Dominate the Country

"Your Majesty, war reports have come from Japan. The Southeast Navy has captured Kagoshima, and the Satsuma daimyo Shimazu Shigehiro committed suicide by disembowelment."

In October, the climate in Nanjing was already a little cold. Chen Ming received an urgent military intelligence message from Xinjiang a few days ago, and his attention had already turned to Lake Balkhash.

Looking up from a pile of documents sent by the Grand Commandery, Chen Ming looked at Liu Wu with a smile on his face.

Shimazu Shigehiro is dead? Satsuma is over, this is good news.

Chen Ming didn't know much about Japan at this time before, but when he got to know it in depth, he quickly noticed Shimazu Shigehiro, the lord of Satsuma.

This lord, who was called 'Takawa Shima Shogun' because of his short stature, was the eighth lord of the Shimazu family in the Edo period. He was not very old, five years older than Chen Ming, and he came to power very early, and it has been more than ten years now.

As for his domestic affairs ability after he took control of the real power of Satsuma, there was no aspect that people paid attention to, but many of his actions were criticized. Chen Ming values ​​him because of his political inclination and his courage to realize his imagination.

Before Shimazu Shigehiro, the Shimazu clan had a miserable life. They were repeatedly suppressed by the shogunate, and the clan debts were high and the finances were difficult. Because of the peace in Japan, military force lost its greatest value, and wealth became the standard for the Hengliang clan. Satsuma, a major feudal lord in Japan that was once famous for its strong military, directly fell into the status of a discriminated countryman.

It has been eight generations since the Shimazu Shigehiro era, and there is not even a clan school in the clan. Most other clans have clan schools, and some even have a long history.

Japan's clan schools are equivalent to China's official schools. They are clan schools aimed at cultivating the Chinese learning literacy of samurai children. The teaching content covers four categories of Chinese ancient books, classics, history, and collections, but pays special attention to the study of classics and history. The Four Books and Five Classics, "Elementary School", "Book of Filial Piety", "Historical Records", and "Eighteen Historical Briefs" are compulsory subjects in most clan schools.

Although the Satsuma Domain had long planned to build a domain school, they were short of money and had been constrained by financial constraints and had never been able to implement it.

It was Shimazu Shigehiro who insisted on raising funds from various sources, which eventually promoted the establishment of the Satsuma Domain School. 3,400 square meters of land were acquired outside the domain castle of Kagoshima Ninomaru, and the building style and facilities were modeled after the shogunate's Yushima Seido and Changpingzaka Academy. When this domain school named Zoshikan was just initially built, Shimazu Shigehiro ordered the construction of a medical hall to study Chinese medicine, and also opened the "Yoshino Medicine Garden" in the domain as an affiliate of the medical hall. He also formulated the "Eight Rules of School" as an educational standard based on the medical hall in Edo. After encountering setbacks in the Ryukyu Islands, Shimazu Shigehiro hooked up with the Dutch and the British on the one hand, and on the other hand, with the help of the Dutch, he established an astronomical museum, which was affiliated with Zoshikan.

Shimazu Shigehiro is the most "intoxicated" daimyo with orchid addiction in Japan today. Chen Ming really didn't remember his name, but the three words "Satsuma Domain" led by Shimazu Shigehiro left a deep impression in Chen Ming's memory.

Okubo Toshimichi, Saigo Takamori, Saigo Tsumichi, Oyama Iwao, Togo Heihachiro, Yamamoto Gonbei...

Before and after the Meiji Restoration in Japan, Satsuma Domain was full of talents and was an important force in Japan's political and military structure. Now from the perspective of God, it is obvious that the direct creator of this fact in the original time and space is Shimazu Shigehiro, who is still called "Foolish King" by many Japanese.

"Let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs send a second batch of envoys to Japan and follow the previous plan." Chen Ming took the letter handed over by Liu Wu, and even the war situation in the northwest was no longer important. No one else in the world knows the bitterness in his heart at this moment.

"Burning down the castle town of Kagoshima..., hahaha, good, good, well done, well done."

