When the news of the victory of the Tohoku Navy and the Tohoku Airship Force over the French and Russian navies reached Japan, Emperor Meiji in the Japanese Imperial Palace immediately summoned Japanese Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito, Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, and Commander of the Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo.

Emperor Meiji said to the three of them in a deep voice: "You already know, the Northeast Navy under Lin Daxin and several giant airships that suddenly appeared directly knocked the French Navy and the Russian Navy out of the ranks of the world's naval powers, and our Imperial Navy picked up the cheap, ranking 2 places earlier. ”

The three Japanese high-level leaders all nodded with stern faces, and this shocking news has spread throughout the entire Japanese high-level.

Emperor Meiji sighed and said: "How did the Qing Dynasty produce Lin Daxin, a demon-like figure, I heard that he captured more than 10 all-steel battleships of the French and Russian navies, so that the strength of the Northeast Navy under his command has increased a lot, if we launch a war against the four northeastern provinces, the situation facing our combined fleet will be even more difficult, Dongxiang-kun, is your combined fleet still sure to defeat that famous Northeast Navy?" ”

As the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo hesitated for a moment and said: "Your Majesty the Emperor, although the French Navy and the Russian Navy were defeated by the Northeast Navy under Lin Daxin's command this time, it was mainly because Lin Daxin suddenly took out several giant airships that could bomb warships, but the French Navy and the Russian Navy did not have special air defense weapons that could shoot at the air, so that the fleets of the two countries lost many main warships and were interfered with by airships before they exchanged fire with Lin Daxin's Northeast Navy. So much so that it was seized by the Northeast Navy again, and finally when the airship appeared again. The navies of 2 countries completely collapsed. ”

After a pause, Heihachiro Togo continued: "According to the intelligence of the Imperial personnel in the Northeast, the main warships captured by the Northeast Navy at once are 12 all-steel battleships, 5 large fast armored cruisers, and 3 ironclad battleships. If these warships are all added to the Tohoku Navy, although our Great Japanese Combined Fleet already has 18 all-steel battleships, 12 large fast armored cruisers, and 20 fast protection cruisers, its strength will still be slightly weak in the face of the Tohoku Navy, which has successively captured the warships of the four countries of Italy, the United States, France, and Russia. However, there are many factors in the naval battle, and it is not that a large number of warships will definitely lead to victory in the naval battle, and if the Japanese Empire launches a war against Tohoku, our combined fleet will definitely work hard to defeat the Tohoku Navy. Contribute to the rise of the Empire. ”

Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi said beside him: "Your Majesty the Emperor, I have ordered the Imperial Arsenal to develop giant airships and make a batch of anti-aircraft guns that can shoot at the air, and I have also asked the shipyard to install anti-aircraft guns on all the warships of the United Fleet. If war breaks out with the Northeast, our Combined Fleet will definitely not be as helpless as the French Navy and the Russian Navy in the face of airships. ”

Emperor Meiji nodded and said, "The giant airship must speed up the development of the arsenal, and we must have this kind of war weapon that can carry out aerial bombardment." In addition, the emperor believed that the officers and men of the navy would work hard for the empire, but the number of warships was also very important. Ito-kun, has the empire formulated a new batch of shipbuilding plans? ”

"At present, our Yokosuka Shipyard and Kure Port Shipyard in Japan have eight docks that can build all-steel battleships, and another eight docks that can build large fast armored cruisers with a displacement of nearly 10,000 tons," Ito said. The next batch of warships has not yet been built on these 16 docks, only 8 5000-ton docks, and the construction of 8 new Yoshino-class fast-protection cruisers has already begun. In addition, there are 16 docks of 1,000 to 2,000 tons, and a batch of 16 destroyers with a displacement of 1,200 tons is almost completed. These 16 destroyers will be delivered to the Combined Fleet in the next two months. ”

Ito Hirobumi did not say anything about the new shipbuilding program. Instead, he told the current situation of the shipyard, because after the construction of 8 all-steel battleships and 8 large fast armored cruisers in 2 shipyards, Ito Hirobumi tactfully asked Emperor Meiji whether to continue the construction of the next batch of main warships, but at that time Emperor Meiji hesitated and vetoed the plan to continue to build the next batch of main warships, and Emperor Meiji was also a little afraid of the navy that burned money, although Emperor Meiji got the Tokugawa shogunate treasure worth more than hundreds of millions of pounds, But in the face of the navy, a big money-burner, Emperor Meiji felt that no amount of money was enough to add to it.

Just rebuilding the Japanese Combined Fleet on its current scale, plus the money invested in the Yokosuka Shipyard and Kure Port Shipyard, was already as high as 30 million pounds, so when Prime Minister Ito Hirobunti continued to build warships, Emperor Meiji hesitated and only agreed to continue the construction of 8 Yoshino-class fast protection cruisers, and later agreed to build 16 destroyers that the Japanese Combined Fleet was not equipped with.

