The sun never sets

"Alas, it's not your fault."

Kotoku Shusui shook his head and said, "Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened, listen to only one side and you will be in the dark. The government only lets you hear one voice, and you can only listen to what they say. That's why I wrote articles in the Wanchao Newspaper. Chairman Lin said something very good, people should have the ability to think independently. No matter what the matter is, don't believe it easily. Ask first if it is true, and then ask why."

The topic of the reading club changed from war to politics. Kotoku Shusui had become interested in politics twenty years ago. He was very knowledgeable and could break down principles so that ordinary people could understand them. But it was also because of this that the Japanese government authorities were very wary of him. Even when the relationship with the People's Party eased, they continued to send military and police to monitor him.

Kotoku Shusui was explaining some of the contents of the first volume of Lin Yongchang's Selected Works to the young people. Suddenly, someone shouted, "The police are coming!" He immediately stopped his speech and said, "Okay, that's all for today. Remember to ask yourself two questions about everything: is it true, and why? Dismissed!"

He himself was not afraid of death, but he did not want to implicate others, especially these young people. The young people stood up, bowed to Kotoku Shusui, and then left one after another. When they came out, they saw the police and army officers on the side of the street, and their eyes were filled with resentment, but their steps quickened a bit.

The Japanese police and army are institutions that suppress the people. They will not hesitate to arrest and kill people. It is not only Japan, but also other countries. The young people are sensible and know not to do anything radical, otherwise, the government's minions will take advantage of the situation. It is nothing to be beaten, but if it involves the husband, it will be a hundred deaths.

After the young men had left, the gloomy-faced military policeman came over and said coldly, "Kotoku Shusui, Mr. Ito invites you to come over for a chat."

"Mr. Ito" is the famous Ito Hirobumi, one of the founders of the Meiji Restoration, the first Prime Minister of Japan, the President of the Japanese Privy Council, the President of the House of Peers, the first Director of Korea, the father of the Meiji Constitution, and the founder of the Constitutional Seiyukai. He was promoted to Junior First Rank and Great Order of Merit.

Facing such an important invitation, Kotoku Shusui remained calm, without the usual panic and nervousness of the Japanese. The army officer also came over and said with a smile: "Count Ito's carriage is over there. Do you want to go directly there, or go back and wash up first?"

Kotoku Shusui looked at the young officer in front of him and asked, "Who are you?"

He knew the policeman, he was one of the people who was in charge of guarding him, and they often met each other, but he had never seen this officer before. The young officer smiled and said, "I am Daijukuya Shishin, and I am here to invite Mr. Kotoku on the orders of Lord Ito."

Kotoku Shusui nodded and said, "Wait a moment, let me clean up. After all, we are going to meet Ito Hirobumi, so we can't lose our manners."

Dajuewu Shizhen smiled and said:

"Please help yourself."

Ito Hirobumi founded the Constitutional Friends Association with the purpose of controlling the Japanese political arena. The reason was that his budget and land tax increase proposals were rejected by the parliament at that time. Three years ago, after he resigned as prime minister, he founded a political party by himself, despite the dissuasion of Yamagata Aritomo and others. The party was based on bureaucrats and politicians. As soon as it was established, it disintegrated the Constitutional Party (formerly the Liberal Party) and split the Constitutional Party (formerly the Progressive Party). It has 100 million members and has become the most powerful conservative party.

In his speech at the founding party conference, Ito called on "people engaged in agriculture, industry, and commerce" to join the party, but he did not call on big landlords, big businessmen, and factory owners like the People's Party did, to seek welfare for farmers and workers. In the previous imperial conference, the reason why he said he wanted to learn from the People's Party to "divide the land and exempt rent" was just a means of "two steps forward and one step back", and he did not really want to do so. If he really did that, the Constitutional Party would split, and Ito Hirobumi had not made such a decision.

There were various factions within the People's Party, and the same was true within the Meiji government. Yamagata Aritomo and others dissuaded Ito Hirobumi not out of consideration for national interests, but out of consideration for their own interests. The Choshu and Satsuma domains divided the army and navy, but did not completely control the Meiji government. There were still many generals and officers who were not from Choshu and Satsuma in the army.

