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Soon, Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, Minister of Finance Watanabe Kunitake, and War Minister Oyama Iwa arrived at the Prime Minister's Office. However, their faces were not very good, and it was obvious that on the way here, the people from the Prime Minister's Office had already told them the details of the matter. For this war, the whole of Japan is confident that it will win. Once defeated, no one dares to predict what kind of impact it will have. But one thing is certain, these cabinet members will definitely be torn to shreds by the angry populace.

"What's going on? Didn't the Combined Fleet defeat the Beiyang Naval Division last year? Why is it that now against the western Sichuan Navy, which has just been in the army for less than two years, it has been defeated? The empire has spent so much military spending, what has it been used for? As soon as War Minister Oyama Iwa entered the reception room of the Prime Minister's Office, he roared at the top of his voice.

Saigo's face was full of iron, and the anger in his eyes almost burned his whole body. However, he had to suppress his anger. This time, it was indeed the defeat of the navy, and the consequences of the extremely strict zhòng, he had nothing to say. The fact that the navy, which accounts for more than 60% of its annual military spending and has the support of the entire Japanese people, is now almost completely wiped out, is indeed incomprehensible to the people.

"The western Sichuan Navy is powerful, their total tonnage and artillery are more than twice ours, and the defeat of the combined fleet is also understandable!" Saigo argued. The last time he defeated the Beiyang Naval Division, there was a lot of luck, and it also made the whole of Japan full of confidence. However, this time, in the face of the much more powerful Sichuan Navy, the original form was suddenly revealed.

"Excuses, these are all excuses! The warriors of the Great Japanese Empire, supported by the spirit of bushido, we are invincible, even if the weak defeat the strong, it is not impossible! Dashan Yan yelled. As Minister of War. He's very angry right now. At present, almost all the forces of the army are concentrated on the Korean Peninsula and the Liaodong region of China, and the defeat of the navy will not only mean that the logistics supply lines will be cut off, but also that the army will not be able to withdraw to the country. Hundreds of thousands of army troops if they lose their logistical support. What kind of consequences will it be. This makes Dashan Yan feel terrible when he thinks about it, and the culprit who caused this qiē is the navy. This makes how can he not take his anger out on Saigo Congdao.

"Alright, Your Excellency Oyama Rock. Don't be noisy. Now is not the time to quarrel, now we have to figure out how to get through this crisis! Hirobumi Ito said with a grim face.

"What else can be done? Is there a second way other than defeat? Dashan Yan said hatefully.

"You!" Ito Hirobumi was furious and deliberately wanted to reprimand Oyama Iwa. But it occurred to me that now the Navy was defeated. Japan's hope was only the Army, so it had to suppress its anger.

"Your Excellency Saigo Congmichi, this time the Navy is defeated, and the Admiralty has to take full responsibility!" Hirobumi Ito said.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I will apply for my resignation!" Saigo said from the road. He had some bitterness in his heart, and he originally thought that by mobilizing the strength of the whole country to develop the navy, he would definitely be able to make the Japanese navy a world-class navy. But I didn't expect it, and in the end, I still lost.

"Hmmm! Resignation is put aside in advance. From the point of view of the Navy. What should we do now? Hirobumi Ito asked.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the telegram sent back by Heihachiro Togo, Chief of Staff of the Nemoto Combined Fleet, said that the strength of the Kawanishi Navy has exceeded our imagination. Now there is only one ship left in the Navy, the Chiyoda, which can continue to fight, and the Yoshino has been severely damaged. I'm afraid it will take several months of repairs before I can return to the troops. In addition, only a few old-fashioned shallow water gunboats remained. With these forces, it is simply impossible to resist the attack of the western Sichuan Navy! Saigo replied.

"Didn't we capture two ironclad ships of the Qing Beiyang Naval Division last year? Can it be fixed? Treasury Minister Kunitake Watanabe said.

"Both ships were repaired at the shipyard in Kagoshima. However, because of the damage Yan zhòng. It takes a long time. Even now, it will take another one to two months to fix. But. The Kawanishi Navy will not give us a chance. After the destruction of the Combined Fleet, they will definitely be on their backs immediately. Cut off the mainland from the Korean Peninsula and, at the same time, launch an attack on our naval bases and shipyards to destroy our war potential! Saigo replied.

"So what are we going to do? Will it be possible to withdraw the Army? Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu said.

"At most, there are still one to two days left, and the Kawanishi Navy will appear in Japanese waters, and we simply don't have enough time to bring the army back!" Saigo said helplessly.

"Humph! Do you want to use the Army as an outcast? Dashan Yan said dissatisfiedly.

