"In fact, this is not only the Qing army in Taiwan, but also the entire Qing army!" Yama Prefecture Youpeng noticed that the faces of Saionji Gongwang and others were gloomy, and he simply continued to belittle the opponent fiercely, so as to achieve the goal of boasting about the achievements of his reform of the Japanese Army. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

"The corruption of the Qing army has penetrated deep into the bone marrow and is hopeless! The Qing Army claims to have a million divisions, but in fact it is vulnerable! The armies that were still armed with broadswords, spears and earthen spears were medieval armies! It can't be compared to the elite Imperial Army! If the Qing State dares to go to war with the Empire, the Imperial Army will attack the city of Beijing! ”

Hearing Yama County Youpeng say the words of entering Beijing City, Ito Hirobumi and Xiyuan Temple Gongwang's brows all furrowed.

"Does the Shan County Jun think that the empire already has the strength to compete with the Qing State?" Hirobumi Ito couldn't help it and got up and asked.

"Yes!" Shan County Youpeng said loudly, "The empire collects the Ryukyus, and the Qing Kingdom does not dare to make any moves, which is a manifestation of its own weakness!" The empire opened up Taiwan, and the Qing State would also not have any tough reaction! It's an obvious thing! ”

"That Shan County Jun thinks that if the empire goes to war with the Qing State, it will definitely be able to defeat the Qing State?" Xiyuan Temple Gongwang then asked loudly.

"Of course!" Beads of sweat appeared on Youpeng's forehead in Shanxian County, but he still refused to show weakness on his lips, "There is no problem for the Imperial Army to defeat the Qing Army!" He noticed that all the people present were looking at him with surprised eyes, and realized that his words were a little too big, and immediately added, "If there is sufficient war money and no foreign interference, the empire will definitely be able to defeat the Qing state!" ”

Hearing that there were friends in Yama County playing around, both Saionji Gongwang and Ito Hirobumi sneered.

"The king of Nashan County still admits that the empire is not sure of a complete victory in the conflict with the Qing State!" The Gongwang of Xiyuan Temple stared at Youpeng Dao in Shanxi, "Then why does the empire risk a war with the Qing State to attack Taiwan?" ”

Youpeng in Shanxian said angrily: "Do you have to give up because you don't have the certainty of victory?" Which of the various undertakings carried out by the Empire since the Restoration is completely certain? Do you have to give up? If you don't do something, how do you know if it's right!? ”

"But what if it turns out to be wrong?" The Duke of Xiyuan Temple did not give in, and his voice also raised his voice, "If a cause or measure proves to be wrong, there is still a chance to correct it, and once the war starts, can it be said to stop and stop?" Once it fails, the world will be 100 trillion catastrophic! Have you thought about such consequences? ”

"Before the Empire has sent troops, you are spreading the word of defeat! Shake the hearts of the military! A friend of Shan County said angrily, "What are your intentions? Can't you want to be a 'Qing Detective' (similar to a traitor in China)? ”

Hearing that Yama Prefecture Youpeng actually buttoned his hat, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang was furious, and was about to ridicule him, Emperor Meiji said: "Okay, I know, the two secretaries don't have to fight." ”

Seeing that the emperor had spoken, Yama Prefecture Youpeng and Xiyuan Temple Gongwang no longer quarreled, but each glared angrily.

"Okubo, what's your opinion?" The emperor turned to Okubo Ritsu and asked.

"The minister thinks that what the Jun of Shan County and the Jun of Xiyuan Temple said just now makes sense." Okubori Channel, "As Yamasan-kun said, the combat power of the Imperial Army is several times higher than that of the Qing Army, and the morale is high, and it can be used if you are loyal to Your Majesty." And Saionji-kun was also right to worry that if he could not defeat the Qing Kingdom, Japan would fall into the abyss of defeat. At present, the foundation of the empire's all-out external expansion is not yet solid, and the Western powers are surrounded by the left and right, and once a full-scale war with the Qing State is launched, the consequences are unpredictable. It is better to fight a war of limited scale in the opinion of the minister. ”

Hearing Okubo Ritsu's answer, Ito Hirobumi and Saionji Kotoshi glanced at each other quickly, and each of them showed surprise in their eyes.

"Oh? Can Okubo-kun elaborate on that? Minister Minori Sanjo, who had not spoken, asked.

