The temperature in Hokkaido in July was quite good, and I don't know if it was because it was uncomfortable to sit for a long time, or simply because it was hot, so Hijikata Suizo fiddled with the Japanese sword he was carrying. In crowded places, many actions are contagious. For example, yawning. But Hijikata's actions have sparked some people's thoughts. The original Ezo Republic united its ideas by means of a military purge of the Zo Republic. Now there is a huge disagreement within the Ministry of Defense, and some of the personnel who participated in the purge can't help but have some inappropriate postures and movements.

Casual actions are less likely to alert others, but deliberate actions are different. In the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Ezo, all the officers carried knives, and some things began to spread.

Zhou Xinhua has been with the Japanese for so long, and he has slowly understood some things. Seeing that everyone had Japanese swords in their hands, some people simply began to touch the pistols on their waists. No matter what the purpose was, Zhou Xinhuateng stood up. "I have a suggestion that no one should bring weapons when they have meetings in the future, and it is too uncomfortable to sit on a chair with a knife or gun. Now we'll hand over the weapons to the management room and take them with us when we leave. ”

As almost the most vocal person in the current national defense force, Zhou Xinhua's suggestion was quickly complied with. Now there are no special lockers and registration systems, so write pieces of paper on an improvised basis. After some tossing, everyone was able to move their bodies, and the tense atmosphere was finally relieved.

When the meeting resumed, Zhou Xinhua continued: "The question now is not to overthrow the emperor in Japan, but what is the purpose of establishing the Ezo Republic. In the beginning, everyone's goal was to rebel against the Shogunate, and everyone was unwilling to accept the rule of the rebels. But now the Ezo Republic is different. We must redefine the purpose of the founding of the Republic of Ezo. Personally, I think so, the purpose of this state is not to serve some high rulers, but to protect the right of the people to live happily! ”

The officers who had been promoted in the recent war listened to Zhou Xinhua's speech, and they couldn't help but nod their heads one by one. They fled to the Ezo Republic to start a new life, and their original idea was to be a submissive citizen under the benevolent government of the Ezo Republic. It wasn't until the Meiji government army slaughtered Hokkaido and pushed everyone to the point where they would die if they didn't resist, that these people began to fight back.

Zhou Xinhua has already sent troops to China to say these words to these newcomers more than once, and they slowly understood the meaning of these words. People have a good memory, they can't survive in Mishima, Japan, and they almost can't survive in the Republic of Ezo. A country must protect its people in the system, so that the people can live a good life. In the traditional Japanese system, the purpose of the existence of the people of the country is to serve the people in high positions, and this system determines that the people cannot live happily under any circumstances. After the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of the Ezo Republic, and after so many wars, the newcomers finally understood that whether they realized it or not, politics and institutions always determined their lives.

The consciousness of the newcomers is very new, and the founders of the Ezo Republic are well aware of this. Everything Zhou Xinhua said revolved around a purpose, what kind of country he wanted to build. While the founders were hoping to establish a state that would oppose the Meiji government, Zhou Xinhua was looking ahead and deciding where the current Ezo Republic would go.

The first day of the discussion is all about finding the problem and identifying the problem. After the evening recess, an internal meeting was held at the top of the Ezo Republic, including Takehiro Enomoto and Toshizo Hijikata. Takehiro Enomoto first expressed his attitude, "I think that His Majesty the Emperor is the head of Japan, and also the head of our Ezo Republic. This must not be shaken. ”

After saying that, he added, "I still hope that the emperor will allow the Tokugawa family to move to the Ezo Republic." ”

Keisuke Otori, the current Minister of Defense, immediately agreed, "I think it should be so." ”

Several high-ranking officials immediately expressed the same view. Then everyone's eyes fell on the powerful Toyozo Hijikata of the military department. Hijikata didn't speak immediately, his expression was solemn, and it seemed that he was thinking about something.

"What do you think?" Enomoto Takeyo couldn't wait, so he could only ask.

