I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 185 Declaring war on Spain!

Hurd seems to be speaking for the Qing Dynasty, but in fact, he is British.

Prince Gong was still unaware of the conspiracy, so he raised the matter of marriage with Japan at the court.

Those die-hards were originally opposed to the Westernization Movement, but as a result, you wanted to marry a small country like Japan. Then where would the dignity of our Qing Dynasty remain?
The Qingliu people came forward one after another and loudly scolded Prince Gong for forgetting his ancestors, betraying his country and seeking glory, etc. In short, the scolding was very unpleasant.

The two empress dowagers were a little panicked when they saw this scene. Fortunately, Cixi had some skills. She immediately calmed the situation and said: "Prince Gong also thinks about the Qing Dynasty, but this method is not very good. Let's end the matter here."

Wen Xiang immediately came out and talked about the Hui people's rebellion in Shaanxi and Gansu. He changed the topic and Prince Gong breathed a sigh of relief.

After the dispersion of the dynasty, a somewhat aggrieved Prince Gong returned to the Prime Minister's Office and couldn't help complaining about the stubbornness of the Qingliu gang.

Hurd appeared again with a worried look on his face and said: "These people don't know the changes in the world. The Qing Dynasty is surrounded by wolves abroad. If you are not careful, the Qing Dynasty will be in danger."

Prince Gong asked anxiously: "What should we do?"

Hurd also shook his head.

Wen Xiang immediately suggested: "Lord Hart is a British man. Why don't we make good friends with Britain? With Britain's strength, we can definitely suppress Japan."

Prince Gong looked at Hurd, who muttered: "I'm afraid the Queen Mother will not agree."

"Then don't mention it in a hurry. We have to deal with Britain anyway, so we can talk about it first." Prince Gong thought of what happened this morning and came up with a compromise.

Hurd responded: "Then I'll do my best."

Hart left the Prime Minister's Yamen and went to see the ambassador to the Qing Dynasty, Wade.

"Mr. Witoma, I have solved this matter perfectly."

Witoma invited Hurd to sit down and said with a smile: "Hurd, you have done a good job. I have reported this to the parliament and will credit you with it."

Hurd was a little puzzled and asked: "Japan is not very strong, so why not just send troops?"

Witoma shook his head and said: "Hard, you don't understand, Japan is different from the Qing Dynasty. If Great Britain wants to force Japan to surrender, it is estimated that it will need [-] troops and an entire fleet, which will cost millions of military expenditures.

But it would be of no use to us to take down a devastated Japan. The parliament did not agree to do so, so we could only surround Japan from the outside and let it slowly suffocate until they were in civil strife, and then we took action. "

"Okay." Hurd stopped arguing and stood up and said, "Mr. Witoma, it's best not to affect the Qing Dynasty, otherwise it will be difficult for me."

"Of course, don't worry."

Hurd bowed and left the embassy.

……

Kyoto, in the cabinet.

Yagyu is discussing with Nishusuke about increasing military expenditures.

Although the War Department still had tens of millions of yen in reserves before, after the increase of troops to 30, the War Department's budget of 5000 million yen was somewhat stretched.

Therefore, Yagyu wanted to discuss with Nishusuke to increase the army's military expenditure by 1000 million.

Shibusawa Eiichi is the Minister of Finance, but he is still studying economics in Europe. Although he still has some confidants, he is much worse than Nishusuke.

Nishi Shusuke was a member of the shogunate. He was sent to Europe by the shogunate to study law and economics, so he served as deputy minister of finance.

Nishusuke took the government's financial report and said: "Prime Minister, in terms of government expenditures, the salaries of government personnel alone have reached 3000 million yen. As for the construction expenditures in various places, they have reached 500 million yen. The remaining In terms of education, it has reached 5000 million yen, plus [-] million yen in army and navy military expenditures. The government has already overspent.

Had it not been for the first batch of reparations from the Netherlands and Spain, the government would have been in deficit last year. If the Prime Minister wants to increase military spending, the only option is to issue national bonds. "

Yagyu didn't hesitate for too long and nodded: "Well, let's issue national bonds. The first batch will be about 3000 million."

The national debt of 3000 million yen is not much, and this amount of money is not enough to be divided among the nobles.

The name "treasury bonds" may seem novel, but in fact it is nothing new in Japan.

During the Warring States Period, Japan was conquered all over the country. Years of wars made it difficult for the poor lords to bear. Therefore, some poor lords would borrow money from businessmen before the war began, promising to pay back the money with interest after winning the war.

Therefore, when wealthy nobles and wealthy businessmen learned about the national debt, they immediately asked how much it would cost.

