(Thank you for the reward of the glorious charter of the book friend!) Thank you for the monthly pass! ）

Prime Minister's Office, Tokyo, Japan. The current Prime Minister, Aritomo Yamagu, is holding a five-phase meeting. Ito's third ascension to power came to an end after only half a year. No other country can match the frequency of cabinet changes in Japan. This is the second time that Youpeng in Shan County has come to power to form a cabinet, and the first time he has come to power to form a cabinet was ten years ago. As one of Japan's political veterans, Yamaguchi has a very high status in Japan's political arena. At the same time, he was born in the army and was very tough. This may also be the reason why he was able to come to power and form a cabinet at such a critical time. This is already the ninth cabinet of Japan. After Ito Hirobumi formed a third cabinet, Shigenobu Okuma also came to power for more than four months.

The five current cabinet ministers are Prime Minister Aritomo Yamayama, Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki, Minister Masayoshi Matsukata, Minister Katsura Taro Riku, and Gonbei Yamamoto of Sea Minister. These five people have become the most powerful people in the Japanese cabinet. At the same time, it is also the person with the heaviest responsibility. As we all know, Japan is now at the most critical moment. War between China and Japan could happen at any time, and Japan needed a strong government. This is also the reason why the main members of the cabinet this time are all hawks.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, colleagues. The conflict between China and Russia was temporarily halted because of the weather. However, according to the information we have received, the Russians suffered heavy losses, with thousands of casualties, while the Chinas lost less than a hundred men. In addition, the Chinese army stormed the Russian consulate in Kulen. Arrest all the Mongolian rebels hiding inside! This time, the Russians lost face! But. On the whole, Russia accepted the advice of the empire and the United States and did not declare war on China, so as to avoid the empire's immediate involvement in the war against China! Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki said.

"Yes! The empire is not ready yet, the navy's fleet has not yet returned home, and there are only two 'Fuji-class' battleships in the country, and the two 'Shikishima-class' battleships will not be completed until the middle of the year. And the four powerful 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the Chinese have already entered service, including several powerful second-class capital ships. If you go to war now. Very bad for the Empire! Haixiang Yamamoto Gonbei said. As one of the founders of the Japanese Navy, Gonbei Yamamoto had a very high prestige in the navy. However, he had to admit that now the gap between the Japanese and Chinese navies is not only not narrowing, but also has a tendency to widen. The Chinese Navy, not counting the Pacific Fleet, already has 6 powerful battleships, and there are more battleships under construction. And Japan. In addition to the two 'Fuji-class' battleships already in service and the four battleships that did not return home, only two battleships are under construction. The longer it drags on, the worse it will be for Japan!

"The infantry of the Chinese were very strong, and although there was a great deal of weather factor, they were able to repel the Russian attack at a weak cost, which all showed the strength of their equipment. Your Excellency the Prime Minister. I ask the Cabinet to make every effort to set aside a special amount to increase the firepower of the Imperial Army. Otherwise, we will probably lose the battle against the Chinese army again! Katsura Taro said. During the war four years earlier, he had served as the commander of the 3rd Division. After experiencing the battle of Shanhaiguan, the strong firepower of the squadron. I was very impressed. Although, the Japanese side has already made relevant improvements. But even four years later, the Japanese Army cannot compare with the squadron ** four years ago. Not to mention the current squadron, it must have improved a lot.

Prime Minister Aritomo Yamaguchi couldn't help frowning, although Japan has increased its military spending on the army in the past few years, but on the whole, the main direction of armament construction is still the navy. This is determined by Japan's national conditions. Japan is an island nation, surrounded by seas, and without a strong navy, it would not be possible to land on the mainland, let alone expand the territory of the empire. However, Katsura Taro's words are also very reasonable. The Battle of Shanhaiguan four years ago was commanded by him. At that time, the Japanese Army faced the powerful firepower of the squadron, and could only resist with the lives of the soldiers, which made Yama Prefecture Youpeng very angry, but there was no way. And now, there seems to be a very big gap between the Japanese Army and the Chinese Army in terms of firepower. This can't help but make him a little pessimistic about the upcoming war.

"The cabinet will find a way to raise some more money to improve the army's equipment!" Shan County Youpeng said.

Tibetan Prime Minister Matsukata Masayoshi's mouth moved, but in the end he didn't say anything. At present, the Japanese government is running deficits one after another, owes huge foreign debts, and cannot even repay its annual fiscal revenue, even interest, so where is there any surplus funds to raise the armament of the army! All over Japan, bows and arrows are full, and if you don't want the bowstring to break, you can only shoot arrows in your hand. However, it is difficult for them to predict what kind of result will be after the shot.

