On May 4th, 1866, in the reception hall of Nanjing, a group of Japanese people sat respectfully on the sofa. Although they all looked solemn, their foreheads were sweating and their bodies were stiff, which showed that they were uneasy.
"His Majesty Vézé has arrived!" With the announcement, the Japanese people jumped up from the sofa as if there were springs on their butts. Then, a group of people wearing the Type 65 military uniform of the Liberation Army strode into the reception hall. The Type 65 military uniform was the Type 1865 military uniform, not the Type 1965 military uniform. But other than the 100-year time difference, everything else was basically the same. The grass-green military uniform was approachable, and it reflected the principle of unity between officers and soldiers to the greatest extent.
The military uniform was not gorgeous, but the people wearing it had a murderous aura. In the middle was Vézé. His epaulets had pine and cypress leaves, but there were no stars to symbolize his military rank. In the place where the stars should have been, there was a national emblem. As the supreme leader of China, he shouldered the responsibility of the country.
Next to Vézé was Shen Xin, the Vice-Chairman of the Military Commission and the Director of the Political Department. Behind him was his secretary, Zuo Zongtang. The delegation sent by the Tokugawa shogunate had already received the arrangement. They lined up in a neat line and shook hands with Vézé one by one.
The leader of the delegation was Sheng Haizhou. Sheng Haizhou was already trembling with excitement to be able to shake hands with the emperor of China. In the eyes of the Japanese, this kind of reception was the highest form of courtesy and glory.
After shaking hands, Vézé waved his hand and said, "Everyone, sit down!"
The Japanese people returned to the sofa and sat down. It was obvious that they were not used to this kind of conversation. In Japanese meetings, people always sat on their knees. Sitting comfortably on the sofa, he didn't seem solemn enough. In other words, there were no sofas to sit on in Japan.
But Vézé did not care about this at all. After a simple welcome to the Japanese delegation, Vézé expressed his views. First of all, China believed that the shogunate represented the legitimate government of Japan, so China was willing to have friendly exchanges with the shogunate. Secondly, the shogunate had its own major problems. If the shogunate couldn't solve these problems that concerned the survival of the shogunate, China could only wait and see. In the end, Vézé hoped that the shogunate delegation could return to Japan, bring back China's suggestions, and survive in the future.
These words weren't polite, but they were very practical. For Vézé, if the Japanese shogunate continued to exist, China had no reason to pay such a huge price for it. Not to mention China in 1866, even the United States in 1966 had invested unprecedented support to South Vietnam, but the final result was that the support was all for naught. Vézé did not agree with the idea that even if he was a bastard, he was still a bastard to us. What he believed was, "Even if they are our bastards, bastards are still untrustworthy bastards."
In fact, high-level meetings rarely involved specific issues. Everyone talked about ideological issues. For example, whether China supported the shogunate, and to what extent would it support the shogunate. Once he made this clear, he set the tone for the meeting.
As the leader of the delegation, Sheng Haizhou had a general idea of China's attitude during the preparatory meeting. After Vézé personally came out to finalize the deal, he knew that many things could not be changed. For example, China asked the shogunate to make internal changes. If they could not change, China would not fully support Japan.
Sheng Haizhou was not angry about this request. Instead, he agreed. Sheng Haizhou was loyal to the shogunate, but the backbone of the shogunate, Sakamoto Ryoma and Takasugi Shinsaku, were once his disciples. Moreover, Sheng Haizhou had been to the United States for a visit. It was one thing to be loyal to the shogunate, but another to criticize the old system. Because he had seen the advanced social system, he fiercely criticized the old system, so Sheng Haizhou was forced to "reflect on his mistakes" for a year and a half. It just so happened that the shogunate had sent a delegation to China, and those who admired Sheng Haizhou in the shogunate let him lead the team.
"Your Majesty, why do you think the shogunate will not be able to hold on?" The person who objected was the deputy leader of the delegation, Komasu Tadasu. Komasu Tadasu had been following the shogunate's leader, Ii Naobi, for a long time. Ii Naobi was a feudal lord near Edo Hikone and a senior member of the Edo shogunate. He was most famous for signing a trade treaty with the United States, granting extraterritorial rights to American merchants and sailors, and opening the ports to them. In 1860, after Ii Naobi was assassinated by a Tobaku ronin with a scar on his face outside Sakurada Gate, Komasu Tadasu became completely opposed to the Tobaku faction. As an absolute supporter of the shogunate, Komasu Tadasu did not want to hear the emperor of China make such an ominous prediction about the shogunate. However, there was fear in his voice. After all, he was facing the emperor of China, so Komasu felt an indescribable pressure.