Chen Ming laughed silently. Who cares how many Japanese people were killed in that fire? Just thinking about a big fire burning down a Japanese city, he felt so happy. Moreover, this move seriously disrupted the course of Japanese history. The butterfly effect made Chen Ming firmly believe that the change in the "fate" of Satsuma Domain would eventually affect the fate of the entire Japan.

Chen Ming roared silently, his facial expression as ferocious as a demon.

Chen Ming could not return all the hatred from his previous life to Japan in this time and space. He could not repay the deaths and injuries of 30 to 40 million soldiers and civilians in the eight-year war of resistance against Japan by slaughtering the entire Japanese archipelago. However, the hatred for Japan accumulated from watching anti-Japanese war movies could not be easily erased from his heart. Yes, it was quite rewarding to train Japan in this era like a dog, but this feeling was not as comfortable as the open burning, killing and looting. Especially after he had a secret connection with the Tokugawa shogunate, he even had to take the feelings of the Tokugawa shogunate into consideration when he attacked Japan. How could he have such a smooth thought now?

He was really happy all over. Especially after the Southeast Navy had such an experience, the Tokugawa shogunate would also be secretly grateful to Chen Ming, because they never regarded a military stronghold like Satsuma as their own.

In the late shogunate period of history, Satsuma had a profound influence in Kyoto and Edo. That was also because Shimazu Shigetaka gave birth to a large number of children in the years to come, and then he used these children to constantly make foreign marriages, and his daughter even married the next general of the shogunate. But now Shimazu Shigetaka is only in his early thirties, and his eldest son is only three years old.

The relationship between Satsuma and the Tokugawa shogunate has not eased significantly, let alone changed directly. China cleaned up Satsuma, and the Tokugawa shogunate would only applaud secretly.

After the Southeast Navy knocked off Kagoshima and destroyed the main force controlled by the Satsuma lord, it would not sweep the entire Kyushu Island, but would reach the Kii Channel between Shikoku and Honshu Island as soon as possible. This is an important waterway from the Seto Inland Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The pressure on the Japanese is much greater than that of Kagoshima, but it will not go further into the Seto Inland Sea.

Both sides still have to negotiate. After letting the Japanese truly see the power of the Chinese Navy and then let them see the miserable appearance of Satsuma, they can deeply remember this lesson.

Moreover, the Southeast Navy also has to wait for the arrival of the Northern Navy fleet. After the two sides meet, they will go straight to Osaka.

As for whether doing so will make Japan experience the pain of historical change in advance - this is much more shocking than the "black ship attack" brought to Japan, allowing them to "reform and strengthen" in advance. Chen Ming is not worried at all. Without Korea and China as Japan's nourishment, how strong can Japan be even if it wants to be self-reliant?

In history, Japan dug a big piece of meat from the corrupt giant elephant of the Qing Dynasty and swallowed Korea, and then successfully stood up. Is it still possible now?

A lone wolf goes back to challenge a strong and weak buffalo, but a puppy will never challenge a tiger coming down the mountain. What's more, the current era is different from the era a hundred years later. The presence of Westerners in the Far East is still too weak.

As a small country with limited means of production, Japan's road to independence and self-reliance can only be to slowly train a modern army, and I am afraid that even the navy will be limited in scale. Because to develop the navy on a large scale, Japan must first have sufficient funds and steel.

Besides, there is also a question of whether they will open up their country or not. If they open up their country, what will happen to Japan's economy? And if they don't open up their country, when will Japan have a strong shipbuilding capability? When will their self-efforts be truly self-reliant?

The most important thing is that the domestic situation in Japan is that the shogunate and the feudal domains coexist, and the shogunate and the local daimyo have never been in agreement. There is also a royal family in the middle. They may be able to develop a strong enough force overall, but this force cannot be unified under the same banner.

The military power of the shogunate and the military power of the local feudal domains are growing relatively. If the former's military power grows, the latter's military power will also grow, otherwise the latter may be suppressed by the shogunate; and if the latter's military power grows, the shogunate must also run to keep up, otherwise the shogunate may be overthrown.

