In Japan at the beginning of May, spring is in full bloom. However, Japan is now in a state of gloom. After the end of the war, the warships of the Chinese Navy cruising in the coastal waters of Japan had left, and the Japanese no longer had to worry about being hit and sunk by the warships of the Chinese Navy while fishing. The lifting of China's blockade of Japan has allowed Japan to obtain a large amount of supplies from overseas, which has greatly alleviated the shortage of materials at home.

However, several large cities were bombed into ruins by the Chinese Navy, and hundreds of thousands of Japanese casualties, plus hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed or captured in battle, which was undoubtedly a great blow to Japan. Half of the capital city of Tokyo was in ruins, and the Imperial Palace, where the emperor lived, was shelled and many buildings destroyed. So much so that Emperor Meiji had to temporarily reside in other palaces. Such an outcome was absolutely something that Japan had never imagined before the war.

The defeat in this war greatly affected Japan's expansionist policy. Originally, they also wanted to gain huge benefits from China, so that Japan's national strength could be further improved and become the real hegemon of the Far East. However, the war undid all the decades of hard work they had made since the Meiji Restoration. The huge war trauma, coupled with the heavy war reparations, will probably have to tighten its belt for the next five years. In addition to the first £150 million in war reparations, they had to pay £20 million a year to China. This is already equivalent to one-third of Japan's annual fiscal revenue.

More importantly, Japan has grown to fear China after this defeat. The confidence they had built up through the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War was devastated. None of them were able to defeat China when the Chinese Empire was extremely weak, once China became strong again. Is it still possible for them to defeat China? This makes the self-proclaimed elite Japanese politicians feel very heavy.

Some Japanese politicians even believe that it is no longer possible for Japan to replace China as the hegemon of the Far East. An ancient empire with thousands of years of civilization is not something that an island nation like Japan can defeat. Everything in the past few decades has turned out to be just a passing thing.

It's just that. Japan's current ruling class will never admit defeat. They finally led Japan to become one of the world's great powers, how could they be willing to let Japan become a small country dependent on China again? Especially after tasting the taste of being a big country, it is undoubtedly impossible to make them willing to become the rulers of small countries again.

Even though Japan has now suffered a heavy blow, Japan's rulers, on the one hand, are busy reassuring the people. Heal the wounds of war, while at the same time not forgetting to get more wealth from the people. In order to repay China's war reparations and develop armaments in the future, the Japanese government could only plunder the wealth of ordinary Japanese as much as possible. The most effective and direct means is undoubtedly to raise food prices. In this case, it will be enough to plunder the last yen in the pockets of the Japanese. As for the life and death of ordinary people, these politicians do not care about it at all. They subconsciously thought that as long as Japan became strong. It has become a world-class power again. Then, ordinary Japanese people will also be honored. We will also fully support the government's plan.

In the Imperial Palace of Japan, Emperor Meiji is lying on his bed. Now only fifty-seven years old, he looks as if he is already seventy or eighty. His face was pale and bloodless, as if he were seriously ill.

Emperor Meiji was already suffering from severe uremia and was not well treated. Even when Wu Haoxuan was in the United States in his early years. It has been made in partnership with the DuPont family. But it still didn't help Emperor Meiji's illness.

Originally, according to the time of Emperor Meiji's death in history, he still had more than two years to be on fire. But this time and space is completely different. Another plane. Japan is now in a booming period. Japan's military and economic strength are among the best in the world, and even compared with Western powers, there is not much of a gap. The country was safe and secure, and the national strength was increasing day by day, and Emperor Meiji was certainly in a good mood. In that case. Emperor Meiji's illness was naturally not so serious. However, in this time and space. Japan has suffered heavy losses one after another, and now it has suffered an unprecedented defeat. Japan's decades of accumulation since the Meiji Restoration were all lost in this war. This also caused the Meiji Emperor to suffer an unprecedented blow as a result. Therefore, Emperor Meiji's illness naturally worsened a lot.

Minister Hara kneels in front of Emperor Meiji's bed, worried. He could clearly see that Emperor Meiji was now running out of time. Perhaps, in just a few days, Emperor Meiji will ride a crane westward. In Japan, Emperor Meiji has been deified. If Emperor Meiji had died at this time, it would have dealt an even greater blow to Japan. In this case, it is obvious that it will not be effective in restoring Japan's strength.

