In 1873, China still had a dispatch army in the Republic of Ezo, the size of which was a regiment, and the commander of the dispatch army, Zhou Xinhua, was already a lieutenant colonel. This regiment did not have a high position in Japan, and the Chinese aid project was the iron and steel smelting plant, and also helped the Ezo Republic to build railways, ports, and shipyards. The troops did not hold their hands high and be the masters, but participated in the construction aid project according to their own interests. In addition, as much as possible, the position exchange is carried out without affecting the construction work. The Liberation Army's retirement system is to allow retired personnel to receive as much education as possible, so that they can have better room for development after returning to the local area. Engineers, engineers, railroad soldiers, and railroad personnel are all recognized as good errands. With the corresponding experience in this area before discharge, you can work in these units after discharge. Everyone wants to learn a little more trade.

I have to say that the Japanese nation's respect for the strong is really from the heart, and the Japanese are especially willing to learn from the strong. The Republic of Ezo killed the old guards who adhered to the traditions of the old shogunate, and the new faction began to learn from China. They are true learning, not false learning.

The Republic of Ezo, where all the people are soldiers, has embraced Chinese politics and that the government must be closely integrated with the working people. And those feudal forces that rely on intermediate links to make profits must be overthrown. The Ezo Republic did not have any deep-rooted feudal power, and the government completed the land reform, abolished the blood inheritance system, and established a civil service system with the school education system as the core. On the face of it, there was no room for feudal power anymore. Since everyone is a soldier, this society has become more equal than ever. The slogan of respecting workers has also been popularized and recognized. The Chinese troops are keen to learn production technology through labor, and the Japanese side naturally did the same.

When they learned that the fleet of the government army had reappeared in the Tsugaru Strait, the people of the Ezo Republic became excited. Japan had a much higher literacy rate than its Manchu contemporaries, and the Republic of Ezo imitated China's Compulsory Education Law, which required everyone to read and write and learn modern knowledge and culture. With such a cultural foundation, the steel mills built with Chinese assistance have been put into operation very quickly.

Many of the Japanese who made it to the Ezo Republic were knowledgeable Japanese talents, but they were unable to demonstrate their abilities under the twilight of the shogunate, and under the new system, they were finally able to show their ambitions. Many of them were engaged in the manufacture of weapons on the shogunate's side, and with the help of steel, and with the technology of casting cannons with Chinese assistance, the Republic of Ezo was able to make its own small steel cannons and cast medium-sized cast iron cannons.

After China helped the Republic of Ezo repair its ironclads, it also helped Japan renovate their old warships, and besides China, the Republic of Ezo's navy became the second navy in the world to use the region's abundant coal resources, using the region's abundant coal resources. China also sold a number of old warships and ships to Japan, which greatly boosted the confidence of the Ezo Republic.

"The rebel navy on the other side is all imported from the British, and these people have spent a lot of money to buy these ships, and as long as their warships are sunk, they will not be able to afford to buy so many warships in the short term. When their self-built warships are launched, our navy will be able to build their own ironclad ships! Navy Chief Arai Ikunosuke said confidently.

China has helped the Republic of Ezo to build a shipyard and corresponding ports and docks, and the current steel plant in the Republic of Ezo is fully operational, with an annual output of 5,000 tons of pig iron, which is used to make steel, and can produce 1,000 tons of steel per year. Even if a 3,000-ton wooden-hulled ironclad ship uses 300 mm ironclad, the entire ship will only use more than 300 tons of iron. Fighting for industrial capacity, the Republic of Ezo is now very confident.

As for the Ezo Republic Navy, it is more confident, in addition to the Kaiyang, which was repaired by China, China has given the Ezo Republic five ironclad ships, three with a tonnage of 3,600 tons and two with a tonnage of 2,600 tons, as collateral for the future supply of fuel coal to Chinese ships by the Ezo Republic. With the addition of the Kaiyang, these six converted ironclad ships are a force to be reckoned with.

Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Xinhua was not from the navy, and he had no plans to leave home to join the navy, so he just listened to it from the side. After listening to it for two days, he was sure of one thing, the attitude of the Ezo Republic was to face it head-on. Through radio exchanges, Zhou Xinhua had already reported the news to China, and the domestic call back was "to keep the stronghold of the Ezo Republic and prevent the British from completely occupying Japan." ”

Although Zhou Xinhua did not fully understand the great power wrestling behind the war between the Japanese Meiji government and the Republic of Ezo, it was impossible not to see the Central Committee of the Liberation Party. There are almost no foreign countries that now recognize the Nebuchu Treaty, and the Meiji government of Japan also claims sovereignty over the southern part of Sakhalin. The Republic of Ezo recognized the Treaty of Nebuchu, which China insisted on, and recognized China's full sovereignty over Sakhalin. At this time, if the Ezo Republic is finished, the British will win a big game.

