Ito Hirobumi hurriedly got out of the carriage and rushed into the Renaikai Hospital, where he pulled a doctor at the door and asked about the ward of Saionji Koto, who pointed to a single room not far away.

After coming to the door, Ito Hirobumi hesitated, calmed down, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and a nurse poked her head out and looked at Ito carefully.

"I'm a friend of Mr. Saionji, Hirobumi Ito, I heard that he is sick, and I came to visit, so please let me know." Ito Hirobumi saw that the nurse didn't seem to have any intention of letting himself in, so he said to the nurse.

"Please wait." The nurse nodded, then turned and walked towards the bedside.

Ito Hirobumi was pondering words to comfort the prince of Saionji, but he heard a loud yell: "Tell him to get out!" Get out of here! ”

Ito Hirobumi was startled, only to see the nurse scream in surprise, holding her head and running towards the door, and then a pillow flew over and almost hit her.

"Tao An, it's my ......"

"Get out! Get lost! - "A glass flew over and hit the edge of the door, and the broken glass splashed Ito Hirobumi's body, and then a plate flew again, and Ito quickly exited the door.

At that moment, another cup flew out and shattered in the doorway, spilling broken glass onto the hallway.

The nurse exited the room and said to Ito Hirobumi with an apologetic expression: "I'm really sorry, I beg your pardon, Your Excellency Saionji's current mental state is not suitable for visiting, you better come back another day!" ”

Ito Hirobumi heard the relentless voice of comfort from Kikuko, the wife of Saionji Gongwang, from the hospital room, and knew that he had relatives around him to take care of him, so he no longer insisted on visiting. Instead, he bowed slightly to the nurse. He said, "I'm sorry for your trouble." "Finished. He sighed, lowered his head and turned to leave.

He had expected this to be the outcome of today's visit, which he had foreseen before he came.

Ito Hirobumi and Saionji Gongwang were friends for many years, like-minded Restorationists, after the Restoration, Saionji Gongwang originally studied in France, before the outbreak of the Southwest War. Ito wanted him to come back to help, so he wrote a letter to him to end his studies early and return to Japan to work in the government.

Because the two have been friends for many years, the relationship between Saionji Gongwang and his sister Shizue is very good, and Ito Hirobumi also knows this very well, and when he visits Saionji's house, he will bring some gifts to Saionji Shizue, so he is also very familiar with Saionji Shizue.

But he never dreamed that Shizue Saionji would die at the hands of the Russian army who came to protect Tokyo at the invitation of the Japanese government!

After the incident, Emperor Meiji was furious. A serious protest was lodged with the Russian side, demanding that the murderers be severely punished. After learning the news, the Russian army command also felt that the situation was serious and damaged the image of the Russian Empire, so they immediately launched a search, and the murderer was caught the next day - six drunken Russian soldiers, and when they were arrested, there were still Japanese girls they had just snatched from the nearby countryside in their barracks!

Due to the appalling tragedy, in order to calm down the adverse effects of the incident, the Russian military command immediately organized a military tribunal, quickly sentenced the six people to death, and chose the place of execution in the downtown area of Tokyo, so that the Japanese people could witness the "justice" of the Russians with their own eyes.

Despite this, for Xiyuan Temple Gongwang, the beloved sister will never come back.

If it weren't for the fact that he chose to support Iwakura Goshi's proposal to borrow troops from Russia, Shizue Saionji would not have been killed by the Russian army.

The reason why Ito Hirobumi chose to support Iwakura Gushi and speak for him in front of the emperor was because he knew that other countries would not send troops to help Japan except for the insatiable Russia, which was constrained by various reasons.

Among the great powers, Britain, the most powerful and known as the "empire on which the sun never sets," attached great importance to commercial interests and had little interest in land, and Britain won unprecedented victories in the two Anglo-Qianqian wars, but except for a treaty port in Hong Kong, it did not ask for more land from the vast Daqian Empire, even at the moment when the Qianguo was most weakened due to the "Shengping Heavenly Kingdom Rebellion."

