I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 182 Chess Pieces
Carlos Naito did not see Yagyu. After all, Yagyu is the prime minister, and he cannot just see him casually as his agent. The person in charge of this matter is Yamakawa Daizo.

Although he was born in the Aizu Domain, because Matsudaira Yoho was dedicated to serving the public, officials from the Aizu Domain were basically more down-to-earth, unlike officials from the Saga Domain, Higo Domain, Tosa Domain and other powerful domains who were as selfish.

Although Yagyu only told Yamakawa Daizo to win over Carlos Naito and did not say much, he was very smart and soon seemed to understand the ins and outs of the matter.

He had long known about the Saga faction's attempt to spread the theory of conquest of Korea from Sagawa Kanbei.

Now something is happening in Luzon Island in the south, and Prime Minister Yagyu wants to support the agent, which is exactly the opposite of the Saga faction's northward movement.

Sagawa Kanbei told him that the Saga faction seemed to have close ties with Britain, the Netherlands, and France. Going north to conquer Korea would only offend the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia. This was the British purpose.

Prime Minister Yagyu's current plan in the south is to make enemies of Britain, France and the Netherlands. Such actions are not such a good idea for Yamakawa Daizo, and he feels that it is much better to be enemies of Tsarist Russia than to be enemies of Britain, France and the Netherlands.

The power of Daying made many Japanese feel that it was an insurmountable mountain. Therefore, Yagyu's actions worried many people.

However, Yagyu's reputation was at its peak, and no one dared to directly raise objections, unless someone tried to overcome his superiors.

Yamakawa Daizo expressed this concern to Matsudaira Yongho, but Matsudaira Yongho did not take it seriously. In his opinion, with the strength of Yagyu Heiyan, it is difficult for the lower to overcome the upper to succeed.

As for the hostility between Britain, France and the Netherlands, he is not worried because he can be sure that Prime Minister Yagyu will not lead Japan to destruction.

Yamakawa Daizo didn't know why Matsudaira Yongho trusted Prime Minister Yagyu so much, but now that Prime Minister Yagyu is in power, it is the best situation for them.

He put away all his emotions and concentrated on completing the tasks assigned to him by the cabinet.

Carlos Naito, led by a junior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, entered the Cabinet Office of the Imperial Palace.

Soon, Carlos met Yamakawa Daizo in a small reception room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Yamakawa Daizo sat on the sofa without getting up. He stretched out his hand and said: "Mr. Carlos, please sit down."

"Do you want tea or coffee?"

Carlos sat on the edge of the sofa with some restraint, straightened his back and said, "Just coffee."

Soon, a clerk brought a cup of coffee.

Yamakawa Daizo scooped up a piece of sugar for Carlos and put it into his coffee cup, and said: "Western coffee is very mellow, but the taste is a bit bitter. After adding some sugar and milk, the taste becomes richer, and there is a sense of bitterness and sweetness. a feeling of.

Although you, the Naito family, have lived and worked peacefully in Manila for more than 200 years, being able to return to your motherland now is a blessing after all your hardships, right? "

Carlos took a sip of coffee, tasted it carefully, and said: "Sir Shanchuan, my father has been talking about the beautiful mountains and rivers of my motherland since I was sensible. When I grew up, I returned to my motherland to trade with the Dutch.

Although I only visited Nagasaki for a while, I can still feel the strength and prosperity of my motherland, hear the local accent, and feel a sense of belonging.

Although the Naito family has lived in Manila for more than 200 years, in the eyes of the Spaniards, we are still outsiders. We have been walking on thin ice and trembling with fear in these years. "

Yamakawa Daizo echoed: "The cabinet also knows a lot about the things in Luzon. These foreigners treat the colonies very cruelly, and this time they point the finger directly at Japan.

If it is a powerful country like Britain and France, then forget it, but who is Spain?As long as the Prime Minister gives an order, our navy can destroy the Spanish fleet and occupy the port of Manila. Tens of thousands of elite royal divisions can enter Luzon Island at any time. The Spanish are no match at all. "

Carlos nodded repeatedly. He knew very well about the Japanese navy's defeat of the Moro pirate fleet in the Battle of Tonkin Gulf and the waters of Borneo.

