The temperature in Hokkaido in July was not bad. Perhaps it was because he had been sitting for too long, or perhaps it was just the heat, Hijikata fiddled with the katana he was carrying. In a crowded place, many actions were contagious. For example, yawning. But Hijikata's actions attracted some people's attention. The original Republic of Prawn had united its ideals through military purges. Now there was a huge divide within the Ministry of Defense. Some of the personnel who had participated in the purge could not help but have some inappropriate postures and actions.
Casual actions wouldn't attract the attention of others easily, but deliberate actions were different. Every officer in the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Prawn carried a katana, and some things began to spread.
Zhou Xinhua had been with the Japanese for a long time, and he had slowly understood some things. Seeing that everyone was holding a katana in their hands, some people began to reach for the pistols at their waists. Regardless of the reason, Zhou Xinhua stood up abruptly. "I have a suggestion. In the future, no one should bring weapons during meetings. It's too uncomfortable to sit in a chair without a weapon. Now we should hand the weapons to the management room and take them with us when we leave. "
As the most authoritative person in the National Defense Force, Zhou Xinhua's suggestion was quickly followed. There were no special lockers or registration systems, so they had to write on paper. After a round of torment, everyone was able to move their bodies, and the tense atmosphere was finally alleviated.
When the meeting resumed, Zhou Xinhua continued, "The problem now is not to overthrow the emperor in Japan, but to establish the Republic of Prawn for what purpose. At first, everyone's goal was to resist the Tobaku. No one was willing to accept the rule of those traitors. But now the Republic of Prawn is different. We must redefine the purpose of the founding of the Republic of Prawn. I personally think that the purpose of establishing this country is not to serve some high and mighty ruler. The purpose of establishing this country is to protect the rights of the people to live a happy life! "
After hearing Zhou Xinhua's words, the officers who had been promoted in the recent war couldn't help but nod vigorously. They had fled to the Republic of Prawn to start a new life. Their initial thought was to live peacefully under the benevolent rule of the Republic of Prawn. It was not until the army of the Meiji government attacked Hokkaido and forced them to the point where they would die if they did not resist that they began to fight back.
Zhou Xinhua and the China Dispatch Army had already said these words to these newcomers more than once, and they were slowly understanding the meaning of these words. In any case, he had a good memory. He could not survive in the Three Islands of Japan, and he almost could not survive in the Republic of Prawn. A country must protect its people from the system. Only then can people have the possibility to live a good life. In Japan's traditional system, the purpose of the country's people's existence was to serve the superior. This system determined that the people could not live a happy life no matter what. These newcomers used to think that politics and the system were far away from them. After experiencing the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of the Republic of Prawn, after experiencing so many wars, the newcomers finally understood that whether they realized it or not, politics and the system would always determine their lives.
The newcomers' awareness was new, and the founders of the Republic of Prawn were well aware of this. Everything that Zhou Xinhua said revolved around one goal: what kind of country should be established. The founders actually hoped to establish a country that was opposed to the Meiji government, but Zhou Xinhua was looking forward to the future. He wanted to decide where the Republic of Prawn should go.
The first day of the discussion was to find the problem and clarify it. After the meeting was adjourned in the evening,? Ben Takeo, Hijikata Sui, and the other upper echelons of the Republic of Prawn held an internal meeting. Ben Takeo expressed his attitude first. "I believe that the emperor is the Gen of Japan and the Republic of Prawn. This cannot be changed. "
Then, he added, "I still hope that the emperor will allow the Tokugawa family to move to the Republic of Prawn."
The current Defense Minister, Keisuke Ohtori, immediately agreed. "I think so too."
Several high-ranking officials expressed the same opinion. Then, everyone's gaze fell on Hijikata Sui. Hijikata Sui did not speak immediately. His expression was solemn, and he seemed to be thinking about something.
"Hijikata kun, what do you think?" Ben Takeo could not wait any longer and asked.
