I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 194 French troops withdraw from Nanqi

The rebellion in Kyushu ended quickly. The artillery regiment of the 302nd Division bombed the rebel camp at night, causing a great chaos. As the infantry brigade attacked, the rebels fled without any surprise, and tens of thousands of people dispersed. , like dandelions blown away by the wind.

However, another infantry division had already surrounded them, the 303rd Division in Kumamoto was also heading north, and the 304th Division in Kitakyushu blocked the retreat in other directions.

The entire rebel army was surrounded in Saga Prefecture and was captured by government forces one after another.

After several days of fighting and rout among the more than [-] rebels, more than [-] were killed, tens of thousands were injured, and the remaining [-] were healthy and were detained separately.

In Nagasaki, inside the headquarters, Yagyu asked calmly: "Have Eto Shinpei and others been caught?"

Kuroda Takaetsu immediately replied: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, Eto Shinpei and Okuma Shigenobu have been arrested, and the bodies of Soejima Tanedomi and Shima Giyuu have also been found."

Yagyu nodded and said: "Eto Shinpei, Okuma Shigenobu, Deputy Shima Tanedomi, and Shima Giyu colluded with Great Britain's envoy Parkes to launch a rebellion at such a critical moment. This is an outright act of treason.

Keep an eye on these two people first. When the war is over and France surrenders, we will take these two people back. We will try these traitors and nail them to the pillar of shame in history! "

Shibusawa Eiichi followed up and said: "We must become a model and let others know the consequences of treason."

Itagaki Taisuke said: "Kill all the rebels!"

"You are too extreme!" Kido Takayun immediately stopped him, "Prime Minister, I know that such behavior should not be forgiven, but we cannot kill everyone. Why not escort them to Alaska in batches?"

Alaska has become a place where Japanese political prisoners are exiled. In Alaska, the Japanese population is not large. In addition to tens of thousands of Eskimos, Aleuts and other indigenous people, plus tens of thousands of exiled prisoners, and more than [-] people The total number of pioneering legions was less than [-].

Yagyu just hesitated for a moment before agreeing to the plan. Now the development of Alaska is very slow. More than [-] people were sent to Alaska before, and more than [-] people were killed and wounded. There is an urgent need for population there.

These [-] people are still young and strong laborers. Counting their families, the number of people sent to Alaska this time is estimated to be [-] to [-].

Everyone present saw that Yagyu Sheng agreed, so they said nothing more.

However, Kido Takayun continued: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, although Eto Shinpei and others were wrong to collude with foreigners, I believe that they did not do anything wrong in conquering Korea. Today's Korea is extremely weak, and the Qing Dynasty is even more humiliated by foreigners. This is what we Opportunity.

With the current strength of our army, we can completely capture North Korea and then march into the northeast of the Qing Dynasty. Coupled with the navy's invasion of the coastal areas of the Qing Dynasty, within five years, the Central Plains will be our land! "

Itagaki Taisuke then said: "Prime Minister, although it is not appropriate now, we can make preparations early."

Okubo Toshimichi objected: "If our country becomes the victor in this war, the most important thing we should do is to use what we have learned in the reform and develop national strength instead of going to war with other countries."

Yamagata Aritomo immediately objected: "After defeating France, we, Japan, are number one in Asia. If we don't expand now, we will wait until later!"

"We should develop domestic affairs first. Look at how much military spending is now..."

"If this money is not used for military expenses, why should it be used as compensation..."

In the hall, the two groups started arguing again. They have been arguing about this since Europe.

"Quiet!"

Yagyu spoke up to discuss the dispute between the two groups.

Everyone stopped and looked at the superior Yagyu.

He said unhurriedly: "I have said before that we should not talk about the conquest of Korea again, and it is the same now."

Kido Takayun was a little disappointed. He couldn't understand. His teacher Yoshida Shoin had already proposed a development blueprint. In his opinion, Japan's current strength can completely realize this blueprint. By then, Japan will be the real number one in Asia. .

He refused to give up and persuaded again: "Your Majesty Prime Minister..."

"I know what you're going to say."

Yagyu raised his hand to interrupt Kido Takayun's speech.

"You want to follow the ideas of your teacher Yoshida Shoin, so I admire the theory of conquering Korea, but I tell you clearly that my plan is different from Yoshida Shoin.

North Korea is a poor country with a small land. It is a feud with Japan. It is close to Tsarist Russia and is a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty.

