In the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai, Oshima Kumaki's expression was sluggish, his eyes seemed to be out of focus, and the secretary who reported to him was a little afraid that Oshima Kumaki would be too stimulated and stupid, so he stepped forward and whispered twice: "Your Excellency Oshima, Your Excellency Oshima, are you okay." ”

Oshima woke up from his chest, and the first thing he did was to give the secretary a big slap in the face, and scolded loudly: "Bastard, you dare to deceive me, how can the Second Fleet of the Empire be defeated, and being completely annihilated and captured is even more nonsense." ”

The secretary who was beaten covered his beaten face with one hand, stood there with his head bowed and did not dare to answer, Oshima Kumaki hit too hard, and now the secretary's head is still buzzing, it is estimated that the eardrum is perforated.

After venting, Oshima Kumaki calmed down a little, and after turning around in place twice, he stood in front of the secretary and said loudly: "Tell me more details about the information you asked, and don't miss any details." ”

The secretary endured the feeling of dizziness and carefully repeated the information he had inquired about to Kumaki Oshima.

After hearing this, Oshima Xiongxi sat heavily on the chair next to him, he felt weak, and he felt that there was no backbone in his heart, and he felt uncomfortable. Although he was reluctant to accept such a fact, he knew that his secretary would not dare to lie to him, and this terrible thing must have happened.

Thinking of this, he jumped up from his chair again, ran quickly to the telegraph room, and ordered the dispatcher to send a telegram to the country, informing him of this heavy incident.

The Japanese Admiralty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Cabinet all received a telegram from Kumaki Oshima at the same time, and after reconfirmation, the telegram was transferred to the bigwigs of these departments.

First in disbelief, then in shock, then in anger, they felt humiliated, deeply ashamed, that the Japanese Second Fleet had been completely annihilated. Since the beginning of the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, the weak Republic of China has been pressed under Japan and can only be at its mercy, but now it dares to stand up and resist, and it has caused such heavy losses to the empire.

Even so, the Japanese Combined Fleet had only two main fleets at this time, namely the First Fleet and the Second Fleet, while the Third Fleet and the Southern Detachment were all small formations, not the main fleet, only a few warships, and they were all small warships.

If, as the telegram said, the Japanese Second Fleet was completely annihilated, it would be equivalent to the Japanese Navy being cut off and the Japanese Combined Fleet would be greatly damaged.

The cabinet meeting was held overnight, and all cabinet members must attend, whether they are in charge of the military or agriculture, and all cabinet members must attend when the empire encounters such a big thing, which has involved an important moment in the security of the empire.

The atmosphere in the meeting was oppressive, but after the full contents of the telegram were communicated, suddenly the atmosphere broke out.

"May I ask Your Excellency Prime Minister Okuma, before sending the Second Fleet to the Republic of China, did you consider that the fleet of the Republic of China would fight back, and now that there are such strict consequences, who is responsible." Culture Minister Yozo Miyazawa directly pointed his finger at Shigenobu Okuma.

"The original plan was to threaten Shanghai, and then there was an artillery bombardment of Shanghai, which caused a strong backlash from the Republic of China. The deputy prime minister also raised his own objections, after all, when Shigenobu Okuma gave the order to shell Shanghai, he did not convene a cabinet meeting, but he directly ordered it.

"The Imperial Navy has become so vulnerable, isn't there a naval responsibility here?"

A cabinet member retorted, "According to the telegram, the Imperial fleet was finally defeated by a sneak attack by the enemy, and this cannot be attributed to the responsibility of the navy." ”

The cabinet members were originally divided into several factions, and at this time, many people's spearheads were directed at Okuma Shigenobu, so that Okuma Shigenobu was one head and two big, and the venue was stirred up.

Shigenobu Okuma felt that he couldn't take it anymore, and he slapped it on the table with a loud bang, causing everyone to look at him.

"What is it like, is it true that the cabinet ministers of the Japanese Empire are all like this, they don't think about how to solve things when they encounter them, but hype them up here, can they solve the problem by quarrelling, as for the responsibility that belongs to me, I will naturally bear it, but now it is not a question of who is responsible, how to solve the matter in front of us, the empire needs us to come up with our own opinions, because this involves the future of the empire." Okuma Shigenobu said loudly.

Although he was questioned many times, he was still the prime minister of Japan, the number one person in the government, and everyone was quiet after listening to his words, and Okuma Shigenobu was right in one sentence, the empire needed their opinion, and these cabinet members began to carefully consider how to deal with this matter.

