Chapter 198 - Qiē For the War

(Thank you for the reward of the bird that can't fly!) Thank you for the good book friend of the French team for the monthly pass! ）

"Could it be that the defeat of the Qing State can only rely on your navy? The Army is also very important. Don't forget, there are now 300,000 new army troops in the Qing Kingdom, and this number is still increasing. And what about us? Until now, there are only 60,000 people, and the artillery is even less pitiful, only more than 300, which is not as many as the Qing Army. How do you let us defeat the Qing people? Not to mention the even more powerful Western Sichuan Army. The future of the empire is about to be buried by the navy! War Minister Oyama Yan roared angrily. At present, the navy has accounted for more than 60 percent of Japan's military spending, and the army has so many people that only 40 percent has been divided, which has made the army very dissatisfied. If the navy wants to expand the proportion of military spending, then the army will have to simply disband.

"Your Excellency Dashan Yan, please calm down, this is the Prime Minister's Office!" Ito Hirobumi said with a cold face.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency Prime Minister!" Ito Hirobumi reprimanded, and Oyama Iwa quickly admitted his mistake. Ito Hirobumi was once the first prime minister of the Japanese cabinet, and his prestige was very heavy, even an army veteran like Oyama Iwa could not be presumptuous in front of him.

"Now, the empire has reached its most difficult moment, and the monarchs must work together to get through this difficult time, not break out into infighting." Hirofumi Ito said in a deep voice.

"Yes, Your Excellency, Prime Minister!" Cabinet members responded one after another.

"Your Excellency Kunitake Watanabe, can you raise an emergency military expenditure for the navy by issuing treasury bonds?" Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito said. The two 10,000-ton giant ships of the Western Sichuan Army have put a lot of pressure on Japan, so that Japan has to once again find a way to increase the military spending of the navy so that it can purchase corresponding warships to compete with the western Sichuan Navy.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, we have issued several treasury bonds since the beginning of the establishment of the Navy. Now the government is in debt. Moreover, in the hands of the people, there is no money left. For the development of the Navy, they have already pulled out the last yen. In addition, this year's economic situation is not good, and a large part of the export market for our raw silk and other products has been seized by western Sichuan. Economic development is very severe, and prices are rising rapidly. If more money is collected and invested in military spending, the empire's economy will be in danger of collapsing! Minister of Finance Watanabe Kunitake said with a calm face. Japan was originally a small country with little land and poor people, and it had no resources, so its economic development depended entirely on the processing industry. Now the rise of western Sichuan has seized a lot of the Japanese market, making Japan's economy more and more severe.

"In other words, if we can't defeat the Qing in the war and gain a lot of benefits for the empire, then our economy won't be able to survive at all?" Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito said with a dark face. He knows that Japan's economy is not optimistic at the moment. But unexpectedly, the real situation seemed to be much stricter than he imagined.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister. Now the empire's economy can last for two years at most. Otherwise, in order to ensure that the empire's economy does not collapse, we will have to cut military spending on a large scale! Treasury Minister Kunitake Watanabe said.

"No! Military spending must not be cut, otherwise, all our efforts for so many years will be in vain! Admiral Minister Saigo immediately retorted.

The Minister of Finance, Watanabe Kunitake, didn't say much, but just quietly watched Saigo and Oyama Iwa. The same is true of other cabinet ministers, the navy and the army, which have consumed a lot of Japan's national strength over the years, but there is still no hope of victory. The navy and the army seem to have an explanation for everyone.

"The Navy's shipbuilding program will not be completed until the beginning of next year. When the time comes, the navy will defeat me to the Qing navy! As for the Kawanishi Navy, I don't mind a conflict with Kawanishi until there is no way to counter their 10,000-ton giant ships! Admiral Minister Saigo said.

"Although the army's strength and equipment are not as good as the Qing army, we have the support of the bushido spirit, as long as there is a war, the army is guaranteed to be able to defeat the Qing army! As for the Western Sichuan Army, the Imperial Army can only do its best to win the victory! Dashan Yan said. His meaning was very obvious, the Japanese army could defeat the Manchu army, but in the face of the western Sichuan army, there was nothing that could be done. At least the current situation is like this, unless the Japanese Army can get a sufficient military budget and bury its head in development for a few years, it will have a chance to compete with the Western Sichuan Army.

"Your Excellency Mutsu Munemitsu, if we start a war against the Qing Kingdom, will Kawanishi intervene? In other words, can we reach some kind of agreement with western Sichuan to carve up the Qing country. Hirobumi Ito asked. If this can be done, there is no doubt that the threat of western Sichuan can be minimized. Defeating the Manchu Qing Dynasty will allow Japan to obtain huge benefits and development opportunities, and once it takes off, it will not be afraid of western Sichuan at that time.

