October 13, 1878, Tokyo, Japan, the Meiji Emperor Imperial Council, the main ministers of the Meiji government gathered here, including the Minister of Imperial Affairs Sanjo Minoru, Japan did not implement the cabinet system until 1885, and after the assassination of Okubo Ritsu earlier this year, he became the head of government; Judicial Secretary Akiyoshi Yamada; Secretary of Foreign Affairs Shin Inoue; Senator Kiyotaka Kuroda; Secretary of the Interior Hirobumi Ito; Right Minister Iwakura Goshi; Okuma Shigenobu; Daizo Daisuke Matsukata Justice; There are friends in Qingshan County; Senator and Secretary of the Navy Junyoshi Kawamura; Senator and Secretary of State for Education, Culture, Sports, and Culture Saigo Norimichi, etc., at this time, everyone's eyes were focused on Foreign Secretary Inoue Shin.

"This news comes from internal channels in the Royal Navy and should be conclusively reliable. China has already confirmed the purchase of three British warships in active service. ”

"How are these three ships fighting?" It was the Minister of Imperial Affairs, Minoru Sanjo, who was questioning.

"It is said that one is an armored cruiser, two protective cruisers, and the firepower and armor are not trivial, and the Chinese Navy will undoubtedly increase its strength greatly if it gets these three ships. In particular, the armored cruiser has a lot to do with the newly purchased "Fuso" ship. ”

Right Minister Iwakura Gushi said: "China is a big country after all, and once it cheers up, it should not be underestimated. Judging from the reports sent back by spies sent to various parts of China, there is a vague new atmosphere, factories, banks, railways, and telegraphs have been opened one after another, and the future situation is difficult to predict. I have long said that the annexation of the Ryukyus, the crusade against Taiwan, and the forced signing of the agreement by North Korea are all reckless moves. ”

Senator Saigo was angry from his words: "The great cause of my imperial kingdom is just beginning, how can I be timid because China has bought a few warships, when will the emperor's martial virtue spread thousands of miles of waves like this?" ”

Admiral Secretary Junyoshi Kawamura also agreed with Saigo's words: "Judging from the current information, those three warships are not a cause for concern, especially the armored cruiser is slow and unsuitable for a decisive battle at sea. Today, the Imperial Navy has the 2,530-ton Ryuchamp, the 1,947-ton Tsukuba, and the 1,500-ton Nisshin, three wooden cruisers. There are also many gunboats such as Kotetsu, Mt. Fuji, Chiyodagata, and Kiyoki. There are also three ironclad ships imported from Fuso, King Kong and Hiei. Now that the Chinese Navy has only one Yangwu ship with a slight strength, why not take advantage of the fact that the other side has not yet accepted the three ships, immediately start a war with it, and bring Taiwan, Manchuria, South Korea, and other places into the imperial territory in one fell swoop. ”

Hearing what Kawamura Junyoshi said, the army Qingshan County Youpeng was extremely excited: "Now the reorganization of the Imperial Army has been preliminarily completed, with a total of six towns and platforms, with a total strength of more than 40,000 people, which can be expanded to 80,000 when there is an emergency. With complete training and elite combat power, it will win a complete victory against the Chinese Army. And the Chinese government is now chaotic, and the emperor is young and ignorant, just an ignorant empress dowager who listens to the government. The fact that the situation in the navy is changing with each passing day, and China's purchase of old ships instead of building new ones also proves China's ignorance. This is a good opportunity for our empire to make a difficulty, but we can conquer Korea first, and if China protests, we will crusade together. ”

Senator Kiyotaka Kuroda also said: "The empire's conquest of Taiwan has been effective, and the annexation of the Ryukyus has only provoked protests from the Chinese ministers." It can be seen that the other party has decayed to an incorrigible state. ”

For a time, the atmosphere of the meeting was warm, and on the issue of aggression against Korea, all the ministers were of the same opinion, the difference was only the question of the timing of the discussion, and Secretary of the Interior Ito Hirobumi was a person who advocated prudence, and he said slowly:

"I thought it wouldn't be. Although the emperor is young now, the decrees issued are quite orderly, and the personnel deployment is also in order, and it is not known whether there is a master behind him. Although the old ships purchased will be outdated, they are after all active warships of the British Navy, and their combat effectiveness still exists, and it is possible that they are also measures aimed at their own country. Moreover, the other side is also reorganizing the army, and it is reported that the name is the training army. What is even more worrying is that in the past, it was easy for China to spy on the other side's intelligence, and as long as we spent money and bribes, any secrets could be obtained. However, the purchase of ships was learned through the British side, but our minister to China, Mori Youli, and others did not know anything about it. Moreover, since the reorganization of the other side's military department, it is more difficult than before to spy on the so-called training and reorganization of the army. These signs are unusual and we should not be taken lightly.

