Episode 116: The Battle between Land and Sea

Army Minister Touchi Tanouchi said patiently:

"The Navy Minister said such words are meaningless. Everyone knows that Japan cannot hand over Asia to the Ming Kingdom, and it is even more impossible to bow to the Ming Kingdom. Does the Navy Minister mean that as long as Japan does not want to surrender to the Ming Kingdom, it must support the Qing Kingdom endlessly, even if the Qing Kingdom will eventually be defeated one day, it will be spared?"

Navy Minister Nagano stared at Soichi Desou and said patiently:

"It is still hard to say whether the Qing Dynasty will be defeated."

As soon as this sentence came out, all three of them stared at him. Even Hirota Hirota and Prince Zairen thought that since Nagao advocated continuing to support the Qing Dynasty, he must have great confidence in the Qing Dynasty. Unexpectedly, he also said "not necessarily".

Teruchi Nakachi sneered, raised his voice and said loudly:

"Since the Navy Ministers themselves think it's hard to say, then it's better not to bet on this "hard to say"!"

Hirota sighed lightly and said slowly:

"Naval Secretary, since you also think that the Qing Dynasty is likely to be defeated and advocate continuing to support the Qing Dynasty, then... can you talk about how you considered it?"

Nagano Clever looked at Hirota Hirota and nodded slightly, glanced at Soichi in the Temple and said calmly:

"Of course, the Qing Dynasty may be defeated, but the purpose of our support for the Qing Dynasty is not to ensure that it is not defeated, but to use it to drag down the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty could be defeated in the end, but even if it was defeated in the end, the Ming Dynasty would be greatly damaged by this war, consumed the national treasury, fight for nothing, fight for the soldiers and reserve troops, and the people live in a difficult situation, and hate war, so they just want to sign a treaty to end the war, and think of nothing else. And our Great Japanese Imperial Army will become a new force in East Asia and the only force that dominates the future of East Asia."

Satoichi Tanuchi said:

"I remind you that the Qing army is now defeated, and the Qing Empire is likely to collapse within the year. At that time, the Ming Dynasty will declare that all the territory of the Qing Dynasty belongs to it, and we, Japan, can't get anything. If you want to make demands on Manchuria and Mongolia, you must have the awareness of fighting with the Ming Dynasty!"

"I also remind you to pay attention," Yongye cultivator turned around and said word by word, "On the contrary, since the Qing emperor issued the 'involuntary order' to rectify military discipline, the Qing army has never suffered a defeat like a mountain. On the contrary, it has fought many beautiful battles one after another. In the battlefield of the Central Plains, the Ming army encountered the first major setback since the war started. Now in Taierzhuang, northeast of Xuzhou, the two armies are fighting to the death, and the fighting will of the Qing army is no less than that of the Ming army. You, the Qing army is no longer the Qing army in the early stage of the war. It is regaining the feeling of the 'Thousand Division Army'."

Teraunuchi said disdainfully:

"It is obvious that the battle between the Qing soldiers was not because of courage, nor because of patriotism. It was because the Qing emperor kidnapped their families. Now the whole world is condemning the Qing country. If we Japan always associate with such a country, even His Majesty the Emperor would be shamed. Besides, what you are hoping for is that the Qing army can fight a long-term and arduous war of presidency. However, a corrupt and depraved army that can only rely on the death penalty to maintain basic morale will undoubtedly not be able to handle such a war!"

Nagano Cultivation retorted:

"The Army Minister always only considers the issue from the perspective of spiritual strength, but ignores other factors! In 1812, Napoleon's army surpassed the Russian serf soldiers in spiritual morale a hundred times! But we all know the result! It is because Napoleon, like yours, only attaches importance to spiritual morale and ignores many important objective factors! For example, the potential for war! Although the Qing Dynasty has suffered many defeats now, the land area, steel and coal resources, and military reserves it controls are still several times that of the Ming Dynasty! Please note that the total strength of the Ming Dynasty now reaches more than two million, which is the limit! It has almost no reserve soldiers! The active-duty army of the Qing Dynasty is already several times that of the Ming army, and compared with its reserve soldiers, it is just the tip of the iceberg! These must be considered!"

After Nagano finished speaking, the living room became quiet. Soichi Desouchi seemed to be unable to think of anything to refute him.

After a moment, Hirota Hirota pondered slowly and said:

"What the Secretary of the Army said...is certainly reasonable...but what the Secretary of the Navy said...is also worth considering..."

Then he turned to Prince Zairen and said:

"Your Highness, you are the Minister of Military Orders. What do you think about this issue?"

The three of them looked at Prince Zai Ren at the same time. Zai Ren's big beard trembled slightly and said slowly:

"What the Minister of Navy said... is just a comparison of the war potential of the two countries before the war. To this point, the Qing Dynasty still surpassed the Ming Dynasty in terms of territory, but... its reserve troops are no longer superior. The Qing Dynasty's major military provinces are mainly concentrated in Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhili, Shanxi, Shaanxi, etc. What is in its hands now is Zhili, Shandong, and the northern part of Jiangsu. The others are already in the control area of ​​the Ming Dynasty. It means that the country has no reserve troops, but it is just the territory before the war. Now the Ming Dynasty has obtained several large-scale population provinces north of the Yangtze River. Even if the war continues, at least in terms of soldiers, the Ming Dynasty is not afraid of it.

