"Notify the guards, Daimatsu Hiroo is suspected of involvement in the assassination of His Imperial Majesty, take him away for interrogation."

  Nakamura Masao has now become a loyal running dog of Muyang. Hearing Muyang say this, he immediately stood up and called the soldiers at the door to drag down Da Taimaoyu who was still struggling.

  "Gentlemen, a brief interlude, I hope it didn't disrupt our meeting. Now the meeting continues, I propose Nakamura Masao as the Minister of the Army. You can now vote, those who oppose please raise your hands." Muyang played another low-level trick again, and now who would be willing to be the first bird? The scene was silent with no one raising their hands.

  Muyang nodded, "It seems that everyone is still very optimistic about Nakamura Masao's proposal to become the Minister of the Army. The vote was unanimous, and this topic has come to an end. From now on, Nakamura Masao officially becomes the Minister of the Army." Muyang turned his head to face Nakamura Masao and said, "Nakamura, please sit over here. Your position is now here." Muyang pointed to a chair beside him.

  Nakamura Masao stood up and adjusted his military uniform, then walked to the front of the conference table and sat down in a position next to Mu Yang.

  "Mr. Nakamura, what are your thoughts and suggestions on serving as the Imperial Army Minister? You can bring them up here," said Mu Yang.

  Nakamura Masao cleared his throat and said, "In view of the Chief of Staff Matsujiro Mezuru's participation in the rebellion and his execution, the Imperial General Headquarters has been paralyzed. I propose that we immediately elect a new Chief of Staff and reorganize the General Headquarters."

  Nakamura Masao immediately threw out such a topic, and the cabinet members in the venue immediately perked up and listened seriously.

  "As the Minister of War, I have the right and responsibility to recommend a candidate for the position of Chief of General Staff. However, the current situation in the Imperial Army is not optimistic, and many people's suspicions have not been cleared up yet. Therefore, the vast majority of people are not suitable for this position, at least not now. So, I propose that the Prime Minister take on the role of Chief of General Staff temporarily. What do you gentlemen think?"

  Many people who heard this were furious, thinking that Shigeru Honjō and Masao Nakamura were shameless. Honjō had just promoted Nakamura to the position of Army Minister, and Nakamura immediately gave the position of Chief of Staff to Honjō. "What did you two call us cabinet members over for? Are we here to watch a show? You've rehearsed your lines many times, haven't you? Your performance is so smooth, not even a stutter."

  However, Nakamura Masao is now the Minister of the Army and has the right to nominate candidates for the Chief of Staff, and his opinions should take precedence. After all, in terms of affiliation, the Chief of Staff should be under the management of the Minister of the Army.

  "I agree with the proposal of Minister Lu, Premier has originally come from the army and also served in the General Staff Headquarters, he is very familiar with the operation of the General Staff Headquarters, he is now the best candidate, I support Premier to concurrently serve as the Chief of the Army General Staff."

  As a member of the Muto faction in the Cabinet, Minister of Justice Shigesada Matsumoto immediately expressed his agreement with this proposal.

  Minister of Education Mononobe Noritaka also said: "I also support the Prime Minister's concurrent post."

  "I also agree with this proposal. The Prime Minister concurrently serving as the Chief of Staff is the best choice at present." Finance Minister Ishibashi Tanzan also expressed his agreement.

  The current Japanese cabinet, originally 14 ministers including Sugiyama Gen and Army Minister Fujiwara Ginjiro, had already lost three people to the Meirokusha, and today at the meeting they arrested Home Minister ōmori Matao, so four of the fourteen are gone.

  The Minister of the Army has now become Nakamura Masao, who is absolutely a loyal follower of Mutsu. The Minister of Justice, Matsusaka Hiromasa, and the Minister of Education, Ninomiya Sontoku, were originally on the same line as Kojima Kikuo. Although the Minister of Finance, Ishibashi Tanzan, was not under Kojima Kikuo's command, their relationship was extremely close, and Ishibashi Tanzan also strongly supported Kojima Kikuo's opinions in peacetime. Now that Kojima Kikuo has gained power, it is even more impossible for him to come out and oppose him.

  Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo also expressed no opposition to this proposal.

  The Minister of the Navy, Mine Mitsumasa, has been silent since the meeting began, coldly watching everything. He understands that Kojima Kiyoshi, who has risen to power overnight, is now somewhat arrogant and forgetful of his place. However, as the representative and master of the navy, he should think more about the navy.

  The Japanese Navy is having a tough time these days.

  After the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Japanese Navy lost nearly half of its naval power and now can only defend its own coastal waters, while also being on constant alert for surprise attacks by American fleets. The glory days of the navy are no more. What Minamoto Kōsei wants most now is to preserve the navy's strength and wait for an opportunity to counterattack against the US fleet. He still hopes that there will be a stable environment at home, providing solid support for the navy. Given the current situation in the Empire, Minamoto Kōsei really can't think of anyone suitable for the position of Chief of Staff, even if he did have someone in mind, it's likely that Koizumi would not agree anyway. Since this is an army matter, he won't get involved and will focus on taking care of his own navy instead.

  In addition to the previous promise made by Kojima Kousuke to increase the naval budget, Mine Kiyomizu slightly nodded his head in agreement with the proposal for Kojima Kousuke to concurrently serve as Chief of Staff.

  The five cabinet members have all agreed to the proposal, and Mu Yang's faction has also stood up in support. The others don't even have the right to refute it anymore. With Mu Yang concurrently serving as Chief of Staff, the proposal was passed just like that. From today on, Mu Yang can officially take office.

  After the meeting, Mutsu left Nakamura Masao and Minister of Justice Matsusaka Hiromasa, Minister of Education Ninomiya Sontoku, and had his secretary pour tea for the three of them. Then Mutsu spoke: "Nowadays the Empire is in a precarious situation. Externally, our war with China has achieved great results, but as you all know, the Empire has exhausted its strength in China and it's difficult to take further steps."

  "In Southeast Asia, the US is closing in on us step by step, and the situation is extremely unfavorable to us. The navy is incompetent, and one naval battle has caused the empire to lose its control of the sea, while the army is also implicated, losing many very important bases under the enemy's artillery attack."

  "At home, the national treasury is increasingly empty, and the front-line troops are frequently engaged in battles. The logistical support at home is already strained to the limit. More importantly, even in such a critical situation, people like Tōjō Hideki still intend to rebel, killing His Majesty the Emperor, making the imperial situation even more precarious."

  "I'm leaving you all behind, do you know what's going on?" said Mu Yang, stopping here and picking up the teacup on the table to take a sip, panting.

  None of the three knew what Muyang was thinking. Nakamura Masao said: "Prime Minister, is there anything you'd like to instruct?"

  Muyang put down his teacup and said, "Alright then, let's talk about the domestic situation. Don't you all think that now is our chance?"