On the rostrum, the Emperor always maintained a posture of bowing and admitting his mistake, and did not straighten up for a long time.
Time seems to be frozen at this moment.
In the huge venue, there was absolutely no sound, you could hear a pin drop, and it was deathly quiet.
Reporters from major news media in the audience almost had their eyes popping out, thinking they were hallucinating.
At the same time, this scene was also broadcast on TV stations throughout Japan.
At least millions of viewers witnessed this scene.
And in their ears, the emperor's words just now were still echoing -
"I apologize to China for the evil deeds committed by our ancestors decades ago!"
Although it is just a simple sentence, the profound meaning contained in it is equivalent to directly dropping a nuclear bomb on the territory of Japan.
Over the years, neither the royal family nor the cabinet has ever acknowledged the invasion.
Because once it is admitted, the Japanese country will be placed in a very passive situation, and no matter how stupid they are, they will not make such a "wrong" move.
For a moment, the same thought came to everyone's mind——
Has the Emperor become confused? Or is he suffering from a mental illness?
I don’t know how long it took, but a reporter finally recovered from the shock, rushed to the rostrum, raised his microphone high, and asked: "Your Majesty, are you kidding everyone about what you just said? That must be it.
It’s not true, right?”
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
The next moment, countless eyes in the arena were focused on the Emperor, waiting for his answer.
Everyone held their breath and concentrated, not even breathing out. The atmosphere was extremely solemn.
At this time, the emperor straightened up, his face was ashen, and there were big beads of sweat on his forehead, but he still had the courage to speak:
"As the monarch of the Japanese Empire, I hereby express my most sincere apology to the Chinese people who were persecuted during the invasion!"
At the end of the sentence, the emperor's body shook, as if all his strength had been exhausted by what he just said.
As soon as this statement came out, the whole country was in an uproar.
The whole venue was in chaos, and countless reporters rushed to the stage to interview the emperor.
The viewers watching the live broadcast in front of the TV were also in chaos, crying and crying, and their spiritual beliefs seemed to have collapsed.
You must know that in the Japanese country, the emperor has the supreme status and is the king of "one line for all generations".
The so-called "one lineage for all generations" means that one family has been ruled by one family for thousands of years. This is simply an unimaginable phenomenon for other countries where dynasties change like a revolving lantern.
The reason is that the ancient Japanese country was a theocratic country that implemented a system of integration of politics and religion, and the emperor was not a "person", but was regarded as a descendant of Amaterasu. The entire Japanese country was the private property of Amaterasu, and the emperor
Rule on behalf of Amaterasu.
The concept that the emperor is the descendant of a "god" has long been deeply rooted in the minds of the Japanese people, just like the Chinese people believe in the Jade Emperor.
Out of reverence for the gods, any words or deeds that want to question, harm, or replace the emperor will be regarded as a serious crime of "disobedience and immorality" and shall be punished with death.
Even now, the power of the emperor is no longer as great as in ancient times, but it is still the spiritual belief of countless Japanese people.
But today, the emperor, who is a descendant of God, betrayed the entire country!
Seeing the chaos in the venue and the situation showing signs of getting out of control, many royal guards took action to stop the reporters. Prince Meitoku quickly helped the emperor to rest inside the Imperial Palace.
Although the press conference is over, the subsequent impact of this incident is continuing to ferment and escalate crazily.
All major news media reported the matter immediately, and office workers who did not see the live TV broadcast also got the news through various methods.
Many radical and angry young people simply stopped going to work and rushed to the streets to hold banners and march, demanding that the emperor take back his life.
The entire Japanese country fell into great turmoil.
…
At the same time, at the entrance of the Imperial Palace.
Many senior generals of the Japanese hawks gathered here.
They did not wear military uniforms. Instead, they put on the shogunate-era armor inherited from their families. They wore swords at their waists. They knelt down on one knee at the entrance of the imperial palace, with angry flames burning in their eyes.
A chilling and solemn aura permeated the air, making it so oppressive that ordinary people dared not approach it.
The Japanese country is a society that pays great attention to blood.
The son of the president is the president, the son of the general is the general, and the son of the noble is the noble. It is almost impossible for ordinary people to cross the class by their own strength.
The fathers and ancestors of these hawkish generals also participated in the invasion decades ago and committed countless evil deeds in China.
They could not accept the emperor's previous public apology.
"Commander of the Northern Air Force, I beg your Majesty to take back your order!"
"Chief of Staff of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, I beg your Majesty to take back your order!"
"Commander of the 7th Division of the Ground Self-Defense Force, I beg your Majesty to take back your order!"
A series of calls for orders echoed at the entrance of the Imperial Palace, one sound louder than the other.
These officers were all senior officials of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and held great power. This was the first time in decades that they had united to request orders like this.
If the royal family does not provide comfort, there may be a mutiny in the army, with disastrous consequences.
"Peng!"
Suddenly, the gate of the imperial palace opened.