Among the other powers, France, although it wanted to open up overseas colonies, was now focused on the weak Vietnam, and with the huge loss of national power caused by the Franco-Prussian War, there was no more power to intervene in Japan, although during the shogunate period, France was the main rival of Britain in Japan; Although Germany was also very strong and hoped to expand overseas, it also suffered a great loss of national strength because of the Franco-Prussian War, and after the reunification of Germany, Britain, France, Russia, Austria and other countries all felt deeply threatened, so that Germany did not dare to rashly take large-scale actions in Japan, and finally only sent a military advisory group to assist Japan; Although the United States, which is far away on the other side of the ocean, has a strong interest in the East, it is influenced by its own strength, and like Britain, it is limited to commercial interests, and is content with one or two treaty ports or transit points, and will not send troops overseas on a large scale unless it threatens its homeland.

With regard to the Great Qianguo, the largest country in Asia, although the Japanese Government's important ministers, such as Vice Island and Yanagihara Maemitsu, who had successively served as envoys to the Qianguo, suggested borrowing troops from the Qianguo, the Qianguo was twice defeated by the British, and was deceived and robbed by Russia and took away a large area of land in the northeast, thus causing both the Japanese government and the public to regard the Qianguo as weak, and although the Qianguo defeated Japan in the Taiwan Campaign, the Japanese concept of despising the Qianguo did not fundamentally change, and the proposal of the Vice-Island and Yanagihara was finally rejected.

So in the end, only Russia remained.

This is also the reason why Ito Hirofumi finally chose to support Iwakura Gushi.

Unlike the rubber stamp of Minoru Sanjo, Iwakura Gushi is the most knowledgeable among the ministers, and he must have thought through this a long time ago, so he dared to put forward the proposal of borrowing troops from Russia and strongly advocated the implementation.

But now, the arrival of the Russian army has not only not been able to quickly turn the situation around, but has pushed the Japanese government into an even more dangerous situation!

"Shunsuke." A call interrupted Ito's thoughts, and Ito raised his head to see Iwakura Gushi standing in front of him, looking at him.

"Yes, Mr. Yue." When Hirobumi Ito saw Iwakura Gushi appear here, he immediately understood what he was here for.

"Tao An...... What is the condition? Iwakura asked.

"He was grief-stricken. Emotions are a little out of control. Yes, Mr. Yue, don't go over. Hirobumi Ito sighed. Lest...... Something bad happens. ”

Iwakura heard Ito's words and understood what he meant, and couldn't help but sigh. He then turned around and walked side by side with Ito Hirobumi outside the hospital.

"If Shunsuke is fine, go sit at my house for a while." Iwakura said.

"Okay." Hirobumi Ito sensed that Iwakura seemed to have something important to say to him, so he agreed.

In the ward, Saionji Gongwang finally recovered from his hysteria.

Because he saw the frightened gaze of his daughter, Yuki Saionji, who was only 6 years old.

"Yuki, come here. Look at your dad. Mrs. Juzi, who tried all kinds of persuasion to no avail, found that after her husband saw her daughter, she quickly quieted down, and was relieved, and hurriedly said to her daughter.

Xiyuan Temple Yuki timidly came to his father's hospital bed, stretched out his hand, and held his father's fingers, Xiyuan Temple Gongwang looked at the beautiful and lovely daughter, his eyes flashed with love, and held her little hand.

"Yuki is good, it was my father who was not good just now. shouldn't have been angry in front of Yuki, it scared Yuki. It's Dad's fault, and Dad apologizes to Yuki. Xiyuan Temple Gongwang said softly to his daughter.

"Dad, why don't you see Uncle Junfu? ......" asked Yuki Saionji.

In her impression, Ito Hirobumi is a very kind person, every time he visits, he talks and laughs with his father, she can't understand why his father is so angry when it is clear that Ito Hirobumi came to visit her father just now.

"Uncle Shunsuke did something that made Dad angry, and Dad doesn't want to see him now." Xiyuan Temple Gongwang's expression darkened, but he didn't want his daughter to know what was going on, so he replied vaguely.

