The patriarch was pondering, Tanaka Yoshiichi could only look down at the teacup on the low table, the tea had been brewed for a long time, all of them had sunk to the bottom of the cup, and the tea was dark and yellow under the lamp, just like the current battle situation, extremely dim. At this time, he was a little grateful that the county would invite him here, which meant that he might have less responsibility for the crime in the future. Only, what about the Army? Is the whole jade broken?

The discussion in the mansion of Yama Prefecture lasted until late at night, and in another mansion in Tokyo City, Hara Kei and Yamamoto Tatsuo looked at the silent Saionji Gongwang, the empire was defeated, it was a bad thing and a good thing, the bad thing was that the empire had gained decades of efforts, hundreds of thousands of lives, and hundreds of millions of property were all destroyed in one fell swoop, and after the rise of China, the empire had no possibility of westward invasion of the mainland; The good thing is that the empire can finally get rid of the control of the warlords headed by Shan Shan and truly realize constitutional democracy.

"Is the situation really so severe?" Xiyuan Temple looked at the two people in front of him, and from their bitter expressions, it seemed that there was no possibility of recovery.

The year before last, when the Minister of War Yusaku Uehara resigned, and the Army no longer lined up active officers in the Cabinet as the Minister of War to bring down the Cabinet, the elders had urged the elder Matsukata to form a cabinet, but Matsukata was too old, and they recommended Count Yamamoto Gonbei and finally Viscount Hirata Tosuke, but to no avail, and finally made Katsura Taro come to power.

Now that the conquest of Shina has been defeated, it is certain that Katsura Taro will fall 8 → Pavilion, but who should go to negotiate peace with the people of China? And if you go to negotiate peace, what will be the result? These are all things to consider. What is the attitude of the people of China in particular? So far, reparations are indispensable. It is estimated that Taiwan will not come back, but how the final treaty will be signed is worth studying. There was also this defeat, and the Cheung Chau Domain suffered great losses. As the real promoter of the levy, Shan County Youpeng, should he retire completely?

"Yes. Your Excellency, the situation has come to an end. Tatsuo Yamamoto, who was the finance minister in the previous cabinet, said. As soon as the European war began, the financial markets were regulated, and the export of gold was also banned. Although the Rothschild family had promised to borrow 30 million pounds, there was no news so far. The people of the United States think that our defeat is certain, and they only want to help us issue reparation bonds instead of borrowing ...... during the war, and the empire is now at the end of its rope. ”

"Popular dissatisfaction with the Gui cabinet is growing. Many people already know that Taiwan was occupied by the Chinese army, and that there was a war between Zhili and North Korea, which was also reported in some English-language newspapers. The news spread very quickly, and although the Katsura cabinet was suppressing it, it could not control the news of the defeat from spreading everywhere, and I think that soon Hibiya Park would be meeting again. "Hara Kei thought about entering the cabinet nine years ago as the Minister of the Interior of the Saionji Cabinet, and it happened to be Hibiya Burning Beat as soon as he took office, so he still has lingering palpitations.

"The people of China will not sign a treaty like the last time." Xiyuan Temple Gongwang felt as if he was about to be pushed to the cusp of the storm, and the collapse of the Gui cabinet was just a matter of one sentence. But who will take over? How do you sign a treaty after you take over?

"Even if the people of China want to get reparations, they can agree to end the war." Hara said, "The cost of war is more than reparations, and now there is a voice in the newspapers. It is said that for the sake of friendship between Japan and China, the two countries can abolish the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and of course, Korea must be restored. Look at it this way. The demands of the people of China are not too much. ”

"Is it the China Times of China?" Xiyuan Temple asked busily. The newspaper that can represent the official state of China is the China Times.

"This.... No. It is the Imperial Daily of China. Yuan Kei said, "His background is Yang Du, the speaker of the National Assembly of China. And Yang Du has always been a close confidant of the Yang family, and this news is very likely to be the hole card of the Zhina. ”

"Yang Du?" Xiyuan Temple said a word, and then asked: "What about the Kuomintang Song Dunchujun, as well as the Ministry of Rites Shangshu Zhang Taiyanjun, and the women's Qiu Jinjun, what do they think of the peace?" ”

The Imperial Daily can only be the second most authoritative newspaper in China, and it is difficult for Saionji to determine that it has to ask those few Shina dignitaries who have been to Tokyo and have been stationed in Tokyo, and their opinions can also reflect the meaning of the Shina Yang family. If Korea can be restored, can it become a common protectorate of Japan and China, as it did before the First Sino-Japanese War? Even if it could not become a protectorate, would the empire be able to retain some of its rights and interests in Korea?