Such a force can only be brave for a while, but it cannot be stabilized for a long time.

Besides, even if Japan's military power is strong for a while, Chen Ming has great confidence that the Japanese can't turn the world upside down.

Chen Ming has never planned to slap Japan to death, and he is not prepared to deal with Japan like he did with Korea. Chen Ming taught Japan a lesson, and then he will plan a path for Japan. As long as Japan is obedient, Chen Han can solve all the problems faced by the Tokugawa shogunate.

This path is not "self-strengthening". If the Japanese want to "strengthen themselves", Chen Ming will not fail to see it. If the Tokugawa shogunate is not obedient, then the Japanese emperor must exist. Chen Han, who supports the shogunate, is not incapable of supporting local daimyo in turn.

As long as the balance of power between the local lords and the Tokugawa shogunate is maintained, as long as Japan is not "unified", Japan will always be a turtle.

As for the day when the local lords will take the initiative to give up their rights, and then the Japanese regime will be unified and speak with one voice...

Hehe, that's too fantasy.

If people do not benefit themselves, they will be punished by heaven and earth. For the sake of the great public, you can be "selfless", but for the sake of the great public, you can sacrifice yourself to benefit others, which is terrifying. There may be such a person in the world, but it is definitely a "rare animal", and the number is very small.

As far as Chen Ming knows, taking the Satsuma domain as an example, its last lord Shimazu Tadayoshi hated the influential figures of the Meiji era such as Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori. After the death of the previous lord Shimazu Nariakira, Shimazu Tadayoshi, who became the lord of the domain, failed to control the power of Satsuma Domain. At that time, the real power of the domain was held by his adoptive grandfather Qixing, his biological father Hisamitsu, important minister Saigo Takamori, and Okubo Toshimichi. Tadayoshi himself had no power at all. After the Meiji Restoration, he implemented the return of the land and population together with the Choshu Domain, Tosa Domain, and Saga Domain. Although he was nominally the governor of Satsuma Domain, the actual domain affairs were managed by Saigo Takamori. After the abolition of the domain and establishment of prefectures in 1871, he was conferred the title of Duke. Living in Tokyo under the order of the government was even more of a de facto house arrest.

Therefore, Shimazu Tadayoshi himself hated Saigo and Okubo very much, and was neutral in the Southwest War of 1877 with a laughing stock attitude. It was not until 1888 in the Western calendar that he returned to Kagoshima with the permission of the Japanese government.

Shimazu Tadayoshi was far more than the lord of the domain who had such an experience.

In that era, many feudal lords were sidelined by their family elders, especially many powerful outer daimyo. Because of the "Sankin-kotai" policy that the Tokugawa shogunate relied on to stabilize the world, the daimyo of each domain had to go to Edo every year to perform government affairs for the shogun for a period of time, and then return to their own territory to perform government affairs. Japan is a typical country with many mountains and little land, and transportation is inconvenient. The time a daimyo spends in Edo is strictly stipulated, and the journey to Edo takes a lot of time. Often a daimyo only spends one-third of his time in his territory, and the other two-thirds of his time is either in Edo, on the way to Edo, or on the way back to his territory. Especially for those outer daimyo who are farther away, their territories are remote, and there is not much time left in a year for a round trip. The consequence of the daimyo's long-term absence from the territory is that the power is lost. The military and political power in the domain can only be handled by the retainers. Over time, by the end of the shogunate, many daimyo had been sidelined by their retainers. Of course, the number of retainers in this group is generally large, and their individual strength is relatively weak. A single retainer has no ability to hold power alone.

So although Chen Ming's means of balancing Japan are simple, he personally thinks they are very effective.

The power of the shogunate and local daimyo is stable! As long as this is guaranteed, Japan will not be able to get rid of the reins. As for whether Japan will launch a revolution to overthrow the shogunate in a few decades and truly form a unified regime, Chen Ming doesn't care. He is very clear about his own abilities, and his political vision is far from seeing the changes in this time and space in a few decades. So he doesn't consider this at all.

