Members of the Korean Provisional Government were extremely shocked when they received the news from Li Dongning. They did not expect that Lu Mingxuan would have such courage and provide them with such favorable conditions.

If it were those Western powers that eat people without spitting out their bones, they would definitely put forward some conditions that they cannot accept, such as establishing concessions and building railways.

After emergency consultations, they finally decided to agree to Lu Mingxuan's conditions.

So on August 20, the 98th Army and the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea suddenly issued a joint statement.

The 98th Army does not recognize Japan's colonial rule over Korea and believes that Japan's colonial rule over Korea is illegal.

The 98th Army advises the Japanese aggressors to withdraw from the Korean Peninsula as soon as possible and return power to the Korean people. Otherwise, they will definitely be attacked by the 98th Army.

At the same time, the 98th Army announced that it recognized the legitimacy of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea and promised to provide all necessary assistance, including economic and military force, for South Korea's restoration.

In order to express the long-standing friendship between the two countries, Lu Mingxuan announced that he would donate 50 No. 4 tanks and 2,000 rifles to South Korea to help it form the First Division of Greater Korea.

On behalf of the South Korean interim government, Li Dongning expressed his gratitude to the 98th Army for its support and promised that South Korea would work with the 98th Army to regain North Korea by force.

As soon as the news came out, the whole country was immediately in an uproar.

Why did the 98th Army get involved with the Koreans?

Is the 98th Army really planning to get involved in North Korea?

It's just that some territories in China are still occupied by the Japanese. Isn't it too quick to intervene in Korean affairs so quickly?

Moreover, this joint statement caused a fierce backlash across Japan. From the Emperor of Japan to the Japanese people, everyone severely criticized Lu Mingxuan's behavior. They claimed that this behavior was the most brutal violation of Japan's internal affairs.

put one's oar in.

They believe that North Korea is an integral part of Japan, which is internationally recognized.

In order to deal with the possible bad situation, the Emperor of Japan had to convene an emergency imperial meeting to discuss how to deal with this situation.

"Everyone must be aware of the current situation. Just yesterday, the commander of the Kwantung Army, General Honjo Shigeru, sent us a telegram. Due to the continuous bombing by the 98th Army's bombers, their strength is now only about 100,000.

.If Jinzhou does not get any reinforcements, Jinzhou City may be captured in the next few days. He asked us to be prepared for the 98th Army to march straight into the Northeast."

"And the recent situation all shows that the 98th Army has indeed attacked North Korea, and Jinzhou is less than 300 kilometers from the China-North Korea border. This distance is even closer than the distance to Jilin and Heilongjiang. Therefore, we must be prepared to prevent the 98th Army from attacking North Korea.

Suddenly invaded North Korea."

Prince Zain, Chief of Staff of the Japanese Army, said in a very serious tone.

"The worst thing is that due to the large-scale bombing of our country by the 98th Army, our country's steel production has been greatly reduced. Although we have armed 150,000 troops, only 100,000 of these 150,000 troops are equipped with weapons, and this

The army also seriously lacks heavy weapons."

"I want to ask. If we send these 150,000 troops to the Northeast battlefield, can we save the situation on the Northeast battlefield?"

Emperor Hirohito of Japan asked with a stern face.

Prince Zai Ren and Prime Minister Ananwei glanced at each other, and then said: "I'm afraid not. Many of the terrains in the Northeast are endless plains, which are the best battlefields for mechanized troops. Even if they are sent there, I'm afraid it won't be possible.

The opponent of the 98th Army."

"Then what should we do? Are we just going to watch the 98th Army not only regain Northeast China, but also annex North Korea?"

Hirohito couldn't help but said angrily.

Zai Ren gritted his teeth, then stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have something that I don't like, and I don't know whether I should say it or not."

"Prince Zai Ren has something to say, but please say it directly."

"Now is the time to make a choice between Northeast China and North Korea. If we put all the 150,000 troops into the Northeast, these troops will probably not benefit if they encounter the enemy's mechanized troops in the Northeast. Moreover, these troops will be destroyed by the enemy.

In the end, North Korea, which is depleted of military strength, may be driven in by the enemy."

"Not only will we not be able to protect Northeast China by then, I'm afraid even North Korea will be eaten by the enemy."

"So I think the top priority is to invest those 150,000 in northern North Korea and build a defense line there. Everyone knows that northern North Korea is mountainous and is not suitable for the deployment of enemy armored forces. So that's where we will have a decisive battle with the 98th Army.

The best place. As long as the 98th Army dares to start a decisive battle with us there, I promise Your Majesty that I will definitely make the 98th Army suffer a big loss there."

"What about Manchuria? Are we just going to give up on Manchuria?"

Hirohito said reluctantly.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid that only one of Manchuria and North Korea can be saved now. If we try our best to save Manchuria, I am afraid we will lose North Korea as well."

Zai Ren said sadly.

"Your Majesty, you must not believe what Prince Zai Ren says. He is simply betraying the country! Manchuria was conquered by the imperial soldiers with great difficulty, so how can you give up just because you just want to?"

