The next afternoon, the sedan chair carrying Mei Tetsuro and Asano Kaichi arrived at the Imperial Palace. Since they came frequently, in front of the Nijubashi Bridge, the guards only conducted a simple check before letting them pass. However, before the two men entered the imperial residence, they were asked by the guards to remove their pistols.

  Entering the Imperial Palace with weapons is not allowed, and this has happened many times before, so people are already used to it. Mezuru Yoshitaro handed over his pistol to the guard, while Asano Kaichi simply didn't bring a pistol.

  They walked through the corridor and entered Songzhige, where they took off their shoes and changed into slippers. The guard bowed and led them into the inner room. No one spoke a word, the whole process was very solemn but also seemed dull and lifeless.

  "If His Majesty the Emperor asks for specific numbers later, I'll give you a signal, and you should hurry to the streets at that time, got it?" Mezuru Yoshitaro instructed.

  Asano Kaichi bowed slightly and said in a low voice: "I understand, Minister."

  The curtain was lifted and a guard beckoned them in. The two walked into the Emperor's office.

  "Your Majesty, I have come to report on the situation in China." Lieutenant General Toshitsune Maeda bowed deeply, and Shigekazu Asano behind him also quickly followed suit.

  "Please sit down and speak, Chief of Staff Mera," said Emperor Hirohito in a soft voice.

  The Emperor Hirohito, wearing glasses and sporting a small mustache, is 43 years old this year, in the prime of life, but his face still bears a few marks of fatigue.

  In fact, the power of Emperor Showa was not as great as imagined. Many military actions were decided by the military and general staff, and then reported to the emperor for his knowledge. The entire Japanese military had taken control of the government, the people, and even the emperor. Of course, it is unrealistic to say that the emperor had no power at all. After all, in name, all military actions, especially large ones, required the permission of the emperor before they could be launched. For example, this year's Operation Number One was planned by the military and then reported to the emperor for approval.

  As a subordinate, reporting on military affairs to the Emperor is also an essential task, so Mei Shinjiro came over today to complete this task.

  "Your Excellency, the No. 1 combat plan, since the start of the campaign in April this year, we have successively occupied most areas of Henan, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Guizhou provinces in China. Just three days ago, after occupying Liuzhou, the entire war has basically come to an end. We have eliminated over 600,000 enemy troops, opened up the road southward, and can now communicate with our forces in Southeast Asia. Our strategic intentions have been largely achieved." reported General Mezawa Mitsuhiro.

  The Emperor Showa showed some interest and asked, "Is that not going to alleviate the unfavorable war situation in Southeast Asia? The Americans are pressing too hard, and occasionally bombers even fly to Honshu to bomb us, our losses will be great."

  "Oh, it's still not possible to alleviate the Southeast Asian battlefield for the time being, but as long as we make good use of this route, we can definitely hold on in Southeast Asia. As long as we can stop the American offensive, I think we will soon turn around the unfavorable situation." Mezuru Yoshitaro could only answer like this, but it requires cooperation from the Navy. Currently, the entire army has no confidence in whether the Imperial Navy can counterattack against the US Navy, otherwise they would not have mobilized such a large force to launch Operation Number One and open up the transportation line.

  "What is the casualty situation of our troops?" Emperor Hirohito asked.

  "After Operation No. 1 begins, a total of 30,000 soldiers will be killed and more than 100,000 injured, many of whom will lose their combat effectiveness."

  "How's the situation in Southeast Asia?"

  "For the time being, it's not very ideal. After the US fleet won the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Southeast Asian waters were occupied by the Americans. Now they are taking advantage of their naval superiority to frequently launch attacks on our military bases along the coast. In such a situation, it is extremely unfavorable for our army."

  Umezu Minoru This is absolutely an intentional shirking of responsibility, shifting the blame for the unfavorable war situation to the Navy's defeat, losing control of the seas, and isolating the army on tens of thousands of islands in Southeast Asia, having already lost the ability to wage group warfare, now only barely holding on with gritted teeth.

  Emperor Hirohito and Toshiro Mizutani were talking about the current battle situation, but neither of them noticed Koji Asano kneeling behind Mizutani.

  Yasuno Kaichi, since entering the palace, after seeing Emperor Hirohito for the first time, began to struggle, and in his heart, a voice suddenly burst out, "Kill Emperor Hirohito, kill Emperor Hirohito."

  This voice was like a curse, constantly tempting Shinnojo Kaito's heart, making him feel an urge to rush up immediately. However, rational thoughts still existed in his mind, warning himself that he must be going crazy and absolutely cannot lay hands on the Emperor.

  Asano Kaichi knelt behind Matsuzaka Yoshirō, bowing his head to gaze at the tatami mat, his body slightly trembling, his face constantly changing color. Fortunately, he was kneeling behind Matsuzaka Yoshirō, so Emperor Shōwa sitting opposite did not notice Asano's abnormal behavior.

  Meytsu Yoshijiro and Emperor Showa talked for about 20 minutes, Meytsu Yoshijiro thought it was enough, then he said to Asano Kaichi behind him: "Asano, hand over the materials to His Majesty the Emperor."

  This is a report similar to a summary, which records the general situation of the Japanese army's basic battles, deployments, personnel movements, and material distribution over the past month or so. The main purpose is to give His Majesty the Emperor a general understanding of the military, but of course, if only looking at such materials, it is also impossible for the Emperor to understand his own military.

  Asano Kaichi heard the words of Umezawa Yoshijiro, his body shook slightly, then quickly stood up, holding a file folder and walking towards Emperor Hirohito. The closer he got, the louder the voice in Asano's mind became, like magic, echoing non-stop.

  Asano Kaichi walked up to Emperor Hirohito, placed the folder on a low table in front of him, and bowed. Suddenly, Asano's face changed color, he picked up a jade paperweight from the low table in front of Emperor Hirohito, and smashed it onto the emperor's head.

  This paperweight is about thirty centimeters long and eight or nine centimeters wide, it's a whole piece of pure black ink jade paperweight, and on it is also carved a sentence of ancient Chinese poetry: "Zhao guest Hu Lian, Wu hook frost snow Ming." It is said that this paperweight was taken from the Qing Dynasty imperial palace in China, and this paperweight is also a treasure from the Song Dynasty imperial palace, it is said to have been used by Emperor Huizong as a painting paperweight. Later, because of its beautiful shape, it was sent here for use by the emperor.

  In fact, there are many treasures and cultural relics from other countries inside the Imperial Palace, especially those from China.

  Now, this paperweight from the Song Dynasty of China is being held in the hand of Asano Kaichi. Asano Kaichi's eyes are bloodshot, his teeth clenched and his breathing heavy.

  A large paperweight was raised high by Kazuo Shino and heavily smashed onto the forehead of Emperor Hirohito, instantly splashing out fresh blood. Emperor Hirohito had been knocked to the ground by this blow, kicked his legs twice, and then stopped moving.

  Umezu Yoshijirō