Therefore, it is simply impossible to expect the Japanese government to strictly control price rises by directly punishing profiteers, as China has done. The only hope for a solution to the problem is to reach a peace agreement with China as soon as possible and for the Chinese Navy to lift its naval blockade of Japan.

Although he didn't really care much about the lives of ordinary people, he never wanted to see large-scale civil strife break out in Japan because the people could not survive and ruin Japan's hope for a rise (Note 1)

On the second day after he went to sea, Ito Hirobumi still couldn't see even a slightly larger ship, which made him frown, realizing that the actual impact of the Chinese Navy's blockade was not as small as the previous naval officer said, "Maybe the Chinese Navy sank not many ships, but with their deterrence, the number of merchant ships that dare to venture to sea must be greatly reduced, and the impact is great, and the skyrocketing prices cannot be blamed entirely on the merchants"

"Before leaving Nagasaki, I heard from the people on the dock that it is now difficult to see foreign ships entering the port, and it is said that the new Chinese government has issued a ban, and not only Japanese ships, as long as they sail into the so-called no-navigation zone within 200 nautical miles of the Japanese coast, even if it is a merchant ship of the Omilian powers, Chinese warships will sink it." , Katsu Haizhou's words shocked Ito Hirobumi, it seems that the negative impact of long-term recuperation is indeed not small, such an important thing, I don't know?

What surprised Ito even more was that the new Chinese government's attitude towards the foreign powers had reached such an extent? He held on to the railing and looked at the undulating sea, and asked Shenghaizhou, "What about the reaction of the great powers?" ”

"We're stuck on an isolated island and have limited information, but the fact that the ships of the Great Powers are no longer coming is enough to tell." , Sheng Haizhou replied truthfully, but he still expressed some subjective views on the Western powers, "But it is not difficult to understand, the Chinese Navy has defeated the strongest British Far East Fleet in Asia, who else dares to openly oppose them?" The naval power of France, Lucia, Holland, and Spain in the Far East combined is inferior to that of the British Far East Fleet! ”

"Then the Chinese government is not afraid that these four powers will unite with Britain?" For France and Russia, a relatively high-ranking power, I may still wish that the British would be unlucky, and the declining Netherlands and Spain are powerless, and they can't do much to help, so why offend China, which is now unprecedentedly powerful? In any case, the trade volume between those four countries and Japan is not large, and the impact of the ban is limited, and the Chinese government can solve this problem through economic compensation or other means.

But Ito Hirobumi immediately realized that his thoughts were omission, "No, the other three countries may indeed have little impact, but the territory of Lucia's Far East can be maintained by sea, and China's ban on shipping has actually cut off the supply of materials to Lucia's Far East, so I'm afraid it won't be so easy to give up." ”，

After thinking about this, Ito Hirobumi couldn't help but rejoice in his heart, because Tsarist Russia was a big European power and had a long border with China, so it was not an easy enemy to deal with, and perhaps he could make full use of this to win greater benefits for Japan at the negotiating table.

But after Ito Hirobumi expressed his thoughts, Yasumasa Fukushima, the ship's most authoritative expert on Russia, immediately put forward a different opinion, "The Chinese seem to have regarded Lucia as an enemy country, and such a strict ban on navigation may not be to some extent aimed at dealing with the imperial state, but to jam the neck of Lucia's Far East garrison." However, the Lucians were therefore unlikely to go to war against China, because they would certainly lose more than they gained, and they themselves understood this. ”

"The Lucia were rough and aggressive, but the fighting power of Lucia's army was not outstanding among the European powers, perhaps this is the so-called 'courage in private fighting, cowardice in public war.'" bar. Unless they have a wise and tough leader such as Peter the Great, or they are forced to unite in a war of self-defense, the situation will change. But such a country can go from a small Muscovy to the largest country in the world today, because they have always followed an important principle, unless they have no choice, they only take advantage of foreign actions and do not suffer losses. ”

"It's easy to say that it's easy to take advantage of and not to suffer. But I already understand what you mean, it is indeed unlikely that the Lucians will go to war against China anytime soon, unless China takes the initiative to force it, or Britain promises Lucia a large enough benefit, or China is severely attacked and they see an opportunity. After all, Ito Hirobumi is not an ordinary talent, and he understood it as soon as he heard it.

Judging from the performance of the Chinese army's easy annihilation of the Japanese Third Division, their combat effectiveness will never be below that of the Russian army, so that the geographical disadvantage of Tsarist Russia in the Far East cannot be made up, and once a war starts against China, then the land east of Lake Baikal will be lost, although it may take advantage of the western front, but the tsarist government, which attaches great importance to access to the sea, may not be willing to accept such an exchange, not to mention that the price of a long-term stalemate with China is also very large, which does not conform to the principle of "only taking advantage of the advantage and not suffering a loss."

"I don't know if the new Chinese government dares to do this just because of pure self-confidence, or if it has seen through the evil intentions of the great powers, but no matter which one it is, it is terrifying!" The more Ito Hirobumi thought about it, the more worried he became, and it was possible that the sea breeze was blowing, and his condition, which had improved a lot, was showing signs of aggravation, so Katsu Kaishu could only force him to rest in bed, but Ito Hirobumi had just been lying down for less than an hour, and he walked out of the cabin again, because the lookout on the "Saikyo Maru" finally saw the smoke peculiar to the steamship on the horizon

Note 1: In countries where classes have long been solidified (such as Japan), there is a clear distinction between the elite and the common people, like two different creatures, even those who are patriotic elites often love only the elite country, often ignore the suffering of the lower classes, the smarter know not to provoke popular uprisings, and the stupid will blame the poor for not waiting for death at home to rebel. Well, even in countries where class solidification is not so severe, even in the 21st century, this phenomenon is still widespread, but there are some differences. (To be continued.) )