The people of Choshu wanted to completely control the army, the people of Satsuma wanted to completely control the navy, and Ito Hirobumi wanted to control both the army and the navy. He was very ambitious. Whatever people from Choshu and Satsuma were, they were all the country's army! The army should obey the command of the government. And Ito Hirobumi was the one who commanded the government.

Yamagata Aritomo and others saw this and spoke out to dissuade them. Facts have proved that Yamagata Aritomo and Katsura Taro were right to worry. After Ito Hirobumi established the Constitutional Seiyukai, his influence grew and surpassed that of either the Choshu or Satsuma clans.

The army was defeated in succession and faced with the issue of military budget deficit, which made it increasingly sluggish. The navy was wooed by Ito Hirobumi and had an ambiguous attitude. In the current Meiji government, Ito Hirobumi could not have the final say, but judging from the situation, it was estimated that sooner or later such a day would come.

Chapter 280: mm

Ito Hirobumi was also a pragmatist. As long as it was useful, he didn't care about the means. This may be related to his experience in his youth. When he was young, Ito Hirobumi, like many Japanese youths, was obsessed with the idea of "respecting the emperor and expelling the barbarians". He once burned down the newly built British embassy in Shinagawa Gotenyama with a dozen ronin.

However, after going to study in Britain and seeing the capitalism and material civilization of the British Empire with his own eyes, his thoughts changed. Ito Hirobumi realized that blindly expelling foreigners based solely on a passion to defend national independence was not the best strategy. Only by establishing a country and learning from the West could he accomplish the great cause of overthrowing the shogunate.

In the decades after the Meiji Restoration, he had been trying to turn Japan into the Britain of the East, copying Britain's political system in its entirety, until Japan's path became narrower and narrower and he himself was exhausted by party struggles. Only then did he decide to establish his own party and issue orders.

After the rise of the People's Party, Ito Hirobumi organized people to study Lin Yongchang's theory and system, and obtained a lot of useful information. He himself did not care about what system or concept to use, as long as it was useful. Japan learned the British navy and military system, and the French army. When the Battle of Sedan achieved a famous scene of humiliating France, Japan quickly abandoned the French army and turned to learn from the German army. He agreed with all of this.

As long as it is useful, all should be used, and the strengths of the People's Party can naturally be learned. But Japan is not China, and Japan's national conditions are very different from China's. Apart from other things, he tentatively mentioned a less important thing at the Imperial Conference, which immediately attracted the joint siege of the army, navy, banking and finance departments, and he could only bow and apologize immediately.

Japan does not have a vast territory like China, and given the current situation, if Ito Hirobumi dares to continue in the direction of the People's Party, he will probably end up like Saigo Takamori. Then he can only learn from the good example of Britain and fight for colonies all over the world. But this is no longer the era of great navigation, and there are not so many places to colonize. After all the calculations, he can only go back to the original path, borrow money to expand the army and fight, and use the spoils to repay the money after winning.

What if we lose the war? If we lose the war, what's the point?

Under pressure from the British, the Japanese government formulated a battle plan to seize Sakhalin Island, Vladivostok and other places, but the military believed that those territories were far from enough to solve domestic problems, and the army secretly formulated another battle plan. The appetite of the new plan was very large, and it was like putting the whole of Japan on the gambling table.

Ito Hirobumi did not agree with the army's crazy ideas, but he could not stop them. After the defeat in Liaodong, the situation in Japan became worse and worse. The communists were driven away, but as long as the domestic economic situation continued to deteriorate, various non-citizens would continue to emerge.

Without the red elements, there are still blue elements and green elements. Instead of wasting energy in endless internal struggles, it is better to put all the chips on the table. Why can the People's Party withstand the pressure from the British? It is because they can fight. As long as the Japanese army shows stronger combat effectiveness than the People's Army, Japan can regain its lost national destiny.

come back!

Before the real plan is exposed, it is necessary to show goodwill, and people like Kotoku Shusui can be used.

Kneeling on the tatami, Ito Hirobumi closed his eyes and pondered the situation in East Asia. There were footsteps outside, the door was opened, and the guard's voice came in, "Sir, Kotoku Shusui is here."

