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Text Volume 4 British Wedge Adoptive Son Party

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    Explanation: I write this section with trepidation. Ito Hirobumi has always been a character that I dare not touch easily. I am currently reading "The Biography of Ito Hirobumi" by Masao Kume, a Japanese writer. Any thoughts and experiences I have will be expressed in the novel as much as possible.  .

    "Urgent news: Ren Lingyu, the Qing's special envoy for ship purchase, arrived in London on the 27th of this month. It is said that he has initialed an agreement to purchase two protected cruisers with Armstrong Factory. Details are to come."

    ¡ª¡ªShuzo Aoki, September 27, the 24th year of Meiji

    "Urgent news: The Qing Dynasty special envoy's purchase of ships as mentioned in the previous call has been verified by El, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Armstrong Factory. The order quantity is 2 ships. The construction sites are Thames-irrks Factory in London and Elswick bsp; Another: According to  el said that the Qing envoy seemed to have another intention to order three high-speed torpedo boats."

    ¡ª¡ªAoki Shuzang, October 3, the 24th year of Meiji

    "Urgent message: Technical data of Qing Dynasty's new ship - designer lte, main dimensions: normal displacement 4055 tons, length 107.3 meters, width 13.9 meters, draft 5.25 meters; power: 2 vertical 4-cylinder 3-expansion reciprocating steam engine, equipped with  Coal-fired pot double-shaft propulsion, design speed 22 knots, normal coal load 400 tons, maximum coal load 1000 tons, endurance 4000 nautical miles / 10 knots; firepower: 4 6-inch 45 times caliber Ghana rapid-fire guns produced by Schneider Factory in France. 4.7 inches  8 Ghana 45 caliber rapid-fire guns. 4 14-inch torpedo tubes: Protection: dome armor, 4.5 inches thick at the slope and 2 inches thick at the flat part."

    ¡ª¡ªAoki Shuzang, October 17, the 24th year of Meiji

    October 23, 1891, Fuki Building, Yokohama, Japan

    The "Tama no Izumi" sake brewed by Kasakiya, the most famous brewery in Kyoto, exudes a faint fragrance in the exquisite Shigaraki porcelain cup. The low couch on the tatami is filled with salt-roasted saury and raw fish.  Slices, tempura and assorted sushi.  In front of the tatami, a slim and graceful geisha in costume was playing light songs and dancing to the three kotos and flutes.

    "good!".  After the song was over, Hirobumi Ito, who was in the leading position, struck with both palms and cheered loudly.

    "Akura", he smiled and turned to the elderly geisha who was kneeling in front of the couch holding pots for several people, "Whether it's poetry, music, tea ceremony, calligraphy or flower arrangement, Yingzi already has the grace of your youth.  Now. Especially the dancing, it¡¯s already two-tenths of what you used to be.¡±

    "Ito-kun, do you think this is a compliment?" The elderly geisha whom Ito Hirobumi called "Akura" gave Ito a slightly cross look and asked in a tone that seemed to be angry but not angry.

    Navy Minister Shiki Kayama, who was sitting on the left hand side of Ito Hirobumi, was slightly startled - it was already known to everyone in the Japanese cabinet and military circles that Ito Hirobumi built a wealthy building in Yokohama to hide his beauty.  Precisely because he had this opinion for a long time, he was really surprised when he saw this "Akura" at the door of Fugui Building, and then he suddenly became indifferent to Ito Hirobumi's aesthetic sense.  in awe!

    Even when she was young, this geisha's appearance could only be regarded as that of a middle-aged girl. Now that she is an old lady, she already looks indescribable except for "old age and beauty."  Even this kind of people are interested.  Ito¡¯s lustful reputation is really not in vain

    Precisely because of this prejudice, since entering this Japanese-style room, most of his attention has fallen on the young geisha who was dancing gracefully, until he saw Akura's sideways glance at Ito Hirobumi a moment ago -  The long and slender eyes had flowing eyes, and in addition to being charming, there was also a bit of intelligence that was rare among prostitutes. This made Shiki Kayama, who was originally anxious, feel in his heart, and he also somewhat understood why Ito  Bowen will often linger in this wealthy building with great pleasure.

