In any case, Wang Guorui's reputation in the mainland can be said to be resounding in the mainland. Because Wang Guorui was able to lead some "militias" to defeat the elite troops of the Japanese army, this is something that countless regular troops cannot do, which is enough to make many people envious. At that time, hundreds of thousands of regular troops fought in Liaodong, but they all failed and were beaten to the ground. And the navy's Beiyang naval division was actually wiped out in the Yellow Sea, and this difference is huge. People on the mainland don't look at how good Wang Guorui's army weapons are and how advanced their tactics are, they just know that Wang Guorui's so-called soldiers are all "militia", but the militia has won the Japanese Imperial Forest Army, which is enough to explain the problem. In addition to the rice bucket of the generals of the regular army in the country at that time, what other reasons could there be?

And now the big gap is here for everyone to compare, so too many people think so. And they didn't know that the Qing generals who participated in the First Sino-Japanese War heard the news, and they all cried and fainted in the toilet, and scolded them for not playing with people like this! Of course, they knew what the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army was at that time, but now that a group of "militiamen" has won the war, then they are really not human inside and outside, and they will be spurned by countless people in the country.

The relevant news was also transmitted to Japan through the telegram of the submarine cable, and the entire Japanese public opinion was in an uproar.

The Imperial Palace in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is now solemn in the palace, and people who come and go don't even dare to take a breath, obviously very nervous. Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito, War Minister Iyama Iwa, Navy Minister Saigo Norimichi, Prince Akihito Komatsumiya, Chief of General Staff of the Army General Staff Headquarters, Koroku Kawakami, Deputy Chief of Staff Kawakami Soroku, and Chief of the Navy Military Command Department Ito Sukehiro, who had just taken office not long ago, all did not dare to breathe in front of the emperor.

"What's going on? What the hell is going on here. My Guards Division was almost wiped out by the enemy! The remaining troops that could fight were a brigade that was not properly organized, and the others were second-line engineers and baggage troops. And the enemy has already surrounded Taipei, ready to attack and completely annihilate our Guards Division. What the hell is going on here? Emperor Meiji shouted angrily.

When Emperor Meiji received the news, he really almost went crazy. Originally, Taiwan was already meat in the mouth, and it could be swallowed at any time. And they sent a division to receive it, which was already nine out of ten in their eyes, and there could be no accidents at all. The armies of the entire mainland have been defeated, and those militia groups in Taiwan that do not enter the stream. How can it be? However, these "unpopular" things actually almost annihilated most of the troops of the Guards Division, and almost annihilated the entire Guards Division. This simply made Emperor Meiji almost crazy.

Emperor Meiji went from ascending to the throne of the emperor, then regaining the imperial power of the emperor, and then initiating various reforms, and finally making Japan strong. And their goal was to defeat the Manchus. Then seize a large area of land and give it to Japan as a living space. Then further destroy China and compete for world domination. They finally gambled on their national fortunes, defeated the Manchus in the Sino-Japanese War, and forced the Manchus to cede Liaodong and Taiwan. However, Liaodong returned to Liao due to the intervention of the Three Kingdoms, and in the end it could only be returned to the Manchu Dynasty. And they always think that Taiwan should be able to get it, but now in addition to this matter, how can Emperor Meiji stand this?

"Ito, you're the prime minister. Tell me about it! Emperor Akechi asked.

Hirobumi Ito took the initiative to say, "Your Majesty, I am a civil official. I don't know much about the affairs of the army. And in this war, I always asked the Minister of the Army and Navy, and the officers in the base camp, who were the ones in charge of the battle. ”

"Old slippery head!" Everyone scolded in their hearts.

This Ito Hirofumi is obviously "kicking the ball", anyway, he is using himself as a civil official to shirk it, but no one else has anything to do. Hirobumi Ito was an important minister during the Meiji Restoration, and he was more qualified than everyone in this room, and he was qualified to play ball.

"Zhangren, tell me!" Emperor Meiji asked.

Akihito Komatsumiya was the chief of staff of the army, and he immediately said: "Your Majesty, the General Staff Headquarters has always been in charge of the deputy chief of staff Kawakami Caoroku, so ......"

Kawakami scolded in his heart: "Bastard, you are the commander-in-chief, when you fight, you push the matter to me, if you win, you will directly get the greatest merit, and if you lose, you will put the responsibility on me!" ”

Kawakami Caoliu began to ponder and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know much about this matter, and Kayama Shiki is the governor of Taiwan and a navy admiral, so the navy should be more clear!" ”

"Kawakami Roku, what do you mean? I have just taken up the post of chief of the Naval Command Department, and I have just finished fighting with the Beiyang Naval Division of the Chinese people, how can I know about it? Yuhiro Ito said.

