"Prime Minister Ito, where is our way?"

Emperor Meiji was somewhat sad about Prince Gong's suicide. At first, he didn't feel much about the Qing prince. He was stupid, talentless, closed, and conservative. All the humble qualities that hindered the development of his neighbors in the west were on that prince.◇:◇Of course, the most tragic thing is that Aisin Gioro's country has now fallen into the hands of the Yehenara woman, and the mountains and rivers are broken.

However, the riot in the northeast at Gongchangling made Emperor Meiji's impression of Prince Kung slightly change. At least he dared to fight with the Northeast Autonomous Region, even if it looked more like a mantis armed chariot. However, facing the feeling of powerlessness of the Northeast Taishan, Emperor Meiji also empathized with it.

"The empire's policy should be adjusted." Hirofumi Ito thought for a long time before he hesitating. This was also a difficult choice for him. After all, the former occupation of the Españo, taking North Korea, and planning the Qing Dynasty, now it seems to have become a fantasy. After years of observation, he has also gained a preliminary understanding of the personality of the people in the Northeast Autonomous Region. Although he is still relatively restrained by Japan, on the one hand, it is because of the suppression of Britain, France and the United States and on the other hand, the Northeast has been seeking its own peaceful development in recent years, so he did not use this incident to face Japan. But this does not make Hirofumi Ito feel safe. On the contrary, a few years later, when the Northeast becomes stronger and stronger, who will still check and balance them? If Japan cannot accelerate its development and expand its military strength, it will probably be a matter of time before it is annexed by the Northeast.

"How to do it?" Emperor Meiji was confused now. In fact, it was not only him, but also the entire Japanese upper class.

"In the north, the empire has no room for activity. The east is an endless ocean, and the American continent is very far away from us. It can only go west and south for so long."

"To the west, to the south?"

It finally started to rain lightly in the gloomy sky. Emperor Meiji and Hirofumi Ito sat down under the eaves. Some servants served tea. The rain outside the house was misty and the light inside the house was a little dark, as if they were in the mood.

"How can I explain it to the south?" asked Emperor Meiji.

"Northeast now has five provinces in Southeast Asia, including North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and East Thailand, but its strength is more than good at defending the city and lacks in progress. Although the British are currently in good relations with the Northeast, as the Northeast continues to expand in Southeast Asia and Africa, the British have become deeply wary of it."

Emperor Meiji nodded.

Hirobuki Ito continued: "If the empire focuses on North Korea, it will inevitably collide with the Northeast. Compared with its current strength, we have no chance of winning. However, in Southeast Asia, there are many islands and limited strength in the Northeast, which leaves us with strategic space for gradual expansion."

"But even if the islands in Southeast Asia are not occupied by the Northeast, they are under the control of other powers. Can we gain a foothold in the period with our strength?" Emperor Meiji was a little hesitant.

"Apart from Britain and the Northeast, if we can develop our navy in a terrifying way, even if the other powers are stronger than ours, their local areas are very far away from Southeast Asia, so they have no power to fight with us."

Emperor Meiji nodded.

"What about going down west?"

"The Qing Dynasty is naturally targeting the westward country. Compared with Southeast Asia, the Qing Dynasty is more important to us. We must support our industry and commerce and give them the ability to enter the Qing Dynasty for trade. However, to achieve this, three requirements need to be met. The first is to ease the tension with the Northeast Autonomous Region. Otherwise, even if the Qing court wants to do business with us, it will take into account the Northeast's ideas."

"It's right." Emperor Meiji agreed with Hirofumi Ito very much, and then said: "What about the second request?"

"Secretly alliance with the Qing Dynasty!"

Emperor Meiji was shocked, but he didn't expect Hirobuki Ito to make such a proposal.

"this……"

"We are in the same situation as the Qing Dynasty, and we are all unable to face the increasingly powerful Northeast alone. But in comparison, the pressure on the Qing Dynasty is much greater than that of us. After all, the Northeast is nominally the territory of the Qing Dynasty, but the situation in front of the Northeast that is not subject to the control of the Celestial Empire is an extreme contempt for the imperial power from the perspective of the Qing court, which is an unacceptable huge challenge for any imperial country! Perhaps the Qing court is unable to resist now, so they can tolerate the disintegration of the Northeast, but

What are the other provinces of the Qing Dynasty? What would the officials in the border areas think? What would the people think? King, don’t forget that the Qing court was the Manchu royal power with a minority population, not the Han imperial power with an absolute advantage in the number of people. The Manchu people in the Qing Dynasty were born with a sense of insecurity of being surrounded. In a sense, they only represent the interests of the minority of Manchus, not the interests of the entire Qing people. Such a regime was born with flaws, so it was not without any chance for us to form an alliance with the Qing Dynasty."

