Chapter 229: The Torn

Tokyo, Prime Minister's Residence underground conference room, 9 a. m.

The heavy oak door was shut tight, and outside stood four army military police and four navy marine soldiers, each side standing three meters apart, eyes deliberately avoiding each other, but hands resting on their gun holsters. Inside, the core decision‑making body known as the "Five Elders Council" — Prime Minister Senei Zhengyi, Army Minister Gangshi Zhishu, Navy Minister Shanben Quanbingei, and the specially invited two elders: Navy Marshal Dongxiang Pingbalang and Army Marshal Shanxian Youpeng.

The conference room had no windows, only a harsh white electric light. The air was filled with cigar smoke, old paper, and a deeper, almost desperate smell. Spread across the center of the long table was a huge map of Japan, with a massive red‑inked cross drawn over the East Sea.

Senei Zhengyi rested both hands on the table, his gaze sweeping over the four seated. The 71‑year‑old Shanxian Youpeng closed his eyes to rest, seeming indifferent to everything before him; the 66‑year‑old Dongxiang Pingbalang sat upright, his eyes, which had seen through the smoke of the Tsushima battle, now as deep as an ancient well; Gangshi Zhishu's complexion turned iron‑blue, his fingers unconsciously drumming the tabletop; Shanben Quanbingei remained expressionless, only occasionally lifting his teacup for a sip.

"Gentlemen," Senei began, his voice hoarse, "the purpose of convening this meeting is clear to all. Lanfang's four battleships are still patrolling the waters off Kyushu, their submarines have sunk our merchant ships and bombarded our ports. Diplomatic channels report that they are willing to negotiate, but on the condition—"

"Unconditional surrender?" Gangshi Zhishu cut in coldly.

"Not unconditional," Senei shook his head, "but the terms… are severe."

He pulled a document from his briefcase, the Lanfang side's "Informal Negotiation Points" forwarded by the military attaché in Switzerland through a neutral country. The document was only one page, but every character was like a red‑hot branding iron:

1. The Cherry Blossom Nation shall recognize the Republic of Lanfang's sovereignty over Borneo and abandon all historical claims in that region.

2. The Cherry Blossom Nation shall compensate Lanfang for war losses with 300 million yen, to be paid over ten years.

3. The Cherry Blossom Nation's navy total tonnage shall not exceed 150,000 tons, each capital ship shall not exceed 20,000 tons, and the Main Gun caliber shall not exceed 305 mm.

4. The Cherry Blossom Nation shall open the ports of Nagasaki, Yokohama, Osaka, and Kobe as trade ports, granting Lanfang's goods most‑favored‑nation status.

5. The Cherry Blossom Nation shall recognize Lanfang's freedom of navigation and resource development rights in the South China Sea.

6. The Cherry Blossom Nation shall relinquish the Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu territories obtained under the Treaty of Ma‑Kuan.

When Senei finished reading, the conference room fell deathly silent. Only Shanxian Youpeng still kept his eyes closed, as if asleep.

"Bang!"

Gangshi Zhishu slammed a fist onto the table, sending the teacup hopping: "Absurd! These are death‑knell clauses! Three hundred million in reparations? How much does the Empire earn in a year? Limiting navy tonnage? Then what do we call our navy? Opening ports? How is that any different from the arrival of the American black ships back then!"

He sprang to his feet, pointing at Shanben Quanbingei: "The navy! It's all the navy's fault! If it weren't for your incompetence, if it weren't for you sacrificing the Combined Fleet, how could we have fallen to this point!"

Shanben Quanbingei did not move, not even glancing at Gangshi Zhishu. He simply lowered his teacup slowly and looked at Dongxiang Pingbalang: "Lord Dongxiang, what is your view?"

Dongxiang Pingbalang opened his eyes. The eyes remained sharp, but the wrinkles at the corners were as deep as knife cuts. He did not answer directly, but asked a question:

"Minister Gangshi, have you ever seen a Bismarck Class Main Gun fire?"

Gangshi Zhishu was startled: "I… I have seen rehearsal photos…"

"Photos and actual combat are two different things," Dongxiang said calmly. "I saw the Russian fleet fire in the Tsushima Strait, that was ten years ago. But according to battle reports, Lanfang's battleship fire is ten times more ferocious than the Russians', ten times more accurate, and the range… exceeds theirs by more than fifty percent."

He paused, his voice deeper: "Our coastal artillery cannot reach them. Our battleships cannot chase them. Our aircraft cannot fly that far. Minister Gangshi, tell me, under these circumstances, how does the army intend to 'defend the homeland'?"

"We can build layered defenses! We can mobilize a million citizens! We can…" Gangshi Zhishu's voice grew fainter.

"You think we can have citizens use bamboo spears against 380‑mm shells?" Dongxiang retorted, his tone still calm, but each word struck Gangshi Zhishu's face like a whip, "You think fishing boats can take on battleships? Or… does the army plan to swim out to sea and fight the enemy?"

Gangshi Zhishu's face turned a pork‑liver hue: "Lord Dongxiang! You are crushing others' morale while destroying our own prestige! The Imperial Army has five hundred thousand elite troops, a Bushido spirit, and…"

"…and flesh and blood bodies," Dongxiang interrupted, "while Lanfang has steel, explosives, and new‑era technology. Minister Gangshi, have you ever been to the front lines? Not a drill, but a real battlefield."

"I…"

"You haven't," Dongxiang said for him, "I was on the bridge of the Mikasa in the Tsushima Strait, watching Russian battleships burn and sink in the fire. I know the cruelty of war, I know the role of technology in war. And now we face an opponent whose technology is a generation ahead of ours, whose tactics are a generation ahead, whose very war doctrine is a generation ahead of ours."

He rose, aged yet with a straight back: "What is the result of continuing the war? More ports bombed, more merchant ships sunk, food unable to come in, coal unable to come in, oil unable to come in. Then factories halt, trains stop, famine spreads. In the end, without the enemy landing, we will collapse on our own."

"So should we just accept these humiliating terms?" Gangshi Zhishu roared, "Lord Dongxiang! You are the hero of the Tsushima Sea Battle! The symbol of the Imperial Navy! How can you…"

"Precisely because I am the hero of the Tsushima Sea Battle, I see reality more clearly," Dongxiang's voice rose sharply, "We won back then because we knew these waters better than the Russians, because we were better prepared, because… our technological gap was not as large as it is today!"

He stepped to the map, his finger pointing at the Japanese archipelago: "But now? We do not understand Lanfang's technology, we do not grasp their tactics, we do not even know their war doctrine. We are still using the Russo‑Japanese War experience to fight a completely different war. It's like using a katana against a machine gun; the result is only one—"

He turned, looking at everyone: "Total annihilation of the army."

The conference room fell into dead silence again. Shanxian Youpeng finally opened his eyes, his cloudy old gaze sweeping the assembly before settling on Senei Zhengyi:

"Senei, you are the Prime Minister. What do you say we should do?"

All eyes focused on Senei Zhengyi. The former‑military prime minister's face was pallid, fine beads of sweat beading on his forehead. He knew that whatever decision he made, half the people would brand him a coward, the other half a madman.

"I…" he opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, "I think we should accept negotiations."