At this time, the North Sea Fleet had already set off from the vice-port of Juwen Island and was still a month away from the complete thaw of Vladivostok Port, and the North Sea Fleet would rather be adrift at sea than be ready to participate in the war at any time when the war situation in the Ezo Republic was unfavorable.

From March 10 to March 15, under the watchful eye of China and the British, Meiji government forces fought a series of naval battles with the navy of the Ezo Republic. There is not much written about this battle in the history books, but it is only said that "after six days of fierce fighting, the Meiji government army and navy fought unfavorably, and then went south."

The Meiji government navy consisted of three ironclad ships, which appeared every day during the six-day naval battle. Hit the ironclad ship of the Ezo Republic with more than 100 guns, and suffered the shells of nearly 200 guns from the ironclad ship of the Ezo Republic. Neither side was able to sink the other's ironclad ship, or even severely damage the other's ironclad.

However, the battle of non-armored ships was quite fierce, and the non-armored ships of the Meiji government were real wooden hulls, and the non-armored ships of the Ezo Republic referred to thin-skinned ships with an ironclad thickness of between 50 and 100 mm. This thin-skinned ship could not defend itself against a 12-pounder gun's close-range bombardment, and the ironclad ship technology was much more complex than a simple wooden hull, and the cost of maintenance was very high. It's a very chicken thing. A fierce battle ensued between the two sides, with four wooden ships of the Meiji government sinking and one of the navy of the Ezo Republic. The unsunken ship was also scarred, and there were many gaps in the hull.

The combat effectiveness of the Republic of Ezo was nothing in front of the British fleet on the sidelines, and the British fleet even seriously discussed whether it was better to go into battle shirtless. But the ironclad ships are really too difficult to sink, and the British fleet cannot guarantee that the six ironclad ships of the Ezo Republic will be completely sunk in a short time. Another question is, after the British do this, will the Chinese also go into battle shirtless?

The purpose of the British fleet to watch the battle was really not to find an excuse to participate in the war, but to see the North Sea Fleet up close. There are many rumors about China's new warships, and it was in this Tsugaru Strait that Chinese warships sank Japanese ironclads. In the battle that swept through the Russians in the north, this fleet made a great contribution. There are many theories about this fleet, and the peculiar shape and ferocious firepower of the British Royal Navy Far East Fleet are of great interest. The British fleet had also been glimpsed from afar at sea, and when they tried to get closer, the fleet ran away at great speed.

With the capabilities shown by China, the British side will not think that the Chinese are stupid to see the importance of this naval battle, and it is the right thing to send a fleet to watch the battle. But I didn't expect that the Chinese fleet never appeared. This came as a great surprise to the British.

In the end, the British Navy still chose a more rational approach, because the British Royal Navy has a tradition, that is, when encountering the enemy, it must fight, and after firing, it will fight to the death. If you start a war, you have to follow tradition, which is not really in the interest of Britain.

When the British fleet left the battlefield that had calmed down, they looked back at the fleet of the Ezo Republic, and the battle was a deflated battle for the British. Mishima, Japan, which was controlled by the Meiji government, had limited financial resources and was unable to buy large quantities of warships from the British. Therefore, the British felt that the northern republic of Ezo had no financial resources. I didn't expect China to vigorously support the Republic of Ezo regardless of the cost. If Britain wants to gain the upper hand in future battles, it will have to adopt the same strategy as China and give the Meiji government more warships. Or force the Meiji government to come up with more money to buy a large number of warships. But whatever option you choose, you'll encounter significant resistance. If you don't have a head start in Japan for the time being, you'll have to find another breakthrough.

On May 5, 1873, British envoys entered Seoul to see the King of Goryeo. The king of Goryeo recently felt that life was quite good, and the Chinese withdrew from Goryeo. The two sides smoothly restored the border. As for China's lease of Gyomun Island, the king of Goryeo really didn't think it was a big deal.

This place is indeed a key point, but if you don't lease it to China, what if China says it wants to lease Jeju Island? The Hunan army is not something that Goryeo can resist, and the Guangfu army, which easily wiped out the Hunan army, is not something that Goryeo can resist. A 30-year lease on a small island would stabilize relations with China, which is a great deal.

The king of Goryeo did not care too much about the request of the British envoy. After the two sides met, the British envoy made a request to lease a port in Goryeo for British warships to berth. When the king of Goryeo heard this, his face changed.

Goryeo has been a vassal state of China for thousands of years, and he is used to it in front of him. China, the owner, is not the kind that desperately squeezes the subject country, it is very easy to speak, and it is willing to help at critical moments. Of course, Goryeo knew about the British messing around in Japan, but that was a Japanese thing. The British could go to Goryeo to rent the island, which was to lure the wolf into the house. Without thinking too much, the king of Goryeo immediately refused.

The British envoy was not surprised, he simply left with a threat that was not trivial or serious. Just when the king of Goryeo was not clear about what the British meant, on May 15, a Japanese fleet appeared off the coast of Goryeo.