Kyoto was a very elegant city, and it was also the city with the most Chinese symbols in Japan. At this time, the June sun was shining brightly, making the city look more Japanese. However, it would not be long before the rainy season began, so the people of Kyoto were busy. They walked through the streets full of Chinese symbols, preparing for the rainy season.
"His Majesty the Great Emperor of China emphasized that the public ownership of land must not be shaken …"
In a mansion in Kyoto, Ito Hirobumi was writing, and the secretary next to him was reading the newspaper to him. After listening to the news, Ito Hirobumi stopped writing and said unhappily, "Humph! Edo Shimbumi only knows how to brag about China all day long. "
Edo Shimbumi was an official newspaper of the Edo government set up by the Hokkaido army after they recaptured Tokyo. The Japanese were very concerned about "decency." Although Hokkaido was the place where the shogunate rose again, after they recaptured Edo and stabilized their rule in Edo, the Hokkaido government officially changed its name to "Edo government."
As the official newspaper of the Edo government, the headline of Edo Shimbumi was naturally the policy direction of the Edo government. As the enemy of the Edo government, the Meiji government also had to pay attention to the news of Edo Shimbumi. For example, Ito Hirobumi, one of the cabinet members, asked his secretary to read Edo Shimbumi to him every day.
After cursing the content of Edo Shimbumi, Ito Hirobumi still felt a little unsatisfied. He picked up the pen and wrote on the paper, "Edo Shimbumi, nonsense!"
This was plagiarized by Ito Hirobumi. A newspaper in China called Global Times was the first to use this sentence when cursing The Times. Later, when other newspapers scolded the Global Times for having the qualifications of a capitalist lacking a lackey, they changed their name and became 'Global Times, Bullshit.' Because the pronunciation was rhyming, the tone was cadence. Soon, it was widely used in the newspaper cursing. Cursing was probably the most common human language. Ito Hirobumi also understood Chinese. After using it, he immediately felt that it was very good and began to use it often.
Simply cursing Edo Shimbun was not enough to bring down the traitorous newspaper. The reason why Ito Hirobumi was so agitated was that the Meiji government hated the state-owned land system to the bone. Of course, the remaining members of the shogunate had relied on the support of the Chinese people. However, the remaining members of the shogunate were desperate enough to choose state ownership of land, which solved the fundamental problem that plagued Japan.
Because of this news, Ito Hirobumi lost all interest in listening to the newspaper. He waved his hand at the secretary. "Put the newspaper down."
The secretary quickly put down the newspaper and helped Ito Hirobumi tidy up the things he needed to practice his calligraphy. As he cleaned up, he said, "Your Excellency, Guanxi has an army made up of the best warriors. The rebels of Guandong cannot be stopped by crooked means."
Ito Hirobumi did not make any comments on this. China had been in the state ownership of land for decades, and the shogunate's remnants had been in the state ownership of land for 20 years. The theory that the land belonged to the state was no longer a secret. Anyone who was willing to use land as a means of production would understand that state ownership of land meant that the country could directly collect food from agricultural laborers and recruit soldiers. Although state ownership of land had to give the people equal status, these equal people also gave great feedback to the regime.
Just as he finished tidying up the things he needed to practice his calligraphy, a guest came to Ito Hirobumi's house. The guest was European, or rather, British. There were many British people in Kansai. Previously, a group of British people had been arrested in Kansai for encouraging the Japanese to send assassins to assassinate Vézé, so the British man was obviously more vigilant. He carefully ordered the guards outside the door to strengthen their vigilance and not to repeat the same mistakes.
When he sat down with Ito Hirobumi in the living room, the British representative asked readily, "Your Excellency, do you know how much money the Hokkaido government earns from China by exporting labor?"
Ito Hirobumi knew that China was fully developing North America, and the nearest shipping route to Vancouver in North America was through Hakodate. The replenishment of water and supplies in Hakodate had almost turned the Hakodate port into a money-printing machine for the remaining members of the shogunate. So Ito Hirobumi asked, "Are you referring to the port service?"
The British representative shook his head. "Your Excellency, I am referring to the export of labor. Just like the Japanese who are now employed by the China to work in North America. "
This question made Ito Hirobumi temporarily speechless. The population of Japan was about 40 million, and the two sides of the civil war accounted for about half of it. The Edo government, with a population of 20 million, provided about 900,000 laborers to China. In other words, one-tenth of the people under the Edo government and one-third of the adults were sent to North America.