    He picked up the wine glass in front of him and took a sip. He calmed down for a while, but then he heard Ito Hirobumi say: "Being able to sing and dance like you A Cang two or three tenths is not a compliment. What is it?"

    "Maybe Mr. Huashan doesn't know, right?"  He suddenly turned to Mr. Hua Shanxing, who was seriously ill and dying of tuberculosis.  One of his last wishes is to watch Acura's singing and dancing again.  "

    "What a pity!" Ito Hirobumi's voice suddenly had a strong sentimentality, "Akura was far away in Choshu at that time. Although I collected several of the best geishas in Kyoto, none of them could compare with Akura.  The dance In the end, I can only ask Acang to go to Xiaguan to dance for him in front of his tomb as a consolation when Mr. Dongxing dies."

    There was an inexplicable silence in the room for a moment, and a touch of sadness enveloped the faces of everyone except Takasugi Shinsaku (Note 1) except Yingzi who still looked confused.

    The amazingly talented Shinsaku Takasugi, the romantic Shinsaku Takasugi, the one who founded the surprise force, the one who fought in the battle of Kuga Oki, and the one who died young

    "The 80,000 soldiers of the illustrious East Domain are attacking and stationed in Langhua City. How will my Cao die soon? I will smile and wait for the neighbors to hear the sound of cannons.", reciting Takasugi Shinsaku's posthumous work, thinking of the man who was younger than himself.  Two years old, but at 2Huashan Ziji, a reformist who passed away at the age of seven, could not help but sigh, "Mr. Dongxing's untimely death is a great misfortune for the empire. Otherwise, with his talents, he would not have been able to contribute to the great cause of the reform."  It helps a lot.¡±

    "There is an old proverb in the Qing Dynasty that it is difficult to think of good generals. Kayama Shiki continued with a sad expression, "Now that the Imperial Navy is in a difficult situation, it makes people miss the time when they commanded the Byingin Maru and dared to single-handedly challenge Kuga to the shogunate navy's main formation, and  Fightif he is still here.  Our Japanese Navy only needs to ask him to lead one warship, and it will surely sink the entire Beiyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty in the waves of the Bohai Sea. It is a pity that the sky will not stop.

    Hearing his profound words, Ito Hirobumi just shortened his wine glass and took a sip.  Then he just smiled and said nothing.  The middle-aged man sitting opposite Huashan Ziji had frowned slightly.

    "Listen to Mr. Huashan. Does it mean that the Imperial Navy is still not determined to win when facing the Qing Navy?" Since Huashan Ziji came in, apart from the initial greetings, he had hardly said a word.  The middle-aged man who spoke finally spoke again. He had a long, almost sensational face, with a huge gap between his nose and lips.  A pair of striking ears and a slightly crooked mouth make an impression on people at first sight.

    "Imperial Navy officers have never lacked the determination to serve His Majesty the Emperor." Before the middle-aged man finished speaking, Shiki Kayama's eyes turned cold, but he still looked respectful when answering his questions -  Although talking about official rank.  As the Navy Minister, he seems to have no need to treat the newly appointed president of the Regional Honors Bureau in front of him with courtesy, but when it comes to his origin, the two major "Nine Chinghua" families behind him, Saionji Temple and Tokudaiji Temple,  None of them can compare with the Huashan family he entered when he was 2 years old.

    "Furthermore, after the Korean Incident in the 17th year of the Meiji period, the Imperial Navy has been able to compete with the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Navy on the sea after seven years of hard work." Shiki Kayama revealed in his words.  He showed strong confidence, but then he changed the topic, "But being able to fight does not mean that you will win!"

    "Mr. Huashan, this is a bit of a joke."  Saionji Gongwang¡¯s response seemed extremely appropriate, but his words were already hidden. ¡°Since the 14th year of Meiji, the naval military expenditure has increased year by year. In the past five years, it has never been below 8.9 million yuan. And the Qing Dynasty  To this day, the Beiyang Navy can only get more than 4 million taels of silver in annual funding, and the national equivalent of only 6 million yen at most, but 85 million people have paid for the national treasury. The annual treasury income is at most  It¡¯s only 80 million taels of silver. When converted into Japanese yen, it¡¯s barely enough for 120 million If these hard-working Chinese people know that the Navy has almost twice as much funding as the Beiyang Navy every year. But not even one of them has fought against it.  If we don't have the determination to win, then how can the navy have the face to face the Chinese people who are scrimping on food and clothing in order to expand the navy."