Ito Hirobumi opened his eyes, stood up and walked to the door, put on his wooden clogs, and walked quickly along the eaves towards the main door. When he saw Kotoku Shusui, a smile appeared on his face. "Mr. Kotoku, I have heard of your name for a long time, but unfortunately I have never met you. Today I am finally able to meet you."

Kotoku Shusui was not moved by Ito Hirobumi's overtures. His face was stern, but he did not lose his courtesy, "President Ito!"

The British planned to control the world according to their own ideas, but the Japanese had their own ideas. Similarly, the People's Party also had its own plans. In March, the ice and snow had not completely melted, and fighting had already begun between the white mountains and black waters in the northeast.

After gradually resisting, the People's Army withdrew the troops that had penetrated into the area between Qiqihar and Harbin, lifting the semi-encirclement of Qiqihar. The People's Army retreated, intending to attract the Russian army to pursue, and then see if they could seize the opportunity to annihilate one or two regiments. However, the Russian army was not fooled, and they withdrew to their stronghold after chasing for a distance.

After the failure of the attack on western Liaoning, Nicholas changed his previous combat methods and started digging trenches like the People's Army. Trenches, barbed wire, mines, heavy machine guns and cannons are not difficult to learn. Britain, the United States and other countries did not care about the new tactics and methods that appeared in the Liaoxi Campaign, and St. Petersburg did not take the Chinese gadgets seriously, but Grand Duke Nicholas could not help but pay attention.

The bodies of Russian soldiers hanging on the barbed wire often appeared in Nicholas's dreams, keeping him awake at night. After repelling the Japanese, Grand Duke Nicholas had a section of the line built in imitation of the People's Army's position, and then conducted military exercises. The result of the exercise was clear: unless heavy-caliber howitzers were used to blow up those positions, at least twice the casualties would have to be paid to achieve a breakthrough.

To deal with enemies hiding in trenches, using mortars that can bend the fire will be more effective, but that requires a large number of mortars and more shells. He once wrote to St. Petersburg, wanting to imitate the People's Army's 82mm mortar, and sent out samples.

There were no large arsenals in the Far East, and there was a lack of skilled engineers and workers, so only a few mortars could be modified. St. Petersburg and Moscow did not have these problems. In theory, the structure of the mortar was not complicated. It was essentially an improvement on the mortar. St. Petersburg should have been able to quickly produce hundreds or thousands of mortars, but it did not.

St. Petersburg did not send hundreds or thousands of 82mm mortars, but four 280mm mortars were sent by sea. Things in Russia are so bad that there are always some strange situations. When Grand Duke Nicholas received the cannons, he began to think about how to transport these heavy cannons to Jinzhou City.

But no matter how hard they thought, they couldn't find a good solution. The People's Army's defensive positions were strong, but their fighting style emphasized "mobility" and "flexibility". By the time these 280mm mortars were pulled onto the battlefield, the Chinese had already run away. Moreover, these cannons had a limited number of shells, and one less shell was fired. It wouldn't take long for them to be useless.

Nicholas Romanov Nicholas could only comfort himself that it was better to have them than not, and that they would be more advantageous when defending the city. He decided to hold on to the fortresses and strongholds first, and then switch from defense to offense after the 500,000 troops promised by the Tsar arrived.

Before that, use Chinese tactics to fight the Chinese. Thinking of this, Grand Duke Nicholas and many Russian generals felt very happy.

Chapter 263 Tractor

Facing the defense system composed of barbed wire, trenches and minefields, the People's Army did not have any good solutions. Lin Yongchang introduced a tractor factory from the United States, but that factory now only produces tractors, not tanks. It's not that they don't want to, but they can't. Even if they can barely put together one or two, it won't be of much use.

Marshal Lin could also order 100 tanks from Germany or the Americans, and use "multiple rivets and steam-rigid"... Well, it's better to use gasoline or diesel engines for tanks, steam engines won't work. Don't make multiple turrets, rivet structures and rigid suspensions don't matter, the worst thing is that the reliability is not very good, and the driver will curse all day long.

The idea of ordering from abroad was also considered, but after repeated consideration, it was abandoned. It was not because of the fear of the design concept being leaked, but because the current technology could not meet the requirements of crushing trenches. If he really wanted to make a practical tank, Lin Yongchang had to first come up with a high-power engine, a new transmission system, a new smoothbore gun, and a lot of pre-techniques.

