I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 247 Invitation from the Austro-Hungarian Empire

In the first month of the year, the atmosphere of the New Year in Kyoto continues. This year is the happiest year for the citizens of Kyoto. They puff up their chests, raise their heads, and look at foreigners proudly.

Stop the British invasion, end the unequal treaties, and let the citizens with low self-esteem live with their heads held high.

And the man who made it all happen is in his office handling the affairs of the country.

Since telegraphs from various places were connected to the Internet, the speed of reporting affairs in various places has been much faster. Places such as Tohoku, Hokkaido, Kyushu and other places need at least a week to convey government orders. Now one or two days is enough.

As the spread spreads faster, the things Yagyu Heiyan needs to deal with are also increasing exponentially.

"Dong dong dong..."

"Come in."

Ichimura Tetsunosuke hurriedly walked in, handed over a document and said: "Your Majesty Prime Minister, this is a report document sent by Mr. Tomohiro Fifth Generation of the Ministry of Finance. It is a report on Osaka's new economic plan."

Without raising his head, Yagyu Heiyan stretched out his hand directly, and Ichimura Tetsunosuke handed it to Yagyu Heiyan's hand.

Yagyu opened the document and looked at it carefully. Tomohiro Godai reported that he had found several Osaka businessmen in Osaka who were willing to cooperate with the government. At the same time, construction in several areas of Osaka City was progressing according to the construction schedule, which would take about three months. Construction completed.

Liu Shengxi Yan waved his hand and said: "No, I will explain the next thing to Holitong, and he will not make mistakes in his work."

After sending this telegram, Mutsu Munemitsu hurried to the door of the telegraph room and shouted: "Is the municipal assistant here?"

Mutsu Munemitsu asked: "I heard from the ambassador of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that many heads of state will come this time. Will His Majesty the Emperor go?"

After being displayed at the World Expo, even if someone plagiarizes it, everyone will remember that the country that first invented these things was Japan. "

Ichimura Tetsunosuke immediately left the office with the documents and came to the nearby telegraph room.

He immediately signed the document and said: "Reply to the fifth generation and continue to act according to the plan. I wrote here that once there are signs of someone being involved, he can mobilize the Osaka police station, tax bureau and other departments to suppress the saboteurs. You can follow this Send this to him."

Mutsu Munemitsu handed over a document and said: "This is an invitation sent to our country by the ambassador of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is about the World Expo to be held in May. The Austro-Hungarian Empire invites Japan to attend."

Ichimura Tetsunosuke often studied and he knew some things about the World Expo.

Mutsu Munemitsu said with some confusion: "Prime Minister, domestic development is at a critical moment. Without your guidance, I am afraid there will be problems."

Ichimura Tetsunosuke walked out quickly and replied: "It's Mr. Mutsu. What can I do for you?"

After reading the invitation letter and listening to Mutsu Munemitsu's retelling, Yagyu nodded and said: "We want to participate in this World Expo. When the time comes, we will display our most advanced technology and improve our country's reputation in the world.

Mutsu Munemitsu immediately followed Uchimura Tetsunosuke to Yagyu Hien's office.

Both of them were powerful ministers. Taira Kiyomori followed the public line and let people from the Taira family take charge of important positions in the court. Guanbai's position was inherited by the Taira family.

Mutsu Munemitsu immediately withdrew without saying anything more.

Motoda Eifu is talking about the powerful ministers before the Fujiwara family, as well as Taira Kiyomori and Minamoto Yoritomo.

"I understand."

"Oh? This is surprising. It's good news. I'm going to report it to the Prime Minister. You can follow me."

Yagyu Shengxi tidied up the situation and immediately went inside to report the matter to Emperor Meiji.

When the time comes, not only will the Emperor go, but I will also go to Europe with His Majesty. "

Yagyu thought carefully and nodded: "Of course I want to go. This time it is not only to enhance our country's reputation, but also to expand our allies.

Emperor Meiji, Tomomi Iwakura, and Eifu Motoda were in class.

Taira Kiyomori relied on the Taira family and party members to control the government. The then Emperor Go-Shirakawa was ousted by Taira Kiyomori. Many attempts to subvert Taira Kiyomori were suppressed. Finally, he relied on Minamoto Yoritomo to defeat Taira Kiyomori.

As a result, Minamoto Yoritomo became the new powerful minister. In the end, Emperor Goshirakawa died in frustration, and the subsequent emperors completely lost their real power.

