Seeing that the atmosphere between the two sides was relatively tense, Mutsu Munemitsu hurriedly smoothed things over and said: "Since the conditions of our two sides are so different, it's better to take a break and discuss compromises separately, and then continue the negotiation tomorrow."
Itō Hirobumi looked at his foreign minister with admiration. He was indeed a material for diplomacy. In this stalemate, Itō Hirobumi did not want the negotiations to break down because he knew the current situation in the country.
But he did not dare to agree to such a condition. If he agreed to the condition today, he would definitely be executed on the street tomorrow as a national thief.
Therefore, it was better to leave this matter to the king, so he nodded in agreement.
Pan Weibin thought for a while and asked them to go back and discuss it, so he agreed to the other party's request.
Therefore, the meeting ended in only half an hour, and Mutsu Munemitsu personally arranged for Pan Weibin to live in a hotel at the temporary office location.
After Mutsu Munemitsu arranged for Pan Weibin, he hurried back to the temporary office. But now the king had arrived, and the entire cabinet was waiting for him alone.
Mutsu Munemitsu apologized to the emperor first, and then entered his position.
After receiving everyone's arrival, the king asked: "How are the arrangements for the negotiators sent by the Qing people?"
Mutsu Munemitsu hurriedly knelt forward a few steps, and then replied: "It has been arranged in the hotel."
The king nodded, and then asked Hirofumi Itō, "What conditions did the other party propose today, and can we accept them?"
After listening to the king's question, Itō Hirobumi first looked at him with a strange look, and then said: "Your Majesty, it seems that the conditions under which I passed are completely unacceptable."
After Hirobumi Itto finished speaking, he gave the land to the king on the terms proposed by Pan Weiming.
The attendant next to the king quickly came over to take the document, and then respectfully delivered the document to the king.
The king took the document and read it carefully. The more he read, the angrier he became. This was no peace treaty. It was asking them to surrender unconditionally and accept the jurisdiction of the other party.
What the king couldn't tolerate the most was that Article 1 actually asked him to give up all his rights.
"Baga, the other party is so arrogant. He dares to propose such a condition. I will never accept it."
The cabinet ministers below did not speak after hearing the king's words, but each had their own calculations.
Because everyone has now seen clearly that the decades of reform have now completely failed. Now it is time for everyone to find their own way out.
And some cabinet ministers believe that the conditions are not unacceptable.
These conditions only required the handing over of military power and preventing the king from intervening in political affairs. This did not conflict with their country's thousands of years of tradition.
You know, the king has existed as a puppet for a long time, but it is only in the past few decades that the king has had rights over the country.
When the king saw that the ministers below were all silent, what did he see in the twinkling eyes of these people?
At this time, the king felt frightened for a while. Now the king had tasted the taste of power. He would never give up the power he had obtained. He returned to the palace.
"I, the Heavenly King, am a descendant of Amaterasu from Takamagahara? I will never accept such humiliating conditions? Stop negotiating with the Qing Kingdom now."
After the king said this, he left the meeting room angrily.
The Japanese ministers who were present watched the king leave, but did not stand up and bow to him as usual.
This made the departing Japanese king even more touched that he was already at the end of his rope.
After the king left, Hirobumi Itto raised his head and said to the member below: "The king has rejected the request for negotiation, what should we do next?"
After Hirobumi Itō finished asking, the cabinet members below didn’t know what to say.
Finally, the new Navy Minister Kawasaki Shiki said: "The navy has been completely wiped out. What is left are some old ships with small tonnage and long life. They no longer have the ability to fight against the Nanyang Navy. I hope the government can achieve this as soon as possible."
Negotiate peace terms so that the Navy can regain its strength."
And Army Minister Da Shanyan, a veteran of the Restoration period, has the right to speak, "Now the troops in Korea and the Qing Dynasty have no bullets. If they continue to fight like this, they may be wiped out by the Qing people. I think that under the right conditions,
Next, the war with the Qing Dynasty should be ended as soon as possible."
Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu was very dissatisfied with the fact that these two people could talk while standing and talking, "Two of you, the negotiation conditions proposed by the Qing people are so harsh that they cannot be changed. How can we reach an agreement unless the king agrees?"
, otherwise it would be impossible to reach an agreement."
After Mutsu Munemitsu said this, the people below stopped talking. Although they all thought in their hearts that they could force the king to agree, no one dared to speak out first.
