Chapter 660: Okubo, Selling Out His Country for Fame (First Update, Please Subscribe)
Just when Emperor Zhu was dreaming of bringing the Sassoon family from Tangshan to the Ming Dynasty, bringing them to court, and then executing them, the situation in Japan was becoming increasingly pessimistic.
The rebels of Saigo Takamori and Eto Shinpei defeated the government army successively in mid-February. Their victory inspired the unemployed Japanese samurai, who rushed to Kyushu from all over. By the end of February, their military strength had expanded to more than 50,000 people. Between February and March, the rebels successively captured Nagasaki and Fukuoka. For a time, almost the entire Kyushu was controlled by the rebels. The new government army, which was mainly composed of peasant armies, was no match for the powerful Satsuma samurai soldiers.
After all, unlike the rebel armies in history that lacked weapons, this time Saigo Takamori and his men had no shortage of weapons at all.
The fall of Kyushu shocked Japan. For a time, unemployed samurai in Honshu, Shikoku and other places all responded. The Meiji government of Japan was actually in a precarious situation and was in danger of losing power.
It was just daybreak, the city of Tokyo was shrouded in the summer morning light, and everything was silent.
Suddenly, the sound of a quick bell broke the silence of the street. A postman was riding his bicycle while ringing the bell. When his bicycle approached the residence of Provisional Prime Minister Iwakura Tomomi, he hurriedly handed over a telegram.
After a while, several people ran out of the official residence, and soon, Ito Hirobumi, Kido Takayoshi, Okubo Toshimichi and others rushed over.
"A navy ship has mutinied. They sailed to Fukuoka last night and joined the rebels!" Iwakura Tomomi said angrily.
"It is really absurd. Saigo used the name of the imperial family and falsely accused us of plotting to murder the emperor. It is simply ridiculous. I don't know how many people have been deceived by it..."
"It doesn't matter whether they are deceived or not. What matters is that the samurai's heart is on their side. The government army's current combat effectiveness is limited and they are no match for the rebels. I am worried that once the rebels land on Honshu, the situation will collapse. After all, the emperor is now..."
It's not that the hearts of the samurai are all on Saigo's side. It's clearly their suppression of the samurai over the years that has caused them to lose the support of the people.
Before Ito Hirobumi could finish his words, Kido Takayoshi interrupted him and said.
"The Emperor, the Emperor has not yet been established. This gives the Emperor a reason. Your Excellency, now is the time to establish the Emperor anyway."
Turning to Iwakura, Kido said.
"It's been a month. Every day of delay is equivalent to giving Saigo one more excuse. Your Excellency, no matter what, it's time to make a decision!"
Iwakura Tomomi is also troubled!
It is said that a country cannot be without a king for a day, but Japan has been without an emperor for a month!
It has been a whole month since the death of Emperor Meiji on February 4. In the past month, they and the court officials have discussed many topics in private, but they have always been unable to avoid Princess Kazunomiya. Princess Kazunomiya is the aunt of Emperor Meiji and the sister of Emperor Komei. She is the only legitimate heir, but the problem is that she is a woman of the Tokugawa family. Even if she is a widow, she is still a member of the Tokugawa family.
She was born into a Wu family and would definitely support the Wu family. If they agreed to let her inherit the throne of the emperor and she supported the Wu family after she succeeded to the throne, this group of people would most likely become abandoned.
"Kazunomiya is from the Tokugawa family after all!"
Once again, Iwakura Tomomi raised his concerns. When he finished speaking, there were sighs all around. What was the dream of all of them?
Of course, Japan is strong, but now, after Emperor Meiji suddenly died of illness, their situations have become extremely embarrassing. It's more than embarrassing.
It is possible that it may collapse at any time. Even now, the public officials are quite annoyed. After all, the throne of the emperor has been vacant for three months. If it continues like this, even if there is no conspiracy, there will be one.
But things are not that simple.
If it weren't for the fact that Kazunomiya's identity was too special, they would have agreed to let Kazunomiya inherit the throne long ago.
But the problem is that her identity is very special!
"Tokugawa... Tokugawa... He is so hateful. Even if the general died, he would still leave us with such a difficult problem. If she remarries..."
Suddenly, Iwakura Tomomi stopped talking. Just as he was about to speak, Okubo Toshimichi shook his head and said.
"It's definitely not possible for an ordinary person. It would be hard to convince an ordinary person to marry... "
Suddenly, he paused again, as if he had thought of something, but then he muttered to himself again.
