In 1873, China had a dispatch army in the Republic of Prawn. It was a regiment, and the commander of the dispatch army, Zhou Xinhua, was already a Lieutenant Colonel. This regiment did not have a high position in Japan. China's construction aid project was to build iron and steel mills. They also helped the Republic of Prawn build railways, ports, and shipyards. The troops did not have a high position. Instead, they participated in construction projects according to their own interests. They also tried their best not to affect the construction work while exchanging positions. The Liberation Army's retirement system was to allow the retired personnel to receive as much education as possible so that they could have a better space for development when they returned to their places. Engineers, engineering personnel, railway soldiers, and railway personnel were all recognized as good jobs. With the corresponding experience in this area before retiring, they could work in these units after retiring. Everyone was willing to learn more skills.
It had to be said that the Japanese people's respect for the strong came from the bottom of their hearts. The Japanese were especially willing to learn from the strong. The Republic of Prawn killed the old guard who insisted on the old shogunate's tradition. This group of new people began to learn from China. They were really learning, not pretending to learn.
The Republic of Prawn, where every citizen was a soldier, accepted the political view of China. The government must be closely integrated with the working people. The feudal forces that relied on the middle to make profits must be overthrown. The Republic of Prawn originally did not have any deep-rooted feudal forces. The government completed the land reform, abolished the bloodline inheritance system, and established a civil service system with the school education system as the core. On the surface, there was no room for the feudal forces anymore. Since everyone was a soldier, the society also became unprecedentedly equal. The slogan of respecting workers was also popularized and recognized. The China dispatch army was keen to learn production skills through labor. Naturally, the Japanese did the same.
The people of the Republic of Prawn were excited to know that the Japanese fleet had appeared in the Tsugaru Strait again. The literacy rate of Japan was much higher than that of Manchu Qing. The Republic of Prawn imitated China's Compulsory Education Law, requiring everyone to read and learn modern knowledge and culture. With such a cultural foundation, the steel plant built with China's assistance was put into production very quickly.
Many of the Japanese who came to the Republic of Prawn were knowledgeable and talented. They were unable to display their abilities under the shogunate, but under the new system, they were finally able to show their ambitions. Many of them were involved in the manufacturing of weapons in the shogunate. With the help of steel and cannon casting technology from China, the Republic of Prawn was able to manufacture small steel cannons and cast medium cast iron cannons.
After China helped the Republic of Prawn repair the ironclads, it also helped Japan modify their old warships. Apart from China, the Republic of Prawn's navy made use of the rich local coal resources and became the second navy in the world to fully adopt steam-powered warships. China sold Japan another batch of old warships and ships, which greatly boosted the confidence of the Republic of Prawn.
"The enemy's navy is all imported from the United Kingdom. These people spent a lot of money to buy these ships. As long as we sink their warships, they won't be able to buy so many warships in a short period of time. Once they launch their own warships, our navy will be able to build our own ironclads! "Arai Ikuosuke said confidently.
China helped the Republic of Prawn build a shipyard, port, and dock. The Republic of Prawn's current steel plant was at full production, and it could produce 5,000 tons of pig iron per year. The pig iron was used to make steel, and it could produce 1,000 tons of steel per year. Even if a 3,000-ton ironclad warship was equipped with 300-millimeter armor, the entire ship would only use 300 tons of iron. In terms of industrial capabilities, the Republic of Prawn was now very confident.
As for the Republic of Prawn's navy, they were even more confident. In addition to the Mizar repaired by China, China used the Republic of Prawn's future supply of fuel and coal to China's ships as collateral. They sold and gave the Republic of Prawn five ironclads, three of which had a tonnage of 3,600 tons, and two of which had a tonnage of 2,600 tons. Together with the Mizar, these six modified ironclads were a force that couldn't be ignored.
Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Xinhua didn't come from the navy, and he didn't have any plans to join the navy, so he just listened on the side. After listening for two days, he was sure of one thing. The Republic of Prawn's attitude was to face them head-on. Through radio communication, Zhou Xinhua had already reported the news to China. China's reply was, "We must protect this stronghold of the Republic of Prawn and prevent the United Kingdom from completely occupying Japan."
Although Zhou Xinhua didn't fully understand the power struggle behind the war between the Japanese Meiji government and the Republic of Prawn, it was impossible for the central government to not understand. Now, there were basically no foreign countries that recognized the Treaty of Nerchinsk, and the Japanese Meiji government also claimed sovereignty over the southern part of Sakhalin Island. The Republic of Prawn recognized the Treaty of Nerchinsk that China insisted on, and recognized China's full sovereignty over Sakhalin Island. At this time, if the Republic of Prawn was finished, the United Kingdom would win a big game.