After receiving this news, the Meiji government did consider launching a surprise attack on the Edo government, which lacked military strength. However, just before the war broke out, the China's fleet went to the coastal areas of Japan for a stroll. In addition to such a threat, China's government also specially sent people to the Japanese Meiji government to warn them, "Don't destroy the peace."
There was an opportunity, but they couldn't take advantage of it. When Ito Hirobumi thought of this problem, he only wanted to curse, "Motherf * cker, Teikokuism!"
"As far as I know, the Chinese pay these Japanese a salary of 4,000 to 6,000 yuan a year …" The British envoy began to say what he wanted to say.
Ito Hirobumi sneered in his heart. There were 900,000 Japanese sent to North America. Of course, the Meiji government would have intelligence personnel among them. According to the information provided by the intelligence personnel, the salary given by the Chinese was 10,000 yuan per person. The Edo government deducted half of it, and each Japanese who went to North America could get 5,000 yuan. This money was distributed to the people of Edo by China's bank in the Edo government. Therefore, under the rule of the Edo government, almost all the Japanese were willing to go to North America to serve the Chinese.
The Japanese who went to work no longer lived at home. These people could also provide their families with hard currency that was enough to buy two kilograms of silver every year. For the poor Japanese, this was already a terrifying income. A few of the "workers" who had to leave North America and return to Japan because of an accident brought back not only a year's income, but also the spoils of war they had obtained in North America. Although the amount was not much, it was still a considerable income for the Japanese. This money was enough for those single men to marry a wife, and even allow them to bring their wives to live in the city.
"… Sir, we are willing to pay 3,000 yuan a year to hire Japanese to work in Africa. I wonder if you are willing? "The British representative directly stated the purpose of this trip.
"I need to discuss this with someone." Ito Hirobumi immediately replied.
"If you have any concerns, please tell me. I will answer them for you." The British representative said.
Looking at the anxious look on the British representative's face, Ito Hirobumi felt even more displeased. The Kansai samurai had been playing the role of scavengers in the South China Sea for the past 200 years. At first, it was for the Portuguese who cultivated spices to create an uninhabited island. Later, it was to help the white people kill the white people. After the rise of China, the scale of work increased. Killing and burying was a way to get a reward of one or two taels of silver for killing a native. The Satsuma samurai earned more than seven million taels of silver in ten years. Even now, after almost ten years, the Satsuma samurai were still brimming with praise for the business integrity of the Chinese.
"I don't know much about Africa, so it's not that I have any doubts. I just don't understand the whole proposal at all." Ito Hirobumi explained.
After sending off the disappointed British representative, Ito Hirobumi asked his secretary to prepare a carriage. As expected, when he arrived at the cabinet, he heard the cabinet members discussing this issue. The British didn't just send one envoy, and they didn't just go to lobby Ito Hirobumi alone.
"3,000 yuan. Are they going to beat the beggars?" Yamagata Aritomo's voice was gloomy and full of dissatisfaction.
"The traitorous government received 5,000 yuan. These British are looking down on us." Those who supported Yamagata Aritomo expressed their opinions one after another.
"I don't trust the British." Masaharu Terauchi expressed his attitude even more straightforwardly.
This time, no one responded, but many people nodded slightly. It was obvious that this statement was widely accepted.
This time, Ito Hirobumi also felt relieved. He also didn't trust the British. The purpose of this meeting in the cabinet was to express the exact same opinion as Masaharu Terauchi. Now that Masaharu Terauchi had spoken, and he didn't see anyone who objected, Ito Hirobumi felt that there were probably no more supporters.
Just as he was thinking about this, Naoki Yoshinori spoke, "If the British are willing to calculate based on the number of people, we can send some troops."
These words were immediately criticized by Masaharu Terauchi. "Naoki, do you think this is a piecework?"
Because his words used the business management model, it caused everyone to laugh. Ito Hirobumi couldn't help but laugh a few times.
Masaharu Terauchi didn't stand on ceremony. He continued, "No matter what the payment model is, it doesn't matter. The key now is that the British can't be trusted. Those foreign devils have never looked up to us, the Japanese. 3000 RMB a year is indeed a lot, but if they secretly harm our people, the British can save even more money. On this matter, I'd rather trust the Chinese than the British. "
Almost everyone agreed with Masaharu Terauchi's words. However, Naoki Yoshinori didn't back down because of his minority position. He said in a low, muffled voice, "If the British are defeated in Southern Africa, they will be driven out of the Indian Ocean forever. If you think the British are unreliable, then we might as well give up on Britain completely and quickly go to China. If everyone thinks that the Chinese are unreliable, then why should we give up on our relationship with the British? "
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