"Your Excellency, in the opinion of the Omi Observation Group and military experts, it is difficult for the Imperial Army to confront the China Army, and the Navy has no way to restrain the China submarines, and there is a saying in the independent country that as long as a hundred submarines are sent to blockade Britain, Britain will eventually surrender due to lack of supplies, and the flying plane with water mines, according to everyone's judgment, should be able to fly for four hours, with a minimum of 400 kilometers, that is, if it takes off from Busan, the flying plane can control the entire Tsushima Strait." After all, Yuan Jing worked in the newspaper, although he was not a military strategist, but he knew more things than ordinary people, and seeing his news surprised Xiyuanji, he said again: "If the Shina submarine blocks the various ports of the empire, or if the Shina flight controls the Tsushima Strait, it will bring a threat to the empire, the former can besiege the empire into a dead island, and the latter can cover the invasion of the Chinese army." ”

"Isn't there anything the military department can do? Is the empire really going to die?! "Xiyuan Temple finally can't stop it. Either of these situations is something that Japan cannot afford at the moment.

"The military department is resisting to the death, but the ultimate hope can only be pinned on the British, just now," Yuan Jing shook his head. "The lone ** team is attacking Brussels, fighting with the British Expeditionary Force, Belgium, and the Buddha ** team, and the war in Europe will take at least half a year to end...... In addition, I heard that various shipyards in China are building ships and building large ships, and the people in the shipyards say that the life of this kind of ship is very short in order to speed up the construction period. ”

What Yuan Jing said just now was just the battle situation, and now when these news are said, Xiyuan Temple is extremely shocked in his heart, and the people of China simply want to attack the mainland. Good offices, peacemaking...... ...... peace, mediation, these words swirled and collided in the mind of Xiyuan Temple Gongwang, making his brows furrow tighter and tighter. The other person stood up suddenly, but the room where he was receiving guests was small, and he couldn't go anywhere after walking a few steps, just like the current situation, which was too small for him to operate. It's even like this little Japan, which finally went west and landed on the mainland. But all of a sudden, it was pushed back again.

Undercurrents are surging all over Tokyo, and politicians and feudal lords are one of them saving the situation. How to get the most benefit from it is the second, but when the Saionji Gongwang pondered all night, and was invited to visit the patriarch Matsukata at noon the next day, the news of Katsura Taro's resignation came, and along with this news came a news, saying that after Katsura Taro announced his resignation, he told many reporters that he was going to leave for the battlefield, hoping to die in China as an ordinary soldier. Saionji thought of Katsura Taro, who was in his sixties, and he went to the front line to die on the battlefield, so what about the empire? Isn't that nonsense!

"Your Excellency. You're here. In front of Matsukata's mansion, the waiter helped him out of the carriage. However, a few carriages have already been parked in the yard, and looking at the family emblem of the carriage, it should be that both Yama County and Inoue are here. Saionji Gongwang's heart tightened, and after being ushered into the inner room by the attendants, he saw Yama Prefecture Aritomo, Inoue Shin, as well as Katsura Taro's confidant Goto Shinpei, Navy veteran Gonbei Yamamoto, and Hiruo Tsushima Battle hero Togo Heihachiro were all sitting inside, and it can be said that all the people who can speak in Japan have arrived.

After a very dull and monotonous salute, seeing everyone squatting and sitting, Youpeng in Shan County was the first to say: "Gentlemen." At present, the empire has lost the war against the branches, and the allies have no time to look east, so they can only stand by and do nothing, which requires everyone in the empire to be united. Get through it together. At present, most of the army is broken, and in order to appease the anger of the people, the Gui cabinet can only be overthrown. And if you want to resist the offensive of the Chinese army, you can only rely more on the navy. After this war, the Imperial Army had enough divisions to defend the homeland. There is no need to expand the army as before. ”

The army was defeated, and there were friends in Lushun County, Zhili, who no longer had illusions. The battle between land and sea has finally come to a complete conclusion today, and the navy will be the focus of the future development of the empire, which is an important commitment for the prefecture to obtain the support of the Satsuma domain, which means that the army will no longer compete with the navy for military spending in the future.

