By the end of the 19th century, China and Korea had become semi-colonies of the Great Powers, Britain occupied Hong Kong, Kowloon and Weihaiwei, France occupied the Indochina Peninsula and Gulf of Tonkin, Germany occupied Jiaozhou Bay and the Shandong Peninsula, the United States occupied the Philippines, and Russia occupied all of Manchuria.

Thirty years after the Meiji Restoration, the country, which had abolished the extraterritoriality of the Great Powers six years earlier, was also caught up in the storm of sphere of influence and colonial expansion, despite winning the 1895 Qing War, which forced the Qing to recognize the vassal state of Korea and gain control of Korea.

The continuation of the Russian Empire's eastward expansion since the middle of the seventeenth century was a continuation of the idea that the future of Russia was in Asia. However, the expansion of the Russian Empire in Manchuria and Korea, which was eager to expand its sphere of influence in Asia and eventually realize the dream of "Yellow Russia," directly clashed with the interests of the Russian Empire, which wanted to turn Korea into a colony.

And after Gengzi, occupied the whole of Manchurian Russia, and the brutality of Russia. There is no other way to stop it than by force. And for this, it is necessary to be determined to pay the price of blood. Other countries simply protested and left Russia to do as it pleased.

The one who can't calm down is the one who says it. If Russia had ruled Manchuria, it would have been directly threatened. But if it is to be ruled out, strong military power is needed. Russia has the most powerful army in the world. He was caught in a dilemma, on the one hand, his own security and interests, and on the other hand, he was a powerful enemy.

After Gengzi, after the withdrawal of troops from various countries, in order to promote the withdrawal of Russian troops from Manchuria, Yuben protested again, and Russia took Yuben's protest seriously by force. Soon after, Russia occupied Longyanpo at the mouth of the Yalu River in northeastern China and on the border with South Korea, and asked to borrow the land temporarily, showing its ambitions for South Korea.

He did not exclude Russia from northeastern China, but he had to keep South Korea anyway in order to preserve him. Diplomatic negotiations began. However, the other party looked at him left and right, and there was no sign of response. It is said that this book still has to be beaten.

However, the emperor was not willing to fight. He didn't believe he could win. And if you don't fight, maybe there will be an even more tragic ending. The same was true during the Qing War. At that time, the ministers ignored themselves and did whatever they wanted, he didn't like it, and he had nothing to do.

However, in the 22nd year of the Meiji era (1889), he himself promulgated the Constitution of the Daishomoto Empire, which stipulates in the first article of Chapter 1: "The Daisamoto Empire shall be ruled by the emperor of the same lineage for all generations." Article 11 stipulates: "The Emperor commands the army and navy." Article 13 stipulates: "The Emperor shall exercise the power to declare war, to make peace, and to conclude treaties of all kinds. ”

In Japan, the clamor for a declaration of war against Russia has risen rapidly. Initiated by Duke Konoe Atsuki, the Divine Whip Zhitsune, Sasa Yubo, Toyama Mitsuru and other nationalists formed the Comrades Association against Russia, setting off a movement to create public opinion for war. Seven professors from Imperial University jointly issued a petition to the people. In this regard, Russia continued to increase its troops to China and strengthen the fortress of Arthur, which openly showed its hegemonic intentions.

It is said that among the political axes, there are mostly cautious people. However, the main war faction believes that the longer it drags on, the more Russia will strengthen its defenses. If you want to do it, do it early. You have to see that the other side is so domineering, it invades Manchuria, and wants to reach out to South Korea. The next step is to annex the book.

As for the atmosphere in the country, Emperor Meiji once again took advantage of his hated and desirable power trick: to convene an imperial council and listen to the ministers' decisions for him. The battle was won, the merit was in the emperor, and if he failed, he would not want to fight anyway.

Therefore, on June 23, 1903, the 36th year of the Meiji era, the first imperial council was held to discuss the issue of war against Russia. However, it was not until the fourth meeting on December 28 of the following year that no explanation was discussed.

