Although the expeditionary force and the task force are private mercenaries, they are actually old units that have been transformed, and they are very disciplined, so if you really want to leave Osaka Castle, it should be said that it is not difficult at all, and you don't need to delay much.

However, it was precisely because Li Hongzhang wanted to trap the foreigners and let the British and Americans take the lead first, and planned to wait for them to start fighting before going up, so he deliberately let the troops grind in Osaka Castle, that is, not to leave Osaka Castle.

Anyway, at the beginning, the British minister and the American minister had only divided the territory with Li Hongzhang, but they did not stipulate a specific date for sending troops, nor did they engage in any joint action, but stipulated that each would fight its own and no one would interfere with each other.

In other words, whoever has the territory will fight, even if the Choshu Domain is all taken down by you, you will have to spit out the territory that should be given to others afterwards.

From this point of view, whoever starts to fight first is actually the most uneconomical, and foreigners are not stupid, not that they don't know the truth that the later they start, the cheaper they are, but there is no way, they have lost a hand in terms of the first opportunity, and they must make the first move.

Why? The answer is Osaka Castle!

China is a rising power, and although it is very close to Japan, it has no concessions or garrisons in Japan in the past due to its weak national strength. On the contrary, other powers, such as Britain, France, Russia, the United States, and the Netherlands, had garrisons and concessions in Japan, but because they were too far away, these foreigners were mainly concentrated in the port of Nagasaki, which was directly under the shogunate.

Although there are many foreigners and many foreigners stationed in Nagasaki Port, when it comes to prosperity, it cannot be compared with Osaka Castle, and in terms of importance to the shogunate, Nagasaki and Osaka Prefecture are not on the same level.

It can be said that there were three cities that the shogunate at that time could not afford to lose: Kyoto, Edo, and Osaka.

Kyoto is the nominal capital of Japan because it is where the emperor lives. If you have the final say, it's similar to Japan's spiritual shrines.

Edo Castle was the residence of the shogun, the administrative center of the shogunate's rule over Japan, and it was considered the capital of the government, and because Japan at this time was the actual rule of the shogun, Edo Castle was stronger than Kyoto in terms of importance.

Osaka is not as important as Kyoto or Edo in terms of political status, but it is the commercial center of Japan, known as the "kitchen of the world", and is the most important distribution center and financial center in Japan. Most of Japan's most wealthy merchants were located in Osaka, and more than one-third of the shogunate's income was maintained by Osaka Prefecture, so it is not an exaggeration to say that Osaka was the shogunate's purse.

As a feudal state that had not yet developed the wisdom of the people and had not yet formed the concept of a nation-state, if Kyoto and Edo were to be defeated, it would not shake the foundation of the shogunate too much, and perhaps it would stimulate the will of the Japanese to resist. Nationalism in Japan was stimulated in advance, but if Osaka was taken, it would be different.

Why? The answer is the wealthy merchants of Osaka Prefecture!

Today, the Tokugawa shogunate is in the sunset. There are many reasons for this, but in the final analysis, it is because the financial situation is unable to make ends meet, and it is impossible to continue to maintain the growing samurai class under his hands, so that there are more and more wandering samurai who have no income. And such a nomadic samurai class was the backbone of the opposition to the shogunate.

The samurai were a special class in Japan, they belonged to the ruling class. But most of them don't have their own livelihood, except for a very small number of upper-level samurai who are not short of money, a large number of low-level samurai are actually very difficult to make a living.

Lower-level samurai also have to learn literature and martial arts, but these activities are very expensive and time-consuming, even the Chinese have the so-called poor literature and rich martial arts, and the samurai in Japan are naturally the same. Not to mention anything else, you are a samurai, at least you must have a katana, this katana is not cheap at all, and many samurai may not have enough money to buy a sword.

In fact, the samurai were originally a class born for troubled times, because wars were frequent in troubled times, and brutal wars would greatly reduce the number of samurai. However, in the era of peace, the number of samurai in the hereditary system increased from generation to generation, but Japan's finances did not keep up with the pace and could not meet the needs of a large number of samurai, so it slowly became a source of turmoil.

