The secret cooperation plan between Tokugawa Yoshiki and the French minister Roche was not false, and in real history, Roche tried to carry out a Western-style transformation of the shogunate, providing a loan of 9 million US dollars and a large amount of arms funding, and French officers helped the shogunate train new soldiers.

Weapons and ammunition, new warships, and a Japanese-French joint venture for the development of industry and commerce, the real Tokugawa Yoshiki also proposed a very tempting concept of a combination of public and military forces.

Gongwu Hehe, a political theory in the late Edo period of Japan, was aimed at uniting the imperial court (公家) and the shogunate (samurai) to transform the power of the shogunate.

The main purpose of this policy, which was supported by the shogunate and some of the major vassals, was to suppress the rebellion against the emperor at that time in combination with the authority of the imperial court, so as to avoid the fall of the shogunate and further strengthen the position of the shogunate.

In Japan in 1867, change was actually the unanimous pursuit of everyone, but unlike the Qing Dynasty, which was still firmly ruled by Confucianism at this time, it was unable to extricate itself.

Everyone believes that Japan needs reform, but how it should be reformed and how power should be distributed has become the fuse of the struggle between the various forces.

The core purpose of the Shogunate Sect's withdrawal was to allow the Emperor to regain the rights that had been lost for a thousand years, to return the Emperor to the political stage, and to lead Japan in the Restoration. As for the shogunate, then get out of here, and if you don't leave, you will be beaten until you go.

After all, the shogunate ruled Japan for nearly 700 years, from the earliest Kamakura shogunate, that is, the Chunxi period of the Southern Song Dynasty in China, to the Muromachi shogunate, the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and then through the Warring States melee to the middle of the Ming Dynasty to develop into the Tokugawa shogunate, the shogun's rule has been close to 700 years.

Such a long history of rule has created an inertia in Japanese society towards the rule of the shogun, and the Tokugawa family has not lost the support of the people, and there are many people in the Japanese feudal and common people who support the shogun.

In particular, the northern part of Japan was the preserve of the shogunate, and there was no doubt about the loyalty of the daimyo to the Tokugawa family, and the emperor was secondary in their eyes.

In such a situation, how could the Tokugawa family give up their rights lightly? Although the shogunate was defeated in the Second Battle of Choshu and the 14th shogun Tokugawa Ieshige fell, the prestige of the shogunate was still very high, and the good cards in Tokugawa Keiki's hand were not exhausted at all.

Cooperating with the French, throwing out the bait of the combination of public and military, and then accepting the reform reforms built by the West, the Tokugawa family was still very shrewd.

However, everyone didn't know that the successful alliance between the Tokugawa family and the French was actually due to none other than their enemy, Xiao Lotian.

In real history, although Roche and Tokugawa Yoshiki reached a secret cooperation plan, in July 1866, the new French Foreign Minister Musti took charge of the government, and no longer supported the diplomatic line of the French Minister Luo Shuya to connect with the shogunate, but instead took the same line with the British, and tended to form a public government system that dissolved the shogunate.

This was the last sharp knife to pierce the soft underbelly of the shogunate, and Tokugawa Yoshiki had to fight a Boshin War under the attack of internal and external troubles, and he had to obey Atsuhime's construction of the Shogunate, and finally opened the gate of Edo Castle and surrendered.

The appearance of Xiao Lotian changed the course of history, because the French government, full of hatred, with the same enemy, not only did not oppose Roche's plan, but on the contrary increased its support.

Interest-free loans, the latest weaponry, the best military instructors...... Even France was ready to sell several new warships to the Tokugawa shogunate.

The enemy of the enemy is his friend, since Xiao Lotian has secretly funded the four feudal clans of the fallen shogunate, then France can fund the Tokugawa shogunate, anyway, it is the Japanese who die in the end.

At this time, Japan, which is weak, can only be sandwiched between the two major powers and become a tool for wrestling between the great powers, and the blood of the samurai may only become a sacrifice for new weapons, and the land of the island country may only become a testing ground for new weapons.

"Your Excellency, I have already explained the pros and cons of change many times, I think your mind should not hesitate, now let's talk about practical problems......"

"I have brought with me a new weapon that is enough to equip 3,000 men, may I ask you, General, where are you going to train this army, and where can you keep this secret?"

"With all due respect, this army must be kept strictly secret, and only by letting the enemy be unaware can we surprise it and complete a complete kill on the battlefield!"

"Where is Japan still a pure land?"

Tokugawa Keiki nodded to the Kigakuin Imp, the biggest intelligence leader of the Tokugawa family, and said to Minister Rosh with a smile, "There are two treasures where you can secretly train troops, one is the Aizu Domain, and the other is the Hokkaido Hakodate ......."

"The Aizu Domain is extremely geographically important, guarding all the main transportation routes of the Kanchu Plain and the Tohoku region, and the Ou Hokuriku region must pass through the Aizu Domain if you want to go south, and this is the northern barrier ...... Edo."

