Far away in Tokyo, it was stormy at this time. The wind and rain outside the window still show no sign of abating. The incessant rain covered the entire city of Tokyo with fallen leaves and stagnant water.

Compared with this storm, the news of the two emperors who were brutally killed in the Qing Kingdom seems to make people more anxious and worried. Not long ago, a telegram sent back from the legation in China clearly pointed out that in the negotiations with the Qing state, the Qing state showed an unexpected toughness. Just yesterday, the entire Qing Beiyang Fleet set sail from Lushun, and the news sent from the inside line also indicated that the destination of the Qing Beiyang Fleet was Pusan, North Korea. Its meaning is self-evident, it is aimed at the Empire. The Huai army in Korea, the Liaodong Peninsula, the Shandong Peninsula, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Zhili area was even more fully assembled, and the major forts and barracks were all full of Huai officers and soldiers, and the wharves also began to be ready for battle.

It is said that there was an uproar of public opinion in the country, and the threat of the Qing State was heavily published on the first page of the major newspapers, and even more, the headlines of some newspapers were printed with Dou Da black letters: The Qing State intends to use this to start a war against the Qing Dynasty. Immediately afterwards, the fanatical officers of the Young Zhuang faction within the army began to communicate up and down, frantically clamoring for war against the Qing State in order to defend the honor of the empire. More and more samurai ronin also gathered on the streets of Tokyo, clamoring to kill all the Qing pigs and avenge the tragic death of the two emperors.

The whole situation in the country is like this unstable storm, full of chaos, mania, and inexplicable unease.

At this time, in the Prime Minister's official residence of Hirobumi Ito, it was unusually quiet. Outside the window, the branches swaying in the wind and rain, and the sound of the wind and rain were so bleak to Ito's ears.

Since the Meiji Restoration, land and sea battles have become a common part of the country's military. The navy belonged to the Satsuma clan faction, and it had been competing with the army belonging to the Nagasu clan for a small amount of national resources, and even the army had established an army staff headquarters subordinate to the emperor, which was separated from the army ministry, and the navy was clamoring for the establishment of a naval staff headquarters to compete for the power of the empire.

Because of the Tianjin incident, countless meetings in the past 10 days were like a stage for the army to perform, and in the face of ridicule and invective from the army, the navy never raised a single voice. The situation in the Empire at this time is complex and delicate, and it looks more like a dangerous quagmire......

The army's call for war is now getting louder and louder, and the officers of the Young Zhuang faction are tandem and agitated, and the army staff headquarters has even drawn up a detailed plan for the operation against the Qing Dynasty, and the army's 1st to 5th divisions have begun to enter a state of pre-war alert...... Hirobumi Ito, who was born in the Nagasu Domain, knew very well in his heart at this time that all this could not be done without the acquiescence of Yamaguchi's friends. Aritomo Yamagu, the de facto spiritual pillar of the Cheung Chau Domain, has gradually shown his desire to go to war.

As for the navy, the Imperial Navy has worked hard for more than 20 years, and the tonnage of ships has increased by 15 times. 19 warships, with a displacement of 30,000 tons, still do not have the strength to compete with the Beiyang Fleet. In the face of the Beiyang Naval Division's Didingyuan and Zhenyuan ships, the 30,000-ton navy was still as vulnerable as paper. The Beiyang Fleet, which has always seemed so powerful, has always been a lingering nightmare for the Imperial Navy over the years.

Ito Hirobumi looked at the indescribable bitterness on the face of the Minister of the Navy, Shiki Kayama, who was sitting on the side. The Navy is adamantly not advocating a war at this time. The battle between the Navy and the Army. It's not just about war zones. In fact, it also included the land struggle between the Changzhou Domain and the Satsuma Domain. And stir up the ground. It is said that the national fortune of this empire......

"Why did you stop?" Hirobumi Ito looked coldly at Mutsu Munemitsu.

Mutsu Munemitsu, who is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, bowed his head and said. Li Hongzhang, Minister of Beiyang of the Qing Dynasty, said. The murderer of the Emperor [***] has been punished, and if he still does not give up, he is willing to ask me to talk to his Beiyang fleet with cannonballs in the Yellow Sea......"