"First of all, Your Excellency, the leadership of Western Sichuan is extremely hostile to the Empire. This is true whether it is the deceased patrol envoy Wang Xiao or the current patrol envoy Wang Yuze. This should have something to do with the fact that our people wanted to assassinate Wang Yuze before. Therefore, it is unrealistic to want to unite with western Sichuan to carve up the Qing Kingdom! Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu replied.

"What if, if we take out a loan from the Great Powers to buy new warships? Will they say yes? The rise of the navy in western Sichuan is a huge threat to Britain and France, which have huge interests! Admiral Minister Saigo said.

"You can try, but the British and French have never looked at the empire, and I think it is likely to be rejected. Mentor Americans, you can give it a try. The Americans value the market of the empire, and if we are willing to open the market to the United States, we may be able to get a loan from the Americans! Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu said.

"No! Back then, we almost became a colony of the great powers, like the Qing Dynasty, and the market could not be completely opened to them! Interior Minister Inoue said. At the beginning, Japan was closed off like the Manchu Qing Dynasty. As a result, the United States bombarded the door open. But after that time, Japan cleared the world and began to struggle to catch up with the footsteps of the great powers, while the Manchu Qing Dynasty sank more and more.

"Your Excellency Mutsu Munemitsu, contact the U.S. side and get a loan from the U.S. as much as possible. In addition, after the completion of the navy's shipbuilding program at the beginning of next year, will we be able to launch an attack on the Qing Kingdom? Although the navy of western Sichuan is strong and powerful, their navy has only just been formed. Without two or three years, we will not be able to bring into play our due combat effectiveness at all. If they dared to fight, it was entirely possible for the powerful Japanese navy to defeat them. Maybe we can even take the opportunity to capture their 10,000-ton ship! Hirobumi Ito said. It has been more than twenty years since the development of the Japanese Navy, which is what it is today. The Kawanishi Navy started from scratch, and even if the warships were strong, they should not be able to form combat effectiveness. Then, Japan still has a chance. As long as Japan can take advantage of this time, it can defeat the Qing in one fell swoop, obtain a huge amount of war reparations, as well as raw material production areas and markets, Japan will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to develop, and then it will be able to compete with western Sichuan.

Everyone's eyes lit up, and Ito Hirobumi's statement has a certain degree of feasibility. Think about it, two years ago, after Sichuan defeated the Qing State, he received a war reparation of 100 million taels of silver from the Qing State. If Japan can obtain 100 million taels or more in war reparations, then Japan's economy will be saved, the 10,000-ton giant ships that the navy wants to buy can also be purchased, and the army can complete the expansion of the army.

"Your Excellency the Prime Minister! It is impossible for the Navy to form combat effectiveness without a few years. Otherwise, if there are warships in the air, they will not be able to exert their combat effectiveness. If the Imperial Navy and the Kawanishi Navy go to war now, the Imperial Navy will definitely have the strength to defeat them! Admiral Minister Saigo said excitedly.

"Then all the problems can be solved. Next year, after the completion of the navy's shipbuilding plan, prepare to wage war against the Qing State! The fate of the Empire, here to fight! Gentlemen, you must work hard! Hirobumi Ito said loudly.

"Hey!" Japan's cabinet members responded in a high-pitched voice.

Next, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs actively contacted the Great Powers, but both Britain and France rejected their demands. Still, Japan received a loan of $10 million from the United States. Although they did not achieve their expected goals, they could at least relieve some of the pressure on military spending.

In order to ensure that the Qing State can be defeated in next year's war, Japan's army and navy have entered active preparations. And the Manchus, who didn't seem to be aware of it, still regarded their main enemy as western Sichuan.

While Japan was actively preparing for the war, Kawanishi was not idle. The expansion of the army has been completed, and the total strength has reached two infantry divisions and one instructor, in addition to two heavy artillery brigades and two cavalry corps, with a total strength of more than 500,000 troops. Under Wang Yuze's order, the General Staff Headquarters began to secretly prepare the battle plan, and the Armament Department began to speed up the replacement of the troops, such as replacing the old Makqin water-cooled heavy machine gun with a new heavy machine gun, canceling the equipment of 7-mm mortars, and replacing them with larger 60-mm mortars, and so on. In addition, a large number of weapons and ammunition, food, military horses and other war materials are also rapidly accumulating to prepare for the upcoming war.

Wang Yuze's most important thing is still the navy. The army defeated the Manchus and unified the whole country, and that was absolutely no problem. There will be no problem even in defeating the army of small Japan. However, it is very difficult to say whether the navy can defeat the Japanese navy and completely interrupt Japan's rise to the ground. However, Wang Yuze has always had great hopes for the navy, and he believes that the navy will not let him down.

ps: Today's three watches, the first one arrives!.