Now that I am sending troops to capture North Korea, what do Tsarist Russia think and what do the Qing think? Can our army still fight on both the north and south fronts?

Even if you don't consider these, tell me, how many troops do we need to send to occupy North Korea?

You have to know that the salary of an infantry division alone costs more than [-] yen a month. If food, ammunition and other expenses are included, the cost per month is one million, and that is more than [-] million yen a year.

At least one regiment must be deployed in North Korea, which is more than [-] people. In other words, it will cost more than [-] million a year. Can our expenditure in occupying North Korea be comparable to our expenditure? "

"Whether it is from a political, military or economic perspective, conquering South Korea is not feasible."

Shibusawa Eiichi said immediately: "Based on the current government revenue, this war has already overdrafted expenditures. From what I have learned in the past few days, the government has also issued national debts. Perhaps this will become the norm.

Even if the Northern Army and the Pioneer Army total [-] people and do not need military expenditures, the military expenditures for the remaining [-] troops are estimated to be around [-] million. Including the navy, military expenditures account for almost one-half of the government's finances. Sooner or later, the country will overwhelmed. "

Godai Tomohou stood up and said: "Everyone, we can no longer expand our army. We have reached Japan's limit now. After this victory, Japan should accelerate the development of its domestic economy!"

Okubo Toshimichi also said: "Now, our reforms are not thorough and complete enough, and blind expansion will not be good for Japan."

What these people said is very consistent with Yagyu's plan.

Participating in the Franco-Prussian War at all costs is already the biggest war that Yagyu has prepared. After the Franco-Prussian War, Japan's international status will be able to enter a second-rate country, and other powers will definitely not bully Japan as before.

With such an international environment, he can develop his economy with peace of mind.

If he develops the economy according to the old historical pace, it will only make Japan a fat sheep, and then the Western powers will unscrupulously carve up all the wealth.

"Everyone, you have all heard that Japan has reached its limit now, and our occupation of Spanish colonies has reached its limit. We have no energy left to expand.

This time, I declared war on Spain and France. The first purpose was to seize the Spanish colonies. The second purpose was to improve Japan's international status and terminate the previous unequal treaties with Britain and France.     Now that we have achieved the first goal, the second goal is about to be achieved.

After achieving these two goals, I hope that you will work together to manage the country's internal affairs with me, manage Hokkaido, Alaska, and the Philippine Islands well, and integrate these three lands into Japan. "

Yagyu's statement made Okubo Toshimichi and Shibusawa Eiichi excited. Kido Takayun was a little dissatisfied. He was dissatisfied with Yagyu's attitude towards Yoshida Shoin.

As for Kuroda and others, they are a little disappointed. If there is no war, there will be no military achievements. This is a heavy blow to the soldiers.

Yagyu took in everyone's expressions. Although Kido Takayun, Yamagata Aritomo and others were either disappointed or dissatisfied, they did not dare to speak out against it.

The Kyushu samurai rebellion came to an end, and Yagyu immediately focused on the war.

The French army in Da Nang, Vietnam also learned that the French Emperor had surrendered to Prussia and that the Prussian army had marched towards Paris.

This news caused the morale of the French army to collapse and they had no fighting spirit.

But even so, it was difficult for the Vietnamese army to invade Da Nang.

Fortunately, the Japanese fleet led by Sakamoto Ryoma appeared and calmed the restless Ruan Zhifang. Sakamoto Ryoma was not in a hurry to attack. He asked Nakajima Nobuyuki as an envoy to enter Da Nang to negotiate with the French army.

Alphonse received Nobuyuki Nakajima, accompanied by a French translator.

Alphonse looked at Nobuyuki Nakajima with a bad expression. With anger in his eyes, he gritted his teeth and said, "Japanese, you are so brave. I want to kill you now!"

Nobuyuki Nakajima could tell that Alphonse had a stern look and a soft heart. After all, Alphonse had dressed up and looked very gentlemanly. However, the bloodshot eyes and dark circles under his eyes showed that during this period, Alphonse's Times were tough.

"Mr. Alphonse, don't be so excited. The current situation is not good for you. If you kill me, our army will conquer Da Nang."

Alphonse sneered: "Are you really brave? You actually dare to threaten me?"

Naturally, Nobuyuki Nakajima did not show weakness and said directly: "Our fleet has arrived near Da Nang and can launch an attack on Da Nang at any time."