"Yaga!" The Minister of the Navy, Shiki Kayama, had a flushed face and slammed his fist on the table in anger. Li Hongzhang's words were a mockery of the Imperial Land, and even more so a mockery of the Imperial Navy.

And the Minister of War Yama Youpeng, who was sitting opposite him, had a contemptuous smile on his face at the moment.

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Army is ready to launch an attack on the Qing State at any time. At that time, the navy only needs to act as a transporter, and the imperial army is fully sure of destroying the backward armies of the Qing country. ”

If the Imperial Army wanted to attack across the sea, it must have the assistance of the navy, and in order to implement such a strategic goal, it was first necessary to completely eliminate the Qing Beiyang Fleet to ensure the supply of the army and the safety of the flank coast. Now, the army is ready for war with the Qing Kingdom in all aspects. However, the navy was actually afraid in front of the Beiyang Fleet, which was still in the Qing Dynasty......

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Navy is firmly opposed to a war with the Qing State at this time. If Your Excellency orders a war, then as an emperor, for the honor of the Empire, the navy will not hesitate to fight to the death. Shiki Kayama bowed deeply to Ito Hirobumi: "But at present, the Imperial Navy is far behind the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Fleet in terms of the tonnage of ships and the power of artillery. What's more, with the existing ships of the Imperial Navy, they simply could not compete with the heavy ironclad ships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan of the Beiyang Fleet of the Qing State. Your Excellency, the Imperial Navy's decades of hard work cannot be risked rashly......"

Hirobumi Ito turned to Shiki Kayama and asked, "How is the cruiser Yoshino, which the Navy ordered from the British Armstrong Arsenal, progressing now?" ”

Hearing Ito Hirobumi's inquiry, Shiki Kayama hurriedly replied: "At present, the cruiser Yoshino will be launched in January this year, and it will be officially completed and delivered to the Imperial Navy in September. The Imperial Navy will be keeping a close eye on the progress of the cruiser Yoshino. Report to His Excellency the Prime Minister at any time. ”

"Before the Imperial Navy has the advanced cruiser Yoshino, it cannot start a war with the Qing State." Shiki Kayama's body was deep on the ground, and his body trembled slightly.

At this time, Ito Hirobumi's heart was also turbulent.

Qing country, fertile land, countless resources, vast market. Empires, small islands, barren lands, and resourceless countries. The huge shadow that had been pressing on the empire for thousands of years has finally been loosened. For that day, the whole empire has been thrifty and has endured hardship for more than twenty years, and how long will the empire wait, the empire is too hungry.

"There can't be a war." Hirobumi Ito made the final decision, and his face was as resolute as iron.

"All remarks about the levy must be kept within a moderate range. Of course, the empire had to show a tough stance and negotiate with the Qing state by the legation in the Qing state. Hopefully, we will be able to achieve some unexpected gains in diplomacy. ”

"Gentlemen, please remember that it is not that we dare not go to war, but that we cannot go to war until we have completed all the military and material preparations that are sufficient to support a war."

"The empire is too poor, our people are burdened with four times the taxes of the Qing people, and they are burdened with tens of millions of national debts, and the empire cannot afford to lose even once. The empire will go bankrupt. The whole country would be on the verge of collapse. So we have to learn to be patient and wait for the right time. ”

"When the time is ripe, I will give the Qing Kingdom a fatal blow, and in one fell swoop will wipe out this huge shadow that has shrouded the head of the Yamato nation for more than a thousand years, and I will wait for that day together with all the monarchs!"

"The fate of the empire lies with you, please!" Hirobumi Ito bowed deeply.

"Hey!" Mutsu Munemitsu, Yama Prefecture Aritomo, and Kayama Shiki all stood up and saluted in return, with solemn expressions.

Kawakami came out of the Tianjin Governor's Mansion dejectedly, and all he got when he came this time was humiliation.

Strong diplomatic rhetoric, stern questioning. In exchange, it was not Li Hongzhang's kind words and persuasion, but a cold sentence: "Even if your prime minister, Ito Hirobumi, sees the old man, he is respectful and respectful, and he doesn't dare to be slack." You and other juniors are still so arrogant. ”

Before Kawakami Yoroku even sat down, he was served tea by Li Hongzhang.