"Smack!" Emperor Meiji slapped the table fiercely and said angrily: "Don't shirk my responsibility, now that something has happened, none of you can escape!" Now who can sue me what is going on? ”

And soon, everyone began to analyze one by one, and then finally they all came up with an analysis of eight or nine. First of all, when I was afraid that I was in Taiwan at that time, Kayama Shiki and Kita-Shirakawa Palace could suffer defeat for a long time, but as a result, these two guys were afraid of domestic punishment and did not take the initiative to ask for support. As a result, these two guys overestimated their abilities, and they also underestimated Wang Guorui's troops, weapons and tactics, so they suffered a big loss and were almost wiped out. And if they had asked for support in advance, maybe things wouldn't have turned out today.

"Okay, now is not the time to pursue responsibility, let's think about how to deal with this Taiwan issue!" Emperor Meiji directly skipped the pursuit of responsibility and did not continue to pursue it.

And Emperor Meiji also knew that this time the problem was very big. Shiki Kayama is a veteran admiral of the navy, and Kita-Shirakawa Palace Nohisa is a vice admiral of the army, and he is still a royal family, which means that the navy and the army royal family are all involved. If they are held accountable together, they will not be able to run away from all three. At this time, the navy and army will definitely not fight among themselves, and they will definitely keep their elders together. And the imperial family will not let the emperor punish the Kita-Shirakawa Palace for a long time, so this matter can only be delayed for a while, and it will be digested internally after the Taiwan issue is resolved.

"Your Majesty, this time we must send a large number of troops to support Taiwan, Taiwan is the territory that we have shed blood and sacrificed to defeat us, and we must not lose it. If it is lost, how can it be worthy of the bloody sacrifice of our soldiers? So, you have to get it back, no two words! War Minister Oyama Iwa said.

"That's right, it has to be returned!" The Minister of the Navy, Saigo Tomichi, also replied.

And Emperor Meiji also said: "We must take this Taiwan, immediately remobilize the troops, recall all the reserve soldiers of the six divisions in the country that have been dispersed, and double the army again as much as possible, and increase the number of divisions by six divisions." The 1st to 6th Divisions, all sent to Taiwan, must be taken back! ”

"And, send a combined fleet, ready to support at any time!"

However, Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the navy won't be able to come to the rescue." Because the Chinese have already shouted because of this victory in Taiwan, they want to abolish the treaty and then fight us again! If we were to do that, it would be a huge blow to us! ”

Emperor Meiji frowned, because if the Manchus had the idea of abolishing the treaty and fighting again because of the victory in the battle of Taiwan, it would really be worse for Japan. Japan now urgently needs to get a large amount of reparations from the Manchus and then maintain a stimulus for the domestic economy. You must know that they used to gamble with the fortune of the country, and they were almost so poor that they lost their pants. They could only hope to get it back from the Manchus, but if the Manchus suddenly abrogated the treaty, it would be very dangerous for Japan, and the domestic economy and finances would collapse.

"Do you mean to let the navy go to the coast of China to cruise and declare the mighty military might of our Great Japanese Empire?" Emperor Meiji asked.

Ito replied: "Yes, if those Chinese fools were carried away by this so-called victory, then it is really possible to be able to do such a stupid thing!" Therefore, it is necessary to send the navy to cruise along the coast, so that the Chinese can feel our strength and dare not abolish the treaty casually. ”

"Alright! In this case, will the army be able to defeat those militias in Taiwan without a navy? Emperor Meiji asked.

And Kawakami Caoliu immediately said: "As long as His Majesty the Emperor sends all six divisions in the country to Taiwan, then I am sure that I will be able to defeat the people of China and defend the fruits of our war!" ”

"Okay, I'll give you six divisions, you go to Taiwan in person, I grant you full command power, even Prince Nokuhisa of Kita-Shirakawa Palace and General Shikiyama will listen to you! If you fail, then you can apologize for killing yourself by seppuku. Emperor Meiji said.

"Yes! His Majesty the Emperor, is there anything else you would like to explain? Kawakami asked.

Emperor Meiji suddenly said angrily: "I want you to capture alive the Wang Guorui who annihilated my Yamato countless outstanding people, and bring him outside our palace, I will personally watch him being chopped alive with a knife!" ”

And everyone at the scene felt that Emperor Meiji hated Wang Guorui very much for the defeat of their guard division, so he even said such murderous words. It's terrible to actually kill Wang Guorui alive.

And Wang Guorui didn't know that he had already registered with Emperor Meiji of Japan, and he had already been destined to be executed by Emperor Meiji. However, Emperor Meiji did not know that the name Wang Guorui would become an eternal nightmare for Japan. (To be continued......)