In 1895, the 1895 year of Sino-Japanese War was a turbulent autumn. Joseph Chamberlain became the new London cabinet minister, and his friend, mining giant Cecil Rhodes, took office as prime minister of the British Cape colony.

In private correspondence, Cecil Rhodes strongly complained about the hostility of the Republic of Transvaal in South Africa and the Free State of Orange to the British diaspora and formulated many discriminatory policies, which were invisible contempt for the arrogant British Empire, revealing the intention of the Paul Kruger regime who urged the Transvaal to overthrow the Paul Kruger regime.

The Colonial Minister Joseph Chamberlain was ambiguous about this, but at the end of the reply, he said, "South Africa's policy is unacceptable and must be urged to change in the right direction."

This sentence laid the foreshadowing of the "Jensen Expedition".

The "Jensen Expedition" was a landmark event for the South African political situation. After the incident, relations between Britain and Germany deteriorated rapidly. Since then, London has made up his mind to use force to completely resolve the South African issue.

July 11, 1895

Outside Tokyo

Leading the four heavy cruisers, Qinglong, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird and Xuanwu, a huge strike formation composed of 10 brave-class cruisers was concentrated, and it was the third day to conduct a deterrent cruise in Tokyo Bay.

Every day starts from the early morning

There are more than 100,000 people gathered along the beach of Tokyo Bay, just to see the style of the joint strike formation. In the Fuso people's concept, they only admire the strong. Every time the formation warships show their majestic posture, they will always attract envious cheers.

Although Fusang is fierce and domineering to the weak, he is very soft to the strong.

Tokyo Metropolitan Omai Conference

Every minister involved in the court looked solemn. The current situation had developed to the point where the country was in danger. Standing on the edge of the abyss of life and death, it was far from as simple as what Li Fushou, king of the Ocean Kingdom, said to destroy several broken kilns.

Today is the last day for the Ocean Kingdom to threaten to launch a shelling and tolerate it. The final time is until 4:00 pm. If there is no positive response, the joint strike formation wandering in Tokyo Bay will reveal a hideous face, and the thousand-year-old capital may be burned.

This will seriously hit the foundation of the Meiji Emperor's rule, causing turmoil in the remnants of local vassal states, and the future is unimaginable.

So it is impossible to continue to pretend to be dead. Today, we must make a decision.

The atmosphere of the imperial meeting was so solemn that it was breathless. All the ministers did not speak, and they played the role of clay sculptures like sawns of mouths.

In fact, everyone has the answer in their hearts, but they dare not say it out, for fear of becoming victims of those fanatical army samurai swords, and shouting the slogan of "killing traitors" to kill people in the street. These soldiers with the spirit of Bushido can do it completely.

Hesitate for a moment

Fuso Prime Minister Hiromoto Ito said with a constipated expression on his face, and he gritted his teeth in a dry tone; "Today, all kinds of methods that can be tried have been used. The news from European and American countries clearly shows that we have no other choice, whether to fight or not, please make a public opinion together."

"Prime Minister, it seems that we don't even have the right to fight back!"

"Yes, I was beaten unilaterally, and I saw one beautiful city after another destroyed by artillery fire but I was powerless. This feeling is so frustrating!"

"We have the responsibility to prevent this tragedy from happening, and we can't beat it!"

"Just give it, you can still lose half of it."

"What can I do if I don't give it? The British cannot change the words of the Majesty of the Ocean Kingdom. They put pressure on us in turn. The hateful Americans said beautifully, but they couldn't see people when they really needed it."

"I can't bear to give up so much money!"

"It's inspirational to find new things. In the future, as long as you defeat the Russian Russians, you can ask for more war compensation from them, and all losses will be back."

"Yoxi, this is reasonable."

The cabinet ministers' opinions were one-sided, and they all tended to spend money to eliminate disasters. To be honest, it was a miracle to be able to dig such a large sum of money from the stingy Fusang people.

This is inseparable from the right time, place, people, the fault of the Fusang people taking the lead in launching a war, the powerlessness of the current situation, the suppression of absolute naval strength, and the danger of life and death on the front line.

Emperor Meiji, who was sitting in the upper head, has been in power for 28 years. He presided over the Meiji Restoration and Reform. He is a rare wise monarch in modern history. Seeing that the cabinet had reached an agreement, he nodded slightly bitterly and issued an imperial edict, saying:

"If the coastal defense matter is delayed for a day, it will be a hundred years of regret." It requires the government and parliament to "work together to overcome difficulties together."

Prime Minister Hirofumi Ito was instructed to go to Australia's mainland to pay homage to His Majesty the King of the Ocean Kingdom, express his surrender and sign relevant treaties.

Once you are beaten, you must have a positive attitude.

As for the domestic unrest, it will be suppressed with iron-blooded measures, and it is also said that as the old rules, 300,000 yen will be allocated from the royal family's funds every year within the next six years, and ordered civil and military officials to withdraw 1/10 of their monthly salary in the next six years to pay the national treasury to supplement the insufficient funds for shipbuilding.

Since I have been tightening my belt for so many years, it doesn’t matter if I have tightened my belt for so many years.

The scale of poor fishermen who went to Nanyang will increase, and the scale is tentatively set to be 200,000 to 230,000 yuan per year. As long as you can get a little more money, it is good.

Anyway, Fusang Kingdom is used to hard life, so I don’t care about this little bit of suffering.

At the end, Emperor Meiji wrote a haiku in a sad mood;

It is so difficult to move forward. After a few steps, you will see the rise tomorrow and encounter the Sun Eclipse God again. How big the appetite is, it will never be able to compete with the situation. The southward road is gone, so you can only move northward.

