1890 King of Southeast Asia

On the evening of December 7, detailed war reports were sent to Ryukyu and then to Chang'an.

After drinking four pots of tea at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Anmin, who had been waiting for a long time, adjusted his dress and picked up the phone.

"Notify the Japanese Embassy and ask their ambassador to come to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately." Lin Anmin said very toughly to the other end of the phone.

This is not in line with normal diplomatic procedures. Generally speaking, before the declaration of war, even if the situation is tense, both sides will maintain due respect for the embassy.

Even if the war breaks out and the embassy staff are withdrawn, the authorities will not do anything to the embassy, ​​at most it will be sealed.

After all, even if it is a war, it will not destroy a country all at once. In the end, they will return to the negotiation table and have to save some face for each other.

It was already 8:30 in the evening. The Japanese Embassy in Nanhua had turned off the lights and rested. The ambassador had just finished processing the materials and was ready to rest.

Knock knock knock!

"Please come in."

"Mr. Ambassador, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the South China Empire wants you to come over."

"Now? Did they say what it was?"

"No, their original words were, you should go over now, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the South China Empire is waiting for you at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"Those idiots in the Intelligence Department, have they been caught again for their tricks? Can you spare me the worry..."

The Japanese ambassador's first reaction was that the domestic intelligence organization was doing tricks and was discovered again, and the organization that might be infiltrated this time was more important, otherwise Lin Anmin would have no reason to find him at this time.

"Thinking about it this way, they are still somewhat useful. Prepare the car and don't keep people waiting for too long." The Japanese ambassador stood up and began to pack himself up.

He never thought that Lin Anmin would give him a big surprise.

...

At 9:40 p.m. on December 7, the car of the Japanese Imperial Embassy stopped at the door of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the South China Empire.

The driver got out of the car and opened the door for the Japanese ambassador. The Japanese ambassador was dressed like a decent person. He looked around after getting out of the car and nodded from time to time.

"Things are a bit troublesome!" Looking at the brightly lit Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the South China Empire, the Japanese ambassador was a little nervous.

Until now, he still didn't know what happened. He was more inclined to believe that the Japanese intelligence personnel had obtained some extraordinary news.

But the entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs was still brightly lit at this time. It couldn't be that they sneaked into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and got the secret agreement signed between the South China Empire and other countries, right?

"It's not impossible?" Thinking of this, the Japanese ambassador felt much better.

Walking in, he didn't encounter any obstructions or excuses. Lin Anmin didn't leave him alone but received him directly.

It can be seen that the South China Empire is very anxious. The more anxious the South China is, the less anxious the Japanese ambassador is.

"Your Excellency, it's so late, you are in a hurry to find me, what do you have to say?" The Japanese ambassador sat opposite Lin Anmin with a little arrogance.

Lin Anmin, wearing a red dress, sat in his seat motionless, staring at the Japanese ambassador.

"What do you have to say? Shouldn't you know? I thought you would come earlier." Lin Anmin looked angry after being deceived.

"What? Oh~ I was about to go to bed when I received the news, so I came a little late. So, what do you want to see me about?" The Japanese ambassador became more and more certain of his guess.

"Playing dumb? There is no need to play dumb at this time. Take a look!" Lin Anmin threw a document over.

This is the part that can be shown to the Japanese from the battle report.

For example, when the naval formation was suddenly attacked while sailing and was forced to fight, the Japanese battleship fleet ignored the Chinese naval fleet and concentrated its firepower on the South China Navy.

And the most important result, South China achieved the results of sinking a battleship, two cruisers, and four destroyers; seriously damaging two battleships, two cruisers, and one destroyer.

It paid the price of sinking a battleship, seriously damaging a destroyer leader, and a destroyer.

Only a few ships of the Chinese Navy were slightly injured, which did not affect their use.

One battleship on each side sank, which is no longer a situation that can be resolved. Misunderstanding? Who believes it? Do you believe it?

"Misunderstanding, it must be a misunderstanding!" The Japanese ambassador stood up in shock.

This surprise was too big. The loss of a battleship on each side was not a big deal. The important thing was that the Chinese navy was almost unscathed.

What does this mean? It means that Japan fought with two countries at the same time.

First, the South China Empire, a naval power, ranked third in the world in total tonnage, second only to Britain and Germany; the number of battleships ranked fourth, but in terms of quality, even the British Empire Navy did not dare to say that it had won.

China, whose total tonnage was squeezed out of the top ten, but with the battleships returning home unscathed, with an extra 50,000 tons, squeezed back into the top ten; it has a huge army and is directly adjacent to Japan. (North Korea)

Japan was not sure enough to go to war with two countries at the same time, even if it defeated South China, Japan was not sure.

Otherwise, it would have launched a battle against South China long ago.

"Misunderstanding? Your Excellency, the Japanese fleet attacked our navy by surprise, causing the Chang'an battleship to sink. Is this also a misunderstanding?" Lin Anmin scolded with a dark face.