Du Bai Lei immediately refuted: "If your fleet was very powerful, it would have launched an attack long ago, instead of sending you as an envoy at this time."

Alphonse seemed to have caught something bright and said excitedly: "Hahaha, don't lie to me. Major General Du Belle is an excellent general. You are not someone you can scare."

When Nobuyuki Nakajima saw that the French still refused to surrender, he stood up and resigned.

After learning the result, Sakamoto Ryoma didn't take it seriously. He immediately led the Fuso close to Da Nang, about two nautical miles away. The Fuso's front and rear main guns fired into Da Nang, and several shells fell into the port, causing the French army to panic.

When Du Belle saw that the main guns of the Japanese battleships fired farther and more powerfully than theirs, he had to advise Alphonse to retreat. After all, the navy, as the last resort, was not necessarily the enemy. If the attack continued, the entire army would be annihilated. Retreat is the only option.

Soon, Alphonse decided to negotiate peace with the Vietnamese Nguyen Dynasty. They would withdraw from Da Nang and return the six southern provinces to the Nguyen Dynasty, and the Nguyen Dynasty and Japan would not attack the retreating French army.

The defeated French army withdrew to Wudong and prepared to rest and recuperate.

However, what Alphonse did not expect was that Nobuyuki Nakajima arrived at Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, ahead of them to discuss cooperation with King Norodom to drive out the French army.

The Kingdom of Cambodia is also a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society at the moment.

The Kingdom of Cambodia was originally a vassal state of Siam. In 1833, Vietnam gained the upper hand in competing with Siam for Cambodia. A war broke out on Cambodian territory, and Siam was defeated by Vietnam.

At the beginning of 1841, the war broke out again. This war was aimed at fighting for Cambodia and was fought on Cambodian soil. It lasted for six years.

Siam won the victory in the early stages of the war and put An Duan on the throne of Cambodia.

In 1846, the two sides signed a peace treaty and exchanged prisoners of war.

In 1847, both parties jointly crowned An Duan.

Cambodia changed from unilateral control to joint control by Siam and Vietnam, and became a common dependency of Siam and Vietnam. Cambodia had to recognize the suzerainty of both countries at the same time.

But in 1862, France occupied the three provinces of Cochin China in Vietnam: Jiading, Dinh Siang, and Bien Hoa, and then used Cochin China as a springboard to intensify its aggression against Cambodia.

In August 1863, Grandier, who had already served as the governor of the new French colony of Cochin China, took a warship to Udong, the capital of Cambodia, met with King Norodom of Cambodia, and forced him to sign the Treaty of Udong.

This treaty deprived Cambodia of its independence and sovereignty, and Cambodia became a French colony.

In 1864, France took over the privileges belonging to Siam and crowned Norodom. In the same year, Norodom moved the capital from Udong to Phnom Penh.

This time, the Kingdom of Cambodia belonged to France alone.

However, Vietnam was very upset about France's seizure of the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Cambodia, so the Nguyen Dynasty sold a lot of arms to Cambodia, and Norodom also established a new army, but its combat effectiveness was worse than that of Vietnam.

Now that the French army was defeated in Vietnam and returned to Udong to rest and recuperate, Norodom saw the opportunity to become independent. He was overjoyed by the arrival of Nobuyuki Nakajima, a Japanese.

Nobuyuki Nakajima did not expect that he would receive such hospitality from Norodom. At the banquet, he was flattered and said: "I am just a businessman, and I am really touched by your majesty's kindness."

Norodom said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Nakajima, there is no need to belittle yourself. I know who is behind you. When you come to Cambodia this time, I can open the sky and speak frankly."

When Nobuyuki Nakajima saw that Norodom was so eager, he did not hide it and said directly: "Your Majesty has also seen that the current French army is no longer our opponent in Japan. As long as your Majesty pays the minimum price, we can send troops." Drive away the French for Your Majesty.”

"Yes, I know your price. If it's not enough, I can use the supplies you need as collateral." Norodom added without any hesitation, he also put forward an additional condition, "I can also offer a price, hoping that you will drive away France. Queen, don’t let the Vietnamese and Siamese invade our country.”

Nobuyuki Nakajima was overjoyed. He didn't expect to get an unexpected gain. The Siamese and Vietnamese were easier to deal with than the French. This deal would definitely make a huge profit.

"Of course. As long as His Majesty can afford the price, our country will definitely take action to resolve these problems."

(End of this chapter)