August 11, 1898, Tokyo, Japan, Akasaka Neighborhood.

As midsummer approaches, Tokyo Bay becomes more and more silent, and the warm South Pacific breeze from the north blows through the capital districts below, which seem to be a little more annoying than usual.

There is a special place in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, which is close to Chiyoda Ward, where the Japanese Diet is located, and there is a tram on the Ginza Line that connects to Shimonoseki Ward, where the central government of Japan is located, and it is the foreign embassy district that has been employed since the Meiji Restoration, Akasaka.

The newly established Seris Legation is also located here, 10-3 Akasaka-chome, Tokyo, which was the address that made many Japanese grit their teeth with hatred before.

On the 28th of last month, under the "coordination" of the British government, Japan and the Ceris government signed the humiliating "Sino-Japanese Ryukyu Agreement", which not only clearly stipulated the ownership of the Ryukyu Islands in the East China Sea by the Ceris government, but also completely denied the legal effect of the former Qing-Japanese Treaty of Shimonoseki.

"Down with Tsarist imperialism!"

"Down with German imperialism!"

"Take back the Ogasawara Islands!"

"Take back Hokkaido!"

On the streets of nearby Chiyoda Ward, a group of young Japanese students can be seen demonstrating with banners full of slogans.

"I really don't understand these Japanese students," Luo Zhenyu, counselor of the Seris Legation in Japan, wondered, "How many years have the Russian embassies been evacuated, and who are they demonstrating here?" ”

Tang Shaoyi, the consul general in Japan, approached the window sill of the consulate and said with a smile, "Didn't you hear, isn't there still a German ......?"

In view of the "protection" of the British, although the European and American powers have not yet taken any specific "measures" for the time being, they are still in some danger in the outlying islands such as the Ogasawara Islands and Iwo Jima, which are far away from the Japanese mainland. Just a few days earlier, the German Far East Fleet had suddenly "visited" the Japanese Ogasawara Islands, and on the same day sent sailors ashore to seize the local naval barracks and powder magazines, in fact, forcibly occupying this Pacific island 1,200 kilometers from Tokyo.

As early as early April this year, Germany's new Chancellor Hohenlow suggested to Kaiser Wilhelm II, "Our policy, on the one hand, should not be too much involved in the expansion of Tsarist Russia in the Far East, but on the other hand, the right to participate in such actions should be reserved." By 20 May, Germany had even instructed its envoy to China, Klinder, to make a proposal to the Ceris government for a joint "seizure" of Japan. After Chen Zeyu politely refused, he tested his reaction to the German occupation of the Ogasawara Islands to China and Russia in the same month, and while Chen Zeyu remained silent, Tsar Nicholas II of St. Petersburg directly expressed his glad acceptance. The German diplomat who received the news immediately excitedly telegraphed back to the Kaiser, saying: "Facts have proved that the interests of our three countries in the Far East are identical, and I believe that China and Russia will very much welcome any action we take in the direction of Japan." So far, China, Germany, and Russia have reached a tacit understanding on the division of Japan's interests.

The German fleet's subsequent attack was also very successful, and it took less than 26 hours to send marines to occupy the entire territory of the Ogasawara Islands in southern Japan, including the archipelago, Izu Island, and Iwo Jima, shortly after the forcible capture of Ogasawara Chijima.

Just as Tsarist Russia has always been eager to find an outlet to the sea in the direction of the Indian Ocean, the Germans' desire for colonies in the Far East is also unimaginable. After nearly a decade of entrenching hot colonies in New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, and others, the Germans finally secured their coveted colony in the Far East in the climate-friendly mid-latitude Pacific Ocean. Of course, this is not good news for Japan, the other side of the party.

Sure enough, after the news came back, the whole country in Japan was indignant, and even all the students in the school went on strike and ran out to hold demonstrations.

Compared with the "simple" student demonstrations, the Japanese government inevitably found itself in a dilemma. Considering the real threat of the Russians, the "impoliteness" of the German fleet seemed to have become a "trivial" mustard problem, and the Japanese government could only issue a diplomatic letter of protest in the end.

"These young students are braver than the weak Japanese government...... Luo Zhenyu commented, observing the ranks of Japanese students chanting slogans on the streets.

Tang Shaoyi glanced at the deputy opposite, shook his head and said, "It's good that Japan can survive now, what do these students know, do they really think that their flesh and blood can fight against the giant ships and cannons of the Russians?" Heh, you still want to take back Hokkaido?! Let's swim through the Kiyotsu Strait by myself."

Although the Japanese army had regained all the territory in the northern part of the island of Honshu last summer, until now, the Tsarist Russia still forcibly occupied their Hokkaido territory and had been rushing to build local port and coastal defense facilities. The huge Russian fleet in the Far East is still a sharp sword in the hearts of all Japanese people, and it pierces the sensitive hearts of the Japanese people all the time.