Hijikata Sui said slowly, "When we first arrived here,? I wanted to collect a heavy tax here. At that time, I disagreed. I believe that samurai should adhere to their own ideals. We are here to fight to the death with the Tobaku. Collecting a heavy tax will only make the people suffer. "
These words evoked memories in everyone. When they first arrived in the Republic of Prawn, these senior officials were prepared to die. Under such tragic circumstances, as long as they could persevere, they would be able to resist. However, at that time, Hijikata Sui was the only one who did not lose his cool and was still able to make a decision based on morality. He made it clear. "How is this any different from the militaristic Meiji government's actions?! Even if the military government may not be able to support us, we can't come up with excuses to blackmail the people! We cannot allow such a stain to remain in the annals of history and be reviled by others! "Because of Hijikata Suisan's stance, Because of Hijikata Sui's attitude, Ben Takeo finally decided not to collect the tax.
Hijikata Sui continued, "I think the current situation is only one. Should we adhere to the old traditions and implement benevolent policies? Or was he really going to build a country that King Zhou said would maintain the peaceful lives of the people? I think we should settle on this first before we talk about other things. "
Then, Hijikata Sui added, "If we think too much about this, it will only make things more complicated. So, I just want to ask what everyone thinks about the ideals of the Republic of Prawn."
These words were too unexpected. Takemoto, Keisuke Ohtori, and the others were stunned. The more they argued, the clearer it became. It wasn't that the other party didn't understand, but that the other party understood that there were some things that they couldn't accept. The upper class of the Republic of Prawn first established the republican election system because there was no stable legal system that could support it. They could only use elections to obtain results that were recognized as reasonable. Later, the expansion of the civil system wasn't because they were interested in democracy, but purely because the old system was useless.
In all fairness, these people just didn't want the shogunate's rotten system to repeat itself. They wanted to build an enlightened traditional Japanese society. However, the change in the situation was completely beyond their imagination. In the face of the strong pressure from the Meiji government's army, the enlightened people couldn't withstand it. The number of people who were considered to be enlightened and capable was too small. In the face of a large number of enemies, they couldn't withstand it. At this time, it was the people of the Republic of Prawn who rose up. In terms of numbers and ability, these people had begun to overwhelm the old upper class. When these people gathered their strength to save the Republic of Prawn, they also began to seek the power and rewards that they deserved.
From the perspective of the principle that the one who paid would benefit, this was correct. But from a traditional point of view, this was not only wrong, but also absurd.
"Hijiko-Kun … Have you discussed this with Zhou-kun?" Ben Takeo suddenly asked calmly.
Hijiko-Suizan didn't deny it. He nodded seriously. "I have discussed this with Zhou-kun many times, and I support Zhou-kun's view. We aren't even afraid of death, so why should we be afraid of representing the interests of the people? Why should we be afraid of building a country that pursues the welfare of the people? "
After hearing such generous words, those who supported Hijiko-Suizan didn't need to say anything else. Those who didn't support Hijiko-Suizan didn't even want to refute. The upper class was high and mighty, and the people served the upper class. This was the foundation of the founding of Japan. The Mikado was like this, and so was the shogunate. The founders of the Republic of Prawn originally thought the same.
Finally, someone came up with a completely different social philosophy. Compared to this huge impact, overthrowing the Meiji government, reviving the Shogunate, and dominating Japan were all trivial matters.
Looking at Hijiko-Suizan's determined expression and the way Hijiko-Suizan's followers gripped their scabbards tightly, Ben Takeo spoke coldly. Ben Takeo said coldly, "After this war, I will resign from my position as the commander."
The others didn't respond. The founders of the Republic of Prawn gave in mainly because they knew that if there was another internal conflict, Hijiko-Suizan would definitely not lose. More importantly, what's more? Ben Takeo was very disappointed with this system.
After the competition between the day and night on July 16th, the meeting on July 17th and 18th went very smoothly. The Republic of Prawn publicly confirmed its founding philosophy, changing from restoring the Shogunate to protecting the happiness of the people of the Republic of Prawn. This was the core of the Republic of Prawn's founding philosophy. After this war, the Republic of Prawn would formulate a new constitution and hold a new election.