If Emperor Meiji did not pay for it, relying on Japan's current finances, it would have been impossible to build a new batch of major warships, and you must know that the treasures of the Tokugawa Shogunate, worth hundreds of millions of pounds, were all included in the Emperor's treasury by Emperor Meiji.

However, the Northeast Navy under the command of Lin Daxin, which is now regarded as Japan's biggest enemy, not only did not weaken its strength after the Battle of Manila Bay and the Battle of Ussuri Bay, but also became stronger and stronger.

Emperor Meiji knew the situation of the shipyard well, and he asked about the situation of the shipyard just to pave the way for the following words, and Ito Hirobumi also understood that His Majesty the Emperor seemed to be preparing to restart the shipbuilding program, so he cooperated with the situation of the two shipyards in Japan.

After listening to Hirobumi Ito's introduction of the two shipyards, Emperor Meiji nodded and said, "Since the strength of the Northeast Navy is getting stronger and stronger, this emperor has decided to continue to invest heavily in the construction of 8 Majestic-class all-steel battleships and 8 Asama-class large fast armored cruisers in 2 shipyards in the country!" ”

When the commander of the Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo, heard that Emperor Meiji was preparing to build 8 all-steel battleships and 8 large fast armored cruisers at once, he was immediately very excited, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty the Emperor, the naval officers and men of the Empire will definitely live up to the Empire's huge investment in the Combined Fleet, and will definitely defeat the Northeast Navy!" ”

Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito said: "Your Majesty the Emperor, this batch of main warships to be built will cost about nearly 12 million pounds, and our Japanese finances are ......."

Emperor Meiji waved his hand and said, "The funds will be provided by the Emperor's treasury, Ito-kun, you can arrange for the shipyard to start construction!" ”

Ito Hirobumi nodded and said: "Yes, Your Majesty the Emperor, I will immediately arrange for the shipyard to be built, but it will take at least more than 2 years for the construction of this batch of warships to be completed, if we Japan choose to launch an attack on the Northeast after Russia and the Northeast end the war, or even launch an attack on the Russian Far East, this batch of newly built main warships may not be able to catch up with the war launched by our empire." ”

Emperor Meiji suddenly said generously: "We still have to think about the future of the Japanese Navy, and the construction plan of this group of capital warships has been decided, and it is not known how long the war between Tohoku and the Russians will last." ”

Emperor Meiji was able to suddenly become so generous and willing to spend 12 million pounds, also because the Japanese Navy suddenly changed from the sixth place in the world navy to the fourth place in the world navy after the Ussuri Bay, and the French Navy and the Russian Navy in front of the rankings have fallen out of the top 10 after the naval battle in the Ussuri Bay.

Before the Japanese Navy are the British Royal Navy, the Northeast Navy and the German Navy, if this group of main warships enters the Japanese Navy, the Japanese Navy can even compete for the position of the top three navies in the world, which makes Emperor Meiji can't help but be a little excited, and even deep down in his heart is more grateful to the Northeast Navy for beating the navies of France and Russia back by several decades.

Emperor Meiji turned to Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu and asked, "What happened to the formation of the newly expanded 10 Imperial Standing Divisions?" ”

Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, who has been in charge of the expansion of the army, heard Emperor Meiji's question and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty the Emperor, at present, the 10 divisions have completed the formation of personnel and are stepping up training, and in half a year, these 10 standing divisions will be officially formed, and then our empire will have 37 standing divisions!" ”

Emperor Meiji sighed and said: "I originally thought that 37 standing divisions were enough, but seeing the war between the Russians and Lin Daxin, this emperor found that the number of our army in the Japanese Empire is still insufficient, and it seems that the standing divisions will continue to expand, what do you think?" ”

At present, not only does the investment of the Japanese Navy need to be paid from the Emperor's Inner Treasury, but even the funds for the expansion of the Japanese Army also come from the Emperor's Inner Treasury, so the Meiji Emperor still had to come from the Emperor's Inner Treasury if he wanted to expand the Standing Division.

Emperor Meiji himself paid for the expansion of the army, but of course no one had the leisure to speak out against it, so Emperor Meiji ordered the expansion of 10 more standing divisions, bringing the number of standing divisions of the Japanese army to 47.

Finally, Emperor Meiji also demanded that the number of light tanks weighing 5 tons developed by Japan be increased, and at present less than 70 such light tanks have been built in Japan, and Emperor Meiji demanded that the speed of tank construction must be increased, and strive to allocate 10 to 20 tanks to each standing division, and if the scale of the 47 standing divisions and regiments of the Japanese Army is followed, at least 470 tanks will be needed to meet the needs of the army. (To be continued......) R1292