Emperor Meiji listened to what Motoda Eifu said, and his face was not very good. He interrupted directly: "What do you mean by saying this? Are you saying that the prime minister is a powerful minister like Taira Kiyomori and Minamoto Yoritomo? How can they compete with him? Compared to my father-in-law?"

Genda Eifu and Iwakura Tomomi knelt down quickly. Genda Eifu defended: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Yagyu's prestige is now known to the world, and he can be said to be the master of great achievements. Furthermore, most of the Imperial Guards are Prime Minister Yagyu's confidants, and The Hokkaido pioneering corps was under the command of Hijikata Toshizo, the deputy commander during the Shinsengumi period. Together with the entire navy, more than 80% of the country's military was loyal to Prime Minister Yagyu. As long as he raised his arms, the country would definitely respond and gather influence. Come on!"

Emperor Meiji snorted coldly: "That's enough!"

"You only say that Xiangfu is ambitious, but have you forgotten that on August 18, eight years ago, Sanjo and other ministers colluded with the Choshu clan to persecute the late emperor?

Or maybe Mr. Iwakura forgot that you took advantage of your father-in-law's absence in Kyoto to try to launch a coup to force the late emperor. You have forgotten this, but I have not forgotten it.

I know what you are thinking, but I know Xiangfu better. Since Xiangfu came to power, the late emperor has lived a very happy life, and I have also lived a very happy life. Compared with previous emperors, I am already the best.

So I hope you won’t say anything bad about your father-in-law in the future, I’m tired of it. "

Emperor Meiji immediately stood up, left the imperial study, and with a hint of anger, came to the imperial garden, where Queen Mary was playing with gadgets.

Queen Mary heard the reminder from the people around her, looked back at Emperor Meiji, and said with a smile: "What's wrong? Why is Your Majesty angry?"

Emperor Meiji told Queen Mary what had just happened, and Queen Mary smiled and said: "Your Majesty is absolutely right, what Prime Minister Yagyu does is for the public interest, but these people do it for selfish reasons, and they are not as good as Prime Minister Yagyu.

Moreover, Prime Minister Yagyu's talents are rare even among European countries, and your Majesty should cherish them. "

Emperor Meiji nodded and said: "Of course, I have reprimanded them, but I am worried that they are still evil-minded. These people are always like that. They used to say this in front of the late emperor, and it is like this again when it comes to me. I am only worried that they will Keep an eye on the next generation.”

Queen Mary felt that it was really possible, so she said: "We have to take precautions and never let them succeed. If it doesn't work, let Prime Minister Yagyu deal with these people."

Emperor Meiji thought for a while, nodded and said: "Okay, I will remember it. If they go too far, I will tell the prime minister to deal with it."

Queen Mary took Emperor Meiji's hand and changed the subject, talking about the flowers in front of her, the opera, etc.

At this time, Liu Sheng came to the back garden under the guidance of the chamberlain. When Emperor Meiji saw Yagyu Heiyan coming, he immediately greeted him: "Do you have something important to do, father-in-law?"

Yagyu Heiyan usually only came to see Emperor Meiji on urgent matters. He nodded and said: "Yes, Your Majesty, there will be another World Expo in Europe this year. The host country is the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Ambassador has sent an invitation. We will also participate.”

"Ah? Austria-Hungary, then I can see Aunt Elizabeth?"

Queen Mary was a little surprised. She and Princess Sissi had some relatives. The relationships were complicated, so I won’t go into details one by one.

Emperor Meiji also met Emperor Franz I of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

He also followed up and said: "I have heard about the World Expo. Does Xiangfu want to participate?"

"Yes, this is a good opportunity to increase the reputation of our country. The electric lights, trams, motorcycles, etc. we have recently produced are unique good things in the world. Once promoted, they will bring greater benefits to our country. "

Liu Shengxi spoke eloquently.

Queen Mary praised: "Prime Minister Yagyu always considers the country."

Yagyu Heeyan said modestly: "This is what I should do as Prime Minister. Only when the country gets better and better can I live a good life."

Emperor Meiji nodded and said, "Okay, then let's go to Europe."

Yagyu Heeyan said goodbye: "Then I will go down first to arrange the specific matters of the European trip."

Emperor Meiji also did not keep Yagyu Heiyan. He knew that his father-in-law would only disturb him when he had official business.

Yagyu Heiyan left the palace and returned to the cabinet. He immediately summoned Okubo Toshimichi and other relevant ministers and said: "The Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe invited Japan to participate in the World Expo. I think this is a high-tech exhibit to showcase our reputation and expand our reputation and reputation." market opportunities.

