"Baga, there are friends in Shanxian County, this is to push the empire into the fire pit." An angry Hirobumi Ito snapped the case: "He must be stopped." ”

In the Japanese Governor's Palace in Seoul, North Korea, Ito Hirobumi paced back and forth anxiously. Since the disarmament of the Qing Dynasty, there have been rumors within the empire that they want to conquer the Qing State again. Because as long as the Qing still has a strong navy, it is impossible for Japan, as an island country, to defeat the Qing state. For this reason, he sent numerous telegrams back in an attempt to dissuade such inappropriate remarks, and he also tried his best to mobilize many elders, and it seemed that he had some effect. However, Mutsu Munemitsu, who came down today, told him that Cabinet Chief Yama Prefecture Aritomo was trying to use the Russian Far East Fleet to fight against the Qing navy and had the intention of forming an alliance with Russia. Moreover, Russia also sent plenipotentiary envoys from Europe, which made all his efforts in vain.

"Your Excellency Ito, I'm afraid there is no one in the empire who will stop you." Mutsu Munemitsu, who was sitting opposite Ito Hirobumi, said calmly: "The people of the empire, under the instigation of the officers of the Imperial Young Zhuang faction, have always wanted to avenge the shame of the First Sino-Japanese War. Now that the Russians have taken the initiative to send it to the door, where will they give up easily. ”

"The main task of the empire at present should be to develop the economy with peace of mind, not to fight a decisive battle with the Qing state." Ito Hirofumi paced back and forth with a look on his face: "Since the empire has paid the proceeds of the next ten years to rebuild the navy, it should train well with peace of mind to prepare for a decisive battle with the Qing State in the future." Now that there is a sudden and massive expansion of the army, how many resources does the empire still have to spend on the navy. The empire is an island nation, and a strong navy is the cornerstone of the empire's revitalization, don't they understand this reason? ”

"It is because they understand that they are willing to contact Russia. Because they want more resources, especially two billion tons of iron ore in Maosan in northern North Korea. After saying that, Mutsu Munemitsu let out a long sigh.

Yes, two billion tons of iron ore is like an incomparably tempting cake for a resource-poor empire. The empire had purchased dozens of warships from the Western powers, and the Qing Kingdom naturally knew about this news. To increase the suddenness, the empire decided to secretly build a few more warships. to achieve the effect of the unexpected. The four high-speed cruisers that were originally planned to be built have been reduced to two, simply because there are not enough materials. The three fleets of the Qing Dynasty and the cruel laws against smuggling made Zhang Pufang, the largest smuggler in the Qing Kingdom, afraid to smuggle iron ore. The pirates in the South China Sea also cut off the source of ore, and the loss of the Guangxu Islands (formerly the Ogasawara Islands) disrupted the Central Pacific shipping routes. The last eastern route towards the United States. But because the United States bought steel at a sky-high price, it couldn't afford it. It is for the sake of these two warships that the empire has begun to collect the iron cauldrons of the people of the empire. The hungry empire could only watch as the cake of Maoshan was eaten by the rotten Qing people alone, even the Americans in the northeast did not have a share.

Maoshan originally had only a small mine. After the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing Asian mining company sent people to Maoshan to explore. The results of the exploration are that the iron ore reserves of Maoshan are by no means less than that of Anshan, not only have reserves of no less than two billion tons, but more importantly, Maoshan can be mined in the open pit. Today, Asia Mining has set up a smelter in Maoshan. In order to be able to transport these smelted steel ingots faster, the Qing State relied on the help of the captured subjects of the empire. The Qian route of the Qing Kingdom was stretching towards Maoshan.

Resources, especially iron ore, have firmly choked the throat of the empire's revitalization.

Hirobumi Ito naturally understood this truth, so he paid more attention to the every move of North Korea and Qing State. There were not many Qing people in the whole of Maosan, except for the managers, and it was the North Koreans who went down to mine. More of slaves. That's right, slaves, cheap and scarce food, toiled under the whip, no medical care, and buried everywhere after death...... The Qing did not know where to bring in a large number of slaves and put them under the administration of the Koreans. North Koreans, who used to be poor, now not only have a regular monthly income, but also do not have to work in dangerous jobs. The Koreans, who are now grateful to the Qing State, have no regard for the lives of slaves in order to complete the mining tasks of the Qing State. This is the news that Ito Hirobumi sacrificed more than a dozen intelligence officers to find out.