Hijikata said slowly, "When we first arrived here, Enomoto-kun used to collect heavy taxes here. I didn't agree at the time. I think the samurai should live up to their own philosophy, and we are here to fight to the death against the Shogun. Heavy taxation is only a futile attempt to make the people suffer. ”

These words evoked everyone's memories that when they first arrived in the Ezo Republic, these patriarchs were determined to die. In the tragic mood, as long as you can persevere, you can resist no matter what. But at that time, he had not lost his cool and was still able to make a judgment according to morality. He made it clear that "what difference is this from the reckless Meiji government's approach?" Even if the junta may not be able to support it anymore, it cannot blackmail the citizens under false pretenses! We must not allow such a stigma to remain in history and be reviled by others!" Because of Hijikata's statement, Enomoto Takeyo finally decided not to collect taxes.

Hijikata continued: "I think the current situation is just one thing, and we are waiting for us to adhere to the old tradition and implement benevolent government from above. Or really to build a country that Zhou Jun said to maintain the people's peaceful life. I think let's settle this first, and then talk about the rest. ”

After saying that, Hijikata added, "If you think too much about this matter, it will only make things more tangled, so I just want to ask you what you think about the existence of the Ezo Republic itself." ”

This was too unexpected, and Takehiro Enomoto, Keisuke Otori and others were stunned. The truth has always become clearer and clearer, and it is impossible to talk about it, in fact, it is not that the other party does not understand, but that the other party clearly understands that there are some things that he cannot accept. The upper echelons of the Ezo Republic initially established a republican electoral system because there was no legal doctrine that could gain stable support at the time, and the only way to obtain an election result that would be recognized by the team as justified. Later, the expansion of the civil system was not because they had no interest in democracy, but simply because the old system was useless.

To be sure, they just didn't want a repeat of the shogunate's rotten system, and they wanted to build a traditional Japanese society that was enlightened and autocratic. However, the whole situation has completely changed beyond their imagination, and in the face of the strong pressure of the Meiji government army, the enlightened autocracy cannot withstand it. The autocratic class, which is considered enlightened and capable, is too few in number to resist in the face of a huge number of enemies. At this time, it was the people of the Ezo Republic at the bottom who rose up. These people had begun to overwhelm the old upper class in terms of numbers and capabilities, and when these people gathered their strength to save the Ezo Republic, they also began to seek the power and rewards they deserved.

In terms of who pays, who benefits, this is true. But from the perspective of traditional reasoning, this is not only a big mistake, but also a ridiculous one.

"...... Tsuchikata-kun, you and Zhou Jun have already talked about this, right?" Enomoto Takeyang suddenly asked calmly.

Hijikata didn't deny it, he nodded seriously, "I have talked to Zhou Jun about this many times, and I support Zhou Jun's opinion." We are not even afraid of death, so why should we be afraid of representing the interests of the people? Why be afraid of building a state that pursues the well-being of its people. ”

After listening to such an indignant and generous speech, those who support Hijikata no longer need to say anything, and those who do not support Hijikata don't even want to refute it. The people at the top are on top, and the people serve the people at the top, and this is the foundation of Japan's founding. The emperor is like this, and the shogunate is like this. The same was true of the original ideas of the founders of the Republic of Ezo.

Now that someone has finally put forward a completely different social concept, the overthrow of the Meiji government, the restoration of the shogunate, and the domination of Japan have become trivial matters compared to such a huge impact.

Looking at Hijikata's resolute look, watching the movements of the Hijikata followers clenching their scabbards. Enomoto Takeyang said coldly, "When this war is over, I will resign as commander." ”

The others did not answer, and the reason why the founder of the Ezo Republic gave in was largely because he knew that in the current situation, there would be another internal fire and merger, and Hijikata and the others would never lose. What's more, Enomoto Takehiro was disappointed with such a system.

Following the daytime and evening battles on July 16, the two-day meeting on July 17 and July 18 went very smoothly. The Republic of Ezo has publicly established its own founding philosophy, and the purpose has changed from restoring the shogunate to maintaining the happiness of the people of the Republic of Ezo. This core is the fundamental philosophy of the Republic of Ezo. When the war is over, the Republic of Ezo will have a new constitution and new elections will be held.

