In the morning, Yan Shanglong boarded a flight from Air China to Malaysia

The current age Yan Shanglong was born into a family of diplomats, and his parents were both diplomats of the Republic. His father used to be Huang Guowei's boss and served as vice minister of foreign affairs; My mother has served in consulates and embassies in five countries, and was already a consul general abroad when she retired. As a child, Yan Shanglong lived mainly with his grandfather and grandmother; At the age of 11, he went to France with his parents and completed secondary school in France; At the age of 17, he was admitted to the Diplomatic Academy of the Republic of China, and obtained a bachelor's degree in international diplomacy, French, Latin and German within five years. At the age of 22, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as a diplomatic secretary at the consulates and embassies of the Republic in France, Germany and Spain. At the age of 35, in 2017, Zhao Rundong came to power, and returned to the Republic with major personnel changes in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and served as assistant to the director of the European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; During his second term, Zhao Rundong was promoted to deputy director of the European Department and became a representative of the "Young Zhuang faction" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With a good background and outstanding ability, Yan Shanglong has become one of the "young diplomats" that Huang Guowei focuses on cultivating.

Although Huang Guowei did not mention to anyone that he will retire in 2027, everyone in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs knows that the republic is about to welcome a new foreign minister.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the most special department of the State Department.

Compared with other departments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not seen significant personnel changes because diplomatic work is more focused on "stability and continuity". If nothing else, Huang Guowei served as foreign minister for 20 years during his two-term term, and he is not "unprecedented" among ministerial-level officials of the State Council.

After Huang Guowei leaves office, in order to ensure the "stability and continuity" of the Republic's foreign policy, he will definitely nominate a suitable "successor" from among the diplomats of the "Young Zhuang faction" that he has focused on cultivating, and will not nominate older diplomats.

The "Young Zhuang faction" is not only Yan Shanglong, but a group.

Huang Guowei handed over such an important task to Yan Shanglong, not only to test Yan Shanglong's ability, but also to create opportunities for Yan Shanglong.

On the way to Madrid, Yan Shanglong had been thinking about the conversation he had with Huang Guowei last night.

As an experienced diplomat. Yan Shanglong was well aware of the importance of this secret contact. I also guessed the reason why Vice Yuan Wang Yuanqing arranged for a diplomat at the level of deputy director-general to go to Madrid. Whether or not to talk about it is a secondary issue. The main thing is to open up channels for negotiations. Lay the groundwork for formal negotiations at a later stage. Yan Shanglong even believed. Wang Yuanqing had no intention of reaching any armistice agreement with the United States in the form of "private peace." His task was only to stall for time.

Yan Shanglong's ground flight was still flying west. Ryohei Tani landed at Tokyo Narita International Airport on a ground flight.

With "night dust" to provide "top secret information". Tani Ryohei returned to the apartment first. Took a hot shower. A change of clean clothes. I called the Prime Minister's Office.

Murakami is very "enthusiastic". "Invited" Tani Ryohei to the Prime Minister's Mansion for lunch.

Then. Murakami Sadamasa was discussing "military affairs" with Defense Minister Katsu Higashiki, Chief of the "Military Department" Nobu Sato, Deputy Chief General of the Ministry of Justice, and Deputy Chief General Kasaichi Takashima and Iwasaki Nobukawa.

Although these 4 "guys" are all Murakami's "henchmen". But at this time, it was obvious that he was "at odds" with Murakami Sadamasa.

Murakami issued a "military mobilization order" a few days ago, but he has not issued a "war mobilization order" for a long time. Whether it was Toki Tani Katsu or the three "military" generals, they all began to doubt Murakami's true intentions.

In the face of the soldiers, Murakami Sadamasa was neither flustered nor nervous.

Military personnel have a strong will to war, because only war can highlight the value of military personnel, but the way in which military personnel in different positions deal with war is very different.

Dongji Valley Resort has the most "gentle" attitude. After many years of "messing" in the cabinet, although in many cases, Toki Tanikatsu's views are still incompatible with civilian officials, but more often than not, Toki Tanikatsu has learned to look at problems from the perspective of a "politician" rather than a "soldier". Murakami Sadamasa also had the greatest influence on Toki Tanikatsu, at least making Toki Tanikatsu understand one truth: war cannot solve all problems.

Nobu Sato's views are tougher, but he did not sing against Sadamasa Murakami. Although from the point of view of his heart, Sato Shin very much hopes to consolidate his position in the Japanese army through a "beautiful" war, but the reality of the situation makes Sato Shin have to pay attention to Murakami's will, because the two deputy chiefs of the "military department" pose a very huge threat to him. If Sato Shin can't get Murakami's trust, he may be replaced by someone else at any time.

Takashima is not difficult to deal with. Although Takashima has always sought to replace Nobu Sato, he has adopted the same approach as Nobu Sato, that is, to gain the trust and support of the Murakami family, and to use the influence of the Murakami family in the military to obtain a higher status. Of course, Takashima wanted to enter the war as soon as possible. After winning the war, as the deputy chief in charge of the Air Force, Takashima Fanichi will get no less benefits than Sato Shin; Lost, it was Shin Sato who bore the main responsibility.