Emperor Meiji did not speak, and was silent for a long time before he said, "Aren't we extending our hands to the Qing Dynasty?"

"For the time being, we must maintain good relations with the Qing Dynasty, maintain good trade, and use this to enrich our treasury and revitalize our economy. Only in this way can we maintain our existence in East Asia."

Emperor Meiji certainly understood what Ito Hirobuki said, but giving up the Qing Dynasty would be equivalent to giving up the hope of becoming a powerful country. He stood up and looked at the ripples splashing on the lake in the yard. Listening to the rushing sound of rain, his heart was full of twists and turns.

Of course, Hirobuki Ito also understood his king's idea, but the situation in Japan has no other choice. If he does not implement the above policies and continues to choose to fight head-on with the Northeast, while maintaining hostile and tense relations with the Qing Dynasty. Then, next, even with the support of Britain and the United States, the situation in Japan will be in danger.

"I understand!" Emperor Meiji finally made up his mind. "But it seems that it is difficult to reverse the situation in front of us by ourselves."

"Wang, your insights are indeed as you said. However, we are not without the possibility of development. The first thing is to maintain good relations with the United Kingdom and the United States and strengthen openness to these foreigners. In this way, the more they invest in our country, the deeper their entanglement with us. In this way, once the Northeast wants to attack us, it will inevitably take into account the interests of these great powers in our country, so that they dare not attack us easily."

Hirobu Ito said it nicely, but in fact, this strategy is called "eliminating tigers and swallowing wolves". However, the British and Americans are not better than the Northeast, and there have always been civil demands in Japan to expel foreign forces from the border. Now if Emperor Meiji makes this decision, he will obviously stand on the opposite side of the people. The future opposition between the officials and the people can be imagined.

"Don't worry, the ministers will ask someone to raise this matter."

There must be a person who blocks the dirty water. Emperor Meiji and Hirofumi Ito cannot come forward in person. It is simple to discuss with each other, speak vernacularly, but it is very difficult to do it. Today, Japan has carried out national system reform, which is nearly two years ahead of what Wang Yi knows in history. Japan established a parliament, and rights began to become scattered. The Liberal Party of Togaki Tui Nosuke and Shigetsuki Okuma Improvement Party are currently the two largest opposition parties in Japan. There are many members and huge public images. Even though they are in an opposition state, the situation of fighting for power with the Ito government has never changed. Anything Ito Hirofumi wants to promote, they are likely to oppose it.

Well, even if the two agreed to Hirofumi Ito's plan for the benefit of Japan, the implementation of the entire plan is still difficult. How to restore the relationship with the Northeast alone cannot be passed by Wang Yi alone. How to establish a secret agreement with the Qing Dynasty is even more difficult. Even though the previous conditions were successfully reached, how to use troops to the Southeast Asian islands was not only unsure of Emperor Meiji, but also the policymaker, Hirofumi Ito himself, had only a rough outline. The biggest difficulty was the navy issue.

Initially, Japan was influenced by France and advocated the construction of small ships against large ships and achieved the final victory with the help of numerical advantage. Such a policy could be implemented in such a policy, but once the action against the Southeast Asian island countries and the small warships could not sail far, then this policy would not be implemented at all. After all, it is necessary to fight against war, but even the ship cannot pass, so what else can you fight?

In addition to the problem of the navy's established route, there is another more difficult contradiction before the Ito government. It is the huge contradiction between the Satsuma clan and the Choshu clan, and the response in policy making is the problem of whether the navy is first or the army is first.

Even if Hirofumi Ito is tough, he dare not let the opposition between these two local vassals be clear. You should know that the establishment of the Meiji Emperor regime is based on the support of these two vassals. Once their contradictions are open and broken, it is likely to cause the Second Southwest War, and the worst result is the Northeast's military interference. When civil strife in Japan occurs, the Northeast will definitely not miss such an opportunity to solve Japan's troubles once and for all. If such a situation really occurs, Hirofumi Ito is Japan's biggest sinner.

The road to reform will not be easy. Even though Emperor Meiji and Hirofumi Ito were concerned and prepared, they still had headaches for the many obstacles in front of them. But Japan is now a country of three islands, including Honshu, Kyushu, and Four. If they do not become self-reliant, they will likely die out of their clans and completely disappear from the world.

"Wang Don't worry, if we can gain a foothold in the Southeast Asian islands, after several years of development, we may not be able to turn the tables in the Northeast. By then, the strength of our great Japanese empire and standing on the top of the world's nation will no longer be an out of reach!" Ito Hirobuki's eyes flashed with a firm look, which looked very confident. @ya
Chapter completed!