"There are no soldiers to recruit again, but if it doesn't work, all the people can be soldiers. There are tens of millions of people in our Empire, and if they are given weapons, they will become the most loyal soldiers of His Majesty the Emperor. If there is no money, war bonds can be issued again. In short, the Japanese Empire will never submit to anyone, let alone bow to the weak and incompetent Qing government. The main fighters continued to shout loudly.

"All the people are soldiers, and it is light to say. Soldiers who have not undergone rigorous training have no combat effectiveness at all, and even if they are reluctantly dragged into battle, they will only die in vain. As for the issuance of war bonds, it is even more impossible, the empire has already issued war bonds several times. And because of the repeated defeats of the empire, it has become more and more difficult to issue war bonds, and the people have lost confidence in the government, and there are not many people willing to pay for war bonds at all. Moreover, due to the war, the shortage of various materials, the people have been quite dissatisfied with the government, and people in many areas have broken out to grab food, although they have been suppressed by the local police. But this will only exacerbate popular resentment against the government. We have already paid too much for this war, and it is time to end it. The Lord and the faction were equally angry. At this time, Japan's situation is already quite bad, and the current Japan is not like the World War II period, when the fanatical ideology of militarism has not brainwashed the little devils into idiots one by one like later generations.

Ito Hirobumi couldn't help but frown slightly as he looked at the cabinet members who were clearly divided into two factions and were arguing. Hirobumi Ito never dreamed that things would come to this point. Although I had thought that this war would be lost, I did not expect that Japan would be defeated so completely, not only did it not have a single advantage on the battlefield. On the contrary, the domestic political situation, which has been dragged down by the war, has shown signs of instability. It seems that he really underestimated the strength of the Qing government, and at the same time overestimated his own strength.

For the first time, Ito began to regret starting this war, and if this war could have been postponed for a few more years, when Japan was fully prepared, perhaps it would have been a different ending. Ito Hirobumi thought secretly in his heart. But it's too late to say all of this.

Just as Ito Hirobumi was about to make a statement about this meaningless argument, Ito Hirobumi's assistant hurriedly walked up to Ito Hirobumi. A telegram was handed to Hirobumi Ito. Then he whispered something in Ito Hirobumi's ear, Ito Hirobumi couldn't help but change his face when he heard this, and after picking up the telegram and reading it carefully, his face suddenly turned like ashes.

The cabinet members, who were still arguing, soon noticed Ito's abnormality, and one by one involuntarily stopped, turning their heads to look at Ito. Everyone's hearts hung in the air at this moment, they knew that something big was happening, and it didn't look like a good thing.

It took a long time for Ito to wake up from his shock and glance at the cabinet members in attendance. He sighed deeply, and this sigh was full of helplessness and frustration, "Gentlemen, Vice Admiral Ito, commander of the Combined Fleet, has just sent a telegram. The main force of the Jiaolong fleet of the Qing State suddenly appeared in the sea near Nagasaki and encountered the main force of our combined fleet, and a fierce battle broke out. In less than four hours of naval battle, four cruisers of the Combined Fleet were sunk, and the flagship Hashidate and other battleships were heavily damaged, and they were forced to take refuge in the Sasebo military port for temporary refuge. At present, the Qing fleet has blocked the nearby seas. At this time, Ito Hirobumi's face was as ugly as his father and mother who had just died.

Ito's voice fell. The scene became even more deadly silent, and many people couldn't help but open their mouths wide. In fact, the Japanese side had already received information that the Qing government was preparing to send the Beiyang Naval Division and the Jiaolong Fleet to Japan. However, because Li Hongzhang always used the excuse to delay, the Beiyang Naval Division always stayed in Port Arthur. The Japanese government never dreamed that the Jiaolong fleet would come to Japan alone. They didn't expect the speed to be so fast, how did they know that Ren Chao had ordered the Jiaolong fleet to go to sea long before Emperor Guangxu's approval.

"How is this possible, the Jiaolong fleet only has a total of five warships. With so many warships in our combined fleet, can't we even deal with just five warships? Soon after the shock, some people raised their own questions.

As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes couldn't help but fall on Ito Hirobumi's face again, and they all hoped that Ito Hirobumi could give them a reasonable explanation.

Ito Hirobumi said with a helpless sigh. "First of all, the main battleships of the Jiaolong fleet are not five, but seven! And all are the latest warships. The strength of the Second Naval Fleet is not determined by quantity. In the Battle of the Yellow Sea, we successively lost the most advanced warships such as Matsushima and Yoshino. Now the strength of the combined fleet has been greatly weakened, although there are still more than a dozen capital ships, but most of them are some old ships, weak ships, and they are not the opponents of the new warships of the Jiaolong fleet at all. Moreover, the Jiaolong fleet also has the giant ship Celestial, which is huge, heavily armored, and has fierce firepower. Hashidate, the strongest existing combined fleet, and ships such as Itsukushima may not be the opponent of this giant ship even if they join forces. Speaking of which, Ito Hirobumi sighed helplessly again.

As soon as Ito's words fell, the venue became quiet again. This extremely oppressive atmosphere permeated everywhere, and even those arrogant main factions were honest one by one at this time, and at this moment everyone knew in their hearts that Japan had lost the only chance to turn defeat into victory.

"Even if we don't have a navy and we still have a heroic and invincible army, we must not just succumb to the cowardly and incompetent Qing government." After a long silence, there were still unwilling main battle factions who couldn't help but shout. But it is already obvious that the confidence is insufficient.

"Without the protection of the navy, no matter how brave our army soldiers are, they will not even be able to leave the country. In this way, the empire has completely lost its offensive ability, and it will be a defeat if it is fought again, so why should we fight again. It's better to negotiate peace here, develop with peace of mind for a period of time, and after the empire has enough strength, it is the best policy to compete with the Qing Dynasty! "The Lord and the faction have more reason this time, and they have begun to attack the main battle faction more unscrupulously.

Looking at the cabinet members who were arguing again, Ito Hirobumi was in deep despair, "Okay! Don't quarrel, this matter is a matter of importance, and it is related to the fortunes of the empire. Let's do our best to bring this matter to the Emperor's Majesty and ask the Emperor to make a judgment! Ito Hirobumi had no choice but to kick this difficult problem to Emperor Meiji. (To be continued......)