"Minister Li, Japan has sent warships to blockade Kyushu. Should we also send warships as a gesture? " When the Meiji Navy blocked the main maritime trade routes of Kyushu, someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed a tough approach.
"Commander-in-chief said, either we do it or we don't. Don't try." Li Xin replied snappily.
"Isn't sending warships the only choice?" It was unknown if the young comrade from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid.
Li Xin personally preferred that this young comrade was pretending to be stupid. If he was really stupid, Li Xin would immediately let this comrade go. He explained, "I think your idea is to let Japan know how powerful we are and automatically listen to us. We know how powerful we are. In fact, Japan also knows a little, so there is no need to consider deliberately showing off. If we still can't fight after sending warships, it will only make the Japanese think that we have no guts and look down on us. As for fighting against Japan, the central government does not allow us to do so, so don't even think about it. In summary, sending warships is a harmful action. "
The young cadre originally just wanted to try and see if his provocation could affect Li Xin. He didn't expect that Li Xin was not affected at all. Instead, he explained his reasoning. The young people who could get into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were not fools. Although Li Xin was still "teaching", Li Xin's serious look made the young cadre feel that he had lost face. The young cadre smiled embarrassedly and could only retreat.
As soon as the internal problems were settled, on January 2, 1878, the Japanese ambassador came to visit. The Japanese ambassador asked directly, "We learned that your country has sold a lot of arms to the Satsuma Domain."
Li Xin replied, "Our government has never sold any arms to the Satsuma Domain."
"Do you mean that Chinese businessmen have sold arms to the Satsuma Domain?" The Japanese ambassador looked a little nervous.
"Whether there is or not, we have to check to know." Li Xin lied seriously.
Of course, the Japanese ambassador knew that this was a lie, but China did not admit to selling arms to the Satsuma Domain, which was already a good result. Therefore, the Japanese ambassador said sincerely, "The Satsuma Domain has already started a rebellion. If Chinese businessmen continue to sell arms to the Satsuma Domain, it will only add fuel to the fire of the civil war in Japan. Since the sale of arms is a private act, we implore your country to prohibit such private acts. Please! "
"Alright, we will prohibit this kind of private behavior." Li Xin answered readily.
The Japanese ambassador was stunned that things went so smoothly. The navy of the Meiji government had blockaded the Nine Regions, but the Nine Regions was so big that it was impossible to completely block it with just a dozen ships. When China had a huge advantage, they agreed not to sell arms to the Satsuma Domain. No matter how one looked at it, this kind of promise did not seem reliable.
"But …" Li Xin started. The Japanese ambassador became nervous. This was what he thought should happen. China had started to ask for a price.
Li Xin said calmly, "I don't think there is enough trust between China and Japan. In the current situation, even if we say that we will not sell arms to the Satsuma Domain, your country may not believe us."
The Japanese ambassador asked tentatively, "So what does your country want?"
Li Xin patted the desk and said slowly, "I think China and Japan should have a comprehensive peace and friendship treaty. We don't ask Japan to submit to us, and we don't even expect Japan to provide military support when China is in trouble. "However, I don't think there is any need for China and Japan to become enemies. "So, peaceful coexistence and not participating in military alliances against each other is a choice that I think is beneficial to both countries."
After that, Li Xin took out a document from the desk. "If you are interested, can you take a look at these conditions as the foundation of China-Japan friendship?"
At this time, Japan was far from being westernized to the extent of breaking away from Asia and entering Europe, so the upper echelons were still very familiar with Chinese characters. Maybe they couldn't read China's document in Mandarin, but they could read it directly in Chinese. Not only could the Japanese ambassador read Chinese, but he could also speak fluent Mandarin.
After reading the first few contents, the Japanese ambassador couldn't help but frown. This was a request for Japan to fully recognize the territory that China now claimed. Sakhalin Island was in direct conflict with Japan's territorial claim. Manchu Qing's management in the north was very poor, so it was not only Russia but also Japan who were fighting for Sakhalin Island. In terms of the number of times they went to Sakhalin Island, Japan had far surpassed China in the past 100 years. Now China was asking the Meiji government of Japan to recognize China's sovereignty over Sakhalin Island. It also recognized China's sovereignty over the North Pacific Ocean. This meant that Japan would only have Sakhalin Island and the four large islands to the north of Hokkaido. With the current status of Hokkaido, the Meiji government's line of control only reached the Tsugaru Strait.
Judging from the documents that Li Xin took out long ago, China had long been prepared. If the Meiji government did not agree, the "China businessmen" would continue to sell arms to the Satsuma Domain.
