"If the Empire shows the attitude that it is necessary to end the war, and the British and the United States maintain the balance in the Far East, and use Japan's strategic policy of containing China, then the involvement of the two countries will be deeper than we estimate, and the two countries can accept a strong Japan, but they will never be happy to see a China capable of challenging them, let alone an Eastern country with an alliance treaty with Germany, so that in the end they have reached an agreement that with the intervention of the two countries, as far as possible to preserve the interests of Japan, However, accepting some of the main terms of peace may be a wise move for Japan.

After this discussion in the cabinet, Katsura Taro entered the palace to meet Emperor Meiji. After respectfully presenting the first draft of the peace clause to China. When facing His Majesty, he spoke almost in a low, trembling voice, he knew what his speech meant, which meant that he would become the greatest thief in the history of the empire, but he also knew that the reason why he resigned now could not be because those old ministers wanted to take responsibility for themselves.

“…… For now, at least, we have no choice but to accept China's peace proposal, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that it is possible to negotiate with China on the territorial issue of reparations, and eventually force China to make concessions, and Britain and the United States, and even France, are undoubtedly on the side of the Empire."

At the time of the debriefing, Katsura Taro played a word game and shifted his responsibility to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instead of the cabinet. In fact, he has long understood that whether he wants to or not, he will bear the name of this "national thief".

After a heavy silence. Meiji, who stood up, was silent for a long time before he spoke.

"Either way, it was to be expected that the war was coming to an end. I guess that's good alone. At least we still have some room for all sorts of bargaining, and hopefully, if not, the war will continue. After the end of the foreign war, we must stabilize the country in a short period of time, and no longer cause the people to suffer, whether it is economic or other problems. ”

At this time, Meiji once again emphasized that "the people should no longer suffer", as if they were really like every Japanese emperor described in the Japanese history books, a benevolent elder, not a benevolent emperor, and the starting point of everything he did was for the welfare of the people, even if it was a declaration of war against China

As for the responsibility for the war, it has nothing to do with him, it is a war of ministers, the same as the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, it is just a war of ministers

In accordance with the decree of Emperor Akihari, the regular Imperial Council was held at half past one in the afternoon. At this time, Katsura Taro, who was prime minister, and the other five cabinet members unanimously agreed with Kodama's proposal and Prime Minister Katsura's approval of the plan of "accepting the terms of partial peace, holding direct negotiations with China, and trying to protect Japan's interests as much as possible at the negotiating table." The cabinet adopted a peace resolution almost as soon as the cabinet was formed.

Surprisingly, Emperor Meiji himself was unable to attend the Imperial Council this time, and the three elders of the Japanese Imperial Fathers, Aritomo Yamachi, Masayoshi Matsukata, and Shin Inoue, were also unable to attend due to health reasons, and the Minister of War Masaki Terauchi was also unable to attend the meeting because he needed to preside over the defense of Honshu.

In fact, at this time, everyone chose to avoid it, and the charge of "betraying Japan" should be borne by Katsura Taro and his cabinet in any case, and as for the old ministers and the army and navy, it is appropriate to avoid it.

The cabinet was approved, and His Majesty also approved, so the rest of the matter was to communicate with the Chinese government, so through Komura Shoutaro, Cai Jun, who had just been released, was once again invited.

Compared with the meeting between Komura Shoutaro and Cai Jun, Katsura Taro and Cai Jun are undoubtedly more official and grand.

"I'm really sorry for wronging you"

As soon as they met, Katsura Taro, as the prime minister, bowed deeply to Cai Jun, and then warmly invited him into the house.

Cai Jun, who had received the gift of Katsura Taro, interrupted Katsura Taro's thoughts of continuing as soon as he spoke.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I must consult my government before I can make a decision on your country's attitude."

Although he was "under house arrest" in a hotel in the past few days, Cai Jun still got some information more or less, and it was precisely because of this information that he figured out the true intentions of the Japanese. ,

"Of course, that's as it should be"

Katsura Taro nodded and said, then looked at Cai Jun and said in a slightly apologetic tone.

"However, due to the suicide of a confidential member of your embassy, you will not be able to get in touch with Japan for a while, so we think you can contact Japan through the German embassy in Japan."

Katsura Taro's concession only surprised Cai Jun, why did Japan change so quickly?

landing

While eating at the restaurant, he had heard some guests talking about the fact that the Guards had landed on the Japanese mainland, and although he did not know where they had attacked and how the war was going, he could still feel from the change in the attitude of the Japanese government towards himself that the development of the war was very unfavorable to Japan.

Cai Jun, who knows the Japanese very well, of course, knows that there is only one possibility for the Japanese to make this kind of transformation, that is, they realize that if the war continues, then they are very likely to perish, and in this case, they are willing to make more concessions.

