"Imperial Council? How could His Majesty the Emperor have thought of convening the Imperial Council at this time? Katsura Taro said with a frown.

"What? His Majesty the Emperor wants to convene a pre-imperial council? Do we have to get the consent of our courtiers? Youpeng said with a dark face. Although he already knew that Emperor Meiji was very dissatisfied with Japan's defeat in this war, he was not afraid. Now that the power of Japan is in the hands of the army, even the emperor may not be able to touch him.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, how dare I question His Majesty the Emperor. It's just that I'm worried that some guys will play right and wrong in front of His Majesty the Emperor and undermine Japan's stability! Lu Xiang Keitaro said in a somewhat gloomy tone.

"Don't worry, we are all for the sake of the Great Japanese Empire, and His Majesty the Emperor will understand our difficulties!" Shan County Youpeng said confidently.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, should I wait until the Imperial Council is over before going to China?" Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki asked.

"Of course, tomorrow's imperial meeting, His Majesty the Emperor will definitely ask about the international situation, how can you be without you, the foreign minister?" Shan County Youpeng said with a smile. In this cabinet, except for the Minister of the Interior, Saigo Norimichi, and the Minister of Finance, Masayoshi Matsukata, who are not his people, the rest of the people are all his people. Of course, the position of the Minister of the Sea was vacant, and for the time being, the Minister of Military Command of the Navy, Prince Arisugawa Miyahito, was deputized. It's just that the main force of the navy has been completely annihilated, and except for a few thousand sailors who have no battleships, not a single sampan has been left. The Navy simply cannot be compared with the Army. Therefore, although Prince Weiren of Arisugawa Palace is a royal family, Yamaguchi Aritomo did not take him seriously.

"Humph!" When Prince Arisugawa Miyahito, the head of the military order, heard the arrogant words of Yama Prefecture Aritomo, he was very angry and immediately turned around and left.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I have heard that His Majesty the Emperor has recently summoned the Minister of the Interior, Saigo Shomichi, and the Speaker of the Privy Council, Saionji Koto. I wonder if it will be a threat to the Army? Lu Xiang Keitaro said with some concern.

"There's no need to worry, as long as the Guards Division and the 1st Division defending Tokyo are under our control, no one will be able to do anything to us!" Shan County Youpeng said confidently. Guards Division and 1st Division. They are all the elite of the Japanese Army, as an important unit to defend Tokyo. These two divisions have long been firmly in the hands of Youpeng in Shanxian County, so his position is very stable.

"I'm relieved!" Katsura Taro said with a smile.

The Imperial Council is a meeting of the Emperor of Japan to convene important cabinet ministers to inquire about the government. Meetings are held irregularly. In general, if the emperor deems it necessary, he will issue an order to convene an imperial council. Although, national affairs are generally handled by the Cabinet. But the emperor still has supreme power. In particular, Emperor Meiji, the emperor who led Japan from weak to strong, had a very strong strength.

The Imperial Council was held in the main hall of the Imperial Palace of Japan, Matsunokaku. At half past eight o'clock in the morning, half an hour before the meeting, all the important ministers of the cabinet had arrived and knelt on the top of the hall.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Emperor Meiji, accompanied by Minister of the Interior Saigo Shomichi, appeared in the main hall. And all the ministers fell to their knees. Salute Emperor Meiji and shout "Long live the Emperor". However, the appearance of Emperor Meiji. He looked very bad, and even though he was only forty-seven years old, his temples were already a little gray. Suffering from uremia, Emperor Meiji was in a bad spirit.

"Ministers, please!" Emperor Meiji sat down on the throne and spoke. It's just that his voice seems weak.

"Thank you!" All the ministers. That's when he got back to his place. Although they were kneeling on the ground, their waists were straight.

"Ministers. I wondered, now that the empire is facing such a threatening end, is there a way for the cabinet to get through the crisis? Emperor Meiji asked. Although his spirit was not good, his eyes still bloomed like a falcon.

"Your Majesty, the cabinet is ready, as long as the people of China dare to land in Japan, the 40 million people of the empire will fight to the end with the people of China! As long as they inflict heavy casualties on the chinas, they will retreat. The cowardly and cowardly Shina people, in the face of huge casualties, will definitely give in! Prime Minister Yama Yama Aritomo said.

"Inflicting huge casualties on the people of China? And how much does that cost the empire? Million? Or two million? Emperor Meiji said angrily, his chest rising and falling sharply, as if he was holding back the anger of patience.

"Your Majesty, as long as you can repel the attack of the Chinese, even if all the 40 million people are broken, it is worth it!" War Minister Katsura Taro also hurriedly said.