"Yuan Qing, bring all the patriarchs." Emperor Meiji suddenly opened his eyes and spoke. Although his voice was hoarse, his spirit seemed to be a lot, and his face was a little ruddy. Obviously, this is clearly a return to the light.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Yuan Jing nodded. He knew that Emperor Meiji knew that his life was short, so he was going to summon the elders and prepare to explain the future.

Soon, the senators came. In addition to the three elders of Yama Prefecture Aritomo, Masayoshi Matsukata and Inoue Shin, there are also five people: Saionji Konobo, Katsura Taro, Oyama Iwa, Yamamoto Gonbei and Togo Heihachiro. According to the previous cooperation agreement, these people will also become the new patriarchs of Japan.

When the senators and would-be senators came, they all knelt down in front of Emperor Meiji's sickbed and listened to Emperor Meiji's orders.

"Yuan Qing, help me up." Emperor Meiji said.

"This ......" Yuan Jing hesitated a little. Emperor Meiji is already like this, how can he be able to stand up again?

Emperor Meiji glanced at Hara, who immediately did so. He lifted Emperor Meiji up and sat on the sickbed. Just such an action made Emperor Meiji already out of breath.

"Gentlemen, I don't blame you for the defeat this time, it's all because the enemy is too strong. Therefore, you don't have to blame yourself too much. Emperor Meiji said. The future of Japan will depend on these ministers. He didn't want these ministers to carry a burden, which would be very detrimental to Japan.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The ministers hurriedly bowed. Emperor Meiji was no doubt relieved that he did not blame them.

"Although we failed this time, the Great Japanese Empire will not sink. Before the Meiji Restoration, the situation we faced was even more critical than it is now. However, after more than 20 years of hard work, we succeeded in defeating the powerful Qing Empire. At present, although our situation is difficult, it has not yet reached the point of exhaustion. I hope that you will unite and strive to make Japan recover in the shortest possible time and become a world power once again. One day, we must find the people of China to take revenge and regain the glory that once belonged to the empire! Emperor Meiji's face turned red.

"Please rest assured that your majesty will not forget your majesty's entrustment, and take it as their mission to defeat China and revive the empire. The empire of the future will definitely become the most powerful empire in the world. The people of China will pay a heavy price for the sins they have committed. Shan County Youpeng replied. He was very aware of Emperor Meiji's current situation, and his words would undoubtedly reassure Emperor Meiji.

Other patriarchs and would-be patriarchs have also made such assurances.

Emperor Meiji nodded, seemingly satisfied.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know that my fate will not be long in coming." Emperor Meiji said.

"Your Majesty, please don't say that. With the blessing of Amaterasu, Your Majesty will be able to live forever. The patriarchs hurriedly said.

Emperor Meiji waved his hand: "I am not afraid of death, and you should not say these words to comfort me." The only thing I'm worried about is Jiaren. I hope that after my death, you will be able to assist Yoshihito and make the Japanese Empire strong again. ”

"Hey!" The patriarchs replied one after another.

Kahito was the only adult son of Emperor Meiji and the crown prince of Japan. After the death of Emperor Meiji, the position of emperor of Japan should naturally be inherited by Kahito. It's just that Jia Ren suffered from meningitis as an infant, so his mental condition is not very good. Therefore, such a person becoming the emperor is destined to be unable to manage the country well. In addition, Kahito did not have a high prestige in the Japanese government and opposition like Emperor Meiji. Therefore, after Yoshihito succeeds to the throne, it is inevitable that he will become a puppet emperor.

Emperor Meiji also knew this, but as long as Yoshihito could be a puppet emperor and Japan could become stronger and stronger, he would be satisfied.

On May 7, Emperor Meiji issued an edict promoting Saionji Konobo, Katsura Taro, Oyama Iwa, Yamamoto Gonbei, and Togo Heihachiro to the rank of Japanese senators, bringing the number of Japanese senators to eight.

On May 8, Emperor Meiji fell seriously ill and fell into a coma, unconscious.

At 10:14 a.m. on May 9, Emperor Meiji was not breathing. The Japanese government announced the death of the emperor to the entire public, which dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese, who had just suffered a defeat. (To be continued.) )

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