"Oh." Saionji Yuki sensed that her father seemed to have something unspeakable, she held her father's hand, and asked, "Dad, my aunt hasn't come to play with me for many days, where has my aunt gone?" You're sick, why didn't she come to see you? ”

Mrs. Kikuko didn't expect her daughter to ask such a sentence, and shouted: "Yuki, shut up!" ”

Saionji Yuki didn't understand why her mother suddenly scolded her, startled, she turned her head and looked at her mother in shock, Mrs. Kikuko didn't dare to meet her daughter's pure gaze, so she could only tilt her head to the side and cry silently.

The current Saionji Yuki, who doesn't know yet, is no longer there with her aunt who loves her.

"Yuki, aunt...... There's something going on, I'm going to leave Tokyo for a while, so I can't come to see Yuki for the time being......" Saionji Gongwang caressed his daughter's little face and said softly.

At this moment, the public hope of Xiyuan Temple, facing his daughter, although he had a smile on his face, his heart was like a knife.

"To Mr. Yue, have you thought about it...... Will there be such consequences? He asked silently in his heart to Iwakura Gushi.

"Shunsuke, I invite you to come over today, I don't want to argue with Shunsuke about the pros and cons of borrowing Lucia this time, with Shunsuke's great talent, you should understand my hard work." Iwakura Gushi poured a cup of tea for Hirobumi Ito and said with a sigh.

"Don't worry about Mr. Yue, I know the hard work for Mr. Yue." Hirobumi Ito said loudly, "I have great admiration for Mr. Yue's dedication to the country regardless of his reputation. ”

"Hearing you say that, I feel so much better, hehe." Iwakura Gushi picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, looking very happy.

"At that time, everyone thought that in order to compete for power, I refused to make peace with Mr. Nanzhou, but instead led Lucia's tiger and wolf soldiers into the country, and I wanted to kill Mr. Nanzhou." Iwakura Gushi sighed, "How do they know, it's not that I don't want to negotiate peace with Mr. Nanzhou, but the current situation, it is impossible for us to sit down and talk, even if it is, it will not lead to anything." ”

Hearing Iwakura Gushi confide in his heart, Ito Hirobumi put down his teacup and listened intently.

"Mr. Nanzhou strikes the army first, and his intentions are good, but he doesn't understand that the glorious days of him and the samurai under his command have passed, and the warriors are no longer the pillars of Japan, but the fetters on the road of Japan's progress, which must be removed." Iwakura sighed, "Mr. Nanzhou's role is actually to choose a place for those samurai who don't know where to be buried!" ”

"If Japan wants to move forward, the foundation that constitutes 'small power' must be broken, that is, the privileges of the noble clan must be broken. Mr. Nanzhou may not be unaware of this. But he couldn't help himself. I can only choose to stand with the samurai. Hirobumi Ito said.

"Whoever knows me, Shunsuke also." Iwakura nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile, "It seems that I have chosen the right person, and the one who can revive Japan one day must be Shunsuke." With Shunsuke here, even if I die. I was able to rest assured, too. ”

Hearing Iwakura Gushi's words that seemed to mean to explain what was behind him, Ito Hirobumi couldn't help but be surprised.

"What do you say to Mr. Yue?" Hirobumi Ito asked in surprise.

"I'm the culprit who presided over the borrowing of Lucia, don't Shunsuke still understand?" Iwakura sighed.

Itohiro Wenming Shiraiwakura couldn't help but sigh when he saw the meaning of his words.

"I don't have much time to come, and maybe one day, I'll die on the streets, so there are some things I have to explain to Shunsuke after I die. Shunsuke can preside over the overall situation and turn Japan from a crisis to a safe one. Iwakura continued.

"I'd like to hear about it......" said Hirobumi Ito. The voice was a little choked.

"Shunsuke, do you know what are the conditions I gave to Lucia this time?" Iwakura Gushi asked with a wry smile.

Hirobumi Ito shook his head.

"It is to give all of Hokkaido to Lucia, in exchange for Lucia to send 100,000 to 200,000 troops to quell the rebellion in the southwest." Iwakura Gushi gave the answer.