I believe that the Empire should be calm and composed, waiting for the best moment, and then making a decision. ”

Ito Hirobumi's words resonated with Iwakura Goshi, Okuma Shigenobu and others, and they all expressed their approval.

Emperor Zuihou Meiji Muhito, in favor of Ito's speech, decided not to attack China and Korea by force for the time being, but to speed up the annexation of the Ryukyus; While increasing the economic penetration of the DPRK, squeezing out Chinese goods, and achieving the goal of Japanese products dominating the North Korean market, we will wait for the opportunity to consider further actions.

At the same time, in Beijing, thousands of kilometers away, a meeting of the Military Aircraft Department was also being held in the imperial palace, and Ding Yuntong held a telegram sent by He Ruzhang, the minister stationed in Japan, and sat silent.

The Minister of Military Aircraft and the new Minister of Finance, Weng Tongyi, said generously and bluntly that at this time, the Ministry of Household Affairs had officially changed its name to the Ministry of Finance, and Ding Yuntong asked him to be the minister, because he was honest and not corrupt.

"As Zhang said, Japan has in fact annexed the Ryukyus. The situation is serious, and our country must not just verbally protest, but must immediately send troops to the Ryukyus to protect our Qing vassal state. Weng Tong blew his beard and glared at him, eager for the emperor to declare war immediately.

Li Hongzhang has a different opinion, he and Weng Tongyi have a deep knot, and they will raise the bar with one mouth: "Weichen thinks that the move of sending troops is extremely inappropriate, and there is a risk of immediate war with Japan." The minister thought that He Ruzhang should be allowed to protest again, and make it clear to the Japanese government that our country will never allow the Ryukyus to fall. At the same time, it is necessary to urgently summon the Japanese minister, condemn it sternly, and implore the British and American ministers to intervene in mediation. I strive for a peaceful negotiation settlement of the matter. ”

Zuo Zongtang couldn't talk to these two people: "In what Master Li said, isn't it just a clean talk, which is equivalent to acquiescing in annexation and raising his hand to surrender?" ”

Zuo Zongtang clearly refuted Li Hongzhang, but Weng Tonggong had a reputation for being clear, and the "flow in clear talk" in his words was vaguely ridiculed at him. This made Weng Li and his face not look good.

Ding Yuntong shook his head, put the telegram on the table, flicked his fingers on the table, and said slowly: "What you said makes sense, I just want to ask you, are you really determined to fight to the death with Japan now?" ”

This sentence made all the ministers of the Military Aircraft Department stunned.

Ding Yuntong continued: "Now that all kinds of innovative measures have just been carried out, the national strength is not enough, we must do what we can, and we must not be blindly impulsive. Since we don't want to go to war now, we don't have to argue with Japan. If you don't want to fight with someone just yet, then don't pull your face down. When you are sure of winning the other party, then you will slowly calculate the account. He Ruzhang has already protested once, just leave some truth for the future, and there is no need to protest again. Nathan is polite, and there is no need to call for condemnation. Protests and condemnations do not kill people. As for asking foreigners to mediate, it is even more redundant. We will fight if we want to, and if we don't want to fight, don't fight, so why beg others to look down on us. What's more, what kind intentions can foreigners have, and if they can't get it upside down to help the Japanese. It would have been better if the Japanese had therefore thought that we had cowardly surrendered. In exchange for Japan's contempt for us, this transaction is not a loss. In short, everyone has forgotten about this now, and when the country is strong in the future, they will naturally slowly remind each other. ”

Everyone silently pondered the meaning of the emperor's words.

At this time, the subordinate reported that Xu Jianyin had returned from Germany, and brought with him the mine experts and technicians he had hired. Ding Yuntong was very happy and ordered them all to be sent to Tianjin.

Before Ding Yuntong took power, Li Hongzhang, as the governor of Zhili, once set up a Tianjin Mine School in the East Bureau of the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, selected a group of young students with quite qualified and Western studies as the first batch of students, and also sent people to Western countries to search for experts in making mines to teach in the school. While training, while manufacturing, it can be called a technical school that combines learning and production, and it can be regarded as a precedent for vocational jishu education. In this regard, Ding Yuntong admired Li Hongzhang's foresight.

Now with this group of expert technicians, the cadets will soon be able to become mine warfare officers, and then they will be able to form a mine warfare unit.

After the meeting, Zeng Jize reported that after more than a month of sailing, US Secretary of State William 61 Evac, accompanied by Rong Hong, had arrived at Dagukou in Tianjin.

Ding Yuntong was overjoyed: "Come, I want to receive American guests as state guests!" ”