"All 40 million people are shattered? Can Japan still save zài? Emperor Meiji said angrily. If all the Japanese are dead, is there still a need for Japan to survive? Obviously, he was very dissatisfied with the plan proposed by the Army-led cabinet.

"Your Majesty, Japan has been driven to a dead end, we only have this way!" Shan County Youpeng replied.

"Can't you talk to the Shina people?" Emperor Meiji asked. Now, he no longer prays for Japan's victory, he only hopes that Japan can be preserved so that Japan can continue to exist.

"Your Majesty, the conditions put forward by the people of China are very harsh, if you agree to their conditions, then the empire will be equivalent to ruin!" Shan County Youpeng said.

"Your Majesty, the people of China put forward a total of six conditions, namely, first, Japan admits defeat and pays a billion pounds in compensation! Second, Japan ceded Hokkaido and Kyushu and its affiliated islands to China! Third, Japan disbands its army and navy, and a part of the police can be retained, and Japan's defense will be taken over by the squadron! Fourth, Japan canceled the title of Emperor and changed his name to Wawang, and came to China to worship the emperor! Fifth, all the Japanese army and navy generals who started the war will be tried by the special military tribunal set up by China! Sixth, China wants to station troops in Japan! No matter which of these conditions is agreed, it will strictly damage Japan's interests! Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki also said.

"Humph!" Emperor Meiji snorted coldly, his face gloomy as if he could drip water. Shan County Youpeng and others competed with him like this, which made him very angry. However, he also had no choice. The power of Japan is now in the hands of the army, and even he does not dare to fall out with the army lightly. Otherwise, these crazy soldiers might do something.

"Your Majesty, my lords. The conditions of the people in China are very harsh, but I think it is not that there is no room for negotiation. If Your Excellency Aoki goes to China this time, it will be just right for the people of China to have a good contact with it, and strive to win favorable conditions for the empire! Prince Arisugawa Miyahito, Minister of Naval Command, spoke. Seeing that Yama Prefecture Youpeng and others were so presumptuous in front of the emperor, as a member of the imperial family, how could he stand it?

"His Royal Highness the Prince is right, I went to China this time to make a final negotiation with the China government!" Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki said.

"Now it seems that it is difficult to dispel the ambitions of the Chinese people against the empire by diplomatic means. Therefore, military preparation is essential. His Majesty, the minister implored His Majesty to agree, and from now on, Japan entered military control. After defeating the attack of the Chinese people, then restore it! Shan County Youpeng said suddenly. If Japan could be militarized, his power would once again increase, and in many respects he would be able to give orders without the emperor's permission.

"No, I can't. Your Excellency Prime Minister, the imposition of military control will cause social unrest. At present, Japan is already in great difficulty, and if military control is implemented, I am afraid that it will have the opposite effect. Interior Minister Saigo said.

"That's why military control should be implemented. For example, the Empire's grain reserves are far from enough. We must provide enough food for some of the Emperor's ** team! War Minister Katsura Taro said with a fierce look in his eyes.

The two sides immediately disputed, but in the end, it was Yama Yama who won the game. Emperor Meiji had to agree that from now on, Japan would be under military control.

However, Emperor Meiji also took the opportunity to propose that Prince Arisugawanomiya Yoshihito, the Minister of Naval Command, be appointed Minister of the Navy and become one of the five ministers of the Cabinet. In this regard, Youpeng in Shan County did not object. Anyway, the Japanese Navy has already existed in name only, and it is not a big deal to let Prince Arisugawanomiya Weihito be the Minister of the Navy.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the Imperial Council ended. With the exception of Minister of the Interior, Saigo Norimichi, everyone left the palace.

"Yaga! There is a friend in Shanxian County, what does he want to do? How dare he ignore my will, will he rebel? When the cabinet left, Emperor Meiji roared. Yamaguchi Aritomo dared to persecute him at the meeting, which was completely ignoring the majesty of the emperor, which made Emperor Meiji unbearable.

The Minister of the Interior, Saigo, knelt to the side and did not say a word. Now that the power is on the sidelines, the power of the emperor is also very restricted.

"Saigo-kun, the empire can't go on like this, these crazy people will let the empire go to ruin!" Meiji Emperor Masasemichi.

"Your Majesty, the army has expanded to two million people, and now there is no one who can restrain these crazy people!" Interior Minister Saigo said with some embarrassment.

"We still have a way, as long as we can control Yama Prefecture Aritomo and Katsura Taro, we can regain control of the army!" Emperor Meiji said. Obviously, in order to keep Japan, he had made up his mind to wrest power from the hands of army bigwigs such as Aritomo Yamagu. It's just that it's easy to say, but it's actually very difficult.

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