On August 30, 1923, Japanese Prime Minister Gonbei Yamamoto held a cabinet meeting to discuss the issue of the University. The War Department, under the leadership of Tanaka Yoshiichi, collectively learned from Xu Shu who was close to Cao Ying, and the whole meeting did not have a fierce debate, but seemed lifeless.

The Minister of Finance, Takahashi, is Qing to go back and forth with two words, no money.

Foreign Minister Nobuaki Makino had been severely insulted by the People's Party's propaganda minister, Zhang Yu, in Paris a few years earlier, and he personally regarded it as a great disgrace. In terms of whether or not to go to war with China, Nobuaki Makino's heart is, of course, to support the war. However, just as Zhang Yu viciously ridiculed back then, all Japan can rely on now is the Anglo-Japanese alliance. If a full-scale war breaks out between China and Japan, Japan will not talk about holding the Luda area, but it is afraid that Korea will also be completely lost. Nobuaki Makino reported to the Cabinet on the diplomatic results he had received from the British.

"The British are resolutely opposed to China's military solution to the Luda issue." Every time Makino Shin shows that the British are mentioned, there is a faint unhappiness in his heart. As a 62-year-old veteran diplomat this year, he was pointed at his nose by a young man more than 20 years younger than him and ridiculed "If there is something in Japan, go to the British father to cry", Makino Nobuaki really can't forget Zhang Yu's meanness and viciousness.

The faces of the cabinet members all looked a lot better, but Nobuaki Makino continued: "The British side has also made it clear that if there is only a military conflict between China and Japan in the Luda area, the British will not have any substantive interference. ”

Hearing that the "British father" was unwilling to help, the faces of the Japanese cabinet members immediately became ugly. Yoshiichi Tanaka snickered in his heart, the War Office did not believe that the British would help at all, and the fact that Britain could publicly make a statement against China's use of force was enough to show that Nobuaki Makino had done an excellent job. Of course, Yoshiichi Tanaka would never praise Nobuaki Makino so much.

"The British said that if China took the initiative to attack Korea, they would refer the matter of China's aggression against Japan to the League of Nations." Nobuaki Makino brought out his greatest diplomatic achievement.

This is also good news, at least the British have expressed their adherence to the bottom line of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. However, Makino Nobuaki soon brought out the new bad news, "The British privately said that if Japan shelled China's coastal cities, Britain would not accept Japan's blockade of China's maritime trade routes. ”

Tanaka Yoshiichi was quite self-contained, although there was already a mocking smile on his face, he just held back and didn't say a word. However, Lu Xiang Tanaka Yoshiichi was silent, but it didn't mean that no one wanted to drag Tanaka Yoshiichi into the water. The minister who delivered the letter, Inuyang Yi, opened his mouth and said, "Tanaka-kun, do you have anything to say?" ”

"Nope." Yoshiichi Tanaka replied immediately.

"Doesn't the War Office have any idea about that?" Inuyang Yi continued.

"It's a diplomatic question, what can the War Office think?" Yoshiichi Tanaka lightly shifted the blame as if the War Department had never interfered in Japanese diplomacy.

The members of the cabinet are extremely shrewd guys, how can they not see the mind of the War Department. Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, most of them have expressions that are speechless. Whoever it is, understands one thing, and no one in this room is capable of taking on this responsibility.

It was impossible for Japan to give up any land or territory it occupied, and the War Department was once imposing, and after the current Prime Minister Gonbei Yamamoto was severely attacked by Aritomo Yamamoto in Yamaguchi using the "Siemens Incident," the reputation of the Admiralty was discredited to the point where it could hardly be sustained. But the War Department's victory did not last long, and after the crushing defeat in the attack on the People's Party-controlled Tsingtao, they were also met with fierce opposition. More than 100,000 people were lost before and after the Northeast China Campaign, and the War Department was also discredited.

For the current Japan, it is impossible for any government that "loses power and humiliates the country" to end well. Even a defeat due to lack of strength can lead to the collapse of the entire faction. It is impossible for the Japanese people to understand the issue of the expiration of the "lease period" in the Luda area, and even if they did, they would not allow the Lushun Fortress, which had only been captured by tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers, to be obediently surrendered to the actions of the People's Party. If it was just for a meaningless occupation of more than ten years, why did you pay so many lives in the first place?

Yoshiichi Tanaka is smart, he knows when not to speak. And he ordered the War Department to be equally silent. According to Japanese custom, the person who speaks has to take responsibility. In other words, the Admiralty, which is now gradually dominating the political situation in Japan, has to take responsibility.

Gonbei Yamamoto lowered his gaze, he had already discussed the matter with the Admiralty several times. The Admiralty's strategic derivation was not disheartening, and if the entire Combined Fleet was placed in the Brigade area and the People's Party's attack was blocked by heavy artillery fire, the Admiralty believed that it would still have a chance of victory. But this involves another problem, and it is also the most fatal problem. A large amount of money is needed to dispatch the navy, and the budget provided by the Minister of Finance, Takahashi Isaki, will consume the entire country's military budget in just three months. Even if the War Department did not eat or drink one by one, the war lasted more than three months, and it would have to issue national bonds again to sustain the war. Holding Lushun may be able to maintain Japan's face. But there can be no benefit from such a war.