"Your Excellency Yamamoto, when are the battleships of the Navy going to return home?" Shan County Youpeng asked. That's the main issue today. Now Japan is in England, but it has four battleships, six armored cruisers, and more than a dozen destroyers. This fleet is very important to Japan, and it is the most important force in the confrontation between Japan and China.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, Your Excellency Commander Heihachiro Togo has arrived in England to meet with the British Admiralty Frederick? William? Sir Richards. The fleet is expected to depart for China in five days. However, the Admiralty is worried that the China Navy will take the opportunity to intercept our fleet and provoke a war in advance! If the fleet is defeated, then the fate of the empire can be imagined! Gonbei Yamamoto said.

All of them had solemn faces. In the war four years ago, it was the Japanese Navy that lost the war, which led Japan to lose a lot. And now, there is a good chance that this qiē will be repeated.

"If the Shina Navy makes a move against the Imperial Fleet, are we sure of victory?" Shan County Youpeng asked.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, although I hate to admit it. However, if the Chinese navy really launched an attack on us, the Imperial Navy had no chance of victory. It has been confirmed that the new 'Zhonghua-class' battleships in service in the China Navy have more than twice the comprehensive combat power of the battleships of the Imperial Navy. Four 'Zhonghua-class' battleships alone would have been enough to defeat the Imperial Navy. Not to mention that the China Navy also has two 'Sichuan-class' battleships that are not weak in combat power and a large number of inferior capital ships! Gonbei Yamamoto replied with some frustration. Although, he didn't want to believe it. Japan has worked very hard, but the gap in national strength cannot be bridged.

Shan County Youpeng's face suddenly became gloomy, the navy took up most of the financial revenue, but now it is such a result, which makes him very angry. Although he knew that the Admiralty had done its best, he was still angry.

"So, is there any way for the Admiralty to deal with it?" Shan County Youpeng asked.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we have asked the British Navy to send warships to escort our fleet home. However, the British Navy refused. They only agreed that our warships would fly the British flag. Now, no one is sure whether the people of China will give face to the British and whether they will attack our fleet flying the British flag. If the Chinese attack, we will have to fight to the death. In order to improve the odds of victory, the Admiralty intended to send two domestic 'Fuji-class' battleships out to join the returning fleet. In this way, we can concentrate the size of six battleships. Even in the face of the Chinese navy, we have the strength to fight! Yamamoto said with some bitterness. He knew that if the Chinese Navy was ready to attack Japan, then the Japanese Navy would have no choice but to fight to the death. There is no other way.

"These damn British, I'm trying to get us to fight with the Chinese people, and then they're going to pick up the bargains in the back. They also don't want to think that if we are defeated, China will be able to rise in the Far East, and then there will be a great empire that even the British can't help. The whole Far East and even Asia will be once again under the pressure of the Chinese people, as it has been for thousands of years! Foreign Minister Aoki Shuzo said hatefully.

"Your Excellency Foreign Minister, please contact the British side again, explain to them the danger of the defeat of the Empire, and ask them to send a fleet to return home with the Imperial fleet!" Shan County Youpeng said. Although it is very embarrassing to do this, there is no way to do it. Japan was powerless to face China, so it could only pin its hopes on the British.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Army also needs to be mobilized. If the navy is defeated, this time the people of China will definitely not give up landing on our homeland. At present, the 23 divisions of the army are unable to effectively defend the Japanese archipelago. Once again, we need to mobilize more troops. In this way, even if the navy is defeated, we will be able to defend the safety of the emperor and the country. If the people of China had realized that landing in Japan would have cost a huge amount, perhaps we would have been able to end the war with dignity! Katsura Taro said.

"A decent end to the war? If defeated, the empire will fall into the abyss completely. Borrowing from the Western powers alone was enough to bankrupt the government. Tibetan Prime Minister Matsukata said.

Everyone was silent, and everyone knew that what the Tibetan Prime Minister Matsufang said was the truth. Only by defeating China and obtaining huge war reparations and benefits will it be possible for Japan to get out of the current crisis. But does Japan have a chance to win?

"Guys, no matter what, there is no way back for the Empire. Fortunately, the empire does not fight in isolation, and we still have allies. As long as everyone works hard, the final victory will definitely belong to our Great Japanese Empire! Youpeng in Shanxian said in a deep voice.

PS: The third update is here! Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass!