There is an old fairy tale in the Western world where the animals of the jungle get together to discuss the law of the jungle. The rabbit was the first to speak, saying that all animals in the jungle should be equal, and that things in the jungle should be discussed together and decided according to the principle that the minority obeys the majority. The rabbit's speech was enthusiastically supported by the elk, the goats, the squirrels, and many other small animals, and just as the group was about to acclamate the resolution, the lion spoke, and first pounced on one of the animals, and then showed its blood-stained claws and roared:

"I'm against it! Do you have sharp minions? ”

As a result, the critters scattered in all directions, and the jungle returned to its original order.

In this era, the most striking relationship between countries is the law of the jungle, where the jungle is composed of herbivores and carnivores and the Tyrannosaurus rex at the top of the food chain.

"What is most important to a country?"

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, almost everyone in the East would choose "the dignity of the nation" and "the dignity of the nation", and by extension, the survival of the country.

And this way of survival is based on the most basic international law of the jungle, and under the impetus of this law, for a country, it can do without a prosperous economy, without a strong industry, without ...... He could do without everything, but he couldn't do without a strong army.

History has proven this time and again, and for backward countries, whether it is Japan or China, to some extent it is an apocalyptic existence, poor Japan exhausted its national strength to establish an army, it was this army that helped them to squeeze into the ranks of the great powers, thus turning from sheep to jackals, China also took the same path, at the beginning of the change, spared no effort to create an army that can defend national interests, it is this army that makes China turn back from the brink of national destruction, Leap to become a great power.

The army, there is no doubt that in the era of the jungle of the jungle, for a country, the army can be said to be the fundamental guarantee of a country, and if a country does not have a strong army, then the country will naturally be mixed with the bite of the meat in the mouth of the jackal.

"Japan needs to re-establish its army and navy, and only in this way can Japan become truly rich and powerful!"

In the past eight years, every year, every month, every day, every hour, every moment in Japan, there are people constantly shouting, in their opinion, the reparations of 1.5 billion yen are not terrible, and the cession of territory is also not terrible, what is terrible is that Japan's military strength has been restricted, although the so-called Sino-Japanese security treaty guarantees Japan from the military threat of the West to the greatest extent, but for Japan, a country that once defeated Russia and became a great power, at this time, they are becoming a vassal of China, For the vast majority of Japanese, this means humiliation.

It can be said that rebuilding an army and breaking through the Sino-Japanese security treaty is a kind of voice of the Japanese government and the opposition, and only a few people will ignore this appeal, but neither the emperor nor the politicians are willing to risk the entire country, and the deterrence formed by the nearly 400,000 Chinese guards army and navy stationed in Japan cannot be ignored by any sane Japanese.

After the news of the war in Europe came, especially when the news of China's entry into the war reached Japan, the Japanese government and the opposition were even more boiling, and the seriously ill senator Inoue Shin wrote a letter to the emperor and the prime minister of Nishimotoji, asking Japan to enter the war.

"European war! The start of the war in Europe is an opportunity for Japan, an opportunity to break through the Sino-Japanese security treaty, and we must seize this opportunity and do everything possible to break through the restrictions of the Sino-Japanese security treaty.........,

Japan entered the war, there is no doubt, but after entering the war, Japan did not send its own army, only symbolically sent four old cruisers to escort the Chinese expeditionary force fleet, as for the dispatch of the army, Japan has been hesitating, on the one hand, Japan certainly hopes to use the European war to expand the army, breaking through the limit of six divisions of the Sino-Japanese security treaty, but on the other hand, they are worried that they sent troops, but they have not been able to break through the limit of six divisions.

"The Chinese are good at all kinds of conspiracies, and at this moment, we must be careful and cautious!"

As a protégé of Ito Hirobumi, Nishimoji inherited Ito's liberal ideas and advocated that the majority of the House of Representatives form a cabinet, which is called the common way of constitutional government.

It can be said that pragmatism has always been the style of Xiyuanji Gongwang, for the domestic Westerners, he is well-known as the Westerners, and for the Asians, he has an Asianist tendency, and it is precisely because of this that he will be the prime minister in the past four years.

In the aftermath of the war in Europe, however, the veteran of the empire was caught in a contradiction: on the one hand, he wanted to break through the limits of the security treaty, and on the other hand, he feared that Japan's poor army would be used by China, and his caution only aroused the great dissatisfaction of both factions.

What both Westerners and Asians have in common is their eagerness to use this opportunity to expand Japan's army and navy, thereby enhancing Japan's voice and ultimately freeing itself from China's clamping.

"For now, participating in the war may be the only option for Japan to expand its military strength!"

After pouring a cup of tea for the prime minister himself, Hara Kei, a journalist-turned-interior minister, looked at the thoughtful prime minister and said.

"However, we still do not know the accurate attitude of the Chinese, this is only the initial idea of the Chinese, before it is confirmed, blind action is extremely unwise, eight years ago, the reason why Japan was defeated is because we are too natural, and now Japan no longer has any capital to take risks!"

