In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Japanese cabinet was filled with mourning, and the atmosphere of despair pervaded the entire Japanese cabinet.

Not only the tragedy of the earthquake, but also the terrible news of the battlefield came one after another.

On September 4, Zhang Zuolin suddenly changed his flag and invaded North Korea.

On September 5, the Chinese Second Front landed in the Ryukyus under the cover of the navy.

On September 6, the Chinese North Detachment covered the landing of three divisions of the Chinese First Front on Jeju Island.

"The submarines of Shina have appeared off the coast of the empire, and three of the large merchant ships carrying relief supplies from Osaka have been sunk." Uchida's face turned pale, and he found that the position of prime minister was not so easy to sit in, it was simply a furnace, even if he was only an agent.

Togo Heihachiro's face was gloomy: "China is advancing by sea and land, and they currently have all the advantages. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must buy time for the empire, otherwise the consequences will be catastrophic. The occupation of Ryukyu and Jeju Island by China was in preparation for an attack on the empire itself, and even if it did not attack the empire itself, China could use this position to supply submarines and blockade the empire's supplies and maritime trade. ”

Japan is a resource-poor island country, and once trade is blocked, Japan's reserves of resources will not last long, not to mention the damage caused by the earthquake, so it will not take a month for Japan to face collapse.

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said bitterly: "The negotiations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the European and American powers on the unequal treaties and concessions of the Chinese and American powers are dragging out time, which shows the ambition of Li Bufan, the leader of China. How could such a person give up such an excellent opportunity to strike at the empire, or even destroy it? ”

Heihachiro Togo gritted his teeth and said, "Saionji-kun, do you think the empire has no chance?" ”

The Gongwang of Xiyuan Temple sighed and said, "Our thoughts, the people of China can think of them." Regardless of whether the branch is recognized or not, it cannot be changed that the empire is essentially stronger than the country, after all, the empire has been revitalized by the Meiji Restoration, and this gap is not comparable to the small industry that the Nanjing government has made at any cost in just a few years, as long as the empire is given time, it can recover its strength in just a few years with the foundation of the empire. Togo, do you think Shina will be willing to face a re-emerging empire? ”

Heihachiro Togo said in a deep voice: "Saiyuan Temple-kun, then you mean that the empire is over?" ”

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang laughed miserably: "If the empire continues to resist, there is no doubt about this, the people of China will not let go of such an opportunity to destroy the empire, even if they agree to stop the war, they will always find an excuse to start a war again." There is only one way to preserve the vitality of the empire and give it a chance to rise again. ”

Yasuya Uchida said urgently: "Duke of Saionji, please speak." ”

The prince of Xiyuan Temple said bitterly: "Admit defeat and end the war." ”

"Impossible!" Almost without hesitation, the top echelons of the cabinet categorically refused.

Togo Heihachiro's face was pale, his eyes seemed to be on fire, he stared fiercely at Xiyuan Temple Gongwang, and said word by word: "Your Excellency, do you know what you are talking about?" ”

The prince of Xiyuan Temple said bitterly: "How can I not know? Nothing has saved the vitality of the empire, and it is important to give the empire a chance to rise again. The defeat of the empire in this war is not a crime of war, the empire understands, and the whole world will understand. Even if he admits defeat and when the empire's strength is restored, the empire will still be a world power. The greater the powers, the greater the suppression of China and the greater their support for the empire. For now, the empire should preserve its vitality as much as possible, and let China and the great powers play games. Judging from the fact that the leader of China instructed his Ministry of Foreign Affairs to shirk the interests of the great powers in China, it is conceivable that the leader of China was ready to abolish the unequal treaties after the war, and as long as the empire pushed, it was entirely possible to repeat the history of the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance. ”

For a while, the Japanese cabinet was silent, and everyone was pondering with solemn faces.

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said loudly: "Gentlemen, what the empire can't let go of at the moment is just the face of a so-called powerful country, but in fact, everyone knows how this war will end if it develops. Defy? Very good. We are not reconciled, and we are not convinced, and we do not think that China can really be stronger than the empire. With this energy, the empire can develop and rise as soon as possible. If the war is allowed to develop, the vitality of the empire is exhausted, and the vitality of the military and the people is exhausted, the consequences are unimaginable. Ladies and gentlemen, make a decision as soon as possible! ”

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The Headquarters of the Provisional Presidential Office in Nanjing.

A map of North Korea was displayed on the huge sand table, and the signs of friend and foe were densely covered, and it could be clearly distinguished that a large number of Japanese army signs were moving towards the north of Korea.

"With the offensive of our army, after the Japanese army's plan to expel our army from the Korean Peninsula in the counteroffensive failed, the Japanese Korean commander Muto Nobuyoshi built a blocking position on the line of the Cheongchon River, and the Japanese troops stationed in Korea were also gathering on this line." Chief of Staff Li Huashan personally analyzed the situation on the battlefield.

