The secret cooperation plan between Tokugawa Keiki and French Minister Roche was not false. In real history, Roche once tried to transform the shogunate in Western style and provided $9 million in loans and large amounts of arms funding. French officers also helped the shogunate train recruits.

Weapons and ammunition, new warships, and a Japanese-French joint venture to develop industry and commerce. Tokugawa Keiki also proposed a very attractive concept of the combination of Gongwu.

The Gongwu Combination is a political theory in the late Edo period of Japan. The main purpose is to unite the imperial court (public) and the shogunate (public) to transform the shogunate power.

This political argument was supported by the shogunate and some major vassals. The main purpose was to combine the authority of the court to suppress the emperor's reverence and expel the barbarians' movement at that time, so as to avoid the fall of the shogunate and further strengthen the status of the shogunate.

In Japan in 1867, change was actually a consistent pursuit in everyone's hearts, but unlike the Qing Dynasty, they were still firmly ruled by Confucianism and could not extricate themselves.

Everyone believes that Japan needs reform, but how should reform and how rights should be distributed has become the fuse of the struggle between various forces.

The idea of ​​the anti-shog faction is to respect the king and expel the barbarians. The core purpose is to let the emperor get back the rights he had lost for thousands of years, let the emperor return to the political stage, and lead Japan to carry out reforms. As for the shogunate, then get out of here quickly. If you don’t leave, you will be beaten until you leave.

After all, the shogunate ruled Japan for nearly 700 years, and evolved from the earliest Kamakura Shogunate, which was the Chunxi period of the Southern Song Dynasty in China to the Muromachi Shogunate. In the late Yuan Dynasty, it then developed into the Tokugawa Shogunate through the Warring States Period to the mid-Ming Dynasty. The rule of the general had been nearly 700 years.

Such a long history of rule has made Japanese society arbitrarily rule over the general. The Tokugawa family was not disappointed in the hearts of the people. There were many people who supported the general among the Japanese vassals and civilians.

Especially in the north of Japan, it is a private place of the shogunate. There is no need to doubt the loyalty of the Daming family to the Tokugawa family. The emperor is secondary in their eyes.

In this situation, how could the Tokugawa family easily give up their rights? Although the shogunate was defeated in the Second Battle of Choshu and the fourteenth generation general Tokugawa Ieshima was still very prestige, and the good cards in Tokugawa Kyoki's hand were not used up at all.

In cooperation with the French, the bait of the Gongwu fusion, and then the reform suggested by the West, the Tokugawa family's small abacus was still very smart.

However, no one knows that the successful alliance between the Tokugawa family and the French people is actually the one who should be attributed to the successful alliance this time is not someone else, but their enemy Xiao Letian.

In real history, although Roche and Tokugawa Kyoki reached a secret cooperation plan, in July 1866, the new French Foreign Minister Musti came to the government and no longer supported the diplomatic line of French Minister Rossar-Shuya to connect the shogunate. Instead, he adopted the same front with Britain, tending to form a public political system to dissolve the shogunate.

This was the last sharp knife that stabbed the shogunate weakness. Tokugawa Keiki, under the attack of internal and external troubles, had to grit the bullet and fight a Wuchen War. In the failure, he had to follow Atsuhime's advice and finally opened the gate of Edo Castle and surrendered.

The emergence of Xiao Letian changed the direction of history because with the same enemy, the hatred French government not only did not oppose Roche's plan, but instead increased its support.

Interest-free loans, the latest weapons and equipment, the best military instructors... France is even preparing to sell several new warships to the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The enemy is his friend. Since Xiao Letian has secretly sponsored the four anti-South Baku, France can sponsor the Tokugawa Shogunate. Anyway, the Japanese died in the end.

As expected, if you are behind, you will be beaten. At this time, the weak Japan can only be sandwiched between the two major forces and become a tool for fighting between major powers. The blood of the samurai may only be a sacrifice for new weapons, and the land of the island country may only be a test site for new weapons.

