What President Moe is most afraid of now is the British fleet and the French fleet, helping the Japanese government army to transport troops from the sea to Kyushu Island, in that way, I really don't know when the war will be fought.Here, the news that President Meng was going to visit Europe, and Li Hongzhang's usual contacts with the British minister and the French minister, all worked.In fact, the British and French must not dare to start a war rashly anymore when they were far away from their homeland and had fought with the Chinese army several times without benefit.In the past, during the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the reason why the British and French dared to provoke the Qing government at every turn was actually to start doing so without getting permission from the country.The main reason is that it is too easy to take advantage, and by the time they know about it at home, they have already taken advantage of it, and the domestic government is naturally happy, and while praising it, it must be a matter of course to expand the scale of the war, in the hope of seizing more benefits.But in the hands of President Moe, how many times have the British and French been beaten by the Chinese army, which time can take advantage of it, not to mention that the British minister and the French minister do not want to fight, even a small number of military officials in Japan are also afraid of rashly getting involved in the war without domestic support and consent.When President Moe was about to leave for Europe, Saigo Takamori began to act again.This was originally expected by President Moe.Saigo Takamori was a rebel, and for Japan, he was even more of a patriot.At the most difficult juncture when the Chinese army and the Japanese were fighting, President Meng was very afraid that Saigo Takamori would suddenly attack, but it was difficult for Saigo Takamori's army and the Japanese government army in a state of hostility to join forces.Because of several major wars, the two sides became mortal enemies, even if Saigo Takamori wanted to give up his previous suspicion and join forces with the Japanese government army, the Japanese government army could not accept it, and Saigo Takamori's subordinates would not agree.Therefore, Saigo Takamori could only wait until the Chinese army and the Japanese government army had finished fighting, and then he would go up.Saigo's hometown was also the domain of the Shimazu clan, and it was a large feudal domain that included not only Satsuma Province, but also Osumi Province and the southwestern part of Hyuga Province.Sitting on the three kingdoms, known as the Satsuma Domain, the Shimazu clan ruled over the entire southern tip of Kyushu Island, covering an area of 3,500 square kilometers.The Shimazu domain is also one of the most densely populated areas in modern Japan: in the 70s of the 19th century, about 760,000 people lived in the Satsuma domain.At that time, there were only three feudal domains in Japan: Kaga, Nagoya, and Hiroshima.The shoguns of the Tokugawa shogunate generally ranked the daimyo with the official rice harvest.By this standard, the Shimazu clan had the second-highest status in Japan at the time, after the Maeda clan of Kaga.In the center of Kagoshima Castle lies Tsurumaru Castle, an unassuming fortress built in 1602 as the residence of the daimyo Shimazu Iehisa.Tsurumaru Castle is more of a villa than a fortress.The castle has a fenced central courtyard, Honmaru and Waikaku Ermaru, but neither layout is designed to defend against a protracted attack.Although the castle has stone walls and a small moat, it lacks the castle towers that were prevalent in Japanese castles in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.For example, Egret Castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, is a landmark for local tourism with its spectacular views.Egret Castle has a six-story castle tower and three smaller castle towers, surrounded by moats, towers, stone walls, and battlements.The road leading to the inner city of Egret is winding and deceptive, and the inner city road forms a labyrinth of numerous cul-de-sacs.On the contrary, the defenses of Tsurumaru Castle were kept to a minimum and were poorly maintained.A mid-18th-century report on the castle is not without exaggeration: "Although the illustrations of the towers and walls show towers, walls, and moats, none of them actually exist." ”Entering the castle is almost a startling long drive: a small bridge over the moat connects the castle directly to Kagoshima Castle.The Shimazu clan did not need an elaborate castle because "the common people were their fortress".A dense network of castles defended Kagoshima from invaders and the peasants who lived on the land: during Saigo's Takashi years, hundreds of small forts were scattered across the land, known as 'Outer Castle'.Tsurumaru Castle was not fortified because it was not necessary: with the numerous fortresses scattered throughout the domain, a large central castle was redundant.The Shimazu clan's rural fortress system was strictly a violation of the policy of Tokugawa rule, as the Tokugawa shogunate in 1615 stipulated that a daimyo could only own one castle.The Shimazu clan's network of castles meant that the Satsuma countryside was constantly under the watchful eye of the samurai.In most feudal domains, the vast majority of samurai lived in the castle towns of the daimyo, while the countryside enjoyed some degree of self-management.But in Satsuma, thousands of lower-ranking samurai lived in the countryside, and even the most humble details of village life became part of the samurai rules.As with all martial capitals, the layout of Kagoshima Castle follows a distinctly hierarchical system.In the center is the castle of the daimyo and the political and administrative heart of the domain.Closest to the castle were government offices and the residences of the elite of the daimyo retainers.Next came the residences of the lower level of retainers, including the middle managers and staff of the government.Finally, there are the residential areas of the common people, which stretch along the north and south sides of the city.It was inhabited by artisans and merchants, whose activities made urban life possible.In a typical castle town structure, such as Edo, the capital of the shogun, the hierarchical division of the city resembles a concentric circle centered on the castle of the daimyo.Kagoshima is similar to this pattern, but is limited by the topography, with Joyama to the west and Kinko Bay and Kagoshima Bay to the east.The mountain and the sea squeeze the standard concentric circle form into bands.Just in front of the castle is a wide avenue known as the "Thousand Stone Racecourse", which, according to an inaccurate but figurative translation, could be called "Rich Avenue"."
