Things were exactly as Saionji Gongwang thought, and Katsura Taro, who was unwilling to step down, quickly made a move, and began to play aggressive rogue methods under the pretext of the whale ball incident.

The so-called rogue means that they refuse to admit that all this was done by the Japanese Government, saying only that this is the spontaneous act of a small number of Japanese people, and at the same time, on the basis of extraterritoriality, they arbitrarily demand that Li Zhigao immediately release the Japanese businessmen and cargo ships who have been detained. In addition, in view of the fact that the merchant ship Whale Maru was strafed by Li Zhigao's patrol with machine guns, resulting in serious damage to the hull, Li Zhigao was also asked to pay 500,000 taels of silver as compensation for repairing the ship and a pension for the Japanese who were killed or injured in the incident.

Obviously, this is a typical back-and-forth rake, it is clearly unreasonable, and it is playing with one force to reduce ten, no matter how much evidence you have, and no matter how true your evidence is, I just don't admit it, I want to play tricks.

Not to mention, Katsura Taro's set is still popular in this era, after all, this is not the 21st century of the future, you still have to pay attention to an influence, as long as you can be called a great power in these years, it is basically synonymous with shamelessness.

I didn't see the previous Opium War, wasn't Britain's excuse to maintain the opium trade, that excuse was far worse than Japan's this time, Japan this time was still to protect the interests of its own people, and legally speaking, Japan did have extraterritoriality in China, even if the government that signed this agreement had perished.

Of course, since he is a scoundrel, it is useless to just say it, and it is not in line with Katsura Taro's original expectations, after all, he originally wanted to make a big deal and use this matter to start a Japanese-Chinese war, so as to expand his military power again and consolidate his position, at the same time. It also nipped Li Zhigao, a dangerous element, in the bud.

Historically, the reason why Katsura Taro did not do this during this period was because there was no threat of Li Zhigao, and China was already torn apart at that time, it was a big mess, and it was not worth shooting at all. Even if he makes a move, he won't get much benefit, some of the gains outweigh the losses, and Western countries will not allow him to do so.

But in this time and space, Li Zhigao's threat is real, and Li Zhigao is very rich under his rule, not to mention anything else, just his mysterious factories in Taiping Mansion are coveted by Katsura Taro. Everyone agrees that those such as special drugs, high-end daily chemical products and high-end fabrics are all from those mysterious factories.

As for the sanctions imposed by the West, it is indeed a problem, but he believes that as long as they insist on this matter, Britain and the United States and other countries will not take it too seriously.

After all, to be honest, Britain is also very covetous of Li Zhigao's factory and technology. And he is also worried about Li Zhigao's strong rise, but it is not easy to start for various reasons. If Japan is willing to try it and try the depth of Li Zhigao, they will also be happy to see it.

Katsura Taro understood too much what the British were thinking, and the British were greedy for the wealth under Li Zhigao's rule, and at the same time they were very worried about the gradual loss of power in their sphere of influence, but if they sent troops to intervene. There is no excuse not to say it, and they are afraid of the other side's military strength, and they are also afraid that the war will affect the better and better trade between the two sides.

In short, Li Zhigao is a very tangled existence for the British, on the one hand. The British know very well that Li Zhigao's influence happens to be the traditional British sphere of influence in China, and Li Zhigao is expanding his influence little by little, expelling the influence of the British, which is a great threat; But on the other hand, Li Zhigao's trade with the British is very close, and many special drugs are only available to Li Zhigao, for fear that the war will ruin all this, and they are not able to start a war for the time being, because Li Zhigao is not the first Qing government, he has a seemingly powerful army, and he has a deep relationship with the Americans.

Therefore, the British very much hoped that the Japanese would touch it, and when the fight was almost over, he would appear as a mediator and let the two sides stop, and once the two sides stopped fighting, he would definitely take a benefit, so that he could not get a single soldier and share a lot of benefits in vain.

In any case, Katsura Taro showed a particularly tough stance on the Whale Maru incident, and his tough stance also won a lot of support from the Japanese people. After all, the ordinary people of Japan have limited knowledge and can only get this news through the government's propaganda channels, so naturally they will believe what the government says, and no matter whether Japan is right or wrong in this matter, as long as the government is tough, the people will support it, not to mention China, which has been defeated by Japan many times and has been regarded by the Japanese as a third-rate backward country.

Katsura Taro's toughness is not brainless toughness, and there is no mention of the Chinese government in the statement, but only that the Li Zhigao government is very obvious and targeted. In other words, from the very beginning, he was only targeting Li Zhigao's Jiangnan government, so while issuing a statement, he also sent people to meet with Yuan Shikai, local warlords from all sides, and Sun Wen of the Southern Alliance, and other powerful factions, asking them not to interfere, saying that this matter was just a grudge between Li Zhigao's local government and the Japanese government, and that it was not a matter of thinking anything wrong with China, so that they could rest assured.

The purpose of this is very simple, that is, to prevent Li Zhigao from twisting China into a rope and turning it into an anti-Japanese nationalist trend because of this incident, which is a very simple policy of dividing the country, and it is to make other forces not to side with Li Zhigao even if they do not side with Japan, at least not to side with Li Zhigao and make it more difficult for Japan to punish him.

That's right, in this matter, Katsura Taro's purpose is to punish. According to his plan, this dispatch of troops will be a quick battle, and strive to dispatch up to five army divisions to end the battle within a month, so that it should be financially supported, and once the battle is over, then with the wealth of the Jiangnan government, it will definitely gain a lot, and it will definitely not become a war of pure attrition and no return like the Russo-Japanese War.

Of course, the premise is that the war must be won, but at this point, Katsura Taro is very confident, he does not believe that the heroic and powerful Imperial Japanese Army will be defeated at the hands of a Chinese local government, no matter how strong the other side boasts, but boasting is boasting, it is not true.

Back then, the Beiyang Army also boasted that it was the first in Asia, but in the last dozen, it was not fully revealed?

It should be said that Katsura Taro's combination punch was quite good in the early stage. Diplomatically, he not only obtained the understanding and acquiescence of the British and the Americans, but also obtained the non-interference guarantee of Yuan Shikai and Sun Wen and other powerful factions. It is equivalent to isolating Li Zhigao in a short period of time, so that his army can rest assured that he will only fight him.

Militarily, Katsura Taro jumped up and down everywhere, trying to raise military expenses by all means, and contacted the military to provoke their belligerent factor. At the same time, the media continued to blow the wind and advocate the significance of this punitive war, in short, to create a national belligerent trend.

Because Katsura Taro understands that only by creating a general trend can those who oppose it shut up, otherwise he alone will not be able to resist the attack of the navy and others such as Saionji Konobo.

In other words, Katsura Taro knew that he was already weak at the top, and not only was he not treated well by the chaebol and the navy. Moreover, the emperor was also dissatisfied with himself, so he could only take the lower route, instigating an atmosphere of national war, and forcing the whole of Japan to go to the path of war. Once the huge chariot of Japan was in motion, even the emperor could not stop her from advancing.

Of course, Katsura Taro himself also understands that once he does this, then he will wait for the day when the war to punish Li Zhigao will be successful. It's when you step down. Because when the whole country is drunk, the emperor and those constitutional political friends who represent the interests of the feudal landlords and chaebols in Japan may not be able to do anything about themselves. But this is tantamount to touching the emperor's scales, so once the war is over, the emperor will definitely not let himself continue to stay, and will definitely remove himself, and under normal circumstances, I am afraid that he will not recover.

But. Katsura Taro didn't care, in his opinion, there were a large number of new technologies and new factories that defeated Japanese manufacturing in the trade war, and the local government revenue increased day by day. And Li Zhigao, who knows how to engage in people's livelihood and the army, and is also very good at seizing opportunities, is the biggest threat!

After all, he is only in his twenties, and his rise has only been more than a year, and he has laid such a large foundation in such a short period of time, and in time, when he is more mature, more powerful, and unifies the whole of China, it will be more than a potential threat to Japan.

Therefore, Katsura Taro thinks that he is not trying to seize power for himself this time, but is genuinely thinking about Japan, and for the sake of Japan's national fortunes, he must be strangled before the other party has fully grown.

In fact, what Katsura Taro cares about Li Zhigao the most is not his "outrageously strong" "powerful army" that is hard to believe, but Li Zhigao's earning ability!

As a warlord bureaucrat who was born in the army and became the prime minister of Japan, Katsura Taro understands very well that if a country wants to rise, it must be rich to put it bluntly!

Why did the War of the Curtain succeed? Isn't it because the southwestern feudal lords will develop, Kensai, and have money on the territory, so that they are not financially inferior to the Tokugawa shogunate? Otherwise, where did those Western-style guns come from? That's all paid for!

And how did the Meiji Restoration succeed after the victory of the Shogunate War? Didn't you rely on the root of the teeth to blackmail the people, and then concentrate on building industry and the army, and finally put all the forces on the gambling table, and took advantage of the political opportunity of the Qing Dynasty to make a decisive move and win the First Sino-Japanese War?

It can be said that without the victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, there would have been no huge amount of compensation, and without huge compensation, Japan would not have been able to embark on the fast track of development.

In Katsura Taro's view, a country is actually a big trading company and a big company, the government is the management class of this big company, the citizens are wage earners, the army is thugs and security guards, and what connects all this is money!

What is the war for? In the end, it's all about money, it's about resources! A strong country is like a strong company, it will inevitably make money, and a company that will not make money, no matter how powerful the thug security corps is, will sooner or later go bankrupt.

The Qing Dynasty is an example, the Qing Dynasty had many workers and thugs, but because of the serious internal management, the result was weak in the end.

Japan is a new young company, although the strength is poor, but the whole team is united, and finally defeated the century-old Qing Dynasty.

Similarly, Katsura Taro believes that Li Zhigao is the Japan of the past. Li Zhigao is not only very young, but also very bold and capable, in just one year, from a small businessman, to grow into a local magistrate, and the territory he controls is stronger than Japan in terms of area, population, and wealth, and according to intelligence, his government, that is, the management, is also very efficient. Although the number is small, it is relatively clean, and the local people are also oriented to Li Zhigao, which is a typical people's heart!

In other words, Li Zhigao and the government he leads have no shortage of wage earners. There is no shortage of land, and the ability to make money is also very strong, not very short of money, the difference is just that the thug security is still relatively weak, but since a company has money and people, it is a matter of time before a strong security force is established.

Therefore, he now has to take advantage of the fact that the opponent's army is not yet strong, and suppress this vigorous new force in advance!

Compared to Li Zhigao. Katsura Taro felt that there was nothing to be feared about in China at the moment.

Yuan Shikai is an old bureaucrat, a little cautious, and he is not bad at playing power, but unfortunately he can't make money, he is just a master who can spend money, and the regime established by such a person is as unsustainable as a sandcastle.

Not to mention Sun Wen and others, not only will they not make money. It doesn't cost money, and it doesn't work to play power. Even Yuan Shikai is not as good, but he can stir things up, can deceive people's hearts, and can fool a large number of people to follow him, such a person is even less worth mentioning. That's just a pawn to stir up China and split China.

In other words, looking at China, Katsura Taro feels that only Li Zhigao can make money and manage. Once such a person integrates the whole of China, it will inevitably be the biggest threat to Japan.

In fact, Katsura Taro's policy succeeded, because everyone, including Saionji Gongwang, never expected that he would dare to ignore the rules of officialdom and come to such a subordinate measure, so they were all caught off guard.

After Katsura Taro made all his efforts, especially after obtaining the support of Aritomo and others in Yamaguchi, he quickly approved in the name of the government the plan to expand the 10 more divisions of the first division, of course, it was just a big pie, a big cake to curry favor with the army, in fact, with Japan's current finances, it is impossible to expand the 10 divisions of the first division, but preparations can be made first.