Minori Sanjo was born into an aristocratic family in Kyoto, and participated in the Zun Wang Yi Movement in her early years. In 1862, he was appointed to accept the words and discuss the music, and as a messenger with Pei Koji and others, he conveyed the imperial order to the 14th shogun, Tokugawa Ieshige, and supervised the Emperor's Rebellion, and participated in the Zunyi Movement, and then worked closely with the Choshu Domain to realize the Emperor's Rebellion. However, he lost power due to the coup d'état on August 18 in the third year of Wenjiu, and fled to Changzhou as one of the "Seven Secretaries in Exile". In 1864, during the first expedition to Choshu, the Choshu Domain surrendered and moved to Dazaifu. In 1867, he returned to Beijing during the "royal government" and was appointed to the new government. In 1868, he was appointed vice president, and was appointed as assistant minister and Kanto inspector, and after the opening of Edo, he was first appointed as the Kanto inspector and then as the town general, and was responsible for the administration of the eastern country. From 1869 he was the Right Minister. In 1871, he was appointed Minister of Imperial Affairs, the highest official position in the Meiji government.

Contrary to the politician Iwakura Gushi, who is also a minister, he is good at power tricks, and Minoru Sanjo is a centrist, so he can hold the post of minister for a long time. But on the other hand, his words and deeds inevitably gave people a sense of indecision, and he once fell into a state of insanity when the controversy between Korea and Korea was broken. This time, during the debate on the "conquest of Taiwan," he seemed very messy and did not dare to express his opinion, but after listening to Okubo Ritsu's words, he suddenly felt that this was a good idea, and he was in the spirit of coming again.

"The minister's opinion is that this expedition to Taiwan should try to avoid direct conflict with the Qing State." Okubo Channel, "This expedition to Taiwan is mainly to punish students and occupy the ownerless land. Avoid the areas under the jurisdiction of the Qing government. Even if our army occupies the ownerless territory of Taiwan, the Qing government will not lightly break with our country because of the preamble, and our army's actions should be greatly facilitated. When our army has gained a firm foothold in Taiwan and the Qing government wants to intervene, it can take responsibility for it in its preface and the 'public law of all nations,' negotiate with it, and bring in British and American ministers as foreign aid, so as to avoid a major outbreak of war. There are few ministers of the Qing Dynasty who have understood the 'public law of all countries', and they are powerless to argue with me, and after a long time, Taiwan will have no owner, like the Ryukyus, and it will all belong to the empire. ”

Listening to Okubo Ritsu's words, Ito Hirofumi couldn't help but bow slightly, showing admiration.

"Okubo-kun, if the Qing Kingdom is determined to send troops to Taiwan and expel our army, how can we afford to fight the war?" Saionji Gongwang asked.

"The Qing State was now at war with France over the Vietnam issue, and the main force of its army was fighting on the Northwest Frontier, and it was unable to enter into a full-scale conflict with the Empire, so it would not have taken such a risky act. At most, we will send troops to hold on to our country, thinking that it is a weight for negotiations, and it is absolutely impossible to go to war. "Okuboli Channel," not to mention that China's dispatch of troops to Taiwan this time has the support of Britain and Michi and other countries, and the Qing State has already made enemies of France, and will not want to offend Britain and Miri, and will certainly not raise troops on a large scale, but seek a diplomatic solution. ”

After listening to Okubo Ritsu's analysis, Saionji Gongwang also seemed to feel reasonable, so he didn't continue to ask questions.

"I see." Emperor Meiji nodded, and his gaze turned to Okuma Shigenobu, "What about Okuma-kun's opinion?" ”

"Your Majesty, although the current negotiations between the Empire and the Qing State over the Ryukyu issue are not going well, the minister believes that if there is a time to meet the Qing State, the soldiers of the Empire will definitely prove their strength with blood. If the war continues, it must be the empire that wins. Shigenobu Okuma said.

Hearing Shigenobu Okuma's words, not only Ito Hirobumi and Saionji Kotoshi, but also Yanagihara Maemitsu and others showed surprise in their eyes.

His words suddenly made the military high-level leaders led by Yama Prefecture Aritomo have a great favor for this Okuma Shigenobu.

"However, Chen believes that the current empire is not suitable for war with the Qing state, and the military strength of the Qing state is not as good as the empire, but the Qing country is too big, and with the current national strength and military strength of the empire, it is unlikely that the Qing state will be completely defeated, let alone occupy Taiwan." Okuma Shigenobu changed his words, "If the Qing government sends government troops to confront our army with all its might, I'm afraid there will be a lot of trouble." Because the government has not prepared any budget for this war, once the war starts, if it is not resolved quickly, the government's finances will not be able to support a large-scale and protracted war. ”

"What Okuma Jun said is very reasonable, for the conquest of Taiwan's land, it must be resolved quickly." Okubo said, "It is best to complete the conquest of the Shengfan tribe and the occupation of their land before the Qing government gets the news." ”

Hearing that both Okubo and Okuma began to express their support for military action against Taiwan, the faces of Aritomo Yamagu, Saigo and Saigo showed joy.

