The meeting eventually broke up. Outside the office of the Prime Minister's Office, General Yusaku Uehara, the chief of staff, stopped and looked back at the cabinet office. Tanaka Yoshiichi saw a sinister look in General Yusaku Uehara's eyes.

Guang, I couldn't help but sigh a little in my heart.

Just as the car arrived, Army Minister Tanaka Giichi called General Yusaku Uehara to get on the bus. When the car started, General Tanaka Giichi asked: "Uehara-kun, I heard that Nagata-kun is going to be sent to Europe? Is this happening?"

When Yusaku Uehara heard Nagata Tetsuzan's name, he calmed down a little and said coldly: "Nagata-kun applied to Europe. He wants to continue to understand Europe and continue to study..."

"Oh?" Tanaka Yi expressed his surprise half-heartedly, "If Nagata-kun is allowed to go to Vladivostok, we may be able to achieve good results."

Uehara Yusaku shook his head, but did not answer the question, "Tanaka-kun, I wonder if you can submit a memorial to the Emperor together with me?"

Tanaka Yiichi shook his head slightly. As far as he is concerned, he has no interest in occupying the Far East. It is not because Tanaka Yiichi supports Prime Minister Hara Kei, but because he believes that such a policy has little benefit. Invading Russia does not mean that he can directly annex Russia.

Territory. As long as the Russian government does not sign a territorial treaty with the Japanese government, countries around the world will not recognize the areas controlled by Japan as belonging to Japan.

Although Tanaka Giichi does not support Hara Kei's policy, he agrees with Hara Kei's point of view that "Britain will never agree." If Britain does not support it and Japan deals with Russia alone, the costs will be completely disproportionate to the benefits.

But as a soldier, Tanaka Giichi did not want to directly conflict with Uehara Yusaku. So Tanaka Giichi sighed: "His Majesty the Emperor has now fully accepted the views of people like Hara Kei, and our report will only arouse His Majesty's wrath. Regarding the situation,

Not helpful at all.”

Uehara Yusaku's eyes once again flashed with a sinister and dangerous light, and the Chief of Staff once again had the urge to bloodbath the cabinet.

However, General Yusaku Uehara quickly freed himself from such emotions. Things such as the Tenchu ​​national thief cannot be rushed. If Hara Kei is suddenly punished by Ten, it will trigger the wrath of Emperor Taisho who was bewitched by politicians like Hara Kei.

.The next person to come to power will probably be a politician who has the same idea as Yuan Jing.

Looking at Tanaka Giichi next to him, General Yusaku Uehara smiled and said: "I just mentioned Nagata-kun, he believes that He Rui has been the enemy of the Japanese Empire from the beginning, and He Rui will be at war with the Japanese Empire in 25 years at the latest.

.”

How could Tanaka Yiichi be deceived by Yusaku Uehara? He smiled and said: "If Nagata-kun really says that, then you will truly understand the meaning of Manmon's lifeline."

Yusaku Uehara really had no interest in accompanying Tanaka Giichi to fire cannons. Seeing that Tanaka Giichi was making a big point, he simply went straight to the point and said, "Tanaka-kun, as the Minister of the Ministry of War, do you really not want to expand the territory for the empire? Now the empire is

The power of Japan is the strongest since the Meiji Restoration. The European powers have been weakened due to the war. This is the opportunity for the Japanese Empire!"

Tanaka Giichi didn't expect Uehara Yusaku to be so direct, and didn't know how to answer for a while. Guys like Uehara Yusaku were in the army as often as they wanted, and their understanding of the world was still completely stuck in the era of the Sino-Japanese War.

Acquisition of land and reparations is the only right path.

The "lifeline of Manchuria and Mongolia" that Tanaka Giichi believes is the lifeline, not Manchuria and Mongolia. The reason why Manchuria and Mongolia are mentioned is because Manchuria and Mongolia are the easiest goals to achieve compared with other options. If Japan's national transportation arrives, there are other

A better choice, Giichi Tanaka would not hesitate to propose other lifelines for Japan.

In this regard, Yusaku Uehara is really inferior to Tetsuzan Nagata. Tetsuzan Nagata was praised by the military bosses because Nagata Tetsuzan proposed a plan on how to strengthen Japan.

At this level, if you understand, you understand. If you don't understand, you won't understand. Tanaka Yiichi was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "The Army Ministry is here, Uehara-kun, I'll get off the car first. Say goodbye."

As soon as he finished speaking, the car stopped at the gate of the Army Ministry. As soon as the door opened, Tanaka Yoshi got out of the car, bowed politely to Yusaku Uehara in the car, turned around and walked into the gate of the Army Ministry.

Seeing Tanaka Giichi's back disappear through the gate, Yusaku Uehara's heart was filled with emotions. Even in the military, there were not many people who supported taking action against Russia, which made Yusaku Uehara extremely angry.

The car started quickly, and Uehara Yusaku had already made up his mind. Since this group of people refused to take action, Uehara Yusaku could only fight for the Empire of Japan alone.