There are no resources to buy or even send troops to rob them, as long as they wait for the Imperial fleet to drive back, everything is not a problem. The Qing state was victorious over the empire. But a single victory does not mean that the Qing state can defeat the empire forever. The Qing country is very large, but the Qing country has also become cumbersome because it is big. It was so cumbersome that the Qing State could not concentrate its strength, and their energy was more involved in the chaos of the country. The Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty staged a coup d'état, and the re-training of the government is proof of this.

Ito Hirobumi was not afraid of the Qing Dynasty's seemingly superior military power to the Empire, and he believed that he would have to wait another two years for the Empire's fleet to return to war. The navy and army of the Qing State will also become insignificant under the tilt between the emperors and queens of the Qing State. On the contrary, what happened to Moshan aroused Ito Hirobumi's vigilance, did the use of slaves mark the beginning of the Qing Dynasty to emulate the colonial rule of Western powers? Ito Hirobumi knew Chinese culture too well, and such a large-scale and planned use of slaves by Qing merchants who had always been premised on Confucian merchants and Xinyi must not have been something that a few merchants could do. They must have had a tightly knit organization for the slave trade, and these merchants had a background in the imperial court, and the Asian mining industry was invested and started by the Qing emperor. That means that all this was arranged by that Guangxu from it. It is too easy for an emperor to trade slaves for his own use. It's not just a question of profit maximization, it's a question of mindset shifting. That's what Ito fears the most.

Maoshan is just a trial point for Guangxu to try colonial rule, once the implementation is smooth, as the emperor will inevitably spread this idea to the bottom, then the merchants will take the initiative to arm the army for their own greater profits, and then follow behind the army to absorb the maximum profits. In this way, the once conservative Confucian businessmen will be open-minded, and the businessmen's minds will be open-minded, which must be something Guangxu is happy to do, and as the emperor, he will once again agitate the people. And he has already begun to do it, and there are more and more schools in the Qing country facing ordinary people. When the minds of all the people of the Qing Kingdom are emancipated, Japan will have no chance. can only be like the little brother, and follow the Qing Kingdom step by step.

Therefore, in Ito Hirobumi's concept, defeating the Qing State allows the Qing State to become a vassal state of Japan, and then uses the manpower and material resources of the Qing State so that Japan can stand on the top of Asia. And to defeat the Qing State, it must be completed through a decisive battle, just like the Battle of Dadonggou in that year. It is a pity that the two divisions personally formed by the Qing emperor and the sudden Pacific Fleet caused the Japanese Empire to collapse.

"The Reich does not yet have the strength to intervene in the affairs of the Far East. Russia and the Qing should be pitted against each other, so that the empire can benefit from it. ”

"The Cabinet believes that it is necessary to join Russia in the fight against the Qing Dynasty. Not only can it take all of Korea, but it can also shift the hatred of the Qing State to Russia. After all, Russia's goal was to occupy the entire three northeastern provinces of the Qing Dynasty. It was the land of the Qing Dynasty. Until the Qing did not expel Russia and retake the land of Longxing, the empire would be safer. The empire can use the cover of Russia to occupy the Ryukyus and Guangxu Islands again, and it can also develop in the direction of Taiwan......"

"Mutsu Ao-kun, are you here to persuade me?"

"Your Excellency Ito, please forgive me for being direct." Mutsu Zongguang stood up and bowed: "What I said just now was what His Excellency Shan Shan said to me, and I can't refute His Excellency Shan County." His Excellency also said that if he did not join Russia in fighting against the Qing Dynasty, once Russia defeated the Qing State, the empire would definitely lose the Maoshan Iron Mine. Your Excellency Ito, if you can't even refute these reasons. Let's prepare for war against the Qing State. ”

yes, what a great opportunity. After the occupation of Korea, the empire could not only obtain human resources, but also the huge iron ore factory of Maosan, and the opportunity to go south to the Pacific Ocean. But all this was built after the victory of the Russians over the Qing people.

"There is such a great confidence in the empire in Russia's victory over the Qing state? You must know that Russia has only 50,000 troops in the Far East. Ito Hirobumi couldn't help but ask.

"The Qing State has a lot of troops in the three northeastern provinces. But most of them are vulnerable Eight Banner troops. The only ones with combat effectiveness were the ten divisions of the Qing New Army. However, after the five divisions of the Qing New Army originally stationed in the northeast were dismantled, there were less than 30,000 people, and the two divisions stationed in Korea were reduced to two regiments. The empire has now reorganized five divisions, and as long as the empire's troops set foot on Korea again, it is impossible for the Qing state to stop it with only two regiments. The emperor's ** team will go all the way north to the Yalu River, and the Qing State will once again divide its troops to defend the empire. How many troops does the Qing still have to fight against Russia? Mutsu said with some confidence. In fact, he still agrees with the opinion of Youpeng in Shanxian from the bottom of his heart, after all, the great cause of the revitalization of the empire still depends on the army. It's just that he is still a little worried, and he always feels that it is too smooth. That's why he came from Tokyo to Seoul.