With the support of Prince Meitoku, the old emperor walked out.
Looking at the dozens of officers kneeling on the ground in front of him, the Emperor's face was ashen and he said in a deep voice: "What are you doing? As the military commander, every move you make is related to the stability of the country! You are leaving collectively without authorization.
It’s your duty, why don’t you go back quickly!”
Although the Emperor is old, his voice contains endless majesty.
However, those officers were like sculptures, motionless and turned a blind eye to the emperor's orders.
At this time, a powerful and rough sound exploded in everyone's ears like thunder:
"I am about to fight to the death, why does Your Majesty surrender first?!"
…
This questioning voice was like an invisible sharp blade, pointing the finger at the Emperor.
The emperor's face suddenly became extremely gloomy, and his whole body trembled with anger.
"Presumptuous! Nakano Takashi, how dare you disrespect my father!" Prince Mingde shouted angrily, staring straight at the person who spoke.
Looking from a distance, I saw that the man was about fifty years old, with a Chinese character face, an aquiline nose, shining eyes, calm and powerful, and he exuded the aura of decisive killing.
Nakano Takashi, the current defense minister of Japan!
He is equivalent to the highest officer in the military, and is also the leader of the hawkish forces. He has full prestige in the military.
Faced with Prince Meitoku's scolding, Nakano Takashi was not afraid at all. Instead, he stood up, looked at the emperor and said loudly: "Your Majesty, my loyalty to you can be seen from heaven! But how can you publicly apologize to China?
"
"Hmph! Don't you understand the current situation?"
Prince Mingde gritted his teeth and said: "If my father hadn't endured the humiliation and shouldered the eternal crime, I'm afraid you would all be dead now! You are ungrateful and still come to the imperial palace to show off your power. You really have the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard!"
"Is it because of the Chinese warrior Ye Beichen?"
Nakano Takashi frowned and said word by word: "Even if he has martial arts skills and can defeat the sword master Gen Musashi, so what? Our Self-Defense Forces have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and countless modern weapons, but we can still be afraid of just one person like him.
No? As long as His Majesty gives the order, I am willing to be a vanguard and take the lead in taking Ye Beichen's head and presenting it to Your Majesty!"
His words were impassioned and boosted morale.
Many officers in the rear agreed and wanted to go out immediately to kill Ye Beichen.
"enough!!!"
Suddenly, the Emperor burst out with a roar, like an angry lion, roaring: "What do you know? That Ye Beichen is definitely not something we can defeat! Let me tell you - not only did Minamoto Musashi die at his hands,
Even the high priest of Ise Shrine became his slave!"
"What?!"
Hearing this, many officers present had expressions of disbelief on their faces, and their hearts were filled with huge waves of horror.
The shadow of the tree, the name of the person!
In the upper class society of Japan, the name of Great Priest was a taboo, and it was above the royal family and cabinet.
But now the emperor said that even the great priests had become Ye Fan's slaves. This news simply overturned their worldview.
At this time, the emperor continued: "Do you still remember? A few months ago, a destroyer from our Japanese country was destroyed in the sea!"
Upon hearing this, many officers present looked suspicious.
At that time, an entire destroyer was destroyed and thousands of soldiers were killed, which caused an uproar in the Japanese military. Most people believed that China dispatched an aircraft carrier.
Many hawkish generals asked for help one after another, wanting to return the favor.
Unexpectedly, at the first opportunity, the cabinet ordered to block the news and strictly prohibited anyone from discussing the matter.
At this moment, Nakano Takashi and other officers were confused as to why the emperor would bring up the old matter again.
Suddenly, the emperor raised his voice a bit: "The culprit who destroyed the destroyer was not the Chinese aircraft carrier, but a martial arts master! After investigation, it was confirmed that the master was Ye Beichen!"
As soon as these words came out, it was like a huge stone smashing into the calm water, causing thousands of waves.
When many officers heard this, they were dumbfounded and exclaimed in disbelief:
"No! Impossible! This is absolutely not true!"
"No matter how powerful Ye Beichen is, he is still mortal, how can he compete with the regular army?"
"That's right! That's the latest destroyer, equipped with the most advanced artillery system, and even equipped with two missiles!"
At this time, the emperor waved his hand, and an entourage immediately brought a stack of top-secret information, which recorded how Ye Fan cut off the destroyer with one sword.
After seeing the whole process clearly, dozens of hawk generals were immediately speechless, their vests were completely soaked with cold sweat, and they felt unprecedented fear.
Cut off the destroyer with one sword!
Is this... still a power that humans can possess?!
They calculated in their minds that even if they sent out a large-scale army, they would not be able to kill Ye Beichen, but would instead anger him.
It is no exaggeration to say that Ye Beichen alone can stop a Japanese army!
"Why……"
Seeing that many officers were silent, the Emperor sighed quietly and said:
"We, the Japanese royal family, are known as the descendants of gods, and our bloodline is extremely respected! But Ye Beichen, he is not a human -"