"The navy cannot be strong if it is said to be strong. Industrial development will take at least ten or twenty years to catch up with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austro-Hungarian Empire, the current level, and even the Kingdom of Italy. There is also Tsarist Russia. Although Tsarist Russia has a weak industrial foundation, it relies on its geographical advantages and their total amount is large enough. Once industrialization begins, its speed will be very advantageous." Emperor Hua frowned, "It is indeed difficult for China to rise up in the cracks between these giants."

"I have confidence in Your Majesty, and in our country of China. I don't believe that the British will really fight against superpowers like us for Japan. We are close to Japan, they are far away from Japan. Moreover, in the eyes of the great powers at this time, Japan is not even a unified country, they are just a region." Princess Katrina Kaif optimistically enlightened Emperor Hua.

The cute president nodded with a smile, "Yes, this is our biggest advantage against Japan."

According to the telegram sent from Japan, Emperor Hua marked the current deployment map of the Chinese army on the map. On the map, we can clearly see how much space the Chinese army now occupies.

"Although the place is not big, it is the richest area in Japan." Princess Katrina Kaif said softly.

The cute president nodded and smiled with satisfaction, "Actually, I am already satisfied that I can save the results of these things now. It is naturally the best for the Chinese army to take all of Kyushu Island. It's just too much effort, and it's impossible to do it in the short term."

"What Your Majesty said is that being able to gain a foothold is the most important thing. Let the international community and the local Japanese accustom ourselves to our possession of Kitakyushu Castle, Nagasaki, Sasebo, and Fukuoka." Princess Katrina Kafu agreed with Emperor Hua's view.

The Meiji Restoration in Japan is a process of redistribution of resources and power. In this process, some of the owners of old rights will inevitably lose the resources and power they originally own; the reform is also a process of flat management, and some of the middle class will inevitably be eliminated.

This is a process of squeezing from the top and the bottom to the middle class, and the power deprived in the middle and the resources saved will be redistributed to the highest and lowest groups, thus achieving a new balance between management and production.

For example, "extinguishing the barbarians" is essentially depriving the resources and privileges of the Western colonists for their own use. However, compared with Japan at this time, the Western colonists were very powerful. Even a powerful vassal like Satsuma Changzhou was deeply aware that they could not compete with them behind the enemy. If they insisted on depriving their resources in Japan, they would likely be completely defeated by these guys with strong ships and cannons, and even sovereignty (the power of the government to allocate their own resources) was completely lost.

Therefore, it is better to recognize their existence in Japan, or even form alliances with it in exchange for their support and necessary military and technical assistance to obtain higher development resources, the ability to develop productivity and the ability to squeeze other classes.

It was for this purpose that the British confronted China, otherwise they would not have much practical benefits.

Emperor Hua and Princess Katrina Kaif were precisely because the British would not expand the war for the sake of the Japanese, so they dared to test the bottom line of the British step by step.

The essence of "reversal of the curtain" is to point the finger at the shogun generals above the emperor, depriving him of his privileges, territory, and depriving him of his resources and power to allocate resources. The so-called "liberation of productivity" and the "abolition of vassals and counties" after the "reversal of the curtain" are equivalent to cutting the knife at the princes and depriving them of their resources and power.

However, further military reforms have given ordinary civilians the right and obligation to join the army, giving more people the sense of honor and opportunity to be loyal to the country and promote. Therefore, the knife slashed at the lower-level warriors again.

If we talk about betrayal, the princes and lower-level samurai who worked hard during the reversal were betrayed by the new government, and the ultimate benefit was the highest-level people and more than the Japanese civilians.

In order for Japan to truly achieve military modernization, it is necessary to betray the lower samurai class. Saigo agreed with the new military system, and he knew that from the public, the new system could make Japan stronger.

The princes worked hard during the process of the fall of the curtain. After their resources and power were deprived, they could become new chaebols and landlords, even if they were just a luxurious and decayed life, at least they would not have to worry about their livelihoods. The number of lower-level warriors was huge. As an individual, they had few resources, and when they were deprived of the privilege of joining the army, they would often have no food and clothing.

"So we cannot withdraw from Kyushu Island in Japan, and we cannot let the lower-level samurai forces of Takamoto Saigo fall. This is also our bottom line." Princess Katrina Kaifu smiled, "Even if all Kyushu Island is occupied, we must keep the puppet regime of Takamoto Saigo. Your Majesty, isn't that true?"

"Yes, you are right. The meaning of retaining a piece of land in Japan is far more important than getting a huge compensation. Even if they can pay 500 million Chinese dollars, they will not be able to keep up with our control over Nagasaki and Sasebo!" The cute president smiled.