The Central Bank is firmly controlled by Yagyu's forces. Yagyu has long told the Central Bank that 2000 million of the national debt was subscribed by nobles and wealthy businessmen, and the other 1000 million was sold to the middle class and other common people.

Once national bonds are issued, they are allocated early.

Everyone happily divided up the profits this time, and Yagyu also received the necessary military expenditures.

In fact, he and his group of people were allocated 500 million yen in national debt. Naturally, he cannot treat his own people badly when making money like this.

In the Cabinet Office, Shannan Keisuke smelled the smell and found Yagyu. He handed over the latest financial report and said: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, the Ministry of War's military expenditure will soon be exhausted."

Yagyu raised his head, pointed at Shannan Keisuke in a joking manner, and then approved the note and said: "You are really fast. You came here just after we got the money.

This time I helped you get 1000 million from the Ministry of Finance, you have to make good use of it. "

Shannan Keisuke felt very comfortable and immediately said: "Prime Minister, I think the Ministry of War's military expenditure should be raised to 5000 million, otherwise it will be too reluctant to support 30 people."

"Go, go, go." Yagyu immediately interrupted the spell casting.

"5000 million, do you think I am the God of Wealth? If your army has increased, will the navy also increase? Besides, will the Ministry of War be responsible for 30 people? The Northern Army and the Pioneer Army are not for you to support, so don't follow I, the lion, will open my mouth and give you up to 1000 million more."

When Shannan Keisuke saw that he had obtained 1000 million, he was satisfied. He quickly got up and left the office, for fear that Yagyu would regret it.

"Why are you running away!"

Yagyu immediately called out to Shannan Keisuke.

Shannan Keisuke smiled and said, "Aren't I afraid that you will regret it?"

"Shut up."

Yagyu put away his things.

"Report to me on the situation of the new army. These talents have been trained for three or four months. How is the actual situation?"

Shannan Keisuke's face straightened and he reported carefully: "This batch of recruits has passed the training of the recruit company and been added to the newly established establishment.

However, the newly formed infantry division is still in the process of running in and has not yet achieved combat effectiveness. "

"Your Majesty Prime Minister, only the newly reorganized 101st, 201st, 301st and 401st Infantry Divisions can fight now."

These four divisions were all new troops that had participated in training during the Tokugawa period. After being incorporated by the new government, they became the National Defense Forces. Now they have been reorganized and adjusted to become the main infantry divisions.

Yagyu nodded and said: "Four main divisions with 6 people are enough. Shannan, after July, these four infantry divisions will be transferred to Kyushu to wait for the next order."

"Yes, Prime Minister!"

Yagyu looked at the calendar aside. There was less than a month left before Prussia and France declared war.

The Nanyang plan should begin.

……

Manila. In the port, Nobuyuki Nakajima and a group of people were receiving supplies from Spain to replace the last batch of reparations. A large amount of rubber and sugar cane were being loaded onto the ship.

Nobuyuki Nakajima looked at his subordinates and whispered: "You can go to brothels and taverns when you get ashore, but you must pay attention to safety. If you see that the locals are not there, they will hate us."

His eyes looked at two of them. They were both secret police officers. They were carrying out a top-secret mission this time, and even Nobuyuki Nakajima was not sure about it.

Dozens of Japanese sailors left the port together and headed to a nearby town to have fun and relax.

Taro Matsuda and Yanosuke Ida, who were on a mission, went to a restaurant where Spanish soldiers often went to drink.

They ordered a big meal and started eating and drinking slowly. After three rounds, the two of them had eaten and drank enough. There were more guests in the hotel, and several Spanish soldiers walked in with arrogant steps.

Matsuda Taro and Ida Yanosuke looked at each other, immediately stood up and walked over. The two of them directly bumped into a Spanish soldier.

The Spanish soldier was furious and immediately grabbed Matsuda Taro and cursed: "Asshole, don't you have eyes? I'm going to kill you!"

Matsuda Taro threw the opponent away with all his strength and cursed: "Who dares to stand in front of me?"

Neither party could understand what the other said, but it was clear from the other's tone and actions that what was said was definitely not good.

The Spanish soldier saw that Taro Matsuda was so arrogant and unruly, and his anger rose in his heart. He immediately reached out to touch the saber at his waist.

Taro Matsuda was still cursing and showing off his victory in the Battle of Tonkin Gulf.

"Go away, you Spaniards, you are no match for Japan, hahaha..."

On the side, Yanosuke Ida mocked the Spaniard.

Some locals heard that the two Japanese were talking nonsense in front of the Spaniards, and they immediately started talking.

The Spanish soldier saw something strange and waved: "Don't worry, take them down first!"

