Chapter 246 Meiji is called a vassal

On October 7, while the Makenson Brigade was fighting with the heavy defense line of the Japanese army on the front line, the Hindenburg Division broke through the weak line of defense in Tokyo, which was useless and entered Tokyo, and the troops headed straight to the palace.

The Huthir Brigade, with the assistance of the artillery battalion of the brigade and an artillery battalion sent by Hindenburg, launched an attack from the rear with a heavy defense line of up to 30,000. At the same time, the Tokyo Palace was surrounded by the Germans. After quickly gaining control of the palace area, the Germans were authorized to freely shoot anyone near the palace who suspected of suspicious figures. More than 400 unarmed civilians who voluntarily guarded the palace and guarded the emperor were shot and killed. The Germans began to attack the palace, but considering the special symbolic significance of the palace, the subordinates of Hindenburg still adopted quite cautious attack strategies and intensity.

The fierce battle outside the city also came to an end. Markensen's cavalry troops completed their rendezvous with Huthir Brigade and left the remnants of the Japanese army on the side near the sea. Under the deterrence of the joint attack of land artillery fire at sea, and due to the concern that the enemy's sudden disappearance, the Japanese army did not dare to easily try large-scale attacks, and the war outside the city was in a stalemate.

The two sides naturally knew about the matter on the palace very quickly. The Japanese army immediately launched a nearly suicide charge. After the bodies of the corpses fell, new charges swept in like waves. In desperation, because both sides suffered heavy casualties, Major General Markens gave the order to give way and put the remaining Japanese troops into the city. His side also followed.

The palace became the treasure of the German and Italian coalition forces.

The important capital in the west, Kyoto, the hottest Japanese Luoyang, hundreds of years ago, also fell into the hands of the shogunate army without defense. What was unexpected was that the two divisions of the Chinese army's troops seemed to be under some pressure and quickly retreated from the original route to Weiying Mansion across the strait.

This is a major victory for Japan's diplomatic circle. This is the first time in history that the Chinese army retreated under diplomatic efforts. However, no one was in the mood to cheer at this time. With the fall of Kyoto, one-third of the Honchi Islands west of Kyoto will also be completely lost within a month. Although there may be some recurrences, the overall situation has been determined, and the land area will shrink by one-third again, which is certain.

What's worse is that the surroundings of the Tokyo Palace were completely controlled by the German and Italian coalition forces. Because they were afraid that the coalition forces were not good for the Emperor, the Japanese army returning to the city did not dare to approach them too much, and only dared to be vacant of the periphery. Then they fought against the forces of two brigades of Germany, one horse and one step at a time, and Tokyo was almost in chaos.

A round of negotiations began. General Hindenburg insisted on planting the German flag at the highest point of the palace to show Germany's conquest of Japan. His selfishness lies in establishing unprecedented achievements in this war. The cruel war of attrition in the inner city began around the palace and outside the encirclement. The final force of the Japanese Guards of Gyeonggi launched an attack on the German and Italian coalition forces entering the city before reinforcements arrived.

The warship clusters moored on the coast had no choice but to support the battle of the army troops in the city with unlimited artillery warfare. The almost wooden city of Tokyo was in a sea of ​​fire.

The German army really had no choice. The coalition forces in the city cut off the supply line and were in the enemy's territory. If they did not seize the time to effectively kill the enemy's troops, the outcome would be difficult to say. Although they certainly had the ability and opportunity to fight from the city, for the commander-in-chief General Hindenburg, this was no different from defeat.

Therefore, the battle in the inner city of Tokyo did not stop within two days. When the German and Italian coalition forces completely controlled Tokyo in the early morning of October 9, they could not see any living Japanese soldiers in their sight except for the corpses on the street. During the two days and nights of defensive battles, the Japanese army paid a huge casualty of more than 10,000 people, which allowed the Fourth Division of Hindenburg to bury nearly 4,000 young German lives. Finally, after Makenson's cavalry and infantry troops broke through the Japanese army's outer defense line, the entire Japanese army collapsed.

Finally, it was discovered that more than 70% of the Japanese squadron commanders and above were killed by suicide, and the rest were shot dead. Only then did Hindenburg understand the great spiritual effect of the Japanese emperor in the minds of Japanese soldiers. However, strangely, when Emperor Meiji was captured in front of the battlefield, the emperor did not show any abnormality to the corpses of the people everywhere in front of him. He just held the young Lizard Miya Takiko Naka in his arms and smiled with a smile, followed by his five slightly older children and five concubines with higher status.

