The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 673 Pay me or go to war

The scene was completely silent, with only the sound of heavy breathing expressing that everyone was like a volcano ready to erupt at any moment.

"So, you tell us this is a misunderstanding?" The veins on Emperor Meiji's forehead popped up, and he looked up and stared into Chen Zhengwei's eyes.

Insult, this is the ultimate insult.

Everyone can see it.

Chen Zhengwei didn't even bother to find an excuse; his contempt came from the bottom of his heart.

"Why? You don't want me to apologize, do you?" Chen Zhengwei looked down at Emperor Meiji, grinning and revealing a mouthful of sharp white teeth, like a ferocious beast ready to devour its prey.

Emperor Meiji was so stunned that even his breathing stopped for a moment.

He gritted his teeth and managed to keep himself in place.

"Mr. Chen, your reasons are insincere and they will find it hard to accept!" Not far away, British Minister Hubert George Speer took off his hat and bowed slightly.

"Why are you in such a hurry to ask? Did they give you a lot of money?" Chen Zhengwei glanced at him.

Hubert Speer's smile froze for a moment. As the British Minister to Japan, he did not know Chen Zhengwei very well. He had only seen him twice in the newspaper.

However, his goal had been achieved, so he stopped talking.

A gust of wind blew, bringing smoke and dust from afar. Chen Zhengwei waved his hand to fan away the smoke and dust.

"Now let's talk about the follow-up! But why don't you invite me to your palace? Or do you want to go to war with me?" Chen Zhengwei raised his eyebrows.

Emperor Meiji clenched his fists. He really wanted to throw his gloves at Chen Zhengwei and tell him to start a war.

"Your Majesty, calm down! He wants to provoke us!" Left Minister Sanjo Sanetomi said quickly beside Emperor Meiji.

"Your Majesty, we are equally angry, but we cannot go to war! We must endure the humiliation for the future of this country!"

"There is a saying in China that it is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. We will definitely have a chance to repay this humiliation!"

"I know..." Emperor Meiji took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, then turned to look at the Daijokan officials around him.

Everyone's face was filled with humiliation.

It took Japan more than 20 years for the country to gradually modernize and step out of the shadow of the West.

Although there is still a long way to go, they can already see the future.

But the enemy's warships are now in Tokyo Bay, with their guns pointing towards Tokyo.

If a war breaks out now, Japan will be beaten back to its original form, which they absolutely cannot accept.

"Let's go to the Imperial Palace!" Emperor Meiji said to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Although he tried hard to calm himself, he still didn't want to say a word to Chen Zhengwei, for fear that he would explode in the next second.

"Everyone, please move to the Imperial Palace for discussion!" Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru said to everyone, then turned to Chen Zhengwei and said in English:
"Mr. Chen, we have also arranged a carriage for you!"

Chen Zhengwei walked to the front of the carriage, with a look of disdain on his face: "So small? Is this a carriage or a doghouse?"

After all, the Japanese carriage was too small for his size.

It's like an adult squeezing into a child's toy car.

Only when the American ambassador's carriage was given to him did he get in with great difficulty, unable even to straighten his legs.

Two teams of Chinese armed with guns guarded the left and right sides of the carriage.

The group then headed to the Imperial Palace.

Chen Zhengwei temporarily forgot the unpleasantness brought by the carriage and sat in the carriage looking at the scenery with interest.

Parts of the street were in complete ruins, large tracts of houses were destroyed, and flames were burning on the wooden debris.

Some people were constantly digging people out from the rubble, some were crying and shouting, and there was chaos everywhere.

"It's much more lively here, I like the hustle and bustle!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile as he watched all this.

"Tell me, do they hate me very much?"

"Of course!" Li Xiwen nodded heavily. He could certainly imagine how much people here would hate Chen Zhengwei.

"But hatred doesn't kill people, guns do!" Chen Zhengwei laughed.

After a moment, Chen Zhengwei remembered something and said to the henchman outside the window, "Go find the American minister!"

Soon, John Bingham came to the carriage.

"Stop, let him come up."

After John Bingham got on the carriage, Chen Zhengwei asked, "What is the current situation in Ryukyu?"

"Ryukyu was destroyed two years ago and is now called Okinawa Prefecture. But Ryukyu was controlled by Japan a long time ago." John Bingham said after thinking for a while.

He was very clear about this, after all, Ryukyu was only destroyed in 1879.

"There are still some Ryukyu people who are seeking to restore their country. They seek support from the Qing Dynasty and the international community, but no one pays attention to them!"

