The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 916 Ezo Kingdom

The Northeast Province gradually drifted away from the empire, and the conflict between the Prime Minister and the Emperor intensified, gradually reaching an irreconcilable point.

The imperial power structure dictated the decline of the emperor's power, the prosperity of commercialism, and the growth of the common people, creating a fertile ground for populism. The people were dissatisfied with neither the emperor nor the parliament, preferring simpler and more drastic methods to resolve international disputes.

Most people are hawks among hawks. If a war breaks out, many of them can bring their own food and rush to the battlefield to serve as cannon fodder.

To expect the cannon fodder to become aware of the situation would require a devastating defeat, perhaps even a sea of millions of lives.

This sea has not appeared yet.

The ruling order of the Great Qi in the eastern provinces was crumbling, and if the empire wanted to maintain its rule over the islands, it needed to continue to increase its troops.

Continuing to increase troops is obviously not worth the cost.

Not only did the natives of Japan oppose the Great Qi, but even the new immigrants who moved to various islands were very dissatisfied with colonial rule. Since the Tea Dumping Incident, people attacked the Qi army from all directions and from every corner.

As a result, the Qi army stationed in the eastern provinces was caught in an endless security war, with hundreds of elite soldiers killed or wounded every month...

This is a pain that the empire cannot bear.

Therefore, the emperor advocated following the general trend and gradually withdrawing from his rule over the eastern provinces.

Prime Minister Zhang Ruoting, however, had a different view.

He insisted that Wakoku was still the original Wakoku and could only serve as a source of raw materials and a dumping market for Da Qi (most people still had doubts about the latter because that land was extremely poor and people did not have a single extra copper coin).

This was the empire's darkest hour.

We must never bow to the rebels in the eastern provinces.

Yes, as a powerful figure in the empire, Zhang Ruoting shoulders the fate of the empire. If necessary, he will fight the emperor to the end.

"Prime Minister, are you determined to act on your own, incite public opinion, and ultimately declare war on the Eastern Provinces, dragging Da Qi into the quagmire of war?"

"Only if we are not afraid of war can we fight! Your Majesty, we can understand clearly that war is not something we can decide. The most important thing now is that if we give up the eastern provinces, the empire's rule in the Americas, Africa, Australia and other places will also collapse, and a century of great cause will be destroyed in an instant!..."

Liu Ye said dissatisfiedly: "Is this alarmist talk?"

"Every word I have just said is true. Your Majesty, please read this."

As Zhang Ruoting spoke, he handed the emperor a telegram covered with densely written British characters.

Liu Ye sneered, "Are the local officials also advocating for sending troops?"

"That's not the case." The Prime Minister paused for a moment, then continued, "The ultimatum sent from London was signed by George III, er, your Majesty's grandfather."

A trace of annoyance flashed across the emperor's face.

Since Liu Ye was born, George III has become his grandfather.

The emperor had never seen this cheap grandfather before.

This grandfather who is far away in London has repeatedly suppressed Tianxin City, always acting as a teacher of Qi State in the name of "freedom, justice and fairness", which is disgusting.

"Do you need a translator?"

Liu Ye flatly refused, "My English is good enough."

"Has the Prime Minister seen it?"

Prime Minister Zhang smiled and said, "Since it was sent to Your Majesty by the King of England, it would be inappropriate for me to read it without permission."

Zhang Ruoting couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, as if trying to overcome the huge joy in his heart. After he finished speaking, he stole a glance at the emperor out of the corner of his eye.

Liu Ye muttered to himself, "This seems to be the first time Da Qi has received such a document. Prime Minister, what is an ultimatum? Is my grandfather declaring war on me?"

Zhang Ruoting said dismissively, "An ultimatum is, of course, just some threats and intimidation, and self-aggrandizement. Your Majesty, don't be frightened by the British. Emperor Taizong Wen once said that the British are nothing but paper tigers, and the Princess also said so. If you fight, I will fight you to the end. The worst that can happen is that Da Qi will lose half its population..."

Zhang Tingyu's son suddenly stopped, probably because he felt that what he said was inappropriate.

"The British fear power rather than virtue. Your Majesty must not be fooled by them."

Liu Ye was very dissatisfied with Zhang Ruoting. If it were not for the gradual decline of imperial power, he would have replaced the rebellious Prime Minister Zhang long ago.

"The British are sending their navy. If Da Qi continues to increase its troops in the eastern provinces, I believe this will be an opportunity to break with the Europeans."

“It will exacerbate divisions in the country.”

"Your Majesty, it seems your grandfather has been bribed by those rebels."

"Do those immigrants have that much pounds?" Prime Minister Zhang laughed and said, "You don't need money to buy off a country like Britain."

Liu Ye narrowed his eyes: "What else do you know?"

"The rebels mortgaged the profits from Kyushu's major silver mines for the next thirty years to the East India Company in exchange for support from London!"

The emperor sighed deeply: "It seems that the British are determined to stir up trouble in this matter?"