Xiyuanji Gongwang shook his head, the reason why he was able to sit firmly in the Diaoyutai in the past few years was precisely because he was cautious and careful in everything, and in his opinion, Japan had suffered enough blind losses.

"But Your Excellency Gui also agreed to send troops!"

Hara reminded the prime minister in front of him softly.

When Yuan Jing mentioned Prime Minister Katsura, Xiyuanji Gongwang frowned slightly, in the past ten years, the position of Japanese Prime Minister has been the double carriage of him and Katsura Taro.

On May 10, Meiji 34, the fourth Ito Hirobumi Cabinet, which was established less than seven months ago, collapsed, and it was the second political party cabinet in Japan's political history, and most of the members were also members of the Constitutional Political Friendship Association. At Ito's insistence and many advances, the first Katsura Taro cabinet was born.

The first Katsura Taro cabinet was a long-lived cabinet that lasted more than five years. The reason for his long life was that Japan needed to deal with the deteriorating relations between Japan and Russia, and it led to the Russo-Japanese War and the subsequent Sino-Japanese conflict, and the Sino-Japanese conflict, which ended with the defeat of Japan, the cabinet of Katsura Taro resigned, and Katsura Taro recommended Saionji to form a cabinet when he resigned. As a result, the first Saionji Cabinet was born. The first change of power in the Guiyuan period also appeared.

However, the alliance between Katsura Taro and Saionji was that the House of Lords was Katsura's sphere of influence and the House of Representatives was Saionji's sphere of influence. But in fact, the Minister of the Interior, Hara Kei, was quietly carrying out his activities in the House of Nobles.

Kei Hara, the backbone of Saionji's cabinet, began to be unkind to the people of the prefecture department, and he hired some imperial bureaucrats who were not feudal lords, such as Reijiro Wakatsuki and Yuyuki Hamaguchi, who later became prime ministers, and Takejiro Mojiro and others. Under the principle of "eliminating the old and the old and using the new ones", the governors of the prefectures and counties were transferred and replaced by a group of governors of the pro-political and friendly associations. …,

Xiyuan Temple did this, which attracted people from the county department to express their dissatisfaction with the friends of the county county. Attracted friends in Shanxian County to join the noble house and the military department. As a result, the first Saionji Cabinet resigned on July 14, Meiji 41. The elders also elected Katsura Taro to form a cabinet, and as a result, the second Katsura Taro cabinet was formed. Katsura Taro resigned on August 30, 44 Meiji 44 in accordance with the agreement.

Saionji was elected to form a cabinet under the "unanimity of opinion and affection" of the patriarchs, and the second Saionji cabinet was established, and it was this cooperation that enabled Katsura Taro and Saionji to maintain the normal operation of the government in this special period, and now, Hara Kei mentioned the changes in Katsura Taro, but made Saionji realize that if he did not change his attitude as soon as possible, I am afraid ......

"Can we get confirmation from the Chinese side that the Chinese side agrees with our military build-up?"

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang still asked with some caution, and seeing that Yuan Jing seemed a little puzzled, he opened his mouth to explain.

"Yuan Jing, you must understand that there is always no fault in the current Japanese caution, if the Chinese side now agrees that we send ten divisions, then I will immediately agree to send troops to the war, but the Chinese's previous request for sending troops is only three divisions, which makes me have to be careful!"

Taking a sip of the cup of tea, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said with regret.

"And the Chinese's request for troops is a bit strange, China is different from countries like Britain and France, with their population, even if they mobilize 500 divisions, they still have spare strength, and now they only mobilize 200 divisions, they want us to send troops, this is really puzzling!"

"They should cherish the lives of soldiers!"

Hara Kei found a suitable explanation.

"According to the Chinese army's pension standard, the army needs to pay 500 yuan for every soldier killed, while the insurance company pays 2,000 yuan, and if the soldier is married, he needs to pay at least 30 yuan per month until his wife remarries, the cost of casualties is too high! If you are disabled, the cost will only be higher! ”

When he said that the cost of casualties was too high, Yuan Jing admired the emperor of the soldier in his heart, perhaps, only the emperor of the soldier would treat his soldiers so kindly, and this kind of proper care without any worries made the Chinese soldiers only more heroic on the battlefield.

In contrast, Japanese soldiers are undoubtedly cheaper, Japanese soldiers can be recruited with only one stamp, even if they die on the battlefield, they only need a pension of 100 yen, and it is no longer the responsibility of the government to retire from the disabled, in comparison, Japanese soldiers are more like cheap cannon fodder.

Therefore, they are undoubtedly more inclined to mobilize Japanese troops to participate in the war than to mobilize a large number of troops and then bear huge non-war expenses after the end of the war, and the Lieutenant Colonel Cheng once mentioned that "a soldier's equipment is only 36 Huayuan!" And if a soldier is killed, the pension of social expenditure is enough to arm a company", in other words, in the eyes of the Chinese, they prefer cheap Japanese soldiers to expensive Chinese soldiers! ”

These Chinese!