As early as the end of the 18th century, the Tokugawa shogunate was unable to support all the samurai on its own financial revenues, so a new trend slowly formed: borrowing.

In other words, if the samurai ran out of money, he would go to the merchant to borrow money to spend, and if he couldn't pay it, he would have to serve the merchant, such as being a thug to ask for debts, or being a bodyguard. Over time, slowly, Osaka's wealthy merchants gradually became creditors of a large number of samurai, and actually mastered a large number of samurai.

In fact, not only ordinary samurai, but even the Edo shogunate owed a lot of debts to Osaka merchants at this time, and you must know that every year the Tokugawa shogunate relied on normal income, which was absolutely not enough for daily expenses, so they had to borrow money from the wealthy merchants of Osaka Prefecture almost every year, and gave these wealthy merchants some privileges.

In other words, during the Tokugawa shogunate in 1862, Osaka's merchant community formed an interdependent relationship with the samurai class, including the shogunate and other feudal lords.

The samurai class, as the ruling class, had power and status but no money, and needed funds from Osaka merchants; The merchants of Osaka, on the other hand, had no power or status, but they had money, and they could borrow money from the shogunate through guò to obtain privileges, so as to obtain some economic benefits and improve their social status.

It can be said that once the Osaka merchants stopped lending money to the shogunate, the shogunate did not dare to say that it would be finished immediately, but it would definitely not be able to support it for long.

At the end of the Edo period, there was a popular saying in Japan that when the rich people of Osaka were angry, the princes of the world were terrified, which meant that Japan was essentially a country ruled by samurai and merchants.

Historically, there are many reasons why the Meiji Restoration was successful, but one of the reasons that cannot be ignored is the defection of Osaka's wealthy merchants, and it was the Osaka merchants who no longer supported the shogunate and turned to support the shogunate faction, which allowed the Shogunate faction to rise so quickly.

Otherwise, where would the so-called four strong clans get so much money to reform? This buys ordnance, runs a factory, and raises an army, but it all costs money, and it all depends on his own territorial income, how can he make up so much money? It was not because the conflict intensified that the wealthy merchants of Osaka no longer supported the shogunate, but secretly supported the shogunate.

The current foundation of the shogunate's rule was already shaky, and the reason why it was able to continue to be maintained was in addition to the samurai tradition. The main reason is that the shogunate is still the richest, but once the money bag and material transit center of Osaka Prefecture is controlled by others for a long time, after a long time, when the shogunate can't borrow money and has no money to support its samurai, it doesn't need outsiders to fight, and it will fall apart.

It was precisely because Osaka Prefecture and the merchants of Osaka were so important that when they heard the news that the expeditionary force had taken Osaka Prefecture, the shogunate exploded and reacted quickly. He sent Katsu Haizhou and others to negotiate, and the main purpose was to get the expeditionary force to withdraw from Osaka as soon as possible.

Even, the reason why the shogunate agreed so quickly to hire the Chinese expeditionary force and gave them a crusade against the Choshu domain in the name of killing people with a sword, but in fact it was for the sake of Osaka Prefecture, that is, I hoped that they would leave quickly and not continue to occupy Osaka Prefecture.

Originally, it was very good, and the Osaka businessman had collected the huge sum of 10 million taels. Li Hongzhang also said that he would soon set off to fight the Choshu Domain, and the shogunate also gave them a name, and even the foreigners were willing to take the initiative to get involved. But who would have thought that the expeditionary force and the task force would actually thunder and not rain. Always prepare, prepare, but does not withdraw troops from Osaka, and still occupies Osaka Prefecture.

This made the shogunate very anxious, and the expeditionary force stayed in Osaka for an extra day. There were more variables, and because during the occupation of Osaka Prefecture, the expeditionary force was able to pocket the treasury that should have been handed over to the shogunate. He even promised to provide armed protection to Osaka merchants during the occupation, so that the shogunate could not continue to withdraw funds from Osaka Prefecture, and it seemed that it was about to fall and that he would have to pay his samurai again.

