Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 408 The Navy is the Cornerstone

"I've decided to go to Ise Shrine tomorrow to pray for the emperor and the people of the empire." The emperor's voice seemed weak and exhausted, and he was completely different from the wise and decisive Meiji back then.Ito Hirobumi, who has followed the Meiji for decades, saw the appearance of the emperor, and he couldn't help feeling sad. At the same time, he also blamed himself deeply for his inability to change the backward situation during his administration, so that now the emperor To be so humiliated.

Gongwang of Xiyuan Temple remained calm and said, "Your Majesty, I express deep regret and remorse for this incident, but after learning from the pain, I think we should sit down and think about why it caused such embarrassment. situation."

Xiyuan was really extraordinary. A short sentence lifted the spirits of Meiji who was on the verge of despair. His eyes lit up and he asked, "Have you already considered it? Then tell me what is the reason for this?"

Nishizono straightened his upper body and bowed slightly to the Emperor and Hirobumi Ito, and said without hesitation: "Navy! From the perspective of the rise of world powers, Spain in the 16th century, Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the present Germany or China, which country does not rely on a powerful naval force to traverse the world? Looking back and looking at the Bird Harbor incident, the Chinese fleet has hardly received any damage from us within a distance of thousands of nautical miles. Any sea blockade from the other side, all the way straight into the Gulf of Tokyo, just imagine that if the two countries develop, China can swallow up the entire archipelago in less than a week. Maybe I am exaggerating, but this matter has never been One aspect reflects that the empire's maritime defense capabilities are too weak, it is one, surrounded by the sea, if there is no strong naval force, let alone rise, it will be difficult to protect itself."

The words of Xiyuanji Gongwang are sonorous and powerful, and there is no doubt about it, but Ito Hirobumi secretly sweats for his disciple's outspokenness.

The emperor was silent for a while, nodded and said: "It makes sense. Do you have any specific plans for this, tell me about it."

"Yes." Xi Yuan raised his voice and said, "I think one of the most critical factors is to increase the navy's military spending. On this basis, immediately issue additional military bonds in order to raise as much funds as possible. At the same time, Congress must Formulate a five-to-eight-year plan for building and purchasing ships in order to compete with China's increasingly powerful naval fleet in the future, especially paying attention to the purchase of new battleships and ironclad ships.

"The annual fiscal revenue of the Great Empire is 560 million yuan. Compared with China, it is really insignificant." The emperor shook his head, picked up a memorial from the wooden table, and said, "This is the memorial presented by the Ministry of War yesterday. They asked the Ministry of the Army to increase its military spending to 130 million yuan next year to maintain a standing army of 22 people. Now your idea of ​​financing the ship purchase plan is good, but to maintain such a plan is harmful to the current empire Given the current economic situation, it is really difficult.”

Ito Hirobumi looked at Xiyuanji Gongwang and thought that this plan was too crazy. If it went on like this for a long time, he would not be able to stay on stage for a long time in any session.But he also knew that, given the current situation, only if it went on like this would the crazy army be able to crush any opponent who came to steal.

"Your Majesty, the empire is still unable to protect itself, let alone develop. To rise, you must have the spirit of sacrifice. This is what you once said. If we don't take action now, we will in a few years Become the ignorant and backward Qing Dynasty." Xiyuan's words were straightforward, and he had no scruples even in front of the emperor.

"Alright then. Just follow your plan." The emperor nodded weakly.

Nishizono frowned, looked at Hirobumi Ito, and said, "Is Your Majesty ready to agree to this plan?"

"Of course I agree." Emperor Meiji raised his head, looked ahead with piercing eyes and said: "This is a correct decision. When I inspected the naval exercise with Chief of Staff Su Chuan, I was very satisfied with the loyal and brave naval soldiers. But Mr. The current fleet of the empire is not worthy of such excellent soldiers! The Chinese fleet treats me like nothing in Tokyo Bay, and I am also aware of it. As long as the majesty of the empire can be restored, I am willing to make any sacrifices. I believe in the unity The people will definitely support this plan.”

"Your Majesty." Xi Yuan seemed to have something to say, "If this plan is implemented, it will definitely be effective within three years, and His Majesty's promise must also be fulfilled, otherwise the great empire will suffer endless troubles."

"I get it all, it's just that it's going to be hard for our Chancellor for years to come."

"Your Majesty, I think there is another way to solve this matter, which is to ask China to help us."

