The Japanese military supported the war against the Northern Army in alliance with Russia. Losing to the Northern Army in the war the year before last has always been a pain in the hearts of the Japanese Army, and they have always wanted to be ashamed. The Japanese Navy, on the other hand, was greatly affected by the loss of iron ore from the Northeast, which greatly affected the progress of warship construction, which made them eager to obtain the mineral resources of the Northeast.

However, whether or not to participate in the war against the Northern Army is not something that the military can determine, and it needs to be agreed with other cabinet ministers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we still don't have enough money for the military. The Ministry of Finance has no money to support this war! Tibetan Prime Minister Yoshiro Sakatani said expressionlessly.

"Ahh The smiles on the faces of the high-ranking officers of the army and navy, who were originally happy, suddenly froze. If you don't have money, that's a fart!

"Why? It's been a few months, why hasn't enough money been raised? Katsura Taro was very dissatisfied.

"There is only so much revenue every year. In addition to repaying debts, it also has to support domestic economic development and education. Plus the cost of army and navy salaries and arms procurement. All of this has put the Ministry of Finance under tremendous pressure. Yoshiro Sakatani was not intimidated by Katsura Taro.

"Damn!" Katsura Taro couldn't help but curse secretly.

As a former prime minister of Japan, he certainly knows the reasons for Japan's financial constraints. It was during his tenure that the Russo-Japanese War was fought. Although, they finally won the war. But because of this, a huge amount of military spending was spent. In the post-war negotiations, no war reparations were awarded. This has made Japan's finances even worse.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan spent 200 million yen on its military expenditure. However, they received an indemnity of 230 million taels of silver. That's the equivalent of a few years of their financial income. This has brought great benefits to Japan. However, the fruits of victory in the Russo-Japanese War cannot be compared with the price they paid. This is also where Katsura Taro is criticized.

"The problem of military spending. Can I borrow money from domestic banks and large corporations? Lu Xiangji asked. With the support of the Japanese government, several well-known chaebols have also been formed in Japan. Although the Japanese government has no money, these chaebols are very fat.

"No way, the Ministry of Finance has already thought of a way. But several chaebols are resolute. Yoshiro Sakatani shook his head.

"Damn, those moths. Without the support of the Great Japanese Empire, how could they have developed so big. Right now. As long as they pay a little money for the future of the empire, they dare to push back. These guys' consciences are so bad that they should all be shot! Katsura Taro roared angrily.

The other cabinet ministers looked at Katsura Taro with some shock. After all, Japan's chaebols and these ministers are basically in collusion. In the cabinet, there are also quite a few people who are the spokesmen of the big chaebols.

"Let's find a way to borrow money from the British and French. They are allies of the Russians. Now that the Russians have been beaten so badly by the Northern Army, they will not be indifferent, right? Minoru Saito, the prime minister of the sea, proposed.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been in contact with Britain and France. However, the attitude of Britain and France in this war was very ambiguous. Whether they will agree to our request or not, it's hard to say. Foreign Minister Lin Dong said.

Before the war broke out, Japan wanted to join the war. However, the French refused to provide loans to Japan. The British sternly warned Japan not to get involved in this war. This made the Japanese side very puzzled.

"Well, Your Excellency the Foreign Minister, first make contact with England and France and test their tone. If they support the Empire of Japan in waging war against the Northern Army, then we will be involved in this war. If they are explicitly against it, then we have to give up. Prime Minister Saionji Gongwang said. Though. He knew that this was a good opportunity to destroy the Northern Army. If you miss such an opportunity, you may never have such an opportunity again. But now Japan. The situation is too tense. Without the support of the British, they simply would not have been able to fight a large-scale war.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I ask your Excellency to allow the Army to mobilize first. After all, the Northern Army deployed more than 100,000 people on the Sino-North Korean border. Except for the five divisions of the Korean Army, which are full, the rest of our army is seriously short of personnel. If you mobilize in a hurry, it will take a lot of time. Lu Xiangji said.