On July 19th, the commanders of the various troops returned to Hakodate to bring the news back to the Shrimp Army who were preparing to give the last blow to the landowning troops.
The Shrimp Army tightly surrounded the landowning troops, and the distance between the two sides was not far. The landowning troops could clearly hear the deafening cheers from the opposite side. Although they didn't know what exactly happened, the deafening cheers of the Shrimp Army was definitely not a good thing for the landowning troops.
Captain Miyashiro Ryota was on the front line. He participated in the attack on Hakodate last year and was transferred to the eastern part of Hokkaido this spring. Because of his repeated achievements, he was promoted from the squadron leader to the captain. However, the landowning troops didn't become arrogant like Captain Miyashiro's promotion.
In the past two months, the continuous battles and defeats had reduced the strength of the landowning household army that had once reached the western part of Hokkaido from 70,000 to less than 40,000. They were also surrounded by nearly 20,000 enemies on the undefended plains in the east. Just as Captain Miyashiro thought, the Shrimp Army began to sing after cheering. In the past two to three months, this song was sung more and more by the Shrimp Army. The landowning troops also gradually became familiar with it. Captain Miyashiro especially hated this song.
"Rise up, the starving and cold slaves! Rise up, the suffering people of the world! Our blood is already boiling, we must fight for the truth! Defeat the old world, slaves, rise up, rise up! Don't say that we have nothing, we want to be the masters of the world! "
The singing reached the landowning household's army. Every time Gong Cheng heard this song, he felt like he was being greatly offended. A group of poor people who would rather flee to Hokkaido than to farm at home want to be the masters of the world? They must have gone crazy.
"… Who created the human world? It's us, the working people! Everything belongs to the workers, how can there be parasites? The most hateful thing is those poisonous snakes and beasts, they eat our flesh and blood! Once they are wiped out, the bright red sun will shine all over Japan … "
This was the part that Captain Miyashiro hated the most. He was very clear about the meaning of this song. The poor people believed that it was the poor people who created Japan, not the forces that Captain Miyashiro belonged to. It was because he completely understood the meaning of the lyrics. In the past, when executing the rebels, Captain Miyashiro used the method of execution for convenience. Now, Captain Miyashiro used the method of beheading. Only by chopping off the heads of the rebels with his own hands could he feel the resentment in his heart.
It was just that before the rebels learned this song, the landowning households were invincible and invincible. After the rebels learned this song, the landowning troops began to lose again and again. Captain Miyashiro had to do his best to reduce the losses of his troops. The opportunities to personally chop off the heads of the rebels to vent his anger were getting fewer and fewer.
Captain Miyashiro wanted to cover his ears with his hands to prevent this disgusting song from reaching his ears, but now was not the time to do so. According to experience, before every battle, the Shrimp Nation Defense Force would sing this song on a large scale. After the encirclement was completed, the 200,000 troops surrounded the less than 40,000 landowning troops like an iron bucket. The battle should have started a long time ago, but they actually did not move for several days.
Now that this song was playing again, it meant that the general attack was about to begin. The enemies that could not be killed no matter how hard they tried would soon surge up like a tide, and the landowning troops would be mercilessly swallowed by this tide.
It was not only Captain Miyashiro who understood this point. His subordinates' faces were pale as they tightly gripped their weapons. Some soldiers were so afraid that they could not help but sob softly.
Looking at this group of useless subordinates, Captain Miyashiro stood up angrily and scolded: "Don't cry, do you still look like warriors?"
Just as he was scolding his subordinates, Captain Miyashiro suddenly heard a familiar sound of artillery. The artillery of the Shrimp Nation Defense Force had opened fire! What followed was the sharp whistling sound of artillery shells cutting through the air. Captain Miyashiro could hear that the whistling sound was coming towards his position.
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