"Prime Minister Ito, where are we headed?"

Emperor Meiji was a little sad about Prince Gong's suicide, and at first he didn't have much feeling for this Manchu prince, who was mediocre, talentless, closed-minded, conservative, and a humble quality that hindered the development of his western neighbor. Of course, the saddest thing is that the rivers and mountains of Aixin Jueluo are now in the hands of the women of the Yehenara clan, and the mountains and rivers are broken.

However, the riots in the northeast at Yucholing made Emperor Meiji's impression of Prince Gong change slightly. At least he dared to wrestle with the Northeast Autonomous Region, even if it looked more like a mantis arm as a car. But the powerlessness in the face of the overwhelming Mount Tai in the northeast also made Emperor Meiji feel the same way.

"It's time for the Empire's policy to adjust." Ito thought for a long time before hesitating. This is also a difficult choice for him, after all, in the past, it seems that it has become a fantasy to occupy Ezo, take North Korea, and seek the Qing Dynasty. And after all these years of observation, he also has a preliminary understanding of the personality of the people in the Northeast Autonomous Region. Although Japan is still relatively restrained now, on the one hand, it is because of the suppression of Britain, France, the United States and other powers, and on the other hand, because the Northeast has been seeking its own peaceful development in recent years, so it has not taken advantage of this incident to face Japan with a sword. But this did not make Ito feel safe, on the contrary, a few years later, when Tohoku became more and more powerful. Who will then be the counterbalance to them? If Japan fails to accelerate its development and expand its military strength, it is only a matter of time before it is annexed by the Northeast.

"How?" Emperor Meiji is now very confused, in fact, not only him, but the entire upper echelons of Japan are full of such worries.

"In the north, there is no room for the empire to move. And the east is an endless ocean, and the American continent is very far away from us, so long we can only go west and south. ”

"To the west, to the south?"

The gloomy sky finally began to rain lightly, and Emperor Meiji and Ito Hirobumi sat down under the verandah, and some people served refreshments.

"What's the solution to the south?" Emperor Meiji asked.

"The Northeast now has five provinces in Southeast Asia: North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and East Thailand, but its strength is more than enough to defend the city, and it is not aggressive. Although the British currently have good relations with the Northeast, with the continuous expansion of the Northeast in Southeast Asia and Africa, the British have become deeply wary of it. ”

Emperor Meiji nodded.

Hirobumi Ito continued, "If the empire is to expand in Korea, it will inevitably collide head-on with the Tohoku mainland, and we have no chance of winning in the current balance of strength. However, in Southeast Asia, there are many islands, and the strength of the Northeast is limited, which leaves us with strategic space for gradual expansion. ”

"But even if those islands in Southeast Asia are not occupied by the northeast at present, they are under the control of other powers, can we gain a foothold in the meantime with our strength?" Emperor Meiji was a little hesitant.

"Except for Britain and the Northeast, if we can develop our navy in a panic, even if the other powers surpass our country, their homeland is very far away from Southeast Asia, so they will not have the strength to fight with us."

Emperor Meiji nodded.

"And what about going west?"

"Naturally, the Qing State is aimed at the Qing State to the west, and the Qing State is more important to us than Southeast Asia. We want to support our industry and commerce, so that they have the ability to enter the Qing country and trade. However, in order to do this, three requirements need to be met, the first is to ease tensions with the Northeast Autonomous Region, otherwise the Qing court will take into account the ideas of the Northeast even if it wants to do business with us. ”

"That's a good point." Emperor Meiji strongly agreed with Hirobumi Ito, and then added, "And what about the second request?" ”

"Secret alliance with the Qing Kingdom!"

Emperor Meiji was shocked, he didn't expect Hirobumi Ito to have such a mention.

"This ......"

"Now we are in the same situation as the Qing Kingdom, and neither of us can afford to face the growing Northeast alone. But in comparison, the pressure of the Qing State is much greater than ours, after all, the Northeast is still nominally the territory of the Qing State, but the situation in the Northeast that is not subject to the control of the Celestial Empire, from the perspective of the Qing court, is an extreme contempt for the imperial power, which is an unacceptable huge challenge for any imperial country! Maybe the current Qing court is powerless to resist, so they can tolerate the centrifugal departure from Germany in the northeast, but what about the other provinces of the Qing state? What will the feudal officials there think? What will the people think? Wang, do not forget that the Qing court was a Manchu imperial power with a small population, not a Han imperial power with an absolute superiority in numbers. The Manchus in the Qing court were born with a sense of insecurity about being surrounded. In a sense, he represented only the interests of a small number of Manchus, not the interests of the entire Qing people. Such a regime is inherently flawed, so it is not without a chance for us to form an alliance with the Qing state. ”

Emperor Meiji did not speak, and was silent for a long time, and only after a long time did he say: "Aren't we stretching out our hands to the Qing Kingdom?" ”

"For the time being, we must maintain good relations with the Qing and maintain good commerce and trade in order to replenish our treasury and revitalize our economy, and only then can we maintain our existence in East Asia."

