Chapter 1012 Seinan Kōhoku

The British government panicked, and the Japanese government, the protagonist, panicked even more. Unlike in the past, now is the moment of life and death.

No one thought that the European countries would be so unscrupulous, and they would drag themselves to the point where they ended up in person.

An understatement of "economic sanctions" can kill half of the Japanese Empire.

If it is true that the contents of the note are implemented, and the sphere of influence of the eighteen countries of the European Continental Union is their restricted area, then the Japanese government does not need to develop international trade, and it is better to close the country directly.

If you look at the world map, you will know that the sphere of influence of the European Union has covered more than half of the earth. With the domineering style of the great powers of this era, cross-border law enforcement is also common.

In this context, Japan's merchant ships never returned when they went out to sea.

At the same time, it lost its international market and maritime transportation capabilities, and Japan was reduced to meat on the chopping board, which could only be slaughtered.

This is still a civilized approach. If it goes too far, the European Continental Alliance will directly send troops to wipe out the Japanese navy, and another "black ship incident" is not out of the question.

The consequences of refusal are serious, and the consequences of compromise are equally serious. The war has progressed to the present, and the Japanese government has tried its best. At this time, all previous efforts to compromise have been wasted.

Whether it was heavy casualties or huge military expenditures, the Japanese government was cornered.

Taking a step back is no longer a vast sea and sky, but an abyss. For this war, the Japanese people have been starving for a long time, and suddenly received a bad news of failure, "Tianzhu country thief" is a must.

The imperial meeting has already started, but this time no one spoke first. There is no way, it happened so suddenly that we didn't even have time to prepare.

Under the emperor's eyes that were about to kill, Ito Hirobumi bit the bullet and said: "I think everyone is prepared for this scene.

Since the Philippine War was launched, we have discussed the issue of intervention by foreign powers, but we did not expect that this day would come so quickly, let alone that European countries could unite in action.

There is no way to hide. Now that the worst situation has emerged, we are ready to deal with the aftermath.

You don't need to worry too much. Now that the economic crisis is breaking out in Europe, countries will not easily provoke a war, especially a war with no return. "

If you want to comfort people's hearts, Ito Hirobumi really can't make it up. The international intervention that was expected in advance was just that Spain brought in a few countries with good relations to intervene. It was never expected that there would be a joint intervention of 18 countries.

How can I play this?

I took the script of "Eighteen Princes Begging for Dong". The problem is that they are not Dong Zhuo, and they don't have a powerful "Xiliang Iron Cavalry" that shakes the world.

There is no need for eighteen countries to organize coalition forces from within the country. With their military strength in Nanyang alone, they can reach Tokyo in less than a month.

"Resistance", this is a false proposition. Spain alone is on par with the Southward Fleet. If the Dutch and Shinra fleets are added, the Southward Fleet will definitely kneel.

The navy is finished, and it is only a matter of time before the main force of the army, which is still fighting hard in the Philippine Islands, is destroyed.

The army and navy are gone, so what can we do to resist?

"One hundred million pieces of jade" is a crazy plan only after World War II. In Japan today, there are only more than 40 million people in the whole country, and the government is even more famous for its "rationality" in the "Meiji Era".

Originally, Ito Hirobumi wanted to mention the British allies, but seeing the disdainful expressions on everyone's faces, he finally chose to swallow the words back.

Anyone who can enter here is a sensible person, and everyone knows what the "British-Japanese Alliance" is all about.

In normal times, it doesn't matter to tease the tiger's skin, but at a time like this, if you count on the help of the British, it's better to worship the god Amaterasu and ask Kamikaze to help destroy the enemy.

Kiyotaka Kuroda: "It is precisely because of the economic crisis in Europe that we are more dangerous. European powers have always liked to launch wars abroad to deflect the economic crisis at home.

Especially in recent decades, almost every economic crisis has been followed by the climax of European countries' external expansion. Including the Ottoman Empire, which once dominated the Mediterranean, fell under the pace of expansion of Shinra's foreign transfer crisis.

With such a lesson learned from the past, we have to guard against it now. If the situation gets out of control accidentally, negligently, we will become the sinners of the empire. "

As a rare rationalist in the Japanese government, Kiyotaka Kuroda has always opposed military adventures. The practice of betting on the fate of the country is even more disgusting.

It's just that the arms can't hold back the thighs, and they can't stop the Chinese people's desire to expand. Now that the southward strategy has been frustrated, in Kiyotaka Kuroda's view, it is a good time to step on the brakes.

