Emperor Hirohito looked around at the two rows of ministers, pushed up his glasses, and said politely:
"Since... you have all reached a consensus... then... does the Prime Minister have anything else to say?"
Hayashi Jujuro faced the emperor, bowed slowly, and said softly:
"yes."
Then, he faced the crowd, his beard twitching, and said in a loud voice:
"Regarding the decision on the future of the empire, I believe you have all reached a unanimous opinion. In the past few days, we have been faced with a difficult choice: stand on the side of the Ming Dynasty against Russia, side with Russia against the Ming Dynasty, or sit on the sidelines and stand by.
, striving for profit. In fact, even if we sit on the sidelines, we have just avoided this choice temporarily, because Russia
Even after the war between the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, they are still the two strongest powers in Asia. And if the empire wants to develop in Asia for a long time, it cannot escape this choice. Therefore, our decision-making in the past few days is not just about deciding which side to join forces to suppress
Which side? It is also deciding the long-term national policy of the empire - if the empire wants to become the leader of Asia, which side should it unite with and which side should be suppressed?
"Some people said before that we should unite with the Ming Dynasty to suppress Russia. The reason is that Russia is stronger than the Ming Dynasty, and Bolshevik Russia is far more dangerous than the Ming Dynasty. Whether Russia is stronger than the Ming Dynasty is irrelevant. As you know, if Japan
If you want to become a leader in Asia, you must first recognize who is the biggest obstacle to Japan, not who is the most powerful. Moreover, after the war to destroy the Qing Dynasty, I believe everyone can see more clearly who is more powerful, Russia or the Ming Dynasty."
After Hayashi Jujuro finished speaking, he bowed to the emperor and still sat upright.
Then, Navy Minister Mitsumasa Mineuchi bowed to the emperor and spoke solemnly:
"I, Minister of the Navy Mitsumasa Yoneuchi, still believe that Russia is the most powerful country in Eurasia. On this point, the views of His Excellency the Prime Minister and I are still inconsistent."
As soon as he said this sentence, everyone looked at him. Hayashi Jurojuro was also startled and stared at him, wondering what the navy minister was up to.
But Mitsumasa Yoneuchi said sternly next:
"Although I think Russia is the most powerful country on the Eurasian continent, I also believe that Russia's center of gravity is in Europe. Its population, big cities, economic centers, industrial centers, transportation networks, and food centers have been fully developed.
Mineral energy...wait, most of them are in Europe
That end. In other words, the most powerful part of Russia is in Europe. And even though the Ming Dynasty was not as powerful as Russia, its population, big cities, economic centers, industrial centers, transportation networks, and food centers were fully developed.
Mineral energy... wait, but it's in East Asia.
"In other words, the most powerful part of the Ming Dynasty is right next to Japan's bed! Based on this alone, I firmly believe that we should unite with Russia to fight against the Ming Dynasty! Russia is far away from us, and the Ming Dynasty is close to us.
.Russia may come to the east to fight,
But no matter whether it wins or loses, it will eventually return to the west after the war, and Japan will have a chance to make a comeback. But the Ming Dynasty is always in the east, always blocking Japan's way to set foot on the East Asian continent and become the leader of Asia! This
Japan cannot escape!
"Besides, I am a naval officer, and I am concerned not only about the land, but also about the ocean. His Majesty the late Emperor Meiji once made a national policy: to open up thousands of miles of waves and spread the country's prestige in all directions. The foundation of the Empire of Japan is
Navy. Now the only one competing with us for this ocean is the Ming Dynasty. Not only does the Ming Dynasty hold an army almost equal to that of Japan,
The naval power also holds the lifeblood of Japan - the Strait of Malacca. You all still remember how the Ming Dynasty repeatedly blackmailed the empire and humiliated the empire through the Strait of Malacca. And in the foreseeable future, the Ming Dynasty will still continue to do so again and again.
They have repeatedly relied on the Strait of Malacca to threaten Japan and made unreasonable demands on Japan one after another!"
When he spoke, everyone nodded slightly. Army Minister Sugiyama Gen took a deep breath and said loudly:
"What the Lord Admiralty said makes sense! In a word, in today's Asia, Japan and the Ming Dynasty cannot coexist! If there is Japan, there will be no Ming Dynasty! If there is the Ming Dynasty, there will be no Japan! If a man wants to be strong, he must have an opponent.
The courage to fight to the death! The same applies to the country! Japan must have the consciousness to fight the Ming Dynasty to fight to the death!"
