Cherry blossoms are in full bloom, and Prime Minister Hirobumi Ito and Minister of the Navy Gonbei Yamamoto sit in the attic of a wine store in Ueno, Tokyo, and the cherry blossoms in full bloom are like a thin crimson cloud, which reminds Hirobumi Ito of his friend. He sighed, "If only Kido and Kimatsu were here." ”

Yamamoto Gonbei nodded slightly. Kido refers to Kido Takayo, and Kido Matsuko is the stage name of Kido Matsuko, Kido Takayo's wife. This world-famous geisha was given the highest honor from the four official ranks for his contribution to the Meiji Restoration. Yesterday the news of her death reached the court, and many people sighed.

"I heard that Kido used to rob other people's money in order to meet with Jimatsu?" Gonbei Yamamoto didn't have a hobby of drowsing, so he talked about it more lightly. Known for his beautiful looks and superb flute and singing skills, Kido Takayoshi has been a frequent visitor to him since he met him. However, Kido was not wealthy, so legend has it that he once robbed others by force because he did not have the money to go to Yukaku and meet with Jimatsu.

Hirobumi Ito remembered the absurdity of his youth and couldn't help but chuckle. He sighed: "What is it to rob money, I almost killed someone because of a few loose back then." ”

Kido Takayo has always wanted to settle for her since he fell in love with Jimatsu, but he has been worried about not having money for a long time. Hirobumi Ito, also from Choshu, was a good friend of Takayo Kido, and after hearing about this, Hirobumi Ito put a knife on the old bustard's neck and finally forced her to get Jimatsu out of the geisha status. At that time, Kimatsu was 20 years old and Kido Takayoshi was 30 years old. Because Kimatsu was able to afford the livelihood of his family and his family, and the cost of registering was very high, they bought a house on the Kiyachoike as a separate house, and after he settled down, he continued to work as a geisha, which was also convenient for gathering information at the gatherings of the king.

In the blink of an eye, 24 years have passed. At that time, the Meiji Restorationists were either in high positions or had withered like cherry blossoms, and the impermanence of the world made Ito Hirobumi feel a sense of melancholy. He took a glass of wine and drank it down, and then said with heavy indignation, "Hey! The traitors in Hokkaido also don't have backache when they stand and talk. If there was no income from the port, how could they survive until now! ”

Now as the prime minister of the Meiji government, Ito Hirobumi knows this very well. Without the Chinese fleet between North America and Asia, Hokkaido would not have had any chance of developing. It is said that the land is owned by the state, and the peasants have turned over. Of Hokkaido's claimed population of 6 million, 4 million are in cities. These people rely on mining, manufacturing, and port services to make their living.

Even those 2 million people in the countryside are not traditional farmers at all. At least 200,000 of them must be engaged in animal husbandry and primary agricultural processing. Tens of thousands of people spend all day on the farm feeding horses, cattle and sheep to breed high-quality livestock. Even those who play hoes cannot be called peasants, they are just agricultural workers under the system of unified purchase and marketing. These people make money by farming, and the agricultural workers also go to the supply and marketing cooperatives to buy food and grain.

Faced with such a situation, the anger in Ito's heart is indescribable. Everyone is a thousand-year-old fox, what is Hokkaido playing TM to talk about? Isn't it fun to dress up as a spokesperson for the interests of Japanese farmers? The rapid development of industry in Japan's Mishima is that Ito Hirobumi is perfectly able to distinguish between a farmer and an agricultural worker.

"There are also many people in the navy who seem to have been deceived by Hokkaido's propaganda." Gonbei Yamamoto said slowly.

"Now it is time to put an end to these heresies." Ito almost squeezed the words out between his teeth.

Gonbei Yamamoto neither supported nor opposed, he said to himself: "The heresy of Hokkaido comes from China, and at the moment the Chinese navy is strong, many people in the Japanese navy do not believe in Hokkaido. In their opinion, Hokkaido's life is better because Hokkaido believes in China's truth. How can this be? ”

No matter how well Hokkaido does it, it's just a small broken island, not to mention that the shogunate knows the real situation in Hokkaido very well. Forcibly placed into a new life, the people of Hokkaido obviously felt very uncomfortable. If Hokkaido is like a whole new society, it is better to say that Hokkaido is like a big barracks. It is more about the obedience of the Japanese people that sustains the operation of this system.

China on the other side of Japan is another existence, strong, wealthy, and free. The Japanese upper echelons dared to laugh at Hokkaido's system and philosophy, and none of them dared to really laugh at China's system. Hirobumi Ito also felt a headache about this problem, he would not accept China's system and ideas until he died, but he could not find a way to mobilize the entire Japanese society to oppose China.

"I also got some news that the traitors in Hokkaido are only afraid that they are planning to go south to the Okuriku?" Gonbei Yamamoto threw a new blow again.

"Are you sure?" Ito was taken aback.

