The army belongs to the traditional branch of the military, and Japan's policy of closing the country to the outside world, so that the navy has become a new type of military branch of Japan, because of the American black ship incident, Japan's national door was forcibly opened by the powerful navy of the United States, since then the Japanese have been obsessed with the navy with strong ships and guns, since the beginning of the Meiji Restoration, Japan's slogan is: "Save every penny of the empire and build a strong navy belonging to Japan." It can be said that for the sake of the construction of the navy, the life of the Japanese Meiji Emperor was extremely difficult, and it was precisely with this spirit of almost crazy worship that the Japanese navy was able to develop at a leap speed; in just a few decades, relying on its backward national strength, it developed a first-class naval force in Asia, and even in the Sino-Japanese War, it beat down the Chinese Beiyang Fleet, the naval hegemon in Asia, and stepped on the face of the Chinese to ascend to the throne of the Asian military power, and the Russo-Japanese War even killed the Russian Far East Fleet in one fell swoop. It has become a cutting-edge capitalist country that neither the European and American powers dare to underestimate.

However, the navy is a huge gold-swallowing beast, and if Japan wants to develop in an all-round way and even expand outward, it cannot rely on a strong navy alone. Japanese Field Marshal Yama Aritomo proposed that Japan must have a strong army of its own in order to help the empire expand. But Japan's meagre income struggled to meet the needs of the navy, let alone the replacement of the army. Therefore, every year when military funds are allocated, it is the time when the struggle between the navy and the army is the most intense. In this way, the contradictions between Japan's Admiralty and the War Department have accumulated year after year, and it is good that there is no reason for it, and as long as there is the slightest excuse, the Admiralty and the War Department will always take the opportunity to call a contest. This kind of contradictory competition cannot be completely suppressed even if the prestige of the county is a friend. Therefore, Shigenobu Okuma, who caused a quarrel between the army and navy in front of the emperor, was even more disgusted by Marshal Aritomo Yamagu.

"Yaga! Yamamoto-kun, Saionji-kun, where do you still look like a Japanese general. You are simply scoundrels, and you are simply insulting the honor of the Japanese Empire. "Yama County Youpeng really couldn't stand the quarrel between these two guys, and looking at the emperor's gradually ugly face, Yama County Youpeng had to scold him.

"Hay!" Admiral Yamamoto, Minister of the Navy, and Admiral Saionji, Minister of the Army, saw that Yama Prefecture Youpeng was really angry, and hurriedly stopped their childish quarrels, anyway, this year's military spending has already been allocated, and now the quarrel is not interesting at all. It is definitely not an idiot for the two to be able to mix in the positions of Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of the Army. The emperor's gloomy face had cleared their minds.

"Your Excellency Marshal, if the 15th and 16th Divisions are sent to Korea to join the Korean Army, will the form of the Northeast be fundamentally changed?" The 15th and 16th Divisions of Japan were the two newly formed divisions of the Army after the Okuma government came to power, and this was also the greatest reward that the military department demanded for supporting Okuma Shigenobu to come to power. At the end of the day, Emperor Taisho still hoped to be able to take the three eastern provinces without damaging Japan's strength and prestige, after all, the rich territory of the three eastern provinces could greatly reduce the Japanese empire's dependence on foreign resources.

Marshal Yama Yama Aritomo lowered his head in embarrassment, and the Minister of War Saionji Gongwang also lowered his head, as the Minister of the Japanese Army, the Imperial Japanese Army had a combat strength problem, and he bore the brunt of it, but because it was the Northeast War initiated by the Marshal of Yama County, he minimized the impact of his responsibility, but this does not mean that he has nothing to do, on the contrary, if the Emperor only pursues the problem of the Army's combat strength, he will definitely not have a little matter, but if the Emperor just wants to find a scapegoat for the defeat of the Northeast, Then he Xiyuan Temple Gongwang is undoubtedly a good choice. After all, the prestige of Youpeng in Shan County is too high. It was so high that the emperor did not dare to act rashly against him. But there is no such problem as the general of Xiyuan Temple, his prestige is not as good as that of Shan County, and he is not irreplaceable in the army. Although he currently holds the post of Minister of War, he is nearing the end of his term, and the Emperor can resign to calm the government's unrest.

"Yaga! I can't beat it! Is it possible to let the Great Japanese Empire fight for national fortune again? Emperor Taisho said with an ugly face. He also wanted to be like his father, Emperor Meiji, who was desperate to block Japan's national fortunes and start a war with China. Unfortunately, although Japan is much stronger now, Emperor Taisho does not have the courage of Emperor Meiji. Although Emperor Taisho revered his father, he really didn't dare to let him gamble with the fate of the entire Japanese Empire.

