At the headquarters of the capital, Deng Zixuan's cheeks were obviously shabby, and his eyes were dark, indicating that he had not rested well for a while. The doctor examined her and prescribed her medicine to calm her nerves and replenish her qi. After the doctor left, Chen Jintang walked in and said: "The latest battle situation of the landing on the Japanese mainland has come from the front line, and the news came this morning that two armies have been disembarked at the port of Akiyama in Japan, and two heavy artillery brigades of the 1st Division have also gone ashore. The headquarters of the Eastern Front reported that the Japanese army showed signs of abandoning Shimonoseki and Yamaguchi. ”

The success of the landing operation completely relaxed Deng Zixuan's tense nerves. He knew in his heart that as long as he set foot on the Japanese mainland, it was only a matter of time before he occupied the entire Japanese archipelago. If nothing else, the coalition command may have to choose to retreat. Even if the Japanese archipelago is lost, the Western countries will not be broken, and the Western countries will not fight hard for the little Japanese puppet. Therefore, the retreat of the coalition headquarters was inevitable. "President, you've been under a lot of pressure lately, and no one knows better than me, what do you want?" Chen Jintang asked with a smile.

"I'm thinking about how long the Japanese will be able to hold out after the coalition retreat!" "Do you think the coalition will retreat?" "As soon as we fight the Americans, I am afraid that the coalition forces have lost confidence in holding on to the Japanese mainland, and as for when the coalition forces will choose to retreat, it is not yet time. I estimate that the headquarters of the coalition forces must have an attempt to let the Japanese consume our strength, and how Japan is used as a pawn, and even maximizing it is the goal, and the Western countries are no longer important to their life or death. Deng Zixuan said with a deep gaze.

"President, Japan has never been occupied by force in its history, and the Imperial Army has landed bravely. I don't know how long the Japanese will be able to hold out. I was counting on relying on foreigners, but if the foreigners chose to retreat, what would happen to Emperor Meiji? Chen Jintang said happily. Deng Zixuan was stunned when he heard this. Suddenly, a message that had been in my mind for a long time began to appear. Today's Japan is far worse than the crazy years of later generations. The Japanese people's spirit of treating death as their home has not yet been formed, so it is very likely that major changes will take place in Japan in the face of the life and death of the nation.

Deng Zixuan was silent for a long time and said, "How is the situation of the Taiwan Front?" "Two days ago, the Nanyang Fleet covered the landing force and departed, and now there is no news!" "If the coalition forces learn that the Philippines is under attack. The evacuation from Japan will be accelerated, so we must be prepared, and you inform Li Hongzhang to come to me, and I have important matters to discuss with him. Chen Jintang was a little confused, and asked Li Hongzhang for consultation on military issues. Something is not the right way. But Deng Zixuan didn't say it explicitly, and Chen Jintang didn't want to ask.

Soon, Li Hongzhang, vice premier of the Imperial Chinese Government Council and concurrently Minister of Foreign Affairs, hurriedly entered the headquarters. "President. What's the point of coming to me in a hurry? Li Hongzhang said bluntly in front of him. Come! Sit down and have a cup of tea first! Deng Zixuan personally painted tea for Li Hongzhang and smiled. Out of politeness, Li Hongzhang took a small peck lightly, and saw that Deng Zixuan just smiled and said confusedly: "The president is in a good mood, is there any good news?" "Yes, our Eastern Front successfully landed in Hamada and Akiyama in Japan. The battle is clear! "So far. The war against Japan is still under secrecy.

"Great, just going to the Japanese mainland is the beginning of victory. There is no strategic depth in Japan, and I estimate that there will be no problem in taking Japan by the end of the year! Li Hongzhang was overjoyed, after all, he was familiar with the military field and had a certain strategic vision. Deng Zixuan said with a smile: "Maybe it won't be until the end of the year, and there will be major changes in the Japanese archipelago." "A major change?" "I estimate that the landing force will gradually advance towards the Japanese mainland, and the coalition forces will be the first to retreat. Japan lost the protection of foreigners. Especially if the foreigners withdraw from the Pacific Fleet, what will happen to the Japanese cabinet, including the Meiji Emperor? ”

Li Hongzhang pondered for a moment and said, "President." Based on what I know about the Japanese, the Japanese will choose to negotiate, after all, it is a matter of national survival? "Vice Premier Lee is very sensitive, and when Japan is facing a crisis, it is very likely that it will ask for armistice negotiations in order to achieve a satisfactory outcome. You start preparing now, submit a memorandum, and in the event of a major change in Japan, you will go to the Japanese archipelago to negotiate on behalf of the Chinese Empire, and we must prepare in advance so as not to be caught off guard. ”

After Li Hongzhang left excitedly, Chen Jintang walked in and said: "I just received a telegram that the Nanyang Fleet has arrived in the waters of the Philippines, and the Pacific Fleet of the coalition forces has not made any movement. The first batch of landing troops was one army, and the Taiwan Front was preparing to use three armies to capture the Philippines. "The battle is going exactly as we expected, and I expect that the successful landing operation in the Philippines will accelerate the retreat of the coalition headquarters. Tell He Meng to launch a continuous offensive and not give the Japanese any respite. ”

On July 25, half a month after the outbreak of the landing operation on the Japanese archipelago, in the headquarters of the Eastern Front in Akiyama Port, Chief of Staff Wang Jieyu reported: "Commander, your prediction is very accurate, the Japanese army abandoned Shimonoseki and Yamaguchi, and withdrew to Hiroshima, Chiyoda, and Izumo to organize a defensive line. The 1st Division of the 3rd Corps has landed in Shimonoseki, the 2nd Corps has assembled 3 corps in the Akiyama area, and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Armies of the 1st Corps are resting in Hamada according to Jihua. The 2nd Artillery Division is landing. ”

He Meng nodded and said, "The headquarters called, ordering us to strengthen the offensive, have all the personnel arrived?" "It's all here, and they're waiting in the conference room." Soon, He Meng and Chief of Staff Wang Jie strode into the conference room. All the generals seated stood up and saluted, with the commanders of the three major corps in the front row, and the commanders of the various armies and the special forces group leader Ma Kai in the back row. He Meng returned the military salute and motioned for everyone to sit down and said, "First of all, I will tell you a good news. He Meng deliberately paused to hang everyone's appetite.