"I think the empire should continue to send troops, gather all naval forces, and deal a heavy blow to the Republic of China, so as to be able to save the face of the empire and completely subdue the Republic of China, so as to ensure the interests of the empire in China, otherwise, the empire will be excluded from the ranks of the Republic of China, after all, those Europeans are also watching our reaction." Foreign Minister Kikujiro Ishii said.

Minister Taketomi Tokitoshi looked at Kikujiro Ishii and said, "Does the Imperial Navy still have the strength to fight, and if it is defeated again, how will the Empire respond, and the Empire will be dragged into the abyss at that time." ”

Many people looked at the Minister of the Navy, Yuzaburo Kato, who looked at the eyes of his colleagues, and could only bite the bullet and say: "The Second Fleet is the main fleet of the Empire, and its combat power is comparable to that of the First Fleet, the Third Fleet only has 4 warships and some offshore patrol boats, and the three battleships of the Southern Detachment are now operating in the Mediterranean Sea with the British and French fleets, and they cannot come back for the time being, so even if the Empire sends a fleet, its overall strength is not much different from the Second Fleet." ”

"Judging from the situation of this battle, the enemy's fleet has a very strong strength, although it has adopted a despicable night sneak attack, but it can defeat the Second Fleet within two hours, and the combat effectiveness of its fleet can be seen, and it is said that the other side has not sunk any warship, which is a very terrible combat power, I think that even if the powerful British fleet and the Imperial Navy have a naval battle, it is impossible to defeat the Second Fleet without losing a battleship."

"We don't know the situation of the enemy's fleet now, these are just intelligence analyzed from the battle situation, and it is irresponsible to the Imperial Navy and the Empire to rashly attack without understanding the enemy."

Everyone can now hear it, what kind of navy is irresponsible, irresponsible to the empire, this is completely unconfident to win the other party, and they have found such a high-sounding excuse.

Hearing this, everyone's hearts were also half cold, Kato Yuzaburo has always been known for his steadiness, since he said that this battle cannot be won, it is estimated that he will not be able to win.

"But how can we explain to His Majesty the Emperor, how to explain to the Diet, and how can we explain to the people?" Minister of Communications Katsuto Mioura said.

At this time, many people's hearts suddenly rose up with a sense of sadness that they were bullied and unable to fight back, is this how the people of the Republic of China usually feel?

The men argued for hours, and it was dawn outside, but they still didn't come up with a workable solution.

"Since we can't make a decision, let's report this matter to His Majesty the Emperor and ask for His Majesty's opinion." These people remembered Emperor Taisho at this time, in fact, sometimes the emperor is also a character with a black cauldron, helpless.

Imperial Palace of Japan

At this time, Emperor Taisho was losing his temper, wearing a kimono with his waist crossed, standing in the Matsuno Pavilion and loudly scolding the cabinet members kneeling below, while Crown Prince Hirohito also knelt on one side, looking at the qiē in the main hall.

"When the empire was put into the hands of your current cabinet, it was a time when it was thriving, but if you look at what happened recently, the imperial bank was robbed, the treasury was extremely empty, hundreds of banks collapsed, the empire's economy was severely hit, and it has regressed to the level before the Meiji Restoration, it has only been a few days, and now there is another thing about the total annihilation of the imperial fleet, how can you be worthy of my trust, worthy of the empire's trust in you, is it that all the current cabinet is full of pigs, Not even pigs would have brought the empire to such a point. Emperor Taisho stretched out a hand and pointed at the nose of the cabinet member and cursed, showing no mercy under his mouth.

"Who can tell me who our enemy is, is it the small warlord of the Republic of China or the incompetent cabinet members of the empire, you sue me that the imperial fleet was defeated by that small warlord, is this realistic, if that small warlord has such a powerful navy, why not directly start a war with the empire, and hide in the shadows, is there no shadow of Britain, the United States, France and other countries here." Emperor Taisho also had a big brain at this time, and thought of a farther place.

"Your cabinet is all here, what kind of countermeasures to discuss to deal with this matter, is it difficult for me to make up my mind, then what else do I want you to do?" Emperor Taisho began to curse again.

At this time, Crown Prince Hirohito saw that his father's scolding was a little excessive, and immediately said: "Father, please calm your anger, why don't you invite the members of the Senate to come over and discuss the solution of this matter together." ”

Due to the irregular outbreaks of Emperor Taisho's neurosis, the Senate was very much in favor of Hirohito's supervision, and now the Senate is on Hirohito's side, so Hirohito is now very dependent on the Senate, and at this time he thought of asking the Senate to participate in this matter.

Emperor Taisho was also disappointed in the current cabinet, and he gave a definition of this cabinet in his heart, and the most incompetent Okuma Shigenobu Cabinet seems to really need to invite the senate to come. R1152