"So I said, international public opinion is useless!" Chen Zhengwei sneered.

"How about the port of Ryukyu?" Chen Zhengwei asked.

What happened to Ryukyu had nothing to do with him, but he was concerned about the port of Ryukyu.

In his view, Ryukyu could serve as a fulcrum in East Asia, radiating to the southeastern coast of the Qing Dynasty and Southeast Asia.

"It's so small that it's hard for large ships to pass through. Naha can only accommodate steamships with a displacement of about 1000 tons..."

"How difficult is the transformation?"

"Mr. Chen, I don't know much about this. It requires a professional to calculate it..." John Bingham said helplessly.

He is not God.

How do you know these things?

"Then tell me about the treaty signed between the United States and Japan last time!"

"Japan has opened the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate for American ships to dock, resupply and trade. We have consular rights in these two port cities, and Americans have certain extraterritorial rights..."

Similar to the concessions of the great powers in the Qing Dynasty, Japan still has sovereignty and certain control over these areas.

"Why don't we have a concession in Japan?" Chen Zhengwei asked in surprise.

"Because when facing us and the European powers, Japan adopted a more active diplomatic strategy than the Qing Dynasty!" John Bingham explained.

When the group arrived at the Imperial Palace, Chen Zhengwei got off the carriage and stretched. The carriage was too small and his body became stiff after a while.

"Mr. Chen, please ask your soldiers to wait here!" Foreign Secretary Inoue Kaoru came to Chen Zhengwei.

"Why do you give me the feeling that I was beaten?" Chen Zhengwei glanced at the other person.

"Mr. Chen, this is basic etiquette!" Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru said, suppressing his anger.

"It's yours, not mine!" Chen Zhengwei said playfully, and then walked straight into the Imperial Palace.

The members of the security company who had escorted him all the way immediately stood by him.

Arriving at the main hall, Chen Zhengwei looked at the paintings on the wall with interest, preparing to pack them up and take them away later.

It's not that he likes this painting, he just simply likes to steal people's things.

Chen Zhengwei looked around and saw that there were not many things in the main hall, so he simply pulled a chair and sat at the door, facing the emperor's seat.

Li Xiwen stood behind Chen Zhengwei with several bodyguards.

Ministers from other countries also took their seats.

"Mr. Chen from the United States, since you say today's incident was a misunderstanding, how do you plan to resolve it?" Emperor Meiji asked in a deep voice, sitting on the Takamikura throne. His emotions had calmed down considerably by this point, at least he was able to control them.

Along the way, Chen Zhengwei was thinking about the Ryukyu issue, and he was also considering how to solve today's issue.

Now Chen Zhengwei's fleet is blocking the Tokyo Bay. Japan cannot go to war with the other side now, otherwise it is likely that all the efforts of more than 20 years will be wasted.

Emperor Meiji recalled the story of "sleeping on firewood and tasting gall" several times in his mind.

"It's very simple. I blew up some of your houses... I can help you rebuild them! And hire your local workers, which will bring you some jobs! Let the families of the victims get a job!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile.

Although Emperor Meiji and Japanese Daijokan officials wanted to refuse, to be fair, Chen Zhengwei finally said something sensible.

Then Chen Zhengwei added: "Of course, you have to pay! I will have someone come to count the situation and give you a quote later!"

After this statement was made, everyone on the Japanese side fell silent immediately, and Emperor Meiji and other officials clenched their fists.

The ministers from various countries glanced at Chen Zhengwei, turned their heads away, and almost laughed out loud.

When the great powers bully others, they at least talk about the Basic Law and come up with a plausible excuse, even though everyone knows it's nonsense.

But Chen Zhengwei doesn't even talk about the Basic Law.

"Now that I have finished explaining your compensation, it is time to explain my compensation. My ship was hit by dozens of shells and was severely damaged. Thousands of shells were also fired. You must compensate me!"

"You are going too far!" Emperor Meiji stood up from the Takamikura with a dark face.

"Your Majesty!" The ministers on both sides looked at Emperor Meiji quickly, fearing that he would make things irreversible in his impulse.

"What, you want to start a fight? I will kill you now and then burn down Tokyo!" Chen Zhengwei also stood up from the chair, grabbed the chair and threw it at Emperor Meiji.

With Chen Zhengwei's strength, the chair flew dozens of meters with a sound of breaking through the air, and two guards hurriedly stood in front of the emperor.

The chair was smashed to pieces.