On July 19, the commanders of the various units returned to Hakodate for a meeting and returned to the frontline troops to bring the news back to the Ezo army, which was preparing to deliver the final blow to the Shizu army.

The Ezo Defense Army was tightly surrounded, and the positions of the two sides were not far apart. The warrior army could clearly hear the earth-shattering cheers from the opposite position. Although it is not known exactly what happened, the earth-shattering cheers of the Ezo Wehrmacht are by no means a good thing for the Shi army.

Captain Ryota Miyagi, who was on the front line, had participated in the attack on Hakodate the previous year and had been transferred to eastern Hokkaido this spring. Because of his repeated military exploits, he has been promoted from squadron leader to captain. However, the Warrior Army did not swell as the promotion of Miyagi's captain.

After two months of continuous fighting and defeat, the army of the warriors, which had once reached western Hokkaido, was reduced from 70,000 to less than 40,000, and was surrounded by nearly 200,000 enemies on the undefended plains in the east. Just as Captain Miyagi thought, the Ezo Wehrmacht on the opposite side cheered and began to sing. In the last two or three months, this song has been sung more and more among the Ezo Defense Forces. The warrior army also gradually became familiar with it. Captain Miyagi hated this song in particular.

"Arise, hungry slaves! Arise, all the suffering people of the world! The blood is already boiling, and we must fight for the truth! The old world is falling, slaves get up, get up! Don't say we have nothing, we want to be the masters of the world! ”

The sound of singing in the distance reached the position of the Shizu army, and every time he heard this song, Captain Miyagi felt that he was greatly offended. A group of poor sticks who would rather flee to Hokkaido than honestly farm at home also want to be the masters of the world? They must be crazy.

“…… Who created the human world? It's our working masses! Everything belongs to the laborers, how can there be room for parasites? The most hateful of those poisonous snakes and beasts have eaten our flesh and blood! Once they are destroyed, the bright red sun shines all over Japan......"

This passage is the one that Captain Miyagi hates the most, and he knows the meaning of this passage very well. The poor ghosts believe that it was the poor ghosts who created Japan, not the forces to which Captain Miyagi belongs. Just because I fully understand the meaning of this lyric, when the traitors were executed in the past, the captain of Miyagi tried to be convenient and took the method of shooting. Now Captain Miyagi is cutting off his head. Only by cutting off the head of the traitor with his own hands can he feel a bad breath.

It's just that before the traitors learned this song, the warrior troops were invincible. When the traitors learned the song, the warrior army began to be defeated again and again. Captain Miyagi had to do his best to make his troops suffer less losses, and there were fewer and fewer opportunities to vent his anger by cutting off the head of the rebel with his own hands.

Captain Miyagi wanted to plug his ears with his hands so that the disgusting and disgusting song would reach his ears, but now was not the time to do so. As a rule of thumb, before each major war, the Ezo Defense Forces sing this song on a large scale. After the encirclement was completed, the 200,000 army besieged the less than 40,000 warrior troops like iron buckets. The battle should have started a long time ago, but they held their ground for days.

Now that the song is playing again, it means that the general offensive is about to begin. The enemy who will not be able to fight to the death will immediately come up like a tide, and the warrior troops will be mercilessly swallowed and drowned by this tide.

It wasn't just Captain Miyagi who understood this, his subordinates all turned pale and clenched their weapons. Some soldiers were so frightened that they couldn't help but sob.

Looking at this group of useless subordinates, Captain Miyagi got up angrily and scolded: "Don't cry, do you still look like samurai?" ”

While he was scolding his subordinates, Captain Miyagi suddenly heard the familiar sound of artillery, and the artillery of the Ezo Defense Army opened fire! What followed was the sharp whistling of cannonballs piercing the air, and Captain Miyagi could hear that the whistling was coming from his position.

When the air wave of the cannonball explosion flew into the air, there was only one thought in the whirling brain of Captain Miyagi, "What the hell is wrong with this world?!" ”