Back at the consulate in Tianjin, Toshio Inoue handed over a telegram from his home country, saying that His Excellency the Prime Minister had made it clear that he would not go to war. As the deputy chief of staff of the Army General Staff Headquarters, no one understands better than him that the empire is simply unable to wage a war at this time, and after Li Hongzhang expressed a tough posture for this negotiation, Kawakami Yoroku has already understood that everything is over, and his trip to the Qing Kingdom can already come to an end. Kawakami Yoroku silently packed his bags and prepared to return to China.

But he didn't give up, he couldn't go back to Qingguo without any gain this time. On the day he returned, he still instructed Toshio Inoue to have people along the Bohai Bay channel and the fortifications of the Shandong Peninsula, the Liaodong Peninsula, Tianjin, Tanggu and other places.

When Kawakami took the passenger ferry back to China and slowly left the dock, Kawakami was in a gloomy mood. Zong Fangjun, everything is please!

Originally, the Qing Dynasty's uncompromising attitude put the legation in charge of the negotiations in an embarrassing situation. It seems that the country still hopes to take advantage of the Qing state's fragile foreign policy, as it has done in the past. But now the toughness of the Qing State has made Yuben's diplomacy a little overwhelmed. In view of the very unfavorable situation, on the same day that Kawakami returned to China, Komura Shoutaro, who was greatly appreciated by Mutsu Munemitsu, also boarded a ship bound for Kiyokoku, and he would serve as temporary acting minister in the capacity of counselor of the embassy in China. Full authority to handle the diplomatic dispute between China and China.

It is said that the tragic murder of the two attachés in this book and the ensuing tension between the Chinese and the Chinese are tense. China and China will not back down from each other, and this dispute has begun to become more and more intense, and there is a situation that is about to erupt. No one in the Western countries who are busy carving up Africa wants to participate in the struggle between these two countries in East Asia too early and too quickly at this time, but they really want to see a little spark come out of the friction between China and China. In this way, the ministers of various countries can choose the most advantageous angle to intervene.

But with a holy decree, the attitude of the ministers of various countries, who were originally indifferently watched, changed significantly.

The first is the United States. Just as Komura Shoutaro arrived at the Chinese Legation, US Minister Tian Bei made a special trip to visit him and expressed the hope of the US political axe that the incident could be resolved peacefully. And very "euphemistically" it shows that due to the will of the Qing emperor, American businessmen are now suffering huge losses. If the political axe insists on going its own way, the consequences will be borne by the political axe.

Immediately afterwards, the British minister Ogne and the German minister Barand followed. They have expressed that their political axes do not want to see the resumption of war in East Asia. The envoys of Russia, France, and other countries have also expressed through various channels that the pattern of interests of various countries in the Far East does not want to be affected by a war.

This made Komura Shoutaro, who had just arrived in Qingguo, fall into a daze. As intelligence from all over the world quickly gathered to the legation in China, Komura Shotaro understood the reason for the change in the attitude of Western countries.

"Fengtian carrier, the emperor summoned and said: In view of the possibility of war at any time, from this moment on, all wharves north of Shanghai will enter wartime control. All supplies are not allowed to enter or leave the dock without permission. ”

Due to the method of payment on arrival, a large number of American and German cargo ships carrying a large amount of goods at this time could only float in the open sea because of Guangxu's holy decree. Either return or be shipped to the southern ports, which resulted in huge losses that American merchants could not bear. Therefore, they united to put pressure on their respective political axes.

The negotiations between Britain and the Qing on the Southern Railway had come to a standstill because the Qing could not come up with enough funds. Just as the Qing State was discussing how to correctly attract private capital to enter, the effect of Guangxu's will was that the Hanyang Arsenal, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, and the Tianjin First Arsenal had received a large number of military orders from the Qing Dynasty. The procurement funds were all misappropriated from the Southern Railway.

Komura Shotaro understands that Kiyokuni is not as weak as he thinks, at least not now. In the end, the two countries each took a step back, and Komura Shoutaro finally returned to China with only one thousand taels of funeral silver given to him by the Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Kingdom.

At this point, the first confrontation between China and China was completely defeated.

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