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It's over!

On December 19, 1902, this day, with the text of the treaty published in the newspapers, for the 40 million people of the Viceroyalty of Nicholas, the long-standing rumors were finally confirmed at this time - it was over!

Ten years of colonial rule of the Russian Empire over Japan is over!

Almost every man, woman and child burst into tears when they saw the news in the newspaper. For them, this short news story means that their old way of life is over, and everyone understands that they have to adapt to a new way of life.

It's like they adapted to Russia's colonial rule of Japan.

They were relieved that the war was so far away for them, that it had hardly disturbed their lives—of course, that it was impossible, and that had been the entire Viceroyalty of Nikolai had been under an unprecedented blockade for the past ten months, with no access to foreign ships, not even fishing boats.

The 10-month blockade has brought about a serious food problem - millions of people are in the midst of famine, hunger has engulfed the four islands of the Viceroyalty of Nicholas, and the food supply in the Viceroyalty has been extremely difficult due to the disruption of shipping and the inability to import rice, because the food rations of the Russians and the army in the Viceroyalty have been given priority, and the civilian population has been reduced to a minimum, and they are struggling with hunger all day long. Especially after entering the winter, people freeze to death and starve to death almost every day.

According to the newspapers, more than two million people starved to death during the ten-month blockade, but no one came to appreciate the suffering of civilians in this war, and now, everything is over.

It's over!

In the short news, there was no mention of Japan's future, but the official only mentioned that "according to the corresponding terms of the armistice treaty, the Nicholas Governorate will be handed over to China", of course, in the press notice, it also told all the soldiers of the Nicholas Governorate that "they must faithfully perform their duties, maintain the security of the Viceroyalty, and wait for the arrival of the Chinese troops", and asked them to "resolutely fight back against all rioters", of course, in order to appease the hearts of the more than 400,000 Japanese officers and soldiers in the colonial corps. The circular specifically told them that according to the negotiations between China and Russia, they would not be held accountable and would be able to stay in the Governorate or go to Russia if they wished.

Then, there was a long wait, and the long-awaited news that the Chinese Legion would soon arrive in Japan always appeared in the newspapers, which called the Chinese Legion the "advance army".

What will Japan look like in the future?

Will it be a colony of China? Or as an independent Japanese state? If Japan is an independent country, what if the emperor is gone? The fear of an unknown fate caused all kinds of rumors to spread, and even a love letter appeared in the newspapers - a guy named Kumazawa claimed to be the 17th generation of Emperor Kameyama of the Southern Dynasty, the orthodox emperor, and the late Meiji Emperor was a descendant of the usurping Northern Dynasty Emperor, and he was the real heir to the throne.

Coincidentally, after Kumazawa, Kumazawa's 3 relatives were not far behind and joined the ranks of the struggle for the throne. In addition to Kumazawa's "emperors", more than a dozen "emperors" have sprung up all over Japan, such as "Emperor Gaimura" and "Emperor Miura" in Aichi Prefecture, "Emperor Nagahama" in Kagoshima Prefecture, "Emperor Sado" in Niigata Prefecture, and "Emperor Yokokura" in Kochi Prefecture...... They all claimed to be the rightful emperor, pushing the drama of the struggle for the throne to a climax.

However, although the Russians did not try to stop this farce, everyone understood that the final result of this farce was not whether they declared themselves "emperors", but whether the Chinese agreed with Japan's independence.

"It doesn't matter if it's Southern or Northern! It doesn't have any impact on the big picture at all! ”

Ikeda Naribin, head of the sales department of Mitsui Bank's head office, looked at Suzuki Shimayoshi, who was the president of Industrial Bank, and the reason why they met today was that the issue of the upcoming colonial change was also discussed.

"Yes, the key lies in the Chinese, if the Chinese agree to Japan's independence, then whether it is a republic or an emperor, the final decision still lies with His Majesty the Emperor of China!"

In fact, after the fall of Japan, it was these bankers who were the first to cooperate with Russia, and it was precisely because of the cooperation of these bankers that Russia was able to take over Japan's financial power at the first time.

If they are strictly held accountable, these bankers are undoubtedly the real "Japanese traitors", just like now in the newspapers, there are calls for the punishment of these bankers, and it is precisely because of this that these bankers are panicked, and they don't know what to do, and many have even considered leaving Japan and going to Southeast Asia or Russia, but the Russian revolution has also caused them heavy losses.

The only way to go is to Southeast Asia......

But not everyone wanted to leave, at least for Ikeda, who never considered leaving, as he did nine years ago, when some of his classmates who had left the same period stayed abroad or went to China, and he chose to return to colonial Japan, where he built his career.

Now, naturally, he will not abandon his career and leave here.

"Yes, therefore, in the name of the banking community, I am ready to submit a letter of love to His Majesty the Emperor!"

A love letter?

Suzuki looked at Ikeda in surprise, as if he didn't understand what he was thinking.

"What love letter?"

"Personally, I don't want Japan to be independent!"

When he said this, Ikeda did not feel any discomfort, he was simply telling a fact.

"From a banker's point of view, Mr. Suzuki, in the last ten years of the Luren rule, the banking industry has been fully developed, we have opened banks in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other European countries, so to speak, all this has been done with the support of the big powers, the Japanese market is too narrow to meet the development needs of the banking industry, and now, China has defeated the Lu country and has established their status as a world power, if we attach ourselves to China, we will get further development, First of all, we must take into account the fact that the state holds precious metals and paper money, and the biggest challenge for the new government is the economy, and with the issuance of the new currency, it will undoubtedly be a disaster for the banks......

