"Your Excellency, Foreign Minister, you have only two choices regarding this draft treaty, agree or not." Yang Feng said arrogantly just like Ito Hirobumi did to Li Hongzhang in history.
Yesterday's bloody battle completely awakened the Japanese. With the defensive capabilities of the coalition forces, it is estimated that even the remaining 60,000 Japanese troops would not be able to fill the trench. And at this time, the wolves are gathering more and more, and there are three more this morning.
Two warships from Italy, Austria and Spain have joined the coalition. Now every additional country means that they have to pay more for compensation. In addition, there is also the performance of the British. They have now almost occupied one third of the country.
Kyushu, this posture is not complete unless they protect all Kyushu. If they occupy Kyushu, the Germans will definitely ask for other places when they raise prices. I guess they have no interest in Shikoku, but they want to start from Honshu.
It is quite possible to cut it into a piece.
Therefore, the longer this war drags on, the more unfavorable the situation will be for Japan. Especially after Vladivostok thaws in a few days, the Russian army will definitely come over. If this hungry wolf is summoned, then Japan may not be as simple as paying compensation.
.
But damn, how can I agree to this? Mutsu Munemitsu held the draft treaty with trembling hands, roaring with grief and anger in his heart.
The first compensation is for the mental loss of Ms. Sun Ze’s family, the military expenses of this just action, the pensions for the wounded and wounded soldiers, etc., which add up to 50 million pounds, or the equivalent in gold and silver.
Of course, this money does not have to be paid back in one lump sum. It can be paid in installments and used as collateral for customs duties. In other words, after signing this treaty, the Germans will take over Japanese customs until all compensation is deducted from the customs duties.
Second, restoring consular jurisdiction is a very irresponsible act in view of Japan's uncivilized level and subjecting citizens of the civilized world to their judicial system. Although after the Otsu incident, European countries have actually imposed restrictions on Japan's judicial system.
The system is already relatively satisfactory. But after this war, Japan's domestic unfriendly attitude toward international friends is likely to increase, so this is completely necessary.
Third Germany leased Kyushu Island for a period of ninety-nine years. Don’t mention the issue of rent. We will teach you how to behave and quickly lead you into a civilized society. Why do you want money from us for such a trivial matter? If you must.
For a symbolic one mark, Russia would lease Hokkaido, cede Kagoshima to Germany, and cede Sapporo to Russia.
Fourth, as compensation for the Japanese government's imprisonment of the King of Ryukyu for more than ten years, which caused great psychological trauma to the Ryukyu people, Tanegashima and all the islands to the south, including Yaku, Iwo Jima, and Amami Oshima, were ceded to Ryukyu.
Fifth, all fortresses and forts along the coast of Japan should be demolished. Japan should be prohibited from owning a navy within ten years. The remaining warships that originally belonged to the combined fleet must be dismantled or sold.
As for other things such as apologising, withdrawing troops from North Korea, etc., they are all necessary. There is no need to list them one by one.
After signing this treaty, it can be said that Japan has completely fallen into the abyss of semi-colony. None of the first five items can be agreed to. Every one of them is life-threatening, not only Japan's life, but more importantly, his own life. This
Mutsu Munemitsu knew very well that anyone who signed such a treaty would be hacked to death by angry samurai immediately after leaving.
"Mr. Yang, we cannot agree to these terms under any circumstances. Although some public officials of our government have committed crimes against the Korean people, they have been severely punished by the law. As for the Battle of Shimabara, it has a long history.
, has nothing to do with the current government of Japan, and Japan is also free in terms of religion." Mutsu Munemitsu explained patiently.
"First of all, regarding the issue of the mastermind of the Seoul massacre, since Ohtori Keisuke is your country's minister to North Korea, all his actions represent the Japanese government. His crimes are crimes on behalf of the Japanese government. Therefore, the Japanese government must also be punished.
Punitive.
Second, although many years have passed since the Shimabara religious fanatic tragedy and the killing of saint Shiro Inaba, Japan at that time and Japan now are countries under the rule of His Majesty the Emperor, so they do not exist
The issue of regime change means that the current Japanese government is still a continuation of the Japanese government at that time. What is regime change? For example, Japan is a monarchy now. If you become a republic and abolish the emperor, then this is regime change.
, and for example, if there is a change in the royal family of your country, it will be considered a change of regime, just like the change of dynasties in our country, but since the emperor of your country is the same lineage for eternity, there will be no problem of regime change anyway, so
The current Emperor must bear responsibility for the crimes committed by his ancestors." Yang Feng said as politely as a diplomat.
"But that was the shogunate era, and the shogun was in charge of the country, not His Majesty the Emperor." Mutsu Munemitsu said condescendingly.