Prime Minister Hayashi Jujuro nodded and said:
"It should also be noted that the Ming Dynasty has just annexed the Qing Dynasty and unified the East Asian continent. At this time, although the Ming Dynasty has just fought a war and seems to be strong, it is the most vulnerable. It is eager to wait for a long period of peace to digest
North, so as to transform the land, population, food, industry, minerals, energy, ports, railways, etc. in the north into war capabilities
.Once it successfully digests the north and transforms everything in the north into war capabilities, Japan will never have a chance. Even next, the Ming Dynasty will regard Japan, which has just set foot on the East Asian continent, as a competitor.
We will try our best to take back the mainland territory we just obtained. But at that time, we will not have the power to compete with it.
"This opportunity now is the best no matter from any aspect. The Ming Dynasty has just finished a big war. The army is exhausted, the people are determined, and the north is not stable. The key is that Russia is willing to join forces with us. If Japan does not
If you are willing to be a second-rate country forever, you must seize this opportunity decisively. After the Ming Dynasty falls into a war with Russia, give it a fatal blow, make it unable to recover, and withdraw from the competition with Japan for the leadership of Asia!"
Several important ministers made their own speeches, and Emperor Hirohito also believed that he was right. He finally nodded and said in a heavy nasal voice:
"Now that you have reached an agreement, dear ministers, I would like to ask the Secretary-General of the Cabinet to draw up a plan and make it the future national policy of the empire...The next step is for the cabinet and the navy and army to formulate plans respectively. The cabinet is responsible for communicating with Russia.
We have secret talks, and the army and navy have to formulate corresponding war plans, so I will no longer be too involved... My dear friends, the rise and fall of the empire in the next few decades will all depend on you. Please work hard."
All the civil and military ministers in the hall hurriedly stood up, faced the emperor, and bowed deeply.
…
May 18, Nanjing.
In the past two days, both Qiuqiu and Xiuxiu were extremely happy, especially Qiuqiu. She couldn't help humming a song when she came in and out, with a shy blush on her cheeks from time to time. The two little girls were busy in the headquarters.
Sometimes, when we look at each other, we will smile tacitly.
After a month of long waiting, my husband is finally coming back.
Although Xiuxiu didn't want to be as happy as Qiu Qiu and wanted to stay as good as before, she was still young and couldn't hide it so well in many cases. After she returned home, even her mother and brother could see that her mood suddenly improved a lot.
"That...sister."
With a smile on his face, Ye Ziyu leaned closer and stammered.
"Huh?" Xiuxiu glanced at him and said with a smile, "What's wrong with you?"
"Hehe..." Ye Ziyu blushed and stammered more and more, "Well... my brother-in-law is coming back soon anyway. You see, our mother also wants to... want to take advantage of my brother-in-law's return, so... ok
Please tell me about my relationship with Xiaoman..."
Xiu Xiu looked him over, nodded and said with a smile:
"Well, I think it's time to do it. We've been engaged for such a long time, so we're not in a hurry. Xiaoman is the girl, so we should be in a hurry."
"Yes, that's right," Ye Ziyu immediately nodded and smiled, "It's mainly because Xiaoman is anxious. No, it's mainly because Xiaoman's family is anxious..."
Xiuxiu pondered for a moment and said with a smile:
"It's the right time to talk about this matter. Now is the time for us to use their place. Well, I will discuss it with my mother later, and our whole family will come to visit again and formally raise this matter with them...
If you are a woman, it is not easy to speak first."
Ye Ziyu was so happy that he immediately turned around and ran away, happily saying:
"Sister is right, I'm going to tell our mother right now..."
…
The next day, Shang Xiaojun took his children to Badley's mansion and was invited as a guest.
At the family banquet that night, Shang Xiaojun officially mentioned the marriage as the man's mother. The two were already engaged, and now the Bai family is waiting for the man's family to mention it. So, the two families clinked glasses at the family banquet to finalize the wedding date, and everyone was happy.
.
At the dinner, Badley intentionally or unintentionally turned the topic to current affairs. He talked about it and finally came up with the topic of the exiled Emperor Guangwu.
Xiu Xiu was naturally the most sensitive, and she immediately captured what Badley meant - Ford planned to take the initiative to help in this matter!
She was immediately overjoyed, and she calmly took over the conversation, slowly leading it on, sighing, saying that if Guangwu really went to a corner of the earth and blocked a small Latin American country from the sun, he might not be able to do it for the rest of his life.
There will be no sanctions.
Then, he made a gesture of regret and sighed softly.