Originally, Japan hoped that Britain would intervene in China under the Anglo-Japanese alliance, but the British statement greatly disappointed Gonbei Yamamoto. It is impossible for Britain to provide any support, at least in the event of a war in the Luda area.

"Aren't the British ready to join the mediation?" Gonbei Yamamoto asked Foreign Minister Nobuaki Makino.

"The British have made it clear that they will not intervene in the war if it is only a military conflict in the area of the brigade." Nobuaki Makino replied very simply, at a time like this, any inaccurate hints would lead to disastrous consequences, and Makino was well aware of this.

"So what is the attitude of the Chinese side?" Gonbei Yamamoto asked. The Japanese Government has already sent a delegation to contact China.

Nobuaki Makino did not go to negotiate with China in person, firstly, the negotiations with Britain were more important, and secondly, Nobuaki Makino did not want to see Zhang Yu's face at all, "The reply from the Chinese side is that if there is a clear timetable for the withdrawal of troops, they can discuss the withdrawal issue with us." Without a clear timetable for withdrawal, they won't have any contact with us on this issue. The Chinese also made it clear that if by December 31, 1923, in the absence of any withdrawal agreement between China and Japan, they would take unilateral military action. ”

By the time Nobuaki Makino finished the situation without ambiguity, the Japanese cabinet fell into a deathly silence. In the face of the new Chinese government, which was completely different from the Manchu Qing and Beiyang, Japan really had nothing to do. The People's Party (KP) pursued its political policies with the backing of military force, and the Japanese government found itself at a loss for what to do. Theoretically, a military victory can decide everything, but in the current situation, the Japanese army can continue the war, but it cannot win.

Gonbei Yamamoto turned his head to look at Takahashi Isei, "Takahashi-kun, are the European and American bond markets willing to accept Japan's war bonds this time?" "In the last Russo-Japanese War, it was through the efforts of Takahashi Isaki that a large number of war bonds were issued, and Japan was able to obtain the funds for victory. In the short years since the end of the war in Europe, Japan has made a lot of profits. It has even gone from a debtor country to a creditor country in one fell swoop. If Japan borrows, it can still afford it. More importantly, once a foreign country is willing to accept Japan's war bonds, it means that Japan can receive foreign support.

"The United States is adamantly not accepting any Japanese war bonds related to China. Speculators in the American market, demanding prices that are too low to match the gains of this war. The attitude of the British and French markets is very ambiguous. Investors are now more interested in German bonds than willing to take part in new risks. "Takahashi is Kiyoshi was originally opposed to meaningless wars, and after hard work, he ran into walls everywhere, so he spoke very directly.

The faces of cabinet members are even more difficult to look at, and the prospects for such a war are even bleaker without foreign support. In the face of the current terrible situation, all members of the Japanese cabinet can only passively or actively remain silent.

After a long time, Yamamoto asked Tanaka Yoshiichi, "Tanaka-kun, what does the War Department think about the prospects of the war?" ”

Tanaka knew that this was the time for him to speak, so he replied bluntly: "The War Department is understaffed, and the War Department has exhausted its forces in Korea. Therefore, no troops can be taken out to defend the Arthur fortress. Moreover, the War Department has made several deductions for such a war, and there is really no possibility of victory. ”

"Did the War Department just give up?" Gonbei Yamamoto asked. Although this is like a question, the Admiralty at this time really has no confidence, since the warships cannot sail to the coast, it is meaningless to maintain the war on land only within the range of the ship's guns. What's more, how many shells are there for naval guns? Not to mention that the barrel of the ship's gun still has a life limit, and there is no way to shoot without stopping like the artillery of the army.

"Now the Army can only sustain the fight by sea, so it doesn't make sense for the Army to say anything. Does Your Excellency Prime Minister want an all-out war with China? Want to send the army from North Korea, all the way to the Luda area? Yoshiichi Tanaka asked rhetorically.

All the cabinet members except for the War Department faction looked at Tanaka with disgust, and the War Department had been the biggest advocate of the invasion of China. But now Yoshiichi Tanaka is pretending to be an anti-war vanguard. If it weren't for the incompetence of the Army, the whole of Northeast China would have been under Japanese control by now. In the current situation, Japan simply cannot afford to launch an all-out war against China. If you choose war, there is no possibility of victory. If you choose peace, you will face strong pressure from within Japan. The members of the Japanese cabinet looked at each other one by one. No one could speak.

In the end, the Cabinet meeting could only be held three days later. Because tomorrow, September 1st, Crown Prince Hirohito will hold a garden party. Many members of the Cabinet had to participate.