The deified emperor did show some kind of immortality at this moment, and did not show any surprise or pain at the cruel killing in the world. However, when the general of Hindenburg ordered him to put down his child and surrender to him, he sighed deeply, lowered his head and kissed the three-year-old Prince Takiko Nakayaka of Satomiya, silently took the seal from the eunuch, a sword and a bronze mirror, and walked to Hindenburg and bowed to serve him.

Hindenburg was not interested in seals and bronze mirrors, so he personally took the sword and raised it high into the air. The cameraman who followed the army seized this moment and took a photo of the background, angle and character expressions that were extremely vivid.

"It's all my fault." Meiji murmured. He bowed respectfully to Hindenburg and said, "Please allow me to convey orders to my subjects to make a truce, so as not to cause more pain to both of us."

Of course, Hindenburg also needs a chance to breathe, and the occupying army also requires the cooperation of the people in the occupied areas. Moreover, his remaining troops are only more than 10,000. It is not easy to control a big city like Tokyo with nearly 10 million people.

Emperor Meiji finally appeared in front of the citizens of Tokyo. Behind him was General Hindenburg like the Emperor. The emperor's first order was to ask the citizens to give up resistance and leave Japan's future to himself. The second order was to order the execution of the culprit who angered the Germans, Prime Minister Aritomo Yama Prefecture. At the same time, more than 100 officials from the government and military departments were executed by the imperial order.

The emperor finally waited for the opportunity that had been waiting for several years. His subjects forced him into the palace, and the German invaders rescued him from the palace. However, the German invaders caused endless harm to his country and subjects. He had no choice whether to thank or hate the German and Italian coalition forces.

But no matter what, he finally got back from the loss of power after the coup. As long as he takes advantage of this opportunity, he can still be the emperor in the past, rather than the puppet emperor. Only with this foundation can he contribute to the dream of Japan's prosperity.

As for Kyoto, there is always a way. The most important thing in front of you is to invite foreigners out.

The German flag fluttered above the Tokyo Palace, which is a symbol that the country is in a period of conquest. With the mediation of the Emperor, the situation in Tokyo gradually calmed down. However, under the forced request of the German army, in order to protect the interests of foreigners and the safety of life and property, the Emperor agreed to hand over the control of Tokyo's security to the Germans.

After contacting the country, General Hindenburg issued a war in Germany: Germany leased the Nagoya military port and the surrounding Toyohashi, Hamamatsu and Ise Bay from Japan, which was discovered by the Germans long ago. At the same time, Gifu and Japan in the surrounding area recognized Germany's rule of the city. Second, symbolically compensated the German military expenditure of 30 million yen, which means one yen per Japanese person. Third, ceded the Izu Islands to Germany. Fourth, Germany retained a division of troops in Tokyo to ensure that Japan would no longer have violent acts against foreigners, especially Germans.

Each of these conditions makes the Japanese embarrassed. The surrounding area of ​​Ise Bay is the Ise Shrine. Although the Gifu, which must be passed on on the way from Tokyo to Ise Shrine, has been occupied by the so-called shogunate army of the Amanami Kingdom, it is still the Japanese. How can the temple that the former emperor occupied by the Westerners?

Article 2: The compensation of 30 million yen is also a very deadly requirement. Now, it is less than 3 million yen per year, unless it is significantly increased or raised from a large merchant. However, this is not bad. If he killed Yutoto Yama Prefecture, if his property could be confiscated and his property could be transferred to the official position, the property of the biggest beneficiary of the Meiji Restoration, which is rich and wealthy, can definitely complete the huge compensation that the treasury alone would not be able to bear. So, the decree to search the property of Yuto Yama Prefecture and his accomplices was immediately issued.

The other two are easy to say. Although the garrison will harm the country's face, they will give in a little bit of concessions at the garrison location, and both sides can always give an explanation to each other.

However, these four clauses are almost equivalent to removing the tendons of this "dragon" in Japan. Where can I go? In the meantime, Emperor Meiji could not make this decision.

After dealing with the Germans, there are still Chinese people below to deal with them. They also need to fight against the so-called shogunate army. If there is no tendon, what should we do?

After thinking about it, Emperor Meiji decided to ask several prime minister candidates to make suggestions.

After the fall of Aritoto Yama Prefecture, the most eye-catching Japanese political forces was Okuma Shigenobu, followed by Matsumoto's universal suffrage alliance, and then Masato Desauchi and others representing military forces.

The emperor basically ignored the last two, and Matsumoto's political strategy was unacceptable to every monarch. Masato Nakachi had a deep Yama Prefecture mark on his body, so he might be a ungrateful wolf. Therefore, in his overall personnel situation, there was already a general framework, which was to form a civil servant cabinet with Shigenobu Okuma as prime minister, while the military part used Nogi Kinori, who had been focusing on royal affairs in recent years, and the finance side was slightly focused on using Matsukata Masayoshi to provide financial assistance to the reconstruction of both military and political aspects.

