The Satsuma clan eventually bowed its head to the shogunate, at least superficially. They expressed their willingness to join the Second Choshu Raid, and in exchange, the shogunate led a meeting in Kyoto. The meeting of the shogunate's representatives was held in Kyoto, a request that seemed mild to the shogunate and was neatly rejected by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said frankly, "The Ryukyus are a subject country of China, and the final resolution cannot be signed in Japan." If an agreement is signed in Kyoto, it means that Japan will be able to decide on the Chinese territorial issue. We are unlikely to accept such an arrangement. ”

The shogunate did not expect that there were so many connotations, and they did not dare to refuse China's solemn demand, and after negotiations, it was a long distance to China, so the place where the agreement was signed was on the Chinese warship Ryukyu, which was cruising off the coast of the Satsuma Domain.

The latest name is the Ryukyus, a Chinese mainstay with a displacement of 5,100 tons, which is already a behemoth in the eyes of Japan. On May 19, the Ryukyu departed from Edo and arrived off the coast of Kagoshima Castle, and the Satsuma Domain's steam ships carried the representatives of the Satsuma Domain.

The tonnage of the warships of the two sides differed several times, and after the broadside, the representatives of the Satsuma clan climbed the slightly swaying gangplank with stairs, and walked for almost a minute before arriving at the Chinese warship Ryukyu. The difference in tonnage means the difference in stability, and even if the Japanese steamship of up to 1,000 tons is parked at sea, the hull will still sway. By contrast, China's warships are like giant islands of steel, standing still in the undulating seas.

The agreement stipulates that the Ryukyus and its affiliated islands are subject states of China and are part of China's sacrosanctity. Japan acknowledges that it will no longer invade the islands of China, and that it will no longer invade the territory of the Ryukyus and its affiliated islands.

As soon as this is over, China will send it off. Of course, the reason was that the conflict had been resolved, and there was no reason for China to remain in the open sea of the Satsuma Domain. The representatives of the shogunate were a little unhappy in their hearts, and they were naturally very happy when they saw the gap between the Chinese warships and the small broken ships of the Satsuma Domain. Being able to deter the Satsuma Domain, even if it is by borrowing the power of China to deter the Satsuma Domain, is a very favorable situation for the shogunate. Even if the shogunate representatives arrived at the Satsuma Domain on a large Chinese warship, the Chinese warships escorted the shogunate representatives back to Edo, but the Chinese side slapped their butts so neatly and left, in the eyes of the shogunate, it was not enough to give the shogunate face.

The representatives of the Satsuma clan saw China's goodwill from a different perspective. When China blockaded the waters of the Satsuma Domain, it captured many Japanese ships, and after the signing of the treaty, China sent the captured ships and personnel to Kagoshima Castle in the Satsuma Domain. No matter how westernized the Satsuma Domain was, it also belonged to the feudal lords, and they really had never seen such a righteous practice. After careful questioning of the personnel on these ships, the Satsuma clan was surprised to find that the Chinese did not extort money from the crew of these ships, so the Satsuma clan happily levied a "ransom fee" on the ships according to their size. After all, the Satsuma clan didn't have the courage to ask for any money from China, and if the Satsuma clan lost the Ryukyus, the Satsuma clan lost its embankment and made up for it, so if they didn't let these people shed some blood, then I was really sorry for the Japanese tradition.

These were trivial matters, and the Satsuma clan was endlessly debated about China's strategic planning. Of course, these people wanted to be satisfied with the Ryukyu issue and not make any more moves. But is that really the end of the powerful Chinese Navy? If the Satsuma clan had such strength, they wouldn't have dealt with the problem like this anyway.

The Chinese side did not consider the idea of the Satsuma domain at all, and after a beautiful combination of military and political means, the Ryukyus provoked by Weizer were resolved. There were some very subtle contents in that treaty, such as "islands of China" and "affiliated islands of the Ryukyus". China's hand is far from being able to reach the Iwo Jima, but through this agreement, China has included the Iwo Jima and nearby islands in China's hands. At least according to the treaty, many of Japan's small islands in the south fell into Chinese hands.

The Political Affairs Bureau believes that this is the end of the problem with Japan, and that the north of the Huai River has become a pot of porridge at present, and the main energy of the Guangfu Army should be on the future Northern Expedition and the southward movement.

The southward movement was not the first idea proposed by the political bureau, and the original southward policy was proposed by Wei Ze and strongly promoted by Wei Ze. When the members of the Political Affairs Bureau held a meeting, they all supported Bi Qingshan's viewpoint. In order to make China stable for a long time, and in order to overcome the current heavy food pressure, it is necessary to go south to war.

