In the Imperial Palace, in the main hall of the Emperor's office, on the right side stand high-ranking officials of the Okuma government, headed by Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma. On the other side is the high-level military department of the Imperial Japanese Army, led by the old man with a white beard, but he is very fine. It is the pillar of the Japanese Imperial Army, the veteran of the Japanese Imperial Army, Marshal Yama Aritomo.

Emperor Taisho's health is not very good, because he had meningitis when he was a child, so the Japanese high-level people think that the emperor's brain is not very good. And Emperor Taisho didn't like government affairs very much. Therefore, during the period of the Great Certificate, it was inevitable that the Japanese government would have a situation in which the main government was weak and the minister was strong. However, as long as the ministers are not too excessive, Emperor Taisho will turn a blind eye. But there is one thing that Emperor Taisho took very seriously: the honor of the Great Japanese Empire. After all, a powerful Japan was built by his father, Emperor Meiji, at great painstaking pains. Although Emperor Taisho showed some ignorance, he was very concerned about Japan's international reputation, and this imperial meeting was also because of the war situation in the northeast, and under the guidance of well-intentioned people, the majesty of the Imperial Japanese Army had been damaged, after all, Japan's sphere of influence was in East Asia. And because of historical reasons, even if the current strength of the Republic of China is still weak, after all, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and the influence of thousands of years has made China's influence in Asia stronger than that of the Japanese.

Because China's anti-Japanese actions and the Chinese government's hardline attitude have pushed the Japanese government into a dilemma. Of course, there are two paths for Japan now. The first is to immediately stop the Korean war against the three eastern provinces. After all, Japan has not budgeted for this war, and even if Japan can win, it will pay a huge price. If the Chinese government resists with all its might, it may even plunge Japan, which has just climbed up from the abyss, into the abyss from which it will never recover. Moreover, the combat effectiveness shown by the Northeast Security Army on the front line has shocked the entire Japanese military department. Such a powerful force has seriously affected the deployment of Japan in the three eastern provinces. If the nearly 200,000 men of the Northeast Security Army had the same combat effectiveness as the troops facing off the Third Division, Japan would have to draw at least half of the country's troops if it wanted to swallow the three eastern provinces. And at least half of these troops will die on the battlefield in the northeast. This kind of loss is not something that the current Japanese government can afford.

The second way is to start a complete war with China, after all, according to Japanese intelligence, the combat effectiveness of other warlord forces in China is not strong, although some troops in the Northeast Security Army have strong combat effectiveness, but after all, it is impossible for all troops to have this kind of combat effectiveness, and Feng Yong has become a big problem for Japan in the Northeast, if he is not killed before he is fledgling, God knows if it will continue to develop, Japan will not have the ability to eliminate it. After all, it took less than a year for Feng Yong's public security corps to unify the three eastern provinces from its appearance, and God knows what the Northeast Public Security Army will develop in another year, after all, the resources in the Northeast are sufficient, and this Feng Yong has the current achievements, and he is indeed a personal masterpiece.

"His Majesty the Emperor has arrived!"

Emperor Taisho, the only son of Emperor Meiji, has been in poor health since he was a child, and he had meningitis when he was a child, although he was cured in the end, but the top leaders of the Japanese military and government did not fully trust Emperor Taisho.

"Baga, Your Excellency Marshal, Mr. Prime Minister, what is the matter with these foreign newspapers? Why did they attack the Great Japanese Empire together? This can seriously affect the reputation of the empire. And what is the situation at the front? Could it be that my mighty Imperial Japanese Army could not even defeat the local troops? ”

Yama Prefecture Aritomo and Okuma Shigenobu glanced at each other, and Okuma Shigenobu frowned and lowered his head, putting on a look that it was none of his business. After all, the war in Tohoku was fought by the military department to obtain an order from the emperor to send troops without telling the government. Now that the war is not going well, the responsibility will not find its own head.

There are friends in Shanxian who secretly cursed in their hearts! I was even more determined to remove the government of Shigenobu Okuma. Okuma Shigenobu became more and more arrogant, and he dared not to look at his friends in Shanxian County, and he didn't want to think about whose blessing he was able to come to power to form a cabinet. But now that the emperor is furious, someone has to come out and take the tank. Shan County Youpeng looked at the Minister of War Xiyuan Temple Gongwang beside him, this old guy did not lower his head, but held his head high, staring at the ceiling made of red pine wood in the northeast of the roof, and he didn't know if this guy could stare at the gold ingots like this.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, it was the old minister who was negligent!" Youpeng in Shanxian had to come out of the top cylinder by himself. After all, this matter was indeed his handiwork, and although the emperor finally signed the order to send troops, the emperor could not be in charge of the stalemate in Korea.