The Invincible Army Division sneered: "It's a pity that the Japanese garrison in Korea is only that, and we also sent two divisions to reinforce Jiaozhou Bay. Now, even if they mobilize overseas Chinese to fight, they will not be more than three divisions and regiments together, and with such a small number of troops, they will not only have to defend our land offensive head-on, but also prevent our army from carrying out landing operations. ”

Li Bufan sneered: "Order the troops, directly under the cover of the navy, land in Busan and occupy Tsushima Island, completely cut off their roots from the Japanese mainland." In addition, the fleet will be dispatched to the north to assist in transporting reinforcements by sea, and we will give him a two-sided attack to completely take North Korea. ”

Li Huashan looked at the sand table and said: "Now we have three divisions on Jeju Island, one division can control here, and two divisions can be transferred to attack Busan and Tsushima Island." However, for the sake of safety, we still have to dispatch our air force to deter the Japanese Navy, so that they will not dare to dispatch the navy to intercept our air force before they are sure of dealing with our air force, so as to ensure the safety of the troop carriers during landing operations and sailing. In addition, I believe that there is a need to repair the airfield on Jeju Island, and our army can use the airfield on Jeju Island to bomb the Japanese mainland before taking the Korean Peninsula. ”

Li Bufan nodded and said, "Completely agree." Now that the great powers are constantly asking for mediation, it seems that the Japanese are operating internationally, and when the occupation of Pusan and Tsushima is completed, I think it will be almost time to meet, and the pressure on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is great. ”

Wu Di hurriedly said: "Wait, wait until the Mariana Islands and the Caroline Islands are taken." ”

Li Bufan frowned and said, "It's just a few small islands, is this necessary?" ”

Wu Di looked left and right, there were staff officers everywhere, and he could only whisper: "Very important." This is a springboard for China's navy to move toward the deep blue, and a sign that the country's coastal defense has shifted from strategic defense to strategic offensive. Very, very important. ”

Seeing him like this, Li Bufan also knew that it was inconvenient for him to say something here, so he nodded and said: "Okay, let Li Huangshan and Li Haijun arrange it as soon as possible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is complaining bitterly, and the foreign devils are still flying and domineering as always." We must be patient until we take out Japan. ”

Wu Di smiled and said: "I think, it's not a way to drag on like this, we should still go and see the foreign devils." Besides, who said that negotiations must be a truce? We can talk while we fight. Let's have a lion open mouth, the Japanese side can't accept it, so let's continue to fight. ”

Li Bufan thought for a while and said, "Okay then." You go out and meet them and see what they have to say? ”

The Provisional Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nanjing Provisional Government was in a noisy manner, like a vegetable market, with consuls and representatives from various countries coming here to negotiate their interests in China and to test the policies of the Nanjing Government, as well as the recent Sino-Japanese war, where Britain, France, and the United States also came forward to mediate.

"Your Excellency, the war between your country and Japan has seriously threatened peace in the Far East and affected the interests of all countries."

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency must give a clear answer to your government today on the interests of all countries in China, otherwise it is very likely to trigger serious international consequences."

Wu Di had already heard such a voice, and when he walked into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he saw Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi anxiously talking to the representatives of various countries, and immediately stepped forward and said: "I will answer these questions." After that, he nodded to Tang Shaoyi.

Tang Shaoyi breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his sweat and said, "Mr. Wu, it's great that you're here." ”

For a while, the representatives of the great powers saw that Wu Di, a young man who was less than thirty years old, came to calm down, and all eyes were focused on Wu Di.

Wu Di smiled and said: "My name is Wu Di, and I am the private military division of Mr. Li Bufan, the provisional president of my country. At present, our country is at war, and the President is too busy to meet with you, and I apologize for the fact that I am too busy to meet with you. ”

British Delegate Smith said: "Mr. Wu, many countries have great interests in your country, and we would like to know the Nanking government's decision on this issue. What is the purpose of your country's repeated procrastination on this crucial issue? ”

Wu Di smiled and said: "There are many treaties between various countries and the Manchu Qing and even the Beijing government, and I have heard of this. First of all, I want to say that we are only an interim government, not recognized by the international community, and since we are an interim government, we have no right to make decisions on such a major international event. Until then, nothing remains the same for the time being. Second, the Nanjing government has not established diplomatic relations with any country at present, and since it has not established diplomatic relations, it naturally cannot protect the interests of countries that have no diplomatic relations, and this is an international rule. For this reason, I believe that if countries want to talk about their interests in China, they must first formally establish diplomatic relations with the current government of China, otherwise their interests will not be taken into account by China. I think I've made it very clear. ”

The representative of the United States, Conger, said: "Hello, Your Excellency. The war between your country and Japan has already caused heavy casualties, and Japan is suffering from the devastation of a major earthquake, and the survival of civilians is greatly threatened. ”

Wu Di said lightly: "If peace can solve the problem, then there will be no Civil War in the United States, and there will be no world war a few years ago." The war started long ago, the earthquake was just an accident, and if Japan is not capable of fighting again, then it should admit defeat and pay the price, otherwise the war will continue until we win. ”

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