However, it is not easy to take off with a small country like Japan. Now the world is a world of great powers. If you don’t rely on a big country, what is waiting for Japan is to be eaten up step by step until the country is finally destroyed. This time the German and Italian coalition forces invaded Tokyo is a huge lesson. Whether you submit or not, you must rely on a big country worth relying on. This is the greatest wealth that the three or four years of Uchiha Sora's life in the Uchiha family brought to Emperor Meiji.

Which big country is worth relying on? Although the name of France and Russia is an ally, it actually does not have the responsibility of any ally. This time, under the threat of Germany, it was silent. Thinking of the previous Russia being beaten by China on both sea and land, it fully shows that these two countries should no longer be in the ranks of major countries. Britain is too far away, and Germany is a new revenge and is also a long way to rely on. The only choice is China...

As long as you give up some things, such as honorary titles, hostile attitudes and vassalization, Beijing will definitely preside over justice. Emperor Meiji has no choice but to bet on Beijing.

On the other hand, Emperor Guangxu also proposed a plan to resolve the problem peacefully, and they had this sincerity. The only question was whether Japan was willing to put down its airs.

For Japan, for the sake of dreams, and for the current crisis, Emperor Meiji must make a choice. After the ceasefire between the two sides, the Chinese envoy Shao Lizhuo also visited the palace twice. The German soldiers were respectful to the Chinese, which made Emperor Meiji even more moved. Shao Lizhuo said twice that China would not sit idly by and watch the neighboring countries be bullied and would definitely react, which also relieved him a lot. But he was not a stupid person. Of course, he knew that the Chinese were not stupid people. There was no benefit for them and it was impossible for them to stand out for Japan.

Fortunately, Chinese people are famous. As long as they get the title of Emperor, this condition was proposed in China when the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, but it was left unresolved. As for the title of vassal, it is just a bad name, and there is no substantial loss.

And being able to rely on China has many benefits. First of all, in the internal war with the Hokkaido rebels, we can ask China, the sovereign state, to hold a neutral position. Germany will also give China a face, and bargaining on negotiation terms will have a basis...

There are indeed many benefits, but it is too difficult to bow your head.

First of all, we must hide it from the domestic market. Secondly, there are too many anti-China forces in China to be eradicated. At least on the surface, the Chinese people cannot feel that the people's sentiment is difficult to control, otherwise the ship will not last long.

Then, he also needs a proper opportunity, and a proper introduction, and a proper step.

Someone thought of these for him. From prisoners to the new prime minister, Shigeon Okuma immediately contacted the Black Dragon Association veteran Inukatsuki, and they quickly found a step for the emperor.

On October 10, the Qing Empire's plenipotentiary Minister of Japanese Affairs and the East China Sea Governor Yuan Shikai's ship Dingyuan arrived in Tokyo Bay. Representatives of both sides who were temporarily ceased to fight, Japanese Prime Minister Shigenobu Okuma, and Major General Markenson, the German-Italy coalition forces, arrived at the dock in person to greet him. Yuan Shikai, dressed in an official uniform, walked down the dock with his energetic steps and went to the palace to meet the Japanese emperor with his representatives.

Germany also needs mediation. All the German Empire wants is to regain face. It is impossible for people like William II to not make any reaction after an attempted murder.

However, from the perspective of the interests of the German Empire, except for the Ise Bay military port and some compensation, the other terms are negotiable. It is not necessary and effective to maintain the army stationed in the Far East. A division's troops are not too much or too little, but it is possible to be dealt with by someone without any action.

Therefore, Yuan Shikai's arrival was just right. Under the order of His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Empire, he specially issued a decree to show peace between the two sides. Under his presidency, the advance preview of the peace conference began.

After three days of negotiations, the three parties concluded a peace treaty in Tokyo. The treaty agreed as follows: First, the Japanese leased Ise Bay and the Izu Islands to Germany for 20 years, with a rent of 1.5 million yen per year, and paid in one lump sum with the Japanese war reparations. Second, the Japanese solemnly apologized to the German Empire and promised to execute 173 radical ministers led by former Prime Minister Aritomo Yama Prefecture (a separate list).

It is simple and effective. This is the case with the peace treaty between Germany and Japan. The only tail is in the effective period. The effective period stipulates that this treaty will come into effect immediately after the entry into force of the Sino-Japanese and Tokyo Treaty on Guaranteeing Peace.

If this treaty is a subsidiary treaty of the Sino-Japanese Tokyo Peace Guarantee Treaty.