Seeing this scene, Itō Hirobumi sighed and said: "Since we can't reach an agreement, then I think we should do what the king said and temporarily stop negotiations with the other party to see what the other party will do next, and then we will take action
.”
The ministers below looked at each other and nodded. This is the only thing they can do now.
After the meeting was disbanded, many people began to communicate with each other. They whispered earnestly on the way, and there was a smell of conspiracy spreading among them.
In particular, several senators, who are the real power holders of the country, held a secret meeting that night.
Elders are an informal title that generally refers to politicians who have retired or semi-retired from this era. They have been awarded the privilege of "preferential treatment" and the imperial edict to "support the great government" (the so-called "order").
Behind the scenes, he controls the direction of politics.
Although there are no clear provisions in the law, the senators are still responsible for responding to the king's advice. When the cabinet changes, they participate in selecting the prime minister to form the cabinet and have huge influence. Therefore, from 1885 to 1934, the prime minister was actually the
The senators themselves or their preferred candidates.
There are currently nine elders, they are: Ito Hirobumi, Kuroda Kiyotaka, Yamagata Aritomo, Saigo Yumichi, Matsukata Masayoshi, Inoue Kaoru, Oyama Iwa, Katsura Taro, Saionji Konobo.
Except for Xixiang Congdao, who died in the battle, all the others participated in this meeting.
But after the meeting started, the atmosphere was very depressing, and everyone sat there without saying a word.
In the end, Kuroda Kiyotaka couldn't accept such a dull atmosphere and said, "I think the conditions of the Qing Dynasty are acceptable."
As soon as he finished saying this, Mr. Zhongyuan below began to whisper.
Then Katsura Taro also said: "I also think that the conditions can be accepted, but now is not the time. The king now has great prestige among the people. If we force the king to abdicate, it will have a big blow to our political reputation."
Katsura Taro's words were approved by other elders.
Itō Hirobumi sat on it and thought for a while and then said: "If we reject the other party's conditions, the Qing Dynasty will definitely launch a massive attack. So what should we do next?"
As the Minister of the Army, Oyama Iwa finally spoke at this time, "The Army can temporarily organize a team to resist the opponent's attack, but I can clearly tell everyone that due to the lack of weapons, it is impossible for us to win."
After hearing this, all the elders nodded. They all had a clear understanding of the dire military situation.
Itto Hirobumi thought for a moment, and then said: "Let the army block it for a while. When it completely fails, then it will be the king who ignores the safety of the people for the sake of power. When the time comes, let him abdicate, and there will be nothing left to say."
The other elders looked at each other with expressions of approval on their faces, so that night, the meeting that decided the fate of the next few decades ended.
In the next 100 years, this meeting was regarded as a great meeting. It ended the king's brutal rule, and then followed the great conqueror Liu Hai to expand the territory, leaving the most glorious page.
On the second day, when Pan Weibin returned to the conference room, Prime Minister Hirobumi Itto and Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu were already waiting there.
After the two parties re-entered the conference room, Hirobumi Itto spoke first: "I don't know if your conditions have changed."
Pan Weibin looked at it, signed up for the newspaper, and then said firmly: "The first three conditions cannot be changed, and the following conditions can be discussed as appropriate."
After hearing this, Hirobumi Itto stood up, bowed to Pan Weibin, and then said: "Unfortunately, we cannot meet the first three conditions. I think it is no longer necessary to continue the talks."
After Hirobumi finished speaking, he turned around and left the conference room.
However, Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu did not leave, but came to Pan Weibin and said respectfully: "Your conditions are not non-negotiable, but our king has completely vetoed your treaty, and we, as ministers, have nothing to do.
.”
After hearing this, Pan Wenbin's eyes flashed with a strange light. Foreign Minister, what does this mean? This sentence is worth pondering.
So Pan Weibin did not break up, but smiled and thanked Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, and then prepared to leave with his entourage.
When Mutsu Munemitsu saw that the other party was about to leave, he hurriedly followed him and diligently sent Pan Weibin to the pier.
When Pan Weibin was about to leave the dock and board the ship, Mutsu Munemitsu even grabbed Pan Weibin several times and hesitated to speak.
And Pan Weibin now understood. It seemed that the king and his ministers had a fierce conflict.
These ministers did not want to be buried with the king, and the conditions Liu Hai heard did not damage the rights of these ministers, so they did not object to the king's retreat to the palace.
In the eyes of these ministers, this agreement only changed their master from the king to bangs.