On the banks of the moat with clear water circulation, the majestic palace is covered by lush trees, which is the heart of the Zoben Empire, where the emperor of the Eternal Dynasty lived, and the snow turned the luxuriant cypress trees into white snow trees, and the severe cold made the trees with only branches covered with ice, and the moat under the double bridge outside the palace wall was covered with a thick layer of ice in the cold winter.

Within the palace walls, on the stone path of the garden uncovered with snow and ice, Emperor Meiji was pacing slowly and in distraught. The black kimono was not thick to wear in this harsh winter, but even so, he was still agitated by the boredom in his heart. The New Year is coming, but the clouds in his heart are thicker.

Since ten days ago, Emperor Meiji has been in a trance on the issue of declaring war on Lucia, and the amount of food has dropped to less than one-third of his usual amount. The chief attendant of Tokudaiji Temple also suffered from a cold and did not come to work for more than half a month, and finally developed pneumonia. The emperor gave him three bottles of red wine. Today, as in the past, Emperor Meiji still looked bad, and he only ate a few bites of rice all day.

"What if we lose? Then you'll be all set! ”

Meiji said to himself, although he said that he won the big bet with the Qing State ten years ago, but the opponent was the rotten Qing State, but even the rotten Qing State won at sea It was such a fluke, if the Qing State did not buy it for ten years, if they had some tubes to withdraw artillery, if they ...... Then the last one to lose must be the Ben.

Winning a big gamble by luck does not mean that you can rely on that luck to defeat Lucia, Lucia can produce millions of tons of steel a year, can build battleships, and has the world's most powerful army known as the steamroller, but what does Coco say?

“…… After the Qing War, in the face of the threat of Lucia, we gritted our teeth and expanded our armaments, and it was easy to form an army of 20 divisions. And Russia has 70 divisions. As for the navy, there were 76 warships and destroyers and 76 torpedo boats, a total of 152 ships. The number of battleships and armored cruisers in the country was twice as large as in the book, and there were many smaller ships. Among them, 7 battleships, 4 armored cruisers, and 10 cruisers have been deployed in the Lucia Pacific Fleet, in Arthur and Vladivostok right in front of us. …… What if the Navy is defeated? To know Lucia......"

When Meiji was caught in the quarrel of the Imperial Council and was distraught by the endless quarrel, a soft footstep came from behind him. He turned to look, and a military attache bowed to him.

"Your Majesty, Duke Konoe Atsuki is here."

A distraught Meiji waved his hand and muttered in a low voice.

"I'll come."

When he reappeared, Meijiyi was dressed in a kimono and sat on a large, imposing throne. Behind him, several ancient and luxurious gold screens show the extraordinaryness of the descendants of this eternal line of sun gods.

In front of him, Duke Konoe Atsuro, the Privy Counsellor, sat with his hands on his knees, and he was admonishing the Emperor as usual about the necessary and urgent surnames of the battle.

Although he was upset, he sat as usual, with a cold face and no expression. Although young, Hirohito, who has been educated as a monarch since he was a child, attaches great importance to how to maintain the holy dignity in front of his civil and military generals and all the people.

“…… Asia has become a land of plundering by blue-eyed people, white people have no way, the Western European powers are moving eastward, the Qing country is being encroached upon by the West, the situation is miserable, and the country is in danger like a tired egg. However, now that Lucia occupies Manchuria and intends to get involved in Korea, it is said that Ben has now reached the most dangerous situation, either to cut off Lucia's expansion in Manchuria**, or after it annexes Korea, send warships to swim off the coast of Yuben, and finally Yuben will fall into the tragedy of the attack of the black ship, and decades of work will be ruined! ”

As an Asianist, he was indignant at the current situation of the Qing State being divided by the foreign powers, and put forward the "East Asian Preservation Theory", advocating the establishment of the Qing Alliance and the establishment of the East Asian Tongwen Academy, the purpose of which was also to oppose the domination of the Qing Kingdom by Europe, America and Russia, and promote Asianism.

