Katsura Taro hurried into the Emperor's Palace, followed by a large number of cabinet members, and the footsteps of everyone stepped on the wooden floor, and the crisp sound was particularly clear in the silent Tokyo night.

The hurried sound, the incongruous chaos, just as every member of the cabinet was uneasy at the moment, including the Minister of War Terauchi Masatake, Saionji Konobo and others, no one had a smile on their faces, and no one was able to maintain their demeanor and calmness.

It was already two o'clock in the morning, and it was a good thing to rush to meet the emperor at this time?

Only the Minister of the Navy, Gonbei Yamamoto, was not present, and when everyone saw Emperor Meiji, the emperor had already washed up and summoned them to the Imperial Palace.

Emperor Meiji was not angry to be woken up at this time, compared to the future of the Japanese Empire, waking up from sleep at this time is nothing at all.

"Is the Combined Fleet defeated?" Emperor Meiji still maintained his royal bearing, there was no panic on his face, and when he asked about the Combined Fleet, his expression was as flat as ever.

However, in a place where no one else could see, Emperor Meiji's fists were clenched together, and his skin was pale under the force.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, there is no news from the Combined Fleet, but Yokosuka has found the shelling of the enemy fleet, and the Yokosuka Naval Factory and Naval Academy have been blown up, killing and wounding more than 10,000 people." Katsura Taro immediately stood up and said.

"The enemy has all hit the doorstep, and there has been no news from the Combined Fleet for five days, do you think the Combined Fleet still exists?" Emperor Meiji shook his head and said.

As soon as this question came out, the atmosphere at the scene instantly became extremely depressing.

It was not only Emperor Meiji who took this issue into account, but all the members of the cabinet were uneasy, and it was also this question, what happened to the Combined Fleet?

"Your Majesty the Emperor, according to the latest information, the Russian fleet did not appear in Vladivostok, nor in the Sea of Japan, and the combined fleet has also lost all news from the beginning of last night morning until now."

"The Tsushima Strait did yesterday evening fog until now, and the dense fog is still blocking the entire strait, and it is possible that the combined fleet is still engaged in battle with the Russian Navy inside." The Navy's Deputy Chief of Staff stood up and said.

"If the Combined Fleet is still fighting a decisive battle with the Russian Second Pacific Fleet, then tell me, who attacked Yokosuka?" Emperor Meiji asked calmly.

"Yamamoto sent a telegram claiming that the enemy attacking Yokosuka had more firepower and density than the Combined Fleet, and Yamamoto believed that this was a navy of a third power." Katsura Taro replied as he got up.

"I want to know where the Combined Fleet is right now?"

Emperor Meiji's voice grew angry, but no one could answer the question.

Emperor Meiji, who did not get an answer immediately, swept his eyes across the crowd, and no one dared to look at him, except for Terauchi Masatsu, the Minister of War, who stood up and said, "Your Majesty, from yesterday to this evening, there has been no return of a ship transporting soldiers to Korea, and perhaps this can explain something. ”

When Katsura Taro heard this, his eyelids jumped, and he asked Masaki Terauchi, who had not yet sat down, "Minister of the temple, can you elaborate on it." ”

"According to the original plan, the Ministry of War will transport troops every day to strengthen the strength of the DPRK's troops, and the time of the transport ships going back and forth every day is very fixed, but since yesterday, there have been no troop merchant ships returning from the DPRK, and I originally planned to ask the Navy Ministry tomorrow about this matter." Terauchi Zhengyi's expression was very serious, although the relationship between the sea and land was not very good, but at this time, he also cared very much about the life and death of the navy.

The life and death of the Combined Fleet is the biggest uncertain factor, and it is impossible to know the situation of the Combined Fleet, and it is difficult for anyone to draw conclusions now.

Togo Heihachiro was originally going to retire, but as a result, he was elected by Yamamoto Gonbei to become the commander of the Combined Fleet, and Yamamoto Gonbei did not let the cabinet and the Ministry of the Navy interfere with Togo Heihachiro's command and judgment.

When the Russian fleet was about to arrive, the combined fleet set out, where to intercept the Russian fleet, analyze the position of the Russian fleet and the route of advance, these naval ministries and cabinets did not interfere, and naturally it is not clear where the combined fleet is.

And the means of communication in this period could not contact the fleet, so now no one can say anything about the situation of the alliance.

This also constitutes the biggest uncertaintie.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, please prepare for the worst." Xiyuan Temple Gongwang stood up and said.

Xiyuan Temple's words made the already dull atmosphere even more depressing.

At this time, Japan was not very confident, and even Gonbei Yamamoto, who appointed Heihachiro Togo, bluntly said that if the combined fleet wants to win, it needs to rely on luck.

"If the Combined Fleet is defeated, it will be the Russian fleet that will attack Yokosuka, and no matter who the enemy is who attacks Yokosuka, their purpose is very likely to be Tokyo." Katsura Taro took a deep breath and said.

"The defense of Tokyo cannot be lost, and what we are most worried about is that the enemy has blockaded Tokyo Bay, and if the Combined Fleet is defeated, then we will not be able to break the enemy's blockade of Tokyo Bay."

"The enemy who sneaks up on Yokosuka is really the Russian Second Pacific Fleet, and the North Korean Dispatch Army and the Siberian Army will be very dangerous, and they will even have to prepare for a defensive operation on their homeland."

"We are ready to seek the help of our British allies in this matter, so that the United States can immediately intervene in mediation, and the war cannot continue to escalate, and if the combined fleet is defeated and destroyed, then we will have to completely abandon Korea."

"Even if the navy is defeated, but there is still an army, the greedy Russian tsar, who not only wants Korea, but also the entire Japanese Empire, so he cannot give up Korea, and he must be prepared for a decisive battle at home."

"There is not much money for the war, and unless Britain is willing to help and lend us money, the Empire's finances will not be able to support the next war of the Army in Korea."

……

A group of people expressed their opinions, and all the topics and possibilities revolved around the fate of the combined fleet.

Only the Xiyuan Temple Gongwang did not express his opinion with everyone, but pondered with a face, until the emperor suppressed all his voices and asked if the Xiyuan Temple had any other opinions, and then the Xiyuan Temple Gongwang got up and said to everyone solemnly:

"Your Majesty the Emperor, I've been thinking about a question just now, according to our intelligence, the Russian Second Pacific Fleet is demoralized, even if it can defeat the Imperial Combined Fleet, but I'm afraid it won't be able to sneak attack Yokosuka, I'm worried that someone will take advantage of the exhaustion of the war between the Empire and Russia to sneak in on it."