Hearing Okubo Toshitsu's tone as if the matter of "conquering Taiwan" had been finalized, Ito Hirobumi was annoyed, and he looked at Emperor Meiji, whose face was very peaceful, just sitting there quietly, his eyes lowered, like a Buddha statue. Ito Hirobumi looked at the emperor for a while, but the emperor didn't look at him, and Ito couldn't help but let out a long sigh in his heart.

It seems that he still underestimated Okubo Ritsu's influence on the emperor.

Hirofumi Ito turned his head to look at Kido Takayo, the secretary of the Ministry of Writing, who had been sitting there without speaking, and was surprised to find that Kido Takayo's face had turned iron.

Kido Takayo saw Ito Hirofumi looking at him, nodded slightly with a calm face, Ito Hirofumi immediately understood what Kido Takayo meant, and turned his head to Yama Prefecture Youpeng again.

"Shan Shan Jun thinks that if there is a conflict between the empire and the Qing state, the imperial army will definitely be able to defeat the Qing army, right?" Hirobumi Ito asked quietly.

"That's right!" A friend in Yama Prefecture saw Ito Hirobumi ask a question and immediately gave an affirmative answer. He was aware of Ito's influence on Okubo and Emperor Meiji, so he answered his questions very cautiously and did not say much.

"I want to know, in this operation, is the Imperial Army going to fly to Taiwan, or is it going to build a bridge to Taiwan?" Hirobumi Ito asked.

"Ito-kun said with a smile, of course the Imperial Army was escorted to Taiwan by the Imperial Navy!" Yama Prefecture Youpeng listened to Ito Hirofumi's implicit sarcastic words, and his heart was angry, but he endured it and did not have a seizure.

"So, Shan Shan Jun thinks that the Imperial Navy will definitely be able to defeat the Qing Navy?" Hirobumi Ito asked.

"That's right!" Shan County Youpeng replied immediately.

Since Katsu Haizhou's resignation, the position of Secretary of the Navy has been vacant, and seeing that Yamaguchi Youpeng actually supported the Navy on the field, Ito Hirofumi couldn't help but laugh secretly in his heart.

However, at this time, Yama Prefecture Youpeng's face did not change at all, and he even talked about the situation of the Japanese navy, as if he knew the situation of the navy well.

It is no wonder that the Japanese Navy was initially subordinate to the "Navy and Army Affairs Section" in the "three-post and seven-section system" together with the army (after it was changed to three posts and eight bureaus, the Navy and Army Affairs Section was changed to the Military Defense Affairs Bureau, but in fact, it was a change of soup rather than a change of medicine), Iwakura Gushi, Prince Kashi, and Shimazu Tadayoshi were appointed as the Navy's and Army's Governors-General, and Hirosawa Shintomi and Saigo Takamori were appointed as Navy's and Army's vice ministers. On April 21, 1868, Japan separated the navy and army, and the official system was changed to the Taizheng official seven-official system. The Navy and Army were under the command of Prince Kashiaki, the Governor of Military Affairs, and assisted by Masajiro Omura, the Military Judge and Judge. It has two bureaus and four divisions, and the second bureau is the Navy Bureau and the Army Bureau. Soon after, on 14 July, the military officer handed in a report stating that "the construction of the navy is a matter of urgency, and the establishment of a naval school is the first priority." Emperor Meiji took the report very seriously, and in October issued an edict saying, "The construction of the navy is the most urgent task of the day, and the foundation should be laid as soon as possible." Therefore, on July 8, 1869, when the fourth official system was reformed, the military affairs officer was changed to the Ministry of War, and the first chief officer and soldier secretary was still Prince Jiazhang. After that, it was not until the abolition of the feudal domain and the establishment of prefectures that Japan had the independence of the army and navy in the true sense.