As for the navy, he also threw out a bait that could not be refused, that is, the 88th Fleet plan.

The so-called 88th Fleet, refers to eight battleships and eight cruisers, this plan after the Russo-Japanese War, the Navy has had a plan, but it was not formally proposed, in 1906, after Saionji Gongwang replaced Katsura Taro to form a cabinet, the then Minister of the Navy Minoru Saito officially put forward the plan of the 88th Fleet for the first time, also called the Navy Maintenance Plan.

However, due to financial difficulties at that time, this plan was put on hold, and at that time, not only the prime minister Saionji Konozo, but also Katsura Taro did not agree, believing that the plan was too extravagant and did not conform to Japan's national conditions at all.

Later, Saionji Konobo stepped down due to financial problems and unfavorable handling of socialist issues, and Katsura Taro became prime minister again, and has been in power ever since.

Because in Katsurataro's view, with Japan's current naval strength, it is enough in Asia, and the next step should be to expand the army to deal with the interests of Korea and Manchuria, but this obviously offends the navy.

Now, Katsura Taro has re-thrown the bait of building the 88th Fleet, even if it is just a pie, even if it is just a symbolic preparation, it is enough to make the Navy agree to his operation.

According to Katsura Taro, the Jiangnan government under Li Zhigao was very wealthy, and once the battle was successful, it could receive a large amount of compensation, and then it would have the money to build the 88th Fleet. Therefore, if you really want to develop the navy, go with me, fight Li Zhigao, fight the Jiangnan government, and come back with the money, and everything will be easy.

In this way, Katsura Taro deceived the warm-blooded and belligerent army by expanding the army and waging war, tempted the well-profited navy by expanding the size of the navy, fooled the lower-class Japanese people with patriotism, a sense of honor and a bright future after victory, and at the same time attracted Japan's major chaebols with the factories and mines under the rule of Li Zhigao. In this way, he jumped up and down, in all directions, and finally formed a powerful war alliance.

It should be said that the reason why Katsura Taro's alliance was able to form was that in addition to Katsura Taro's random wishes and fooling, there was another important reason, that is, in the eyes of the upper echelons, Li Zhigao's Jiangnan government was indeed very rich and rich. After all, Japanese manufacturing has just encountered Waterloo there, and the industrial products that Japan is relatively strong in, such as Japanese cloth, Japanese silk and Japanese soap, which were originally the best-selling ones, have been expelled from the market, resulting in heavy losses for Japanese businessmen, and all this is because Li Zhigao can produce better and cheaper goods, resulting in the survival of the fittest in the market.

The Jiangnan government is very wealthy, but it is in China, and theoretically it is impossible to have much armed force, which is completely different from that of Russia. Therefore, after the Russo-Japanese War, Japan suffered heavy losses and could not obtain much substantial benefits, so it could only maintain its vested interests, but if it fought the Jiangnan government, it would definitely have a lot of benefits, at least most people thought so, and they did not think that they would lose if they fought China.

In this way, under the continuous actions and wishes of Katsura Taro, the whole of Japan was in an uproar, and a general mobilization for war began. Although this time Katsura Taro only plans to let the army send five divisions, and the navy is only responsible for being a transport team, but due to financial depletion, it still takes a long time to prepare to complete this series of plans, and these preparations are mainly the collection of military materials, after all, Japan at this time is still very poor, although there are some modern weapons, but many of them are made in handicraft workshops, the output is low, the number is small, and you have to pay close to the flowers, and you can't be as rich as Europe and the United States, even if it is a big country in Europe and the United States, it will take a long time to prepare for organizing a battle.

During the time of military preparations, Katsura Taro asked the diplomats to continue to play Tai Chi with Li Zhigao, and let them relax the conditions in private, in short, to let them delay the time, delay the time for Li Zhigao to prepare for the war, and strive for a surprise.

In short, the clouds of war have gathered, and the war between Japan and the government in Jiangnan of China can be said to be on the verge of breaking out. Anyone with a discerning eye knows that this war is inevitable, and all that is needed is a suitable time and opportunity. (To be continued......)