemy is outside the country, this guarantee still doesn't have to play well.

If the commander of the family has a brain convulsion and really comes to attack Tokyo, it will be the end of the calf. The Army's achievements in the Philippine Islands are not enough to provide people with confidence.

If you can't brag and don't want to admit that your own strength is not good and take responsibility, you can only find a way to fool the past. It's better than telling the truth and being scolded as a "traitor" by the radicals.

It was clear to everyone present that from the moment the European Union's diplomatic note was issued, the Japanese Government had no choice.

It is impossible to make a hard bar, and if it really provokes the European Union, it is not impossible to turn Japan into a colony.

Although this will lose money, but the eighteen countries share it together, and each family will not lose much.

It is even possible that not only the Eighteen Kingdoms, but also their good allies will follow suit to ensure that their position in the Far East will not be shaken. Britain has done this kind of thing a lot, and it doesn't care about one more time.

Seeing that the main responsibility for the forced concession was thrown to the navy, Dashan Iwa knew that he could not continue to pretend to be confused, and if he was not willing to take the slightest responsibility, they would become public enemies.

"Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, it is indeed not a wise move to confront the European Continental Alliance. However, if we give up the Philippine Islands directly, we have no way to explain to the people.

If you want to be safe, the best way is to change to a soft persimmon pinch.

Internally, we can use the sound of the south and the north as an excuse to appease the people in the country; We have sold face to the European Union, and it is not good for them to continue to be aggressive.

The European Union's intervention in the Philippine War was essentially due to the instability of the European continent and the fear that Spain's defeat would lead to a loss of control in the country.

Going north does not have these risks, and even if we were to turn the world upside down, it would not have much impact on the situation in Europe.

At the cost of giving up the Philippine Islands, even if we cannot get the support of other countries to go north, there is still no problem in exchange for their neutrality. ”