The shogunate did not know that the Chinese expeditionary force could only stay in Japan until August, and that there would be a month at most, and they thought that the expeditionary force had changed its mind and wanted to take Osaka Prefecture for themselves.

This idea is still very marketable, you must know that Osaka Prefecture is currently the most prosperous and wealthy place in Japan, take it here, not to mention anything else, just collect taxes can be soft.

Because the importance of Osaka Prefecture to the shogunate was unquestionable, the shogunate thought of many ways and even had a plan to seize it by force, but soon Katsu Haishu's words made the people of the shogunate dispel the idea.

The reason is simple, because you can't beat it!

Perhaps for deterrence, during the negotiations, Li Hongzhang once had a small military exercise in front of Sheng Haizhou and others, although it was only a battalion-level exercise, but it was an eye-opener for Sheng Haizhou and Sakamoto Ryoma and others.

During that exercise, Sheng Haizhou saw with his own eyes how the officers and men of the expeditionary force were sharp in their weapons and how they were ordered and prohibited. Of course, what shocked them the most was the density of firepower of the expeditionary force!

For reasons of secrecy, no machine guns were displayed in the show-off exercise, but artillery was presented. Although most of the artillery of the expeditionary force were front-loading guns, the shells were all explosive shells, with a high rate of fire, long distance, and strong power, coupled with the fact that the infantry artillery coordination was quite good, so that Sheng Haizhou found that a battalion of expeditionary forces could defeat 10,000 shogunate troops lightly.

One battalion is so powerful, the expeditionary force is 6,000 people, a full three regiments, plus the assistance of naval guns, the attack may not be enough, but if Osaka is defended with an iron heart, I am afraid that the entire shogunate's army will not be able to defeat it if they are concentrated.

You must know that due to financial problems, the shogunate can now concentrate 30,000 troops, but most of these troops are still cold weapons, and only one-third of the firearms troops are still old-fashioned firearms.

The shogunate could not afford to lose even one defeat now, so it could only continue the peace talks and continue to urge them to send troops.

Seeing that the Chinese were staying in Osaka and not leaving, there was no way, Sheng Haizhou went to the British minister Ali Guo again, hoping that he would persuade the Chinese and ask the Chinese to fulfill their promise and leave as soon as possible.

Ali Guo can't see it, why are you staying in Osaka all day? Didn't you say that you would attack the Choshu Domain together, and then loot the land tax of the Choshu Domain? Why don't you go yet?

This question did not matter, Li Hongzhang began to complain, one moment he said that the water and soil were not adapted, the soldiers were sick, and the other time he said that the supplies were insufficient, waiting for transportation, and so on, anyway, he just didn't want to leave Osaka.

After discovering Li Hongzhang's prevarication, Ali Guo was furious, and repeatedly accused the Chinese of not being trustworthy, and the promised alliance was not honored, and he wanted to protest, not only to his own country, but also to write a letter to the Chinese emperor to protest.

"It's not that we're not trustworthy." Seeing Ah Liguo's blushing face and thick neck, Li Hongzhang said slowly, "We said that it was good to jointly attack the Changzhou Domain. But because neither you nor I want to accept the other party's command, we are talking about separate attacks, not belonging to each other, and for this reason, we also divide the territory and interests after the war in advance, am I right? ”

"Yes!" Ali Guo nodded, "That's why ......"

"Hear me out first." Li Hongzhang waved his hand, "Since this is this kind of situation where they do not belong to each other and attack alone, then you can't blame us, you know." We don't have a time to fight, do we? ”

"Envoy Lee." After listening to the translation, Ali Guo frowned, "You and I are both big countries, and in this kind of matter, there is no point in playing this kind of trickery between words, but it will bring shame to your country." Although we didn't set a unified attack time at the beginning, we all said that it was an attack as much as possible, right? And you promised the shogunate and us that you would leave Osaka as much as possible and attack the Choshu domain. In that case, why are you staying in Osaka? But you have no intention of leaving? ”