Listening to Iwakura Gushi's words, Ito Hirobumi was so shocked that he almost jumped up.

"Yes, Mr. Yue! This...... How can it! Ito Hirobumi's face turned the color of pork liver for a while.

"Listen to me first." Iwakura waved his hand, signaling Ito Hirobumi to calm down.

"The reason why this is so seems to be a huge cost, but in fact, this condition is just a bait for Lucia to send troops willingly." Iwakura said, "If you don't make such a promise, how can the Lucia people be greedy and willing to send so many soldiers and horses?" ”

Hearing this, Ito Hirobumi seemed to have an understanding and immediately calmed down.

"The battle report on the front line, you have also heard, the Lu army was annihilated by more than 3,000 people in the first battle of the Saxon army, and the casualties were extremely heavy. Iwakura Gushi said, "If it were another country, the first battle would be like this, and it would definitely be difficult to retreat, and no matter what conditions our country promised, we would no longer think about sending troops, but Lucia is not, with the fat of Hokkaido hanging there, they will continue to send troops no matter what." ”

"I understand what I mean to Mr. Yue. Otherwise, Lucia would never have sent troops so quickly, and she would not have sent so many troops, nor would she have fought so hard. Ito nodded, "However, if the Lu army really defeats the Satan army, won't Hokkaido be separated from my Japanese territory?" ”

"Shunsuke is right, this is actually the most critical place." A look of appreciation flashed in Iwakura's eyes, "We have quelled the civil strife, but we have lost a large area of Hokkaido, if this is the case, it can be said that the gains outweigh the losses, and the people of the world must kill me, a traitor." ”

"Yes! Losing such a large piece of land at once is unjustifiable anyway! Hirobumi Ito said.

"But Shunsuke, have you thought about it, my country really ceded Hokkaido to Lucia, can Lucia eat this piece of fat smoothly?" Iwakura changed his words, "Will the other powers watch Lucia eat Hokkaido?" ”

"Wonderful! It turns out that this is what Mr. Yue is going to do! Hearing this, Ito Hirobumi suddenly realized, and couldn't help but pat his thigh and praise loudly.

"Among the great powers, Yinglu is an old enemy, Britain has interests all over the world, Lucia wants to expand outward, Britain resists everywhere, and in the past Lucia took the opportunity of intervening in civil strife to ' Seeing this, Britain quickly stopped its troops with Qianguo, and teamed up with France to provide arms to Qianguo to help it calm down the civil strife. Iwakura said, "Judging from the current situation, after the Lu army helps our country to quell the civil strife, it will inevitably come to claim the land of Hokkaido in accordance with the previous agreement, or when the overall situation is undecided, it will send troops into Hokkaido. ”

"No matter when the troops enter Hokkaido, Britain will not agree to it, and in my judgment, Britain will definitely join forces with France and Qianqian to intervene at that time." Ito Hirobumi immediately said, "The Far East of the Qianguo is lost to Lucia, and there is no time to want to recover it, if Lucia occupies Hokkaido, then the northeastern part of the Qianguo will fall into the Lucia encirclement, and he will never agree, and if Britain asks the Qianguo to intervene together, the Qianguo will definitely not refuse." As for France, although it is not on par with Britain, it has had close relations with the Qianguo in recent years, and when Britain and Qianxi get closer, France will inevitably join in, so there should be a situation of intervention by the three countries, and Lucia will have to face the troops of the three countries, and Hokkaido will naturally not dare to occupy it by force. ”

On October 23, Iwakura submitted the resolution of the 15th together with his own opinion and asked the emperor to make a personal ruling. His own opinion was: "The present minister has not yet had time to report in detail on the reinstatement of the envoy, and the cabinet has decided to send the envoy to Korea." The ministers thought about it in the past, and it has only been four or five years since the Restoration, the foundation of the country has not been solidified, the political theory has not been rectified, and the system of governing the country is as if it is prepared, and the risk of warning is unpredictable. Today, it is still not easy to think about foreign affairs. (To be continued......)