Chapter 82 The Intention of Cherry Blossoms

May is the season when the cherry blossoms on the islands are in full bloom and spring is in full bloom. From Hokkaido to Kyushu, from Mount Fuji to the deep house of the palace, butterfly bees are noisy and vibrant everywhere, but there are fewer people watching cherry blossoms everywhere this year. Even if there are, most of them are lonely women.

Japanese book, the Japanese book at this time, after mobilizing nearly a million troops, a large number of men entered the army. Naturally, the couple who enjoyed the cherry blossoms could not be seen in the parks and hillsides where the cherry blossoms were blooming everywhere in Japan. The corresponding deterioration of the economic situation and the sharp inflation have made me feel less appreciative of cherry blossoms.

A deserted May! Perhaps it is most appropriate to use this sentence to describe it.

Tokyo Castle Nishimaru.

On the bank of the moat with clear water circulation, the lush green trees reflect the towering Japanese palace. In the palace, on the garden stone path tightly surrounded by the breath of spring, the emperor Meiji was walking slowly in a distraught mood. The wide white kimono, like a dazzling sun, burned around uneasily and restless. Although the spring was strong, it failed to melt the dark clouds in the hearts of the descendants of Tianzhao God.

It has been a whole year and three months since I fell into this war. At the beginning of the war, the imperial army attacked the city and plundered the land, and it was invincible. The whole day seemed to see the victory in front of me, but now?

The situation on the battlefield is unexpectedly deteriorating, especially after the Chinese intervene, it is still far from the ultimate goal of "grabbing the battlefield advantage, making peace and ending the war" at the beginning, and the most terrible thing now is that the advantages on the battlefield have fundamentally changed, from the bias to the original. It has moved to China and even Russia.

"The goddess of victory gave a wink to Japan, but finally ** lay down on the Chinese **. At the same time, the windy goddess began to throw a wink at Russia again."

Perhaps, it can't be easier to describe it with this sentence.

The war has never brought any economic benefits to Japan. The war is simply a bottomless pit, absorbing all the military expenses and soldiers. In order to continue this war, Japan has borrowed nearly 2 billion yuan, but the war seems to see no end at all. This war has exhausted the last penny of Japan, and the economic recession, hundreds of thousands of casualties and various negative effects brought about by the war are like demons rising with the wind, full of Every corner of Ben.

At this time, a figure appeared in front of him again. Whenever Meiji was worried about all this, he would think of two people, Ito Hirofumi and Yamamoto Kumi. Before the war broke out, the two of them seriously opposed the war with Russia at the imperial meeting, and even even now they still oppose the war against Russia. War.

Meiji himself had also opposed war with Russia, but in the end, his opposition was meaningless. The ministers insisted, and the situation forced him to go to war with Russia.

"It's too small and too small, and Russia is too big! It's too weak, and Russia is too strong!"

In the past two months, the first victories again and again have made Meiji excited. The people yearn for the glory of a powerful people. As an emperor, he did not want to be the ruler of a powerful country. He even fantasized that he might have become a Britain in Asia, and he would become like Vito. Like Leah, he created the emperor of a great era!

But what about now? The Chinese gave a heavy blow to Japan, but woke up Meiji. When the relationship between China and Japan was tense due to the tariff incident, he had asked the ministers to make concessions, but what about the ministers?

Thinking of this, he became more and more disgusted and hated those ministers. Arrogant and domineering, their chests pounded loudly, promising that the imperial army did not need to be afraid of China, and then they made a lot of reasons.

But what about the final result? The Chinese gave up their verbal conversation and chose the war directly in the name of violating China's neutrality. The war was not only not as the ministers said, but also needed a charge to beat the middle [***] down. On the contrary, the imperial army, which was regarded as the pillar of the empire, was taken down. It sounded to be said that it was originally from Asia. Prosirable peace, unwilling to expand the war with China, to put it bluntly, the main force of the besieged imperial army may be completely annihilated.

What made him even more angry was that the land ministers who used to talk about changed. The whole day was full of reasons. The Chinese army had more artillery, machine guns and more troops, which were not easy to solve in a short time. Then he euphemistically said that it was better to negotiate with the Chinese to let them withdraw from the war!

But the conditions put forward by the Chinese are unacceptable, Taiwan!

They want Taiwan! That's what was exchanged for with blood!

"If those guys were not so tough at the beginning and agreed to China's tariff autonomy, they would have paid such a heavy price!"

Meiji said to himself that it was the contempt of those ministers for China that caused the bad situation that he had to face now.

Now the Chinese and Russians have invaded South Korea one after another. Whether it is controlled by China or Russia, there is a soft sound of footsteps from behind that Japan can't accept. He turned around and looked, and a attendant bowed his head to him.

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Gui is here."

Meiji waved his hand and muttered in a low voice.

"I'll come."