As he continued to read, the Japanese ambassador's face didn't change. China's condition was that China would not participate in the military alliance against Japan, and Japan would not participate in the military alliance against China. This seemingly fair condition itself was ridiculous. Who in the world would have nothing better to do to fight against Japan? There were many powers that were interested in fighting against China. Japan had the opportunity to participate in some organizations for profit, and China didn't have any worries in this regard.
As for trade and navigation, it seemed peaceful, but in fact, it was only a heavy pressure for Japan. Europe had plundered a lot of Japan's hard currency through trade. Once China joined, Japan would be further plundered.
"I will inform the country." The Japanese ambassador replied. These things were beyond the scope of the Japanese ambassador's decision and must be decided by the Japanese government.
Li Xin leaned on the back of the leather chair made of Sudanese cowhide and added, "Other friendly cooperation can be discussed later, but we think the first one needs to be discussed as soon as possible."
This was the key point. China didn't care about things like non-hostility and trade. Even if Japan really signed the treaty, they could undertake to provide information to other countries. Therefore, the top priority was the territory. Once the territory was finalized, there would be no territorial disputes between China in Northeast Asia, which would save the country a lot of energy.
The matter was urgent. In order to save time after returning to China, the Japanese ambassador personally returned to Yoto to deal with the matter. When he arrived in Yoto, he found that the upper echelons of the Meiji government were generally excited. This was the first time that the Meiji government used the national army to fight against the army of the gentry. From the experience of Hokkaido, the trained national army could overwhelm the gentry army. Because the number of the national army was large, it could withstand a lot of consumption. At least, the Meiji government believed that the gentry army was destroyed by the huge national army.
This time, when the Meiji government fought with the Satsuma Domain's troops, they found that things were not as they thought. In the war between the gentry and the Republic of Prawn, the gentry army was completely destroyed. The Meiji government didn't think of the role of elite samurai in the war.
Although there were many gentry in this era, there were very few samurai who were really proficient in swordsmanship. What made the Meiji government discouraged was that most of the elite samurai of Japan were against the Meiji government. The Shinsengumi, Hui Mei, and Zhangyi Team, these samurai who gathered the best swordsmanship of the Bakumatsu retreated to Hokkaido and joined the Republic of Prawn. According to the information obtained by the Meiji government, these people might not really agree with the republic, but they were very satisfied with the current system and life in Hokkaido. For the time being, they had no plans to restore the shogunate. At most, they hoped that the Tokugawa family and the old shogunate could move to Hokkaido and live a better life. Regardless of whether the shogunate could move to Hokkaido or not, these people would definitely not support the Meiji government.
Apart from this group of people, the rest of the swordsmanship masters were basically in the Satsuma Domain. In the battle between the Meiji army and the Satsuma Domain, the weapons of both sides were almost the same. In terms of ammunition supply, the Satsuma Domain was not at a disadvantage. The Satsuma Domain, which had almost unified them, sent out hundreds of experts. After the gunfire ended, it was time for hand-to-hand combat. The role of these experts greatly exceeded the expectations of the government army.
The fighting spirit of the government army could only be said to be ordinary, and they lacked this kind of core force. When the government army on the front line was killed by the samurai like melons and vegetables, the morale of the whole army immediately collapsed. The government army on Kyushu island was defeated one by one, and finally, they were driven out of Kyushu island. Although the navy of the government army had an overall advantage, the sixth army could not withstand it. They could not expect warships to go to Kyushu.
When the Japanese ambassador went to find Okubo Toshimichi, he learned that Ito Hirobumi was trying to persuade Okubo Toshimichi and Kido Takamori, who was seriously ill. Kido Takamori wanted to drag his sick body to Kyushu to persuade Saigo Takamori. Okubo Toshimichi simply wanted to act as a town envoy to face Saigo personally. Even if it was not filled with defeatism, the pressure of the war was very great. If the crusade could not be won smoothly, the government was very worried that the gentry families in various places would unite and respond. If the people of Shikoku also rose up and asked for autonomy of the four countries, the Meiji government would have a hard time.
The envoy finally met Okubo Toshimichi, who was overwrought with work, and handed over the conditions of China to him. Okubo Toshimichi did not immediately make a decision, but brought the agreement to the Imperial Conference for discussion. After two days of discussion, the Meiji government finally agreed to China's request for territory, and other requirements would be discussed later. The envoy could also understand this. It was meaningless for the Meiji government to continue to entangle with China in these northern territories. Even if Japan solved all the local forces, could it have the power to challenge China?
If the arms trade between China and the Satsuma Domain could not be cut off, it would be impossible to win the Kyushu expedition. At this time, one problem must be solved first.
On February 12, 1878, China and Japan signed the Sino-Japanese Friendship Treaty in Tokyo, which first determined the border between the two countries, and China finally determined the division of the northern territories. This was one of the things that China was most concerned about. After the agreement was signed, China interrupted the arms trade with the Satsuma Domain.
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.