"That is your internal affairs issue. Isn't your general appointed by the emperor? There is no difference between him and your current prime minister. It would be ridiculous if you think that changing the prime minister means changing the regime." Yang Feng said lightly.
explain.
Mutsu Munemitsu found that the discussion on this issue could not produce any results. It was obvious that as long as the words that the emperor was a member of the eternal lineage existed, he would not be able to make a fuss about regime change. Now he could only bargain on the terms.
"Your Excellency, Foreign Minister, I have made it very clear on the terms and conditions. You only have the right to agree or disagree, and you have no right to bargain." Yang Feng stopped his efforts with contempt.
"Mr. Yang, I hope you can understand that Japan has a population of 40 million and we are not afraid of war. If you treat us in such a rude way again, the anger of the Japanese people will bury any invader." Mutsu Muneko said with a solemn face.
explain.
"Then we have to wait and see." Yang Feng said with a smile. What he hopes most now is that the Japanese will continue to fight. William is already organizing the Second Army of the Expeditionary Force, and the weather has begun to get warmer. The Russian army in Vladivostok
They will definitely land on Hokkaido. In addition, the French are also hesitant. They want to do it but can't save face. After all, joining a German-led coalition is a very shameful thing in their eyes, but if they are alone
They are afraid of offending others. They are not the arrogant British. The reformation 20 years ago severely damaged the vitality of this country, and even the Sino-French war has not yet recovered. Let the Chinese fight back, but let them
He has been a laughing stock internationally for many years.
The first negotiation between the two sides broke up unhappily. As a result, they had no choice but to continue fighting. However, the Japanese were obviously not in a hurry to attack. It would be foolish to continue to die like yesterday before they found a good way.
Quite a bit.
They are not in a hurry for the coalition forces, and they are not in a hurry. They have gained from looting in Tokyo. It is enough for them to last three to five years here. Yang Feng even welcomes this. You must know that the materials and supplies for the coalition forces are shipped here from Taiwan.
Grain, fruit, meat and even arms and ammunition all have to be paid for. This money is deducted from the robbery harvest. Now businessmen in Taiwan are going crazy to grab this big business. In addition, Zhang Zhi
Over there, the Hanyang Arsenal complained that the output was insufficient and that transporting arms to the north was becoming more and more uncomfortable, but at the same time it opened the door to sending arms to Taiwan.
And because the quality requirements of German logistics officers are extremely strict, the product quality of Hanyang Arsenal and Steel Plant is also improving rapidly, and it can even now fully meet the standards of the German Army. Therefore, war is the best stimulus for industry. Of course, your
The battlefield must be abroad.
With sufficient and complete logistical supplies, the coalition forces in Tokyo were living a very happy life. In addition, they had collected a total of five thousand comfort women, which gave them great spiritual satisfaction. Many Huai Army soldiers were quite happy to be there.
They were comfortable here, but the Qing army on the battlefield in Liaodong was miserable. As the weather got warmer, the cold problem that originally restricted the Japanese army was completely solved. Two and a half divisions led by Shanxian Youpeng became more and more fierce in the war.
Yong and the vanguard have already reached Haicheng, and as the Qing army discarded more and more weapons on the battlefield, the Japanese army's firepower actually increased instead of falling. Now they don't even need domestic supplies very much.
This weird war between China and Japan has caused the mood of the common people in the country to go up and down like a roller coaster. On one side, the Chinese soldiers beat the Japanese to a pulp on the Japanese mainland. They even occupied their country's capital, and they are still playing there to this day.
Japanese women beat up Japanese men. But on the contrary, the Japanese army beat the imperial army to a pulp on Chinese soil, and was about to attack Shengjing. This is hard not to make people feel a little weird.
Especially the well-fed literati could not help but express some emotion about this. Most of the Chinese newspapers at this time were in the concessions, and what they said was truly unscrupulous. In addition to openly advocating rebellion, they dared to say anything else.
Yes, the result of the discussion was divided into two extreme factions. One faction naturally praised Yang Feng and went northward with light troops to attack Huanglong. It was worse than Yue Wumu.
The other group, who was stupid after reading the books of saints and sages, accused him of treachery and plunder. He had no style of being a celestial dynasty and was useless to the Qin Dynasty. He also ignored the crisis of the imperial court, moved to Japan, sat on the mountain and watched, harboring evil intentions, and the intentions of rebellious officials and traitors were clearly exposed.
Of course, no matter which faction you belong to, you cannot avoid the fact that the imperial army is really terrible, especially the armies dominated by bannermen. They are so terrible that their biggest role on the battlefield is to provide weapons to the Japanese army.
From artillery to machine guns and grenades, it can be said that whatever the Japanese lacked, they gave it to them. (To be continued...)