"Who says we're not ready to go?" Li Hongzhang said, "We have been working on leaving Osaka. However, Osaka Prefecture is a big city after all, and there are many things to do in all aspects, and it is going to attack the Choshu Domain. There are a lot of preparations that need to be made, but in short, we will leave Osaka as much as possible. ”

"Hmph." Ali Guo stared at Li Hongzhang's eyes. "Special Envoy Li, you're not going to continue to perfunctory us, are you? It won't be true, as the rumors say, I want to stay in Osaka and not leave. And turn Osaka into your concession, right? ”

"Well, it's all a rumor, and it can't be true." Li Hongzhang waved his hand.

"Is it really a rumor?"

"Huh." Faced with Ali Guo's question, Li Hongzhang smiled and said, "Suppose we really rely on the intention of not leaving Osaka, what will you do?" ”

"Then we can only make a solemn protest like your country and fully support the shogunate." Ali Guo said with a straight face, "Once you do this, your country's prestige will plummet, and everyone will never trust China again."

Of course, if you don't care about this and still insist on going your own way, then we will find a way to unite with France, Russia, the United States, the Netherlands, Spain and other countries to boycott you, cut off trade with you, and will do our best to support the shogunate, providing them with weapons and equipment and funds. When the time comes, your country will be the enemy of the whole world, and you will probably not be able to bear it. So, for the sake of a small Osaka Castle, do you really plan to face the whole world? ”

"When I'm scared." Li Hongzhang said, "Boycott our China? You can talk about it if you can do it. Hehe, to put it bluntly, it is you who are begging us for China and our Chinese goods, not for us. Once the trade is cut off, it is you who will lose the most, and it will definitely not be us. What's more, it is impossible for your alliance to succeed at all, after all, France, the United States, and Russia are not monolithic with you and Britain, and there is even a big conflict between them, and they want to unite against us? It's pure fantasy! ”

After finally understanding the words of the translator, and understanding that what he said did not intimidate the other party, Ali Guo simply said: "But it is certain that your reputation will be affected, once we protest to your country, are you sure that the emperor of your country will be willing to accept such a big loss of face?" ”

Hearing him say this, Li Hongzhang secretly pouted, and muttered to himself in words that he could only hear: "Idiot, I will sue you, is this actually what His Majesty means?" ”

Indeed, although Li Hongzhang was also a masterpiece at that time, it was far from enough to talk about his understanding of the countries of the world, and he actually couldn't think of these bad ideas, after all, in his opinion, the advantage was in China, just come upright, there is no need to play these tricks.

Therefore, the core aspect of Li Hongzhang's strategy was that Li Yongji directly mentioned the face of the cross-ocean wireless telephone, and then after Li Hongzhang understood the emperor's meaning, he adapted it according to the actual situation, and finally formed such a trick that was not so on the table.

However, although this is Li Yongji's direct radio order to Li Hongzhang, it is impossible for Li Hongzhang to push this kind of thing to the emperor, if he does that, not to mention whether others believe it or not, his own official will be done, which is more uncomfortable for Li Hongzhang, who is very powerful, than killing him.

Therefore, on the surface, the current strategy against Japan is all from Li Hongzhang, and the black pot is all on Li Hongzhang's back, which gives the Chinese Empire a great buffer in dealing with Japan.

"Ahem." Li Hongzhang, who finished muttering, cleared his throat, and then said to Ali Guo, "Mr. Ali Guo." Akito doesn't say dark words, we did move a little slower in Osaka Prefecture, but you are also insincere, to be sincere, it must be mutual. ”

"Why are we not sincere?" Ali Guo frowned.

