Japan's own storming of the Chinese concession and even the consulate, injuring the Marines protecting the embassy?

After this matter was reported, Lin Zhe's first feeling was not anger but sighing!

If it were known to future generations that China had opened up concessions in Japan and even become the target of xenophobia against Japan, I wonder how they would feel.

Throughout China's modern history, almost all of them have been bullied by outsiders.

Speaking of Sino-Japanese relations in history, the first impression of many later generations in China is that the Japanese army invaded China, whether it was the First Sino-Japanese War or the 918 Incident or the 77 Incident in later generations.

However, in this time and space, the roles of the two are reversed, and Japan has not been able to bully China, but China has opened up concessions in Japan and obtained consular jurisdiction, tariff agreements and other related rights.

This is a naked illustration of the country's development, one step ahead, one step ahead, one wrong step is an endless abyss!

Song Guanqian, Minister of Foreign Affairs, looked at Lin Zhe and did not show anger, but showed a hint of sighing, but also a little puzzled, what was this majesty in front of him thinking?

As a person of this era, Song Guanqian had not experienced the fiasco of the Second Opium War, the First Sino-Japanese War, or the Eight-Nation Alliance, so he naturally couldn't imagine what Lin Zhe would have thought at this moment.

After a long time, he saw that Lin Zhe was slow to speak, and immediately asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, the Japanese himself is too rampant, now they can attack our residence and legation in Edo, and tomorrow they are estimated to expel our merchants on a large scale, which will have a great negative impact on the empire!" ”

In the eyes of Song Guanqian, Japan was not the militarist power that could set off World War II in later generations. In the minds of the military and political officials of the empire such as Song Guanqian, the status of the current Japanese is not much different from that of Korea and Siam, and they are all small countries that are not worthy of the empire's attention.

Now this seemingly inconspicuous small country dares to attack China's residence and legation in Edo, which is a naked slap in the face of the empire.

Although it has not been able to cause a lot of losses for the time being, if the empire does not react reciprocated, how can you save the empire's face?

Lin Zhe did not give a positive answer to his words. Instead, he said: "They also burned the embassy of the British?" What about countries such as the United States and France, have they been impacted? ”

Song Sekizen said: "In addition to us and the British, several other countries that have residences and embassies in Japan'Edo have also been more or less affected, but none of them are too serious, only the British legation was rushed in and burned by the Japanese themselves!" ”

Lin Zhe immediately said: "As long as it's not aimed at us alone, since the Japanese himself has gone crazy and provoked it, it is estimated that we don't need to be strong, the British should also react!" ”

Song Guanqian said: "Yes, Weichen has already gotten the news. The British have urgently dispatched sailors from several merchant ships in Japan's own waters to protect their embassies, and other countries such as France have also sent sailors to reinforce their respective embassy areas, but in the near future, none of the countries in Japan's own waters have warships, and their defense forces are still relatively weak! ”

Speaking of this, Song Guanqian continued: "The British and French diplomats have contacted us and invited some of our marines and businessmen stationed in Japan to conduct a joint defense to prevent the Japanese from attacking the concessions of various countries here!" ”

"They invited us?" Lin Zhe was a little surprised, you must know that the empire and European and American countries have been in the past few years. In particular, relations with Britain, France, and Russia were extremely tense, not to mention Russia. At present, the two countries are still fighting in the Trans-Khing'an Mountains and Central Asia, and these border frictions have come to a halt, and it is estimated that there will be no hope of a truce for more than a decade.

The British and French were also very nervous about Vietnam and Burma over the Empire.

In this case, they actually invited the empire to take joint action in Japan, which has to be said to surprise Lin Zhe.

However, it is only a slight surprise, and international relations in recent years have not actually spoken of all-out hostility and targeting. Even Russia, which is still engaged in a border war with the Empire, has not completely severed diplomatic relations between the two countries, and normal trade is still going on, for example, the Russoamerican Company still supplies a large amount of furs to China every year.

Commercial ties with England and France were even more frequent, and Britain was the Empire's largest foreign trade country. The share of trade with Britain accounted for more than half of the empire's import and export share, and the annual diplomatic trade between the two countries amounted to hundreds of millions of yuan.

So contradictions are contradictions, but business has to continue to be done, and in some areas with common interests, it is very normal for the two sides to cooperate with each other.

For example, in the United States, Britain and the Empire joined forces as arms dealers, importing all kinds of war materials to the United States, and the cooperation in the arms business can be described as very pleasant.

You must know that a large amount of ordnance and other commodities exported by China to the United States are basically transported by British ships, and the British have made a lot of money on transportation costs alone.

