While Carlo was inspecting the navy and army, a secret meeting was also being held in Japan in the Far East.

"At present, the Ministry of Finance has allocated 710,000 yen to France for the purchase of the third phase of the Sankei warship, 1.87 million yen for the second batch of British purchases of the Yoshino and Sulang ships, and 680,000 yen for the artillery of the newly formed Sixth Division of the Army, leaving 470,000 yen in the balance of the special account. In addition, the Ministry of Finance will need to allocate the first batch of 2.01 million yen for the Fuji and Yashima ships next month. ”

Treasury Minister Kunitake Watanabe, who is Japan's chief treasurer, is reporting the expenditure situation to a number of high-ranking Japanese officials at the Imperial Council. The meaning of having no money in his words is very clear.

And when he said the balance of the special account, everyone at the scene immediately frowned, and a thought flashed without money. Especially when it comes to the next cost, many people can't help but pat themselves on the head.

It is true that although Japan has undergone modernization reforms, its income has increased significantly, but the cost has also been very high.

Of course, with the help of some well-intentioned people, Japan's expenses are much higher now than they were in the past.

Of course, the inertia of history is very strong, and the famous Sankei ship still exists. (The ship is aimed at the Calm 2 ship)

However, the Sanjing ship is still a wonderful flower in the history of shipbuilding. The battleship of more than 4,000 tons carried a 320-mm cannon, which was simply a model of a small boat carrying a cannon. And if you pay attention to it, you will find that the Sankei ship is divided into two types, the front gun and the rear main gun, Itsukushima and Tatehashi are the front main guns, and Matsushima is the rear main gun.

If Itsukushima and Matsushima were grouped together, would there be a battleship with two 320 mm gates? The Japanese Navy, really in the face of a lack of funds, came up with a good solution.

Originally, there was also supposed to be a three-view ship, forming two formations. But alas, later the Japanese were short of money, and the fourth ship was canceled.

Of course, this is also why, after the Japanese came to their senses, they ordered two more battleships of the first rank, Fuji and Yashima. Of course, the construction of these two warships has only begun, and it is impossible to build them in three or four years.

In addition, the history is also different, and the current cost of Japan's purchase of the two ships of the British Yoshino Sholang is much higher than in history.

Compared with the three or four thousand tons of cruisers in history, the two cruisers that Japan currently purchased from the British have no familiarity at all, except that their names are the same as in history.

Its tonnage reaches more than 8,000 tons, has up to 16,000 horsepower, has a maximum speed of 19 knots, and is equipped with twin 4 256 mm main guns, 6 152 tube guns + 8 120 mm tube guns, and 20 47 mm small-caliber guns, which can completely suppress the Beiyang Zhijing II ship in terms of speed and firepower, and can even compete with the Venice reclassification currently equipped by the Italian Navy. Of course, this cost is also very high, and the cost of the two ships is 1.31 million pounds, which is not discounted.

This price is very difficult for Japan at the moment, don't you see that even the emperor only eats one meal a day?

And after listening to the words of the Great Tibetan Minister, Oyama Iwa, who is the Minister of War, immediately spoke. "I'm running out of money so soon, so I didn't just borrow 10 million yen."

There is also a reason for Dashan Yan to ask this, the original plan of the army was to prepare eight divisions before the war to fight against the Qing army. But at present, the army has just finished forming the sixth division, and there is no money, so how should the next two divisions be formed?

Although the government has been borrowing money, it is better to let the government borrow now, just in case.

The words of the Minister of War immediately attracted the echo of the Minister of the Navy, Saigo Norimichi. "That's right, the next is a critical period for the army and navy, so this money problem can't be shortage."

Although everyone is clear about the relationship between the Japanese army and navy, it is still rare to cooperate with the Japanese army and navy at the moment.

Besides, funding is more important to the navy, how many warships, how many cannons, and how big the caliber are, all of which need to be piled up with money. A big ship fights a small boat, and the threat of a large caliber is more powerful than a small caliber, but it will not change with the change of personnel.