At this time, there were only 3 ships ("Mt. Fuji", "Higashi", "Chiyoda") and 4 transport ships ("Flying Dragon", "Flying Falcon", "Kuaikaze", "Nagagaku"). This was due to the fact that many of the ships under the jurisdiction of the military officials were old or unsuitable, and they were returned to the feudal domains. In the years that followed, there was no substantial development of the Japanese Navy. In August 1869, the Restoration government purchased one transport ship, the Osaka Maru. The following year, the Satsuma and Yamaguchi domains each contributed two warships, and the Saga, Kumamoto, Toyotsu, and Shizuoka domains also contributed one transport ship each. In 1871, the Yamaguchi and Saga domains donated two and one warships, respectively. These ships are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. On January 13, 1872, the Ministry of War sent a letter to the Imperial Minister: "The situation of the Navy and the Army is very different, and its officials cannot hold concurrently and must separate the two military posts, so I request approval for the abolition of the Ministry of War and the separation of the Ministry of the Navy and the Ministry of the Army." In this regard, the imperial government official allowed the recital, and replied on January 13: "The princes propose to set up separate maritime and army ministries to simplify military affairs, save costs, and seek the strength of the two armies. On December 25, 1873, Sheng Haizhou was appointed Secretary of the Navy. At the same time, all the warships were handed over to the government, but most of them were dilapidated and unusable, and they were later returned to the feudal domains.

As a matter of fact, the only warships that the Japanese Navy can really use to fight a war are the "To" and "Ryuchamp" and so on.

And since the Choshu feudal lord led by Yamaguchi Aritomo took control of the Japanese Army, the navy controlled by the Satsuma clan has become the second son, and the position of secretary of the navy, which is very important to the navy, has been empty since Katsu Haishu left office, so there is a strange scene of Yama Prefecture Aritomo of the army talking about the navy at today's imperial meeting.

"The Imperial Navy has two ironclad ships, the 'East' and the 'Longxiang', which are the most powerful warships in the Far East, and none of the Qing Navy can match them! In addition, there are a total of 17 warships such as 'Nisshin', 'Kasuga', 'Tsukuba', and 'Mt. Fuji', on the other hand, in the Qing Navy, only 2 cruisers and 12 small gunboats are steam-powered warships, and the rest are all old-fashioned wooden sailing ships, equipped with earthen cannons, and scattered throughout the country, in terms of strength, they are not the opponent of the Imperial Navy's ironclad ships at all! Shan County Youpeng Zhen said with words, "The Imperial Navy can completely wipe out the Qing Navy through a battle!" ”

"You're talking too lightly! Shan Shanxian-kun! Kido Takayo, the secretary of the Ministry of Education, who had not spoken, finally couldn't help but erupt at this time, "The Imperial Navy has not added a capital warship for almost four years, and although the ships of the Qing Navy are fewer than ours, they are very young, they are all new ships that have not been built for a long time, and the sailors are also well trained, how dare you say that you will be able to defeat the Qing Navy!" ”

Although Kido Takayoshi was also one of the advocates of the "Korean Conquest Theory" (in January 1869, at the beginning of the Meiji government, Kido Takayoshi suggested to the vice president of the government, Dainayan Iwakura Gushi, that Korea should be the first direction for the revitalization of the country, so as to "determine the lofty overseas goals"), but after studying and examining the political systems of Western countries in Europe and the United States, he opened his eyes to it, and in 1873 he turned to oppose the conquest of Korea, advocating the priority of "internal governance". Kido Takayoshi was the only senator to go abroad during his overseas visit, and during this visit, Okubo Ritsu, who remained in Japan, further exerted his influence on the Japanese government, and many people came to him, including Kido Takayoshi's close confidant Hirobumi Ito. This made Kido Takayoon's influence in the Japanese government decline sharply, and it was because of him that he felt alienated from Ito Hirobumi and others.

To this end, Kido Takayoshi had been one of the plenipotentiary deputy envoys of the Iwakura Diplomatic Mission, and during his foreign visits, he worked to prepare for the revision of treaties and to inspect Europe and the United States. In addition to the progressive culture and military affairs of Europe and the United States, Kido Takayoshi also saw the incompleteness and danger of democracy, and so far, Kido Takayoshi's political stance has changed from an enlightened and progressive to a gradual one, after all, there are too many cultural differences between Europe, the United States and Japan. In addition, Kido Takayoshi felt the necessity of withdrawing the theory of conquest of Korea and giving priority to internal governance, and actively advocated for the enactment of the constitution and the establishment of a bicameral parliament, and worked for the enhancement of national education and the education of the emperor. Kido Takayoshi is now personally serving as Secretary of Education, Culture, Sports, and Culture, in order to do his best to enrich national education.

And now, the "Takeo of Yamaguchi" in his eyes can't wait to go on the road of military expansion and ruin the future of Japan, how can this not make him worried!