"The East is the East of the Oriental people, and it is the responsibility of the East people to deal with the Oriental problem", the future of the East will eventually encounter a contest of races, and the future of the East depends on the results of the "yellow and white" contest, Lucia's expansion ** has a long history, and its expansion in Europe until the British and French united in Crimea cut off its clutches, Lucia's westward expansion road was also cut off, and it began to turn to Asian expansion, Lucia's expansion desire was not satisfied by Manchuria and the Qing Dynasty, and it was said to get Manchuria yesterday, and now it wants to get Korea, Ming said that he was afraid that he would win the entire Qing country, and he said that he would definitely fall into the threat of the country! ”

After bowing lightly, Duke Konoe Atsuro once again pleaded in an extremely sincere tone.

"Now it has reached the point where war is inevitable, Your Majesty!"

As plain and cautious as ever, Meiji didn't say anything, just looked at Duke Konoe Atsuro in front of him, he didn't say anything, just waited for him to continue, His Majesty's silence made Duke Konoe Atsuro think in his heart about how to continue.

"Now, the practice of Lu Renlai not leaving in Manchuria has already caused widespread dissatisfaction among the powers, and its expansion in the Qing Dynasty has intensified the contradictions with Britain, so Britain agrees with our country to solve Lucia by force, and our country signed the "British Alliance Agreement" is to remove our country's worries, this is really a rare opportunity in a century, and now the Lucia Siberian Railway is about to be completed, if the railway is completed, the balance of power in Manchuria will immediately be favorable to Lucia, and the last article of the "British Alliance Agreement", It will also expire in three years, and Your Majesty, you must now make a decisive decision to declare war on Lucy War! ”

Anxious, disturbed and like a ghost that can't be dispelled, he clearly knows the threat of the Lucia, and clearly knows that if he can't cut off his expansion in Asia, then the future Lucia will definitely threaten the security of the capital, and the Restoration will only be exchanged for decades to protect the country, and it will be a failure, but ...... But...... He didn't dare that the emperor was not a god, the emperor also had fear, he was afraid, 10 years ago, when he declared war on the Qing, he was afraid, and now, ten years later, he has a heartfelt fear of Lucia, this old power, but everyone is waiting for his final holy judgment, can he make this holy judgment?

When Meiji was in a difficult situation there, the Senate Council was once again embroiled in controversy over the same issue, and the Senate Council had been convened too many times, but each time it failed to come up with a reason.

Today, Prime Minister Katsura Taro also caught a cold and took a break for the time being, and he did not attend this meeting. It was the cold winter season, the country was facing a major event, and everyone's body and mind were burdened, and everyone seemed to be exhausted, but they were still sitting there arguing about what they had seen. After three years of facing Lucia's threat and half a year of arguing, most of the Senate Council had agreed on their opinions, except for the First Senator of the House of Nobles, Marquis Ito Hirobumi, who strongly opposed the declaration of war on Lucia, and in the face of everyone's insistence, his eyes were full of worry.

“…… Now the negotiations are still ongoing, and we have to wait for the outcome of the negotiations! ”

Foreign Minister Soyu Arasuke listened to Marquis Ito's objections, and only smiled with his chin pinched, and now even as Foreign Minister he has given up the illusion of diplomatic efforts.

"Dean Ito!"

As soon as Ito Hirobumi's words fell, he was interrupted by the words of Aritomo Yamaguchi.

"Lu Guozheng completely ignored the agreement proposed by our side, and after half a year of negotiations, our side proposed at least let us have Wu and South Korea's "absolute freedom of action", but Lu still refused, if we give in again, it is equivalent to completely ceding the actual control of Manchuria and South Korea to Lucia, even so, do you still have to insist on what you have seen? ”

Yama Prefecture Aritomo, a field marshal who was a samurai of the Choshu Domain, asked rhetorically in a questioning tone.

