Chapter 209: Japan Begins to Act

Tough! Wang Yuze showed unprecedented toughness to the powers! This made the consuls of various countries very uncomfortable. For a long time, they were the emperor's beings in China, above the Manchu government. Although the rise of western Sichuan, they had to restrain themselves in western Sichuan. But now, the countries have united to express their anger to Kawanishi, and Kawanishi dares to refuse them without hesitation. This made their faces very difficult all of a sudden. If it weren't for the diplomats' self-cultivation and heavy mission, which forced them to stay, I am afraid they would have left in a discouraged manner. Yuichi Kawaguchi, the Japanese consul in Chengdu, had an expression as difficult as eating a fly.

"Your Excellency, don't you think about it? Is it really not going to end our kindness? Zhu Erdian took a deep breath, controlled the dissatisfaction in his heart, and then said.

"Your Excellency Zhu Erdian, I'm sorry. The replacement of the Manchus by western Sichuan is in line with the requirements of the people of the world, which is already unavoidable. Whoever tries to stop us will be our enemy. The interests of various countries in China will be properly considered in Sichuan! Wang Yuze said. He also didn't want to force the powers to be in a hurry, if he wanted to drive the powers out of China, he had to take it step by step, and he couldn't eat a big fat man in one bite.

Wang Yuze's words can be regarded as a concession, which makes the faces of the consuls of various countries in China a little better. After all, none of them do not understand that according to the current behavior, it is inevitable that Western Sichuan will replace the Manchus. If the countries are not prepared to declare war on Kawanishi, then they will have to accept this result.

"Your Excellency, do you mean that after the overthrow of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Western Sichuan will also recognize the Treaty of Shimonoseki?" Yuichi Kawaguchi, the Japanese consul in Chengdu, hurriedly asked. Wherever possible, Japan is unwilling to fight this battle with Kawanishi. The defeat of the Manchus has already depleted their national strength to a point where they should recuperate.

"Humph!" Wang Yuze snorted coldly, looked at Yuichi Kawaguchi contemptuously, and did not answer.

Yuichi Kawaguchi's face turned red all of a sudden, and Wang Yuze's expression made him very ashamed, and he couldn't wait to find a crack in the ground to get into.

The consuls of other countries were also very amused. Japan is taking itself too seriously! Western Sichuan is not even afraid of the Western powers, where will they be afraid of them? Even if they defeated the Manchus, they were still not taken seriously by Sichuan.

"Your Excellency Kawaguchi. The war between Japan and the Manchus, Kawanishi did not agree. After the overthrow of the Manchus in western Sichuan, the Treaty of Shimonoseki would not be recognized. Therefore, in order to avoid future conflicts, it is better for the Japanese army to withdraw from the Liaodong Peninsula immediately and withdraw to the Japanese mainland! Wu Tingfang, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Western Sichuan, said. As a high-ranking official in western Sichuan, he knew that western Sichuan's established policy would definitely fight Japan after the overthrow of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, or in the process. With the strength of Kawanishi, it was inevitable to defeat Japan. Of course, if war could have been avoided, it would have been the best.

"Nope! That's impossible! How could the soldiers of the empire who had worked so hard to achieve the results be discarded like this? Yuichi Kawaguchi exclaimed. He looked a little crazy. Japan prepared for decades before it won this war. Seeing that Japan is about to rise, how can they allow others to take it away?

"Then we'll have to see you on the battlefield! Consuls, I still have something to deal with, so I won't accompany you! Wang Yuze said coldly, then stood up and left the reception room.

"Minister Wu, does Your Excellency the Marshal mean to declare war with Japan?" Pierre, the French consul in Chengdu, asked.

"Of course not! The final choice, though, is in Japan's hands. If they don't withdraw from Chinese territory, then we will have to drive them out by force! Wu Tingfang said firmly.

"Humph! You're going to pay the price. Warriors of the Empire, you will defeat you all! Yuichi Kawaguchi, the Japanese consul in Chengdu, dropped a cruel word and left the embassy in western Sichuan.

The consuls of the rest of the countries also left one after another.

The results of this meeting quickly spread to Dongjiaomin Lane. The British consul in China, Mr. O'Gner, met with the ministers of France, Russia, and the United States in China for urgent talks. O'Gner said that the British Empire would not fight directly with Kawanishi, at least until Kawanishi did not endanger his interests in Britain. However, the British government decided to support Japan and let Japan fight with Kawanishi, defeat Kawanishi, or delay Kawanishi's development. France, Russia and the United States all agreed.

In the evening of the same day, they would meet with Taro Kawaguchi, the Japanese minister to China, Britain, France, Russia, and the United States, and jointly loan 10 million pounds to Japan to support Japan's war against western Sichuan.

This made the whole country of Japan rejoice. With this loan, then they will have enough military funds to start a war with Western Sichuan. Although, there are signs that the great powers are using Japan as a gunman. But the Japanese didn't care, what they needed was victory, and the ability to plunder a lot of wealth from western Sichuan after that was the most important thing. As for how much it will cost for the war, they don't think about it at all. War always kills people, and the 40 million people of Japan are willing to give their lives for the rise of the empire. As for whether it will fail, it will not be considered! How could the warriors of Imperial Japan, supported by the spirit of bushido, fail? They will definitely defeat the western Sichuan like they defeated the Qing people, and the people of China are very entangled and vulnerable!