Even with the blueprints and technology, it would still take a long time to manufacture a qualified tank. It was not enough to have the principles and technology alone, but the manufacturing capacity of the entire country must be greatly improved. Helping Germany or the United States to improve their national strength? It was not impossible, at least it could help share some of the pressure from Britain.

But it was too late in time. By the time the tanks were built, it was too late to make any progress.

Therefore, facing Russia

The People's Army chose to avoid the barbed wire and trenches of the Russians as much as possible, bypass them if possible, or dig a trench in parallel to trap the Russians. People always need to eat. The Russians have too many troops piled up in the Northeast, and the supplies cannot keep up. Many people have not eaten enough for a long time.

The People's Army's supply situation was much better than that of the Russians. After several years, the railway had been built to Jinzhou and extended to Daling River, and the efficiency of transporting supplies and troops increased by more than ten times. The Russians also built railways to Harbin, but before connecting to the core areas of Europe, the Russian army in the Northeast could only rely on the Far East of Russia, mainly the Primorsky Province, for supplies.

The Russian population in the Far East has always been small. In 1862, the Russian Empire issued a decree to encourage immigration to the Far East, but it was abolished after only three years. Before the railway was built, it was difficult to get people to cross Siberia and settle in Primorsky Province.

With the population and output of Russia in the Far East, it was not possible to support an army of 300,000 or 400,000. Most of the food still had to be shipped from Europe or purchased from the United States. Grand Duke Nicholas tried his best, but he could only feed the soldiers 60% to 70% full. He could not use all the precious transportation capacity to transport food. He also needed to transport machine guns, cannons, barbed wire, military uniforms, boots and other things.

Even in such a difficult environment, the Russians continued to send more troops to the Far East. Lin Yongchang had to admire the Russians' tenacity, and was more determined to drive the Russians out as soon as possible, even if there were Japanese troops on the side. The Russians wanted to wait for the Chinese to attack, so the People's Army would attack.

Since April, the People's Army has carried out large-scale mobilization. Trains run on the railway lines day and night, transporting a large number of troops and technical weapons to the front line. Because of the absolute advantage in "intelligence", the General Staff has a clear understanding of the Russian army's troop deployment and has formulated a targeted combat plan.

Each unit on the front line was assigned a clear combat mission, either blocking or concentrating superior forces to encircle and annihilate the enemy, and some were responsible for building bridges, clearing mines, and other tasks. The transport team was also clearly arranged. In addition, Rokossovsky's infantry regiment changed into Russian uniforms and took Mosin-Nagant rifles, preparing to sabotage the Russian rear after the battle was launched.

As before, Lin Yongchang handed over domestic affairs to others, and personally led the troops to Jinzhou, ready to make adjustments at any time according to the progress of the war, and to bring the [Mongol Iron Cavalry] and [Guards] to join the battlefield at critical moments, or to deal with certain emergencies.

Any kind of situation may arise during a war, so you must always have a strong reserve force on hand.

If it was thirty years at night, radio stations could be equipped in each unit, and command would be more handy. If it was thirty years in the morning... Considering the huge number of troops in the Crimean War, there were also many warring troops thirty years ago, but at least there were not so many railways, so they could fight more flexibly.

It’s not bad now, both handy and flexible.

The Russian army learned from the People's Army how to dig trenches and put up barbed wire, but they only learned the basics. Defense is not about holding on to the enemy's position and getting hit. You can't just stand there and wait for the enemy to attack you. You can't just stand there and wait for the enemy to attack you. The purpose of defense is to consume the enemy's manpower and morale, and accumulate advantages for the next decisive battle.

But from the deployment of the Russian army, Grand Duke Nicholas did not understand this. Perhaps he understood it, but he just had no way to solve the problem. The Russian army could learn from the People's Army to dig trenches, but they were too clumsy and could not adopt flexible tactics, so they could only do this.

More flexible tactics require high morale, officers with sufficient tactical awareness, and soldiers to exercise subjective initiative. The morale of the Russian army was not high, but it was better than before. After Nicholas's reorganization, the overall quality of Russian generals improved, but the serfs certainly could not exercise subjective initiative.