"Hmph, do you still need to ask about this?" Li Hongzhang said, "At the beginning, it was clearly agreed to attack the Choshu Domain together, but your military base is in Nagasaki, which is closer to the Choshu Domain than us. As far as I know. You are obviously ready in all aspects, but you have no intention of attacking the Choshu Domain until now, so why do you blame us for being slow? ”

"This ......" was asked by Li Hongzhang, Ali Guo was stunned, "Who said we were ready, we weren't ready at all, don't talk nonsense!" ”

"Come on." Li Hongzhang waved his hand, "Sue you, there are our secret agents in Nagasaki Port." Your every move cannot be hidden from us. Hmph, not only do I know that you are ready, but I also know that your combined fleet is not just British and Americans. There are also the French, the Russians, the Spaniards, and the Dutch, and you intend for us to take the lead first, and then take advantage of the fact that the main force of the Choshu Domain is fighting with us, and then take the opportunity to attack the Choshu Domain. Get the most out of your profits, isn't that right? ”

"Slander, complete slander!" Ali Guo immediately raised his voice. "What evidence do you have?"

"No evidence!" Li Hongzhang spread his hands, "However, it's a fact that you didn't attack the Changzhou Domain first, right?" ”

"You're using strong words." Ali Guo said in a loud voice, "You are slandering our British Empire!" We will not accept it! ”

"I'll say it clearly." Li Hongzhang also glared, raised his voice and said, "If you are really sincere, and send troops to attack the Choshu Domain first, then I can guarantee that the whole army will leave Osaka within three days and join the sequence of attacking the Choshu Domain." But if you don't do it first, you want to wait for us to do it first, and then you pick up the bargain later, then let's spend it.

Anyway, we have already occupied Osaka Prefecture, and one more day is a day, and we will not suffer. As for what you said about protests and threats, whatever you want, see if we don't care! ”

"That's what you said!" Ali Guo suddenly said, "If we send troops to attack the Choshu domain first, you will leave Osaka in three days and take the action of attacking the Choshu domain?" ”

"Yes, that's what I said." Li Hongzhang said, "However, don't think that you can deceive us by sending one or two ships and firing a few cannons in the past, I said that if you leave Osaka within three days, you must launch a formal attack on the Changzhou Domain, and occupy at least one forward base of Zhou Fangguo, and put more than 2,000 people in this forward base, we will start to act, otherwise, we will continue to stay in Osaka." ”

Speaking of this, Li Hongzhang suddenly smiled: "I advise you, it's best to act quickly, before our people are confused by the prosperity of Osaka, act quickly, otherwise, after a year and a half, when we completely control Osaka, the previous agreement may not be counted." ”

"You Chinese think well." Ali said, "Earlier, we said that we had a trick to let you take the lead, but now you are clearly asking us to take the lead and fight hard against the main force of the Choshu Domain, and then you will take the opportunity to take advantage of it, do you seem to be sincere?" ”

"Of course there is sincerity." Li Hongzhang said with a smile, "I am willing to let you join in, let you go to Changzhou Domain to make a fortune together, and even set aside half of the territory for you, that is the greatest sincerity."

Otherwise, with our strength, we can easily take the Choshu Domain, so why should we share the benefits with you?

To put it bluntly, just because I promised to let you attack the Choshu Domain together, I almost fell out with the people of the expeditionary force, and they were very dissatisfied with letting you interfere. Hmph, if it weren't for the sake of Sino-British friendship and didn't want an accident in the diplomatic relations between the two countries, do you think I'd be willing to do this? ”

Hearing Li Hongzhang say this, Ali Guo no longer messed around, but sighed and said, "Okay, we won't say anything in front." But can you guarantee that as soon as we begin the attack on the Choshu Domain and occupy an advance base, you will leave Osaka within three days and join the attack on the Choshu Domain? ”

"Absolutely." Li Hongzhang nodded and said, "In fact, our disagreement is mainly the question of who will do it first, and fundamentally speaking, it is a lack of mutual trust.

Or let me simply say that, it is impossible to expect us to attack the Choshu Domain first, but if you attack the Choshu Domain first, and throw at least 2,000 ground troops into the territory of the Zhou Defense State of the Choshu Domain, and show sufficient sincerity, then I swear in the name of the Chinese Empire that I will let the expeditionary force leave Osaka within three days and join the attack on the Choshu Domain as much as possible, and I will never break my word! (To be continued......)