"At present, the Gui cabinet has resigned, but the center cannot be empty, and the purpose of our meeting today is to determine who will be the next prime minister." There are friends in Shan County who look around at everyone, not at all like a general of a defeated army, it seems that Yiqiē is still in control. "China uses submarines and flying planes to attack, and the army is so broken, and the Korean War should give priority to the navy, and from this point of view, I also ask Yamamoto-kun to take on this important task to prevent the China Army from invading the mainland."

His Excellency the Choshu Domain, the Yamamoto Cabinet of the Satsuma Domain, and the Saionji Gongwang felt that this was a game of ball throwing, and perhaps the two factions of the sea and land had reached some secret agreement, so he went to the Matsukata Mansion and invited himself to talk about the candidate for prime minister.

"Shanxian-kun, let's talk about the current battle situation." Masayoshi Matsukata coughed, not knowing whether he wanted to understand the battle situation or deliberately interrupted, but in short, the topic of the meeting suddenly changed.

There was no introduction to the battle situation before, but Yama and Goto Shinpei glanced at each other, and Goto Shinpei said, "Your Excellency, the war is very dangerous now. The Chinese military submarines and flying planes cut off the ammunition supply of the Zhili Dispatch Army, while the Manchurian China Army had already invaded Pyongyang, North Korea, and the Fujian China Army had also crossed the sea to invade Taiwan. ”

Masayoshi Matsukata listened to the detailed battle situation for the first time, his gray face suddenly flushed, and he waited for the county town sitting not far away: "How many people are there in the army?" Ahem...... How many people are still defending North Korea? ”

The real situation of the "Army ......" is that there are only 50,000 people in the main force and reserve divisions of the army, and the rest are only the reserves of the reserve soldiers, but Goto Shinpei is not easy to say directly, he glanced at Shan County, saw that he nodded, and then said: "Most of the army is trapped in the China itself, surrounded by the China army, and now there are still in Korea... 200,000 reserve army ......"

Before Goto Shinpei finished speaking, Masayoshi Matsukata smashed one hand on the table, the teacup suddenly jumped up, and he said loudly: "Two hundred thousand reserves? There are more than forty divisions in the empire, and now there are only 200,000 reserves left? ”

The patriarch roared, Goto Xinpei, this junior is really not easy to explain, and Inoue Xin next to him said: "There are only 100,000 people left, and the army will also defend North Korea to the death, and swear to die for His Majesty the Emperor." ”

"What's the use of broken jade?" The teacup was swept off the table by Masayoshi Matsukata with a 'clang'. At this time, he was staring at Youpeng in Shanxian County, and then said word by word: "The Zhina army has one million people, and the empire only has a reserve army of 200,000 people. Does this mean that North Korea is difficult to hold? ”

Matsukata Masayoshi's eyes were blazing, and Shan County looked at the corner of his mouth with a helpless smile and said, "Yes." ”

"North Korea can't hold it, North Korea has lost it, and South Manchurian has lost it, does this mean that all the efforts since the Meiji Majesty have been buried?" Masayoshi Matsukata didn't cough at all at this time, and the bruises on his head flared up.

His question simply can't be avoided, once again. Shan County's eyes flickered, and he replied helplessly: "Yes." ”

As soon as the words fell. The coffee table that was placed horizontally in front of Masayoshi Matsukata was overturned by him, and he suddenly pounced on Shan County. He was beaten and beaten, and at the same time cried loudly: "How can you let us go to see His Majesty after we die?" How are you going to let us see those broken soldiers after we die? Where do you bury us when we die? You said! You sue me! You sue me......"

Matsukata Masayoshi knew earlier that it was very unfavorable to the branch war, but he didn't expect that the Imperial Army now had only 200,000 reserve troops left, and the people of China also occupied Taiwan and invaded Korea, which suddenly his mind was blank, he thought of the time when the empire was working hard and thriving, when everyone was fighting for the rise of the empire, thinking of the Japanese women who went to Nanyang Far East China to sell themselves, and thinking of those dead imperial soldiers. This qiē is engraved in Songfang's memory. In the past, he thought that his efforts were worthwhile, and the sacrifices of those people were also worthwhile, but now, when there is no zài, is it just a dream?