He naturally knew that the Spanish fleet in Manila only had a few wooden ships left. Where was the opponent of the ironclad ships? Once a war started, Spain would definitely lose.

But the problem is that there is France behind Spain, and Great Britain will not sit idly by. Attacking Luzon Island is not easy. He wants to know where Japan's confidence comes from.

"I believe that Spain is definitely not Japan's opponent, but I have lived in Manila for a long time and have some contacts with local officials.

Although Spain is not very powerful, its relationship with France is not bad. France will definitely not watch our navy take action. "

Yamakawa Daizo smiled easily, waved his hand, let Carlos come closer, and then whispered: "France will soon be too busy to take care of itself."

Carlos was surprised when he heard the news. How could a powerful country like France be so overwhelmed?This news is really shocking.

"Really, this...this..."

Yamakawa Daizo said with some displeasure: "The Prime Minister never does anything without preparation. This is your opportunity to return to Japan. If you miss it, you will have no chance."

Carlos thought about it carefully and realized that such a big country would definitely not lie to him. If France couldn't take care of itself, Great Britain would definitely pay attention to France. By then, Spain might really be left alone.

Thinking of this, Carlos became a little excited. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "I, the Naito family, are from Yamato after all. No matter where I am, my heart will always be for Yamato."

Yamakawa Daizo smiled slightly, and then chatted with Carlos about the specific matter.

As an agent, what Carlos has to do is to make friends with local forces and collect local intelligence for Japan, including the situation of the Spanish, indigenous residents, and the Chinese.

In addition, Carlos also needs to sort out a map of the Philippine Islands and more.

Not only Carlos wanted to do this, but the other two agents also did the same thing. Yamakawa Dazang met Carlos and other three agents in turn, and the three of them did not know about this.

At that time, three pieces of information will be verified against each other, so that we can also detect the sincerity of the three agents.

Of course, in addition to the secret arrangements of the Yagyu cabinet, on the surface, Yagyu also sent people to negotiate with Philippine Governor Cerrado, and Japan must be given an explanation.

Cerrado naturally followed the previous arrangement and handed over a group of natives to perfunctory matters. As for the compensation, it only increased by hundreds of thousands of yen, which is not worth mentioning.

As for Spain’s reputation?Since submitting compensation to Japan, Spain has lost all its dignity.The tough measures of the Yagyu cabinet, coupled with the decisive resignation of the Philippine Governor, temporarily suppressed public opinion on this matter.

This situation confused many people. Eto Shinpei and others were also confused for a while. They thought Japan was going to send troops to the Philippines next, but the result was that the thunder was loud and the rain was small, which caught people off guard.

But they can only wait and see, as Yagyu Heeyan is now putting a lot of pressure on him.

Fortunately, the honeymoon trip of Emperor Meiji and Queen Mary was over. After more than three months of absence, the emperor and the queen returned to Kyoto.

At the same time, Yagyu will also hold his wedding to Okita Jin.

Yagyu's wedding was naturally eye-catching. There was still some discussion about the Prime Minister marrying a widow. Many nobles were disappointed. They all thought about marrying their daughters to Yagyu so that their families could prosper in Japan. Never fade.

You know, Yagyu is actually only 29 years old now. Even if he only lives to 60, he still has 31 years of ruling career. Even if Yagyu no longer serves as prime minister, someone else will still be influenced by Yagyu.

Therefore, any family can prosper as long as it relies on Yagyu.

But now, this hope is dashed.

No one thought that Yagyu would marry a widow!
This incident was a great joy for Kondo Isamu and other people from the Shinsengumi. Even Hijikata Toshizo specially took time to rush back to Kyoto from Hokkaido.

It can be seen from this that the loyalty of the Shinsengumi and others to Yagyu will only become stronger and will be passed on to his next generation. In other words, Kondo Isamu, Hijikata Toshizo and others have essentially become his retainers.

It is normal for such a situation to occur. After all, the shogunate era has just ended, and people's minds have not changed for a while. Perhaps this tradition will continue, which is a great joy for the Yagyu family.