Bankers have always been the most realistic group of people, and this is most vividly reflected in Ikeda's case, for whom he has no Japanese interests in his eyes, and only the interests of the banks, which of course has a lot to do with the nine years of colonial rule.

"However, if Japan were part of China, then Japan's currency would be endorsed by the Chinese Empire, and China would be happy to do so in order to maintain economic stability here......"

Suzuki nodded.

"It is true that it will be difficult for the new government to provide sufficient financial guarantees, and if that happens, the depreciation of the currency will be unavoidable, and the banking sector will be hit harder than ever, but ......"

After a short pause, Suzuki took a sip of tea, looked at Ikeda and said.

"But how can Japan be part of China? You know, for Russia, Japan is only an inferior viceroyalty! ”

This is the real problem, even though Japan was part of the Russian Empire as the Viceroyalty of Nicholas, the currency in circulation here was the "Viceroyalty ruble", a "new ruble" that was different from the Russian mainland but similar to the exchange rate of the old yen, and the Russian definition of the Viceroyalty of Nicholas was a low-status inferior territory. Now, it is clear that Ikeda is not referring to this "inferior status."

"So, Mr. Suzuki, this requires our efforts, after all, it will be His Majesty the Emperor of China who is about to rule here, and for many years, he has been declaring that "East Asia is the same language and the same species", in this case, then it is natural that Japan in the future will be a part of China, and Japan also believes in Chinese culture, although it is ......."

Although many things have been discarded, after all, Japan still believes in Chinese culture in its bones. Ikeda pondered in his mind, and then turned his words around.

"Although we have been colonized by the Russians for so long and have forgotten a lot, we are also East Asians after all, and like the Chinese, we are yellow-skinned and black-haired, you know, we Japanese are the descendants of Xu Fu, and like the Koreans, the Koreans are the descendants of Xunzi!"

North Korea!

When Ikeda mentioned North Korea, Suzuki's eyes lit up, isn't it, don't North Koreans claim to be descendants of Xunzi? Their people also claimed that Korea was supposed to be part of China, and after the Chinese Emperor ascended the throne, many ministers of the Korean Kingdom wrote to the Emperor asking for the return to China.

In fact, there is not much difference between the current Korean and Chinese provinces, and their kings cannot even leave the palace, and the reason why the ministers of the two classes of Korea, who have no power at all, write to demand "return to China" is nothing more than to seek a position in the new dynasty. Since Korea can be incorporated into China as a province of China, then Japan ...... Why can't Japan?

"Your idea is that we should be incorporated into China as a province?"

Suzuki asked tentatively.

"Exactly!"

Nodding his head heavily, Ikeda said in agreement.

"There are many officials of Japanese descent in the current Chinese Empire, even General Li Weizhong, who is comparable to General Nelson, is also from the He family, which shows that the three ethnic groups in East Asia are not just preaching, but from the original intention of His Majesty the Emperor, in Chinese history, I am afraid that only Tang Taizong can have such courage, and only the Tang Dynasty!"

At the mention of the Tang Dynasty, Ikeda's expression becomes extremely respectful, and although Japan has tried to abandon Chinese culture in the past few decades, the influence of Chinese culture for more than 1,000 years cannot be abandoned for a while, and for Japan, the Tang and Song dynasties in Chinese history are to some extent even their "spiritual motherland."

"Your Majesty's trust in the He clan is really unprecedented!"

Suzuki also nodded in agreement, although Li Weizhong has become a naturalized Chinese, but for the people of the Nicholas Governor's District, when they learned in the newspapers that the general completely annihilated the Second Pacific Fleet, they were still proud, and even in his hometown, many people of the same clan changed their surname Li to show their relationship with him.

This kind of trust in handing over the main naval force of the Empire's elite to the command of a "foreigner" is something that no emperor can do, and it is precisely because of this that Suzuki feels that what Ikeda said has a lot to offer.

"However, although Your Majesty has the grace of re-inventing us and my clan, we must also take into account that if we propose the annexation of Japan to China, then we are very likely to become the enemy of the whole of Japan, after all, not everyone wants Japan as a province, they prefer Japan to be independent!"

This is what Suzuki is worried about, and the independence faction is also supported by many people in Japan. If these bankers go to the book first, they are very likely to become the spearhead and become the "****" in many people's mouths.

"Oh, Suzuki-kun, what's the point of that? If China is determined to annex Japan, what's the point of even those independence factions taking to the streets? Are they still going to rebel? Even the Russians are no match for the Imperial Chinese Army, let alone those rebels! ”

"However, there is still a problem!"

Suzuki stared at Ikeda and continued.

"The biggest question is, what is the attitude of His Majesty the Emperor, whether he wants Japan to be incorporated into China, or does he want Japan to become independent, if we go to the war and His Majesty wants Japan to become independent, then when the time comes, we will ......."

Pressing his voice slightly, Ikeda said in a strange tone.

"Moreover, some of my friends in China told me that during the war, many independents in exile in China had cooperated with the Russians, and they seemed to want to fight for Japan's autonomous status through cooperation with the Russians, and it was because of this that they were suppressed, so I think based on this consideration, the possibility of China agreeing to Japan's independence is extremely slim, after all, even His Majesty the Emperor, no matter how generous, will not tolerate a group of people who once opposed him to rule independent Japan!"

After a slight pause, Ikeda stared at Suzuki and said in the calmest tone possible.

"Now, the opportunity is in front of us, Your Excellency, don't forget that the old aristocracy has disappeared from Japan, this is our chance!" (To be continued.) )