"Without the Council's increased appropriation, we simply can't compete with the Beiyang Naval Division of the Qing Kingdom!" Saigo didn't know if he hadn't slept well for a few days, and he spoke very urgently, "The navy doesn't have money, so it can't be done!" The samurai spirit of our soldiers alone is not enough! ”

Saigo was born in the army and came to the navy to be a minister, but he didn't understand. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 But the annoying thing is that Saigo, who has been the Minister of the Navy three times, never intended to figure it out. The group of people who thought they were sailors were very unconvinced, and looked down on him, so they gave Minister Saigo the nickname "So So Minister", because Saigo did not know much about the navy, and when he heard people introduce the situation to him, he would often make a sudden realization: "I see." When Saigo became Minister of the Navy for the third time, Gonbei Yamamoto, the future father of the Japanese Navy, had already been the chief of the Naval Secretariat. Saigo asked the director to help him get a summary of the naval situation, and Yamamoto gave him a copy and asked if he had it in a few days. Saigo replied that he had already finished reading it. At this time, the principal Dazuo broke out: "Impossible, it took 7 months to prepare this information, how can the minister read it in five days, you didn't read it at all." Minister Saigo smiled: "You're quite smart, I really didn't look at it." Yamamoto was furious: "As a minister, how can you be so irresponsible? Dismissive of the efforts of his subordinates? Saigo beckoned, asked Yamamoto to stand closer, and then lowered his voice and said, "I'm from the army, so I can't read it anyway, so why bother watching it?" I'm a sir, I don't need to see it, I just have you to see it. I'm just going to help you ask for money and power, isn't that good? This time, it was Yamamoto Daisa who shouted, "I see." From then on, Yamamoto followed Saigo, and where Saigo pointed, Yamamoto would definitely hit where.

Foreign Minister Mutsu was a real countryman, although he later graduated from a prestigious university in the West, and his suit and leather shoes could not hide his barbaric spirit, he has always been known for his toughness, and his high cheekbones are constantly stirring when he speaks, "You can't just rely on persuasion, you have to lead the parliamentarians by the nose." ”

Ito Youheng, a representative of the military department, also agreed with this statement, "We must also launch an attack on them, and bowing to the Chinese this time will never be a bad thing, and the old saying of the Chinese is that Seon knows whether it is a blessing or not, and we can make full use of this matter to stimulate the people's national heart!" Breakthrough in the middle, the approval of His Majesty the Emperor and the support of the people form a flank again! ”

Mutsu Munemitsu nodded fiercely, "The consensus of the people is too important, we must hold high the banner of nationalism and transfer the people's dissatisfaction with the government to hatred of China!" ”

Ito Hirobumi smiled slightly, he did not have the slightest anger or humiliation to bow to China, "The foreign minister's words are really good! The advantage of the Japanese Empire was that it was able to unite the whole country by raising the banner of nationalism. And China has always gone its own way, and their people are even more confused and ignorant of state affairs, or think that they have obtained all state affairs, which is really ridiculous, and Li Hongzhang, when he first arrived, wanted to increase his prestige by attacking Japan, but he could only do this, I don't believe that the Beiyang Fleet will fight against Japan at all, because he is not alone in the Qing Dynasty, he just wants to stretch out his arms, and immediately seven or eight arms will drag him! ”

Behind the curtain, Yukichi Fukuzawa, who is in his sixties, has silver hair and a straight waist. Sitting opposite the emperor, his face was as calm as water, he was a very well-known educator and thinker of this era, although he did not come out, but his status in Japan was somewhat like Jiang Taigong, who was fishing by the Weishui River, and was very respected by the Restorationists, and was invited by Emperor Meiji today to talk about the future development of Japan.

"With the convenience of the world's means of transportation, the wind of Western civilization is gradually becoming eastward. Everywhere it went, even the grass and the air were overwhelmed by the wind. Generally speaking, although the Westerners of ancient times were not much different from those of today, their actions were relatively sluggish in ancient times, and they have become active today because of the use of transportation as a sharp weapon. For the top priority of the Oriental countries, the eastward trend of this civilization is very strong, it is better to keep pace with the times, rise and fall in the sea of civilization together, set off the waves of civilization together, and taste the bitterness and joy of civilization together, there is no other choice. ”

"Civilization is like the measles epidemic. At present, measles in Tokyo initially spread eastward from Nagasaki in the west, and gradually spread with the warm spring weather. The Emperor nodded, acknowledging the right words,

"Yes, even if you hate the dangers of the epidemic at this time, if you want to defend against it, is there a feasible way? The minister was sure that there was no such means. Epidemics that are purely harmful are as intense as they are, not to mention civilizations that have more interests or interests. At present, instead of stopping civilization, we should do our best to help the spread of civilization and let the people bathe in the atmosphere of civilization as soon as possible. If we try to prevent the invasion of civilization, Japan's independence cannot be guaranteed, because the noise of world civilization does not allow an isolated island in the East to sleep alone. ”

"In this regard, we, the people of insight in Japan, based on the principle of 'putting the country first' and 'putting the government first,' and fortunately relying on the sacred dignity of the imperial family, resolutely overthrew the old government and established a new government. It was not enough for the Japanese Empire to adopt modern Western civilization in everything, both in the government and in the opposition, and the Japanese Empire not only had to shed the old Japanese conventions, but also to create a new pattern in the whole of Asia. The key lies in the word "detachment". ”

The Emperor pondered calmly, "Deasia? Abandon the original Asia and integrate into the advanced civilization of Europe? ”

"Yes, although the country of Japan is located in the eastern part of Asia, the spirit of the people has begun to shift away from the stubborn conservatism of Asia and toward Western civilization. Unfortunately, however, there are two countries in the immediate vicinity, one is called China and the other is called North Korea. The people of these two countries have been influenced by Asiatic political and religious customs since ancient times, and this is no different from that of Japan. Perhaps it is because of the differences in the origins of human races, or perhaps because although we all share the same political and religious customs, there are differences in genetic education. Japan, China, and South Korea are relatively similar to Japan in terms of similarities to Korea. Both countries, both individually and as a nation, do not think of ways to improve. ”

The hall was very quiet, Emperor Meiji leaned forward, listening carefully to Fukuzawa Yukichi's words, his expression was a little excited but very indifferent, as if there was an extremely difficult matter that could be solved immediately. (To be continued.) )