In the face of the statements of the army and navy, Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito spoke. "Dashan-kun and Saigo-kun are a little restless, the government is already negotiating new loans with the British, and when this money comes down, then the funding problem will be solved for you."

As if to strengthen the confidence of the two ministers of the army and navy, Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu then took over the topic and continued. "At present, we are negotiating a large loan of 5,000 yen with the English, and we are almost done talking about it, and it should be negotiated next month."

Yes, the Japanese government is negotiating a 5,000-yen loan with the British bank, but not as easily as he suggests. The British demanded a relatively high price for this amount and demanded that the Japanese government use the mineral tax as collateral. As we all know, Japan is a country with a lot of gold and silver mines, and the Japanese government has set a high mineral tax for these gold and silver mines, which can reach more than 7 million yen per year. And the premise that the British banks are willing to lend this money is precisely to focus on this money.

Of course, for Japan, the taxes that can be mortgaged have been almost mortgaged, and any tariffs, field taxes, etc., have long been mortgaged. The most valuable thing in the hands at present is this mineral tax.

And now, in order to expand the armament war, this most valuable tax also needs to be put on the counter mortgage.

Since they are going to have money again, the two ministers of Hailu naturally have nothing to say.

But at this time, the Prime Minister of Treasure, Watanabe Kunitake, stood up again. "Ladies and gentlemen, let me say more. According to the Ministry of Finance's projections, if current spending continues, Japan's finances will be able to sustain itself for up to two years. So I hope that the Navy and Army will be ready as soon as possible, please. ”

The words of the Great Tibetan Minister made the atmosphere that had just recovered immediately lower again.

However, there is no way to do it, Japan is too small, and its fiscal revenue is only so much, and it has done its best to reorganize the armament and war. If it drags on for a long time, Japan is doomed to bankruptcy.

When Watanabe Kunitake was confronted, the two Navy and Army ministers immediately replied. "Please rest assured Watanabe-kun, we will definitely complete our preparations as soon as possible."

As prime minister, Ito Hirobumi of course knew that the government was about to run out, so he had already ordered the ambassador to North Korea not to worry about the attitude of the North Korean and Qing people.

That's right, Japan now needs to find all sorts of ways to stir things up.

At the same time that Japan was trying its best to expand its armaments, Li Zhongtang, who was the first governor of the Qing Dynasty, was also in the Zhili Governor's Mansion in Tianjin, looking at a submission.

This submission was jointly submitted by Ding Ruchang, Admiral of the Beiyang Naval Division, and Major General Antonio, the chief adviser of the Beiyang Navy, requesting the exchange of rapid-fire guns for the battleships of the Beiyang Fleet. Since it is a replacement of guns, it costs money, although the submission of the rapid-fire cannon said that the sky is outrageous, but the cost of changing the gun still makes Li Zhongtang hesitate.

The reason is very simple, because it costs 730,000 taels of silver to replace the gun, and it is normal for this expense to make Li Zhongtang hesitate.

Although in the submission, the general counsel from Italy said that the Japanese Navy next door was becoming a henchman in Beiyang, but Li Zhongtang was well-informed, how could he not know that this was a way to ask for money, and he played the leftovers.

Japan, a small country and a widow, was the opponent of our great Qing Dynasty, and if it were not for the sake of avoiding extraneous complications, it would not have had a good time in Taiwan back then.

Of course, if this is the only thing, Li Zhongtang will not be able to give it for his hard work. But Lord Zhongtang is also embarrassed, in recent years, it has become more and more difficult for Zhongtang to ask for silver from the court. At present, although there are still 2,600,000 taels of silver in the bank, this money is not so useful.

In addition, the Queen Mother repairs the garden, and he Li Zhongtang also needs to repay one or two. More than 100,000 soldiers in Beiyang are all related to him, and his family business is big, and it is difficult for him.

However, after thinking about it again, Li Zhongtang sighed and wrote a word on the submission.

Finally, the Beiyang Fleet also began to change rapid-fire guns, although I don't know how much this can be improved, but it has finally changed.

Of course, Major General Antonio, as the general adviser, also played a role to some extent.