The Russian fleet set off from Cam Ranh Bay, which means that the war that had been suspended for about two months will begin again. Moreover, with the intervention of the East China government this time, the situation of the war has become more complicated.

Both the East China government and Russia made full use of this suspension period to fully prepare for the next war, and Japan, as another party to the Russo-Japanese War, was also not idle.

The Combined Fleet, which had withdrawn its troops early and returned to China, first went through three months of renovation, and the warships were repaired and maintained to restore normal performance. The sailors took turns to take leave to replenish their energy. In February, the Combined Fleet as the entire army as the goal, launched a intensive training exercise, focusing on artillery training, because in the first phase of the battle, the biggest problem exposed by the Combined Fleet was that the hit rate was too low, and only one armored cruiser was sunk in the artillery battle, so the artillery training became increasingly rigorous.

Hirahachiro Togo proposed a famous training purpose - "A cannon with a hundred shots is better than a hundred shots of cannons with a hundred shots". He also carried out training in the joint fleet for the month and month fire, water, wood, metal and metal. It turns out that in Japanese, from Sunday to Sunday, Saturday, is called Sunlight, Moon Day, Fire, Water, Wood, Gold, and Earth. Sunlight and Earth are Sunday and Saturday, while Moon Day, Fire, Water, Wood, Gold, and Earth are no sunlight, and there is no Sunday and Saturday, and there is no rest for seven days a week, and all of them are trained. The artillery training is 5 hours a day, and the live-fire exercise is arranged eight times. Such crazy training has made the shells consumed more than half of Japan's domestic shell reserves.

In terms of the army, Japan invested more than 500,000 troops on the Liaodong Peninsula, of which about 350,000 combat troops were about 200,000 troops on the Shenyang front line to fight against the Russian army, about 70,000 troops on the east bank of the Liaohe River to prepare for attack by the People's Army, about 70,000 troops on the east bank of the Liaohe River, more than 30,000 defenders in Lushun, and the remaining troops were distributed at several gate construction nodes such as Liaoyang and Tieling. There are about 10 troops as reserve forces on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, in terms of military strength, Japan invested no less than that of the Russian and East China governments. However, due to its geographical disadvantage, Japan was somewhat passive and could only choose to defend on both the north and west fronts.

However, the day after the Russian fleet left Cam Ran Bay, Emperor Meiji recruited veterans Hirofumi Ito, Kinou Inoue, Prime Minister Kaitaro, Foreign Minister Komura Sutaro, Tibetan Minister Matsuka Masayoshi, Army Minister Masayoshi Teruchi, Chief of Staff of the Army Department Aritomo Yamamoto, Navy Minister Kobe Yamamoto, Navy Minister Yuuki Ito and other civil and military ministers gathered to discuss the strategies of the next stage of the war.

Such a military and political lineup was only available before the Russo-Japanese War began. By this time, the Russo-Japanese War had been on the rise for 15 months. Although Japan continued to win on the battlefield, Russia could not kill it and was constantly gathering troops and fleets to the Far East. At this point, Japan's war potential had been almost exhausted. Therefore, although Japan's form was very good, it was empty in its inner capsule. As long as there was a slight mistake, Japan would inevitably be defeated and collapsed in a complete manner.

Emperor Meiji was naturally very clear about Japan's situation. Therefore, the more Japan won on the battlefield, the less confident Emperor Meiji felt. Because of the evil friendship between the Japanese and the East China government, the People's Army entered western Liaoning. Emperor Meiji became more and more uncertain. He was afraid that he would hear the news that the Japanese army was attacked by the People's Army and Russia. He had been awakened several times by the nightmare of Japan's defeat.

As the war was about to begin again, Emperor Meiji finally couldn't calm down, so he recruited ministers to listen to their opinions on the next step of the war. Of course, Emperor Meiji was also very clear that when the war came to this point, Japan would definitely not stop, and could only fight with one stone, either win to heaven or lose to hell. There was no third way. Emperor Meiji recruited ministers, but in fact he just wanted to hear some reasons for Japan to win from the ministers so that he could feel a little more at ease.

Emperor Meiji first said: "The Russian fleet has set out from Cam Ranh Bay and will arrive in the Yellow Sea in about 20 days. I wonder how our navy is preparing and whether there is a chance of winning?"

Yamamoto Honbuki said: "Please rest assured that your majesty's fleet and soldiers have made sufficient preparations. Just wait for the Russian fleet to arrive at the Yellow Sea, and they will definitely hit them head-on. God bless Japan, we will definitely win."

Yukihiro Ito also said: "Yes, the Russian fleet has gone far away, taking more than 6 months and sailed more than 26,000 miles. The damage to the warships must be very serious, and the personnel are physically and mentally exhausted. 10% of the combat power can only be exerted at most 560%. The joint fleet has been repaired for more than half a year, and the warships have been repaired, the performance of the warships has been fully restored, and the soldiers have also received sufficient rest. Therefore, we are waiting for the effort, and this battle will inevitably defeat the Russian fleet."

