allonlinenovel Chapter 1087 Taking advantage of the situation
Chapter 1087 Taking advantage of the situation
Emperor Hirohito's hand, resting on his lap, clenched almost imperceptibly for a moment.
His knuckles turned white, but he immediately released them; this subtle movement was observed by Takasaki Motonori.
“They genuinely believe they are ‘honoring the emperor and punishing the traitors,’” Takasaki Motonori continued, his tone carrying a strange, complex emotion that mixed contempt and understanding.
They believed that Your Majesty was being misled by "treacherous officials at your side," those elder statesmen, high-ranking ministers, and financial magnates, and that only by washing away the filth with blood could Your Majesty "awaken" and achieve a true "Showa Restoration."
They were young, fanatical, foolish, but their knives were real, their bullets were real, and their resolve... was real too.
Fourteen hundred rebels seized the Prime Minister's residence, the Ministry of the Army, the General Staff Headquarters, and the Metropolitan Police Department... They truly believed they could change the country.
Jinwei Wen silently answered, his voice low, as if recounting a nightmare he didn't want to recall. He adjusted his breathing to maintain his usual calm: "According to the exact intelligence that your 'Sakura Group' gathered at the time, it was not a simple case of young officers impulsively causing trouble."
There is a deeper underlying story: some high-ranking military officials tacitly approved or even secretly encouraged the coup, intending to use it to eliminate the "traitors around the emperor," including veterans, important ministers, and financial magnates.
Then they would coerce His Majesty into acknowledging the "justice" of their actions, thereby gaining complete control of the government, implementing their radical "Showa Restoration," and establishing a "highly defense-oriented state" under military dictatorship.
He picked up the teacup, but only held it in his hand without drinking. The warmth emanating from the teacup contrasted sharply with the somber atmosphere in the room.
“What’s even more dangerous is,” Takasaki Motonori interjected, speaking slowly, as if each word carried immense weight, “that they have indeed been in contact with Prince Chichibu.”
Although His Highness himself may not have made a clear statement, key figures in the rebel army, such as Kiyosada Koda, Teruzo Ando, Koji Muranaka, and Asahi Isobe, had all conveyed their "ideas" to Prince Chichibu through various channels.
And beneath the Chichibu Palace...
He stopped and looked at the Emperor.
Some things, even in this private room, even when facing the Emperor himself, must be said with care.
Emperor Hirohito's fingertips unconsciously caressed the smooth rim of the teacup.
My fingers moved slowly along the rim of the bowl, round and round.
This action revealed the turmoil in his heart. For the emperor, who was known for his self-control, any unnecessary small movement meant an emotional fluctuation.
"Yongren..." The Emperor murmured his younger brother's palace name, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger, but the deliberate suppression of his calmness spoke volumes.
That memory was far from pleasant for him.
In the early morning of February 26th, Showa 11 (1942), heavy snow fell.
He was awakened from his dream by his attendant and learned that young army officers had launched a rebellion and had occupied many key locations in the center of Kyoto. High-ranking officials such as Minister of the Interior Saito Makoto, Minister of Finance Takahashi Korekiyo, and Director of Education Watanabe Jotaro had been assassinated.
Prime Minister Keisuke Okada's fate remains unknown.
As Emperor, he even faced the threat of being betrayed and coerced by his own army, and his throne was even threatened by his younger brother.
The rebels raised the banner of "honoring the emperor and punishing the traitors," honoring the emperor and punishing his close ministers.
This irony, this humiliation, this feeling of having a knife to your throat held by your own people...
This was a profound humiliation and crisis for him, who regarded the "unbroken imperial line" and the sanctity of the emperor as the foundation of his rule.
“He looks so much like my grandfather,” the Emperor suddenly said, a seemingly unrelated remark.
Both Fumio Chikao and Motonori Takasaki understood who "grandfather" referred to: Emperor Meiji.
The "Miyo" who led Japan to prosperity and military strength, a figure revered as a god by the Meiji Restorationists.
Prince Chichibu, Yasuhito, did indeed resemble his grandfather in many ways: resolute in character, decisive in action, highly respected in the military, dissatisfied with the status quo, and advocating for more radical reforms. All of this made him the ideal candidate for "new ruler" in the eyes of the rebels.
"Many people in the military at the time were ambiguous and hesitant," the Emperor continued, his voice gradually hardening like frozen ice: "They wanted to take a risk."
He hoped to use the rebels to eliminate his political enemies—those hindrance civil officials and those conservative ministers—but he didn't want to get his hands dirty and was still scheming about how to reap the rewards after the deed was done.
"What a bunch..." He paused, unusually, as if searching for the right words.
Finally, he uttered that straightforward word:
"idiot."
The word carried a special weight when spoken by the Emperor.
Near the end of the text, he leaned forward slightly to indicate that he was listening attentively.
Takasaki Motonori grinned, a smile full of mockery, mocking those self-proclaimed clever military leaders.
“So, Your Majesty,” Takasaki Motonori continued, his voice lowered to almost a whisper, but in the absolute silence of the secret room, every word was clearly audible: “We cannot let them succeed.”
Rather than passively waiting for them to detonate, letting the bomb explode uncontrollably and in an unpredictable way, we should... light the fire ourselves and take control of the detonator.
He leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees, a posture that broke the etiquette of superiors addressing inferiors, but no one cared at the moment.
His eyes gleamed with an almost fanatical light in the dim light: "Rather than letting those hotheads of the Imperial Way faction be used as pawns by the military high command and eventually turn around and threaten Your Majesty, we should take over this fuse."
We helped them "perfect" their plan, "amplify" their momentum, and contact the right people, including Prince Chichibu.
Then, at their most triumphant moment, when they thought success was imminent...
He made a fist gesture, and his knuckles made a slight "click" sound.
"Catch them all in one swoop."
This is the most crucial, little-known truth about the "February 26 Incident"!
It was not a completely out-of-control soldiers' uprising, but a deliberate "detonation" and "entrapment" orchestrated by the Emperor himself and specifically planned and deeply involved by his most trusted confidant, Takasaki Motonori!
A shocking conspiracy unfolds, with the entire capital as the chessboard, a thousand rebels as pawns, the lives of many high-ranking officials as the price, and the safety of the throne as the stake!
The "Sakura Group" had prior knowledge of the coup plot by the young officers of the Imperial Way Faction. In fact, there were already spies planted by Takasaki Motonori in the core circle of the rebels.
However, when Emperor Takasaki Motonori held a secret meeting in the small hall of the predecessor of "Wutong Ma" (then called "Take Ma"), the conclusion reached was not to "nip it in the bud," but a bolder and more ruthless plan.
Will count.