"Marshal of Shan County! Maybe you'll laugh at me for being cowardly, but that's okay too! ”

Ito Hirofumi was not thrilled by Yamagumi's questioning, but said in a calm tone. Although Lucia occupied the northeast, spied on South Korea, and threatened the interests of Yuben, this direct threat made the whole country in a very tense state, and everyone from the political axe to the people advocated a decisive battle with Russia. But Ito knew that his country's strength was still weak, and his military and national strength were weak, and all he needed was to avoid this adventurous war.

"You're a soldier!"

Ito's tone sank, and he propped up the conference table with his hands and looked directly at Yamagumi.

"But I'm just like you, your knife is at your waist, and I have a knife in my stomach!"

Ito's words made Yama Prefecture have a frown, but he did not refute him, while Ito shifted his attention from Yama Prefecture to the other elders and cabinet members.

"Those who advocate war, if they really think that this war is likely to be won, tell me about it here!"

Perhaps because of some excitement, Hirobumi Ito's white beard trembled lightly as he spoke, and his right hand tapped the table, as if he was ready to speak eloquently with others.

Hirobumi Ito, who was born into a lower-class scholar family in Yamaguchi Prefecture like Yamaguchi Aritome, can be said to have a personal experience of Samoto's poverty, and it is precisely because of this that he withstood the pressure from all walks of life and single-handedly suppressed the internal war decisions of the old cabinet members.

“…… The national fiscal revenue is 250 million yuan, and Lucia is 2 billion yuan! The strength of the standing army was 200,000 men, and Lucia was 3,000,000 men. The strength of the Lucia Navy is the third in the world, with 20 general battleships, 10 armored cruisers, six battleships and six armored cruisers, even the strength of the Lucia Pacific Fleet is on par with the strength of the Lucia Pacific Fleet, who can confidently say that it will be able to defeat Lucia! ”

Ito Hirobumi was there to try to convince these old ministers with data, this was the first time he had put out such data, he couldn't remember, he was just trying his best to convince these people, although he understood that these data on paper were far from making them give up the decision to go to war, but he only wanted to avoid this military adventure with no possibility of victory, but he understood that it was impossible for him to prevent the outbreak of this war.

"Dean Ito, if you ......"

War Minister Gentaro Kodama looked directly at Hirobumi Ito and asked rhetorically.

"Do you know what would happen to Ben if Korea was taken away by Lucia?"

As for Kodama's rhetorical question, Ito Hirobumi didn't answer him, he just looked at Kodama Gentaro seriously and asked in an extremely sincere tone.

"General Kodama, I want you to tell me honestly how much chance we have of winning if we do go to war!"

Ito Hirobumi's rhetorical question only made the atmosphere in the conference room tense again, Kodama Gentaro just sat upright and didn't give an answer for a while, and when Yamagumi opened his mouth to say something, he closed his mouth again.

"Can you please be honest?"

Ito Hirobumi asked again, and this question made Kodama, who was sitting in silence, look at Ito.

"No odds!"

Kodama's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough for everyone to hear clearly.

"It may be a lose-lose situation, or it may have a chance of winning in six or four!"

"June Fourth?"

Ito Hirofumi lowered his head slightly and muttered softly. He knew that if this sentence came out of Kodama's mouth, there would be absolutely no problem, Kodama was different from other people, if it really couldn't be avoided, he would be Ito's favorite front-line commander.

"But if we continue to be satisfied with the status quo in the next two or three years, there will be more and more branch lines of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and the millions of regular troops in Europe will immediately pour into Manchuria and Korea, and then there will be no need to talk about any war or victory! If you want to win, you have to take advantage of now, Dean Ito! ”

Ito Hirobumi's face changed, and he didn't come back to his senses under Kodama's direct gaze for a long time. In the end, the Council of Elders did not make any substantive progress, but decided that six days later, on February 4, the Fifth Council of the Imperial Council would be convened again.

(To be continued)