Chapter 735: Japan is destroyed (third update, please subscribe)
February 14, 1875, noon, Tokyo.
clear.
The sky was covered with smoke.
Once again, a heavy rumble sounded from the ground. Instantly, the lantern hanging in the bunker shook, and then the bunker was shaking, dust fell from the gaps between the logs, and dazzling flashes of light shot into the underground bunker from time to time from the ventilation holes. Through the deafening roar and whistling, the rumbling sound of the shells exploding became clearer and clearer.
"The British bombardment is very fierce!"
Through the vents, Chen Dexuan saw orange-yellow fire rising from time to time in the sky and earth covered by gunpowder. The narrow streets were filled with thick smoke and flying dust, and the smell of explosives made people breathless.
The shelter was shaking violently, and even though he was in the shelter, he could still hear the wailing and groaning all around him.
You can also see tens of thousands of citizens running in despair, shells falling from behind them, houses burning,
At this moment, what appeared before his eyes was a scene like hell. The raging fire in the houses was constantly expanding. Thousands of people were running on the streets. The bombardment was still going on, but the pace seemed to have slowed down. The shells were still falling, but they were no longer blindly bombing. Instead, they were strictly fired in certain directions. Therefore, Chen Dekun was able to observe carefully.
Everything was burning around them—houses, trees, everything, everything that could burn, even things that couldn't burn. Amid the roar of the flames, the roar of the shells, and the crisscrossing of hot shrapnel, some almost naked people were running around.
Occasionally there were horrible, inhuman cries from the burning houses, where those trapped in the flames, with no chance of escape, were being burned to death.
Occasionally he would cast his eyes towards the people sitting in the shelter - they all looked Western, they just sat there smoking, playing cards, looking nonchalant, they were commandos from the Naval Intelligence Department, most of the commandos were of European descent, in order to facilitate infiltration operations behind enemy lines.
"Captain Chen, will they come out?"
Xiao Nanlin walked up to him and asked. Just by looking at his name or listening to him speak, he was no different from a Ming Dynasty person, but he was of European descent and a blond and blue-eyed guy.
"It should come out. The most important thing is whether the British will cooperate!"
"Will the British troops come ashore?"
Faced with Xiao Nanlin's question, Chen Dekun smiled and did not answer. According to the intelligence he had, Britain and the United States would occupy Tokyo and force the Emperor to appoint Tokugawa Shigemasa as the new shogun.
“We just have to stick to the plan.”
Afterwards, Chen Dekun turned his gaze to the Imperial Palace in the distance, which is the Imperial Palace of Japan. Now, the Emperor Xinghua should be making a decision!
"Your Majesty, it's time to make a decision!"
Standing in front of the Emperor, Sanjo Sanemi spoke again.
"If we do not accept the conditions proposed by Britain and the United States and remove Iwakura and others, Britain and the United States will definitely further attack Tokyo. Now that such a chaos has occurred, Iwakura and others are unforgivable. In my opinion, we can behead them to calm the anger of Britain and the United States!"
Although he was once a representative of the pro-Komatsu faction among the court officials, Sanjo Sanetomi was essentially a politician. He supported the overthrow of the shogunate for power, and supported the Meiji Restoration also for power.
He has been planning a new coup since Emperor Meiji died of a sudden illness last year. But he will not act rashly before the situation becomes clear, which is why the public and military officials have not joined forces until now.
Politicians are always politicians, and in their eyes, interests are the most important.
"But if we are forced to make concessions now due to the threats from Britain and the United States, what will happen in the future?"
He Gong looked at the smoke in the distance with a worried look on her face. She said without turning her head.
"In the future, Japan will become like the Qing Dynasty, allowing itself to be blackmailed and exploited by the great powers. By then, it will really be no longer a country."
As the Emperor, Princess Kazunomiya knew very well what this concession meant to Japan. After all, there was a ready-made example next to Japan.
"But do we have a choice?"
Sanjo Sanemi said somewhat helplessly.
"The Qing Dynasty also had no choice at that time. They fought several wars with the British and were defeated every time. They could only solve the problem through negotiations. Now, our problem is the same, and we are even worse than the Qing Dynasty. We have neither a navy nor an army that can resist the invasion of the enemy. Now... negotiations are the only option."
"Where's Katsu Kaishu? Still..."
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Kazunomiya remembered where Katsu Kaishu had gone. As the Minister of the Navy, he went to Hiroshima to discuss the aftermath of the war with the Ming Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to end the conflict with Britain and the United States as soon as possible!"
Once again, Sanjo Sanemi spoke directly.
"After all, if it's any later, it will be too late..."
Just as he finished speaking, a eunuch came in hurriedly to report.
"Your Majesty, the Army's Grand Viceroy Yamagata sent someone to report that the artillery fort has been completely destroyed by the US fleet. Now the British and American sailors seem to be preparing to go ashore. Your Majesty, please make plans early!"
"What!"
Sanjo Sanemi said in astonishment.
"They are about to land! What do those foreigners want to do!"
Not to mention Sanjo Sanemi who was surprised, even Iwakura Tomomi and the others were so shocked when they heard the news that they couldn't close their mouths. It took them a long while to speak.
"So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."
Iwakura Tomomi said.
"The conditions previously offered by Britain and the United States were nothing more than excuses, just to annex Japan! Damn foreign devils, they are indeed a group of tigers and wolves!"
It seemed that at this moment, all the things that were understandable and incomprehensible became clear. Why did Britain and the United States interfere in Japan's internal affairs? Why was it for the Tokugawa family? They clearly wanted to control Japan. It was just like Britain occupying India and France occupying Vietnam.
"The Western country of tigers and wolves really never lied to me!"
In fact, the Japanese essentially have a kind of persecution mania. Living on this earthquake-prone island, the crisis that accompanies them day and night makes them more aware of the crisis than other nations. What is the extreme development of this consciousness? Of course it is persecution mania. Their stubborn character makes them believe in the existence of something, and they will find ten thousand reasons to prove that their choice is correct. They will find ways to use all kinds of lies and imagination to deepen this impression.
Of course, if there is even the slightest sign that proves their hypothesis, they will believe it is true.
Just like before the Pacific War, the Japanese invaded China, bombed Chinese cities, and killed Chinese people using American steel, gasoline, and weapons. At the same time, they believed that the United States would definitely "intervene militarily" because of the American verbal interference, which was both a bitch and a chastity. So, almost all of those Japanese men had paranoia and attacked Pearl Harbor. Then they thought they were proud of blocking American interference, but they never considered that when they invaded China, they used American oil and steel. Instead, it was the United States that was attacked that was a little confused. Don't you want to do business anymore?
And now, the situation... although there are some differences, but in essence, there is not much difference. After all, for Iwakura and others, they have long believed that the Western devils will occupy Japan. It is only a matter of time. The reason why they are looking for Ming father is because of this reason.
And now?
The British and American artillery bombardment and naval landings just confirmed their previous speculation.
"No matter what, we cannot let them attack the Imperial Palace. Send a letter to Yamagata and ask him to abandon the artillery position and gather all the troops that can be mobilized to cover His Majesty's withdrawal from Tokyo..."
After giving this order, Iwakura sighed.
"I hope everything will be in time!"
(End of this chapter)
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