The Regent's Office and the administrative building of the Ministry of National Defense of Japan at No. 15, Tenshugai, Kyoto, Japan.
In the extremely luxurious reception room, Lu Ming met with Yamamoto's peace talks representative, Torizukawa, who was the deputy prime minister of Yamamoto's government, Yamamoto's brother-in-law, and the commander of Yamamoto's most elite force, the Iron Bird Division.
He is one of the most important figures in the Yamamoto Yu group and also represents the voice of the Kansai Corps military.
Torizumikawa is a thin, dark-skinned old man in his fifties, but he has a calm demeanor and one can tell at first glance that he is a person who has been in a high position for a long time.
The talks with the Ashikaga side did not go well, and now the Regent is meeting him in person.
The focus of both sides was not on the balance of power in the coalition government, but on the fact that Kyoto had to completely transform Yamamoto's armed forces. Like the south, each territory could continue to have a great deal of autonomy, but the unified command of the army must be handed over to the Ministry of National Defense. The Kansai Corps would be transformed into the Central Army, and the number of soldiers in each territory's security brigade would be defined by the resident population, but the maximum number of people in a territory's security brigade could not exceed 4,000.
Not giving up command of the army is the bottom line of Yamamoto Yu's side now.
The two sides held seven rounds of consultations without making any progress.
"In fact, Deputy Prime Minister Toratsu, your bottom line is definitely not to have to take control of the army. Yamamoto Yu should also know that this is impossible." Lu Ming shook his head. "Yamamoto Yu or you, as a politician and military strategist with a keen vision, you must know that if you don't hand over the army, this war of unification will definitely start, and the Principality of Montenegro will fully support Her Majesty the Queen to complete the unification of our country."
After Lu Ming became the regent, he always spoke as if he was from Japan and got into the role very well.
As for the Japanese people, they have heard so many articles and speeches by the Regent in the media that they have probably become accustomed to it. Moreover, from a legal point of view, marrying the Queen is like marrying into the Queen's family, so the Regent is of course Japanese.
But Torizumikawa felt a little uncomfortable when he heard the younger brother of Prince Montenegro call himself "our Kingdom of Japan".
My eyelids twitched, but I had to fight back the nausea-inducing feeling.
On the other side, Lu Ming continued: "And both Yamamoto Yu and you know that once a war breaks out, you have no chance of winning. You originally hoped that the Sonyans could put a lot of pressure on us and wait for changes to appear, but no matter what the disputes on the Empire Continent are, they are actually of no help to you. Now you should be aware of this."
Tojinchuan's face was solemn and he said nothing. It was obvious that Lu Ming's words had penetrated into his heart.
It is now April 958, and the Empire is shrouded in war clouds. The war between the Sonyans and the Griffinni is about to break out.
The Principality of Montenegro is also mobilizing its troops, but it seems that it is preparing to take the opportunity to completely resolve the hidden dangers in Japan.
After taking a sip of tea, Lu Ming said, "After the establishment of the coalition government, past events will be forgiven, and no word like war criminal will be used to describe any of the main members of the North and South governments. Your property will be protected by law, and a real party mechanism will be introduced. You also represent a political force, so you can form a party like the Kansai Party to compete for the ruling power."
Lu Ming paused and said, "Regarding these, the Prince of Black Mountain Castle will make a formal statement as a witness to the peace talks and a guarantor of the relevant contracts."
Torizumikawa nodded silently.
"I have said everything I want to say. So, what are your other demands? Except for the command of the army, everything else can be discussed." Lu Ming said with a smile. Looking at Tojinchuan's expression, he smiled again and said, "Of course, you can also go back and think about it carefully. We can talk again in a few days."
"Okay, thank you Your Highness for your mediation." Torizumi Kawai bowed slightly.
…
At the All Saints' Palace, Prime Minister Ashikaga is reporting to the Queen on the progress of negotiations between the North and the South on the establishment of a coalition government.
Lu Ming sat in the lower seat beside Yue Zhao. Naturally, his status was lower than that of the queen, but he had to follow this formality.
Moreover, Lu Ming knew the entire negotiation process very well, but the procedure for the Prime Minister to report to the Queen was also indispensable.
"Yamamoto Yu asks for too many privileges..." Prime Minister Ashikaga finally couldn't help but complain.
Yue Zhao said calmly: "Peace is the most important thing."
Just at this moment, Jinguji Heiji hurried in. After paying her respects to the queen, she knelt beside Lu Ming and whispered something in his ear.
Lu Ming was stunned for a moment, "Yamamoto Yu was assassinated?" He looked at the queen, then at Ashikaga, and said, "I'll go and confirm the authenticity of this news."
The Queen and Prime Minister Ashikaga were also surprised. The Queen listened to Lu Ming's words, nodded slightly, and a trace of sadness flashed in her beautiful eyes.
Perhaps, the fall of the political strongmen in Japan made her feel sad. Such important figures in the kingdom now have lives as worthless as grass. She didn't even know whether the mastermind behind this was a Montenegrin.
…
On April 17, 1958, when Prime Minister Yamamoto Takeshi was inspecting the 2nd Division in Kansai, he was shot by young officers and was seriously injured and admitted to the hospital.
Subsequently, riots broke out in the 2nd, 3rd and 8th Divisions of the Kansai Army.
The commander of the 5th Division, Ryusuke Ishii, was also shot dead.
The commander of the 9th Division, who is also the lord of Kyugo Territory in the Kansai region, Kyugo Michiyoshi, called on all Japanese people to fight a decisive battle with the Montenegrins.
The young and some diehards refused to negotiate and surrender, considering it a humiliation.
They even believed that Her Majesty the Queen was being raped by Montenegrins day and night, which was an unprecedented national humiliation.
The Kansai Army fell into chaos.
On the 20th, the Japanese Central Army entered the Kansai region.
The overall unrest had subsided by mid-May.
Michiyoshi Kyukawa, the senior officers of the Kansai Group who planned the assassination of Yamamoto Yu, and hundreds of young officers were either shot dead or committed suicide.
Thousands of soldiers from the Ninth Division even ran out of ammunition and food and jumped into the sea rather than surrender.
Yu Yamamoto has been in the intensive care unit.
The Central Army took the opportunity to reorganize the military structure of the Kansai Corps, and a large number of soldiers were forced to retire.
But followed by the birth of a terrorist organization called the "Red Brigade", whose purpose was to completely expel the Montenegrins from Japan, and to use assassinations and other means to attack the Montenegrins and Japanese bureaucrats close to the Principality of Montenegro.
This is a later story.
No matter what, in Lu Ming's view, Japan has generally entered the track he hoped for.
In the future, whenever I come here, I will just walk around, take a look, research and relax, and I won’t have the same pressure as before.
Of course, how to guide the Japanese to get closer to Central Asia is a complex and long-term systematic project. It is not something that can be done by the government alone. Business models, industrial products, entertainment methods and even food are the main forces that subtly influence the export of Chinese culture.
As for myself, the regent, of course I have to play a big role as well.
When Yamamoto Yu was barely able to walk, Lu Ming went to see him. The two of them were speechless and exchanged a few polite words before having no other topics to talk about.
Lu Ming even had some doubts whether Yamamoto Yu did it on purpose. He just didn't want to become an extremely humiliating figure in history. However, if he refused to unify, there would be no hope at all. Therefore, he adopted this method, as if he had no choice but to accept the established facts.