As a result of the decades of deification propaganda of the Meiji Restoration, the authority of the Meiji Emperor has been greatly strengthened, and the true founding fathers who have been in favor of the Meiji Restoration have all passed away, and Muhito is now a true king in Japan, far more powerful than the monarch of a constitutional monarchy. Although Meiji is very self-aware and will not issue edicts easily, even if it is the position of a big man like Hirobumi Ito and Aritomo Yamaguchi, he can decide with a word. In other words, as long as Ito Hirobumi can convince Muhito, he will have a great deal of confidence in ousting Aritomo Yamayama from power.

However, Ito Hirobumi knew that Meiji was nostalgic, and he didn't have the idea of killing Yamato, so he didn't fall into the trap, but just talked about Japan's current predicament on a case-by-case basis, and did not attack Yamaken Youto, which made Muhito's heart feel relieved, and the idea of using Ito was unconsciously firm. But for Ito Hirobumi's "alarmism", he was still a little difficult to accept, only to see him raise his eyebrows, slightly angry and said, "The third division of the Chengren Ling I regret very much, but Itoqing believes that the imperial country is in danger of perishing, and it is too unfounded." There are still six divisions in the Imperial State, and after the mobilization of the whole country, the strength of the army can be at least doubled, even if it is an enemy of the British and the United States, it is enough to protect itself, let alone China? ”

"Britain does not have the ability to destroy the imperial state, but China is different, because Britain is far away, and China is near, Britain can at most invest 350,000 ground troops in East Asia, and rice is not worth mentioning, and China, there is no difficulty in transporting hundreds of thousands of troops to land in Japan." Ito Hirobumi pointed out the fallacy in Muren's words, "Of course, the Chinese army will definitely pay a huge price for this, and it is impossible to save this determination soon." Therefore, we must take the initiative to sue for peace as soon as possible, otherwise if the war drags on, the new Chinese government will inevitably feel that the long-term pain is better than the short-term pain and make up its mind, and then it will be really dangerous! ”

"The Qing Dynasty is very true, but now that the imperial state has no bargaining chips, if it takes the initiative to sue for peace, the conditions of the Chinese government will definitely be more harsh." Muren also knows that now is not the time to raise the bar, but although he has the heart to seek peace, he is also hesitant.

Sheng Haizhou remained silent, but when he heard this, he couldn't hold back any longer, and took the initiative to speak without waiting for Muren to ask, "Your Majesty, with all due respect, it is precisely because the imperial kingdom has no bargaining chips that it is even more necessary to sue for peace as soon as possible. Now that China is at war with Britain, it is not too harsh to prescribe conditions, and once they defeat Britain and free up their hands, the conditions proposed will definitely be much harsher than they are now! ”

"Can the Chinese really beat the British? Unlikely, right? Muren obviously didn't believe it, and also said another reason for his hesitation, "In the current situation of war between China and Britain, although we can solve the urgent need to negotiate peace with China, it will greatly offend the British, if China wins, it is fine, in case China loses, the imperial country is not a person inside and outside." Rather than this, it is better to grit your teeth and persevere, as long as Britain can turn defeat into victory, then the imperial kingdom can be compensated for what it lost in this war. ”

"China and Japan are of the same language and species, and have been fraternal countries since ancient times, and they should work together to fight against the British and Mi ghost animals, how can they help outsiders deal with their brothers?" , Katsu Haizhou once again threw out his usual opinion, but seeing Meiji's face that instantly darkened, he could only sigh and change his words, since Muren does not value righteousness, he can only persuade from the perspective of interests.

"Your Majesty, although the British Royal Navy is strong, the current Chinese Navy is already invincible, even if it is only the strength that is currently revealed. According to the information he heard from the British, in the great battle at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the Chinese Navy only left two Haitian-class battleships to patrol against the British Far East Fleet's two Centurion-class battleships, and the rest were sent out to pursue the fleeing cruisers. Although the British ambassador did not disclose the final result of the battle, judging from the British government's eagerness to recall those cruisers to China, it must have been a big defeat and loss, which can be seen from the strength of the Chinese navy! When Sheng Haizhou said this, a bitter smile appeared on his face, and he sighed, "In fact, the strength represented by those six Haitian-class patrol ships alone is already very terrifying, and the naval battle of Jianghua Bay wiped out the entire combined fleet with just one Haitian!" ”

"What's more, Britain is too far away, they can't send all their warships to the Far East, but the Chinese can send all their capital ships out to compete with the British for sea supremacy, and the British colonies rely heavily on sea transportation, and once the sea supremacy is lost, the land war will inevitably be defeated." When Muren heard this, he unceremoniously interrupted him without waiting for Katsu Haizhou to finish speaking.

"Shengqing, the Chinese navy is still blockading Japan, how can it send all its forces out to deal with the British?" , Meiji thought he had found a mistake in Katsukaishu's words, and immediately pointed it out. This old guy was a former minister of the shogunate and a pro-Chinese faction, both of which Muhito disliked, so he was far less polite to Katsu Kaishu than to Ito Hirobumi.

Who knew that Sheng Haizhou sighed and said after hearing this, "You live in the palace and don't know the situation outside, now the Chinese Navy just sent some third-rate warships to block the route, not to mention the Haitian-class armored cruisers, even those warships of the Beiyang Naval Division in the past can't see it." It is clear that the main forces of the Chinese Navy are now going to deal with the British. ”

"So what did the Navy do? Why hasn't the lockdown been broken yet? The Navy still has ships, right? I remember that there are still ships, such as the Hiei, which is also an ironclad ship, and it can't even beat China's third-rate warships, right? Meiji immediately asked angrily, but Katsu Kaishu responded with a miserable smile.

"The ship is still there, but there is no one left! Before the Battle of Ganghwa Bay, in order to fill the gap of so many newly purchased warships, not only were all the veterans drawn out, but even the students who had not yet graduated from Jiangtadao and many sailors on merchant ships were urgently called in, which was barely enough. Who knew that the naval battle of Jianghua Bay was completely wiped out, and now the navy is full of outright newcomers, and if they don't practice for a year and a half, let alone fight with the Chinese navy, even if they just go out to sea to patrol, they will probably not come back! As one of the founders of the Japanese Navy, even if he has long since retreated to the second line, he still has deep feelings for it, and the more he talks, the more heartache he feels, and he can't stop crying, and his 30 years of hard work have been ruined in one fell swoop! (To be continued.) )