In the face of China's sudden attack on the Ryukyu issue, the Japanese side was quite caught off guard. Moreover has always spoken out as China's official mouthpiece. On 11 April, Minister Enomoto Takehiro lodged a protest with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claiming that the Ryukyu Islands were Japan's inherent territory and that there was no dispute in this regard.

On 13 April, Huang Zunxian, the Chinese minister to Japan, also submitted a diplomatic note to the Japanese side, insisting that the Ryukyu Kingdom was undoubtedly a vassal of China in terms of history, geography, and legal theory, and that in essence it was Chinese territory, and that Japan was "stealing and occupying it," and demanded that Japan reflect on this and quickly correct its mistakes.

The two sides started a diplomatic war, making the Ryukyu issue another hot spot in Sino-Japanese relations after the Korean issue.

On April 15, at the instigation of the Chinese government, large-scale anti-Japanese demonstrations broke out in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou and other major cities, with millions of participants.

The procession held all kinds of blood-red slogans, "Rather teach Japan not to grow grass, swear to take back Ryukyu Island!" ", "Kill all the Japanese people's will, 400 million China's 400 million blood!" "Attack Mt. Fuji and make the Wako bow their heads; Break through the city of Tokyo and feed the emperor! "All kinds of standard languages are flying, and poetry and songs are readily available.

At the same time, the Japanese consulates also became the focus of the procession's attacks, constantly being attacked by stones, ink, and even a large amount of feces.

And those shops that sell Japanese goods, now life is difficult, being scolded and beaten is light, and what is worse is that after being smashed by a group of hot-blooded young people, the goods are all looted.

At the same time, the Chinese government also took a tough move, and on April 21, Ding Yuntong issued an order that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially declare the waters of the Ryukyu Islands as China's territorial waters.

According to the prior planning, China began to send some old gunboats to the Ryukyu waters in turns.

Among them, there are mainly 12 large and small gunboats "Tianji", "Zhen'an", "Yuyuan", "Hai'an", "Chengqing", "Henghai", "Weijing", "Surveying the Sea", "Jinou", "Dengyingzhou", "Junhe" and "Jingyuan", three of which are in one formation, divided into four formations, and patrol in shifts, forming the normalization of cruising in the waters of the Ryukyus.

At the same time, the main fleet of the Chinese Navy is also on standby at any time, ready to support the cruise formation.

In this life, China's industrial level has greatly improved, and many ships that could not be built until several years later in the previous life have now been completed ahead of schedule.

There are mainly four cruisers, "Kaiji", "Huantai", "Jingqing", and "Baomin", in addition to two light cruisers "Nanrui" and "Nanchen" ordered from Germany in the early days, of which the "Baomin" ship is the smaller "Kaiji", which is only 1,500 tons. The other five ships are all about 2,000 tons. Although these six ships have limited power, they are flexible and maneuverable, and joining the ranks has also greatly improved the overall strength of the fleet, so that China's main fleet has a total of 13 warships.

Of course, there are also some gunboats, which should be kept for use on the "Lushan Jihua".

If the dispute between China and Japan in the past was just a secret struggle under the table, now it has finally turned into an open dispute between you and you on the table.

The situation was developing so quickly that it was completely unexpected by Japan.

In particular, Japan's current military situation has increased dramatically, and many Western media believe that, judging from the information available, Japan already has the strongest armed forces in the Far East, because Japan often holds some open military exercises, and its combat quality has left a deep impression on Western observers. Comparatively speaking, although China has great potential, the number of active naval and land forces is significantly inferior to that of Japan.

Therefore, many commentators believe that in the event of a military conflict between China and Japan, Japan will have a better chance of winning. But there are also some people, especially in the French media, who believe that China will win, and they have a deep memory of China's ability to force a French truce without being looked down upon.

The Japanese government, on the other hand, is also quite confused by the current situation, and they can only ponder China's intentions while stepping up preparations for war. In order to paralyze China and also to win over international public opinion, the Japanese Government has repeatedly proposed that it hope to hold a summit meeting without preconditions, that is, face-to-face communication between the Japanese emperor and the Chinese emperor, so as to eliminate misunderstandings and "enable the two sides to return to the origin of strategic reciprocity."

In this regard, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement, saying that "the summit meeting between China and Japan needs to have a good atmosphere, and the Japanese side must first correct its mistakes and recognize the Ryukyu issue."

Naturally, Japan will not accept it, insisting that "the Ryukyu Islands are Japan's inherent territory and there is no dispute." ＂

As a result, China officially declared that "the Japanese emperor is persona non grata, and the Japanese side has closed the door to dialogue with its own hands." ＂

At the same time, Japanese embassies abroad published articles in newspapers in Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Russia, and other countries, propagating the "China threat theory" and so on. Not to be outdone, Chinese embassies abroad have written articles to fight back, calling Japan "an evil, shameless, greedy, and perverted country."

Soon, the diplomatic war between the two sides quickly escalated into a shrew, in various international occasions, all kinds of insults were exchanged at each other, and the vocabulary used was also renovated, and the various Western powers were treated with relish, and the British newspapers commented on it as "an exposition of indecent adjectives in the East".

Ding Yuntong is very satisfied with this development of the situation, which is exactly what he wants.

On the one hand, he used it to divert political focus, quell domestic controversy, and create public opinion for the war.

On the other hand, he also hoped that the Western powers, especially Britain, would see the future Sino-Japanese war as a contest of wills and hatred between the two countries. Rather than thinking that China is expanding its territory, it is very beneficial to reduce the interference of other countries.

But before the Sino-Japanese war officially began, Ding Yuntong was determined to get two things done first.

The first is to change the name of the country.

"Qing" is the name of the country established by the Manchus, in Ding Yuntong's view, for a country where the Manchus account for a very small minority, such a country name cannot last long, nor can it adapt to his future hegemony Jihua, so it is imperative to change the name of the country.

Ding Yuntong believes that the time is ripe to change the country's name.

First of all, he already has the strength to change the name of the country.

After a long period of propaganda, brainwashing, and personality cults, he as emperor has actually transcended the dynasty and become a symbol of the entire country. In particular, the basis of his own rule: the Guards and the meritorious landlords behind them; a bureaucracy that has emerged through its own reforms; In the process of industrialization, the power, status, wealth, and reputation of the rapidly growing large and medium-sized state-owned conglomerates, etc., came from the emperor, not the imperial court.

Secondly, in fact there is no real opposition to Liliang.

The Manchu aristocracy Shili has already suffered a great purge, and almost all those with strength and status have been killed, and the rest are just some frightened ones. The old princes and nobles no longer dared to oppose it.

The Eight Banners had been dismantled, the children of the Eight Banners had been deprived of all privileges at the same time, the land had been confiscated, and the foundation of Manchu rule had been completely dismantled. The children of the Eight Banners are powerless to object.

The conservative and stubborn leftist intellectuals, in the previous process of abolishing the imperial examination, industrialization, cutting braids, etc., have fought long ago, and those who should have been suppressed have been suppressed early, and the others have already been disheartened, sighing, "The peach blossom fan is sent to the front court", and the only thing left is poetry and wine to entertain themselves, and they are infinitely embarrassed. And those right-wing intellectuals have long been eager to change the name of the Qing Dynasty. So intellectuals don't need to object.

zuihou, in the minds of the people, from the day they cut off their braids, whether they themselves are aware of it or not, in fact they are already mentally prepared to change the name of the country.

It was after careful measurement that Ding Yuntong dared to take this step boldly with confidence.