After 30 years of reform and reform, Japan's national strength has gradually improved, but unfortunately, it was later hit hard by Seris and Tsarist Russia, and even the combined fleet they used to be proud of no longer exists, and the army has also lost millions of men one after another, all of which have dealt a heavy blow to Japan, and even its plans to negotiate with European and American powers to cancel various unequal treaties have also been put on hold.

The reason why Japan can still survive under the "erosion" of Tsarist Russia is due to the support of the empire on which the sun never sets, and if it were not for the 6,000 tons of rice transported by British merchant ships every day, all parts of Japan would have fallen into a state of famine. In order to get the support of the British, in addition to the 92 million yen of government bonds issued by the British bond market, Japan borrowed several times in succession, and now it has owed a total of 460 million yen to the British, which is equivalent to the fiscal and tax revenue of the Japanese government for a full decade, which means that more than 40 million Japanese citizens will have to work for one year and six months without food or drink to repay this huge debt.

Not only that, but while Japan was burdened with heavy debts, it was also forced to open more markets to the British, and the government had to pay for the increasingly large domestic military budget, so the Japanese government had to continuously raise various domestic tax rates and introduce new taxes, resulting in a weak domestic economy and poor livelihood.

If it were a neighboring country, it would have rioted and started a revolution long ago. However, the perseverance and solidarity of the Japanese people played a role at this time, and although the taxes borne by every Japanese family became heavier and heavier, the rice, flour, grain and oil on the market became more and more expensive, and everyone's food became worse and worse, in the face of such unprecedented difficulties, all the Japanese people still gritted their teeth and persevered.

Looking at the procession of students on the street that had not yet dispersed, Tang Shaoyi on the windowsill shook his head and said, "Eighty percent of these students who still have the strength to demonstrate loudly are children of Japanese families with good backgrounds, Shuyun, have you heard, many people in the four countries in southern Japan starved to death a few days ago......"

"The Japanese government believes that ensuring the stability of Honshu is the first priority," Luo Zhenyu nodded in response, "Kyushu has our country's trade support, and the situation is better, Shikoku Island is already mountainous, lacks arable land, and famine is the most serious. ”

"Japan has lost several battles in succession, and the morale of the people has long been lost," Tang Shaoyi said lightly, "In the face of the bandit methods of the Germans, the Japanese government can only adopt a concession attitude at this time...... It's humiliating, but it's wise! ”

Listening to the earth-shattering slogans of the student demonstrations outside the embassy, Tang Shaoyi sighed and continued, "Only when you have enough food and clothing can you know honor and disgrace, and the Japanese government is already reluctant to make it difficult. Now, even their embassy and consulates in Beijing have reduced their budgets, and even asked the Beijing government to postpone the payment of the lease fee for the legation......"

"Is it so difficult that the cost of the legation needs to be reduced...... Japan is embarrassed to be thrown to grandma's house. Luo Zhenyu was surprised.

"Hehe, I'm a little embarrassed to say it." Leaving from the edge of the window, Tang Shaoyi said calmly as he walked, "There are only a dozen embassy personnel before and after, but the legation we rented is really extravagant. ”

Luo Zhenyu smiled, "It's a bit extravagant, especially when the yen is depreciating......

"Hehe......" Tang Shaoyi glanced at him and smiled as well.

According to the lease agreement signed between China and Japan for the embassy and consulate, Seris diplomats will rent the former Qing office building in the Akasaka embassy district for 9,000 yen per year. At the yen's exchange rate at the time, this price could match the 13,000-square-meter leasehold, but it was clear that after the silver crisis in July, the original rent, which had already depreciated by more than half, was a bit shabby.

In fact, the Serris ministers did a fairly good job, like the splendid British Legation next door not far from them, which had never produced a penny for decades -- according to the unequal treaties that Japan had signed with them in the past, the legation personnel of various European powers, including the British, had always lived comfortably in the "free office space" provided by the Japanese government.

Of course, this is not what the Japanese want, and in fact, the Japanese government has been trying to negotiate with the great powers for a long time. According to the original history, the Japanese did succeed, and within four years of the First Sino-Japanese War, they succeeded in revising various unequal treaties with other countries.

But now, everything is shattered!

Just a few days ago, Japanese Foreign Minister Mutsu Munemitsu, who was in charge of negotiating treaty revisions with Europe and the United States, was attacked and killed by angry civilians after signing the humiliating "Japan-China Ryukyu Agreement" and the "Japan-Germany Ogasawara Islands Treaty" with Seris and Germany not long ago. Mutsu Munemitsu, a pioneer of the Japanese diplomatic circles, who led Japan to learn from the West and resolutely advocated the expansion of military strength and planned a war against China, regrettably passed away......

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