What really gave Murakami Sadamasa a headache was Iwasaki Nobukawa. This "home."

But if you want to replace Shin Sato, you also want to get a higher status. In the same way as Taka, Nobukawa Iwasaki, who was in charge of the navy, did not completely "count" on Sadamasa Murakami, because no matter how well he did, it would be difficult for the Japanese Navy to provoke the girder in the short term. Iwasaki Nobukawa has been secretly expanding his influence in the hope that he will one day replace Murakami Sadamasa as the ruler of Japan.

Murakami's method of controlling the Japanese army is simple: exploit the contradictions and disagreements at the top of the military.

"The preparations of the Ministry of Defense are all in place." Dongji Gu Sheng was very cautious, "According to the forecast and assessment we made, if we send troops to the war at the beginning of next month, the total cost of the war will not be less than 10 trillion, and the number of casualties will exceed 150,000, or even more." Generally speaking, the Japanese Empire was able to bear the attrition and casualties of the war on the peninsula, but we had to consider the negative impact of the war on our domestic society in advance and make relevant preparations in advance. ”

"As long as you can defeat China, what Dongji-kun said is not a problem." Iwasaki Nobukawa was impulsive, "The biggest threat to us is not the Shina Army, but the Shina Navy. In order to ensure the security of the homeland, after entering the war, it is necessary to concentrate on annihilating the Chinese navy and ensuring sea supremacy! ”

"Without air supremacy, sea supremacy has no practical significance." Takashima Bunichi obviously didn't take Iwasaki Nobukawa seriously, "The airborne troops in Shina have unleashed amazing combat effectiveness, and we are too close to Shina, even if there is no navy, Shina is still able to carry out air strikes on the mainland of our country, seize strategic points with airborne troops, and then mobilize civilian transport ships to deliver ground combat troops." ”

"China will not necessarily attack our mainland, at least not rashly land in our country." As he spoke, Shin Sato glanced at Sadamasa Murakami and said, "It is undeniable that the Shina Navy and the Shina Air Force are very powerful, but Shina must consider the serious consequences of landing on the mainland of our country. Even if China and China do not use nuclear weapons and fight a conventional war, China will not be able to withstand the huge war attrition and casualties. As long as we can control the scale of the war and fight a large-scale ground war with China on the Korean Peninsula, we will become a veritable world power regardless of the outcome. ”

After the soldier finished speaking, Murakami shook his head with a smile and said: "The United States has not replied to the conditions we have set so far, do you think we should fight a war with an opponent who is not even able to defeat the United States for a country that was once hostile?" ”

The soldiers were silent, and even the most "impulsive" Iwasaki Nobukawa held back.

"The U.S. will definitely withdraw its troops from the peninsula, and it will do so in the near future." Murakami Sadamasa let out a long sigh, glanced at the soldiers sitting opposite, and said, "As in previous wars, the United States has left a mess and wants to find someone to wipe its ass. I do not deny the importance of going to war, but we must not lose our minds.

Since the nuclear test of our country, all military exhibitions in China have been directed against our country. As you may have read, the Ministry of Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Intelligence Agency have reported that China has established a national strategic defense system capable of resisting short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. If we go to war with China, will it be a conventional war on a limited scale? Sato-kun's words are correct, Shina will not rashly land on the mainland of Japan, but it will certainly attack Japan's nuclear facilities and nuclear weapons bases, and disintegrate Japan's nuclear threat capability. Unfortunately, we didn't have the power to fight back, not even the strength to fight back. If it turns into a full-scale war, what chances do we have of defeating China? The 'military department' should have done a war game deduction, and since you didn't mention it, I don't want to know the results of the deduction. ”

"Ai-sama, what do you mean......" Toki Tanikatsu is clearly on Murakami's side.

"The United States is thousands of miles away, and what we do with China does not have much impact on the United States. The United States can abandon South Korea, why can't it abandon us? Murakami Sadamasa sneered and said, "Although we all swear to do our best for the Yamato nation and the emperor, we must pay attention to ways and means. As a soldier loyal to His Majesty the Emperor, we should look at the consequences of war from a higher vantage point. Someday, our contradictions with China will be resolved in the form of blood and fire, but not now! ”

Dongji Gu Sheng sighed secretly and didn't say anything more.

Sato Shinchi was late and nodded in support of the prime minister's strategic decision.

Takashima did not express any other views.

Only Iwasaki Nobukawa seemed a little unconvinced.

"Our purpose is to lead the Empire of Japan to become a world power, not to bury the entire Yamato nation." Murakami's gaze stayed on Iwasaki Nobukawa for a while, and said, "I hope you can keep your oath, in line with the duties and obligations of soldiers, stabilize the emotions of your soldiers, and don't cause irreparable losses!" ”

Having said that, Iwasaki Nobukawa can only continue to be patient.

Murakami Sadamasa didn't waste any more saliva, because he knew that many people couldn't be persuaded by reason, and could only use strong means to suppress