"German Embassy"

After pondering for a moment, looking up at Katsura Taro in front of him, Cai Jun asked rhetorically.

"If I'm not mistaken, China and Germany don't have much friendship, is Germany reliable in this kind of thing?"

"Oh"

At this time, Katsura Taro realized that when Germany and China formed an alliance, the Ambassador Cai in front of him was still in prison, and naturally he did not know that China and Germany had formed an alliance, so he said as if he had a big understanding.

"Now Germany is an ally of China, and I believe that they are more than happy to play a certain role"

Germany is an ally of China

Cai Jun's eyes widened, if this is true, it is undoubtedly the biggest progress in China's diplomacy in several years, Germany is a European power, if they are willing to become China's allies, it is very beneficial to China, at least with Germany's involvement, no country will dare to speak of war to China lightly.

"Ambassador Chiang"

Heydrich down the stairs? Feng? Xi'an looked at the guests who walked into the embassy, and couldn't help but be surprised, the Japanese released him, could it be that Japan and China want to ......

"Ambassador Xi'an"

After knowing that Germany was an ally of China, Cai Jun naturally threw himself into enthusiasm.

"You were ...... by the Japanese"

Xi'an looked at Cai Jun in surprise, and it took a long time to confirm that yes, this is Cai Jun.

"I was released, and the Japanese wanted to ask for peace"

Cai Jun did not mean to hide it, after all, in the future, he still needs to call China through the German Embassy.

"They finally threw in the towel?"

He was stunned for a moment, and then Xi'an nodded again.

"They can't admit defeat or not, now your army has occupied the entire Shikoku, and even in the Shuto Inland Sea, there are medium ** ships, although it is only a small warship, but, you know, that's enough, now Japan doesn't even have the confidence to hold Honshu, except for peace, I'm afraid it will only be to accept the fate of the country"

"Ambassador Xi'an, please keep talking and keep me updated"

As soon as he heard the news, Cai Jun's whole body became excited, and the several released attachés behind him all showed excitement on their faces.

"You know, there, I don't get any news at all"

"Of course, my friend, the Japanese sent you here, and I think they have already told you that now the German Empire and the Chinese Empire have formed close allies"

Xi'an looked at Cai Jun in front of him and said seriously.

"So, if you need anything here, the German Empire and I are willing to help in any way we can, Ambassador Cai, here please"

As an invitation, Xi'an led Cai Jun upstairs into his office.

"There is no doubt that this war has made the whole world realize the power of China, the Chinese Empire."

When he spoke, Xi'an's tone revealed a hint of admiration.

"In the naval battle of the South China Sea, you ended the era of the combined fleet, and now, you have occupied the entire island of Shikoku, ushering in the era of large-scale landing operations, and it can be said that the whole world is shocked by the army and navy that your country has."

Then, in Cai Jun's surprise, Xi'an described these two wars and the impact of the war on Japan and the world in a very calm tone, of course, when introducing all this, he did not forget to add fuel and vinegar to say that Germany made sacrifices for China in this war, what China resisted from the pressure from Britain, after China landed in Japan, in the face of the protests of Britain and the United States, Germany resolutely stood up to support China, and so on and so on repeatedly spit out from his mouth, It seems that he wanted to remind Cai Jun that the reason why China was able to achieve its current victory was that without the support of Germany, there was no possibility at all. ,

Facing Heydrich of course? Feng? Xi'an's words, Cai Jun just expressed polite thanks, which was purely out of the need for diplomatic etiquette, but in his heart, he was thinking about another question, in the face of the current situation, how much concession the Japanese can make.

"Ambassador Xi'an, then, what kind of peace conditions has China proposed?"

For Cai Jun, he knew that if he wanted to find out the bottom line of the Japanese, he would probably have to come up with the terms of peace proposed by China through a third country after he was detained by the Japanese, which is inevitable in any war.

"Your Peace"

At this time, Xi'an said in a strange tone.

"That's a boldness."

"Oh?"

Bold peace conditions? What kind of conditions would that be? Cai Jun hurriedly listened attentively to Xi'an's introduction, in order to speculate on the bottom line of the Japanese government in combination with the changes in the Japanese government's attitude towards him.

"First, China will have preferential rights to sell goods throughout Japan."

Listening to this condition, Cai Jun nodded, no matter what, war is always accompanied by the move to open up the market, the British fought the Manchu Qing Dynasty back then, and later the Japanese Qing War was also, this is almost the criterion of a strong country.

"Second, Japan will return all the territories occupied by the Chinese vassal states of Korea and the Ryukyus, and withdraw all its foreign nationals."

Well, nodding, during his detention, he thought as much as he could, and in the end, he thought that if Japan could be defeated, the imperial government would definitely propose to take back Korea and the Ryukyus, after all, they were the old vassal states of China, and they needed to be recovered for any purpose of opening up or restoring national honor.