Gonbei Yamamoto took a drink, and then replied: "There are many intelligence channels, and there are various theories, I can't be sure. But I'm a little worried, if I'm a traitor in Hokkaido, now is a good time to go south. There is no need to seize all of Japan, as long as they can gain a foothold in the area around the Okuriku, the remnants of the former Oku-Etsu Domain Alliance will be in cahoots with them. With their current capabilities, it is not impossible to hold that area. ”

"Why?" Hirobumi Ito asked.

"Can't you see that? The system in Hokkaido is suitable for poor places. Yamamoto said with a wry smile, "The territory of the Oku-Utsu Domain Alliance is all poor and remote, and it has a deep relationship with the rebels of Hokkaido. To be able to take such a large piece of poor land, the people of Hokkaido must be extremely happy. In terms of taxes alone, there is no big loss for us. I'm just afraid that if the officers and troops lose a few battles, someone will dare to fight with ......."

Hirobumi Ito listened carefully, and the more the Japanese people know about Hokkaido, the higher their recognition of land nationalization. Hokkaido's political propaganda is simple and clear, "land is state-owned", "peasants turn over", and "class struggle". However, the recognition of this propaganda is low in the rich places, and the polarization in the poor places. It is extremely frowned upon by the die-hard conservatives, and welcomed by the poor, who have little way out. In general, the poorer the place, the higher the identification with Hokkaido.

While Yamamoto was talking about these issues, the door to the attic room was opened with the rapid pace of the knock knock. An attendant hurriedly rushed in and bowed to the two dignitaries, "Your Excellency, a telegram has been sent from the Sendai Prefecture requesting that Hokkaido be incorporated into the administrative division. ”

Ito Hirobumi was shocked, he didn't look at the attendant, but glared at Yamamoto Gonbei, who had just made such a prediction. The central government is the prerogative of the central government to divide local administration, and now a local government dares to request that it be divided into its own hands, and that it be incorporated into Hokkaido, which is actually self-governing. This is already a blatant rebellion.

Gonbei Yamamoto, who made such a prediction, did not have a smug expression, and he was also shocked by the news. Sendai was the gathering place where the remnants of the Ougotsu Domain Alliance left Honshu Island for Hokkaido during the Aizu War, and if Hokkaido recaptured Sendai, it would be equivalent to having a stronghold on Honshu Island again. This war has to be fought. Quickly calculating the strategic situation in his heart, Yamamoto Gonbei completely ignored Ito Hirobumi's gaze.

At this moment, four warships were passing through the Goryeo Sea (Sea of Japan) and heading straight for the Tsugaru Strait. The first two are warships of more than 5,000 tons, and the two behind are warships of about 4,000 tons. There are two people standing on the bow of the ship, officially Enomoto Takehiro and Hijikata Suizo. The sailors on the warship are also from the Hokkaido Navy, and these people went to China for training a year ago and are now returning to Hokkaido with the ship.

Takehiro Enomoto and Toshizo Hijikata, two big names in Hokkaido, recently went to China by boat, and in addition to the navy, there were also a large number of "new" weapons, all of which were second-hand weapons sold to Hokkaido cheaply by China. In addition to the purpose of going to China, in addition to finally signing a payment agreement, China is also very concerned about the political ideas and political positions of the two people. The two of them also passed the Chinese exam.

Facing the sea breeze, Enomoto Takeyang smiled and said, "Hijikata, we will be called a traitor, right?" ”

Hijikata didn't answer immediately, he took a cigarette in his mouth, lit it with a Chinese-made windbreaker, and took a deep breath before he replied, "Those people in the Meiji government are the real traitors." ”

Enomoto Takehiro laughed at such words that were full of the shogunate's stance, "I think I have to thank these people, without them, Japan would not be able to open its eyes." In the past, I thought that the shogunate did a good job in founding the country, but now it seems that the founding of the shogunate was completely illegal. It's just that the introduction of some Western weapons and ships is not the founding of the country, and the real founding of the country is to open up the ideology. ”

"Hmm." Hijikata Suizo answered with a cigarette in his mouth, and his hand couldn't help but press on the hilt of the knife at his waist. It was not because of Enomoto Takehiro's words that Suzo Hijikata wanted to pull out his sword and cut Enomoto Takehiro, this knife was one of the armaments sent to Japan by the Chinese side. Originally, Toshizo Hijikata felt that the Japanese swords made by the Chinese steel clamping method were extremely sharp, and they were the best famous swords. This batch of knives adopts the new carburizing method, which not only greatly improves the degree of firmness, but also the sharpness and the strength of the blade are incomparable to the Japanese swords in the past, and the weight of the blade is greatly reduced.

The progress of the world is changing with each passing day, and in the face of the impending war, Hijikata has some doubts that he will have the opportunity to fight on the front line as before.

"I can't go back to Edo yet, but I'll be able to liberate Okulu and other places. Occupy half of the country. Enomoto Takeyang said confidently.

On April 10, 1886, Japan's "Bingshu War" broke out.