Everyone pricked up their ears, what kind of good news could make the commander so showy. He Meng coughed and cleared his throat and said: "According to the strategy of the headquarters, our Taiwan Front Army, under the cover of the Nanyang Fleet, is about to launch a landing operation against the Philippines, and the landing force has now reached the Philippine waters. When everyone heard this, they were excited, and they all exchanged their heads. Quiet! Chief of Staff Wang Jie scolded. The venue was calm and calm, and He Meng continued: "At present, the Japanese army has been forced to abandon the Xiaguan and Yamaguchi areas, and the first part of our 3rd Corps has landed in Xiaguan. ”

"According to the analysis, the Japanese army was to form a new line of defense on the line of Hiroshima, Chiyoda, and Izumo, and to form a defensive system in depth based on this line. The situation has changed, and our operations have to be significantly adjusted. Due to the narrow area of Akiyama, Hamada, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi, it was impossible to meet the needs of large corps, so the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd corps could only meet the needs of 9 corps. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd armies of the 1st Corps were very tired from the landing operation, and they are currently resting in the Hamada area for half a month. ”

"Since the coalition Pacific Fleet is in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, the time is not ripe to attack the island of Kyushu. After repeated studies, the headquarters of the Front decided to advance on the Japanese mainland. After the next battle starts, the 2nd Corps will conquer Hiroshima, and the 3rd Corps will attack along the coastline, striving to take the important coastal towns of Ube, Hofu, and Iwakuni, and the specific operations will be drawn up by each corps, and I ask that the guns of the second phase of the campaign be fired on July 30, and the chief of staff will be responsible for the specific operations, so go back and prepare! ”

In the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Japan, the atmosphere is decadent and gloomy. Emperor Meiji sat in a chair with his eyes closed and a pained expression on his face. Emperor Meiji has just entered the year of his establishment, but it seems that he has reached the age of no confusion. "Bixia, the Chinese army has successfully landed in Hamada and Akiyama, Kyoto is in danger, and I propose to move quickly to Tokyo." The Prime Minister of Japan broke his silence and the ministers chimed in. Emperor Meiji opened his eyes and said decisively: "When the Yamato nation is in danger, the king of a country chooses to flee, which will shake the morale of the army and the people. ”

Emperor Meiji replied, "I'm not going anywhere, I'm going to stabilize the people's hearts in Kyoto." I want to inspire the soldiers to fight bloodily. The Yamato nation has reached a life-and-death juncture, and each of us is duty-bound to shed a drop of blood into Zuihou. "Emperor Meiji was tough on the lips, but he had no faith in his heart. Since Emperor Meiji was stubborn, it was difficult for the prime minister, including the ministers, to advise him again. After the crowd dispersed, a close cabinet minister was left behind. Emperor Meiji asked, "Now that there are people scattered internally, the headquarters of the coalition forces is going to retreat and abandon Japan, do you think the foreigners can really give up on us?" ”

The cabinet minister's hair was already gray, and he showed his seniority and said: "Bixia, Your Majesty believes that Western countries have made bets on the Japanese archipelago and will not give up Japan easily. At present, some people are spreading rumors, and they must be people with ulterior motives. "If the coalition abandons Japan, we will be in a situation from which we will never recover. Maybe this is groundless, maybe there are signs, this matter is left to you, on the one hand, pay attention to the movements of the coalition forces, on the other hand, find the people who are confused by internal gossip, and remember to act in secret! "Bixia, Your Majesty will immediately launch an investigation."

In another corner of Kyoto, Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs Yusuke Kawashima told the crowd: "The Chinese army bravely landed on the Japanese mainland, and as we predicted, the resistance has lost its meaning. With all the coalition forces concentrated in the Tokyo area, it will be easy for them to retreat, so we must start preparing now. I am sure that the beginning of the coalition retreat as soon as the coalition forces order the Pacific Fleet to retreat to Tokyo. The commander of the Kyoto garrison, Lieutenant Ichiro, said: "Lord Interior, our guard troops are ready to start fighting at any time!" ”

The Minister of International Trade said, "My lord, there are a large number of merchants from Western countries in the Tokyo area, including the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, and they seem to show no signs of escaping!" "Stupid, the coalition headquarters won't tell the merchants if they want to retreat. Moreover, the headquarters of the coalition forces knew that the Chinese would not harm the merchants, and perhaps they could use the merchants to create the illusion of holding on to the Japanese mainland, so we could not be fooled. Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come to decide the fate of Japan, and we are ready to take action while it changes! ”

In order to prevent the Japanese nation from suffering misery and bloodshed, it was later proved that a group of Japanese elites headed by Interior Minister Yusuke Kawashima had chosen a correct path. (To be continued......)

PS: There are many different mentalities that are intertwined and can change at any time.