The surrounding Japanese guards raised their guns, and Chen Zhengwei's men also raised their guns.

The scene became tense in an instant.

John Bingham almost jumped up and rushed forward to stop Chen Zhengwei.

"Mr. Chen, please calm down!" The British Minister, French Minister, German Minister, Dutch Minister and others also stood up.

If things ended there, they would be able to accept it.

If this continues, it will affect their interests.

"Pay compensation, or we'll go to war!" Chen Zhengwei had a ferocious look on his face, standing there and scanning everyone's eyes.

No one doubted Chen Zhengwei's words. If it were someone else, it might be a means of exerting pressure.

But everyone knew that this bastard would really start a war.

Even people who are not familiar with him now know who Chen Zhengwei is.

At this time, Emperor Meiji and his ministers had no time to care about Chen Zhengwei. Emperor Meiji angrily said to his ministers: "If I agree to him, I will become a laughing stock! Japan will also become a laughing stock of the international community!"

"I would rather perish with him!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

"We can't go to war now!"

"We can take revenge later!"

"Don't you think about how the people will react if we agree to his request and word gets out? After so many years of hard work, our people have just gained some confidence... but now, the backbone of our nation will be broken! You, you, and you, every one of us will be nailed to the pillar of shame."

"I am willing to take full responsibility! I will apologize to the people of the whole country!" Left Minister Sanjo Sanemi gritted his teeth.

Japan is now transitioning from the Daijokan to the Cabinet, and the formation of a cabinet is a foregone conclusion.

By then there will be another group of more modern officials.

Someone must take responsibility for this matter. Left Minister Sanjo Sanetomi was willing to use his death to buy Japan some more time.

Hearing this, Emperor Meiji was silent for a moment.

If the Left Minister takes this responsibility, not only he but also his family will be nailed to the pillar of shame.

"It will only take ten years, only ten years!" Left Minister Sanjo Sanemi kept repeating, with tears in his eyes.

Just ten years! If Japan develops for another ten years, it won’t have to endure such humiliation again.

Chen Zhengwei stood at the door and watched Emperor Meiji and his ministers speaking Japanese. He then picked his ears, not understanding a word.

After a while, Emperor Meiji finally sat down.

Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru spoke with some suppressed anger and sadness: "What else do you want?"

"We Americans want to lease Ryukyu as a supply port!" Chen Zhengwei said with a smile.

The main hall fell into deathly silence again.

"John Bingham, is this America's plan?" Foreign Secretary Kaoru Inoue looked at the American minister.

John Bingham was silent for a moment and then said, "I believe the White House will not object to Mr. Chen's proposal!"

"These things are unreasonable and the stakes are serious! We need further consultation!"

Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru turned and glanced at the Emperor, then turned back and spoke.

If it was just now, they would still agree to it if it was just some compensation given to the other party, even though it was unreasonable and humiliating.

But now, Chen Zhengwei has added the lease of Ryukyu, so they can only use the tactic of procrastination.

Then find a way to resolve this matter through the intervention of other powers.

Unexpectedly, Chen Zhengwei turned around and walked out without saying a word, throwing down a sentence lightly.

"Since you have no sincerity, let's go to war! America and Japan!"

Hearing this, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.

If Chen Zhengwei had just shouted fiercely that he wanted to start a war, the pressure on everyone would not have been so great.

Although everyone knew that Chen Zhengwei could definitely do such a thing.

But it's more of a threat.

However, such a light sentence made everyone feel cold.

"Mr. Chen, wait a minute!" All the envoys from various countries stood up from their chairs.

Everyone hates Chen Zhengwei's behavior of starting a fight at the slightest disagreement, but it is this kind of person who gives people the most headaches.

At this time, envoys from many countries felt that Chen Zhengwei was a serious disruptor of order and a destabilizing factor.

It wasn't just the Russians who thought so; the British, French, Austro-Hungarians and Germans thought so too.

John Bingham was now in a state of confusion, but he couldn't speak.

"Can he represent the United States?" Foreign Secretary Kaoru Inoue looked at John Bingham and asked coldly.

"If it develops to that point, the White House will not reject him! Moreover, you may not be able to hold on until the White House intervenes." John Bingham could only say that Chen Zhengwei was fully capable of kidnapping the United States and launching a war against Japan.

Chen Zhengwei's fleet could bomb all Japanese ports without even the need for US intervention.

Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru also understood this. He turned his head to look at the Emperor and said with some pain:

"Please ask the Minister to mediate. We need some time to discuss!"

(End of this chapter)