During this period, Yuan Shikai and the Emperor of Japan were called Emperor Emperor for the last time, because the treaty stipulated that: First, Japan will be included in the vassal state of China from now on; Second, the Japanese king will go to the emperor's title and renamed the king, and the Qing Empire will grant the king a golden seal. Third, to ensure peace, five kilometers around Akagi Mountain north of Tokyo were included in the peace zone, and the Qing Empire will send no more than 25,000 troops to station them to ensure peace in the Tokyo area. Fourth, Japan abolished the previous alliance treaties concluded with foreign countries, and was handled by the Qing Empire. Fifth, Japan's official name is Japan, and decrees should be issued. Anyone with the name of the Emperor of Japan and other prohibited words should be executed.

This is another gambling by Japan after the Sino-Japanese War.

The past disease of scabies, Matsuhira, has become a confidant. If you fight against foreign countries, you must first settle the country. If Japan wants to take off, it must first solve this confidant. Before that, it will be in vain to work hard. Previously, French engineers were assassinated, battleship shutdown cases, a large loss of talents in recent years, the deterioration of the domestic security situation, and political chaos, there is a shadow of Matsuhira behind any of them.

To solve this confidant problem, we must first solve China's interference in legal terms, which is a step that cabinet officials generally understand. Japan originally did not even have the capital to gambling, but once it joined China's vassal system, no matter what, there is still a chance to bet. As long as the Tianhai Kingdom is solved, if this bet is won, and if it works hard for decades in the future, there will still be hope.

The Germans were also satisfied with the negotiation results and obtained the military port in Ise Bay, which solved the problem of military ports in the Far East, breaking out of the limitation that borrowing Chinese military ports would cause disgust in the UK. In addition, the harvest of the Izu Islands was also an unexpected fortune outside the plan.

With the military port of Ise Bay, the German Pacific Fleet can be established from now on. In addition to dealing with the British and seizing islands in the Pacific, there is another wonderful use, which is to restrain the Chinese to avoid the risk of unrecovered particles after a large amount of investment. Of course, this is the German's wishful thinking and will not be said explicitly.

After solving the East Asian problem, the German Empire could take back its energy and add some trouble to the old British Empire on other fronts. In addition, peace also gave the Chinese great face and added friendship with them. For the Germans, this account was extremely cost-effective.

It’s just that I didn’t get the war compensation, and I was vaguely unhappy. Of course, compared to the Japanese, nothing is nothing.

In late autumn in Tokyo, Meiji became a person who saved Japan during a war crisis after 1894. Of course, his prestige rose rapidly, but he also had a bone spur in his heart, which was stationed in the Akagi Mountain area that was more than 70 kilometers away from Japan and did not take a day's journey. Although Gunma Prefecture where Akagi Mountain is located is separated from Tokyo by a Saitama Prefecture, what's the use of this barrier under the battleships on the beach and the army behind him?

But now we can only come step by step. King Meiji looked at the map again, sighed sadly, and it was time to change it again.

It's time to change it. At present, only half of the areas he can control is left in the Honshu Island from east of the Kii Peninsula. However, as he looked, King Meiji suddenly discovered that the remaining land was traced with color, and he looked more and more like a knife, and he couldn't help but feel some inexplicable excitement.

He is getting closer and closer to God, a psychopath.

Yuan Shikai stayed in Tokyo for another five days, meeting with all the powerful and powerful people, and of course some military personnel. The most important of them were all the members of the constitutional party, and the personnel of the Black Dragon Association also came to the surface. As meritorious ministers who pushed down Youwen from Shan County, they were also able to come to the stage.

Japan is now a vassal of the Qing Dynasty, and it is obvious that the one who manages Japanese affairs in the future was the Governor of the East China Sea. Lord Yuan is an old friend of the Japanese, and Okuma Shigenobu was even a person who had a friendship during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894. Therefore, in terms of national affairs, Okuma Shigenobu also had quite a few things to ask Yuan for advice.

Yuan Shikai has another gain in the past few days, that is, Shigeshino Okuma recommended him an intelligence talent named Fukushima Anmasato, who was also a member of the government's purge. This person is well-known in Japan and is an intelligence expert, but Japan no longer needs such talents in the future. Therefore, Shigeshino Okuma recommended him to Yuan Shikai.

His new task is to collect the updates of various people in Tokyo. Yuan Shikai is not a fool. He has never trusted the Japanese, so Mr. Fukushima needs further investigation.

After making such a contribution, Yuan Shikai returned to the Weiying Mansion with great pride. To the surprise of everyone except him, he waited for an imperial edict to seek benevolence.
Chapter completed!