"It doesn't seem possible..."
"What?"
"What's unlikely?"
"Remarry? That's really unlikely!"
"It's not impossible, the key is who you marry!"
"What do you mean by marrying whom? Although Japan has a female emperor, according to convention, the female emperor cannot get married!"
It is true that a female emperor cannot marry in Japanese tradition, but there is no explicit rule in this regard.
When Ito Hirobumi finished speaking, Okubo Toshimichi suddenly changed the subject.
"That's not important. What's important is to put down the rebels first. If they cross the sea now, the state will be in chaos, and the government troops will be exhausted!"
"How to pacify it?"
"Request the Ming Dynasty to send troops!"
Okubo Toshimichi's words left everyone dumbfounded. They looked at this guy in astonishment and almost poured tea on his face to sober him up.
"The Ming Dynasty is a powerful country in the world. Judging from our last visit, the Ming Emperor will definitely support Japan's reforms. I think that in order to deal with the current crisis, we should quickly send envoys to the Ming Dynasty and ask the Ming Dynasty to send troops to help quell the rebellion."
"What does this mean?"
Iwakura Tomomi replied,
"Ask the Ming Dynasty to suppress the rebellion? Have you forgotten the referendum in Paraguay? Ask the Ming Dynasty to send troops. What if the Ming Dynasty follows Paraguay's example and annexes Japan in the name of voting? How can you and I afford it? That would be like inviting a wolf into the house."
"It's not a bad idea to unite the states tomorrow!"
Since his visit to the Ming Dynasty, Okubo Toshimichi has become a typical Ming fan, praising the Ming Dynasty very much. After witnessing Paraguay's incorporation into the Ming Dynasty, he also considered this issue.
Although when he first learned the news, he was also afraid that Japan would fall into the same situation one day.
But after a tour of Europe, his attitude changed fundamentally because he witnessed the discrimination of the yellow race by Europeans and the division of the world by Europe.
Under such circumstances, it is absolutely impossible for Japan to remain immune. It is even very likely that Japan will become food in the mouths of Western powers.
"Tomorrow's Union, Okubo, what nonsense are you talking about! Are you crazy?"
"This world is a world of the jungle. Britain, Russia, and other threats are approaching day by day. Now Japan is in civil strife. Last time, Britain supported us to overthrow the shogunate, and France supported the shogunate. If the great powers intervene in Japan, and the various feudal domains once again divide the local areas, will Japan still have a future when war is raging? Just like the Qing Dynasty, when the feudal domains divide and the Warring States period comes again, not only will Japan not become rich and strong, but even the country will perish. Russia is eyeing Japan covetously. Their ambition to expand in the West is now blocked by Britain and France. If they go south to Japan, by then, what can a fragmented Japan use to stop Russia! And Britain and France, Japan is not the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty is too big, and the great powers only need to demand rights and interests and cede land. Japan..."
Looking at the people who had not yet come to their senses, Okubo Toshimichi's tone became a little heavy.
"Is it possible for Japan to survive the division among the great powers? By then, let alone reform, today's India will be tomorrow's Japan, and we will all be slaves of a fallen country. No, we may not even see the day of our country's fall, and we will be killed. Instead of this, it is better to unite tomorrow. At least Ming is still Ming, and Japan will not discriminate against us, and our 3,000 Japanese compatriots will not become slaves of Western countries!"
Okubo Toshimichi's words surprised everyone. They looked at Okubo Toshimichi in astonishment. They never thought that he would say that. What would happen if these words got out?
He is a traitor to the country!
And he was the kind of person that everyone wanted to kill. How could there be such a person? The Westerners hadn't come to divide Japan up yet, but he took the initiative to sell out Japan.
This really makes sense!
"Okubo Toshimichi, the reason we are carrying out reforms is to strengthen the country! It is for the survival of Japan!"
Iwakura Tomomi shouted.
"You are basically selling out your country!"
It’s treason, there is no doubt about it!
Facing Iwakura Tomomi's scolding, Okubo Toshimichi not only did not show any fear, but instead looked at him directly and spoke loudly.
"Traitor! Sir, do you really think that Japan will still exist after the civil war? Saigo wants to strengthen the country, but what about the old lords of each domain? Don't they want to regain their power? Since the court has abandoned the samurai, it will be difficult to win them back. If those old lords win them back, after each domain becomes independent, Japan... there will no longer be Japan in this world!"
(End of this chapter)
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