Matsuda Taro immediately resisted and struggled with the Spanish soldiers, but it was difficult for him to fight with four fists. Matsuda Taro was knocked to the ground. Ida Yanosuke immediately helped and knocked away a Spanish soldier.

But the opponent's movements were a little more forceful.

"Shh..."

A panicked Spanish soldier drew his knife. Matsuda Taro immediately grabbed the knife and stabbed him in the abdomen, leaving him lying in a pool of blood.

Ida Yanosuke took a stab at himself while no one was paying attention, and fell to the ground.

"Killed!"

Several Spanish soldiers woke up and were a little at a loss.

They immediately left the hotel and returned to the military camp. The hotel owner quickly sent someone to send Matsuda Taro and Ida Yanosuke to the pharmacy.

In the evening, Nobuyuki Nakajima discovered that the two secret police officers had not returned. He immediately remembered the instructions above. He immediately ordered other people: "Something happened to our people. Send someone to inform the Spaniards!"

In the Spanish Governor's Palace in Manila, Cerrado had known about this for a long time. The two Japanese who were sent to the hospital had died due to excessive blood loss.

The officer in the barracks did not want to hand over the soldiers under his command. He thought that he could pay money to settle the matter. Cerrado was worried that the matter would be difficult to settle with money.

He had known about Japan's military expansion for a long time, and something like this happened just recently. He felt that Japan would not agree to it even if it meant losing money.

Now he can only wait for the Japanese's reaction before making a decision.

"Mr. Governor, the Japanese are coming!"

The secretary knocked on the door and came in to remind Cerrado.

Cerrado immediately asked: "How is the situation?"

The secretary stepped forward and said: "The situation is not ideal. The Japanese want us to hand over the murderer and bring him back to Japan for trial."

Cerrado shouted subconsciously: "This is absolutely impossible!"

He gritted his teeth and muttered: "If I let Japan do this, I will definitely be shot!"

The secretary could see Cerrado's anger, so he had to remind him again: "Master Cerrado, what should we do now?"

Cerrado sighed and said, "Let's meet first."

Nobuyuki Nakajima was led into the governor's office. He looked at the governor sitting behind his desk and said immediately: "Mr. Cerrado, our two sailors are missing. Does the governor know where they are?"

Cerrado denied it: "How do I know such a thing?"

Nobuyuki Nakajima shouted: "Mr. Cerrado, although I am a businessman, I am working for the country. Without two people, our government will never give up!"

Nobuyuki Nakajima immediately left Manila with his fleet and returned to the country.

This incident naturally caused an uproar.

Shannan Keisuke waved his arms excitedly in the parliament and said: "But it can only be done once and twice. There is already evidence that our people were killed by the other party's soldiers. As a result, they protected the criminals and clearly did not take us seriously." Here, we must teach Spain another lesson!"

Xiaosu Zhongshun said with a serious face: "We must send troops to punish Spain, otherwise where will our face go!"

Eto Shinpei saw that if he went south to cause trouble, there would be no hope for the conquest of Korea.

He immediately said: "Spain has the support of France, and we are no match for France."

Shannan Keisuke said unceremoniously: "Then let's forget it? Is Eto-sama too timid?"

Soejima Taneomi shouted: "Shannan-sama, watch your words!"

Okuma Shigenobu immediately said: "It is a fact that our country is weaker than France. We must focus on the overall situation and cannot start a war just because of such a trivial matter."

The two parties couldn't stop arguing. Prince Chaoyan knocked on the wooden hammer and shouted: "Quiet, what do you think, Prime Minister?"

Yagyu stood up slowly, looked around at the crowd and said, "The death of these two sailors is not only a matter of human life, but also a matter of dignity for our country!

Spain relies on the support of the French. As a defeated general, Spain still treats our personnel like this. It is really deceiving!
If I retreat today, I will be sorry for the soldiers who died in the Beibu Gulf. My suggestion is to declare war on Spain! "

Eto Shinpei had long known that Yagyu Hien would say this. He bit the bullet and asked: "Prime Minister, what if France intervenes?"

"Then let's declare war together!"

Yagyu's voice was loud and clear, showing that he was determined.

Soejima Taneomi said unwillingly: "Our navy is no match for the French fleet."

Yagyu snorted coldly and said: "The first armored battleship built independently by our country was completed three months ago. The navy can already operate this battleship to sail. This battleship is our trump card, and defeating the French army is not a problem. "

Prince Asahiko said immediately: "Then let's vote."

The voting results came out quickly, with more than [-]% in favor of war.

Everyone had expected this result. Prince Asahiko knocked the hammer and said loudly: "The parliament has decided that Japan will declare war on Spain!"

　The salary of the soldiers in front was revised and changed to twenty yen.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)