"Your Excellency Marshal, you are an old man from the time of your father, and you are one of the founders of the Imperial Japanese Army, don't you know how the honor of the Imperial Japanese Army was obtained now? You are now telling me exactly whether you can take the three eastern provinces without declaring war on China, but only by virtue of the current strength of the North Korean army. Eliminate the Northeast Security Army? The Emperor said with a serious face. Although he doesn't like government affairs and doesn't show much political talent himself, as the son of Emperor Meiji, Japan's most capable emperor, he still has some vision.

Yama Youpeng's face was ugly for a while, and he also asked General Terauchi Masayi, the governor of North Korea, this question. But the results undoubtedly made him pessimistic.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, the Imperial Army of Japan is a modern army established by Lao Chen under the leadership of the former emperor, and no one knows the combat effectiveness of the imperial army better than me, but objectively speaking, it is difficult to take the three eastern provinces with only more than 60,000 people in three divisions of the Korean army. The Northeast Security Corps has nearly 200,000 troops, and even if only one-third of them are elites, there are 70,000 or 80,000 troops, so that the number of the security corps is more than three times the total strength of the DPRK Army. Although the old minister didn't want to admit it, the North Korean army and the Northeast Security Army started a war, and the chances of victory were not good. ”

"Yaga! How so! Is the army built up by the Great Japanese Empire in a few decades not as strong as a unit that has been established for less than a year? What do you military departments do to eat? Could it be that the Empire's annual military spending has been swallowed up by you ministers? Seeing that the emperor was furious, he almost flipped the table, and the military headquarters headed by Yama County Youpeng immediately knelt down and pleaded guilty. Okuma Shigenobu also knelt down on the side of the government, and it was impossible for the marshals and generals to kneel, and they politicians were still standing tall, which would definitely offend the military department. Now Okuma Shigenobu is seeking re-election, although he will not bear the blame for the friends of Yama County, but he is not willing to be completely offended, after all, the influence of the military department is too strong now.

"The ministers are guilty! ......", the entire imperial hall knelt down in a large area, and the Xiyuan Temple Gongwang, who was looking for gold from the red pine wood with his eyes, also lay on the ground in fear. The emperor was angry, if there were friends in the mountain county who were going to be unlucky, the military department would definitely follow suit, and Xiji Yuangongwang would not be able to escape implication, which he absolutely did not want to see.

Seeing the high-ranking government officials and military generals kneeling on the ground in panic, a smug smile appeared on Emperor Taisho's face, but everyone kowtowed in fear, and no one noticed. During the reign of Emperor Taisho, Emperor Taisho was never able to obtain the same rights as Emperor Akechi because of the auxiliary status of the domestic military bosses. Although Emperor Taisho usually behaves indifferently, in fact, he is very concerned about what the head of government thinks of him. Therefore, many times, Emperor Taisho valued the honor of the empire in order to show his status. After all, in today's Japan, the emperor should be the absolute core of leadership. Although Japan is nominally a constitutional monarchy, it is still a monarchy in practice, and the emperor of Japan can absolutely decide on the appointment and dismissal of the prime minister of Japan. This is absolutely different from the fact that the King of England has no strength at all.

Seeing that the military and political leaders were almost intimidated by him, Emperor Taisho nodded with satisfaction, because he had meningitis when he was a child, including his father Emperor Meiji, Japan's military and political leaders did not believe that Emperor Taisho was a healthy and healthy leader with the ability to lead Japan to a better development. This visceral distrust caused Emperor Taisho great distress. Although he was more liberal in character, he was able to endure the boring political life for the sake of the honor of the Japanese Empire, but the distrust of the military and political leaders made him an ornament for the government and the military department. Emperor Taisho, who has already reached adulthood, is absolutely unwilling to become a puppet of the government or the military department. Therefore, Emperor Taisho was almost harsh in defending the honor of the empire, because he believed that as long as he could improve the reputation of the Great Japanese Empire, the whole of Japan would be completely controlled by himself, and he could become the most accomplished emperor in Japanese history like his father, Emperor Meiji.

