Chapter 693: Veteran (2000 votes plus updates)

   "No, Your Excellency, Prime Minister, we must not be intimidated by the Germans. It would be a pity if we just gave up those territories!" Lu Xiangoka Ichinosuke looked indignant.

   "If the Germans send a navy to attack, what should we do?" Okuma Shigenobu was a little worried, so he didn't want to offend the Germans.

"Your Excellency, the German navy is powerful, but no matter how powerful their navy is, can they go ashore? As long as the army holds its ground, the Germans will have nothing to do with us! If time drags on, it will be very unfavorable to the Germans. Therefore , In the end, it is very likely that nothing will be done. Although this will cost the empire a lot, as long as those territories can be obtained, no matter how high the price is, it is acceptable!" Oka Ichinosuke insisted.

   "What if the German navy bombards the coastal areas of the empire? The most prosperous places in the empire are all along the coast! And almost all of these places are within the range of the German navy's naval guns!" Yashiro Rokuro said.

   "Coward! Are those coastal fortifications of the navy just a display?" Oka Ichinosuke scolded.

   "Horse manure! That's hitting a stone with an egg!" Yadai Rokuro refused to give in.

  Seeing that the two were arguing again, Okuma Shigenobu had to announce the adjournment of the meeting to avoid subsequent physical conflicts between the two.

   "Okay, let's end today's meeting!" Okuma Shigenobu said.

   "Your Excellency Prime Minister, our time is running out, we must make an early decision!" Foreign Minister Kato Takaaki said.

   "I have to, I will go to see the elders later. It is better for the elders to decide on such a major matter of national destiny!" Okuma Shigenobu said. However, his tone was full of helplessness.

  Although, Okuma Shigenobu is the elder of the island country, the de facto head of government. However, only he himself knows that he is actually just a puppet. The current power is in the hands of those elders. If the elders are dissatisfied, they can change to a new prime minister at any time.

  As soon as Shigenobu Okuma was going to see the Senator, the other cabinet ministers immediately stopped arguing. Because they know that since it is up to the elders to decide, there is nothing to do with them. It's pointless for them to fight again and again. Once the elders have reached an agreement, they only need to follow the orders of the elders.

  The elders are the semi-retired politicians of the island country. They have great influence in the island country, and they can even be called the de facto supreme head of the island country government. All major events are almost decided by these elders. Even the prime minister and even the emperor have no way to object to what they decide.

  Now, there are only 5 elders left in the island country, namely Yutomo of Yamagata, Masayoshi Matsukata, Kaoru Inoue, Dashanyan and Gongwang Xiyuanji. From these few people, it can be seen that the army of the island country has a great advantage. Among the five veterans, two are from the army, namely Youpeng and Dashanyan in Shan County. There is no one in the navy. After Xixiang Congdao, who was born in the navy, passed away, the navy no longer has any veterans. This has always put the navy at a disadvantage in the struggle with the army.

  The navy of the island country has always wanted to push Gonbei Yamamoto and Heihachiro Togo to the throne of veterans. However, it has never been successful.

  That afternoon, Shigenobu Okuma arrived at the residence of Arimomo in Yamagata. Shanxian Youpeng is the most senior of the five elders, so elder meetings are usually held in his mansion. At the meeting of the elders, Shigenobu Okuma, as the prime minister, only had the right to speak, but he had no right to make decisions. Only the elders have the power to make decisions.

   "Everyone, everyone is here, so let's start the meeting!" Shanxian Youpeng said.

  Although Shanxian Youpeng is seventy-seven years old, he is still full of energy and in good physical and mental condition. Among the other elders, Masayoshi Matsukata is the oldest. He is eighty years old, but his spirit is not bad. Only Kaoru Inoue is seventy-nine years old, but his spirit is not very good. In another time and space, he also Only a few months to live. The younger Dashanyan and Xiyuansi Gongwang are also 73 and 66 years old respectively.

   It can be seen that the island country is actually a **** country, and the actual power of the country is in the hands of these old men in their seventies and eighties.

   "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, what is difficult for the cabinet to decide this time?" Shan County Youtomo asked.

"Your Excellency, the Empire declared war on Germany at the beginning of the war because it was an ally of the British Empire in this World War. It also took the opportunity to rob Germany's colonies in the Pacific Ocean. But unfortunately, Germany's European battlefield The performance was very heroic, and now the kingdoms of France and Italy have been defeated one after another. In addition to Russia, which had withdrawn from the war before, only the United Kingdom is still struggling. From the comparison of the strengths of the two sides, the United Kingdom was defeated. It is also a matter of time. The cabinet is worried that the Germans will immediately attack the empire after the end of the European battlefield. The cabinet now has two views. One is to give up those colonies and return them to Germany, and seek the understanding of the Germans to restore the two countries. The other is to continue to occupy those territories and prepare to fight the Germans in the Far East. If the empire wins, then those colonies will belong to the empire forever, and even the empire can get more things However, if the empire loses, the consequences may be unbearable. The achievements of the empire since the Meiji Restoration are very likely to be completely lost in the war!" Okuma Shigenobu explained clearly the cause and effect of the cabinet and the Disagreement, and then he shut his mouth tightly, waiting for the decision of the elders.

  After listening to Shigenobu Okuma's statement, the elders frowned. Their experienced experience told them that the problem this time was indeed very difficult.

  Germany is too powerful. What the island country did this time was completely a matter of snatching food from the mouth of a tiger. It is impossible for any country to tolerate such behavior by an island country. Therefore, it is very possible that in the future, after the end of the war in the European battlefield, Germany will attack the island countries.

   "If Germany launches an attack on us, will the navy be able to re-enact a victory in the Battle of Tsushima?" asked Aritomo Yamagata.

  During the Tsushima Sea Battle, the navy of the island country waited for work, and had a showdown with the Russian navy from afar. In the end, the island navy won the victory, which enabled them to win the Russo-Japanese War.