Matsukata Justice's beating of Shan County no one tried to persuade him, everyone cried, and the Xiyuan Temple Gongwang, who was still resentful of Shan County, was also in tears at this time, after this battle, every ounce of the empire in the past will be lost.

After a long time. The weeping people in the room fell silent, and Xiyuan Temple said: "The next prime minister will not only resist the invasion of the Chinese army, but also use the help of various countries to restrict China and save its rights. If you don't have any opinions, I'll do it. ”

The next cabinet will not be so easy. In particular, it is necessary to negotiate a truce with China, and it is very likely that there will be reparations, and when the time comes, the agreement will be signed. The prime minister of the cabinet will step down in the outrage of the people, and Saionji has come forward in spite of his own reputation. Everyone was immediately surprised, and Yamamoto Gonbei, who was about to swallow this bitter fruit, was immediately overjoyed. He actually didn't want to take the cylinder, but who let the handle of the navy's bribery be in the hands of the Changzhou Domain?

"I'll do it anyway." Masayoshi Matsukata stood up weakly on the shoulders of Yama Prefecture Youpeng, staggered back to his place and sat down, and then said to Xiyuan Temple: "The next Prime Minister will be you again." There are also active military attachés who can no longer be left. ”

Matsukata Masayoshi arranged it like this, and Yamayama Youpeng, Yamamoto Gonbei, and Goto Shinpei all chuckled in their hearts. Matsukata Justice or Saionji Gongwang all represent the chaebol forces, not to mention during the war, they will also serve after the war, and the cabinet active military attache system will be abolished, that is to say, the army and navy will no longer send active officers into the cabinet to serve as the minister of the army and navy, and it is impossible to force the cabinet to resign by relying on the resignation of the minister of war or the navy as the last time the Saionji cabinet was collapsed.

Matsukata didn't care what the warlords were thinking, he coughed and asked, "Does anyone have a way to deal with the current situation now?" Is there a way for North Korea to hold the army? Is there a way for Tsushima to hold the navy? How do the countries of Omi, do you have a way to mediate? ”

Masayoshi Matsukata seems to be already the prime minister of Japan, but there is really no more suitable person for this post than him, Goto Shinpei was the first to say when he heard this: "Your Excellency, the army is going all out to Korea, but... However, the Chinese army is advancing rapidly, and 200,000 people will not be able to reach North Korea immediately, and now there are only 110,000 soldiers in our army in North Korea, of which 50,000 have just arrived in Busan...... This morning's battle report shows that the advance of the Shina Army has reached Shariwon, and there are fewer mountainous ...... in the south of Korea."

"How long can you hold it?" Goto Shinpei was a little incoherent, and Masayoshi Matsukata had to interrupt him, "Does this mean that the Shina Army can advance all the way to Busan?" ”

Masayoshi Matsukata was rude but straightforward, and his words cut Goto Shinpei's cover in half like a katana, and seeing this, he had no choice but to say: "Your Excellency, if it doesn't rain in Korea, the Shina Army is very likely to reach Busan within two months." ”

"And what if it rains?" Masayoshi Matsukata asked again.

"If it rains, it depends on whether the navy can think of a way to deal with the submarines and the flying planes of China, and if not, it will only be four months." Goto Shinpei said that the DPRK military commander Terauchi Masayi judged that the DPRK has only one monorail, and this railway cannot support the battle of an army of 200,000 people at all, and it can really make the Shina have more troops than his own, and there are still ports in various parts of the DPRK. Whoever controls the sea control over the coast of Korea will become the victor.

Goto Shinpei pushed the matter to the navy, and Masayoshi Matsukata looked at Gonbei Yamamoto with blazing eyes. Yamamoto Gonbei immediately said: "Your Excellency, there is no way to do it even if the submarine is the British Royal Navy. The only thing that can be thought of now is to set up anti-submarine nets. But it takes a lot of time to prepare anti-submarine nets, and there is a lack of so many mines in the country; As for the flying planes, we can add machine guns to the warships, and the results of the Shanghai and naval battles show that those flying planes carrying torpedoes are generally aimed at the side of the warships to drop water mines, and as long as there are enough machine guns, there is still a great hope of stopping this kind of weapon. ”

When the Kongo fled back to Japan, a staff officer of the Navy's Command Department immediately came up with a way to destroy the seaplane with machine guns based on the situation described by the people on board. Although this has not yet been tested, it can theoretically prevent another tragedy from happening again.