However, unlike Emperor Meiji, although Emperor Taisho had ambitions to do a good job, his lack of ability made his behavior a little funny in front of his ministers, which made the ministers always think that Emperor Taisho was not in good spirits and could not take on the task of developing the empire normally. But Emperor Taisho didn't think that his ability was inferior, and in his senses, his strength was definitely comparable to his father, so Emperor Taisho wanted to intervene in everything, but the high ability of the government and the military department made it difficult for Emperor Taisho to find an opportunity to intervene. The war in Northeast China seriously affected the myth of the invincibility of the Japanese Empire, which allowed Emperor Taisho to vent his dissatisfaction with the military elders and the top of the government......

"Aiqing Okuma, what do you think about the war in the Northeast?" Emperor Taisho said to Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma.

"Returning to His Majesty the Emperor, the Northeast Security Army is just a local force in China, no matter how strong its combat effectiveness is, how strong can it be? Although the current progress of the military on the Sino-North Korean border is not going well, His Majesty believes that the soldiers of the empire will prove their strength with blood. If the war continues, it will be the Empire of Japan that will win. Okuma said confidently. His remarks made the military high-level leaders led by Konozomi Saionji greatly favor the Okuma Shigenobu government.

If he could, Shigenobu Okuma would definitely not excuse the military department, it would be good not to fall into the ground, and praise should not be considered. However, now his own position as prime minister is not secure, and if he wants to seek re-election, he must have the support of military bigwigs such as Marshal Yama Aritomo. However, it is a pity that the long-term inaction of the Japanese Okuma government has seriously offended the Osaka warlords led by Aritomo Yamagu, and the current small favor will not change the determination of Marshal Yama Prefecture at all.

However, the minister believes that the current Great Japanese Empire is not suitable for war with East Asian China, although the strength of China's government army is not as good as that of the Great Japanese Empire, but China is too big, with the current national strength of the Great Japanese Empire, it is unlikely that the three eastern provinces will be taken, let alone the three eastern provinces. If the Chinese government sends government troops to resist with all their might, I'm afraid we will be in real trouble. Now the government has not prepared any budget for this war, and if a full-scale war breaks out, if the government does not achieve a quick resolution, the government's finances will simply not be able to support a large-scale and protracted war. Shigenobu Okuma changed his tune and began to speak out to prevent the emperor from continuing to support the war.

"Nani? Didn't I hear that the government had made huge profits in the international market in recent years, and that these profits could not make the empire feel at ease to fight? Emperor Taisho asked suspiciously, feeling that Okuma's statement did not match the economic report submitted by the government.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, in the past two years, with the help of the convenience of the world war in Western countries, our country has indeed made a lot of profits, but the Empire's plan to build the Navy has completely allocated the profits to the Admiralty, and it is difficult for the Empire to draw other financial resources to the War Department for a full-scale land war." Saying that, Shigenobu Okuma unconsciously glanced at the Minister of the Admiralty, Yamamoto Twenty-three.

"Nani? Admiralty? Admiral Yamamoto, can the Admiralty suspend the shipbuilding program? Emperor Taisho said to Admiral Yamamoto Twenty-three, who was standing behind Yama Prefecture Aritomo.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, the Imperial Navy has not been replaced for nearly two years. Now that the size of the Far East Fleet in Russia in the Far East is constantly expanding, the Great Japanese Empire must not stop building ships if it wants to maintain sufficient superiority in the Far East Seas. Your Majesty the Emperor, the mainland of our Empire of Japan is an island country, and the role of the navy is beyond doubt. ”

"Yaga! Yamamoto-kun, is it true that your navy is the pillar of the Great Japanese Empire, and our army is not? Think about the Russo-Japanese War is not an honor that our army soldiers won by bloody battles. Your idea of navy supremacy is a terrible idea! "The Japanese military department is not the Admiralty and the War Department, and the relationship between the two sides is not good, but there are military bigwigs like Yama Prefecture and Aritomo who are pressing, and the contradictions have not completely broken out. However, Admiralty Yamamoto Twenty-three emphasized the role of the navy in the presence of the emperor, which was a typical theory of naval supremacy. Of course, the Minister of War Xiyuan Temple Gongwang will not be comfortable.

There are friends in Yama County who are suffering in their hearts, but this is the Imperial Meeting, and the emperor is looking at it coldly! He was a person who made a mistake, but he didn't dare to open his mouth to organize an argument between the two. However, Marshal Yama Aritomo still glanced vaguely at the somewhat smug Okuma Shigenobu, and a heavy murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

(To be continued)