Ito Hirobumi let out a long sigh: "You still ignore the ability of the Qing Emperor. Won't the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War make you remember the lesson? ”

"No, Your Excellency, we didn't ignore Guangxu. It's just that now it is the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty who is training and governing. In the First Sino-Japanese War, the reason why the empire was defeated was because Guangxu personally went to the battlefield, which had an incomparable boost to the morale of the Qing army. But it was also because Guangxu personally went to the battlefield, when Guangxu returned to Beijing. The Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty had to relinquish her rights. Cixi is a woman who has a desire for power, and Cixi, who launched another coup d'état in less than a year after Guangxu was in the dynasty, will she let Guangxu go to war again? Not only will it not, but Cixi will certainly not let the three divisions of the Qing State Liangjiang enter the northeast. Therefore, the victory of Russia over the Qing was inevitable. ”

Hirobumi Ito shook his head. If only to occupy Korea, or even to occupy the Gwangxu Islands. The Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Kingdom naturally would not let Guangxu leave her control. But the three northeastern provinces are different, they are the land of the Qing royal family, and no one can afford to lose it. The people of the Qing Dynasty pay attention to leaving a name after death, who dares to bear an eternal crime of losing the land of their ancestors Longxing, it is a crime that will be nailed to the pillar of shame and scolded for thousands of years in the future. Once the resistance in the northeast of the Qing Dynasty is unfavorable, Cixi will definitely let Guangxu stand on the stage again to resist this crime, and then Guangxu will use all the strength in his hands to fight back. At that time, even if the Qing army's northeast army was completely annihilated, Guangxu could still use the three divisions in the hinterland of Liangjiang and the troops removed from the northeast to arm 70,000 well-trained troops again, and if he wanted, he could also use these 70,000 trained soldiers to expand the army to 100,000 or 200,000. The Qing State fought on its own territory and had a steady stream of soldiers. Russia, on the other hand, has nothing but these 50,000 troops. Even if troops are transferred from Europe, how much can be transferred from a long distance. Even if 200,000 troops can be transferred, as long as the Qing State implements the practice of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness, what will the 200,000 troops eat? At that time, there is no need to fight Qingguo, and these Russians will starve to death.

Once Russia is defeated, the Qing army will inevitably enter Korea, and the Qing army will no longer stay on the Han River. Instead, they rushed across the Han River to regain all of Korea, and that was when the empire was at its most dangerous.

"Mutsu Ao-kun, you go down and rest first. I'm going to think about it. "Hirobumi Ito served tea to the guests.

Mutsu Munemitsu stood up and bowed, and retreated. Only then did Ito Hirofumi pick up his pen and began to write a table and chapter, talking in detail about the gap between the war potential of the Qing and Russia, and the situation of the Qing court...... It is also emphasized that the northeast of the Qing State and the land of the five provinces of Liangjiang have almost reached the point where the Qing court orders nothing, and all this is impossible without the command of the Qing Emperor behind his back. Although the Guangxu Emperor of the Qing Dynasty was under house arrest, he was still able to influence the imperial court...... The disarmament of the Qing Dynasty reduced the two divisions of Korea into two regiments, but in Korea there were three more divisions composed of Koreans, who were being trained by the Qing people...... This writing is tens of thousands of words.

The next day, when Mutsu Munemitsu saw this seal, his face changed drastically, and his head was covered in cold sweat. He didn't care about saying anything more, so he just hurried to Incheon to take a boat back to China with the watch seal.

"Mutsu-kun, the fate of the empire is gone." On the Incheon pier, Ito bowed deeply.

Mutsu Munemitsu nodded and boarded the ship back home. It's just that when he hurried back to Tokyo, he saw that Yamaguchi Youpeng was smiling and shaking hands with the Russian envoy Sergei. At this time, Mutsu Munemitsu realized that the result of the negotiation was that a secret agreement was signed on the spot.

"His Excellency Ito was once hailed as the hope of the empire, but after the defeat of the First Sino-Japanese War, he lost his enterprising spirit." Yama Prefecture Youpeng roughly flipped over the watch seal of Hirobumi Ito that he handed to him, and threw it into the trash can: "He's old." ”