Emperor Meiji certainly understood what Ito Hirobumi said, but to abandon the Qing Kingdom was to give up hope of becoming a great power. He stood up, looked at the ripples of the rain dropping on the lake in the yard, and listened to the sound of the rapid rain, and his heart turned a thousand times.

Of course, Ito Hirobumi also understands his king's thoughts, but there is no other choice in the current situation in Japan. If they do not implement the above policies, they will continue to choose to go toe-to-toe with the Northeast, while maintaining hostile and tense relations with the Qing state. Then, even with the support of Britain and the United States, the situation in Japan is very precarious.

"Got it!" Emperor Meiji finally made up his mind. "However, it seems that it is difficult to reverse the shape in front of us by relying on our own development."

"Thy insight, king, is as thou hast spoken. However, we are not without the possibility of development, first of all, we need to maintain good relations with the United Kingdom and the United States, and strengthen the openness to these foreigners. In this way, the more they invest in our country, the deeper their entanglement with us will be, so that if the Northeast wants to launch an attack on us, it will inevitably take into account the interests of these powers in our country, so that they will not dare to take action against us lightly. ”

Hirobumi Ito said it soundly, but in fact, this strategy is the so-called driving the tiger and devouring the wolf. However, the British and Americans did not get along well with each other as the Tohoku, and there have always been popular demands in Japan for the expulsion of foreign powers from the country. Now, if Emperor Meiji had made this decision, he would have clearly stood on the opposite side of the people. The confrontation between the government and the private sector in the future can be imagined.

"Don't worry, your subordinates will find someone to raise this matter."

There had to be someone to keep the dirty water out of this, and neither Emperor Meiji nor Ito Hirobumi could have come forward in person. It is simple for them to discuss with each other, empty words, three words, but it is very difficult to actually do it. Today's Japan has already carried out national reforms, which is nearly two years earlier than Wang Yi knew in history. Japan established a parliament, and power began to become fragmented. Itagaki Reinosuke's Liberal Party and Shigenobu Okuma's Improvement Party are currently the two largest opposition parties in Japan, with a large number of members and a huge number of people's images. Even though they are in opposition, the struggle for power with the Ito government has never changed. Whatever Ito wants to promote, they are likely to oppose it.

Well, even if the two agreed to Ito's plan for the sake of Japan's interests, the implementation of the entire plan would still be difficult. How to restore the relationship between Fù and the Northeast, it is impossible for Wang Yi to pass Guò alone. How to establish a secret treaty with the Qing State is even more difficult. And even if the previous conditions were all achieved smoothly, not only did Emperor Meiji have no idea how to use troops against the islands of Southeast Asia, but even the policymaker, Ito Hirobumi himself, had only a rough outline. And the biggest difficulty is the naval problem.

Initially, Japan, under the influence of France, advocated the construction of small ships against large ships, and won the final victory with the help of numerical superiority. In the case of coastal defense, such a policy can be implemented, but once it is used against the island countries in Southeast Asia, small warships cannot sail far, so there is no possibility of implementing this policy. After all, we have to fight, but we can't even get through the boat, so what are we fighting?

In addition to the issue of the established course of the Navy, there is a more difficult contradiction to resolve before the Ito government. It was the huge contradiction between the Satsuma Domain and the Choshu Domain, and it was reflected in the formulation of policies, which was a question of whether the navy or the army came first.

Even if Ito Hirobumi was tough, he did not dare to let the confrontation between the two major regional feudal domains become clear, and the establishment of the Meiji Emperor's regime was based on the support of these two major feudal domains. Once their contradictions are openly bad, it is likely to lead to a second Southwestern War, and the worst result will be armed intervention in the Northeast. In the outbreak of civil strife in Japan, Tohoku will certainly not let go of such an opportunity to settle Japan's troubles once and for all. If such a situation really arises, Ito Hirobumi is the biggest sinner in Japan.

The road to reform will not be easy, and even if Emperor Meiji and Ito Hirobumi have plans and preparations in their hearts, they are still suffering from the many obstacles in front of them. But Japan is now such a country of three islands, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku. If we do not become self-reliant and self-reliant, we are likely to wipe out our race and completely disappear from the world.

"Wang rest assured, if we can gain a firm foothold in the Southeast Asian islands, after several years of development, we may not have the possibility of turning the tables in the Northeast. At that time, the strength of the Japanese Empire will no longer be an unattainable dream to stand on the top of the nations of the world! Ito's eyes flashed with determination, and he looked confident.