The battle of Takasaki ended after only one day. Especially after the Yama County Youpeng seppuku, the fighting spirit of the Japanese army was suddenly collapsed. More than 200,000 Japanese troops, except for a very small number of people who fled, most of the remaining people surrendered to the squadron. The Japanese army, which had lost its fighting spirit, could not continue to fight at all.

In this battle, the Eighth Army, at a small cost, almost completely eliminated the Japanese army in the Tokyo area of Honshu and the northern and western parts of Honshu. In this battle, the Japanese army lost 1.2 million men. Together with the hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops wiped out by the Second Army, there was not much left of the Japanese army. After taking Takasaki, the Eighth Army began to advance south along the coastline, preparing to flank the remaining Japanese forces together with the Second Army. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Japan has gone on a losing track. The capture of Kyoto by the squadron and the destruction of Japan are already inevitable! The Japanese army simply will not have a chance to turn the tables again.

For more than 1,000 years, from the founding of the capital in 794 to the relocation of the capital to Tokyo in 1868, Kyoto has been the capital and political, economic, and cultural center of Japan, and has a rich cultural heritage. The spiritual homeland of the Japanese people in Kyoto, it is the source of Japanese culture and a symbol of Japanese culture. The ancient capital of Kyoto was built on the basis of the Japanese sense of aesthetics that prevailed in dynastic culture throughout the ages. It is known as the "thousand-year-old capital" with historical buildings such as shrines and Buddhist pavilions, gardens, paintings, traditional events, and Kyoto cuisine.

By this time, Emperor Meiji had fled from Tokyo to Kyoto. However, it didn't take long to receive the bad news that the Japanese army had been defeated and completely annihilated. The loss of millions of people immediately stunned Emperor Meiji. The panicked Emperor Meiji immediately convened his ministers to discuss countermeasures.

In the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, the frightened Emperor Meiji summoned the important ministers who had fled to Kyoto with him, including Minister of the Interior Saigo Nomichi, Privy Council Speaker Saionji Konozo, Finance Minister Matsukata Masayoshi, Navy Minister Prince Arisugawa Miyashihito, and Foreign Minister Aoki Shuzo.

"The army suffered another defeat in Gunma Prefecture, millions of troops were annihilated, and now the Shina are marching towards Kyoto, and our remaining forces will not be able to stop the attack of the Shina at all. What do we do now? Emperor Meiji asked.

"Your Majesty, this war, the empire has already lost, there is no need to continue the war. If the war continues, Japan will only perish. Therefore, the minister believes that we need to negotiate with the Chinese people now and end the war! The Speaker of the Privy Council, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang, said first.

"Humph! Your Excellency, you must know that it is not that we are unwilling to negotiate with the Chinese people, but that the Chinese people are unwilling to negotiate with us. The Shina people are bent on destroying Japan, and the conditions they offer are simply unacceptable to us! Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki said coldly. He personally went to Beijing to negotiate peace with China and end the war. However, the Chinese side did not give him this opportunity at all, and he suffered a cold reception in Beijing, which made him very angry, and at the same time, he was completely dead set on the peace talks.

"Your Excellency, if there are no peace talks, will the army be able to withstand the attack of the Chinese now? By the time the Shina people captured Kyoto, Japan would have really perished! Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said-for-tat.

"Even if the battle is to the end, everyone is broken, and they can't make peace with the humiliating people of China!" Aoki Shuzo also said very stubbornly.

"Your Excellency Foreign Minister, you are too stubborn, you are pushing Japan to the abyss of destruction!" Interior Minister Saigo said from the same source.

"Anyway, I won't agree to make peace with the Shina people. I believe that the vast number of army officers and men will not agree! In addition, His Excellency Katsura Taro, Minister of War, is on his way to Kyoto, so let's listen to his opinion! Shuzo Aoki said.

Emperor Meiji was so angry that he wanted to kill Shuzo Aoki immediately. Those guys in the army have already pushed Japan into the abyss, and they still refuse to stop their crazy practices. However, Emperor Meiji did not dare to do this, and the remaining hundreds of thousands of troops in Japan were still controlled by the generals of the army, not to mention anything else, even the Guards Division stationed in Kyoto, the division commander Hasegawa Yoshimichi, was also one of the important figures in the army. If it causes dissatisfaction among these guys, I'm afraid it will cause a situation that will be difficult to clean up.

"In that case, let's wait until Katsura Taro comes to Kyoto!" In the end, Emperor Meiji chose to compromise.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Everyone saw that Emperor Meiji said so, so they didn't dwell on this issue.

"Yaga! Army, these damn horse manure, what are they going to do? Do they still have me, the emperor, in their eyes? After returning to the harem, Emperor Meiji was furious. All the porcelain in the palace was destroyed, and some of the precious antiques were smashed to pieces by the angry Meiji Emperor. Fortunately, Empress Miko arrived in time, which calmed Emperor Meiji. However, Meiji day

The emperor did not compromise on this, and that evening, he again summoned the Minister of the Interior, Saigo Shomichi, and the Privy Council Chairman, Saionji Koto.

