Chapter 761, Shigetsu Okuma's worries

Hiroyi walked through the corridor outside the cabinet office with a grim and cold expression. Soon he came to the back door of the Prime Minister's Office. He knocked on the door, waited for a response inside before opening the side sliding door and walked in. Cabinet Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma was waiting for Hiroyi to come. This time the meeting between the two did not go through normal procedures, and no one else would be present.

"Your Excellency." Hiroyi bowed to Shigenobu Okuma in a regular manner.

"It seems that there is no good news in Nanjing." Okuma Shigeshino's thin body stood there and looked very slender. He was carrying his hands on his back, his face was gloomy and he looked worried.

"Yes, Hamaguchi's telegram has just been sent, please check it out." Hirata Yoshi walked up and submitted the telegram document to Okuma Shigeon with both hands.

"Don't show it to me, tell me what's going on." Shigeon Okuma said with a calm expression.

"Hankou Jun said that the consul Wu Shaoting was arrogant and did not take the dignity of the *** Empire seriously at all, and seemed to be determined not to establish any relationship with the ***. As for the conditions we proposed, he was almost moved at all, and even ignored the amendment of the unequal treaty. It can be seen that he had no intention of cooperating with the ***. Not only that, Hamakou Jun also said that Wu Zheng arrogantly raised the issues of Taiwan and Kanto, and bluntly stated that he would use Kanto to exchange the Qingdao Concession." Iriyao said expressionlessly. Although he was just reporting, he couldn't help but ignite anger in his heart.

"He was not moved even to amend the unequal treaty... This young man seemed to have something else to do." Okuma Shigeshino narrowed his eyes, and a cold light appeared in his eyes.

As the target of being bullied by the great powers, which country does not want to achieve sovereignty and restore its fair and just diplomatic status? Which country's leader does not regard this matter as a personal great achievement? The *** Empire came from this stage, so I have a deep understanding. Although the amendment of the treaty proposed by Japan did not make much concessions, it is the first reversal for China in nearly ninety years, especially for a young emerging leader like Wu Shaoting, which is a considerable amount of political capital.

But Wu Shaoting was so arrogant that he was not moved!

Hirachi said indifferently: "Your Excellency, I think the moderate foreign policy at the beginning was wrong. To deal with inferior nations like China, they should always be afraid. Hamaguchi's strategy is too weak, and this is not the style of our great empire. Now, moderate foreign policy not only fails to gain more benefits for us, but has also become the basis for Chinese people to laugh at us. This is really a failure."

Shigeon Okuma had to admit that Hiroshi Yi was right. Even if the negotiations were not reached, it would not damage the majesty of the ***. This would only make China more aggressive. He took a deep breath, a cold light appeared on his face, and said, "The elders of the Democratic Party are still interfering, and the budget for the new two divisions cannot be approved for a long time. The Ministry of Army has placed their hopes on this battle against Germany, hoping to increase the military budget through this war. This is also the only place where we can reach an agreement with the elders of the Democratic Party at present. Therefore, this battle must be fought."

Hirai Yoshi thought for a moment and said solemnly: "Then we should take more direct measures to put pressure on China, and we must promote the transfer of China's rights to Germany in Qingdao to us in any case."

Shigeon Okuma shook his head and said sighingly: "At present, Wu Shaoting will never agree to any request. He will definitely try his best to prevent us from occupying Qingdao. This is the important problem we are facing now."

Hirai Yoshi said: "We can also ask the ministers of Britain, France and Russia to put pressure on them. After all, this operation against Qingdao is also the requirement of the Allies. If this matter cannot proceed smoothly, it will also be under pressure for Britain and Russia. Besides, we can also contact Uchida Ryohei, so that the Black Dragon will help China to create momentum as soon as possible and deal with Wu Shaoting within the Nanjing government."

Shigeshino Okuma sighed and said worriedly: "We have to do all of these. But..."

Hirai Yi was stunned and immediately asked: "Your Excellency, do you think Wu Shaoting still refuses to compromise under the pressure of both internal and external forces? If that is true, our great empire will have another opportunity to use the reason for dealing with China's rude diplomatic attitude and maintaining ***'s power in China to urge the cabinet to pass the military expansion proposal, and at the same time, it can join forces with Britain and Russia to take action to sanction China. At that time, the benefits we will gain will not be just Qingdao."

"We must not think too simple," said Shigeon Okuma, seriously. "British, Russia may support us in sanctions against China, but their strength in the Far East is limited after all, and the situation of the European war is not optimistic. Britain and Russia are exhausted from dealing with the European battlefield. France cannot even protect its own territory. What else can we expect?"

"Even so, as long as Britain and Russia support us in terms of position and funding, it will be easy to deal with China with the strength of our Great Empire." Hiroshi said confidently.

"Maybe..." Shigeon Okuma sighed slowly. He always had his own overall vision in the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet. Although he supported military expansion, he still had to maintain rational analytical power. *** After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and Russo-Japanese War, the officers at the Army Staff Headquarters all expanded their ambitions. What he was worried about was not the ambition itself, but whether this expansion was a bubble?

"Your Excellency, what's wrong with you?" Hirai asked strangely. He didn't know what Shigenobu Okuma was worried about. From a diplomatic perspective, everything he could do had been done. If things could not be changed, they could only take more radical measures. Everything was to gain more benefits, and it was reasonable to take the risk of obtaining benefits.

"You make arrangements first, let the British and Russians come forward, and launch a large-scale war before you are fully confident. Even if the emperors and the people have such determination, those civilian politicians may not support it. There are too many troublesome things in this, so we must try our best to avoid it." Shigeon Okuma said solemnly.

"I see."
Chapter completed!