    "Saionji-kun" Kaguyama Shiki's face turned cold. He really didn't expect that before he could propose the new naval expansion plan that he and the Navy had been planning for a long time, Saionji, who seemed to be aware of it, would be put forward.  Gongwang used his words to control the decision-making position in advance, not Ito, who witnessed the two people's verbal exchanges but remained silent.

    "After several years of dormancy, the Beiyang Navy has begun to purchase ships from the West again!" After a moment of silence, Huashan Ziji quickly spoke again, "One second-class iron-clad ship, and two ships are no less than what we still have at this time.  The Yoshino protected cruiser built for construction, and perhaps those three torpedo clippers that even they themselves may not have figured out the use of, as long as these warships successfully return to the country and join the Beiyang Fleet Saionji-kun, the Imperial Navy has spent the past few years  After working hard to reverse the decline of the Qing Dynasty's Beiyang Navy, I saw that Mengjun was about to return to his old ways" He looked coldly at Gongwang of Xiyuan Temple opposite, "9 million yuan per year, it sounds like a big number, but are you  Do you know? The protected cruiser that the Imperial Navy just ordered from the Armstrong Factory this year costs at least 4 million yuan?!" Kashan Ziji continued to talk, "Now the funds required by the British Empire to build a latest ironclad ship,  It can easily cost more than 10 million yuan. In other words, according to the current funds allocated by Congress, even if all the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Navy do not eat, drink or receive salary for a year, they do not even conduct a training cruise, and do not fire even a minimum caliber weapon.  Cannonballs The funds saved in this way can only barely purchase a new ironclad ship."

    "Colonel Ingalls has long suggested that the Imperial Navy order new ironclad ships to offset the advantage of the Qing Navy's Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships over the Imperial Navy. Gui, since the Imperial Navy was officially established in the 5th year of Meiji, in the past twenty years, the Empire has  Except for three old-fashioned ironclads, the Navy no longer has even one truly new ironclad. However, after purchasing Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, the Beiyang Navy has now added one of the latest second-class ironclads. That's right.  , the people of the Empire have indeed been frugal in order to expand the navy over the years, but I would like to remind Saionji-kun that the purpose of the establishment of the Imperial Navy is toIn order to obtain necessary benefits for the empire and all its citizens, these investments are actually necessary and necessary, especially now that the Qing Dynasty has begun to strengthen its navy.  "

    "The creation of the Navy is actually extremely simple, just one word - money! Moreover, the Army's annual military expenditure is more than 1.1 million yuan, and when has the Navy exceeded this amount in the past few years? Every time North Korea changes over the years, the Navy has  How many people have the Army deployed? Saionji-kun, Yamagata once said that the Army is the son of the people, but the Navy shouldn¡¯t just be the adopted son of the people because of this, right?¡±

    "I am an adopted son, Saionji is also an adopted son, and Ito is the adopted son's son Today's meeting is actually a gathering of adopted sons." Looking at Saion who nodded to him with a reserved expression across from him.  Looking at the temple, an idea that had nothing to do with the theme suddenly appeared in Kawasaki Shiki's mind - among the three middle-aged men in the room at this time, Kawasaki, whose real name is Kakuno Susumu Hashiguchi.  He was adopted as an adopted son by Kaguyama Shiroemon and later adopted this name. As for Ito Hirobumi, who was originally called Hayashi Hirobumi, well, he was earlier. When he was 9 years old, his father Hayashi Juzo was adopted as an adopted son by the lower-level samurai Ito family.  And the surname was changed to Ito; and Saionji Konobo, he was adopted from the Tokudaiji family to the Saionji family before he was 3 years old. He was the earliest of the three to change his family.

    Note 1: It is said that Takasugi Shinsaku is the prototype of Kenshin in Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga "Rurouni Kenshin". This is only mentioned without comment.  (To be continued. If you want to know what happened, please log in. There are more chapters.
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