The unexpected result, coupled with the long-standing contradiction, made the navy naturally unwilling to sacrifice precious warships for the army's strategy after suffering such huge losses.

But this time, the withdrawal of the navy caused the looming contradiction between the army and the navy to finally become public and open to the world.

"Without the support of the navy, not to mention the remaining troops of the Second Army in the Arashiyama area who are short of guns, ammunition and food, even the Jiao'ao battlefield would undergo drastic changes! In short, the battlefield situation is now moving in a direction that is not conducive to Japan.

develop!"

After Okuma's brief report, the elders were silent for a while. This is a habit. Even if they already know the whole incident, they have to think about it before speaking. Among these people, the first

The person who spoke was the most senior Xiyuanji Gongwang.

"China is the largest and the last backward country in the Far East that has not been carved up and dominated by a Western power. The reason why the Western powers failed to annex China is obviously related to China's excessive size. Before the European War, it had the largest military force among the great powers.

For example, the United States and the world's largest colonial empire, Britain, only have more than 500,000 troops. Even Japan, a rising star, only has more than 200,000 troops. It is necessary to have such a small number of troops.

It is impossible to invest alone in a huge China with millions of square kilometers and a population of 100 million, and at the same time protect their own country and many colonies.

It is precisely because of this that Western countries have unanimously accepted the "open door" and "equal interests" principles proposed by the United States.

Although governments of various countries will inevitably have selfish purposes, and quarrels and conflicts continue to occur, China's qualifications as an independent country are at least preserved in form. It was not until the outbreak of the European War that the situation changed again.

.For Japan, since the world map has been divided up, it is trying to take the opportunity to change this situation."

Surprisingly, Xiyuanji Gongwang did not persuade him from the current situation, but from the international environment and the reasons for formulating the expansion policy towards the mainland.

"After the outbreak of the European War, on one side was the Allied Powers composed of Britain, France, Russia, and the United States, and on the other side was the Allied Powers composed of Germany, Italy, Austria, Turkey and other countries. In order to prevent disaster in the Far East, the Allied Powers urged Japan to join the Allied Powers

, and our country took the opportunity to threaten, forcing Britain, France, Russia, etc. to agree that Japan could "move freely without interference" in various parts of China that had nothing to do with the rights of the Allied Powers, and to accept all German rights and interests in Shandong, China. However, our country's expansion in China

, cannot but arouse the dissatisfaction of the European and American powers. But whether it is Britain or France, it is not only unthinkable during the war, but also unthinkable even after the war, for them to invest their limited troops in China to compete with Japan.

Perhaps, among the major powers at this time, the only one with the conditions to intervene in Japan's expansion was the United States. After all, the United States cannot ignore such problems in the Far East, which has direct geographical connections with it, let alone avoid Japan's challenge. Japan's actions

Undoubtedly, it severely undermines the "open door" principle emphasized by the United States. However, it is also necessary for the United States, whose total army force is less than 2/5 of Japan's navy and whose total tonnage of naval warships is only 1/5 of Japan's, to use force to stop Japan's actions.

What’s more, isolationism is still prevalent in the United States. Even if Japan infringes on some of the United States’ economic interests and spheres of influence, the U.S. government, which is deeply constrained by the decentralization of Congress and political parties, will never react strongly.”

Finally, Xiyuanji Gongwang said in a somewhat deep voice.

"Thus, Japan's current actions in mainland China have come about. It can be said that all Japan's actions in China are based on one factor, that is, the concessions made by the Allied Powers to prevent disasters in the Far East. However, what the Allies were worried about was precisely

We've lost the fleet now! So, anyway, it's time to end it all!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shanxian Youpeng snorted.

"So, are the losses of the Army and the Navy just paid for in vain? If the news gets out, it will be another Hibiya burning incident!"

After Yamagata Aritomo brought up the Hibiya incident, Inoue Kaoru, who was the first to write a letter supporting Japan's entry into the war, spoke slowly.

"Without the support of the navy, it would be very difficult to avoid the failure of the mainland!"

Inoue Kaoru gave an explanation while trying not to hurt Yama County's self-esteem.

"And how can the navy provide support now? Our merchant ships cannot approach mainland China, otherwise they will be attacked by air. If the navy loses the Second Fleet again, and history has long proven that the differences between cousins ​​in European countries

The war will not last long at all. Now President Wilson of the United States has sent special envoys to various countries to mediate. Once the European War is over and Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Lucia reach an armistice agreement, the Western powers will draw money from Europe.

Get out of here, and then..."

Looking at Aritomo Yamagata, who was deep in thought, Inoue Kaoru knew that what he said had an effect. When he mentioned the Western powers, he deliberately emphasized the word "Lucia". How could this huge empire forget the shame of the Sundew War?

All the time I was thinking about how to wash away the shame of the last war.

Maybe the outside world doesn't know it, but for the elders, they are all familiar with each person's character. As a elder, Shanxian Youto is not suitable to be a politician at all, let alone a behind-the-scenes manipulator. He is a typical

He has a military character and doesn't know how to compromise at all, but Inoue Kaoru knows what Shan County is most afraid of or worried about.

Although the Japanese army achieved victory over the Tsarist Russian army in the war, senior figures in the military circles such as Youpeng of Gandanshan County were very clear that the Japanese army's victory was a great fluke. This was not only reflected in the heavy casualties suffered by the Japanese army in the war, but also

This manifested itself in the fact that Japan's weaknesses in human, financial, and material resources were gradually exposed in the later stages of the war.

Japan knows this, and Russia, as the losing party, also knows this. For Shan Xian, he always feels that Russia will retaliate in the future, so seven years ago, the Army formulated corresponding national defense policies, and the Army prepared

On the pretext of fighting the Russian army again in Northeast China, they proposed a plan of 25 field divisions and 25 wartime special divisions, that is, a total of 50 divisions.

In fact, it can be said that the contradiction between the Japanese army and navy was caused by military expansion. After Japan proposed the plan of twenty-five divisions, the navy was also unwilling to be lonely. It has determined that it has to fight the United States and seize sea control in the Western Pacific as its own mission.

achieved the goal of doubling the total strength of the navy.

However, Japan is a poor country and cannot support the expansion of the army and navy. In the end, the conflict between the army and the navy was intensified due to the issue of military expansion. In fact, it was Yamagata Aritomo's worries and fears about Russia that intensified this conflict.

Understanding Russia, in his opinion, twenty-five divisions are already the minimum limit. It is best to have fifty divisions in peacetime and one hundred divisions in wartime. Only in this way can it be possible to prevent Russia's revenge.

"If Russia frees up its hands..."

Sure enough, as soon as Inoue Kaoru reminded him, Yamagata Yutomo realized the danger. Compared with China, in his opinion, Russia, which had a hatred of war with Japan, was the most worrying. If the European War ended, and the Navy

After the loss of elite warships in China, if a few more old warships are lost, then the army and navy will be restricted from entering. The navy will not be able to defeat Russia, and the army will not be able to stop Russia's predicament!

In the end, Aritomo Yamagata finally agreed. Among the other four elders, Inoue Kaoru and Saigenji Konobo did not support the application of military pressure on China. Of course, they would not have any objections. Although Oyama Iwa wanted to object, they ended up at the end of the meeting.

At that time, this general direction was decided.
Chapter completed!