Decades later, some of Japan's elite class - samurai, should have been absorbed and digested by China. And Chen Ming himself can't see how powerful China will be at that time. If the Chinese carriage can move forward according to his expected track, it won't take too long. China will be a real dragon in twenty years. By then, even if Japan grows into a powerful wild wolf, as long as their brains are not stupid, they should know how to face the dragon beside them.

"Your Majesty..., why are you so concerned about a small country like Japan?"

Liu Wanyun was puzzled. In her impression, Japan was too small. Looking at the geographical map with a huge disparity between China and Japan, small Japan was simply not worth mentioning. The size shown on the map was not even as big as the "Three Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains". It was not worth Chen Ming's attention at all. But as Chen Ming's bedside person, she knew very well how much attention Chen Ming had paid to Japan during this period.

Liu Wanyun, who was in her twenties, was like a ripe peach. Chen Ming held her in his arms, "Isn't Japan worthy of attention?"

"What's so good about a small country like Japan?" Liu Wanyun subconsciously felt that it was a BT country. Except for some fish and seafood, they didn't even eat pigs, sheep and poultry. If it wasn't a country of fools, what was it? No wonder the people there were so short.

Chen Ming smiled slightly, stroking her smooth back with his right hand. He knew that Liu Wanyun was still a little "grudgeful".

Several sons and daughters will go to school in the second half of this year. Chen Ming was supposed to go there after the court session on the day he agreed to go, but because of the sudden news from Japan, Chen Ming missed the appointment. Women are a little bit temperamental, and if they are touched on their sensitive points, they will remember even the smallest things.

"This country has a population of more than 20 million..."

Although Japan is small in area, its population has never been small since ancient times. Chen Ming vaguely remembered a post he had read in his previous life. Japan had a population of 2 to 3 million during the Tang Dynasty. For more than a thousand years, its population size has often been among the top ten in the world.

"So many?" Liu Wanyun's eyes widened in surprise.

"Why? Are you surprised?"

"I really didn't expect that Japan, a tiny country, would have so many more people than North Korea..."

When Chen Ming heard the word "North Korea", the corners of his mouth curled up with a smile. Someone had reported to him that North Korea's population was over 10 million before, and he seemed to have the impression that North Korea's population at this time was also 10 million. However, after the recovery of Seoul, the cultivated land, population and taxes collected from many abandoned government offices were considered. The population recorded by the government before the invasion of the Qing Dynasty was only more than 5 million, and the Military Intelligence Bureau also found out the proportion of the hidden population in the private sector. The total population is definitely less than 10 million, that is, 8 or 9 million.

Of course, for North Korea, there is no need to compete for all this.

Now there is an invisible tacit understanding between North Korea and China. Li Qi is not qualified to ascend the throne of the Korean king, but he is the only one left in the entire Korean royal family, so he can only wait for this gentleman to give birth to the little prince peacefully. This is the orthodox king of Korea in the future!

So North Korea now has only the regent, not the king of Korea. The royal family's already collapsed ruling power has been divided up by the civil and military officials below. In other words, North Korea now has a bit of the pattern of the Tang Dynasty.

Those who hold military power, such as Min Honghao, have now moved most of their family members to Kaesong, crossing the Yellow Sea Province to the north, maintaining a strong deterrent force against the nearby Seoul, but the Seoul Dynasty cannot do anything to him. They also need to provide high supplies for Min Hongxun who stays in Seoul.

Now the entire Seoul court is a place where local powerful representatives and supporters of the central government coexist. As time goes by, those supporters of Li Qi may also evolve into new vassal states, such as the Andong Jin family. After several setbacks, the Andong Jin family still retains a certain strength and has firmly established a foundation in Gyeongsang Province.

Li Qi himself is just a signboard, but because of the cover of China behind him, he is respected by everyone. He has now secretly submitted a petition to Nanjing, hoping to come to Nanjing to meet during the New Year.

"Hmm..." A sudden hum came out of Liu Wanyun's mouth. Chen Ming didn't know when he had sheathed his long sword. Soon, the endless pleasure made Liu Wanyun forget all about Japan and Korea...