"Because the Tokugawa shogunate cannot afford to lose, but the Tobaku faction can." Even if someone objected, Vézé did not get angry. He calmly explained, "As the traditional leader of Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate must win every battle. Even if there are some setbacks in the war, the Tokugawa shogunate must win in the end. This was how the Tokugawa shogunate could not afford to lose. The Tobaku faction was already considered weaker than the Tokugawa shogunate, so it was not surprising that they kept losing. During the first Choshu expedition, even though the Choshu Domain's Tobaku faction suffered heavy losses, didn't they still manage to regroup? But as long as they can win once, the other daimyos who are dissatisfied with the shogunate will see an opportunity. They will think that the shogunate is not invincible. As long as they join the Tobaku faction, or at least not stand on the same side as the shogunate, the shogunate will suffer more defeats until it is overthrown. This is the current situation in Japan. "
The delegation sent this time was mostly made up of the younger generation. With how lifeless the Tokugawa shogunate was, it was impossible for them to really send their big shots to China for a "visit." Of course, if a group of Japanese big shots had really come, Vézé's words would have been different. After all, negotiating with the old and the young were two completely different things.
Just as Vézé had expected, some of these young people could understand what he was saying. For example, Sheng Haizhou. There were also some people who could not accept Vézé's words, such as Xiaosu's loyalty. But this was not something that Vézé should be concerned about. What he needed to do was to lay out the facts. In the past few months, China had not been idle either. They had collected information from various channels and had it sorted out and analyzed by the intelligence analysis department. In the end, it was up to Vézé to make the final judgment. Vézé only knew about the Meiji Restoration from history books. When the specific information reached Vézé, he realized the shogunate's destruction might be much more likely than Vézé had imagined.
The most important problem was that the shogunate had lost the support of the people in Japan. Japan was indeed more civilized than the Manchu Qing, so the knowledgeable people in Japan might not really oppose the shogunate. However, a considerable number of knowledgeable people in Japan did not think the shogunate could solve the problem. This situation reminded Vézé of the Manchu Qing government after 1900. To be fair, the policies of the Manchu Qing government at that time could not be said to have missed the point, nor could it be said that the policies of the Manchu Qing government at that time were really unreasonable. But at the end of the day, the Manchu Qing government's decadent and degenerate system made everyone have no confidence in the Manchu Qing government. Everyone thought that the Manchu Qing government was just struggling at death's door. In fact, there was no way to deal with the situation at that time.
Therefore, the scale of the Wuchang Uprising was not large, and the purely military impact was also very limited. But in the blink of an eye, the situation changed, and all the pillars of the Manchu Qing government abandoned the Manchu Qing government. Now, the Tokugawa shogunate was facing the same problem. The daimyo of various places in Japan might not necessarily think that the Choshu Domain would lead Japan into a new era, but they all believed that the Tokugawa shogunate would not be able to lead Japan into a new era. Unless the shogunate could show the ability to suppress all opposition, why would the daimyo of those places be buried with the Tokugawa shogunate?
In Japan's political system, the Tokugawa shogunate was the oppressor of the daimyo everywhere, not the leader that these feudal lords would willingly submit to.
This kind of meeting was to set the general tone, and the following matters would be handled by lower-level diplomats. This was also the norm. After the Japanese delegation personally listened to Vézé's tone, they were completely sure of China's attitude.
Zuo Zongtang followed Vézé out of the meeting hall. He asked thoughtfully, "Your Majesty, now that you mention it, I feel that the Manchu Qing government is quite similar to the Tokugawa shogunate."
Vézé sneered, "They are not just similar, they are exactly the same. It's just that China is larger, and it will take a longer time. And now, at least Ceng Guofan, Jiang Zhongyuan, and the others are still swearing loyalty to the Manchu Qing government and desperately trying to hold on. But according to the latest intelligence, the Nian Army has gathered in Henan to fight Ceng Guofan to the death. Let's see who falls first this time. "
Zuo Zongtang nodded slightly after hearing this. According to the latest news, the rebellion in the northwest had completely broken out. This was based on the deep economic conflicts between the local Hui and Han people. The conflicts that had accumulated for hundreds of years had finally erupted. Of course, the Taiping Rebellion had a strong support from the Han people, and the Han people in the northwest had also united around the Taiping Rebellion. Therefore, from Shaanxi to the west, the machetemen of Gansu and Shaanxi had united around the Taiping Rebellion, leading the way for the Taiping Rebellion, and killing the scattered enemies. The cruel fighting made the Taiping Rebellion completely unable to pay attention to the war in other areas.
At this juncture, the Liberation Army cleverly made use of the families of the Nian Army who had escaped to their territory, and had the female leader of the Nian Army, Wen Yuewei, bring the news that the local people of Huoyang had been slaughtered by the Xiang Army. The Nian Army immediately began to gather in Henan, and launched an attack against the Xiang Army and the Huai army. If the Nian Army won, then the Manchu Qing would be finished. If the Xiang Army and the Huai army won, then the Manchu Qing could continue to struggle at death's door for a period of time.
Zuo Zongtang vaguely sensed that Vézé hoped the war would continue to spread, but he did not dare to ask too much. With Zuo Zongtang's intelligence, he had already sensed something ominous. The Taiping army and the Nian Army were undoubtedly the two knives in Vézé's hands. One knife was used to clean up the northwest, and the other knife was used to form a deep hatred with the Manchu Qing. The revenge against the Manchu Qing would not be taken lightly.
This was the Vézé that Zuo Zongtang was gradually accustomed to, a powerful, rational, and ruthless ruler.
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