"Third, the tonnage of the Japanese Navy will be controlled within 50,000 tons, and Tokyo Bay will be opened as a free port."

"Fourth, Japan ceded the islands of Kyushu, Shikoku, and ......"

Listening to Xi'an say the names of the islands that he had barely heard of, he could hardly believe what he had heard, could it be that China wanted to occupy all of Japan?

“…… Territory including the Kuril Islands"

After finally spitting out a series of island names, Xi'an let out a sigh of relief, there were too many island names involved in the cession, and he didn't know if he had missed something.

"In addition, your government has demanded that Japan pay 15 billion gold yen in reparations."

Xi'an's other sentence only made Cai Jun's whole person fall into silence, these conditions are fundamentally the conditions aimed at the destruction of Japan, and the Japanese government is categorically impossible to accept such conditions, and accepting such conditions is undoubtedly self-defeating.

"Since the outbreak of the war, has our country only put forward such a condition for peace?"

After a moment of silence, Cai Jun asked the German ambassador in front of him.

"Germany has also intervened in mediation, and according to the information we have so far, your government has so far only proposed such a mediation proposal, and from the analysis of various countries, it seems that your country's proposal of this condition is to pave the way for an attack on the Japanese mainland, and only to reject the mediation demands of Britain and the United States."

Xi'an truthfully said his opinion, in fact, about this request for peace put forward by China, in all countries in the world is regarded as a joke, arrogant, greedy, etc., but in the end, until the Chinese army landed on Shikoku Island, it seems that the whole world understands the intention of the Chinese government, they put forward this condition, and insist on not giving in, nothing more than to prevent the United States and Britain from trying to mediate, so as to win more benefits for themselves.

"Asking for a price all over the sky, sitting on the ground and paying back?"

Saying such a sentence in his heart, Cai Jun still shook his head, this does not seem to be the habit of His Majesty to be accurate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if His Majesty makes such a request, in addition to using this condition to refuse the intervention and mediation of Britain and the United States, and save the face of the two countries, on the other hand, I am afraid that I still hope to get the corresponding compensation, and the water content in this peace condition may not exceed 20.

"So, Ambassador Xi'an, does your country support the terms of peace proposed by our country?"

Cai Jun casually asked, Heydrich in front of him? Feng? Xi'an, Germany is an ally of China, and whether they support such harsh conditions is a very important question, at least Cai Jun can find out from this the probability that China will be able to get its wish.

"As an ally, the German Reich unconditionally supports the terms of peace proposed by your country"

Faced with this question, Xi'an answered directly in the most official language, and then said.

"However, as an ally, we believe that your country should be more pragmatic and put forward peace terms that are more likely to be accepted by Japan, after all, any country that is faced with the cession of a third of its territory and the reparations that will collapse the country's economy will eventually choose to fight to the end rather than accept it, after all, for them, whether they accept or refuse, there is only one outcome, either they are completely occupied by foreign countries or overthrown by their own people." ,

In fact, as an ally of China, Germany, while supporting China, has also been lobbying China to be more pragmatic and practical in proposing a peace plan acceptable to Japan. In Germany's view, this would not only ensure China's interests, but also allow China to extricate itself from the war against Japan as soon as possible, so that it could play the maximum role of this ally.

Now facing Cai Jun, Xi'an believes that this detained ambassador, once he returns to China, will definitely be rewarded by the emperor, and now exert a certain influence on him, he is bound to be able to make a statement to the emperor, after all, for Japan, no one has more say than this ambassador to Japan, and his words may have an impact on the emperor even more than the Chinese foreign minister.

"Hmm"

Nodding noncommittally, looking at the ambassador in front of him, Cai Jun put on a smile after thinking for a while.

"That...... Ambassador Xi'an, I have an unsolicited request."

"Despite being blunt, Ambassador Cai is within my reach."

Xi'an hurriedly responded.

"I would like to be able to contact my Government using the telegraph of your legation."

When he made this request, Cai Jun's heart was excited, he clearly knew that only in Xi'an agreed to his request, then Germany's diplomatic code is undoubtedly equivalent to opening to China, although he does not know much about intelligence work, but he knows that the intelligence officers of the embassy have been collecting the telegram code of Japan and the embassies of various countries before the war, and I believe that there must be a corresponding agency in China responsible for this work......

"Of course there is no problem"

Almost without thinking, Xi'an agreed to the reasonable request, and then he added, seemingly aware of something.

"Before that, though, I'd like to ask Berlin for your understanding."

"Of course, of course, this is as it should be, thank you very much for your help, Ambassador Xi'an, please believe that there is no need to doubt the friendship of China, and in the future, you will definitely get friendship from your allies.".