Princess Katrina Kaif smiled sweetly, "It's considered unlucky for the Japanese to meet His Majesty. The great powers just want money. No one except China will want their broken land."

"It's a broken land." The cute president nodded in agreement with Princess Katrina Kaif's view, "If it weren't for curbing Japan's development, if they did not have the tradition of invasion, they were not by the side of China, such a barbaric small country, poor and small, China would not attack them first."

"Well, I didn't understand why Your Majesty was targeting Japan like this. Now I figured it out that a country like Japan has always been a potential threat to China. Now that we retain Takamoto Saigo, we can prevent them from completing unification to the greatest extent. Otherwise, with the support of European powers in the future, they will definitely attack our China." Princess Katrina Kafu said.

"That's right." Emperor Hua smiled slightly. Princess Katrina Kaifu was not like him. He knew the development of history, but Princess Katrina Kaifu didn't know that she could change her understanding, change her views on Japan, and see the threat of Japan, which made Emperor Hua very happy.

Saigo Takamori was a contradictory person. He had never hesitated when he cut his samurai sword at the shogunate and the vassal lords, but when he wanted to cut his samurai group that had always supported and maintained his own, the lower-level samurai.

Saigo cannot forget these comrades who were standing side by side with him. Therefore, in the initial stage, he organized the Guards with the following samurai as the main body, just to give these comrades who were standing side by side a place, but the Guards' organization is also limited.

Although Saigo himself is very generous and generous, whenever a Sammo Samuel comes to him, if he cannot solve their personal problems, he will let him use it at the cashier at the door.

However, this cannot solve the fundamental problem after all, and is easily taboo. It is easy to create rumors like "Xixiang wants to buy people's hearts and rebellion."

So the solution that Saigo came up with was to expand externally, "there was not enough to make up for the dike outside", so that the lower-level warriors could invade other countries and gain new privileges and new resources from the new territory and people of other countries. But it was easy to say that, at that time, the world's great powers were surrounded by them, and all the good places had long been seized.

Okubo and others, who were opposed to Saigo, believed that internal governance should be the main focus, and a modern national system and logistics system should be established first before external conquests can be launched. If samurai conquests rashly are likely to fail due to insufficient logistics and supply, and the interference of Western powers.

Therefore, he strongly opposed the "urgent campaign". Friends from the previous period of the fall of the curtain have now become political enemies.

Okubo and others used various political means to lobby everywhere. Yama Prefecture Aritoto, who stood on Okubo's side, also used strategies to run around in front of the Taiwan and behind the scenes.

Because Yama Prefecture Aritoto wants to safeguard the interests of the new government army, and at the same time safeguard his own interests in the political and military circles. In addition, many people who have been born in the samurai and have become senior government officials are also ready to make full use of this contradiction between Saigo and Okubo, to overthrow Saigo, and profit from it, so as to enhance the status of the people of the samurai faction in the government.

But Saigo, who was opposite to them, seemed to appear only as a hero and idol at this time. He only did all his political work on the surface, hoping to impress the ministers and senators with his loyalty and fame, and hoped that they would not betray the lower-level warriors who had fought together.

Xixiang Takaho really seems to want to be the Sima Wengong who thinks that "nothing can't be told to others" is the one who is in his mind.

However, political struggle is a special war, requiring special technical means and special strategic tricks. Just relying on the four words "open and upright" can't win in this war that concerns both public and private interests and concepts.

During the Korean debate, the Saigo faction finally lost. He demanded a mission to North Korea and his desire to conquer the four sides was completely shattered.

The angry Saigo immediately submitted his resignation to the emperor.

The next day, the emperor approved Saigo to resign as the senator and the governor of the Guards, and retained the rank of general of the army.

The samurai in the traditional sense represented by Saigo will forever lose the honor they can enjoy.

If the lives of the samurai are like the cherry blossoms, then Saigo must have clearly seen that the honor that they cherished more than the cherry blossoms has fallen gently at this time.

The issue of gentry became more and more intense, and unjust gentry in various parts of Japan rebelled one after another.

The larger scale was the Saga Rebellion launched by Eto Shinhei in Saga Prefecture, Kyushu in the seventh year of Meiji (1874).

After the incident was pacified, the Japanese government mobilized Taiwan to send troops to pacify the gentry, especially the Satsuma gentry with the strongest sense of resistance, in the same year (the 13th year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty) on the excuse of Ryukyu refugees being killed by indigenous people in Taiwan by the indigenous people (Mudanshe incident).

The Japanese government specially promoted Saigo Takaho, the younger brother of Saigo, from Dao to Lieutenant General, and appointed him as the governor of the Taiwan Foreign Local Affairs Bureau, leading more than 3,000 troops to attack the indigenous tribes in southern Taiwan.