Xiyuan Temple Gongwang hesitated. But he still shook his head: "Let's wait until we get in touch with Britain and France." ”

After all, if the army had mobilized first, it would have forced the cabinet to take a stand. Saionji Gongwang definitely didn't want that to happen.

Even if Terau Masashi and the others are very unwilling, there is no way.

Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Tung urgently met with British Ambassador to Japan Edward and proposed to him Japan's desire to join the war.

"Your Excellency, Ambassador. Your country's ally, Russia, suffered a crushing defeat in the war, losing hundreds of thousands of troops. Now the Northern Army is marching towards Eastern Siberia, which will be a disaster for Russia. Once the Northern Army wins this war, they will gain great development. This will pose a huge threat to both Japan and Russia. At the same time, it would seriously affect the interests of the British Empire in the Far East. As an important ally of the British Empire in the Far East, Japan was obliged to settle this trouble for the British Empire. We hope that the British Empire will support us in the war against the Northern Army. Lin Dong said.

Ambassador Edward frowned, he had long been aware of the ambitions of the Japanese. In addition, he also sent a report to the country. British Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey had given him the latest instructions. Britain did not want the war between the northern government and Russia to expand, and the war had to be kept strictly within a relatively small area. Britain hoped to use the war to knock Russia on and make the Russians willingly turn their attention back to Europe. At the same time, Britain did not want Russia to suffer too much loss. If the Japanese had joined the war, the scale of the war would have been beyond the control of the British. Russia will also devote more troops to the Far East. Whether or not Russia wins the next war, it will have a great impact on British interests. Therefore, the British believed that the war should come to an end at this time.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, but the British Empire doesn't think it's a good idea. The war between Russia and the northern government has already caused hundreds of thousands of casualties. This affected not only world peace, but also the interests of the British Empire. So, the British Empire did not want the scale of the war to increase. Ambassador Edward said.

"What?" Lin Dong was dumbfounded, he didn't expect Edward to give such an answer. He now seriously doubted, were the Russians really allies of the British?

"Your Excellency, however, if we don't make a move, Russia will lose this war." Lin Dong said.

"This war is just a small defeat for Russia, and it will not break their bones." Edward shook his head.

The British side's statement made Lin Dong speechless. After learning about the attitude of the British side, he knew that it was very difficult for Japan to participate in the war.

Sure enough, Lin Dong then met with the French ambassador to Japan and asked the French side for a loan. This was also rejected by the French. Lin Dong knew that the British and the French had already reached an agreement.

At the subsequent cabinet meeting, Lin Dong reported the results of his contacts with the British and French.

"Damn! What the hell are they trying to do? Would they rather let Russia lose than let the Great Japanese Empire rise? Katsura Taro was furious.

Saionji Gongwang glanced at Katsura Taro in a rage, and then said, "So, what should we do now?" ”

Everyone looked at each other, not only did they have no money now. Britain and France also made their opposition clear. If they were determined to join the war, they would certainly offend the British and French. This has made many people retreat in their hearts.

"We can get in touch with the Russians, and if they are willing to give us a loan, we can also join the war." Lu Xiangji said.

"But this would make the British extremely unhappy." Lin Dong frowned.

"The future of the Great Japanese Empire is in our own hands. We are now one of the great powers, and we don't need to look at the faces of the British. Katsura Taro also said.

After some rhetoric, the Japanese cabinet reached an agreement. If Russia was willing to provide Japan with a loan, Japan would not hesitate to disobey the British and enter the war. These Japanese cabinet ministers know that if Japan wants to rise to become a world-class power, it must have access to China's resources. If the Northern Army rises, they will lose their chance to occupy China. Even if it offends Britain because of this, it is worth it.

It's a pity that the Japanese seem to have forgotten that the Russians are also poor. They also don't have enough money for the military, and they are desperately trying to get loans from the French. The Russians can't even take care of themselves, where is the money to lend to the Japanese?

In response to the request of the Japanese, the Russians replied directly that only Japan had raised the military expenses themselves, and Russia could not do anything about it.

Under such circumstances, Japan knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that they could not miss, but they had no choice but to watch the opportunity slip away. (To be continued......)

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