This is equivalent to the Russian bear sending multiple nuclear submarines to launch a saturation attack on the US aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific.

After the aircraft carrier battle group was destroyed, the Russian bear told the Americans that it was a misunderstanding. Will the Americans listen?

It can be a misunderstanding today, but what about tomorrow?

"Your Excellency, there must be some misunderstandings in the past few years. Please give me some time. I need to contact Tokyo." The Japanese ambassador pleaded.

He keenly discovered that there must be something wrong here, but he couldn't tell what the specific problem was.

A trap? What kind of trap would cost a battleship?

According to the nature of the Japanese, if this was a trap, the Chang'an would definitely be followed by the Arabia and Hawaii, and maybe the Xuchang and Nanyang would also follow.

To put it nicely, it's like a lion fighting a rabbit with all its strength.

Anyway, just wait for a cannon to sound, and the warships will rush up to fight in groups.

Instead of a four-on-four fight, the combat power difference is not big enough. Even if it is planned in advance, what if something unexpected happens and you lose?

"I can give you time, but my country can't wait too long." Lin Anmin pretended to look at the watch.

"It's 9:50 p.m. now... let's call it 10 p.m. Tomorrow morning, the news of the fleet being attacked will spread, and we will respond by noon tomorrow at the latest."

"You have no more than 14 hours to give a satisfactory answer... or prepare for war."

Lin Anmin stood up after speaking, turned his head and shouted to the door: "Show me away!"

"Your Excellency the Ambassador, please!" The guard walked in and said with a dark face...

…………

That night, the Japanese Embassy sent the telegram back. But it was already past 11 p.m., and most people had gone to bed.

The telegraph operator on duty at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs translated the telegram in his sleep, and then was awakened by shock. It took him a long time to react and rushed to Shangguan's house.

He had no right to deal with this kind of thing, Shangguan? Go home and sleep early.

The clerk had no car, so he ran all the way to Shangguan's house at 12 o'clock.

Shangguan tossed around again, and then hurried to the Foreign Minister's residence, and the Foreign Minister rushed to the Prime Minister's residence.

But they were told that the Prime Minister was not at home. After a lot of trouble, they found the Prime Minister in the government, along with the Minister of the Navy and Army.

It was a coincidence that it was already one o'clock. This group of people were waiting for the telegram from the Sasebo Naval Base, waiting for the news that Ijuin Goro had intercepted the Chinese Navy.

"What?!"

"Why, Ijuin Goro is such a fool, attacking the Chinese is not attacking South China."

"The Chinese Navy is unscathed, what should we do? Will the Army launch an attack?"

"Attack is bullshit, now we should find a way to defend, and quickly strengthen the defense forces of many islands in the south to prevent the attack of the South China Empire."

"I hope the Navy can ensure that the supply lines in the direction of North Korea are not attacked, otherwise the Army will be very passive."

"Impossible, the Navy needs to give priority to dealing with the retaliation of the South China Empire Navy, and can't spare more troops..."

"Navy idiot, if you don't guarantee the supply lines, are you going to give up the Empire's territory?"

For a moment, those Navy and Army officials who were just smug and laughing were all blown up and began to argue fiercely.

The entire government became like a market, full of abuse, arguments, and bargaining.

"I will report to His Majesty the Emperor first, and you should come up with a defense strategy as soon as possible."

"I warn you, this is not the time for internal fighting. The black ship incident must not be repeated. It will be a devastating blow to Japan!"

After the Prime Minister's fierce warning, he stood up and walked towards the Imperial Palace. On the way, he sent someone to report to the Yamagata elders.

After the Prime Minister arrived at the Imperial Palace, he had no way to report immediately. Emperor Taisho had already fallen asleep, so he could only let the eunuchs gently remind him and wait quietly.

After doing this and that, the Emperor didn't know what happened until three o'clock.

"Isn't the Imperial Japanese Navy without rivals? Can't it defeat China and South China at the same time?" Emperor Taisho asked.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Japanese Navy is of course invincible, but the empire's financial situation does not allow us to fight on two fronts." The Prime Minister said euphemistically.

"Is that so... In that case, let's do as the Prime Minister wants." Emperor Taisho said he was tired and wanted to go back to sleep.

"Hai!" The Prime Minister bowed with difficulty and sent the Emperor off.

...

"Will the Navy really do such a stupid thing?" Yamagata keenly felt that this was a conspiracy.

"I haven't contacted Goro Ijuin yet. Maybe the radio was damaged in the battle."

"Then let's wait until we get in touch and figure out the situation!" Yamagata thought for a while and sighed.

"Let the embassy in South China delay as much as possible until we come up with a solution."

...

The Japanese want to delay, while looking for the truth, and seek support from the British and American fathers. It would be best to let the British and American fathers interfere in South China, otherwise South China will start a war.

Yamagata, who knows the value of Japan, is very confident about this. Without Japan, where can Britain and the United States find such an obedient dog?

Unfortunately, South China did not give him a chance...