Anyway, it is not a shame to make concessions under the pressure of the European Union. Changing a country would be much better than their performance.

"no!"

"Now we can't back down. The morale of the people has been stimulated. At this time, we have to compromise with the European Union, and there is no way to explain it to the people."

It's not that there are friends in the mountain county, but the Japanese government has been forced into an embarrassing situation. Neither the military nor the public can tolerate failure.

If you really choose to compromise, maybe a revolution will break out in the country. Regardless of the economic crisis in continental Europe, the situation in Japan is actually more serious than in other European countries.

Unlike European countries, no matter how severe the economic crisis is, the government will find a way to distribute relief food no matter how poor it is. Although it is not good to eat, it can save your life.

the Japanese government

No way, all the money was spent on the war, and my pockets were already empty. There is also no money. European countries can borrow food from Shinra, but the Japanese government has no place to credit.

In order to stabilize the situation, the Japanese government has suppressed many riots. Today's Japan is like a powder keg, which is supported by a breath of spirit. If the breath dissipates, it will kill people.

If the civilian population is a powder keg, the military is a powder kit. With the outbreak of the war, the radical faction in the army has begun to emerge, and has a great influence among the middle and lower ranks of officers and soldiers.

Once these people make trouble, their destructive power is much greater than that of ordinary people. As a general who just returned from the front line, Shanxian Youtomo is very aware of how fragile the current military is.

Glancing at Hirobumi Ito, he slowly said knowingly about Saiyuanji Gongwang: "The key to the problem now is not whether we should back down, but whether we can resist the pressure of the European Union.

Not only political and economic pressure, but also military pressure. If the Continental Union conducts armed intervention, will the military have the ability to keep the enemy out of the country?

It is a matter of the life and death of the empire, and I hope you can answer rationally. Your judgment will directly affect whether the Great Japanese Empire can continue.

please! "

While speaking, Gong Wang of Xiyuan Temple also bowed to the military representative.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense. As representatives of the military, Xixiang Congdao, Dashanyan, Shanxian Youpeng and others felt the pressure instantly.

Now is not the time for political struggles, one wrong step will not only end him, but even the Japanese Empire may be buried with him.

"The strength gap between the two sides is too great. Not to mention the joint intervention of the European Continental Union. Even if the Dutch Nanyang Fleet and the Spanish Navy join forces, the Imperial Navy will not be able to defend against the enemy outside the country."

After finishing speaking, Xixiang Congdao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and his whole body relaxed. Although this answer hurts my morale a bit, it is the most responsible answer to the Japanese Empire.

After the outbreak of the Philippine campaign, the Dutch government increased the deployment of troops in the Nanyang region. Although there are not many warships added, and there are no 10,000-ton pre-dreadnought ships, it is enough to serve as the last straw that breaks the balance.

"Is your navy all trash? You spend so much military money every year, and now..."

Before Da Shanyan could finish his sentence, Naval Military Commander Huashan Ziji went back directly: "Da Shanyan needs to be responsible for what he says, how much is the navy's annual military expenditure really?

Did you know that Spain, which is at war with us, spent an average of twice as much as our navy in the last ten years?

The empire's annual naval military expenditure is at most equal to that of Portugal, not even that of the Dutch.

As for the real naval power, let alone Britain and the Holy Roman Empire, people can build two imperial navies with their annual naval budget.

A modern navy can be built with limited funds, and it is on par with the Spanish navy. The navy is worthy of the empire! "

The ass decides the head. Although Kawayama Sukiki was originally from the army, he has to protect the interests of the navy when he takes the position of the commander of the navy. It even needs to be done more thoroughly to convince the people below.

In the case of ignoring the price level and strategic needs, and simply looking at the annual military expenditure, the Japanese Navy is considered to be saving money.

If the above factors are considered comprehensively, the Japanese Navy has nothing to do with "saving money". The high cost of purchasing warships is inevitable. The key is that the Japanese Navy has fully studied the Royal Navy, and many places have reached the point of frenzy.

Not only the tactics training and operating instructions imitated the British, but even the decoration of warships and the meals of soldiers were copied from the Royal Navy. There are no imports in the country, and everything is on par with the Royal Navy anyway.

Whether there is waste, no one knows the answer. After all, the navies of European and American countries play like this. Eating steak and drinking red wine are standard, which is far from what the army can compare.