Gray animals are generally illiterate, and they are best at bayonet fighting rather than performing complex tactical tasks. Commanding such soldiers, the Russians have few tactical options, which naturally makes them look very dull. The Russian army is mainly deployed in several large cities and along the railways. It seems that the defense is impenetrable, but in fact there are loopholes everywhere. East Asia is not Europe. There is no dense railway network, and it is impossible to build trenches all the way to the sea.

Here, they could either concentrate their forces along the railway line to fight a big battle. This was the Russian intention. Grand Duke Nicholas was ready to launch a thundering attack after obtaining enough troops and artillery. He had done the same thing before, but the number of troops and artillery was insufficient, and the flanks were not well defended. The Russians always thought like this, the big stick would solve all problems, and if it didn't solve the problem, then make it longer and thicker;

Or they can adopt a flexible and mobile approach to pull the enemy's forces and then destroy the enemy in a field battle, which is what the People's Army did in the past. This time, the People's Army will still do this, but on a larger scale, and wait until a sufficient number of Russian troops are annihilated in a field battle before attacking the Russian fortresses and positions.

If it really came to the point where they had to storm a fortress, they could not sacrifice human lives like the Japanese did, but instead fully utilize the power of artillery. Kodama Gentaro in another time and space did a very good job.

Chapter 264

Seems like an old friend

It was early April when Kotoku Shusui landed at Dagukou. The ice and snow had melted, but the weather was still a bit cold, and the ground was not yet dry, and there was mud everywhere. Kotoku Shusui took Ito Hirobumi's handwritten letter and did not directly contact the official agency of the People's Government, but first went to Tianjin City to find Funakoshi Fumio.

Funakoshi Fumio was checking the accounts with an abacus. He looked up inadvertently and saw Kotoku Shusui walking towards him. He was stunned, but the next moment, he jumped up from his chair, "Mr. Kotoku...long time no see!"

After fleeing from Japan to China, Fumio Funakoshi continued to do import and export business between China and Japan. His trading partners included Mitsui, Mitsubishi and other chaebols, as well as companies related to the Japanese military. He knew that the situation in Japan was getting worse and the Meiji government's rule was becoming more and more harsh, and he was always worried about Kotoku Shusui who stayed in Japan.

Seeing his old friend safe and sound, Funakoshi was so excited that he could hardly speak. He held Kotoku Shusui's hand and shook it vigorously, saying repeatedly: "It's good that he's okay, it's good that he's okay!"

Kotoku Shusui was not a martial artist, and his palm was pinched by Fumio Fumio until it hurt, and his smile twisted. Someone laughed and said, "If Master Funakoshi doesn't let go, Kotoku-san's palm will break."

Funakoshi Fumio then realized something was wrong and quickly let go. He laughed awkwardly twice and then asked the man next to him, "Who are you?"

He could tell that the man next to him was a Japanese, but he didn't know who he was. The man bowed slightly to Funakoshi Fumio and said, "I am Miyazaki Toranosaki, nice to meet you, Master Funakoshi."

Funakoshi suddenly realized, "It turned out to be Miyazaki-kun."

Miyazaki Toranosaki is also a well-known figure in Japan. Like Kotoku Shusui, he is considered a destabilizing factor by the Meiji government. However, unlike Kotoku Shusui, who focused on theoretical research and dissemination of knowledge, Miyazaki Toranosaki did not make any academic achievements, but actively worked hard to devote himself to the Chinese revolution.

He went to Shanghai in 1891, and later went to China several times to participate in the Huizhou Uprising led by Sun Yat-sen. After the uprising, he refused high positions and returned to Japan to seek sponsorship for Sun Yat-sen, but failed. Later, when the People's Party rose to power, Miyazaki Toranosaki met Kotoku Shusui and naturally became a member of Lin Yongchang's party.

He and Fumio Funakoshi knew each other, but due to various reasons, they had never met each other until today, when they met in Tianjin. Fumio Funakoshi also bowed and saluted, then stood up and said happily: "This is really great, meeting two good friends in one day!"

Kotoku Shusui smiled and said, "You and Miyazaki have never met before. When did you become good friends?"

