Chapter 591

In the evening, the noisy embassy street quieted down. The protesters, who realized the severity of the situation, had already dispersed.

The military police who heard the news had already sealed off the scene. At this moment, the embassy area was already "guarded every five steps, and a sentry every ten steps."

The air was still filled with the smell of gunpowder, and the ruined Russian-style buildings were still a silent accusation of what happened during the day.

All the entertainment venues were closed. Even the people who liked to watch the fun closed their doors at this moment, for fear of getting into trouble.

On the contrary, the previously closed embassies of various countries became active. When facing the rioters, everyone was very timid, but when it was the Government of Japan, everyone's courage grew again.

The prestige of the military police could scare the Japanese people, but it couldn't scare the diplomats of various countries. Influenced by traditional culture, the European world's mentality of mourning for the death of the rabbit was particularly strong.

Everyone was a diplomat. At this time, if they didn't stand up and speak out. What happened to the Russian diplomats today could be replicated tomorrow.

The embassies of various countries, including Japan's ally Britannia, unanimously boycotted this kind of bad behavior that happened during the day.

Encountering a group of ambassadors that couldn't be scolded or touched made the military police responsible for sealing off the scene suffer.

Some hot-tempered people directly punched and kicked the gendarmes who blocked their way. At this moment, there were already many people who were beaten black and blue.

One couldn't help but admire the resilience of the Japanese. Even if they were beaten, they still greeted them with a smile. Anyway, they had a lot of people, and there were only a few people in the ambassadors' group. After one wave of people was beaten, another wave would go up and continue.

Relying on the style of "not fighting back when scolded, not fighting back when beaten," they managed to make the ambassadors lose their temper and successfully bought time to clean up the scene.

…

In the palace, Emperor Meiji was already stomping his feet in anger. The calm and majestic monarch in the past had long been thrown away.

There was no other way. What happened today was too exciting. It directly caused the biggest diplomatic crisis in the history of Japan.

It was already troublesome enough to attack the Russian embassy, but in the end, all the staff of the Russian embassy were killed. Even the Emperor of Meiji felt despair when facing this group of troublemakers.

No matter how many objective reasons there were, this happened, and the Government of Japan couldn't absolve themselves from the blame.

In particular, the massacre also happened under the noses of the diplomats of various countries. If it wasn't handled properly, Japan might even suffer a disaster.

Unable to suppress his anger, Emperor Meiji almost roared, "Today, which idiot planned it? Have you found the person?"

He had no choice but to be angry. He had never seen such a scam. Protests aside, Emperor Meiji was also happy to put pressure on the Russians.

The massacre of the Russia Embassy was completely unexpected. Anyone with the slightest sense of politics should know what this means.

The massacre during the day not only provoked the Russians, but it also challenged the international order dominated by Europe.

Fortunately, the exact number of casualties was not exposed. Otherwise, the news they received now would not be a collective protest by the various ambassadors, but the various embassies moving away and running away.

Being enemies with the Russians was not a big deal. The most important thing was the sanctions from the international community. Becoming enemies with the Russians was no longer a big deal. The most important thing was the sanctions from the international community.

Even the Government of the United Kingdom couldn't support them. Even the British government would not support them despite the universal condemnation of the world.

"The demonstration was organized by several student groups, including the Anti-Russian Communist Association and the Iron and Blood Revenge. The main purpose was to protest against the Russians' violation of the rights of the Empire.

Attacking the Russian Embassy was not part of the organizer's plan. Then someone shouted that the Russians killed people, which aroused the anger of the people at the scene, and then the following tragedy broke out.

Based on the situation at the scene, in the conflict during the day, we have hundreds of people killed and nearly a thousand injured … "

According to the situation at the scene, in the conflict during the day, we have over a hundred people dead, and nearly a thousand injured … "

Not waiting for Kodama Gentaro to finish his words, Emperor Meiji impatiently reprimanded him, "I'm just asking you who planned it. I don't want to hear you defend them.

No matter what the reason is, after such a big thing happened, someone has to stand up to take responsibility and give an explanation to the international community.

Do you think that the world will give up attacking the Russian embassy because of civilian casualties?

Don't forget, dozens of staff, including the Russia Ambassador, were all killed.

In the eyes of the world, those who participated in the demonstration are no longer ordinary civilians, but a group of ignorant mobs. "

If explanations were useful, there would be no war in the world. No matter how the conflict started, the staff of the Russian embassy were killed by the Japanese people who participated in the demonstration.

This was enough. Murder must be paid with life. Otherwise, the diplomats of various countries in Japan wouldn't be able to sleep.

"Hai!"

Kodama Gentaro was also helpless. It wasn't that he wanted to defend the students, but there were too many people involved. If the investigation continued, he didn't know how many people would be unlucky.

What's more, most of the people who participated in the demonstration were patriotic students. The reason why the incident happened during the day was completely a conspiracy. If it wasn't for someone guiding it, this tragedy wouldn't have happened under normal circumstances.

But now that it has happened, someone must be responsible. The group that planned the demonstration must be the first to bear the brunt.