Liu Ye didn't want to involve the British, but there seemed to be no other way to stop the British from taking action.

Seeing the emperor's hesitation, Zhang Ruoting struck while the iron was hot: "Your Majesty, do you agree to send troops to Japan to completely resolve the problem of the eastern provinces?"

"No comment!"

~~~~~~~
During the days when the volcanic gunfire rang out, the British Kingdom's hostility towards Da Qi reached a peak.

On March 28, King George III of the United Kingdom commissioned Thomas, the ambassador to Qi, to issue an ultimatum to the Qi Parliament. The British side demanded that Qi respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Emishi Kingdom and stop persecuting the legitimate political demands of the local people.

Prior to this, the United Council of the four major islands in the Eastern Province jointly issued a statement declaring the Eastern Province independent as Ezo Province (transliteration).

Such a name sounds very strange, but according to the original meaning of the Japanese language, it means the country rising far away in the east.

The whole of Britain is full of interest in this country where the sun rises in the East, and supports the nation-building efforts of new immigrants from all over the world.

Therefore, this not only conforms to the traditional values of the British Kingdom, but also becomes an important bargaining chip to contain the expansion of the power of Da Qi.

Yes, Emishi will become an important bargaining chip to contain the expansion of Qi's power.

If Qi insisted on taking any repressive action against Ezo's independence, the British Royal Navy would take any action they deemed necessary, including but not limited to sending reinforcements to Kyushu and other places, raising tariffs on Qi, and restricting the export of key technical equipment such as engines, telegraphs, and textile machines to Qi.

In that case, Da Qi will face serious problems such as lack of resources and unsold goods - although these problems have always existed.

Fundamentally, the British had always treated Qi as a chess piece and never truly considered it a player of equal strength.

Regardless of whether the British were motivated by justice or selfishness, from the perspective of Tianxin City, Old George's demands were unreasonable.

The members of parliament in Tianxin City were outraged and criticized the clauses listed by the British one by one.

Most people believe that compared to sending troops to the eastern provinces, the shameless act of restricting exports is more infuriating!
Everyone knows that Qi is a commercial country and will die without foreign trade.

On the second day after the British issued the ultimatum, the Prime Minister ordered the Ministry of Rites and the Foreign Affairs Court of the Great Qi to hold a press conference to announce to all countries the Great Qi's tough attitude to suppress the eastern provinces.

On the first day of April, Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Rites angrily said to a group of foreign journalists:
"Britain's actions are undoubtedly a closed-door policy, a step backward in history, a step against the tide, a self-defeating move, and the opposite of global unity!"

"We urge the Kingdom of Britain to immediately cease interfering in the affairs of the Great Qi. The Eastern Province is Qi's inherent territory, established during the reign of Emperor Taizu. It is an inseparable part of the Great Qi. The British have no right to interfere!"

"Never underestimate Da Qi's determination to defend its colonial rule! Never!"

Minister Zhao, with his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, was still speaking passionately on the stage. Reporters and ambassadors from various countries in the hall could no longer bear to listen. However, in such an important diplomatic occasion, despite their impatience, everyone still had to insist on listening.

Minister Zhao's throat became dry after half an hour of rambling speech. He paused to drink a sip of water, then scanned the venue with a gaze that looked down upon the universe. He continued:

"No one has the right to act like a mentor and point fingers at Da Qi! For a long time, the British Kingdom has suppressed and restricted Da Qi in every possible way, often attacking Da Qi with the hypocritical concepts of freedom, equality, and the rule of law, saying that Da Qi's 400 million compatriots live in misery, like hell! In the face of the Da Qi Parliament's repeated goodwill, your country always ignores it! Here, I want to give your ambassador an idiom: A dog bites Lu Dongbin, not knowing the kindness of a good person!"

……

Two hours later, it was finally time for reporters to ask questions.

Minister Zhao, with his sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, looked around the venue, forcing a smile from his tense face, trying to appear pleasant.
"Okay, now it's time for questions. I'll give you five minutes. Please don't ask the same question repeatedly, and try not to waste the time of other foreign friends. Also, don't ask meaningless questions, and don't ask questions that have already been asked. Also, pay attention to the time limit and try to compress your questions into the shortest possible time..."

Minister Zhao spoke at length for another three minutes, and only stopped when the time came to the last two minutes, feeling that he was still not satisfied.

As soon as the Da Qi spokesperson put down the microphone, a blond-haired, blue-eyed male reporter quickly raised his hand.

"Okay, please welcome this reporter."

The reporter was about to stand up when he saw Minister Zhao shaking his hand and saying:

"It's not you, it's the lady behind you!"

The female reporter was sure that she was being called, so she stood up and introduced herself as a reporter from the Times.

"Ma'am, please ask your question."

“Thank you, spokesperson.”

Full of confidence, she opened the document in her hand and began to ask questions to the Da Qi spokesperson:
"Will the Empire send reinforcements to the Eastern Provinces? As far as I know, your army just suffered a heavy defeat at the Unknown Volcano..."