After chanting the haiku, Emperor Meiji left with his sleeves.

Watching his graceful figure leave, the court officials were moved by the deep affection contained in the poem, and they couldn't help but wet their hearts and cried; "Your Majesty the Emperor, I will die for you to atone for my sins!"

This haiku by Emperor Meiji contains important information, that is, the expansion policy has undergone a decisive change; the southward road has been eliminated, and can only go north.

About 1:00 pm

A small steamer carried Fuso Cabinet Foreign Minister Joan Matsunaga to the joint strike formation hovering in the Gulf of Tokyo, and boarded the flagship Qinglong heavy cruiser. He met the commander General Geng Baogui, and truthfully conveyed the Fuso government's attitude of bowing its head and admitting defeat.

That is to say;

Through a three-party intergovernmental agreement between the Ocean Kingdom and the Qing Dynasty and Fusang Kingdom, the Fusang government agreed that the Qing Dynasty would transfer half of the original 70 million taels of silver in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and give priority to the Ocean Kingdom.

This fee is a war compensation from Fusang State. During the period when 35 million taels of silver are paid, Fusang State shall not seek compensation from the Qing Dynasty separately.

Finally got the desired result. General Geng Baogui was overjoyed. While warmly receiving Foreign Minister Joan Matsu, he also arranged for him to visit the flagship "Qinglong". Looking at the high ammunition box piled up on the side of the ship, General Geng Baogui explained this;

"Comprehensive shelling is a complex and sophisticated war action, and it is not allowed to be slack. It is extremely necessary to prepare thoroughly. A powerful navy reflects little by little details, which is the experience exchanged for the blood of countless naval soldiers."

The 305mm main gun equipped by the ship can lift ammunition from the lower ammunition depot through the hydraulic mechanism under the gun mount.

However, the 152mm rapid-fire gun does not have this condition. The shell boxes used are piled on the side of the ship. The empty shell boxes are pushed into the sea. The shell shells that have been shot must be collected and recharged.

These shell shells are made of copper and are very valuable and cannot be wasted easily.

Foreign Minister Joan Matsunaga looked at the mountain-stacked shell boxes and felt numb, and secretly thanked that the imperial meeting made a timely decision to surrender, otherwise it would be a complete disaster for Fusang.

He said in a charming tone, "Your country's military strength is strong, and Fusang is far from enough. I just hope that after this incident, Fusang can learn from generation to generation and repair it with the Ocean Kingdom. It will really cause you trouble."

"Hahaha...it's easy to say."

"I would like to ask the commander to show mercy. Since our government has made a decision and the war is over, I hope to release the surviving officers and soldiers of the 6th Division trapped in the Ryukyu Islands. I am very grateful."

"Oh, this matter is, I will arrange for someone to telegram to the Ryukyu Kingdom immediately. Your Japanese government will also send representatives to it. I hope it will be too late!"

"It's causing you trouble."

"A small matter is not worth mentioning."

He responded with a faint smile, but Geng Baogui sighed in his heart. To be honest, he is quite loyal, far less ruthless than His Majesty the King, hahaha, and he is stubborn behind his back.

The 6th Division has been trapped in the Ryukyu Islands for 17 days now. Apart from using small boats to find some food in the sunken cargo ship, there is almost nothing else to fill the stomach.

However, these Japanese soldiers are really persevering and tenacious. I heard that they have started eating dead human flesh when they are trapped on the island, and they are still very fierce.

The latest news was obtained by the joint strike formation when it set sail from Naha Port 6 days ago. At that time, there were only more than 600 Japanese troops left, and they still maintained their strong combat effectiveness, which is not to be underestimated.

This has caused more than 13,000 troops to be reduced by three Ryukyu divisions, of which most of them were killed and more than 4,000 injured.

According to His Majesty the King's will, he is not going to leave a living mouth. Only God knows whether he can survive until now.

Afterwards, after the representatives of the day arrived in the Ryukyu Islands, there were more than 140 people left in the 6th Division (including more than 30 naval officers and soldiers). They occupied the advantage of geographical advantages and hid on the hills, causing great damage to the soldiers of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

More than 460 Japanese officers and soldiers were eliminated, and the regular army of the Ryukyu Kingdom suffered more than 2,900 casualties. The battle situation was simply terrible.

It should be noted that those who survive to the end are elite soldiers. The strongest of the strong are soldiers born in the down-and-out warrior family. They are skilled in combat skills and are especially good at close combat.

In hand-to-hand combat, no seven or eight people often fight a Japanese soldier. These Japanese soldiers who fight to the death are like wounded beasts, dangerous and deadly.

These Japanese soldiers usually hide in caves and trenches, and do not let the shells shoot out. They cherish every energy and use it in key battles.

When the soldiers of the Sulphur Ball Kingdom rushed up in a black manner, they jumped up and rushed into the crowd to fight wildly, making wild shouts like beasts in their mouths, which often disrupted the attacking soldiers' teams and left behind large corpses and retreated.

I have no choice but to do small moves at this time.

The Ryukyu Kingdom could only allow these more than 140 survivors to return to Fusang Island. After they returned, they were received by the military headquarters in a high-level reception. They were known as "warriors of war" and used propaganda to shape them into practitioners of the Bushido spirit, ranking a very high position.

The cruel and powerful performance of the officers and soldiers of the 6th Division of Fusang deeply shocked the officers and soldiers of the First and Second Division of the Royal Guards who watched the battle from beginning to end. They left an indelible and profound mark in their hearts, and began to imitate each other intentionally or unintentionally. In the future, they made a loud reputation on the European battlefield, greatly enhancing the international status of the Ocean Kingdom. This is a later story.
Chapter completed!