The arrival of the only three remaining members of the Imperial Empire, Yama Prefecture Aritomo, Matsukata Masayoshi, and Saionji Gongwang, members of the Senate, made the atmosphere in the Matsuno Pavilion depressing again.

At this time, whether it was Emperor Taisho or members of the Senate Council, even Okuma Shigeshin himself, knew that the current cabinet would inevitably be held accountable, and there was no way to reverse its decline.

Youpeng of Shan County, whose face was sinking like water, looked at the cabinet members who bowed their heads and made a contemplative appearance, and said loudly: "The empire has handed over the country to you to govern, is this how you are going to repay Your Majesty's trust, and now that such a serious thing has happened, you can't come up with a feasible way, it's really stupid." ”

Yama Prefecture Youpeng's words were directed at Okuma Shigenobu, but at this time Okuma Shigenobu was powerless to refute.

Patriarch Masayoshi Matsukata said: "When the original policy of implementing high-pressure policies against the Republic of China was formulated, many members of the Diet opposed it, and the result of that would have aroused the vigilance of Westerners on the one hand, and if it was too much, it would also cause hostility among the people of the Republic of China, and even a strong backlash, but the current government has insisted on going its own way, and now there are finally expected adverse consequences." ”

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang also said, "If the theft of the imperial treasury was an accidental incident and the reason for the government's ineffective work, then this naval battle was because of the failure of the decision, which is the most serious problem, and a wrong decision may affect the expansion of the entire empire's power, and even affect the future fate of the empire." ”

"The defeat of the Imperial Navy has already explained the problem, now is war or peace, whether the cabinet has come up with an opinion, and what is the opinion of the Admiralty." Shan County Youpeng asked.

Yuzaburo Kato, who was the Minister of the Navy, had to stand up and answer at this time, "Your Excellency Yamagu, the Admiralty has analyzed this naval battle and concluded that the Imperial Navy cannot completely defeat the opponent, and there is a possibility that there will be heavy casualties again, in which case the Imperial Navy will completely collapse and the Empire will lose the ability to conquer the sea. ”

"And what will the empire lose if it doesn't fight?" Shan Shan Youpeng asked again. He analyzed the possibility of whether to continue fighting in terms of gains and losses.

Okuma Shigenobu said with a blue face at this time, "Then the empire will lose its prestige, the self-confidence of its own people, and the invincible prestige of the empire that has been established in the hearts of the people of the Republic of China after long-term efforts, at that time, if the empire is trying to conquer China, it will become very disadvantageous, in the conflict between the two peoples, self-confidence is a very critical issue, if the people of China always want to resist, they always feel hopeful, and they will not submit to the Japanese Empire." ”

"Isn't it just that we conquered the Korean Peninsula, marched into Manchuria, and fought with Russia for the territory of the Republic of China, so that we could conquer the whole of China at once, and if we admit defeat now, then our plans in the early decades may be wiped out, and the loss of the empire will be even greater."

"So I advocate continuing to fight and sending all the fleets of the empire to fight the people of China for a decisive battle." Okuma Shigenobu said with some excitement in his tone.

Those present once again fell into deep thought, after all, this will be a decision that will decide the fate of the entire empire, and it is not so easy to make.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, no one spoke, no one moved, and even breathing was deliberately suppressed.

The self-confidence brought about by the gradual rise of the Japanese was hit at this moment.

Since the Meiji Restoration, capitalism has developed rapidly in Japan, and its national strength has developed rapidly, defeating the Qing fleet, the largest navy in the East at that time, and then began to participate in the colonization of China, and obtained huge benefits, and later fought a battle with the Russians for the northeast, and won the victory, which made the self-confidence of the Japanese burst again, coupled with the prevalence of militarism, they could no longer accept defeat, this arrogance and pride spread within the empire, especially the military, Okuma Shigeshin doubted, If he doesn't advocate continuing to fight, he doesn't have to wait until he is elected to step down, and it is estimated that he will be killed by those impulsive low-level soldiers of the empire when he goes out.

"Then if we continue to fight, what kind of preparations will the Empire make, after all, Admiral Kato has already said just now, the attack of the Imperial Navy does not guarantee victory." In the end, it was Emperor Taisho who broke the silence and said in a low tone.

As a generation of emperors, he absolutely did not want to leave a history of shame of failure in his career as emperor.

Everyone heard the meaning of the emperor's words, and it seemed that they were not ready to admit defeat, but chose to continue the fight.

On the issue of combat, the most vocal ones here are the Minister of War Kenichi Oshima and the Minister of the Navy Yuzaburo Kato.

War Minister Kenichi Oshima said: "This matter mainly involves the province of Jiangsu, and not the entire Republic of China is fighting against the empire, so the policy we formulate can be mainly aimed at the warlord named Guo Yu in Jiangsu." If you are fully prepared to threaten Jiangsu with the army, you should go back to good effect. ”

Yuzaburo Kato said, "The Imperial Navy is not afraid of war, and even in the face of the most powerful causal navy, the warships of the Imperial Navy dare to rush forward to fight a decisive battle. ”

"If you are preparing for war, you must make comprehensive and adequate preparations, and you must not deal with it in a hurry, I think we can not send troops first, first declare war on the Republic of China to show our attitude, and create a war atmosphere, so that it is possible that the Republic of China itself will be in chaos, then we will be much simpler." Foreign Minister Kikujiro Ishii analyzed it from a diplomatic point of view.