At this time, Prime Minister Minai Mitsumasa stood up and said.

After hearing what he said, Zai Ren almost fainted from anger.

He worked hard for the sake of the Japanese Empire, but he never expected that he would be called a traitor.

"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to protect the Northeast, it's just that I really can't. With the current situation, let alone the Northeast, even if you want to protect North Korea, it is very difficult. And in order to protect North Korea, I think we must expand the army's strength.

Strength, the navy could not contribute much in the Korean War. So I think we should stop the construction of all ships now. Only by investing all our strength in the construction of the army can we save North Korea, otherwise everything will be over."

Zai Ren immediately retorted unceremoniously, and at the same time stabbed Haijun hard.

Mitsumasa Yoneuchi was furious after hearing this and stopped all ship construction work. Wouldn't this cost him his life?

Now that the navy has suffered such heavy losses, it is the time when it needs to be replenished. This old thief, Zai Ren, dared to propose such a vicious idea to His Majesty.

So he almost burst into tears and said: "Your Majesty, you must not do it. The navy is seriously damaged now. If we don't speed up the construction of the navy. If the Western powers send the navy to knock on the pass again, will the army be allowed to fight against it?

Are the enemy warships fighting for their lives?"

"The navy is of no help in protecting Manchuria and North Korea. They are now a group of cowards who only dare to stay at home. If they want to protect Manchuria and North Korea, the only one they can rely on is our army."

Zai Ren sneered coldly.

"Zairen, you shameless traitor, I will fight you."

Mitsumasa Yoneuchi, who was so angry that he finally ignored Hirohito who was still at the scene, rushed over and started fighting with Hirohito.

Prince Zainai is getting old, he is over 70 years old this year. With his old arms and legs, he is no match for Mitsumasa Yoneuchi. He was knocked to the ground by Mitsumasa Yoneuchi in a few blows, and then he was ridden on his body and punched by him.

.

Seeing this, Prime Minister Anan Weiji was certainly not happy. Zai Renhao was a member of their army, and now he was being beaten by Minai. Isn't this a slap in the face of their army?

So he went up and kicked Mitsumasa Yoneuchi so hard that he fell over.

"Stop! Stop!! You all stop it!!! Guards! Separate these damn bastards! I'm going to be so angry with you!"

Seeing these shameless ministers, Hirohito couldn't bear it anymore and started to curse.

When it comes to fighting, none of these people are good at it, but they are pretty good at fighting in their own den.

The guards soon separated them, and by this time Prince Zai Ren had been beaten to a bruised nose and face. His eyes almost turned into panda eyes.

Zain, who felt extremely aggrieved, knelt down with a plop, and then cried to Hirohito: "Your Majesty, you must make the decision for me. This Mitsumasa Yoneuchi is really bullying others."

"Have you had enough trouble? Look at you, do you still look like ministers? Look at you..."

Then Hirohito lashed out at them, and because of his extreme anger, he almost spit on Prince Zain's head.

After discovering that Hirohito was on the verge of going berserk, the ministers did not dare to make any more noises. They had no choice but to listen to Hirohito's venting.

After Hirohito yelled at them, he felt much better. Even his illness seemed to be getting better.

Maybe he should scold these ministers more in the future so that his health can get better, Hirohito thought to himself.

"Let's continue the topic we just talked about. If we want to keep North Korea, what should we do?"

Hirohito said coldly.

After hearing his words, Zai Ren couldn't help but feel refreshed. It seemed that the emperor was planning to follow his advice.

So he ignored his grievances with Mitsumasa Yoneuchi and said quickly: "Since the fortifications in Jinzhou have been basically destroyed by the enemy, I think the troops in Jinzhou should take the initiative to withdraw to Fengtian to avoid being completely annihilated by the enemy. In order to maximize the

Before the enemy launches an attack on North Korea, Fengtian is a city we must hold on to."

"There are solid fortifications there, and we can rely on the fortifications there to slow down the 98th Army's attack on North Korea."

Hearing this, Hirohito nodded repeatedly.

He still agreed with Zai Ren's views.

"And in addition, we should also negotiate with Chiang Kai-shek. 98 is so powerful now, I think this is what Chiang Kai-shek absolutely does not want to see."

"We have made several requests for negotiation before, but he rejected them all. Do you think he will still agree to negotiate with us?"

Hirohito said very dissatisfied.

If Chiang Kai-shek had not repeatedly rejected their request for peace talks, he would not have allowed Wang Jingwei to establish the Wang puppet government.

In the end, Chiang Kai-shek launched a desperate attack on Nanjing.

"The situation now is different from before. Now the strength of the 98th Army has seriously threatened Chiang Kai-shek's status. I think as long as he still has the heart to unify China, he will no longer tolerate the 98th Army to continue to grow."

Prince Zai Ren said calmly.

"And we can return Nanjing and Beijing to him, and we can even hand over Wang Jingwei to him, so that he will have the capital to explain to the people."

"What if he is not satisfied yet? After all, we still occupy a precious place like Shanghai."

Hirohito said still a little doubtfully.
To be continued...