Umezawa Yoshirō returned to his own official residence, dismissed the butler who followed him, and sat quietly in his study thinking. Why did Asano Kaede want to kill His Majesty the Emperor, and who instructed him to do so? Most importantly, Asano Kaede was his direct subordinate, and he had even brought him into the Imperial Palace himself; His Majesty the Emperor had died right before his eyes, and he could hardly escape responsibility no matter what.

  Umetsu Yoshijiro took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, he rarely smoked, only occasionally lit one when making important decisions. He lit a cigarette and watched as the ember slowly burned inward, the smoke curling up, Umetsu Yoshijiro fell into deep thought.

  Many people have the same doubts as Mei Zhenmei, and the cabinet meeting was held directly in a small temple in the imperial palace. All cabinet ministers were required to attend.

  "Gentlemen, I would like to report the current situation. The doctor has confirmed that His Majesty the Emperor was assassinated." Prime Minister Kuniaki Koizumi announced this news with extreme sorrow.

  Actually, people had already prepared for this idea, but after hearing the news, they were still shocked beyond measure. Many people shouted loudly, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.

  "We must avenge His Majesty the Emperor and kill the assassin and his accomplices."

  "As for Asano Kaichi, did he say who instructed him? We must investigate the ins and outs of this matter."

  "What should we do now? How should we handle this matter?"

  "Alright everyone, this is not the time for chaos. We are about to face the biggest crisis of this cabinet, so please calm down. We need to collectively deal with the assassination attempt on the Emperor and ensure that the country does not fall into chaos."

  Everyone who heard what Kojima said realized the gravity of the situation, and they all fell silent, looking at the somewhat small Prime Minister on stage.

  "First of all, a problem, Your Majesty was assassinated and returned to the bosom of the great god of heaven, but how should we explain this to the people? How can we tell the outside world about this matter? If people know that His Majesty the Emperor was killed by someone, none of us can escape this responsibility. I think that if all of you can retire peacefully at that time, it will already be a good outcome."

  "Next, the emperor was assassinated. What should we do next? Should we quickly elect a new emperor and who will be the next emperor are all things that need to be considered."

  "Next, everyone must be prepared to put up a good fight, because the political elders, various families and powers in Japan will all make their moves at this time. The news of the Emperor's assassination cannot be hidden from these people, so everyone, please do your best to respond."

  Everyone present was silent, not because they had no ideas, but because they had too many. Each person sitting here had a powerful force backing them up, and each one played a complex role. Everyone had their own thoughts, and at this moment when Japan was on the verge of great turmoil, the first thing that came to everyone's mind was their own interests and those of their family and faction.

  Kokuryū Koku Shō's words on stage were good for them, but they didn't have much effect either. In the end, what determined the fate of the empire was still Japan's major families and powers.

  Can Koizumi decide who will be the next emperor? Absolutely not. The imperial family, military, government and zaibatsu all have a say in this matter and are pushing it forward together. As for who will gain power and who will fall in this upheaval, that depends on the outcome of the game.

  The Japanese imperial family is also very powerful in Japan, but here it does not refer to the imperial family of the emperor, but rather to those well-developed branches of the imperial family that have developed into a separate and deformed force over time. Some of them even hold more actual power than the imperial family of the emperor, such as the Tokugawa Palace, Katsura Palace, and Fushimi Palace.

  Prince Takahito of Mikasa, currently one of the elders of the Imperial House of Japan, is a General in the Army and Field Marshal. He was formerly Chief of Staff of the Army and is an important member of the Imperial Family. As a veteran Field Marshal, his connections extend deep into every corner of the military, so he naturally knew about the attempted assassination of Emperor Hirohito at the earliest possible time.

  Prince Takahito of Mikasa is now 80 years old, but his spirit remains vigorous. Upon hearing the news of Emperor Hirohito's assassination, his two snow-white eyebrows were knitted together.

  "We cannot let the cabinet intervene in this matter, the Emperor's affairs are both national and family matters. Our imperial family absolutely cannot listen to them, otherwise those people in the cabinet may make trouble. The selection of a new emperor must be controlled by our imperial family."

  "Toudou, hurry up and inform Fushimi-no-miya, Takanawa-no-miya, Takamatsu-no-miya, Kaya-no-miya, Kitashirakawa-no-miya, and Takada-no-miya. We need to get together and discuss the various matters left behind after the death of Emperor Showa."

  "Hai, I'll go right now." Toudou, as the chief steward of the Sannomiya family, hastened to obey.

  The Japanese Army Ministry, Sugiyama Hajime was discussing this matter with several army generals.

  The Japanese Navy Ministry, and Navy Minister Mineichi Koga also convened a meeting of high-ranking officers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

  The Japanese military had long been divided into different factions, especially the army and navy, which had a history of discord that was well-known to all, even affecting the outcome of battles. However, due to the strong influence of these military personnel, not even the Emperor or the Cabinet could control them, and they were left to do as they pleased.

  Even within the military, there are many factions. The Japanese army is clearly divided into the Tosei-ha and Kodo-ha, while the navy has treaty faction and fleet faction, and below that, a series of small factions formed due to differences in origin and faction.

  The news of the Emperor's assassination had not been made public, but almost all high-ranking officials in Japan already knew about it. Many people were having various thoughts and were contacting their own faction or close relatives, either for self-protection or to gain benefits from this change. Everyone was striving hard.

  On the surface, Japan is still living a peaceful life, but inside, a huge storm has been brewing for a long time, and it's just a matter of when it will erupt. And in that moment, how many people will lose their lives because of it.

  In the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters, Yoshijirō Umezu convened an emergency meeting with all high-ranking officials and revealed the news of the Emperor's assassination. Many were shocked and turned pale on the spot. What made these people even more disheartened was that the person who assassinated Emperor Hirohito was actually a member of the General Staff Headquarters, namely Shōji Shiba, someone they had looked down upon, yet he had done something so earth-shattering.

  "Now that Kajii Asano has been taken over by the Ministry of Justice, saying they will investigate this matter, gentlemen, I don't know why Kajii Asano wanted to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor, but one thing is certain, and that is that the General Staff Headquarters is in trouble, and all of you may not be able to escape this calamity. Gentlemen, what do you think?" asked Teruzō Mei, looking at those present with a gloomy face.

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