"The army is too presumptuous, and sooner or later Japan will be ruined by them. Saigo-kun, Duke of Saionji, we can't watch the army go on like this, we have to take action! Emperor Meiji said with a gloomy face.

"Your Majesty, the people of the War Department, their control of state power, will only lead Japan to ruin, and we must put an end to the rule of the Army. It's just that we have to first remove Katsura Taro and Hasegawa Yoshimichi and others from their military power! Interior Minister Saigo said.

"Your Majesty, I have a solution. At present, many troops are retreating to Kyoto, including the 3rd Brigade of Count Masaki Terauchi. We can secretly send an order to Count Masaki Terauchi to lead the army to Kyoto, and then, in one fell swoop, remove Hasegawa Yoshimichi and others from military power, and then come forward to negotiate with Shina and end the battlefield war! Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said.

"That's a good idea. However, can it succeed with the strength of just one brigade? Emperor Meiji said with some concern.

"Your Majesty, as long as we catch the good way of Hasegawa, we will be easy to do. When the time comes, His Majesty will come forward in person to appease the army, and the ordinary soldiers will definitely support His Majesty! Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said.

Emperor Meiji pondered for a moment, then finally nodded and agreed with the plan.

Soon, Masatoshi Terauchi, who was retreating from the north to Kyoto, received a secret telegram from Emperor Meiji. Terauchi Masatsuki immediately led his 3rd Brigade and accelerated its retreat to Kyoto.

At the same time, the squadron was launching a fierce attack on the Japanese army, and the Japanese army, which had lost its fighting spirit, could not resist the attack of the squadron at all, and now it has been defeated on all fronts. In order to speed up the pace of the destruction of Japan, the 9th and 10th Divisions of the Eighth Army boarded ships in Tokyo and, with the support of the navy, landed directly at Ise Bay, which is adjacent to Kyoto, and killed Kyoto. And the Japanese army simply could not stop it. By November 26, the 9th Division was already in Kusatsu and was only 20 kilometers from Kyoto.

"Conquer Kyoto and capture the emperor alive!" This became the slogan of the squadron's march to Kyoto. The 9th and 10th Divisions were invincible along the way, and the Japanese could not resist their advance at all.

Emperor Meiji and others were also very convened, and they knew that if Kyoto was contributed by the squadron, then their plan would be over. The army giants led by War Minister Katsura Taro still chose to fight the trapped beasts, concentrating the Guards Division, the 11th Division, the 13th Division and other troops, intending to resist the attack of the squadron in Kyoto. The 3rd Brigade, led by Masaki Terauchi, also arrived in Tokyo.

On November 27, the 9th and 10th Divisions of the Eighth Army arrived in Kyoto and launched a final assault on the Japanese army. The Japanese army fought to the death and did not retreat, and fought a decisive battle with the squadron.

That night, the 3rd Brigade, under the leadership of Masaki Terauchi, suddenly attacked the Minister of War Katsura Taro, the commander of the Guards Division, Hasegawa Yoshimichi, and others. Thousands of soldiers captured the headquarters of the army and captured all the people Katsura Taro and others.

"Masaki Terauchi, what do you want to do? Are you rebelling? Katsura Taro, who was captured, scolded after seeing Terauchi Masatsuki.

"Masaki Yamachi, let us go quickly, otherwise, the soldiers under our command will not let you go!" The commander of the Guards Division, Hasegawa Yoshimichi, also threatened.

At this moment, some officers had already discovered the anomaly in the headquarters and began to gather their troops at the headquarters. And at this time, Emperor Meiji came forward, and in the minds of ordinary soldiers, the emperor was still supreme. Under the appeasement of Emperor Meiji, the soldiers chose to obey the emperor's orders, and Katsura Taro and others completely lost power.

It's just that while the Japanese army was in civil strife, the squadron launched the most fierce attack. In the absence of command, the Japanese army was crushed at the first touch, and the squadron directly entered Kyoto.

Emperor Meiji, who had returned to the Imperial Palace, immediately went to contact the Chinese side after learning of the bad news, wanting to hold peace talks with China. However, it was already too late. After the generals of the army were imprisoned, the battle of the army was greatly damaged, and it was impossible to resist the attack of the squadron.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, the 3rd Battalion of the 91st Regiment of the Ninth Division took the lead in attacking the Japanese Imperial Palace, and after solving the hundreds of guards in the Imperial Palace, the entire Imperial Palace had fallen into the control of the squadron. The Meiji Emperor and Empress were taken prisoner.

"What are you going to do? I am the Emperor of Japan! Emperor Meiji yelled angrily. Almost all of the Japanese imperial family can speak Chinese, so he is completely able to communicate with the squadron ** team that occupied the palace. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to subscribe (this site), reward, your support is my biggest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to m. to read on this site. )