The warships of the Japanese Navy began to assemble in Sasebo, and the situation suddenly became tense throughout the Far East. Almost everyone had expected that the huge fleet of the Chinese Navy was already a threat to the Japanese. Therefore, the Japanese wanted to destroy the Chinese Navy in one fell swoop and completely remove this threat.

For a time, the eyes of the whole world were focused on East Asia. Although, the Chinese Empire and Japan, among the many great powers in the world, do not rank highly. In East Asia, however, these two countries are behemoths. After this war, the power structure in East Asia will definitely be reshuffled. The victor will become the leader of East Asia and grow into an emerging power.

Although, at this moment, the confrontation between the two major military blocs of the European Allies and the Entente is becoming more and more serious, and both sides are frantically engaged in an arms race. However, now all countries have been robbed of the limelight by the tensions in the Far East. What's more, this time the war between China and Japan is very likely to break out into a large-scale naval battle. Although there are few capital ships of the Chinese Navy, they are all cutting-edge dreadnoughts. Although there were many battleships in the Japanese Navy, they were all old former dreadnoughts. The collision between the dreadnought and the former dreadnought, who will be better in the end, this is undoubtedly very attractive to everyone's attention. Especially now that Britain and Germany are frantically building dreadnoughts, they also need a real battle to test how powerful dreadnoughts really are.

Yanjing, General Staff. Imperial Crown Prince Wu Haoxuan, Prime Minister Yang Du and Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi all gathered here to meet with the military giants and make arrangements for the imminent outbreak of war.

In addition to Wu Haoxuan, Yang Du, and Tang Shaoyi, the meeting was also attended by Admiral Shi Tianhan, deputy chief of the general staff and director of operations, Admiral Shi Deshan, Admiral Zhao Xifu, and the two chief and deputy commanders of the navy, Admiral Sa Zhenbing and Admiral Cheng Biguang.

"Ladies and gentlemen. This war is already on the verge of breaking out. There will be a decisive battle between us and Little Japan. Although, for us, this war broke out too early and was not fully prepared. But again, little Japan was not ready. We can do it. Defeat them once and for all, and let them know who is the master of East Asia. In addition, little Japan has always been our mortal enemy, and through this war, if we cannot destroy them, we must make them impossible to pose a threat to us for at least twenty years. Wu Haoxuan said.

Those present nodded their heads again and again, Japan's ambitions for China. They all know it very well. It would be great if little Japan could be defeated so that they could no longer pose a threat to China. However, is it so easy for little Japan to defeat completely?

"Your Highness, generals, what are our chances of victory once the war begins?" Yang Du asked. The Cabinet did not want a war at this time, after all, the country was developing rapidly. If only the war could drag on for a few years. The strength of the country will be even stronger. When the time comes, little Japan will be defeated. I guess it's even easier.

"The Army can ensure our security, and if necessary, it will not be difficult to take down the Korean Peninsula." Admiral Shi Tianhan said.

"Although there is still a gap between the strength of our navy and the Japanese navy, if the tactics are right, everything will go well. It is not impossible to defeat little Japan. Admiral Sa Zhenbing said. Equivalent to the self-confidence of the army, the navy is slightly more conservative. After all, the development time of the Imperial Navy is still too short, and the Navy is another branch of the military that needs time to accumulate precipitation.

Yang Du nodded. Since the military is confident that it will win this war, it is only natural that the cabinet will give its full support.

"Prime Minister, I know your concerns, and I also want the country to develop rapidly for a few years before fighting a decisive battle with Little Japan. That way, our odds will be greater. Unfortunately, whether war breaks out or not is not in our hands. Seeing that their advantages are disappearing step by step, little Japan naturally will not sit idly by anymore. Wu Haoxuan said.

"Your Highness, I know. However, once a war breaks out, our domestic construction will inevitably be affected. Yang Du said.

"There is no way to do it, we can only wait until the war is over, and then we can find a way to speed up the development." Wu Haoxuan sighed.

"Your Highness, the Japanese Navy has begun to assemble, and it is expected that war will break out soon. It's just that the maintenance of our fleet has not yet ended, and it is expected that it will take at least half a month. If war breaks out now, it will be very bad for us. Therefore, it is better to be able to drag on until half a month later. We'll be more sure that way. Admiral Sa Zhenbing said. The warships that returned from Germany were still maintained in the dockyards, and if they were put into combat now, the performance of the warships would not be able to play at all.

Wu Haoxuan frowned: "Find a way, delay it for half a month." ”

"Your Highness, we can make peace with the Japanese, and even bring the British in and deliberately show weakness to them. In this way, on the one hand, it is possible to buy time for the Navy. On the other hand, it can also play a role in paralyzing them. Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi said.