"Yamamoto-kun, what about the Tsushima Strait? If the army does not hold Korea, what if the Chinese army wants to invade the mainland? Will the Navy be able to hold the strait? Matsukata asked.

"Your Excellency, the Navy is laying submarine nets and minefields on the side of Tsushima near the mainland, they will not become a large territory, and the old warships will help the defenders of the island to defend the China Sea Crossing Force in the area." Yamamoto Gonbei said that this was actually a move from Akiyama Shinyuki's previous idea of laying two anti-submarine nets in the Bohai Sea to Tsushima.

"Can you hold it?" Masayoshi Matsukata thought about Tsushima's situation, but he was still a little worried.

"The Navy swore to defend Tsushima." Yamamoto Gonbei Road.

"Submarines have anti-submarine nets. What to do with the Kochina flying plane? Masayoshi Matsukata asked again.

"Machine guns will be erected on warships and Tsushima Islands, as well as the newly developed high-angle three-seven cannon. But mainly machine guns. In order to ensure that the water mines can enter the water smoothly, the flight altitude of the China Water Mine Flying Plane is only 10 meters. Yamamoto said with a right of guard.

"As long as you can keep Tsushima, there is still hope for that qiē." Masayoshi Matsukata said. He looked back at Saionji. "Now the empire, in addition to relying on its own efforts, must immediately declare war on the independent country."

"Declaring war on the Independence Nation?" The patriarch's thinking was leapfrogging, but both Goto Shinpei and Saionji understood what he meant. "Your Excellency. His Excellency Kato has previously raised the matter of our declaration of war on independence to our country to the British Ambassador to our country, Mr. Green, and to the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Grey. But they didn't agree. Goto Shinhei Road.

"It doesn't matter if there is no consent, we can take the initiative to declare war on the independent country. Don't worry if they allow it or not. "Matsukata Justice." In addition, in addition to the naval blockade of Qingdao Port, the independent Far East Fleet that had fled into the South Pacific would also have to go all out to pursue and suppress it. I've heard that submarines are very small ships, and large warships are inferior to small ones for them. ”

Matsukata Masayoshi is readjusting Japan's internal and external strategies, and Togo Heihachiro, the spiritual pillar of the navy, said: "Your Excellency, the United States is now trying to attack our country by means of China, so that our country does not pose a threat to it in the Pacific. ”

"If the navy of the United States really wants to unite with China to start a war against the empire, does the navy have a chance of winning?" Matsukata asked.

He asked this and stopped Togo Heihachiro, if the United States really wants to start a war against the Empire, it is to draw the entire fleet to Asia, and unlike the Lucia Fleet, which sails thousands of miles, the United States Fleet can go to the port of Zhoushan in China and then declare war on the Empire. This is equivalent to the fact that the Mi fleet has become the China fleet, plus the submarines and flying planes of China......

Thinking of this, Togo Heihachiro said worriedly: "It is difficult for the navy to guarantee. ”

"Since the Navy can't guarantee it, let's go to the South Pacific." Matsukata Masaki Road. "The army of Zhili, if it is really unable to resist, then retreat within twenty kilometers of Tianjin City. According to the treaty, the Chinese army was not allowed to enter. ”

After Matsukata finished speaking, Goto Shinpei said: "Your Excellency, the biggest problem of the army is that the sea route is blocked, and the troops cannot be fed. ”

"Don't worry, there's always a way. Yamasan-kun, Inoue-kun, and Saionji-kun, come with me to the Aoyama Imperial Palace to pay homage to the Emperor. Matsukata said and stood up again.

Matsukata Masayoshi got up, and the others followed suit, Goto Shinpei bowed and was about to go out with Yamamoto Gonbei and the others, but he was stopped by Matsukata Masayoshi again, "Those of the Chinese Revolutionary Party are still in Tokyo, right?" Seeing him nodding, Matsukata Masayoshi was early: "Let Sun Wen and the others leave immediately." ”

Goto Shinpei knew exactly who Sun Wen was, and after listening to Matsukata's instructions, he immediately said 'hi' and hurriedly retreated. (To be continued......)