The undercurrents of the Far East were surging, the Manchus were sharpening their knives and preparing to deal with the internal bourgeois revolutionary forces, Japan and Russia were constantly engaged in friction on the Korean and northeastern borders, the flames caused by the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Coalition had not yet been extinguished, and the clouds of war once again hung over this land.

Japan's Prime Minister's Office, Saionji Konozo, is receiving the British ambassador to Japan, Luther. At the present stage, after the victory over the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan was ambitious, and modern Japan and its outstanding politicians such as Ito Hirobumi, Yama Prefecture Aritomo, Saionji Konozo, and Katsura Taro planned the path to Japan's rise. The small, barren, and earthquake-prone land is really not suitable for the survival of tens of millions of Japanese people, and such an excellent race should have a broader and richer living space. It is infuriating that there are such a despicable race living on the lands on the other side of the ocean, and they have only violated the rights given by God. Such a land should be inherited by the Yamato nation, and only the Yamato nation is worthy of living on those lands!

The Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China was Japan's first appearance in the international arena, but this was not what Saionji Gongwang and others were pursuing, it was just a military parade display, and if it wanted to be recognized internationally, it must have commensurate national strength, otherwise, it could only live in the shadow of the Western powers. Saionji Gongwang still remembers the "Black Ship Incident" and the "Kanagawa Treaty", which were Japan's national humiliation, and he vowed never to let Japan suffer such a humiliation again when he was less than 20 years old.

Adhering to the will of Saigo Takamori and other three heroes of the Restoration, Japan finally gambled with its national fortune in the First Sino-Japanese War to defeat China, which had suppressed Japan for thousands of years. However, Japan's national strength is still too weak, and the "66th Fleet" has been formed so far in the "10-year salary" plan for Russia, and the new battleships and armored cruisers purchased constitute the core of the combined fleet. The Standing Army also has dozens of divisions and regiments, which can mobilize millions of soldiers in a short period of time, and it is the consensus of the whole of Japan that there will be a war between Japan and Russia, and the country is also preparing for this.

"Ambassador Luther, welcome to the Prime Minister's Office." Saionji greeted Luthor with the most sincere tone and attitude, for Japan, Britain is the greatest help for the country's rise and the hegemon of the world. It is not an exaggeration to be humbled to welcome guests from the UK.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I have come here on a commission from the British Prime Minister to discuss with you the issue of the dispute arising in the northeastern part of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Britain is the best friend of your country and would love to see your country strong. Luther said it was Britain's established policy to contain Russian expansion, whether in Eastern Europe, Crimea, Turkey or the Far East.

"I am very grateful for your kindness, Britain is the leader of this world, and Japan is willing to be Britain's most reliable friend. But Russia's greed never ends, and their expansion in the Far East has affected the interests of Britain and Japan, and Japan borders on Russia's power, and I am afraid that it will be threatened by them, and I hope that your country can help, after all, Japan's national strength is too weak to be able to cope with the huge Russia. ”

"Of course, our interests are the same, Russia is not a civilized country at all, and his greed will only disturb the world order, which is also intolerable to the British Empire, and an obstacle to Japan. To help friends, our shipyards are supplying your country with advanced warships, but there is a problem that needs to be solved more urgently than the Russian threat. ”

"Oh, is Ambassador Luthor talking about the Manchus? They are no longer capable of interfering with us, and as for the United States, the merchant country is busy making money and building railroads, and it should not be a problem. ”

"No, Your Excellency Prime Minister, look south, the Manchu Canton region has risen a revolutionary force, they have occupied the whole of Canton and have greatly expanded their army, which is a threat to order in the Far East. Moreover, Guangdong is very close to Fujian and Taiwan, and if they defeat the Manchus and build a strong state, then there will be no place for us in the Far East, and we must not forget that that land has been the most powerful country on the planet for thousands of years. ”

Japan was very sensitive to the change of power of the Manchus, and the Xiyuan Temple Gongwang had long been aware of Guangdong, and the revolutionary party also had extensive activities in Japan, and the Japanese government also supported them, and in exchange, signed a secret agreement with them to obtain broader benefits. However, this is only a long-term investment, and the payment is very small, that Sun Ge himself has heard of it, and it is strange that the Guangdong Uprising has nothing to do with Sun Ge, and the so-called Zhenguo Party and Lu Liang are very unfamiliar. The information sent back by a large number of intelligence officers gave the Japanese upper echelons a general understanding of the Guangdong Revolutionary Party. After consulting with Yamaguchi and others, it was believed that the revolutionary party would pose a great threat to the rule of the Manchus, and that the attitude towards Japan was not clear, and after a trial, Japanese expatriates could not even enter the prime minister's office of the provisional government! This can only show that the Provisional Government is not friendly to Japan.