Miyazaki Toten said: "Although we have never met, we have similar interests, so we are good friends!"

Funakoshi: “That’s right!”

Then he slapped his forehead again and said, "Why didn't you send me a telegram before you came, otherwise I could have come to pick you up."

"Because Kotoku and I are both poor." Miyazaki Toten asked in confusion: "Even so, why did you slap your forehead?"

Funakoshi Fumio said helplessly: "I was only halfway through the calculation, but I was so happy that I forgot everything now. I have to start all over again later!"

Miyazaki Toten was stunned at first, then burst into laughter. He laughed unrestrainedly, attracting many people's attention, but he didn't take it seriously at all. Funakoshi Fumio also laughed, but as he laughed, his eyes became moist, and the same was true for Kotoku Shusui.

An hour later, Miyazaki Toranosuke patted his belly and said, "I haven't eaten so much in a long time, Master Funakoshi, you are a very rich man now."

“I made some money, but I was able to help too few people.”

Fumio Funakoshi was not good at running a business. He was a martial artist, good at fighting, but not good at running a business. However, because he had the support of the People's Party, the business of his company grew bigger and bigger. Even the Japanese army and navy came to buy and sell things. It was not bad to make money.

After earning some money, Funakoshi Fumio used it to help the people, especially the children. He was a martial artist with superb martial arts skills, known as the best kung fu fighter in Japan, but he was very soft-hearted and not tough enough. When he was a coach, he would spend most of his salary on helping others, and now he is the president, he still does so.

Kotoku Shusui said: "We should do what we can and have a clear conscience. We should do as much as we can."

"You're right!" Funakoshi nodded, then asked, "Why did you two come to Tianjin together? I remember Miyazaki-kun went to Guangzhou, and now he should be giving advice to Sun Yat-sen."

Kotoku Shusui took out a handwritten letter from Ito Hirobumi and said, "This is what former Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi asked me to pass on to Mr. Lin Yongchang."

Funakoshi Fumio's face turned gloomy. He touched his left shoulder, where he had been injured before and felt a dull pain every time it rained. "What does Ito Hirobumi mean by this?"

Miyazaki Toranosuke said from the side: "Maybe they want to ease the relationship with China."

"Humph, I don't think he has any good intentions."

Miyazaki Toranosuke refused to be recruited by the Army during the Sino-Japanese War because he believed it was an unjust war.

"I think so too, but as long as there is a chance to improve the relationship between China and Japan, we should not give up even if there is only a slight chance."

Kotoku Shusui said: "As long as the Japanese government does not change its current policies, Sino-Japanese relations will not improve. Even if they improve, the government (Japan) will not reduce its oppression of its people."

Miyazaki Toten smiled and said, "If the relationship improves, won't we be able to spread advanced ideas in the country better?"

Funakoshi Fumio said: "Mr. Miyazaki has a point. How about this, I will take you to see Huo Yuanjia. He should be able to contact Mr. Lin directly."

"Thank you, Mr. Funakoshi."

Huo Yuanjia was the mayor of Tianjin. He was usually very busy, and even busier at this time when the war in Northeast China became fierce again. However, after hearing that Funakoshi Fumio was visiting, he immediately took time out to meet with several people. After hearing about the arrival of several people, Huo Yuanjia sent a telegram to Taiyuan, and received a reply a day later, saying that someone would take several people to Jinzhou to meet Chairman Lin.

"Mr. Lin is in Jinzhou?"

Miyazaki Toranosuke asked the question, but before anyone else could answer, he answered it affirmatively, "Mr. Lin must be in Jinzhou!"

Chapter 265: What We Saw

The person who came to contact me was wearing the uniform of the People's Army, but he was obviously a Japanese. When Chinese people meet, they say "hello" instead of bending over and saying "Kong Ni Ji Wa".

"Sora, you're so anxious."

"Sora, you're so anxious."

Major Nagao raised his head and said, "I have been ordered to come here to bring Mr. Kotoku Shusui and Mr. Miyazaki Toten to Jinzhou. Master Funakoshi, are these the people I am looking for?" He had once studied "Kara Te" at Funakoshi Fumio's dojo, so he performed the disciple etiquette as soon as he arrived, appearing very respectful.