In an era when confidence is seriously lacking and foreign worship is the most serious, it is naturally beyond reproach that the entire navy imitates the British in an all-round way.

However, these reasons can fool ordinary people, but it is not enough to fool the army, which is the enemy. Don't think that the high-level army doesn't understand the navy. In fact, the time they spend studying the navy every day is not necessarily shorter than some high-level navy officers.

Da Shanyan sneered and said: "It's useless to talk less, the Imperial Navy just sits in the port for training every day, and their navy has to travel all over the world.

Even the military expenses spent every year are earned by the navy from the outside. If you have the ability to earn back the military expenses by yourself, I have no problem even if you spend more money. "

There is nothing wrong with it, the naval military expenditure of the colonial empire was indeed earned back by itself. Whether it is plundering wealth from the colonies or maintaining overseas trade, these are closely related to the navy.

This is why countries with more colonies and wealthier have larger navies. Even if it appears to be a loss, it is because the money has been put into a personal pocket. If it had been losing money all the time, given the feces of European governments these days, it is estimated that they would have stopped playing.

For details, you can refer to Alaska. The Russians threw this hot potato that lost money to Austria. Before the development of gold, there were endless voices within the Vienna government to give up.

It was not until the last few years that the wind direction of the Vienna government changed. More and more people have realized the value of territory, and they have gone to the other extreme—planting flags when they encounter unclaimed land.

Of course, this "extreme" has little effect. After all, it was just planting a flag along the way, not actually sending people to occupy it. The Vienna government still has no shortage of money for a few chess pieces.

Huashan Ziji rolled his eyes, his disdain was palpable. Not one of Spain is settled, but going out to grab colonies, that is definitely a manifestation of brain flooding.

Seeing that the topic went off track, Emperor Meiji gave Dashanyan a dissatisfied look, and sternly scolded: "Now is not the time to hear you quarreling, the empire is at stake, can't you relax?"

Undoubtedly, Emperor Meiji was very dissatisfied with the Army's practice of shifting the topic.

No way, no way, everyone knows this. Is it so difficult to admit that you are not strong enough?

The answer is: very difficult, very difficult.

Unlike the navy, the army is less rational. The navy can roughly know the strength gap between the two sides by looking at the warships. No matter how hard it is to face the strength gap of more than ten times, or even dozens of times, it is difficult to insist!

The most important thing is that the European Navy is close at hand. If they persist, they will directly call. Bragging is about to be ruined, and I can't admit it.

The army is different. Smart people can tell at a glance that although the European Continental Alliance is powerful, it is impossible to send hundreds of thousands of troops to attack Japan, and it will lose money.

Since there is no need to fight with the European Union, it doesn't hurt to brag behind closed doors. Of course, it's fine to keep the enemy out of the country, and this guarantee still doesn't have to be played well.

In case the commander's brain is convulsed and he really comes to attack Tokyo, it will be over. Just relying on the army's record in the Philippine Islands, it is really impossible to provide people with enough confidence.

If you can't brag and don't want to admit that you are not strong enough to take responsibility, then you can only find a way to fool it. It's better than telling the truth and being called a "traitor" by the radicals later.

Everyone present knew that since the European Union's diplomatic note was issued, the Japanese government had no choice.

A hard line is impossible, and if the European Union is really angered, it is not impossible to turn Japan into a colony.

Although it will lose money in this way, the 18 countries will share it together, and each family will not lose much.

It is even possible that not only the eighteen countries, but maybe their good allies will follow suit to ensure that their position in the Far East will not be shaken. Britain has done this kind of thing a lot, and it doesn't care about one more time.

Seeing that the main responsibility for being forced to make concessions was thrown to the navy, Da Shanyan knew that he could no longer pretend to be confused. If they were unwilling to take any responsibility, they would become public enemies.

"Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, it is indeed not wise to confront the European Union. However, we have no way to explain to the people that we simply abandon the Philippine Islands.

If you want a safe transition, the best way is to change to a soft persimmon.

Internally, we can use our voices to attack the North as an excuse to appease the domestic people; externally, we have sold the face of the European Union, and it is not good for them to continue to be aggressive.

The European Continental Union's intervention in the Philippine War was essentially due to the unstable situation in the European continent, and it was worried that the domestic situation would get out of control after Spain's defeat.

There are no such risks in the north, and even if we turn the world upside down, it will not have much impact on the situation in Europe.

At the price of giving up the Philippine Islands, even if we cannot get the support of other countries to go north, it is still no problem to exchange for their neutrality. "