At least here, Yuan Jing couldn't help but sigh in his heart about the change in Chinese, ten years ago, in the eyes of Chinese, soldiers were just cannon fodder that could be squandered, and now ...... The Chinese, on the other hand, prefer to use cheap "Japanese cannon fodder".

"Yuan Jing, it seems that we are just cannon fodder!"

The Duke of Xiyuan Temple sighed as he spoke.

"Whether it's cannon fodder or soldiers, as long as we can achieve our plan to expand our military strength, it's enough! Now, the most important thing for Japan is to seize every opportunity to expand our power, and in this era, Japan must have its own teeth and claws! Otherwise, Japan will never be able to break through the clamp of the Chinese! ”

"The army may be expanded, but what about the navy?" …,

Putting down the teacup, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang's brows were tightly locked.

In the past eight years, Japan has been working hard to rebuild its navy, although the tonnage of the Japanese Navy is limited, but as early as four years ago, the Navy General Staff Headquarters launched a secret project - relying on the country's shipbuilding industry, independently build a new type of warship with the speed and firepower of a battlecruiser, and at the same time have the defense capability of a battleship.

The Japanese Navy's knowledge of warships comes from the bitter lessons of naval battles in the South China Sea, and in the past few years, the Japanese Navy has been eager to have a Type 1 battleship, and even to negotiate an old warship from China, but this is far from satisfying the Japanese Navy's ambitions.

"Without the ocean there is no Japan, without the navy there is no ocean, and without warships there is no navy!" This is the judgment made by the Japanese Navy after the naval battle in the South China Sea, and it may be easy to make a judgment, but it is very difficult to break through the tonnage limit of the security treaty, just like after the leak of the secret project of the Navy General Staff Headquarters to build a new type of warship, China first increased its garrison in Yokosuka, and while protesting to the government, its guards stationed in Japan launched a large-scale military exercise.

The purpose of the exercise, which was based on the assumption that "there was a rebellion in the alliance and that China would garrison both land and sea forces to help quell the rebellion...... was to remind Japan that it was a consensus within Japanese political circles that it would be free from China's constraints no matter what, and that to achieve this goal, it was necessary to build a navy sufficient to deter China.

"Escort, the Chinese need our navy to escort them, don't they? We can take this by asking for an increase in naval tonnage, at least the construction of more cruisers, and when the time comes, at least we will have enough sailors and officers, and in the naval battle of the South China Sea, the Imperial Navy lost too many naval officers! ”

"But the question is, will the Chinese agree?" To know ......"

As soon as Xiyuan Temple's words fell, Yuan Jing suddenly laughed.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I personally believe that this year's confidential funds should be increased by 30 million yen, and if they can agree to our expansion of the army, then agree to us to expand the escort fleet and relax the tonnage limit, it will not be very difficult to think of it, those officials, there will always be a way to convince their emperor, and, who knows, whether the Chinese Navy is willing to spend money on escorting the merchant fleet!"

Before coming to the prime minister, Yuan Jing had discussed with the officers of the Naval Staff Headquarters the possibility of expanding the tonnage through escort, and those officers agreed that this possibility was very large, China was different from Britain, and did not have a large number of overseas colonies to defend, therefore, the Chinese Navy did not have a large number of light cruisers, and after the outbreak of this war, the light cruisers of the Chinese Navy were suddenly insufficient, first, China seized Germany's colonies in the Pacific and East Africa, so that China needed light cruisers to defend the colonies, Second, the merchant fleet also needed light cruisers to transport goods to Europe and the Americas, and the military supplies of the Chinese Expeditionary Force also needed cruisers to escort them, and it was for this reason that the Chinese Navy asked Japan to send cruisers to carry out escort missions.

But wartime needs do not mean post-war needs, the construction of a large number of cruisers will take up the funds of the Chinese Navy, and may even lead to the Chinese Navy not having enough funds to build warships, which is something that the Chinese Navy does not want to see, in contrast, using the navies of allied countries to escort China's fleet, is undoubtedly the best choice, and in the end, in the face of the needs of the Chinese Navy, the Chinese government will have to choose to compromise, thus contributing to the Japanese Navy breaking through the current tonnage limit.

Even in the view of some optimistic naval officers, in the future, with the conflict of interests between China and the United States in the Pacific, China is very likely to engage in a naval arms race with the United States, and in order to increase its own chances of victory, China is very likely to agree to Japan's construction of warships, thus ensuring its naval superiority over the United States.

Of course, this is only speculation, in their opinion, if this goal is to be achieved, Japan must have a positive performance in this war, be able to make China relax its vigilance against Japan, only then can the Chinese accept Japan's rearmament, otherwise everything is empty talk.

"Bribing Chinese officials ......"

Xiyuan Temple hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily.

"One step at a time, I hope China can ......"

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