However, the issue of the gentry was not solved.

In the tenth year of Meiji (1877), the Satsuma Buping gentry attacked the government's gunpowder depot in Kagoshima, opening the prelude to the Southwest War.

At that time, Takamori Saigo was not in Kagoshima. After hearing the news, he sighed, but he still returned to Kagoshima to lead the gentry, and rushed north under the name of "questioning the government", and fought fiercely with the government forces in Kumamoto Castle.

In Sago Takamori was promoting the policy of distributing land to lower-level gentry in Satsuma. His attitude towards the war of aggression can be seen from the fact that his students refused to oppose the war. He also left the government that advocated foreign aggression. His younger brother Sago Congdao supported foreign aggression and had been in the government.

Saigo Takamori was benevolent and righteous to the people, so he had great prestige among the Japanese people. Although the Southwest War, which led the petty bourgeois revolution, was defeated and was designated as a rebellion, in order to win over the people, many of the "rebels" were relatives of the Satsuma faction of Japan. Before the rebellion, Takamori Saigo first supported the "public and martial arts fusion" of the vassal lords, and then advocated "respecting the king and expelling the barbarians", but in fact he also cooperated with the United Kingdom to strive to introduce Western technology.

He was in a stubborn and scheming campaign and used his power to make plans.

After the founding of the new government, he used the words of Chen Longchuan of the Song Dynasty to "suppress the wisdom and courage of a lifetime and open up the mind of eternity" as his motto.

He once wrote in his diary: When you are a person, you should learn from Sima Wen Gong (Sima Guang), and you should not be treated with anything. You should strive to develop in a completely selfless direction.

Takamori Saigo once said to Ryuma Sakamoto: "What you said the day before yesterday is different from what you said today. How can you win the trust of me like this? As a famous scholar in the world, you must have firm beliefs!"

Sakamoto said: "It's not like this. Confucius once said that a gentleman follows the times. Time goes by and the social situation changes every day. Therefore, following the trend of the times is the way for a gentleman! Saigo, once you decide something, you want to implement it all the time. But if you do this, you will lag behind the times in the future."

Saigo Takamori represents the interests of the lower samurai from beginning to end. Saigo has clear likes and dislikes, is full of enthusiasm, and takes unreasonable actions from time to time.

At that time, in addition to the noble Chinese, scholars, peasants, industry and commerce belonged to the four people. There were 420,000 households in Japan, accounting for one-tenth of the total population. The salary of the superior gentry was 300 stones, and the lowest was only five stones, which were small producers. Takamoto Saigo represented these petty bourgeois classes. Although they were slightly stronger than the poor peasants and the people, they were incomparable to the salary of thousands of Chinese people. The Tokugawa clan still retained a salary of 700,000 stones, and the royal family also became a feudal feudal lord with millions of stones. They established a feudal militarist regime with the great bourgeoisie, which was essentially imperialist invasion and the root cause of the Asian war disaster.

At that time, the four civil straits of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce were lower than those of the Chinese hereditary names, vassal lords, and senior samurai. Compared with those of the great landlords and merchants, the status of the gentry was also lower than that of the farmers, industry and commerce. The status of the gentry was similar to that of the farmers, industry and commerce. They were mainly militia organizations established during the reorganization and those who were discharged from their salaries were all outstanding in military achievements, but they were disbanded and unemployed, and they had no choice but to revolt everywhere.

Takamoto Saigo was a progressive politician with bourgeois democratic ideas and firmly established the anti-seal.

However, in the eyes of Emperor Hua, Li Hongzhang and Xuan Jianzhang, they did not think much about Takaho Saigo.

At this time point in 1879, Takaho Saigo was a chess piece in the hands of Emperor Hua. As long as Takaho Saigo was not dead, the Chinese control over Kyushu Island could not be regarded as an invasion, and Takaho Saigo's existence could not allow Japan to gain more support internationally.

Because, in the eyes of the international community, Japan is not a unified country at this time.

There is a big difference between a unified country and a country without a unified country.

Before the reunification of China, the Far East was basically Russia and Britain fought for hegemony. Although the situation between China and Japan was different, they were all subject to unequal treaties.

However, after the unification of China led by President Meng, especially after winning the war against Tsarist Russia, China became an Asian power and completely broke away from its semi-colonial status.

As China's power surged, it sent troops to Japan, which caused Japan's international status to plummet, wealth flowed out in large quantities, and its national power declined.

Although the war between China and Japan cannot be said to have completely failed, it has been unprecedentedly shocked to Japanese society.

The Meiji government in Japan lost all confidence in the government and the opposition. The independent finance of the Japanese government went bankrupt and relied on borrowing money from Western powers.
Chapter completed!