At this time, the North Sea Fleet had already set off from the secondary port of Juwen Island to the north. There was still a month before the Vladivostok port completely thawed. The North Sea Fleet would rather drift on the sea than be prepared to enter the war at any time when the Republic of Prawn's war situation was unfavorable.
Under the attention of China and the United Kingdom, from March 10 to March 15, the Meiji government's army and the Republic of Prawn's navy fought a series of naval battles. The historical records didn't write much about this battle, only saying, "After six days of fierce fighting, the Meiji government's navy was at a disadvantage and immediately went south."
There were three ironclad warships in the Meiji government's navy, and they fought every day during the six days of naval battles. They hit the Republic of Prawn's ironclad warships over a hundred cannons, and were hit by nearly two hundred cannons of the Republic of Prawn's ironclad warships. Neither side was able to sink the other's ironclad warships, and they couldn't even damage the other's ironclad warships.
On the other hand, the non-armored warships fought fiercely. The non-armored warships of the Meiji government were real wooden hulls, while the non-armored warships of the Republic of Prawn were thin-skinned ships with an ironclad thickness of 50100 millimeters. These thin-skinned ships couldn't defend against the close-range bombardment of 12-pound cannons. The technology of ironclad warships was much more complicated than that of simple wooden hulls, and the cost of maintenance was very high. They were of little value. After the fierce battle, four wooden ships of the Meiji government's army sank, and one of the Republic of Prawn's navy sank. The ships that didn't sink were also heavily damaged, and there were many holes in their hulls.
The Republic of Prawn's combat power was nothing compared to the British Fleet, who were watching from the sidelines. The British Fleet was even seriously discussing whether they should just go into battle. However, ironclad warships were too difficult to sink, and the British Fleet couldn't guarantee that they could completely sink the six ironclad warships of the Republic of Prawn in a short period of time. Another question was, after the British did this, would the Chinese also go into battle?
The British Fleet's purpose in coming to watch the battle was not to find an excuse to join the battle, but to take a closer look at the North Sea Fleet. There were many rumors about China's new warships, and it was in this Tsugaru Strait that China's warships sank the Japanese ironclad warships. In the battle to wipe out the Russians in the north, this fleet made a great contribution. There were many rumors about this fleet. The strange shape and fierce firepower of the British Royal Navy's Far East Fleet were very interested. The British Fleet had also caught a glimpse of it from afar, but when they wanted to get closer, the British Fleet ran away at an extremely fast speed.
With the ability that China had shown, the British Fleet wouldn't think that the Chinese were stupid enough to not see the importance of this battle, so it was reasonable for them to send a fleet to watch the battle. However, after waiting for a long time, the Chinese fleet still didn't show up. This was very surprising to the British.
In the end, the British Royal Navy chose a more rational approach. This was because the British Royal Navy had a tradition, which was to fight whenever they encountered an enemy. After opening fire, they should fight to the death. If they started a war, they would have to follow the tradition, which would not benefit the British Fleet.
When the British Fleet left the battlefield that had calmed down, they looked back at the Republic of Prawn's fleet. The British Fleet had suffered a loss in this battle. Controlled by the Meiji government, the three islands of Japan had limited financial resources and were unable to purchase a large number of warships from the British. Therefore, the British felt that the Republic of Prawn in the north had even less financial resources. They didn't expect that China would support the Republic of Prawn regardless of the cost. If they wanted to gain the upper hand in the future battle, the British Fleet could only adopt the same strategy as China, which was to give the Meiji government more warships. Or they could force the Meiji government to spend more money to buy a large number of warships. However, no matter what choice they used, they would encounter great resistance. If they couldn't do anything in Japan for the time being, they would have to find another breakthrough.
On May 5th, 1873, the British Ambassador stepped into Seoul and asked to see the King of Korea. The King of Korea felt that his life had been good recently, so the Chinese people withdrew from Korea. Both sides had successfully restored the border. As for the fact that China had rented Juwen Island, the King of Korea didn't think it was a big deal.
Juwen Island was indeed a strategic location, but if they didn't rent it to China, what would happen if China asked to rent Cheju Island? The Xiang Army wasn't something that Korea could resist, and the Liberation Army that easily destroyed the Xiang Army wasn't something that Korea could resist. A thirty year lease of a small island could stabilize the relationship with China, which was really worth it.
As for the British Ambassador's request, the King of Korea didn't care too much. After the two sides met, the British Ambassador made a request to rent a port in Korea for the British warships to dock. After the King of Korea heard this, his expression immediately changed.
Korea had been a vassal state of China for thousands of years, so they were used to it. The owner of China wasn't the kind of person who squeezed the vassal states. He was very easy to talk to and was willing to help at the critical moment. Of course, Korea knew about the British's behavior in Japan, but that was Japan's business. However, letting the British rent an island in Korea was like letting a wolf into the house. Without thinking too much, the King of Korea immediately refused.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