When he appeared again, Meiji had already changed into a uniform. He stood by the window with his back to Katsura Taro. As the Prime Minister of the Empire, Katsura Taro stood there with his hands slightly drooping and reporting on the discussions of the ministers.

"...Convene the imperial meeting! Discuss the peace with China!"

Today, Meiji is standing coldly and expressionlessly as usual.

"Is it necessary to hold a imperial meeting to decide whether to cede Taiwan to China?"

Meiji turned around with a pair of small but majestic eyes and looked at Katsura Taro's face. As an emperor, he had long been used to the awe of his ministers. As an emperor, he also needed everything to submit to his feet.

But now, there is a trace of embarrassment in his majesty.

Why did you hold a pre-imperial meeting?

I just want to end this conflict with the Chinese people in my own name. Meiji can even imagine that ministers will first quarrel at the imperial meeting, and then they will use various excuses to express the difficulties and dangers they are facing now. Of course, they will continue to emphasize.

"China's conditions are beyond the reach of the country!"

Repeat the same words over and over again. In short, they will be very patriotic and will never accept the extortion of the Chinese, and even express their courage and determination to fight.

Then, they will argue again, and finally someone will say, "Your Majesty, please!"

In the end, these people will kick all the problems to themselves, and then decide whether to return Taiwan to China, and then, no matter what they say, "Let's decide, ministers!" Or, "That's it, let's do it!" They will do this according to the consensus that has been formed in their hearts.

The so-called holy judge is just that they are looking for excuses for themselves. It seems that it is the one who finally agreed to return Taiwan to China, not these ministers. In fact, they have reached a consensus.

This group... If they had accepted their suggestion at the beginning, there would be today's crisis there.

"Your Majesty, Lu [***] has occupied the North Xianjing Road! At any time, we will occupy South Hamland and even the whole of South Korea, but in South Korea, we are not afraid of a tourist group to stop their attack!"

Taro Katsura told the truth that in fact, how could these emperors not know?

"What are the attitudes of ministers! Have you agreed to cede Taiwan?

"Your Majesty, ministers believe that Taiwan is a barrier to the south, which is of great military value and cannot be returned to China. At the beginning, we spent so much effort to get Taiwan, and so many people died. If Taiwan is returned to China,... However, in the current form, it seems that the situation does not allow us to consider it,"

When Taro Katsura spoke, he deliberately changed the emperor's cession to return, and when Meiji talked about cession, he did not mock these ministers, but both of them chose to ignore this.

"After all, for Japan, South Korea is close at hand. If South Korea is controlled by Lucia, we will have to face the threat of Lucia in the next ten years. This war has seriously deteriorated the relationship between Japan and Russia. The revenge of Russia is what we have to face in the future. Therefore, we I have to consider the situation of the future country.

Although Katsura Taro did not directly say that the ministers felt that they should cede Taiwan, the meaning in his words had been very clear. He accepted the exchange between South Korea and Taiwan proposed by the Chinese, so as to ensure that South Korea had no worries, at least to prevent Lucia from north of North Korea, which was the most fundamental bottom line.

"It seems that everything is back to last year, isn't it?"

Meiji smiled bitterly in his heart, but when he said this, there was no expression on his face.

A year ago, Hirofumi Ito put forward the "Manchu-South Korea Exchange Theory". Russia should at least withdraw from South Korea, and it should condone Lucia's occupation of Manchuria, so as to achieve an independent war against South Korea, ensuring that the first is safe and worry-free, and the second is to obtain a colony. But the ministers did not agree with this bottom line. In the end, the war inevitably broke out.

Two billion yuan of military expenses were spent, and hundreds of thousands of people were killed and injured, but what did he get in the end? All you get is what you can get through negotiation, and even lose Taiwan!

And this is the reward that Japan received in this war. The country borrowed so much money and killed so many people, but in the end it ended up in vain.

"What do you think of General Eryu, the governor of Taiwan?"

"Your Majesty, I respectfully obey the Holy Judgement!"

Kura Taro's answer like kicking a ball made Meiji have no choice but to smile bitterly in his heart, and then silently turned around and looked at the dark sky outside the window. Meiji, who looked extremely serious, finally nodded in the twilight after being silent for a long time. Is there any other choice now?

"Well, it's late today. Let's hold a royal meeting tomorrow!"

When he woke up "between the phoenixes" after taking a nap, Meiji sat up in a daze, thinking about his thoughts. In the evening, the scene of the conversation with Katsura Taro shook in front of his eyes. During this period of time, he felt too tired and obviously lost a lot of weight. But it's more of a kind of panic. He doesn't want to become like the emperor of the Qing Dynasty to sign those treaties that humiliate the country. He can imagine that if the Lu national fleet continues to repair China's military port, and China and Lu continue to cooperate, maybe, maybe, even if he has thousands of unwillingness, in the end, It is possible to sign those treaties.

Now, he regrets. Why couldn't he refuse to declare war on Lu Guo at the beginning?