"Your Majesty, by all means! Japan was not ready for an all-out war against the Republic of China. The government's finances have been extremely tight because of the continuous overspending of military spending, and now is a good time to take advantage of the east wind of the world war to restore the sluggish economy in the country. As for the Northeast Feng father and son, they are just local warlords within the Republic of China! Could they really be able to resist the mighty Japanese Empire with the help of the three northeastern provinces? Once the world war ended, the Japanese Empire also drew sufficient nourishment from the world war, not to mention taking the three eastern provinces, even if it was the entire Republic of China. Okuma Shigenobu said to the emperor. Unlike other countries, Japan is an island country lacking resources, and it is not easy for them to be freed from the fate of enslavement by virtue of the unity of the empire, and of course, these politicians and conglomerates who have experienced the aristocratic status of the great powers do not want to risk their hard-won family assets.

There is a good saying, it is easy to go from thrift to luxury, and it is difficult to go from luxury to thrift! When Japan was enslaved, the whole country, from the emperor to the lowliest prostitutes, all contributed to the empire physically and mentally, but once Japan became strong, and even defeated the great power of the great powers, and became a member of the great powers, could they still work together? Japan's business groups and politicians are the representatives of that wave of degenerate forces, and they are satisfied with what Japan is doing at the moment, and they do not want to upset the hard-won peace because of an unprovoked war.

"Your Excellency, if the government forces of the Republic of China enter the war and engage in a national war with the Great Japanese Empire, what are the chances of victory given the current situation of the Great Japanese Empire?" Emperor Taisho ignored Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma, who had been persuaded by him, and instead looked at Marshal Aritomo Yamagu, who was covered in cold sweat.

"I don't know, but with the heroic imperial army and strong industrial capacity of our Great Japanese Empire, it is impossible for the Chinese government army to win. But ......"

"But the Imperial Japanese Army would suffer heavy losses, and even face another invasion by the Great Powers because of the losses. The Russian Far East Fleet was staring at the docks of Tokyo, and once the Empire was defeated on the battlefield and the army was dealt a heavy blow, the Russians did not mind adding a few more islands to their territory. Will you bear the consequences of the county marshal, or will I bear it? The Emperor said in a somewhat aggressive voice.

"Don't dare!" Marshal Youpeng of Shanxian County knelt on the ground and kowtowed in fear.

Emperor Taisho had a smug look on his face, since he succeeded to the position of emperor, these old guys in the Meiji period have not taken him as the emperor in their eyes one by one. After so many years, it was the first time that Emperor Taisho convened the Imperial Council with such a high eyebrow.

Looking at the panicked Yama Prefecture Aritomo, Okuma Shigenobu showed a look of joy on his face, you know, it is all because of the suppression of the military elders dominated by Yama Prefecture Aritomo, making it difficult for his government to operate according to his own will, if Yama Prefecture Aritomo is kicked out of the cabinet by the emperor, it is best to let him go home to retire. Then you will not be able to realize your political ambitions. Thinking of a government that did not have a friend in the prefecture, a fire rose in Okuma's confidence.

"Your Excellency, the present time the Empire is not suitable for war in the Far East, and China is really not a good opponent. Li Yuanhong, the new president of the Republic of China government, has sent a telegram demanding that the imperial troops withdraw from the land in the northeast, otherwise the Republic of China government will not hesitate to fight with the empire in order to safeguard national sovereignty. Now that Li Yuanhong has just come to power, and he is not a president elected by the people, if he wants to continue to hold the presidency after his term ends, he must gain the support of the domestic people, and the empire is likely to become a stepping stone for Li Yuanhong to sit on the throne of the president. Once the Chinese government and empire are dead, the empire needs to use every ounce of accumulation, and if it fails, decades of hard work will be wiped out. So this battle can't be fought, at least not now. Emperor Taisho stood in front of the imperial case and said with unprecedented clarity.

"Your Majesty is wise, although the resources of the three eastern provinces are abundant, but if the empire is unprepared to send troops to attack the three eastern provinces, we will definitely pay a lot of price, and now the three eastern provinces are controlled by the Feng family and his son, but the mineral resources of Fengtian Province are still continuously transported to Japan. We don't have to waste a huge price in exchange for something that could have been easily obtained. "Although Feng Yong's provincial government was strong, it did not take the initiative to take action against the Japanese. This allowed Shigenobu Okuma to see where it worked. If done well, the empire can even reap huge benefits at no cost.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, the old minister disagrees, now Feng Yong's Northeast Security Army has only been developed for one year and can compete with the Great Japanese Imperial Army, if he is given the opportunity to develop, the old minister is worried that we will not have the strength to deal with them at that time!" Shan County Youpeng said worriedly.