Emperor Meiji nodded and said, "I will feel relieved."

Yamamoto Honbuki: "Once we defeat the Russian fleet, Russia will completely lose its power at sea, because it is impossible for Russia to form another fleet. Japan will gain absolute control of the sea. This war will at least be invincible. Whether it can win in the end depends on the capabilities of the army."

Army Minister Masayoshi Tanuchi immediately said: "Please rest assured, our army also has the confidence to win."

In fact, it was just the Russian fleet that came, and Emperor Meiji didn't care much about it. After all, one went away from afar, and the other was waiting for work. Which one was better and worse was obvious. What he was most worried about was the battle on land. After all, if Japan wants to win this battle, it will eventually need to resolve the battle on land. And the statement of Masayoshi Tanaka's slogan like this obviously cannot convince Emperor Meiji. Therefore, Emperor Meiji said: "If Russia and overseas Chinese join forces, will we still have a chance of victory? I don't doubt the loyalty and courage of the soldiers, but war cannot be won by loyalty and courage."

At this time, Youpeng of Shanxian said, "Please rest assured that although Russia has many troops, it is a long-term defeated army. It has low morale and insufficient weapons and equipment and logistics supply, so it is not scary. The overseas Chinese have only more than 60,000 troops in western Liaoning, which is not enough to change the overall situation."

Emperor Meiji frowned. Yama Prefecture Akito's explanation did not make him completely relieved. He said: "Although there are not many overseas Chinese troops now, they can increase them. Moreover, the offensive route of overseas Chinese is not in western Liaoning. Their navy is not weak. It can completely use Lushun as an attack point to avoid another front at sea. Our navy has no way to provide enough support to Lushun and can only rely on the army to guard it. Although the Russian army is not afraid, it is very powerful after all. If the Russian army and overseas Chinese join forces, advance by sea and land, and attack three times, how should we deal with it?"

Sweat was oozing from Yuto Yama Prefecture's forehead, because Emperor Meiji's question was not easy to answer. After all, it would be impossible to rely on fooling others.

Hirofumi Ito said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that overseas Chinese and Russia will not join forces. Russia's goal is to occupy the Manchuria region of the Qing Dynasty. Overseas Chinese regard themselves as Chinese descendants and have the responsibility to protect the land. They will never allow Russia to occupy the Manchuria region. Therefore, both sides are incompatible and will only fight on their own, but they will never join forces."

After hearing this, Emperor Meiji looked a little better and said, "Even if overseas Chinese and Russian fight each other, they are still strong enemies to us, and we should not be underestimated."

Hirofumi Ito said: "Your Majesty said it is good, but we, Japan, are not fighting alone. We have the ally of Britain and the [British-Japan Alliance Treaty]."

Emperor Meiji was stunned and said, "British?"

At this time, Komura Sutaro said: "Yes, Your Majesty, the British Ambassador visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday and told us that Britain will continue to support Japan in carrying out this war. Moreover, they have put pressure on overseas Chinese to demand that overseas Chinese not intervene in the war situation in Liaodong. If we defeat the Russian fleet, Britain will also prompt Russia to surrender the defeat and negotiate with us."

After hearing the words of Sutaro Komura, Emperor Meiji couldn't help but feel refreshed. The reason why he had no confidence in the war was that Britain and France proposed to mediate the Russo-Japanese War, which was equivalent to giving up supporting Japan. Without Britain's support, it would be extremely difficult for Japan to win this war alone. But if Britain supports Japan again, then Japan's chances of victory will naturally increase, and Emperor Meiji will naturally feel relieved. However, another question arose in his heart. Why did Britain turn to support Japan? Will it fool Japan again? So Emperor Meiji said: "Is Britain's guarantee reliable this time?"

Hirofumi Ito said: "Your Majesty, you can rest assured that the British guarantee this time is absolutely reliable." As he said, Hirofumi Ito explained the impact and variables caused by the Moroccan crisis, etc., in detail to Emperor Meiji.

Emperor Meiji was very familiar with the overall situation of the world, so after listening to Hirobuki Ito's explanation, he immediately understood the truth. It seemed that Britain's support for Japan was indeed reliable, and naturally he felt completely at peace in his heart. He also showed a smile on his face, and he couldn't help but say, "Okay, okay, I can finally feel at ease."

But after saying that, Emperor Meiji felt a little out of control again, so he quickly collapsed his face and looked like he was not showing his emotions. He said: "Although there is support from Britain, we still need to work together to revitalize the imperial country, to strengthen the country's foundation, and to prosper the country's fortune."
Chapter completed!