The threat from Russia is imminent, the Japanese upper echelons have not yet decided whether to intervene in Guangdong, and the Xiyuan Temple Gongwang is also hesitating, and the war against Russia must go all out.

"Your Excellency, the Japanese side is also very worried about the threat of the Canton Revolutionary Party, but now that the country is dealing with Russia with all its might, I am afraid that there is not much energy to spend on there."

"I can understand Japan's concerns, Guangdong does not have sea power, so if it interferes, it will have to invest land power. The British government proposed that Britain provide a loan of 10 million pounds sterling as military expenses for Japan's troops, and that the two sides would share equally after defeating the Cantonese Revolutionary Party. It should be reminded that Guangdong has always been a rich land of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the revolutionary party in Lüliang also built thousands of factories, and it is said that there are many heavy enterprises, such as steel mills, shipyards, and even automobile factories, which shows that he had immeasurable wealth in his hands to support such a huge industrial construction. ”

"What? There are even steel mills and automobile factories! Japan's attention to Guangdong stems from the establishment of the Ziqiang Cotton Textile Factory, but because Guangdong's products are sold relatively little, it has little impact on Japan, so it does not continue to pay attention. However, unlike steel mills, Japan began to vigorously build the Yawata Iron Works in 1894, and up to now has an annual output of more than 40,000 tons of crude steel and more than 50,000 tons of pig iron, which is simply unable to meet Japan's needs. I don't know what the output of the Guangzhou steel plant is, if it is a steel plant with an annual output of more than 100,000 tons of crude steel, then this reason alone is worth considering in Japan, not to mention new things such as automobile factories, which are not even in the United States.

What Xiyuan Temple Gongwang didn't know was that the scale of Huizhou's heavy industry base was far beyond his imagination. In 1901, the output of steel and pig iron was 130,000 tons and 200,000 tons, respectively, which was caused by the shortage of skilled workers, and it was expected that the annual steel output in 1902 would reach 300,000 tons, although it was only a fraction of more than 10 million tons compared with more than 10 million tons in the United States, but the growth rate was amazing.

After Luthor left, Saionji Gongwang immediately found Yamaguchi Aritomo, Ito Hirobumi and others, who had been ignoring the Guangdong Revolutionary Party because of their mistakes, and after discussion, they believed that they should immediately intensify the intelligence search for Guangdong, especially those heavy industry enterprises, which were the most valuable assets in this era. When they reach their position, they can disdain gold, silver and jewelry, but they can't miss any opportunity to strengthen their country.

Several people sit cross-legged on the tatami mats of the Aritomo family in Yamaguchi, and these people and the family behind them can be said to be the pillars of Japan's rise, leading all major decisions in modern Japan. The Imperial Family in the Imperial Palace is only a spiritual pillar and does not have much actual power.

A beautiful girl showed a pleasing tea ceremony for several people, and the Gongwang of Xiyuan Temple took a sip of the teacup and said with a smile: "You will still enjoy it, especially this girl's tea ceremony, which is not much worse than those masters!" ”

Shan County Youpeng motioned for the girl to leave, and said with a smile: "She was found by me in the Sakurachi Tea Room, and now she is dedicated to contributing to me, if you like it, you can come over to drink tea." Nishien-kun, is there something that brought everyone together this time? "In the Meiji era, these people took turns as prime ministers and were in charge of the government, but when there was a major event, they would come together to discuss solutions.

"Yesterday the British Ambassador Luther came to visit, and I received important news from it, which we have long ignored -- that a province dominated by the revolutionary party has appeared in the territory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and that Guangdong Province now has an army of more than 100,000 men, all of which are new troops trained and organized according to the Western Army, with advanced equipment and a large number of artillery. The most important thing is that they actually have a steel plant! ”

"Xiyuanjun, didn't the Manchu Qing Dynasty already have a steel plant? The Hanyang Iron and Steel Plant in Jang Zhidong is trying to find a way to take the lead in the Hanyang Iron Works. Okuma Shigenobu said that this person has always been at odds with Saionji and others, he is a member of the constitutional party, and Saionji Gongwang and Ito Hirobumi are all members of the Constitution Friendship Association, and Yamaguchi Aritomo and Katsura Taro are from military backgrounds. Although the political parties are different, several people often sit together to discuss state affairs.

"Okuma-kun, there are not only steel factories in Guangdong, but also other factories supporting steel plants, shipyards, machinery factories, automobile factories and other heavy industry factories, which are said to have more than 100 factories, but their scale and ore sources are unknown. In addition, there are already more than 3,000 industrial enterprises in Guangdong, almost half of all in Japan! ”

This news was a huge shock to everyone, and the Meiji Restoration had worked hard to achieve its current achievements, but they did not expect that the small Guangdong province would have a family business comparable to that of Japan in just two years.

PS: Ask for recommendations! Collect!