"There is no way now, the army is strong, and it can be supported in a short time. What we need to pay attention to now is the defense of the homeland. There is only one Guards Division left on the mainland, and if Western Sichuan sends troops to land on the mainland, how can we resist it? Saigo said.

Sure enough, as soon as his words came out, everyone immediately turned pale. The Guards Division, consisting of just over 12,000 men, was stationed in the Tokyo area. In the rest of the areas, there is not a single soldier at all, and they all rely on the police to maintain law and order. If the Western Sichuan Army really landed in Japan, the consequences would be unimaginable, and Japan would be in danger of extinction.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I request that more than twenty new divisions be established on the mainland immediately to defend the homeland. Although the Western Sichuan Army defeated the Combined Fleet, it would take some time for them to land on the mainland. We must use this time to organize enough troops! Dashan Yan said immediately. The navy was defeated, and their army had to take on the responsibility of defending their homeland. This has nothing to do with the contradiction between the army and the navy, and they must first protect Japan.

"Hmmm! After the emperor is invited, this plan can be carried out. The Ministry of Finance must give its full support to the expansion of the army. Hirobumi Ito said. Although they knew that the expansion of 20 divisions would consume a lot of financial resources, and now the Japanese had no extra money, they had to continue to support it. Once the Kawanishi Army landed in Japan, Japan would be completely finished.

The Minister of Finance, Watanabe Kunitake, moved his mouth, but in the end he didn't say much.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I don't think there is any need to expand the army too much!" Admiral Minister Saigo said.

"Your Excellency Saigo, what do you mean by this? Do you think about the end of the Great Japanese Empire? Dashan Yan roared.

Saigo ignored Oyama Yan's anger and continued, "Ten divisions are enough. Moreover, I believe that the Western Sichuan Army will not land on our mainland. Although we lack the army at home, we still have 40 million people, and if we want to rely on this method to destroy Japan, they will pay a heavy price. And they have an easier and more vicious way to destroy us! ”

"How?" Hirobumi Ito asked.

"The Kawanishi Navy can blockade the whole of Japan and destroy all the shipbuilding industry, heavy industry in Japan. We have undone all the efforts we have made for decades since the Meiji Restoration. Their navy is enough to completely blockade Japan. When the time comes, our products cannot be transported, and the raw materials and food we need cannot be shipped back to China. Even fishermen can't go out to sea to fish. At that time, Japan's demise will be assured! Saigo said. He is not alarmist, but Japan's weakness. He also believes that the Kawanishi Navy must have reached this point.

"This, how is this possible? How so? Ito Hirobumi's face was pale, and from Saigo's description, he seemed to have arrived at the terrible scene of Japan's destruction of Miè.

"What should we do now?" Hirobumi Ito said.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, let's make peace with Kawanishi! We have no hope of victory, and it is more beneficial for us to negotiate peace with Kawanishi and end the war at an early date! Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu said.

"However, now that Kawanishi has the upper hand, will they agree to make peace with us?" Hirobumi Ito said.

"We can join forces and ask them to come forward. The great powers also do not want to appear in a strong China! Mutsu said.

"However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will try its best to strive for a decent peace, but now that Kawanishi is in a strong position, we are afraid that we will pay a heavy price!" Mutsu said with some concern. After all, Japan is now in a weak position, and if they want to beg, they will definitely pay a big price. With the greed of Kawanishi, he will never let go of such an opportunity.

"Army, we still have hundreds of thousands of troops in China. If the Army can win a victory, then we may be able to have a decent peace. Your Excellency Oyamaiwa, is the Army sure to defeat the Western Sichuan Army? Ito asked, staring at Oyama Rock with his eyes firmly on him.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, now that the logistics supply line has been cut off, the army will not get any supplies, and it will be difficult for us to defeat the western Sichuan army!" Oyama Rock said. Although he had 400,000 troops, if he was well supplied, he was certainly confident that he would fight with western Sichuan. But now? The possibility of defeating the Western Sichuan Army is very small.

"The Western Sichuan Army is now desperately occupying the territory of the Qing State, and there are not many troops that can be invested. Our previous reserves in Liaodong and Korea were enough to support a major war. As long as we can win, even if it's not a big win, it will make us less vulnerable. Your Excellency Oyamaiwa, now that the Army is the only hope for the Empire of Japan, I hope that the Army will be able to defeat the enemy and protect the interests of the Empire of Japan! Ito said.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, please rest assured that the Japanese Army will do its best to achieve victory!" Oyama Rock assured. It's just that even he himself is not sure if he can really win.

PS: The second update is here!