Chapter 736 How can we get along well with these insects? (Fourth update, please subscribe)

It’s too late!

The British and American fleets did not give Japan any time to react at all. After the bombardment began at 11 o'clock in the morning, the four ten-inch guns on the American ironclad ship California opened fire on the artillery position first.

The California, with a displacement of 7,200 tons, was built to respond to the increasingly powerful navy of the Ming Dynasty, and its target was the "Nanhua class".

But history played a little joke here. Although the design of the "California class" borrowed from the "South China class", the increase in displacement and the enhancement of artillery during the construction of the South China class resulted in the "California class" being far inferior to the "South China class" as soon as it entered service. However, this did not prevent the "California" and the "Texas" of the same class from becoming the most powerful battleships of the US Navy.

The power of the ten-inch breech-loading cannon was extremely amazing. It only took a few rounds of salvos to turn the five gun batteries of the Midaiba Battery in Tokyo Bay into a pile of scrap metal. Even those cannons could not pose much threat to the fleet, as they were either outdated muzzle-loading guns or smaller-caliber Armstrong cannons.

After the Midaiba Battery was destroyed, at two o'clock in the afternoon, three hours after the bombardment, the landing force composed of British and American Marines and armed sailors, also known as boilermen, began to carry out landing operations by rowing small boats or being towed by transport motorboats.

The Japanese were brave in resisting the landing of the Western devils, but their bravery was meaningless. After all, at the beginning of the bombardment, they bombarded the military camp near the Imperial Palace. Those who resisted were either policemen or samurai who were laid off by the emperor. Although they were laid off, many of them still felt that they had an obligation to be loyal to the emperor.

"Miko, Meiko, the knife, the knife is there!"

A man with smoke all over his face rushed into the house and shouted at the woman with patches on her clothes.

"Quick, quick, give me the knife. A man should die for his duty today. Quick, quick, give it to me."

"Didn't I let you pawn your knife in exchange for rice a long time ago?"

"What?"

Only then did the man remember that he had pawned his samurai sword long ago, but he quickly changed his mind.

"Knife, I mean you. The sword I gave you before, if that doesn't work, a kitchen knife will do..."

A kitchen knife is also OK.

For a samurai, all he needed was a sword.

But there are indeed many down-and-out samurai like him. After all, Tokyo, also known as Edo, is the base of the Tokugawa family. The samurai here used to be from the Tokugawa family. Since they are going to be laid off, they must be the first batch from the Tokugawa family.

There’s nothing we can do about it, this is the way things are in this world.

However, even though there is such a truth in the world, there are still some stubborn people who choose to be loyal to the emperor.

Like many people, Yamamoto, holding a kitchen knife, originally thought that he could be loyal to the emperor on the battlefield, but how could his kitchen knife block bullets? Before he even saw the Western devils, he fell under the gun.

Times have long since changed.

However, after the order to ban knives, even if someone wanted to resist, they could only use kitchen knives, but more people were indifferent.

Why did they defend the Emperor?

When the "land and nationality were returned" was held, they thought the emperor was their new master, and they knelt there and swore allegiance to the emperor. They offered their loyalty to the emperor, but what did they get in return?

They were laid off and the emperor regarded them as a burden. They lost their salaries and had to pawn their clothes, houses, and even sell their wives and daughters in order to make ends meet. Even so, the emperor and the Meiji government still cut a deep wound in their hearts - the "Sword-abandoning Order."

For samurai, the sword is their life and their glory!

But for the emperor, these were nothing. Their anger had reached its peak, and they had long been filled with rage. If it weren't for the sense of superiority and inferiority engraved in their bones, I'm afraid they would have already overthrown their superiors.

Of course, even if someone is defeated now, it would be the treacherous ministers in the court, not the emperor.

But they knew very well in their hearts that the emperor... was just like that, so when the bombardment occurred, more former samurai chose to escape and flee the city.

While running with them, he looked back at Tokyo which was under fire and said to himself.

"Emperor, didn't you say that everyone is a samurai? Then let the common people fight against the Western devils for you now."

The warriors fled so quickly, let alone the ordinary people?

Not to mention some ordinary people, even those ordinary people who joined the army and became soldiers, faced with destructive artillery fire, many of them rationally chose to flee. The Japanese army of this era did not have any determination to fight to the death. During the Southwest War, thousands of army soldiers with guns would even be hacked to death and fled by one or two hundred samurai with knives.

Everyone is running away!

Ordinary people were fleeing, the powerful and wealthy also had to flee, and the emperor was no exception. "Western Hunting" was not exclusive to the Empress Dowager Cixi, the same was true in Japan.

After learning that the British and American sailors had landed and were unstoppable, at the suggestion of Sanjo Mizane, Empress Koka, also known as Kazunomiya, finally decided to leave. She had to leave because she was a woman and knew very well what those Western devils would do after catching her. She was only 1.4 meters tall...

"Your Majesty, we can't leave from Nijubashi. The people at Nijubashi are Iwakura and his men!"

When Princess Kazunomiya was about to escape, Sanjo Sanemi spoke directly.

"Now we must be careful that they can use the emperor to control the princes."

I have to say that the Japanese read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms very fluently, and not just Jin Pingmei. Princess Kazunomiya, who no longer had any ideas, just chose to agree reluctantly. Of course, she was also worried that she would not be able to make peace with Britain and the United States. After all, if Britain and the United States' conditions for dismissing Iwakura and others fell into their hands, they would definitely control them.

"In that case, let's do this!"

After making this decision, Princess Kazunomiya, accompanied by her maids-in-waiting, got into a carriage and left through the side door of the Imperial Palace under the escort of palace attendants. While they were leaving, Iwakura Tomomi and others were still waiting for the Emperor at Nijubashi, the main gate of the Imperial Palace.

But after waiting for a long time, the emperor still did not arrive.

"What is going on? Doesn't your Majesty know that there is no time left?"

Iwakura shouted loudly. Although he was extremely anxious, according to the palace order, he could not enter the palace without the emperor's summons, no matter how urgent he was.

In comparison, Ohbo Kurimichi was more decisive. He glanced at his pocket watch and spoke directly.

"No matter what, if we enter the palace, even if it means we are committing treason, we must send the Emperor out of Tokyo!"

It has to be said that even at this time, Okubo and others were still loyal to the emperor, but... Sanjo Sanemi was a typical politician.

After they broke into the Imperial Palace, they learned that the Emperor had already left the Imperial Palace under the escort of palace attendants along with court officials such as Sanjo Sanetomi. Faced with this result, Iwakura was stunned for a long time before speaking.

"Baga! Sanjo Japan was destroyed by these rats..."

In the past, when they used politicians' tricks in front of the samurai, the samurai were simply vulnerable, but now it seems that they are still far inferior to those public ministers.

When it comes to playing tricks on politicians, the public ministers are better at it. After all, they have been playing those tricks for the past few hundred years.

They can play political tricks all they want, but at this time, when Japan is facing the prospect of national destruction, they are still playing these tricks here.

Are you really not afraid of Japan's subjugation?

Thinking of this, his face was filled with grief and anger. How could he run the country well by being with these insects?

(End of this chapter)