As soon as he returned to the staff headquarters, a staff officer hurriedly handed over a document. Without even waiting for Yusaku Uehara, the staff officer said in a joyful voice that was trembling with excitement: "Your Excellency, Belarus... The Belarusian provisional government was defeated in the war with Soviet Russia.

The provisional government of Belarus asks for our assistance."

Yusaku Uehara couldn't help but widen his eyes. He had been looking forward to this happening, but he didn't expect it to happen today.

When I opened the file and looked at it, I found that the contents of the telegram transcript attached inside were indeed the same as what the staff officer said. Uehara Yusaku was overjoyed and immediately ordered: "Have a meeting!"

The members of the General Staff Headquarters gathered quickly and learned that the opportunity to fully intervene in the Russian Civil War had arrived. The reaction of these staff officers was exactly the same as that of General Yusaku Uehara, especially Mitsuru Ushijima, who was so excited that he shouted a little out of control: "Your Excellency, let's do this

Bar!"

Now that the opportunity has come, General Yusaku Uehara has calmed down and is not affected by a small staff officer like Mitsuru Ushijima.

"You prepare a battle plan immediately." Isamu Uehara ordered.

When his subordinates immediately took action, Uehara Yusaku began to consider how to achieve his goal in one fell swoop. The Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters is a military command organization. Operations are formulated by the General Staff Headquarters and submitted to the Emperor. If the Emperor agrees, the combat plan will be issued in the form of an edict.

It is given to the Ministry of War, and the Minister of War is responsible for its execution.

This is why Yusaku Uehara had to drag Giichi Tanaka to persuade Prime Minister Keihara Hara. The current Emperor's policies are deeply influenced by party politics, and he is no longer united with the military as he was in the Meiji era.

If Yusaku Uehara's plan was denied by the emperor, it would naturally not be implemented. And it was the Army Ministry, not the General Staff Headquarters, that commanded the front line. The General Staff Headquarters did not have the power to directly command the front line beyond the War Ministry.

Judging from Tanaka Giichi's performance, this old fox probably thought that the Emperor would not agree to the plan to officially start a war with Russia, so he was on both sides of the fence.

How can we convince the emperor?

After thinking about it, Yusaku Uehara suddenly thought of a way, so he called his close confidant, Lieutenant Commander Ikeda, and gave him a few instructions in a low voice.

In the evening of the same day, Lieutenant Commander Ikeda of the General Staff Headquarters walked into a hotel. In the friendly voice of the boss, "Welcome," Lieutenant Colonel Ikeda walked into the hotel. He sat down in a corner, looked around, and saw that it was time for dinner.

There were only a few customers in the store. Seeing this situation, Lieutenant Commander Ikeda couldn't help but feel sad.

After the war, Japan's economy was greatly affected, and the market was getting worse day by day. Needless to say, compared with the war period more than a year ago, and even compared with half a year ago, the number of customers was far lower.

Just as I was thinking about it, the curtain at the entrance was raised and the two of them walked in. The boss quickly stepped forward and bowed to greet them, saying, 'Welcome.'

Lieutenant Colonel Ikeda stood up when he saw that the leader, who was wearing a suit, was none other than his classmate Iguchi who worked at the Asahi Shimbun. Then Lieutenant Colonel Ikeda was stunned and saw a young girl following behind Iguchi.

The girl was wearing a British Victorian-style light gray coat and a peaked cap that reporters like. Her attire was clean and tidy, her round face was cute, and she exuded the demeanor of a scholar. Lieutenant Commander Ikeda was assigned to work at the General Staff Headquarters and was also the Army University.

A graduate of the elite, he has met many people. However, with just one glance, he could not figure out the origin of this young woman.

Iguchi walked up to Ikeda, and the two shook hands directly. Iguchi then introduced: "Ikeda-kun, this is the newcomer assigned to me by our newspaper office, Miss Morita. Morita, this is my elementary school classmate Ikeda."

Faced with Miss Morita's polite and cordial greetings, Ikeda quickly returned the greeting. The three of them sat down. It was the first time for Ikeda to face a professional woman from a newspaper office, and he was a little uncomfortable for a while. Seeing Ikeda's reaction, Ikeda smiled and said: "Ikeda, you

Don’t underestimate Miss Morita. She is a graduate of Imperial Tohoku University and a genuine female college student. If it weren’t for the fact that I came to see you, I wouldn’t have invited Morita out so late. Tell me, what’s the big news?

.”

Ikeda was a little surprised when he heard that the person opposite him was actually a female college student. After serving in the army for many years, Ikeda had seen dozens of generals, including marshals and even princes more than once. Even His Majesty the Emperor, Ikeda also met him on one occasion.

I had the opportunity to meet him up close at the conference.

However, this was the first time Ikeda had seen a living Japanese female college student. Ikeda bowed his head again and saluted reporter Morita.

Seeing Ikeda's appearance, Mitsuko Morita couldn't help but smile and said, "Iguchi-kun, why don't you go out for a walk first?"

