As the perimeter of the Japanese Imperial Palace was breached, the remnants of the Guards Division also held out in various parts of the Imperial Palace, and many civilians participated in the siege of the Imperial Palace.

And it was not only a sharp knife platoon led by Xu Xinyu who attacked the palace, when Xu Xinyu's sharp knife platoon broke through the palace, the other eleven sharp knife platoons also arrived at the palace battlefield one after another, and surrounded the palace from all directions.

During this period, the Imperial Palace of Japan was called Miyagi, and the place where the Emperor summoned the Japanese Cabinet was in the main hall, which was actually the same place as the Emperor's Imperial Palace, but it was separated from the Emperor's living place and administrative place, and they were all in the same building.

Most of the Imperial Palace is covered with garden vegetation, and before it was destroyed, it was a must in Tokyo, and it will be a key tourist attraction in Tokyo for generations to come.

But now, those beautiful gardens, the so-called imperial gardens, have long since become bald, and the flowers and plants have long since disappeared under the destruction of the cannons.

The hill of Miyagi, where the main hall is located, also completely collapsed, and the debris of the collapsed building covered the safe house under the palace.

At this moment, there is only a simple vent in the safe house, which allows the people inside to breathe the outside air.

This underground safe house was specially built after the Meiji Emperor moved his capital to Tokyo, when he was considering the United States knocking on the door of Japan.

The safe house is not just a room, but it was built as a time when the emperor had to escape a disaster, and the environment is not much worse than the one outside.

Fortunately, there was this safe house, otherwise the Meiji Emperor and these officials of the Japanese cabinet would have been destroyed by the artillery fire in the early morning.

However, the emperor who rolled down the stairs is not in a good state now, in the dimly lit safe house, the Meiji Emperor, who has a broken hand and a broken head, does not have the calmness of the imperial family, or rather, his bearing and self-cultivation have been shelled and thrown into the Pacific Ocean in close contact with the stairs.

The collapsed main hall pressed down on the exit of the safe house, and the other exit, which was also not dead, was blown down by a heavy artillery shell.

The palace guards in the safe house are in a hurry to dig and open the exit to the outside.

It's been almost ten hours since I entered the safe house to take refuge, what is the situation outside? No one can say well.

But judging by the incessant sound of artillery and explosions for several hours, and even the cracks in the safe houses, Tokyo is not much better.

"Katsura Taro, is the enemy really Russia?" Emperor Meiji, whose face sank into the water, was like an angry beast, and asked Katsura Taro beside him.

As prime minister, Katsura Taro had to answer this question, saying, "Hopefully, it's Russia, if it's not Russia, then the Japanese Empire is going to die." ”

Katsura Taro's candid answer made Emperor Meiji's anger boil for a moment, and he shouted with almost all his strength: "No matter who it is, the Great Japanese Empire will not ......"

Due to the force being too strong, he hit his injured arm, and Emperor Meiji didn't have time to finish his words, so he grinned and endured severe pain.

As the imperial family and the supreme leader of Japan, he will not show any cowardice and unbearable in front of his subordinates.

Katsura Taro was well aware of Emperor Meiji's thoughts, but there are some things that can often be changed by wishful thinking.

"Your Majesty, although very reluctant, but the war materials of the Japanese Empire can no longer meet the needs and consumption of the local defense, because in the fifteen-month war that the Russian Empire has been protracting, the Empire has consumed most of the war materials prepared for ten years, and if another enemy attacks the Japanese mainland, we will not even be able to arm more than a million troops."

Katsura Taro's tone was very heavy, and he stayed here for more than ten hours without sleep, and also gave him time to fully think and analyze.

Because of the sudden, already instantaneous terrible firepower of the shelling of Tokyo, Katsura Taro's thoughts coincided with Yamamoto Gonbei's thoughts.

Katsura Taro was very suspicious, and even thought in his heart that the enemy who attacked Yokosuka and Tokyo could not be the Russian fleet at all.

But it is precisely because of this that it is a real disaster for Japan.

If it is the Russian fleet that attacks Tokyo, even if the combined fleet is destroyed, then at least Japan will have a chance to negotiate with Russia.

But if it weren't for the Russian fleet, not only would the combined fleet be very dangerous, but I am afraid that the whole of Japan would be in danger.

"Even if the empire fights until only women and children remain, it will not stop resisting." Emperor Meiji gritted his teeth and said.

"Hopefully, we've all guessed wrong, and when the passage is opened, the Russians will be ready to sit at the negotiating table." Katsura Taro said with a slight expectation on his face.

Emperor Meiji didn't speak, he wasn't so naïve, and he knew very well that Katsura Taro was just hoping that hope would appear, but reason and analysis all pointed to another outcome that he didn't want to see.

Just as the Emperor and the Prime Minister were silent, the sound of artillery shelling was heard on the ground again, which was the movement of the attack on the Imperial Palace or the second artillery artillery fire on the Imperial Palace.

Hearing the sound of cannons that had been quiet for five or six hours reappeared, whether it was Katsura Taro or the Emperor, the last shred of hope was gone.

The sound of artillery coming from above was much quieter than a few hours ago, and at this time, it must be the enemy who will still be shelling Tokyo, and it is not yet the enemy's naval artillery, and it is very likely that the enemy will continue to shell Tokyo with army field artillery after landing in Tokyo.

By the time the shelling was over for a few minutes and the sound of gunfire could be faintly heard above, this speculation was already true.

"Russia simply does not have troops, landing in Tokyo." After a long silence, Emperor Meiji broke the silence with his mouth.

Anyone can hear the loneliness and unwillingness in Emperor Meiji's words at this moment.

They were well aware of Tokyo's defenses, facing a powerful fleet and an enemy landing in Tokyo, and the sound of battle was overhead, there was no doubt that even if they were able to leave this safe house, the best outcome would be to become a prisoner of the enemy.

Emperor Meiji was very clear about this, and Katsura Taro was naturally very clear, and there was no reason to refute the emperor, only continued silence, and it was useless to say anything now.

Outside, the dense gunfire continued for a full ten minutes, and when the gunfire calmed down, the other exit of the safe house was blocked, and finally opened.

When Katsura Taro learned of this, he hurriedly ordered the guards of the Imperial Palace, "Escort His Majesty the Emperor out of the safe house immediately." ”