"And it must be considered, even among the active soldiers of the Qing army, how many people dared to invest in the Ming front battlefield? The active soldiers of the Qing army are mainly composed of soldiers from the above provinces with large populations, and at least two-thirds of these provinces have been controlled by the Ming army. In other words, even if the Qing army adopts the method of threatening the soldiers' families, they can only effectively control one-third of its soldiers. The remaining two-thirds of the soldiers were transferred to the rear to suppress the riots. At present, those who directly face the Ming army on the battlefield of the Central Plains, except for the more loyal Manchu and Mongolian soldiers, the others are only soldiers in the area controlled by the Qing Dynasty.

"Even the most optimistic estimate, these soldiers will not exceed 1.5 million. Even in terms of quantity, they are already at a disadvantage. And once the Qing Dynasty loses this battle, that is, the 1.5 million troops will be lost, then there is no other way except to beg for peace from the Ming Dynasty. Compared with the Ming army, the mobility of the Qing army is quite poor. Every time it loses a battle, the troops on the battlefield cannot be withdrawn at all, and can only be completely annihilated. The facts have repeatedly proved this point until now."

...

After the old man finished his words lightly, the Army Minister was immediately inspired and raised his voice and said:

"It's a good thing! The Qing Dynasty's defeat is now decided, and there is nothing worth supporting! Now, while the Qing Dynasty has not collapsed in the end, we cooperate with the Ming Dynasty and attacked the Qing Dynasty from the north and the south. The possibility of Ming Dynasty agreeing will be very high. If we make a request when the Qing Dynasty finally collapses, the Ming Dynasty will not be able to agree! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a piece of mainland territory. For the future prosperity of the empire, we must seize it!"

Nagano said coldly:

"Next, we will face the Ming Kingdom directly! I remind the Secretary of the Army to pay attention that this will be an opponent with the strongest army and the strongest navy at the same time, with no energy and strong national strength! And we will face this opponent alone! The Secretary of the Army should not think that the Secretary of the Army will willingly live in peace with us and accept the practical matters of our occupation of Manchuria and Mongolia? You are the Minister of the Army and should be more clear about the situation of the Army. In this case, even if we get Manchuria and Mongolia, how long can we stay in our hands?"

Shouchi Tanuchi stood up with a "huh" and said angrily:

"What does the Secretary of the Navy mean? What do you mean? Is your navy the strongest in Asia and our army just a coward?"

Hirota Hiroyi saw that the two sides were about to squat again and was about to get up to calm down. At this time, the secretary knocked in, bowed to the adults first, then walked to Prince Zairen, bowed again, and whispered:

"Your Highness, you have your phone number."

Prince Zai Ren got up after accusing him of guilt, dressed up in his military uniform, and followed the secretary out to answer the phone.

After a while, he returned, without saying a word, and sat back on the sofa. The three of them were looking at him subconsciously. Prince Zai Ren took out a cigarette from the cigarette box on the table and lit it. Then he said lightly:

"The Ming army has completely occupied Taierzhuang and established a bridgehead position on the south bank of the Hanzhuang Canal. More than half of the three Eight Banner Divisions of the Qing army were annihilated and are retreating towards Xuzhou."

After saying this, the living room was quiet.

After a while, Soichi Teideuchi stood up, walked quickly to the map, and tapped his fingers heavily on Northeast China, saying sadly:

"At this point, there is no reason to hesitate! For the prosperity of the empire in the next hundred years, we should take decisive action!"

Nagano Celestial also stared at the map and didn't say anything.

Then Prince Zai-in slowly added:

"According to the latest weather forecast, the haze will gradually dissipate in central East Asia, namely Shandong, Henan and Jiangsu, and the sky will clear again by tonight at the latest."

Hirota Hiroyi pondered:

"So that... the Ming army's air superiority has been restored."

Then Prime Minister Hirota turned around and looked at Nagano's self-cultivation and asked:

"What is the Navy Minister's opinion now? Do you still insist that we should support the Qing Dynasty?"

Nagano's slim face looked ugly. Under the gaze of several people, he finally said:

"This matter is related to the rise and fall of the empire. I suggest that you ask His Majesty the Emperor to make a sacred decision."

Several people looked at each other.

After a moment, Hirota Hirota nodded and said:

"So, the imperial meeting is going to be held. OK. I'll go and discuss it with the Minister of the Interior."

...

Nanjing.

While the commander was immersed in the joy of occupying Taierzhuang, the fourteenth princess hid alone in the People's Guard Command, watching the secret telegram sent back from Japan.

"So, the imperial meeting will be held tomorrow."

She put down the telegram paper, leaned against the backrest, and murmured.
Chapter completed!