July 1, 1884, Tokyo Imperial Palace, Imperial Council of the Emperor.

Emperor Meiji sat still, his expression withered, his face haggard, and he did not say a word. This year was really a big setback in his life, he began to dream of being a heroic lord of the world, and then he became the king of the defeated country, and now he is about to become the last emperor. It's like falling into a bottomless abyss, constantly falling, and the mood is unbearable.

At this time, a group of civil and military generals were discussing how to crusade against the rebels and quell the civil strife. The meeting was chaired by Hirobumi Ito, and the military was represented by the new Chief of Staff Gentaro Kodama.

He was originally only the head of the military affairs bureau, and his qualifications were not too high. But after a big battle, the army veterans such as Yama Prefecture Aritomo, Oyama Iwa, Nogi Noshinori, etc., including several imperial generals, almost all died, so he was able to serve as the chief of staff.

Gentaro Kodama and Hirobumi Ito, known as the "two phases of civil and military" and known by the zaibatsu and large landowners as Japan's contemporary Lianpo and Lin Xiangru, were the most suitable candidates to save the emperor's power and interest groups.

But the task ahead of them is extremely daunting.

On the one hand, the rebel forces are in full swing, numbering nearly one million, almost everywhere from the south to the north, and the momentum is extremely huge. On the side of the government forces, the 11th Division could only hold the Tokyo area. With the tens of thousands of Japanese troops released by China as the core, the three divisions formed could only fight separately in various places, and were beaten by the rebels without the ability to fight back.

On the other hand, the whole country is in ruins, and the government's financial revenues have fallen by two-thirds compared with the same period last year, which has greatly affected the material supply of the troops and made it impossible for the government to organize and train new troops.

What is even more terrifying is that, according to the provisions of the Sino-Japanese treaty, the first indemnity of 12 million taels will soon be paid to China.

Although the Japanese government has also tried to seek loans from European and American countries, the response has been lukewarm. Because Western countries generally believe that Japan is very likely to change, the risk of loans is too high, and if the imperial regime collapses, who will ask for the money lent out at that time?

This issue of soldiers, horses, money, and food has become the key to the continued survival of the emperor's regime. Ito racked his brains and finally came up with a solution.

He repeatedly consulted with Wang Fengzao, the new Chinese minister to Japan, that the emperor's regime was in dire need of funds and that the date for the payment of reparations was approaching, and that the pressure from both sides was very likely to destroy the emperor's regime. According to paragraph 8 of the Sino-Japanese treaty, China was obliged to help maintain the emperor's system, so Ito proposed an "emergency plan": China would borrow 20 million taels of silver from Japan at an interest rate of 5%, to be repaid in two years, but only 8 million taels would be paid, and the remaining 12 million taels would be paid in lieu of the 1884 indemnity.

This was fully in line with the terms of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Beijing, and at the same time greatly eased the financial pressure of the year, allowing Japan to have some financial resources to suppress the popular uprising, and the benefits were obvious.

But the disadvantage is that next year and the year after, not only will you have to pay 12 million indemnities per year, but you will also need to repay 10 million loan principal plus interest, and the financial pressure will be heavy.

However, Ito believes that as long as the country is calmed down, the balance of payments gradually returns to normal, and the belt is tightened, there is still hope for surviving the difficulties, and the key lies in the need to achieve a decisive military victory this year.

Previously, Wang Fengzao had reported this "emergency jihua" to China, and Ding Yuntong praised this jihua very much, and he felt that Ito Hirofumi's ideas were both simple and creative.

Originally, the emperor's regime faced both military and financial pressures, much like the situation of Emperor Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty, but Ito's method was able to separate military and financial pressures and solve them in different time periods.

Ding Yuntong had a premonition that if Japan could tide over this difficulty, under the leadership of Ito Hirobumi, Japan's recovery would be much faster than expected.

In any case, for the time being, it is in China's interest to maintain the emperor's power, since unequal treaties need to be enforced. Therefore, he approved the jihua and ordered Huaxia Bank to carry out the relevant operations immediately.

With this in mind, at today's Imperial Meeting, Ito Hirobumi talked a lot about his jihua, claiming that it was just a stopgap measure and a big gamble. If, by the beginning of next year, the situation of the civil war does not fundamentally improve, then the Japanese Empire will be in a situation from which it will never recover.