"Not only that, but the loyalty of Matsudaira Yoho, the lord of the Aizu domain, to the shogunate is also credible, and I don't think there will be any accidents if he secretly trains a part of the new army!"

"And Hokkaido, since ancient times, has been a bitter cold place, few of the daimyo in Japan set their sights on where, the vast Hokkaido wants to hide a few thousand soldiers is still very simple, as long as we are careful, these two secret strongholds are enough for us to train 10,000 new troops......"

The French minister, Roche, sneered and said, "Ten thousand? I'm afraid the military aid funds we provide ...... It's not enough, but how much money can you Tokugawa shogunate raise?"

Europeans are never ashamed of their words, and it is natural for ministers to ask for money, and $9 million in low-interest military aid seems like a lot, but it is still difficult to support such a large military program.

The new army can't rely on rifles alone to maintain combat effectiveness, and the latest field artillery will also have a few pieces, and the mortars for the siege of the city will always have a few pieces, right?

There is also the navy, even if Japan cannot be equipped with the latest warships now, but the old warships must also add a few new guns, otherwise they will not be passively beaten in the face of threats on the southern seas?

Tokugawa gritted his teeth and clapped his hands, the sliding door behind him was opened, and a small surname was already ready, and large pieces of gold ingots were facing each other in the heavy lacquer plate.

This is the 200-year-old collection of the Tokugawa family, and many gold ingots are still stamped with the seal of the astronomy, Yuanhe period, which is the Japanese era name of Tokugawa Ieyasu when he was young, which shows the long history of this batch of wealth.

One by one, the little surname kept shuttling, and there were more and more gold ingots in the castle tower, and at the end there were bags of gold dust that were brought up, and Minister Rao was well-informed, but he was also a little dizzy under the light of this piece of golden light.

The drunken minister couldn't tell how much the gold was worth, but he knew very well that with a low-interest loan of 9 million from France, the shogunate could easily train an army of 10,000 and be equipped with a large number of advanced artillery.

As for the fact that although the navy cannot buy the most advanced warships, it is enough to renovate the guns of the old warships and build a batch of batteries.

"Your Excellency, as long as France can bring us victory, then how can we, the Tokugawa family, care about these two hundred years of prefecture......? It's hard to come by, and we have to see the results before we can pay for it!"

Tokugawa Keiki bowed his head, "Please forgive me for my rudeness, Japan is too barren, and every penny of wealth is hard to come by...... Please also forgive me that the arms and instructors are not in place, and it will be difficult for us to pay, sorry!"

"Hahaha...... What did the general say!" Rosh's face was slightly red, he had just thought of taking away the wealth directly, but he didn't expect the Japanese to be very practical, and they didn't talk at all.

"France's support for the shogunate is sincere, otherwise we would not have provided a low-interest loan of 9 million, His Excellency the Shogun thought too much...... You can rest assured that with these reserves, I will be able to allow our businessmen to prepare a few more batches of arms, and our chances of victory will be even greater!"

The atmosphere in the castle tower instantly became harmonious, and under the light of a piece of gold, the wine behind it was drunk smoothly, and the minister even accepted the two maids given by the shogun.

Only the little ghost of the fog was a little disappointed when he spoke, "Our preparations are indeed very sufficient, but the biggest variable is not in our Japanese island, but in the Ryukyus!

Xiao Letian's name is the root of the banquet's disappointment, the general and the minister's wine were put down, and their expressions became stern.

Minister Rosh said in a low voice, "I admit that Xiao Lotian is indeed very powerful, his new army is not something you can deal with, and now the situation in Europa is very delicate, and we France cannot mobilize a large army to Asia to deal with a small Ryukyu ......"

"So our actions must be kept secret, this new army must be used as a killer weapon, and it must not be exposed, we have no other choice but to win the surprise army......"

Speaking of this, Minister Rosh suddenly laughed: "I think we have forgotten a very important factor, and that is the composition of the forces of the enemy and us...... The shogunate has been monolithic since ancient times, and our advantage is that there will be no internal constraints......"

"But what about those fallen factions? The four feudal clans in the southwest have their own minds, and now with the addition of the emperor and Xiao Lotian of the Ryukyus, the interests of all parties are not the same, so do they still want to win?"

"Hahaha...... If I guessed correctly, the four clans in the southwest will definitely not let the new army directly intervene, the Chinese saying that it is easy to invite God and send God, once Xiao Letian's regular army lands on the Japanese archipelago, it will not be easy to leave!"

Rosh is really a Japanese and Chinese expert, and his understanding of Asian thinking is extremely thorough, and his words hit the nail on the head.

Tokugawa Keiki and Kigain Kisa glanced at each other, their eyes full of admiration and shock!

"The wisdom of the Minister is admirable, so let's do it according to Mr. Minister's plan! From today on, the Tokugawa family will show weakness and weakness, and make the enemy's heart completely relaxed......"

At the Edo Castle Tower, the Japanese-French Alliance was formally established.

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