"I thought it was strange that the amount of food was so small when I was older. I went home and asked my daughter-in-law to find out that it was because I used too much oil. Even Wei Changrong expressed his opinion, "In the past, the green vegetables were all boiled in water, but now the green vegetables are fried in oil." I thought it was my daughter-in-law's cooking skills that had become higher. I didn't expect it to be like that at all. ”

China is really a foodie empire! Wei Ze sighed in his heart. Whether propaganda is effective or not does not necessarily depend on the depth of the theory or the correctness of the attitude, but on the ability to move people. Bi Qingshan said, "Have you eaten the dishes fried in oil today?" "I was deeply moved by the comrades of the Liberation Party.

The change in food is closely related to every family, and even the most powerful people have to eat and eat. When Bi Qingshan expressed his opinion, he first told everyone why the food was delicious, and then told everyone that the oil from Nanyang can make millions of Chinese people eat better and eat more. And it was the governor of Wei Zedu who opened up the policy of looking south. The rice obtained from the South China Sea allowed the Liberation Army to calmly go on the Northern Expedition, so why not solve the problem of feeding the whole of China through the war against the South China Sea? This is not only the only way to solve the problem at this stage, but it is also a policy that Weeser pursued seven or eight years ago.

As soon as such a public statement came out, even Weizer was speechless. Because what Bi Qingshan said was the truth, Bi Qingshan was more clever in that he did not make up the facts according to his understanding, but restored Wei Ze's train of thought very accurately. After Bi Qingshan's speech, even Wei Changrong expressed his appreciation, not to mention other comrades. After all, everyone who rose up to rebel is to create a better world, a world where the people can be fed. This ideal is far from dying.

The comrades of the Political Bureau looked at Wei Ze with expectant eyes, waiting for Wei Ze to give more specific instructions. This kind of gaze Wei Ze is not unfamiliar at all, during the implementation of various strategies led by Wei Ze, everyone listened to Wei Ze's orders with such expressions. Now everyone still has such expressions, Wei Ze feels very unhappy in his heart. This kind of thing of being robbed of the country's general direction by others is the first time for Wei Ze.

Wei Ze did not show a dissatisfied expression, after all, the final decision is still in his hands, "The policy of opening up the South China Sea is not a simple matter, and this matter must wait until 1870, after the new fleet is built." We now have nearly 100 warships, large and small, and we have Lanfang Province as a base, so it is not a problem at all to fight the Dutch. But our enemy is the British, and the British have thousands of warships, and the result of our occupation of the South China Sea is to get the British to intervene in this matter. We really fight the British, and I don't think it's possible to win in the short term. The British can produce 3 million tons of steel a year, we only have a year, and now it is only 300,000 tons. It's too far from the British. ”

"If Britain goes to war with us, we will take Hong Kong." Some members suggested that they could threaten the British government.

For such a strategic view, Wei Ze didn't even have the strength to be unhappy, "What can Britain do if it loses Hong Kong?" Britain still has ports on Indochina, and they have India as a base. A Hong Kong could not get the British to give up interfering in the war. The most important thing is that we don't see the same thing as the British. We felt that after taking Southeast Asia, we could specialize in the South China Sea. The British believed that our fleet would be able to move freely in and out of the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean is seen by the British as their backyard. They won't accept us stepping in. ”

It is not easy for the mainland-minded soldiers to understand the thinking on the sea, and the army is a very remarkable battle when it goes out for hundreds of miles, and a few hundred miles is a new and ordinary distance in the eyes of the navy. After running hundreds of miles, it is likely that you will not even complete half of the one-way journey.

Weeser continued: "When doing strategic design, there is still the question of whether a place to arrive is a destination or a skipping shift. If the South China Sea is just our destination, then there is a problem. We were trying to secure the place, but the British sent a fleet to make peace with us. The British fleet is in India, can we afford to cross thousands of miles to India? Only when we can do this can we firmly take the South China Sea and turn it into our territory. Otherwise, it seems that you have obtained it, but you will definitely encounter the problem of outweighing the losses. ”

Seeing that some comrades were at a loss, Wei Ze changed the example, "Just like if we can break into Beijing now and fight outside the customs." We have the ability. That's why we can calmly let the north of the Huai River fight so chaotically, because no matter what kind of enemy appears and what kind of variables appear, we can solve all the problems in one fell swoop. Take this as a comparison of the South China Sea, and everyone will be clear. Where does the coal come from in Lan Phuong province now? Can we produce our own steel? Can you build a ship? Can weapons and ammunition be produced? Obviously can't do it? These repairs, supplies, and armaments all have to be transported over by our mainland. In other words, our starting point is not Lan Phuong Province, but the mainland. And do we have enough fleets for escorts, transports? Many comrades definitely think that it is okay, but I don't think it is enough. Therefore, the attitude of the Military Commission was very clear, and everyone stayed up until 1870 before starting it. ”

Whether it is understood or not, whether it is for it or not, since Weizer said this, all objections have disappeared for the time being.

Wei Ze looked at the regretful expressions of some comrades, and he was very worried in his heart, these comrades must not be Ye Gong Haolong. R1058