"China? How is this possible? Have you forgotten the unhappiness that just happened between China and Japan?" The emperor waved his hand in disbelief, thinking that what Xiyuan said was really absurd.

"No! What I mean is to request a loan from China. As long as this fund is in place, it can greatly relieve the financial pressure of the empire, and at the same time, it can also strongly support our naval plan." Xiyuan said affirmatively.

Ito Hirobumi couldn't keep silent anymore, he coughed lightly, and said: "Mr. Xiyuan, you are too naive to think, China can't wait to sink forever, how could he agree to lend to you? Besides, that Chinese emperor is shrewd Obviously, even if he agrees, the money will not be given to us easily."

Gong Wang of Xiyuan Temple smiled faintly: "China has now stepped into the ranks of world powers. It has always regarded itself as a responsible big country in front of the world, and even shouldered the responsibility of saving Europe and the world. The Bird Harbor incident has just passed. , if China does not agree to our request at this time, it will appear that they are too stingy. And we made a loan request to China at this time, saying that we did not hold much grudges because of this incident, but would give the Chinese people a way to rely on them Illusion. Your Majesty, for a male lion, only by paralyzing it first can it be possible to finally subdue him.”

"That's right." Meiji's gloomy eyes radiated light again, and he said thoughtfully: "On the road to the rise of a great empire, China will always be the biggest stumbling block. I hope our decision this time is not wrong. .”

Ito Hirobumi had to look at this student differently. He patted Xiyuanji Gongwang on the shoulder: "It seems that I am really old, and the future of the great empire is all pinned on you."

Xiyuan just nodded his head, showing no sign of humility.After a while, he said to the emperor again: "Your Majesty, we have submitted bills to you and the National Assembly many times regarding the constitutional political friendship association. Do you think this matter can be implemented?" With a wink, Ito nodded in satisfaction.

After hearing these words, Emperor Meiji frowned deeply, as if this matter was even more difficult to decide than the one just now.

The world at this time is at the peak of the development of imperialism.Needless to say, the United Kingdom has been leading the world since the Victorian era, and China surpassed the United Kingdom in economic aggregate and became the world's number one for the first time.After the baptism of the world war, Germany and its old rival France did not stop their development because of the war, although Germany seemed to be faster and France seemed a little weaker.Also noteworthy at this time were Russia and Italy, whose respective reforms and revolutions allowed the rapid spread of the fruits of the first and second industrial revolutions to every corner.But at this time, it seems to be a corner forgotten by the world. It has been difficult to get rid of the status of a weak country for many years, and even had to sign a series of unequal treaties with the big powers in order to protect itself. It seems that it has been permanently removed from the list of world powers. erased.

In contrast to the colonial world at this time, almost all inhabited places were carved up by the empire.From Britain's 2C plan in Africa to France's 2S plan, from America's control of Latin America in the Spanish-American War, to Britain and Germany's equal share of Iran.It all shows that the whole world is already a whole under the control of full imperialism.And although these enslaved people have been insisting on the journey of resistance, they still cannot form a strong force because they are fighting on their own. Even the Russian revolution was not successful at that time.

Compared with the developed political systems in Europe and the United States, the political freedom system at this time started late and was not well developed.Although the emergence of the Political Friends Association will speed up the progress of party politics, it also affects the progress of the progress because of the crazy expansion of the imperialist world as a whole.

The Political Friends Association was first proposed by Ito Hirobumi, but it has been obstructed by opposition forces for many years and has not been realized.In Ito Hirobumi's vision, the organization of the Political Friends Association has one president, several general affairs committee members, one secretary-general and several secretaries.The selection and number of candidates are determined by the president, and the president's autocracy is implemented.This is a political party, which means that its members include half of the feudal lords and half of the Democratic Party.After the Meiji Restoration, the power of the Edo-era feudal domains such as Choshu and Satsuma increased greatly, and modernization was promoted by them. With the advancement of modernization, the people's calls for independence became louder and louder, so that The Yumin Party also grew stronger.

In the past, the leading political forces were mainly divided into two factions, the feudal lords and the Democratic Party.Among them, the feudal lord faction is dominated by three veterans, Ito Hirobumi, Yamagata Aritomo, and Matsukata Masayoshi.The Democratic Party has five small factions, namely the Tohoku faction of Kono Hironaka, the Kanto faction of Hoshito, the Tosa faction of Hayashi Yuzao, the Kyushu faction of Matsuda Masahisa, and the Reform Party of Okuma Shigenobu.As a result, the imperial parliamentary politics gradually improved.

(End of this chapter)