Yagyu's wedding was a Western-style wedding, which didn't cost much. The entire wedding would cost up to three and a half million yen.

This amount of money is just a small amount of money for Yagyu.

He has the salary of the Prime Minister in his account, a subsidy from an earl, and dividends from Dilong Tempura (KFC) and Coca-Cola. His annual income is as much as 500 million.

His income was just below that of the Japanese imperial family.

Yagyu is not a saint, and he doesn't know what his descendants will be like or whether they can inherit his career, so he has to find wealth for his descendants, so that even if the political arena fails, he can still become a financial group and influence the political arena.

Perhaps more than a hundred years later, the Yagyu family in Kyoto will still be Japan's top consortium.

Yagyu's wedding was very lively. Not to mention the domestic nobles, officials and wealthy businessmen who joined in the fun, even ambassadors from other countries sent gifts one after another. The excitement was no less than that of the emperor.

And even Emperor Meiji himself attended with Queen Mary to celebrate Yagyu.

At the banquet, after Yagyu chatted with others, he found Ambassador Barland.

He and Ambassador Barland came to a remote room and sat down. Barland asked doubtfully: "Prime Minister Yagyu, does he have something important to discuss with me?"

Yagyu nodded directly and said: "Yes, Mr. Barland, I know that a war is about to break out between your country and France."

Baland's face was full of surprise, and he shook his head and said: "Impossible, His Majesty the King has never said this. Mr. Prime Minister, what do you mean?"

Yagyu explained with a smile: "Mr. Barland, don't worry, I have heard that France refused His Majesty William's cousin to inherit the Spanish throne. This may seem like a small contradiction, but France is the key to hindering the unification of Germany." .

I think Mr. Bismarck, the prime minister of your country, must be thinking of a war with France. This matter may be an excuse. "

Barland knew Bismarck very well, and listening to Yagyu's analysis, he felt more and more that this matter was very possible!

Is there any chance of winning the war to spread the law?Baland was very flustered.

In fact, William I was not ready. He was also afraid of France's prestige, but Bismarck and Moltke were not afraid. Bismarck almost promoted the development of the Franco-Prussian War.

Yagyu was not as panicked as Barand. He continued: "Mr. Barand, I think you can send someone back to China to talk to Mr. Bismarck. We in Japan will also declare war with France when the time comes. When you go to war in Europe, , the Japanese army will take action to contain the French army in Nanyang!"

Baland gasped, how bold!Why are you more certain than me, a Prussian nobleman, that Prussia can defeat France?
"Okay, I understand. Don't worry, Mr. Prime Minister. I will send someone back to Europe immediately after I return and tell Mr. Bismarck, no, I will go back in person."

Barand couldn't stay any longer. He left Yagyu Mansion in a daze, returned to the embassy, ​​and returned to Europe the next day.

Baland's strangeness naturally attracted the attention of the ambassadors from Britain, France, the United States, the Netherlands and other countries. When the ball at Yagyu's wedding banquet ended, several ambassadors left in a hurry to inquire about the news.

After Baland left Kyoto, Parkes immediately asked for all the news.

But they only knew that it was after discussions between Yagyu Hiyan and Baland that Baland left Japan.

"There must be a conspiracy here. Yagyu Hiyan must have a conspiracy. He is trying to unite with Prussia. Mr. Roches, you must remind His Majesty Napoleon to be careful about this!"

Van Pols immediately blew the whistle on Yagyu's threat theory.

Roches also felt that something was wrong, but without specific evidence or intelligence, he rashly told the emperor about it. He would definitely be scolded and his colleagues would also ridicule him.

"The matter has not yet been decided. Don't panic. For France, Prussia and Japan combined are not our opponents."

Parkes also thought so. After all, France was the hegemon of the European continent, and Napoleon III was relatively powerful. He felt that Japan and Prussia could not threaten France.

"I admit that Yagyu Heiyan is very powerful, but it is not to the extent that it makes Daeyoung panic. This matter still needs to be investigated carefully to avoid making any jokes."

　Recommend a friend's book "Game Design: Is it ok?"

　　Thanks to Dehydrated Copernicus for the one hundred tip!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)