After a pause, Kodama Gentaro added, "We have already sent people to investigate the person behind the scenes, but the scene was too chaotic at the time, and it was impossible to determine where the bullet came from.

The military police have blocked the scene, and our experts have intervened and are arranging the scene.

According to the plan, we will disguise the scene as an accidental fire, causing the death of the Russian embassy staff, and the protesters rushed in to … "

Without waiting for Kodama Gentaro to finish, Ito Hirobumi couldn't help but speak first. He had completely given up on the military's way of thinking.

"Kodama, are you sure you're not joking?"

It wasn't a joke, it was a joke in itself. Unless the Russian embassy staff were all dead, they would have run out when there was a fire.

Even if they couldn't guarantee that everyone ran out, at least the guards guarding the gate shouldn't have been killed. Such an explanation couldn't even be perfunctory.

Storming the embassy to "put out the fire," that was even more ridiculous. There were a lot of witnesses at the scene, and the Government of Japan didn't have the ability to make the staff of the nearby embassies lie with their eyes wide open.

It wasn't impossible to treat the rest of the world as idiots. If Japan was as strong as the Americans in the future, they could play this way.

Unfortunately, Japan was a little brother these days. At most, it could be regarded as barely touching the threshold of the big powers, but it still couldn't cross the threshold.

Their strength was not good enough, and they treated other countries as fools. It was clear that they haven't experienced the cruelty of society and wanted to come out to find excitement.

There was no other way, the East and West had different thinking. The civil officials who first came into contact with the West could barely keep up, and the thinking of the military generals was still stuck in the traditional mode of thinking.

In the military's view, what happened in the Russian embassy was only a problem between Japan and Russia, and it had nothing to do with other countries.

Since the relationship between Japan and Russia was already like this, no matter how bad it got, it couldn't get any worse.

However, the reality was very cruel. It just so happened that the European governments loved to participate in this kind of international affairs that had no risks and was purely for prestige.

In any case, Japan was in the wrong, so it was right to criticize the Government of Japan.

If a big country was willing to take the lead in sanctions, everyone didn't mind joining in the fun and fully exerted their "international influence."

The hazy Kodama Gentaro quickly realized his mistake under the criticism of the crowd and decisively chose to admit defeat. He did not have the spirit of the Japanese Army that would rather die than surrender.

…

Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru: "So far, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received diplomatic notes from eleven countries, including Britannia and Shinra, asking us to explain what happened in the Russian embassy during the day and open the scene for them to send people to investigate.

We have sent people to contact the British Minister, and the results are very unsatisfactory. The British also asked us to give a reasonable explanation.

The result has not been announced yet. If the British know that all the staff of the Russian embassy were killed, I am afraid they will not support us.

Based on the current situation, if we can't give the international community a reasonable explanation, the Empire is likely to be sanctioned.

The current situation is very unfavorable for us, and if the Russians take the opportunity to attack us, the international community is likely to support them. "

There was only the problem and no countermeasures. This was the true portrayal of the Government of Japan. It wasn't that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't work hard, but the matter was too big, and they were in the wrong. There was no room for maneuver.

International politics also had rules of the game. If you broke the rules when you were not strong enough, you would be punished by the rules.

Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu: "It has already happened, and it can't be avoided. The Empire will definitely pay the price.

What we can do now is to find a way to minimize the impact of the incident, and at the same time, minimize the losses of the Empire.

It is best to find the mastermind behind the incident. If we can point to other countries, our responsibility will be much lighter.

According to the analysis of the situation at the scene, does the military police have any clues? Even if they can't determine the real culprit, suspects will do. "

Although he knew that the probability of finding the mastermind was very low, Okuma Shigenobu could only choose to try it. The Government of Japan really couldn't afford to find a scapegoat to share the burden!

Kodama Gentaro shook his head directly. "It's difficult! There are too many suspects, and we don't have evidence in our hands. There's no way to testify.

Even if we catch the culprit, I'm afraid it will be difficult to determine who the real mastermind is. The mastermind can completely disguise it as a personal grudge.

If we can't prove that it was a political assassination, then all the responsibility will still be borne by us. "

Purely from the perspective of interests, those who wanted to provoke a war between Japan and Russia could be suspects of the mastermind of this incident.

At this point, there was no way to investigate further. The biggest suspects were the Japanese military, Britannia, and Shinra, followed by Spain, the United Kingdom, and the Empire of the Far East.

No matter who the mastermind was, it definitely couldn't be the first three. No matter how big the suspicion was, no matter how much evidence there was, it had to be someone else.

The second echelon could indeed shift the blame, but they had to show evidence first. Who would believe it if they just said it without any evidence?

If they didn't shift the blame, they would make another enemy for themselves. That would be the end of them.

Lu Xiangshan Youpeng: "Prime Minister, do you think the Russians will believe us if we say that the mastermind is behind the scenes?

Things have already come to this point, there is no possibility of reconciliation between us and the Russians.