"Marshal of Shanxian, I think you are sensational. The Northeast Security Army may have good combat effectiveness, but that is because the armament of the Imperial Japanese Army is too poor, and since the Russo-Japanese War, our Imperial Japanese Army has limited troop reequipment, and there is no gap in equipment with the Northeast Security Army called Hanako. When the government has money, it will definitely increase the budget of the army, and then the army can be equipped with the latest weapons and train more powerful soldiers, with soldiers armed with modern industry, how can the Chinese be opponents! Shigenobu Okuma disagreed. Standing behind Yama County Youpeng, the Xiyuan Temple Gongwang nodded faintly, it seems that he also agrees with Okuma Shigenobu's opinion, more than ten years after the Russo-Japanese War, the equipment of the troops has been updated too slowly, and even many soldiers are still using the old-fashioned 38 rifles equipped during the Russo-Japanese War, and the rifling of the rifles is almost smoothed. How could such weapons and equipment show the true combat effectiveness of the Imperial Japanese Army.

"Roar! Yama Prefecture, Okuma's words have a point, the empire needs money now, not war. Let the 3rd Division withdraw! The commander of the 3rd Division, Lieutenant General Yoshiko Akiyama, had an unfavorable operation and was transferred to the reserve! Let the Chief of Staff of the Korean Army, Iguchi Shogo, take over as the commander of the 3rd Division. All officers of the 3rd Division were demoted. "Emperor Taisho originally wanted the officers of the Third Division to be loyal to the empire, but after thinking about it, he stopped this thought, after all, there were thousands of officers in the third division, and all of them were cleaned up, where did the empire go to get more experienced officers, and the third division did make great contributions to the empire's annexation of Korea over the years.

"Your Majesty, Lieutenant General Yoshiko Akiyama is definitely not a cowardly person, but the Imperial Japanese Army is not much different from the enemy in terms of equipment, while the third division has only 20,000 people, while the enemy has more than 30,000 people, and the enemy is the most elite second brigade of the Northeast Security Army. From this point of view, Lieutenant General Akiyama Yoshiko, who was able to confront the enemy and even had a slight upper hand, did not lose the face of the Japanese Empire, so His Majesty the Emperor is requested to use it as appropriate for the sake of Lieutenant General Akiyama's great contributions to the Empire for so many years. "Yama Prefecture Aritomo saw that the emperor's will could not be changed, so he could only turn to the second best thing and speak out to protect his confidant and favorite general, after all, Lieutenant General Akiyama Yoshiko was an important general of his Osaka system. has followed his old man for many years, and Youpeng in Shan County still can't see his military career ending like this.

The emperor did not speak, but looked at the ministers calmly, and whoever the emperor saw, the minister felt a heavy pressure and finally lowered his head.

Emperor Taisho was very pleased with the results he had created. After this imperial meeting, these guys may no longer dare to treat themselves as neurotics.

"Since His Excellency the General interceded, I will transfer Lieutenant General Yoshiko Akiyama to the commander of the 15th Division. The Admiralty then transported the two divisions to Korea to join the Korean Army in the battle sequence. All right! I am tired, and the rest of the things Your Excellency the Marshal and the Prime Minister look at it halfway! After saying that, Emperor Taisho lazily returned to his harem.

After all, Emperor Taisho could not have been a diligent and good emperor due to physical reasons. But not being diligent does not mean that there is no ambition, and Emperor Taisho's ambition is hidden under his laid-back appearance. Otherwise, Korea would not have been annexed by Japan so quickly and became one of its overseas provinces.

"Your Excellency, please send a quick telegram to the 3rd Division to withdraw from the battle, and the government will come forward to explain the matter. As long as the publicity is good, this incident may not be a matter of enhancing the honor of Greater Japan. Prime Minister Okuma Shigenshin said with a spring breeze on his face.

Yama Prefecture Youpeng glanced at Okuma Shigenobu coldly, and was even more disgusted by his proud face. secretly discussed in my heart: "Why did I choose such a waste to form a cabinet back then." I've suffered a loss until now. ”

Although Yama Prefecture Aritomo became more and more disgusted with Okuma Shigenobu, he still calmly ordered a major general of the military department to issue an order. And he himself didn't bother to pay attention to Okuma Shigenobu, turned around and left with the bigwigs of the military department.

"Old thing, sooner or later you will receive retribution!" Okuma Shigenobu carefully underestimated. But the smile on his face hasn't changed at all. It was as if Shan County Youpeng's face was not thrown at him.

(To be continued)