Chapter 692: The Sorrow of a Small Country (Fourth update, please subscribe)
Killing a person is manslaughter.
What about killing ten thousand people?
Well, it could also be a misunderstanding!
However, this misunderstanding is really hard for the Japanese to accept! But what can they do if they can't accept it? Will they go to war with Britain? The question is, do they have the ability to do so?
Even if you don't have the ability to fight back, you can always get angry.
One can imagine the anger of Iwakura Tomomi, Okubo Toshimichi and Ito Hirobumi in the face of Parkes' extremely arrogant answer.
"Baga, is Britain going to declare war on Japan?"
Okubo Toshimichi roared angrily.
"If it was a declaration of war, their fleet would have arrived in Tokyo Bay long ago, just as Parkes said - this is just a misunderstanding!"
Ito Hirobumi said in a sarcastic tone.
"The lives of tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers and navy personnel were just two words in their eyes... "Misunderstanding!""
When saying the word "misunderstanding", Ito Hirobumi deliberately emphasized his tone. He was suppressing his inner anger. If possible, he would like to kill all the British right now, but... Japan simply did not have that strength.
“Light and fluttery… ah!”
Kido Takayoshi sighed.
"This is Japan's status! In this world, Japan is small and insignificant. Even if someone kills your people, even tens of thousands of you, it is just a misunderstanding. Japan is small, so the simple word "misunderstanding" is enough to express their regret!"
Looking up into the distance, Kido Takayoshi's expression seemed very calm, so calm that it was a little scary, but anyone could see the suppressed anger in his heart. Behind his calmness was a raging rage!
But what can I do if I am furious?
It won't work. After all, everyone knows that this world is ruled by strength. For Japan, which has no strength at all, it's better to say that it's angry than to say that it doesn't even have the right to speak.
In this world where the strong prey on the weak, everything is so realistic.
“Japan is small…”
Okubo Toshimichi said in anger and grief.
"No one in this world cares about little Japan!"
Little Japan!
Such is our position in the world!
The British bombardment made all of them completely despair of the rules set by Westerners. They had dreamed of making Japan rich and strong by learning from the West and carrying out reforms, but what about now?
"We once thought that as long as we learned from Western countries and carried out reforms, we could become as powerful as Western countries, but now it seems that this is simply a joke!"
Iwakura Tomomi raised his head and said with a sad and angry expression.
"At this moment, I finally understand why Emperor Shengde kept conquering Chile and Argentina when he first established himself in South China. It was all for survival. If Emperor Shengde did not take the initiative to attack, those Westerners would never allow East Asians to establish a country in South America. Therefore, Emperor Shengde saw through the hypocrisy of Westerners from the beginning. He used a powerful army to defeat them before them and won the right to survive with strength!"
Once upon a time, when visiting the Ming Dynasty, Iwakura Tomomi was also confused. He didn't know what exactly drove Emperor Shengde to expedition to Araucania and supported him in his crusade against the Chilean army. Now he finally understood.
Emperor Shengde had no choice but to start a war before the enemy did, so as to win the initiative in the war and the right to survive.
“Right to survival!”
Iwakura Tomomi pursed his lips and said.
"In the past few years, we thought that the way to prosperity and strength was to "leave Asia and join Europe", just as Fukuzawa Yukichi said, "If you want to make Japanese civilization progress, you must take European civilization as your goal, determine it as the standard for all discussions, and use this standard to measure the pros and cons of things." "Our country should not be hesitant. Instead of waiting for the progress of our neighbors and retreating to jointly revive East Asia with them, it is better to break away from them and advance and retreat with the Western civilized countries." Is he right?"
After a pause, Iwakura Tomomi shook his head and said.
"Wrong, totally wrong. Perhaps, Fukuzawa Yukichi is right about the first half of his sentence. If we want to make Japanese civilization progress, we must aim at European civilization. However, Japan will never be able to advance and retreat with Western civilized countries. Because we and Europeans are not of the same race! In today's world, the strength of Western countries is the strength of the European race. How can the European race sit back and watch our East Asian race become rich and strong? This... is a race dispute!"
This... is a battle between races!
Iwakura Tomomi's words were like a thunder, echoing in everyone's ears, and they all looked at the Daijokan in surprise.
"A fight between races!"
Ito Hirobumi nodded in agreement.
"Your Excellency is right. Europeans consider themselves civilized and rule the world with their powerful national strength after the Industrial Revolution. In their eyes, the yellow race is just like other colored races, barbaric and ignorant. Even if we want to learn from the West and become rich and strong, Westerners will never allow it. The reason why the British interfere in Japan's internal affairs is that they will never allow Japan to rise to become a powerful country like the Ming Dynasty by learning from the West!"
Yes, since the Ming Dynasty was able to rise to become a powerful country with a population of tens of millions, what about Japan, which has a population of more than 34 million? Of course, it is also possible to become a powerful country, so Britain tried to destroy Japan's rise by supporting the Tokugawa family.
"The Western devils really have evil intentions!"
While sighing, Iwakura Tomomi said.
"The rise of the Ming Dynasty has made Westerners wary. Of course, they will send troops to intervene in Japan. Their goal is to turn Japan into a semi-colony like the Qing Dynasty, or even a colony like India... In this case, is it possible for Japan to rise?"
Everyone fell silent. They all knew the answer very well. It was absolutely impossible for Japan to rise in such a fierce world. It was even possible that even Japan's survival would become a luxury.
The weak do not even have the right to survive, which is exactly the law of the world. It is also an experience they have gained from visiting various countries.
In this world where the strong prey on the weak, the weak can only let the strong prey on them! The weak are certainly unwilling to accept this. Who would be willing to be a piece of meat on a board? But the strong will never give the weak a chance to turn things around. They will do everything they can to make the weak even weaker, and one day in the future, the weak will be put on their plate and devoured by the strong.
This is Japan's future destiny. For the great powers, it is still a very delicious and tasty piece of fat meat.
Now they have extended their claws to Japan. Japan has been served on their plate!
"Da Ming!"
Okubo Toshimichi suddenly spoke.
"Since Japan cannot survive on its own in this ferocious world, then let's merge into the Ming Dynasty. At least we share the same culture and ethnicity as the Ming Dynasty. Even if we become the Japan of the Ming Dynasty, there will still be Japan in this world. But if we become a colony of Western devils, there will no longer be Japan in this world!"
(End of this chapter)
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