Even if the Tsarist government can hold back, once the Siberian Railway is opened, the Russians will still have to move east, and war will be inevitable.

Rather than waiting for the Russians to come and passively fight, it's better to start preparing now and act before the Siberian Railway is opened.

As for the international impact, at this point, it's nothing more than an apology, compensation to the families of the deceased, and a guarantee to all countries to prevent similar situations from happening again.

If they can come to an agreement, then they can talk. If they can't, then they can just accept the sanctions. As long as the Empire lowers its attitude, the European countries won't send troops because of this.

You can rest assured that this kind of sanctions can't be sustained. As long as war breaks out between us and the Russians, the British will find a way to help us lift the blockade. I believe that Shinra won't stop us.

Even if we are under a blockade, we can still smuggle. Unless other countries send their fleets to our doorstep to seize smugglers, the blockade will only exist in name, and the capitalists will have a way to circumvent it.

The ones that are really affected are bulk commodities such as food. As long as we work together, this period of hardship will soon pass. "

Politics was complicated and ever-changing. Analyzing a problem from different angles would lead to different conclusions.

The diplomatic censure that was regarded as a scourge by the civil officials became an opportunity in the eyes of the pro-war faction.

At this moment, the Government of Japan seemed to have been forced to the edge of a cliff and could no longer come down.

With the last layer of window paper being pierced, all the fantasies of the pro-peace faction were also shattered. Everyone realized that a war between Japan and Russia was unavoidable, the only difference was when it would break out.

The atmosphere in the room became even more depressing. This involved the fate of the country, and no one dared to make a rash decision.

After a while, Ito Hirobumi was the first to break the silence: "A war between Japan and Russia is indeed unavoidable, but now is not the time.

The Russians need to wait for the railway to open, but the Empire also needs time to prepare. With the current state of the Empire, it is impossible for them to fight a war.

What's more, there is an ambitious schemer behind the scenes, which is even more difficult to guard against.

If we don't find this guy, who knows what will happen next? The Empire cannot afford to be tossed around by them. "

As he spoke, Ito Hirobumi looked at the military representatives, as if warning them not to play with fire.

Ito Hirobumi wasn't the only one who had suspicions. Even Emperor Meiji's gaze towards the military leaders changed, as if he was searching for something.

No one liked to be suspected, but it was hard for the military leaders to defend themselves. It wasn't just the civil officials who were suspicious, even they themselves were suspicious of each other.

This style of doing things was too similar to how the army operated. In particular, the radical group that had planned this demonstration was inextricably linked to the military.

Even if the shooting at the scene of the explosion wasn't planned by them, the violent attack on the Russian Embassy, which led to the death of the Russian diplomats in Tokyo, was definitely related to them.

Everyone here was smart, and they naturally knew that if there was no leader at the scene, even if there was a shooting, the situation wouldn't immediately go out of control.

Not to mention anything else, they should at least confirm the direction of the bullet, right?

Without thinking, they just shouted the slogan and rushed to the Russian Embassy, and the police happened to be transferred away at the time of the incident. This was too much of a coincidence.

Too many coincidences added together, and it was no longer a coincidence. Especially when the murderer hadn't been caught, everyone thought of even more possibilities.

Perhaps other international forces also had the ability to plan the shooting, but to say that they could control the protesters was bullsh * t.

One had to know that the fanatical nationalists were all extreme patriots, and it wasn't easy to bribe them.

To be able to accurately grasp the time and place to ambush, no one would believe that they didn't prepare beforehand.

To be able to receive information in advance and quickly retreat after shooting without leaving any traces, this wasn't something an ordinary person could do.

Whether or not international forces could do this, no one was sure, but the Japanese military could definitely do it. Deep in their hearts, everyone's fear of the military had increased by more than one level.

Emperor Meiji: "Ito-kun is right, the mastermind behind this must be found, or else the Empire will never have a day of peace.

The military police immediately arrest the organizer of this demonstration, investigate the mastermind behind it, and order the school to strengthen control and ban these illegal organizations.

Also, strengthen the police force in the Embassy area, and prohibit any demonstrations near the Embassy area. "

Although he didn't say it explicitly, everyone could see from Emperor Meiji's eyes that he suspected the military.

It was impossible to explain. The Japanese military was also filled with all kinds of groups, and even the military themselves might not be able to figure it out.

Occasionally, there would be a few idiots, but that was completely normal. Thinking back to when Nicholas visited Japan, he was assassinated by the guards arranged by the Government of Japan.

The problem of extremism in the military was actually a headache for the higher-ups in the military. They had been thinking of ways to solve it, but unfortunately, the results were minimal.

To vouch for these guys was definitely a sign that they were tired of living. No one knew what kind of strange things these extremists could do.

In fact, in the beginning, some people in the military proposed to send a few suicide soldiers to the Embassy area to apologize and give an explanation to the international community. Even some people in the Army signed up, ready to sacrifice themselves for the Empire.

Fortunately, some people from Yamagata Prefecture had been exposed to Western culture and stopped them in time. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a sacrifice, but adding fuel to the fire.