"Well, that's a way to do it. Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs take action first, so that all countries can see that we do not want war to break out, and even if war breaks out in the end, there is no way to do it, and we are forced to do nothing. Wu Haoxuan said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Tang Shaoyi nodded.

After that, they discussed what tactics the army and navy would adopt in the event of a war. In the end, it was decided that after the outbreak of war, the army would first defend the defense line of the Yalu River, and wait until the navy won before launching an attack on the Korean Peninsula. In this case, the navy could directly cut off the Korean Peninsula from the Japanese mainland. The Japanese troops deployed on the Korean Peninsula have become turtles in the urn.

As for the navy, it still carried out a dismantling operation first, threatening Japan's sea transportation lines. Then, in attracting the main forces of the Japanese Navy to the ambush zone of submarines, the main fleet of the Japanese Navy was dealt a fatal blow with submarines and destroyers. In the end, battleships and battle cruisers destroyed the last main force of the Japanese Navy.

As tensions in the Far East grew, the Foreign Minister of the Chinese Empire, Tang Shaoyi, met with the British Minister to China, Sir Juerdian, and expressed to him that the Chinese Empire longed for peace and did not want war to break out at this time.

"Your Excellency, the contradictions between China and Japan have become more and more acute, and a large-scale war seems inevitable. However, this is not what we want to see. The UK is the most powerful country in the world, and we hope that the UK will intervene to ease the crisis. Tang Shaoyi's face was sincere.

Sir Zhu Erdian was stunned for a moment, as if he did not expect that at this juncture, the attitude of the Chinese Empire would change 180 degrees. This war was originally instigated by the British, who wanted to teach the Chinese Empire a lesson through Japan. But now, the development of the situation seems to have changed dramatically, and the Chinese have actually succumbed before the war has even begun.

"Your Excellency, the British Empire is probably powerless to mediate the contradictions between the Chinese Empire and the Japanese Empire. The interests of your two countries have already clashed violently. War seems inevitable. Sir Jurden said.

"Your Excellency, the Chinese Empire has always been a peace-loving nation, and we want peace. If peace can be achieved, we don't mind making some concessions. Tang Shaoyi hesitated for a moment, and then said.

The doubts in Sir Zhu Erdian's heart deepened, what the hell is the Chinese Empire doing here? Could it be that the Chinese Empire already knew that it was impossible for them to win this war, so they wanted to avoid it as much as possible? However, Sir Zhu Erdian also had to admit that the Chinese Empire was undoubtedly very wise in doing so. Although the army of the Chinese Empire was strong, the navy was too weak. In addition, the Chinese Empire is currently engaged in large-scale industrial and infrastructure construction, and if war breaks out now, it will inevitably lead to the interruption of construction. Therefore, it is undoubtedly a very wise choice to give in for the time being, and wait until the strength is strong in the future to get back the lost face.

"Your Excellency Foreign Secretary, the British Empire also wants world peace. Since the Chinese Empire is willing to make concessions, we are also willing to intervene in the dispute between China and Japan. Sir Jurden said. It would undoubtedly be best if the Chinese Empire could compromise without going to war. In this way, the risk can also be reduced.

"Thank you, Sir General." Tang Shaoyi finally showed a smile on his face.

Subsequently, the British Minister to China, Sir Jurdian, sent a report to China, asking what to do next. The British Cabinet did not expect this either. However, the softening of the attitude of the Chinese empire is exactly what they want to see. Perhaps, without going to war, the Chinese Empire could alienate Germany.

The British Cabinet instructed Sir Juerdian to mediate the dispute between China and Japan, and to make sure that the Chinese Empire was put back on the right path. However, at the same time, it is also necessary to ensure Japan's interests and appease Japan. After all, they had given their full support to Japan's attack on China. If the war is to be avoided, it is natural to give Japan an explanation.

At the same time, Imperial Prime Minister Yang Du also made a public statement at the event that the Chinese Empire is a peace-loving country and does not want war to break out. It is hoped that both China and Japan will be able to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation of the situation. And this seems to indicate even more that the attitude of the Chinese Empire has softened. (To be continued.) )

PS: The third update is here, kneeling and begging for monthly passes and recommended votes to rush the list! Thank you for the generous reward and monthly pass of Dugu Lingxin! Thank you for the reward from book friends Brother Bao and Mo Qin and Mo Qin! Thanks to the book friend wurunjiang19, Liu Lijin of Dongshan Village, Ningxiang County, Xiao Wangye Warrior, and Yi Sheng only belched for the monthly pass!