"Lin Xiangru" has done everything that needs to be done, and the rest depends on "Lian Po".

Kodama Gentaro has always been known for his strategy, known as Japan's first wise general, and he already has a whole set of jihua for the civil war, but this jihua must be very controversial, and must be supported by the emperor at the imperial council.

First of all, we had to deal with the issue of generals, and there were a total of five generals who returned alive from the battlefield on the mainland, namely Hasegawa Yoshimichi who was released by the Chinese, Naobun Rimi, and Prince Arishikawa Miyashihito. Katsura Taro was drifting on the sea, and miraculously encountered a Russian merchant ship, and only then returned home. Another is Oshima Yoshimasa, who wandered all the way to Busan for more than two months after the Battle of Wonsan, where Zuihou blended into the dock porters and was lucky to return home.

According to the practice of the Japanese army, a defeated general will not end well, and it is common for him to be removed from military service and punished for crimes. But Kodama Gentaro knew the course of the war very well and sympathized with these people, and they fought hard under the ammunition and food, which was the death of heaven, not the crime of war.

Moreover, three of the four divisions and regiments of the government army are composed of defeated veterans as the core, and the handling of these generals will make the officers and men die and the morale of the troops will be damaged.

Therefore, Kodama Gentaro, under pressure from the congregation, demoted the five generals and remained in the army in the name of serving as advisers.

Then there was the operation Jihua, where the 11th Division was currently defending Tokyo, the 12th Division was fighting in the northeast, and the 13th and 14th Divisions were fighting in (Kyoto, Osaka) and Kyushu, respectively, with each unit fighting separately and Liliang scattered.

Therefore, he proposed a bold jihua: temporarily abandon the northeast and stop attacking the "free army"; At the same time, he took advantage of the "Heavenly Dao Army" in the central part to advocate a more moderate position, divide politically, stabilize the "Heavenly Dao Army", and then concentrate on Liliang to first exterminate the "Restoration Army" in the south.

After the division and attack of the "Heavenly Dao Army", Zuihou waved his army north again to destroy the most radical "Free Army".

He called this jihua "attacking in the south and defending in the north".

But this jihua, especially the abandonment of the Northeast, was immediately opposed by the congregation. Many ministers have questioned whether Weishenme should seek the near and far and not first solve the "Heavenly Dao Army" near Tokyo and the "Free Army" in the northeast.

But Gentaro Kodama insisted that the "Heavenly Way Army" was relatively mild and would not pose a mortal threat to Tokyo. Moreover, the rebels have different philosophies and contradictions with each other, and as long as the "Heavenly Dao Army" is retained, then the "Free Army", which has the strongest will to rebel, will not be able to directly attack the Tokyo area. It seems to be embattled, but in fact, it is as safe as Mount Tai, and it is enough to rely on the defense of the 11th Division, and all the troops can be mobilized to pacify the south first.

His opinion was echoed by Ito Hirobumi, but the rest of the officials still objected, believing that it was a matter of putting the imperial court at risk.

The most fierce opposition is Higashikurenomiya, who is the child of Meiji's deceased uncle, Prince Asahitko of Higashikunomiya and Utako O, the third princess of Meiji, who has always been dissolute and empty-eyed.

It can be seen that the marriage of the Japanese imperial family is very messy, and the generations are confused, and Higashikurenomiya and Muren are both cousins and sons-in-law. It is no wonder that Meiji's son, Taisho Emperor Yoshihito, was born with a brain disease, which was caused by inbreeding.

Higashikure Palace slapped the table and scolded: "Do you want to throw the emperor to a traitor, and then support yourself and become the new emperor of Japan!" ”

Gentaro Kodama was humiliated by this, and in a fit of rage, he threatened to resign, an attitude that eventually touched the Meiji Emperor.

The emperor is now a dead horse and a live horse doctor, and his regime is already in danger, and it is all maintained by the "civil and military ministers". The current situation is very clear, Kodama Gentaro must have discussed with Ito Hirobumi in advance, if Kodama Gen resigns, Ito is estimated to be gone, and then he will really be powerless. No matter how good Meiji is, there is still this kind of awareness.

He immediately severely reprimanded Higashikure Palace and encouraged Gentaro Kodama: "Everything is presided over by Aiqing." ”