With sufficient military spending, Japan's army and navy immediately went into action. Once again, the Combined Fleet was reorganized and ready to leave the Sasebo base at any time and enter the waters of China to start a war with the Kawanishi Fleet. The Japanese Army, which is stationed on China's Liaodong Peninsula and in Korea, has also completed its recuperation and entered a state of combat readiness.

Kawanishi did not make any statement about Japan's move, but it was secretly prepared. On the afternoon of April 2, the 1st Cavalry Corps and the 2nd Cavalry Corps of the Western Sichuan Army drove straight into 800 kilometers to resist the Shanhai Pass. This Xiongguan, known as the first pass in the world, was fiercely attacked by western Sichuan. And, unprepared. After only two hours of fighting, the Western Sichuan Army occupied Shanhaiguan. After that, the 2nd Cavalry Corps stayed behind and garrisoned Shanhaiguan. The 1st Cavalry Corps marched south the next day and surrounded the Beijing Division on the same day.

The Jingshi was once again surrounded, and the Manchu government was shaken, although there were still 100,000 new troops in the Jingshi city at this moment, but in the face of nearly 40,000 cavalry outside the city, they did not dare to go out of the city to fight, and could only rely on the city wall to defend it. At the same time, the Manchu side urgently contacted western Sichuan and asked for peace talks. However, the western Sichuan side rejected the Manchu Qing's request for peace talks, even if the Manchus paid a great price.

On April 22, the Western Sichuan Army captured Taiyuan and Anqing. On April 2, the 9th and 21st Divisions, which set out from Wuzhou, captured Guangzhou.

On 24 April, the First Fleet of the West Sichuan Navy escorted two Marine Brigades to Penghu and Taiwan respectively. The Qing army stationed in the garrison surrendered to the Western Sichuan Army, and Tang Jingsong, the governor of Taiwan, took the initiative to surrender to the Western Sichuan Army. The whole of Taiwan is controlled by western Sichuan.

On April 25, a marine brigade of the Western Sichuan Army landed in Fuzhou and captured Fuzhou on the same day, and Bian Baoquan, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, abandoned the city and fled. On the same day, the 7th Division of the Western Sichuan Army from Jingzhou to the south conquered Changsha, and the 16th Division of the Western Sichuan Army from Guilin to the north captured Yongzhou. After that, the 7th, 8th and 2nd Divisions swept through the northern part of Hunan, and then attacked Jiangxi. The 16th Division captured the southern part of Hunan, and then attacked the southern part of Jiangxi.

On April 26, the 6th and 17th Divisions, which had moved north from Xiangfan, captured Zhengzhou. In just one week, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had occupied most of the world in western Sichuan. Almost as soon as the western Sichuan army arrived, the Qing army immediately laid down its arms and surrendered. If this progress continues, in another half a month, western Sichuan will completely unify China except for the northeast.

It was also at this time that the Japanese army was dispatched. Japan mobilized the 3rd Division of Lieutenant General Katsura Taro, the 5th Division of Lieutenant General Michikani Nozu, the 2nd Division of Lieutenant General Sakuma Zomata and the 6th Division of Lieutenant General Kuroki Maitaka, as well as the newly formed 13th Division, 14th Division, 15th Division, and 16th Division, totaling more than 50,000 people, starting from the Liaodong Peninsula and marching at Shanhaiguan.

At the same time, the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy left the Sasebo military port and headed south for Taiwan. Because of the information obtained by the Japanese side, the western Sichuan Navy is on alert in the Taiwan Strait to provide fire support for the landed Western Sichuan Army. This undoubtedly gave the Japanese Navy the opportunity to find a decisive battle for the Kawanishi Navy.

After learning of Japan's actions, the Kawanishi Army quickly adjusted its deployment. The 2nd Cavalry Corps had already begun to strengthen the defenses of Shanhaiguan. At the same time, the army of five divisions from Shaanxi accelerated to the Beijing division after conquering too far, and was expected to arrive at the Beijing division around April 29, besieging the Beijing division together with the First Cavalry Army of the Western Sichuan Army, and completely ending the rule of the Manchus.

The Kawanishi Navy was also ready for battle, and the fleet entered the East China Sea from the Taiwan Strait, preparing to meet the Japanese Combined Fleet. The six "Leshan-class" light cruisers that had already been commissioned went out to the waters of the East China Sea one after another to look for the movements of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

When the Great Powers learned that the Kawanishi Navy was about to engage in a naval battle with the Japanese Navy, they also sent observation ships to observe the battle between the Kawanishi Navy and the Japanese Navy. I hope to learn more from this.

The army of western Sichuan is still winning victories, but the eyes of western Sichuan, and even the whole of China, are focused on Shanhaiguan and the East China Sea. Everyone knows that the overthrow of the Manchus in western Sichuan is no longer a problem, and the only thing to worry about now is the battle between western Sichuan and Japan. Although the western Sichuan is strong, Japan has just defeated the Manchus, and the morale is high, who can win, everyone has no bottom!

PS: The second update is here! Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass! (To be continued.)