I have already asked for your Majesty's instructions, and your Majesty has agreed to this matter. When the time comes, I will accompany your Majesty to Europe, and the domestic affairs will be left to you, Litong. "

Okubo Toshimichi immediately said: "Prime Minister, you must be cautious about this matter. Europe is the home of Great Britain. If you go there, you may be targeted by Great Britain."

Yagyu Heiyan is not worried about this. Germany is wooing the Austro-Hungarian Empire. If Great Britain embarrasses their Japan at this time, it will be a slap in the face of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Germany will definitely be happy for this situation to happen.

If Great Britain did not want the Austro-Hungarian Empire to fall to the German side, it would naturally not dare to act rashly.

Yagyu Heyan explained and said: "Now it is mainly a domestic matter. Osaka's new economic plan is about to begin. The fifth generation has made preliminary preparations and can only be implemented after the construction of Osaka's new urban area is completed.

Litong, you must support Wudai to do this well. As long as this thing is successful, it can be promoted to various places and urban rectification is completed, and our economy will take off. Do you understand? "

Okubo Toshimichi immediately nodded and said: "Prime Minister, I understand."

Yagyu Heiyan looked at Mutsu Munemitsu and said: "Go and take out the information about the World Expo in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and send it to His Majesty later."

Mutsu Munemitsu immediately followed Yagyu Heiyan's request to search for information on the Austro-Hungarian World Expo.

Some of the information was collected during Yagyu's last trip to Europe, some was brought back by the European mission, and some was sent back by European agents in the past year or two.

In recent years, European countries have improved their national status by hosting World Expos, which has been recognized and pursued by many countries.

In 1870, in order to advance its capital Vienna into the ranks of the world's advanced cities and to clear up the haze after the failure of the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, the Austro-Hungarian Empire applied to host the 1873 Vienna World Expo, with the theme of commemorating Emperor Franz Joseph I. Twenty-fifth anniversary of the administration.

The Austro-Hungarian World Expo was held on the beautiful Danube River, which became famous with Strauss's famous waltz "The Blue Danube" a few years ago.

Vienna Central Park was selected as the venue for the exposition, covering an area of ​​more than 200 hectares.

The Vienna municipal authorities want to take advantage of the opportunity of hosting the World Expo to carry out a large-scale renovation of the old city buildings, tear down the city walls, and open up the connection between the city center and the suburbs. The Danube River is also included in the scope of renovation, involving a half-mile stretch of waterways. Five river expansion projects will result. One hundred thousand cubic meters of gravel were used for the Expo site.

The entire project plan was designed by architect Kelly Hasena according to the Italian Renaissance style.

Due to the inspiration from previous World Expos, the organizers of the Vienna World Expo have begun to focus on the combination of functionality and aesthetics of the building, emphasizing the overall charm of the building.

The grand and huge main building complex in the design - the Industrial Palace, covers an area of ​​70,000 square meters. The Industrial Palace has a reasonable architectural structure. The center is connected to the roof hall, with wide main corridors on both sides, and the main corridor intersects with the side corridors.

There are multiple courtyards between the side corridors, all buildings are roofed, and a triumphal arch and gates in different historical styles are built at the spectator entrance decoration.

The Industrial Palace building pioneered the construction of large-scale joint exhibition buildings in the history of World Expos.

The architectural highlight of the Vienna World Expo was the Rotonada, the central domed hall of the Palace of Industry designed by Scott Russell.

Russell served as secretary of the Exhibition Committee for the 1851 London World's Fair.

The design of the hall was obviously inspired by the "official" architectural plan of the 1851 World's Fair, and the style is very similar.

The Rotonada Rotonada became the largest dome building in the world at that time, indeed much larger than the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

The structure of the rotunda is also made of metal. The construction period was only eighteen months. The short time was unbelievable at the time, so it was called the eighth wonder of the world.

This huge domed structure caused a sensation and captivated the audience.

During the Expo, a total of 200,000 visitors climbed the steps to the crown of the dome, enjoying the stunning views of the city of Vienna and glorifying the spectacular architecture.

In addition to the Industrial Palace complex, there are more than 190 new buildings such as the Machinery Hall, Art Museum, and Horticulture Hall. The entire Expo harmoniously integrates reality and art, modern and ancient, Eastern and Western architectural elements. As one body.

Regarding the World Expo buildings, there is not much information shown in the information, but there are photos of the construction in progress, and some information is a draft of the design drawings.

With this information, the cabinet can work together to estimate the general condition of the building.

With this information, Yagyu Heiyan can also know where his country's products should be placed.

(End of this chapter)