Of course Iguchi knew the reason why the editor-in-chief of "Asahi Shimbun" sent Mitsuko Morita to follow him, and of course he did not agree. As long as Ikeda did not directly express his desire to deliver the news privately, Mitsuko Morita had to watch from the side. For reporters, social experience is

Very important accumulation.

At this time, Ikeda had no idea of ​​asking female reporter Morita to leave. He just restrained himself and did not let himself keep looking at female reporter Morita. Female college students have powerful families behind them, and the consequences of being rude may not be

Ikeda can afford it.

At this time, the hotel owner had already served two plates of side dishes and a bottle of wine. Female reporter Morita placed the wine glasses first, then picked up the wine bottle and poured wine into the wine glasses in front of the three of them.

Such elegance and thoughtfulness made Ikeda fall in love. He picked up the wine glass and said to the female reporter Morita: "Nice to meet you."

Morita showed a polite and sweet smile, and when Iguchi picked up the wine glass, she also picked up the glass. After the three clinked glasses, Morita held the slightly wider sleeve on the left with his right hand, said "Nice to meet you", and drank the wine in the glass.

Drink it all in one gulp.

Seeing such an elegant and bold appearance, Ikeda felt that something that was originally very boring became interesting.

The three of them ate and chatted. Soon after, when Ikeda told me about recent events, reporter Iguchi frowned and asked, "Can we confirm that the Belarusian provisional government has asked us to send troops to help?"

Nakasa Ikeda really didn't want to answer such a stupid question, and at this time, the female reporter Ms. Morita happened to refill the wine glass that Ikeda had already drained. The faint smell of perfume from Ms. Morita's body made Ikeda feel that he couldn't concentrate.

In order to cover up his gaffe, Ikeda picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

As soon as I put down my glass, I heard Jingguchi laugh and say, "Even if you want to get drunk, you still have to explain things clearly."

While he was drunk, Lieutenant Colonel Ikeda sighed: "The opportunity for the empire is right in front of us, but depending on the government's intentions, it actually wants to let go of such an opportunity."

Of course, reporter Iguchi knew that the purpose of his old classmate's visit was not to reminisce about the past, but to use the channels of "Asahi Shimbun" to release the news. But this matter was indeed beyond the scope of Iguchi's own decision-making, and he did not dare to give it to himself

old classmates. In particular, the editorial department of the "Asahi Shimbun" has also published many articles about the situation in the Far East. Since the president of the Asahi Shimbun was invited to have a meal by the superiors, he was more cautious about its tendencies.

Seeing the silence of reporter Iguchi, Ikeda became dissatisfied and asked, "Iguchi-san, don't you think this is an opportunity?"

Iguchi remained silent, just picked up the glass and took a sip. Of course it is an opportunity to expand the territory, but after being a reporter for so long, Iguchi’s view of the world is very different from when he was young. He can no longer simply serve someone

This may be desperate. Moreover, the lessons of the last Russo-Japanese War are not far away. The Japanese Army captured the strong Port Arthur Fortress, and the Navy almost annihilated all Russian capital ships in one fell swoop with minimal losses.

If we only look at it from the perspective of victory, this is indeed an unprecedented victory for Japan. From a political and economic perspective, Japan has gained the respect of the United Kingdom and signed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance.

However, the Katsura government, which had achieved such success, collapsed amid the rebuke of the people across Japan. Although the Japanese people would be happy about the victory in the war, they were completely unable to accept that they failed to receive any compensation after the war ended.

This time the Belarusian provisional government asked Japan for help. Based on the information I learned, the Belarusian government could give Japan very little. Moreover, the head of the Belarusian provisional government was Admiral General Kolchak, who had participated in the previous

In the Russo-Japanese War, it was impossible for him to cede territory to Japan, and most of the gold carried by the Belarusian government was used to purchase arms and supplies from Northeast China.

If Japan sends troops this time, even if it wins a great victory, it will not be able to obtain territory compensation. The current Hara Kei cabinet will not make such a choice in any case.

Iguchi made a judgment, and at the same time picked up the glass and drank slowly. When Ikeda saw reporter Iguchi's reaction, he felt that he had just found the wrong person. If it was a reporter who wanted to steal news, he should immediately ask for information at this time.

detail.

Since Iguchi didn't respond, Ikeda looked at the female reporter Morita. Perhaps because of the drunkenness and the depression in his heart, Ikeda asked Morita a question, "Ms. Morita, do you support sending troops?"

Then the female reporter Morita showed her elegant and sweet smile again, "It would be great if I could be allowed to interview the staff headquarters when the troops are dispatched."

Hearing this made Ikeda very happy, and in his heart he despised his old classmate Iguchi, so he turned around and asked: "How about it, Iguchi, can you report it?"

Iguchi still didn't dare to agree. Moreover, Iguchi admired the answer of his colleague Mitsuko Morita. As for him, Mitsuko Morita's answer was undoubtedly a good example. His classmate Ikeda didn't seem to notice at all, Mitsuko Morita didn't answer at all.
To be continued...