Nowadays, in the face of Japan's xenophobic actions, the interests of all countries are basically the same!

In addition, a very important point is that the empire is on the edge of Japan, although the imperial navy is weak, compared to the British navy and even the French navy, it is also a relatively important maritime power in the Far East seas.

At the same time, the strength of the Imperial Army has been tested by war, and the soldiers of Britain and France are deeply touched!

Therefore, for Britain and France, pulling the Chinese to interfere in Japan's current situation is to clean up.

After all, the world is so big, and there is a high probability that conflicts and even wars will break out between countries in one direction, but sometimes there is cooperation in another.

Lin Zhe pondered for a moment and said, "I will make the navy ready to send the necessary troops to the Japanese sea area, reinforce the concession, and protect the legation and our merchants!" ”

Speaking of this, it is necessary for Lin Zhe to feel that before reminding Song Guan once: "Your Ministry of Foreign Affairs must also do a good job of relevant work." It should be noted that our enemies are not the shogunate, but the Japanese reformers who respected the king, and at the same time reminded Britain and France not to hit the wrong person at that time! ”

"As for the joint invitation of Britain, France and other countries, I can agree to them to a limited extent, but it is only limited to protecting the concessions and embassies of various countries, and without my personal order, I am absolutely not allowed to take the initiative to attack the Japanese himself!"

The core goal of the Japanese phalanx drawn up by Lin Zhe has always been one, that is, to sabotage and delay the industrialization process of Japan.

Under such a central strategy, what the empire has to do is to remain steadfast in its fight against any progressive forces in Japan that try to carry out reforms, and prop up conservatives.

That is, in this way. The Empire will support the Shogunate, not the Emperor!

Under Lin Zhe's edict, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Navy also acted quickly, and three days later, three ocean-going warships of the Chinese Navy departed from Shanghai and then headed for Edo, Japan, and these three warships also carried 300 Imperial Marines.

Their main task was to protect the Chinese Concession and the Embassy, and to weave the Japanese and Legitimate, who had once again stormed the Concession, causing casualties among Chinese merchants and diplomats.

When it was learned that China was going to send troops in the past, the British side took the initiative to find it and once again invited China to take joint action!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also agreed to them to a limited extent, promising that if the situation in Japan really threatened the security of the concessions of various countries, then Chinese soldiers would assist the countries to protect the concessions to a limited extent.

Although Lin Zhe had begun to respond to the situation in Japan, he also underestimated the turbulence of the situation in Japan at this time.

The shogunate was already completely unable to control the Nagasu Domain, the Satsuma Domain, and other regions, and the power of the reformists was so great that the Shogunate had to submit to it.

Faced with the tremendous pressure of the Emperor's faction, the shogunate had to make concessions and was ready to accept some of the demands of the Emperor's faction, that is, to expel foreigners, close treaty ports, concessions, etc.

At this time, whether it is for Britain, France, the United States and other countries or for the Chinese Empire, it is unacceptable!

For this reason, in March, the Imperial Minister to Japan, Li Bochang, once again met with some of the powerful officials of the Tokugawa shogunate, hoping that they would carefully consider their attitude towards the foreign empire, and at the same time reiterating once again that the empire would not want to see anything change the existing system of Japan, and that in the event of a conflict or even war between the shogunate and the reformers, the empire would firmly stand on the side of the shogunate.

In April, the Reich sold 2,000 1856 Linde rifles to the Tokugawa shogunate for use in arming the shogunate at a price lower than the international market price!

Perhaps it was because he saw the empire's support for the shogunate, and Britain and France and other countries also showed their support for the shogunate one after another!

And this change is different from history!

In the following June, the Tokugawa shogunate announced that the so-called imperial edict of the Emperor was forged, refused to accept the expulsion of foreign merchants, and began to arrest a large number of people from the Emperor's Shogunate.

In late June, some members of the Cheung Chau Domain's royal faction took control of the Shimonoseki Fort and shelled foreign merchant ships passing through the Shimonoseki Strait.

American, French, Dutch ships were shelled.

Three days later, a Chinese merchant ship was also shelled by the Xiaguan Fort of the Cheung Chau Domain, also in the Shimonoseki Strait.

This shelling can be said to have completely detonated the anger of all countries!

The ministers of various countries in Japan quickly contacted and prepared to organize a fleet to retaliate against the Shimonoseki Fort, and unlike Britain, the United States, France and other countries in history, this time, they also pulled in the Imperial Chinese Navy. (To be continued.) )