Thousand stones" means 1,000 stones, which represents the annual income of the residents of this street.Some of the residents of Thousand Stone Racecourse can receive more than 10,000 stones.If these people were not Shimazu clans but direct retainers of the shogun, they could become daimyo by virtue of their own rights, and they would have the right to meet the shogun.The residents of Sengoku Baba are senior advisors to the daimyo.They came from well-known families and had privileges close to the daimyos.Some of these people were distant cousins of the daimyo or descendants of the younger brothers of the previous daimyo, and their homes reflected their wealth and power.A typical dwelling on the Thousand Stone Racecourse is the kind of compound surrounded by a wall painted with stone or stucco.It was inhabited not only by retainers and their families, but also by their lieutenants and servants.In Satsuma, as in many feudal clans, the elite of the samurai was actually a separate class.President Meng gave a clear answer to Saigo Takamori's provocation, and President Meng had already handed over the affairs of the entire Kyushu Island to Li Hongzhang, and he didn't want to speak directly, but this time, it was different."
It is not allowed to take the initiative to maintain the stability and development of the land that has been obtained."
President Moe ordered directly.Princess Katrina Kafu said curiously: "Your Majesty, Saigo Takamori's army is very weak, not even as good as the original Qing court Huai army elite, we send a regiment casually, it is enough to defeat them, why not take advantage of the situation to kill Saigo Takamori and seize the entire Kyushu Island" President Meng replied: "You can't kill Saigo Takamori, Saigo Takamori is a hero of the Japanese, the reason why I have kept Saigo Takamori is out of political needs, there is Saigo Takamori here, and the people on the main island of Japan will think that Kyushu Island is Saigo Takamori, Support for government forces will not be resolute. ”Princess Katrina Kafu was a little puzzled, "But, now that Saigo Takamori has openly opposed us, the common people will not support Saigo Takamori, what is the difference between this and supporting the Japanese government army" President Moe smiled: "I can allow the Japanese people to support Saigo Takamori, but I can't allow them to support Emperor Meiji, and unite around Emperor Meiji Saigo Takamori can't become a climate, because the rotten nature of the samurai class determines that they, like the Qing court, are feudal representatives, Saigo Takamori supported the capitalist economy to take root in Japan in the early stage, and later supported the samurai class to continue to dominate the development of Japan, he is actually pushing the regression of Japanese history" Princess Katrina Kafu understood a little and smiled, "Your Majesty still thinks far, I really haven't thought about it so much, indeed, Japan is so poor, it's useless to ask for a bunch of places, we just need to be patient and defend, Saigo Takamori and his army have no way to take us, and Saigo Takamori's army has no way to cooperate with the Japanese government army, Unless they surrendered to the Japanese government, this was not possible because they did not agree with their political views.In this way, the dispute between Kyushu Island will no longer be a dispute between the Chinese and Japanese governments, but a dispute between Huaguo and Saigo Takamori, and His Majesty will be tantamount to raising Saigo Takamori's status and recognizing Saigo Takamori as a government. ”"Actually, that's true, but we can't clearly admit that Saigo Takamori is the government, in short, it is to buy time, muddy the waters, and occupy Kyushu Island permanently, which is our only goal."
President Meng smiled: "When you generate electricity, you have to explain my meaning to Li Hongzhang clearly." ”"Yes, Your Majesty."
Princess Katrina Kafu quickly recorded the Emperor's words.President Meng thought for a while and said with a smile: "Actually, it's the same whether you say it or not, Li Hongzhang understands what I mean, I told him before." ”t1706231537: