The clock had struck, and it was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

Beijing, Dongjiaomin Lane. In the former Qing Dynasty, it was a gathering place for foreign embassies, and it is still here. It's just that there is no longer the rule that the Chinese army could not enter Dongjiaomin Lane in the past.

As usual, after lunch, Wittoma hurried out of the British Embassy in Beijing in the carriage with diplomatic insignia.

Today Wittoma is dressed very decently, a brand new dress. Today's things are always very important, and Wittoma himself attaches great importance to it.

"Is the news from the Japanese embassy confirmed? Hasn't the time changed? "As we left Dongjiaomin Lane, the carriage stopped, and a European man of about thirty years old came out of the other carriage that was wrong with the carriage, and this man walked quickly into the carriage where Wittoma was, he was Deborah, and he was Wittoma's secretary. Wittoma asked Deborah.

"Yes, sir. According to the original plan, Mr. Yanagihara will leave Beijing by horse-drawn carriage at 3 p.m. this afternoon for Tianjin, and will depart from the port of Tianjin to return to the Japanese mainland. Deborah nodded.

"Twenty minutes is enough to get to the hotel where the Japanese are staying." Wittoma looked at his pocket watch, and it was only ten past two. There was plenty of time. "We want to see off our Japanese friends. To all, this was not only out of courtesy, but also out of friendly relations between Britain and Japan. At such a time, we must use the action of the century to tell the Chinese that Britain is a staunch supporter of the Japanese government in Tokyo. ”

Japan had an embassy in Beijing, and there was no legation before, although the Japanese had consulates in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Shanghai, and Tianjin.

Nine years before Tongzhi, China and Japan did not have Western-style modern diplomatic relations. Tongzhi for nine years. The Tokyo government of Japan sent Yanagihara Maemitsu to China to negotiate with the Qing Dynasty on the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Qing court refused to negotiate because of its lack of qualifications. The official foreign affairs power was added to the general government, and he was ruled in April of the tenth year. Yanagihara Maemitsu was the deputy envoy of the plenipotentiary minister Date Munejo, and he came to China again to negotiate, and met with Li Hongzhang, the Qing Dynasty's minister of Beiyang, in Tianjin, and concluded the 13 articles of the Sino-Japanese treaty of reconciliation, the treaty of commerce, and the customs tariff rules between Japan and the Qing Dynasty. The treaty did not have a most-favored-nation clause, stipulating that both sides had consular jurisdiction and forbade merchants and people from entering and leaving with swords. Tongzhi for ten years. The Tokyo Government sent Yanagihara Maemitsu to China three times to negotiate with Li Hongzhang in an attempt to overturn the original case and ask for the most favored nation assistance, but Li Hongzhang refused to revise it on the grounds that the Japanese side had lost its trust. The Government of Japan was compelled to ratify the Treaty. Consulates in Fuzhou, Xiamen, Shanghai, and Tianjin were established in the following days. However, less than a year later, Japan sent Saigo to invade Taiwan with armed forces under the pretext of Taiwan's killing of Ryukyu fishermen.

The Japanese legation in Beijing was never established. So much so that Yanagihara Maemitsu came to China for the fourth time as Japan's plenipotentiary envoy, and he could only live in a hostel.

At about 2:30 p.m., the carriage in which Wittoma was riding was now in front of a fancy inn. Yanagihara Maemitsu was already waiting in front of the door. Not long after, Luo Shuya of France and He Tianjue of the United States also came to see off Yanagihara Maemitsu.

The Russians have not yet established formal diplomatic relations with China, and the former legation in China has been closed. The Germans did not show their heads.

Liu Xian vigorously developed modern industry, and at least half of the large number of instruments and machines were purchased from Germany. That year it was tens of millions of taels of silver. The Germans will not offend China because of Japan, which has no interests.

And Yanagihara Maemitsu also left Beijing with failure. The Great Qin government undoubtedly announced the severance of trade with the Southwest Domain, etc., and Yanagihara Maemitsu, who represented the Tokyo government of Japan, could only declare that the mission had failed, and Japan would sever diplomatic relations with China.

Wittoma was well aware that his send-off would cast a shadow over his image in China. He Tianjue and Luo Shuya also understood the same. But they must do so, and they must firmly support the Tokyo government in suppressing the rebellion of the rebels in the southwest. Otherwise, China's traditional influence area. There really isn't a country that can contain China's energy anymore.

This is something that Western civilization and the Western world do not want to see.

"Mr. Yanagihara, I'm sorry. The mediation between Britain, France and the United States was not accepted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a central government in China. But please believe Mr. Yanagihara. God stands for justice. The counterinsurgency of the Japanese Government is just and fair, and civilized countries will never give up their support for justice and justice. Now, Britain, France, the United States and Japan are still firmly standing together. No matter what setbacks Japan suffers, we will support the position of the Japanese government. ”

Wei Tuoma said a polite word, and his voice was not small, and the Chinese who were watching not far away could also hear it, and those reporters could hear it even more. The meaning of this statement is also very clear: In any case, Britain, France, and the United States are all staunch supporters of the Tokyo government in Japan. The position of the Chinese central government, which led Yanagihara Maemitsu to declare his trip a failure, was obviously contrary to the three great powers of Britain, France, and the United States.

This is a kind of pressure that takes advantage of the opportunity, and puts pressure on the center of Great Qin.

"Thank you, Mr. Minister, for coming to see me off. Although Britain, France, and the United States are far apart from Japan, our interests are identical, and as long as Britain, France, and the United States maintain close friendship with Japan, our interests in the Far East and Pacific can be fundamentally guaranteed in the interests of the Far East and the Pacific, both now and in the future. As for the war in Japan, you need not worry. Although at the beginning of the war, the southwestern rebels relied on a surprise attack to achieve a temporary small victory, but the three ministers are to be believed. As long as the whole of Japan is mobilized, the defeat of the Southwest Domain will be inevitable. Once the Southwest Domain is defeated and Japan is integrated, Japan will inevitably fulfill its obligations. ”

Yanagihara Maemitsu was grateful in his heart for the three of Wei Tuma to come to say goodbye. Just like the loser, who sees the hope of victory anew, personally, the farewell of the three ministers can also erase the gloom of Yanagihara's future for the points. And he himself was really confident in this war in Japan.

The Japanese government's army has exceeded 40,000 men, and the six Zhentai will soon be expanded to six divisions and one guards division. The latter is much larger than the former. And what about the rebels of the Southwest Domain? The total number is only 30,000, and all of them are mobilized, but only 50,000. Not to mention that the Tokyo government still has an advantage on the sea!

Wittoma and others agreed, praising the bravery and dedication of the Japanese government troops. But all of them omitted China, and omitted the Japanese advance team in the Chinese army. This marching force, totaling more than 20,000 people, was even more terrifying than the rebels of the Southwest Domain.

The biggest enemy of the Tokyo government in Japan is not Saigo Takamori, but China behind them.

Because China's war is coming to an end. Because China has continued to be strong in the past two years. It may only take three years for Liu Xian to dominate the world. Such a speed is unimaginable in Chinese history.

The astonishing enterprising spirit and fighting spirit of the Qin army in battle, such an army was very terrifying, just like the French army under Napoleon back then. The current Chinese army also has an invincible arrogance, believing that they can defeat any opponent.

Unlike the French army, the Chinese army's research on new tactics is even more shocking.

An army with both combat courage and advanced tactical thinking and clever military commanders is very difficult to defeat.

If China really wants to intervene in the Japanese civil war, Wittoma really does not have much confidence in the Japanese government in Tokyo. Europe and the Americas are far away from the East Asia-Pacific region, while China is too close to Japan.

But without confidence, it doesn't mean you can give up on Japan. Modern armies of more than 100,000 people are well-trained by European standards, and apart from the fact that the Japanese are a little short, these Japanese are very hardworking and resilient. It's a strong force. It can be regarded as a second-rate military power in Europe, and in order to prevent China from dominating the Far East and the Pacific, Britain must continue to win over Japan.

It must be admitted that in the past few years, the image of Chinese soldiers, and even the image of China as a whole, has been completely changed. In the eyes of Western civilization, China may still be barbaric, but this barbaric country has a powerful army. And there are 40,000 Chinese, how many bayonets can this pull? Just thinking about it makes people shudder.

Moreover, this army is not a simple imitator of the armies of the European powers, the Chinese military themselves have created a new model of warfare.

Trench warfare, skirmishers, artillery tactics, the Chinese servicemen told the whole of Western civilization with facts that they were strong on land and unrepentant in force.

But it must also be noted that the military strength of a modern country depends on its national strength, and the national strength of a country depends on its industry. China's modern industry has developed by leaps and bounds compared to five years ago, but in Europe, not to mention comparable to Britain, France and Germany, even Spain, Italy, and Russia can easily overwhelm China. The latter still has a long way to go before it can become truly powerful.

And the Chinese Navy is a lame. Compared with the strength of their army, the navy of the Chinese is not worth mentioning.

And Wittoma, as an Englishman, is very difficult with a famous saying: a hundred years navy!

Building a strong navy, whether it is capital investment or concept shaping, is not something that can be accomplished in a short period of time. That's going to take a long, long time.

……

North of Jin, Daihai Balhasun River.

At midnight, the battlefield finally fell silent after a day of noise. Except for the occasional cannon fire in the distance, almost no other sound could be heard, and even the wounded suppressed their ** sound and waited quietly in the dark for dawn.

This is the Balhasun River, in the southwest of Daihai, and is the left flank of the current Daihai battlefield. It is less than thirty miles away from Liangcheng, the base camp of the Eight Banners New Army. (To be continued......)