After hearing this, everyone nodded their heads, believing that this method was very much in line with the current reality.

The others said something that needed to be considered and added, and a unified opinion was formed, and finally Emperor Taisho stood up and said loudly: "Everyone must do your best for this battle, and the empire can only succeed and not fail." ”

Then he looked at the Minister of War Kenichi Oshima and said: "Organize the army in the country, and the specific number of people in the army department will make plans according to the needs of the operation, and send people to Manchuria, on the one hand, to put pressure on the Republic of China, and on the other hand, to prepare for war." ”

Then he turned to the Minister of the Navy, Yuzaburo Kato, and said, "The navy is fully assembled, take out our greatest naval strength, and fight the enemy to the death." ”

"It's Your Majesty." Yuzaburo Kato could only reply respectfully.

Finally, he looked at Shigenobu Okuma and said, "Submit our resolution to the Diet, and directly declare war on the Republic of China after passing it." ”

"Declare war on the Republic of China."

"Declare war."

The sound of declaring war kept echoing in the Pine Pavilion for a long time.

The cabinet members were gone, but several of the elders stayed behind to continue their deliberations with Emperor Taisho. After watching for a long time, Crown Prince Hirohito asked several elders with some doubts, "Okuma Shigenobu is completely incompetent for the position of prime minister, why didn't the elders propose to remove him just now." ”

The three elders glanced at each other, and finally it was Shan Shan Youpeng who said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has observed very carefully, we really did not propose to remove him, at this time, who do you think is better to take over, this mess is caused by him, it must be dealt with by him, if he can handle it well, then he will step down with dignity, if he can't handle it well, then all the consequences will be borne by him." ”

Crown Prince Hirohito nodded, he now understands that the prime minister is usually the decision-maker, and when he fails, he is also the one who should bear the blame the most.

The east has turned out the belly of the fish, and the day is dawning, and the streets of Shanghai are beginning to appear with early risers, many people gathered around, talking about the sound of cannons and explosions that resounded in the sky yesterday.

"You said that the Japanese are fighting again, I don't know who was unlucky enough to be bombed."

"I don't see it, they didn't make such a big move during the day, and you heard it at night, and the explosion didn't look like the sound of the beating."

At this time, a group of newspaper boys dressed in tatters quickly ran onto the street, holding a newspaper in their hands, and shouted loudly: "Outside the nickname, the Japanese fleet has been completely annihilated, and the Huafu army has raised the prestige of our country." ”

"Outside, outside, sink ten giant ships of the Japanese fleet and capture three giant ships."

"Outside the number, outside the number, the Japanese Second Fleet was completely annihilated, and more than 2,000 Japanese naval officers were captured."

The clear and loud voices of the newsboys made the whole Shanghai suddenly noisy, excited, excited, relieved, this is how people reacted when they heard the news.

Someone grabbed the running newsboy, grabbed the newspaper and read it.

"Sir, you haven't paid yet."

The man took out an ocean from his arms and threw it out directly, and said loudly, "No need to look for it." "Read it with relish.

Someone even waved his hand, bought all the newspapers in the newsboy's hand, took out a large banknote and handed it to the newsboy, "Sir, it's too big for me to find." ”

"I'm glad to reward you today."

Then he himself picked up a large stack of newspapers and raised them into the sky, and shouted, "Everyone read the newspapers, I have a treat today." ”

People picked up newspapers on the ground and looked at them.

The newsboy did not let go of this opportunity, and went back to the company to reload the goods, and today is considered to be a big profit, and a newspaper that usually costs a few cents was sold for the price of gold, which was enough for them to make money in the previous year.

"Ah......, it's really a victory, and the bastard Japanese have today."

"Kill Little Japan, long live Guo Dashuai."

"Our Republic of China is still saved, and there is still salvation." As he spoke, some began to weep bitterly.

Shanghai is boiling, the whole Republic of China is also boiling, but since the humiliating Opium War, the Chinese people feel the relaxation of their mood for the first time, they need such a victory too much, they have been suppressed for too long, the confused Chinese, the lost Chinese, the Chinese who are fighting for this poor and pathetic Republic of China, are all excited at the moment, they don't care if you are a profiteer or a warlord, as long as you defeat the great powers and defeat the Japanese, that is a hero, a big hero in people's hearts.

"Brother Wang, let's go buy firecrackers, such a happy thing, we must set off firecrackers to celebrate."

"Yes, yes, let's go."

At this time, the shops selling firecrackers are already overcrowded, and there are too many firecrackers stored in this year's festival, and they are soon robbed by the enthusiastic crowd.

"Crackle, Crackle......" firecrackers are set off in the streets, and people want to vent their excitement.

Adults are talking and laughing, and children are watching firecrackers in circles like the New Year. It's not the New Year, but it's much more lively than the New Year, and it's the best festival in people's hearts. R1152