Why couldn't I insist on agreeing with the tariff autonomy required by the Chinese people at the beginning?

After so many years, why do they always let go of themselves, so that it is hard to return today. Those ministers, on the surface, regard themselves as gods.

Yes! The emperor is the descendant of Tianzhao God, that is, he is a god, so he should not worry about common things, right? Even so, then these common things should be handled by mortal ministers!

In the end, Meiji sighed weakly in his heart. What can he do? At this time, Meiji's whole body was completely shrouded in a complex contradiction, like an insipable cloud, tightly shrouded in his heart.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, Taiwan will be ceded!

My Taiwan! That was the first colony in Japan! And tomorrow, that colony will be lost tomorrow.

Feeling that the person beside her was gone, Empress Meiko opened her eyes and saw her majesty and clothes sitting there. She quickly sat up, put on her pajamas, and went to her majesty's side and knelt down.

"What's the matter, Your Majesty!

Empress Miko is the last female queen of Japan, the queen of the Meiji Emperor. After her, because of the reform of the Meiji Restoration, the name Nvyu was abolished from then on. Her biological father was Yi Zhongxiang, the minister of Guan Baizuo, and she was the daughter of a famous family in the court. Her biological mother, originally named Rong Shouji, is not noble. She is just a Zhongxiang side room named Xinbata Minzi, and Xinbata Minzi's biological father is just a doctor in the left minister's family.

So although you are the queen, the problem of origin has been criticized by many parties in Japan. However, she is the Kennaisuke of Emperor Meiji, an extremely intelligent woman. Emperor Meiji was greatly influenced by her. However, even so, Empress Miko did not have a son, and the crown prince was a servant of Meiji.

"Nothing!"

Meiji did not answer Miko's question. In fact, the reason why he came to "Phoenixes" today is that Meiji, as the emperor, wanted to get some answers from Empress Miko.

In the past year, the relationship between Meiji and the empress has been in discord, and now the real "queen" in the harem is actually the beloved servant of the Meiji Emperor, Aiko Yanagihara, who is also the biological mother of the crown prince.

But now, when Miko asked, Meiji, who had been banning Queen Miko for half a circle in the past year, was unwilling to ask for help from the queen who had given him countless help. It was a shame for a man to ask a woman for help.

"..."

After politely saluting, Miko did not continue to ask questions, but directly returned to the tatami and fell asleep with her clothes. From then on, the cold relationship between the two could also be seen. But in spite of this, whether it is Meiji or Miko, they are now disguised as the so-called "phoenix harmony". In fact, the relationship between the two has already fallen to the freezing point.

The reason for this is because of an unknown court affair. As for what it is, it is not known by the outside world. After all, only the emperor and the empress understand the private affairs of the emperor.

After Miko fell asleep, Meiji sighed heavily at the queen who was respected by the people as "kindness, fraternity, humility and chastity, that is, the embodiment of women's virtue". If she did not have an affair with the assassination of herself, maybe she would definitely ask her for help and ask her what she meant, but... sighed in the bottom of her heart. The voice, Meiji put on his clothes and left "between the phoenixes". The palace servant was stunned when he saw the emperor walking out of the "between the phoenixes" at midnight. Even if he followed the emperor respectfully, although as the emperor, Meiji had more than 100 maids, today he was not in the mood to go to those maids' rooms, even those The residence of a beautiful young lady.

When he walked towards the "Phoenix Pavilion", he passed through a cherry blossom forest. Under the light of the street lights, the cherry blossom forest was extremely dazzling. He strolled into the cherry blossom forest and felt the blooming cherry blossoms. He said that I like cherry blossoms, but the cherry blossoms will wither at the most dazzling moment after blooming. Isn't life like this? In the most glorious Isn't it the pursuit of countless people to wither at a moment of glory?

But...but what about the country?

What if a country suddenly withers after blooming at the peak of glory?

When this idea came out, Meiji's heart suddenly trembled. He could hardly believe that such an idea would emerge in his heart, but this idea plunged his whole body into an extreme fear, which was what he had been most worried about.

Now it is not like the blooming cherry blossoms. After winning the war, it is not like the cherry blossoms blooming, reaching the dazzling peak of the eye-catching and shocking, but if... At this moment, a gust of wind blows, the originally dazzling cherry blossoms are falling, and the sky is full of cherry blossom petals. The petals fell on Meiji and swirled beside him with the wind. If it had been in the past, perhaps Meiji would have been immersed in the shocking moment in front of him, but what about now?

The cherry blossoms swirling around them seem to have turned into Japanese, and the withered cherry blossoms seem to be indicating the fate of the future. Perhaps, Japanese will wither in the most dazzling one.

Fear! The boundless fear spread in the heart of the Meiji Emperor. The original serious and solemn look would be completely shrouded in an unprecedented fear. He almost escaped from the cherry blossom forest in a panic and kept muttering in his mouth.

"It's not true, it's not true,... it must not happen..."

(to be continued)