"God General, I have explained the pros and cons of change many times. I think your intentions should not be hesitant. Let's talk about the actual issues now..."

"This time I brought a new weapon that is equipped with 3,000 people. May I ask General where do you want to train this army and where can you keep this secret?"

"I am frank, now this army must be kept strictly confidential. Only by keeping the enemy unaware can we attack them unexpectedly and complete a complete kill on the battlefield."

"Where is Japan's Pure Land now?"

Tokugawa Kyoki nodded to Kirihiko. The largest intelligence leader of the Tokugawa family smiled and said to Minister Roshi, "There are two treasure lands that can be trained secretly, one is the Aizu family, and the other is the Hakodate of Hokkaido..."

"The geographical location of Aizu sect is extremely important, guarding all the major transportation routes in the Guanzhong Plain and the Tohoku region. If the Ouha Hokuriku region wants to go south, it must pass through Aizu sect. This is the northern barrier of Edo..."

"Not only that, the loyalty of Matsuhei Etsu lord Matsuhei Etsu to the shogunate is also credible. I don't think there will be any accidents when he secretly trains a part of the new army."

"Hokkaido has been a bitter and cold place since ancient times. Few people in Japan look at it. It is very simple to hide thousands of soldiers in the vast Hokkaido. As long as we are careful, these two secret strongholds are enough for us to train ten thousand new troops..."

French Minister Roche sneered and said, "Is it ten thousand? I'm afraid the military aid funds we provide... are a bit not enough. How much money can your Tokugawa shogunate raise?"

Europeans are never ashamed of making profits. It is natural for ministers to ask for money. Low-interest military aid of 9 million US dollars seems to be a lot, but it is still difficult to support such a large military plan.

New-style troops cannot rely solely on rifles to maintain combat effectiveness. There are also a few new-style field guns, and there are always a few mortar guns for siege cities.

There is also the navy. Even if Japan cannot equip the latest warships now, the old warships still have to add a few new guns, otherwise they will be passively beaten in the face of threats from the southern seas.

Tokugawa Kyoki gritted his teeth and clapped his hands. The sliding door behind him was opened. A little surname had already been ready. There were large pieces of gold ingots opposite the heavy lacquer plate.

This is the 200-year-old palace of the Tokugawa family. Many of the gold ingots are still stamped with astronomical and Yuanhe seals. That is the Japanese year name of Tokugawa Ieyasu when he was young, which shows that this batch of wealth has a long history.

A little surname was shuttled and there were more and more gold ingots placed in the Tianshou Pavilion. In the end, bags of sand gold were brought up. Even though Mr. Luo Shi was knowledgeable, he was a little dazzled under the illumination of this golden light.

The drunk minister could no longer figure out the value of these golds, but he knew very well that with the 9 million low-interest loan provided by France, the shogunate could easily train ten thousand troops and be equipped with a large number of advanced artillery.

As for the Navy, although it cannot buy the most advanced warships, it is enough to transform old warships and then build a batch of turrets.

"My Lord, as long as France can bring us victory, how could our Tokugawa family care about the treasury for more than 200 years? But... this money is hard-earned, and we must see the results with our own eyes before we can pay."

Tokugawa Keiki bowed his head and said, "Please forgive me for my rudeness. Japan is too barren. Every bit of wealth is hard to come by... Please forgive me for the ambassador. It will be difficult for us to pay if the arms and instructors are not in place. Sorry."

"Hahaha... what is the general saying?" Luo Shi's old face turned slightly red. He had just had the idea of ​​taking away these wealth, but he didn't expect that the Japanese were actually very practical and he was just sophisticated that he was not dragging his mind at all.

"France's support to the shogunate is sincere, otherwise we would not provide a low-interest loan of 9 million. Your Excellency General thought too much... You can rest assured that with these reserves, I can ask our merchants to prepare a few more batches of arms, and our chances of victory will be greater."

The atmosphere in the Tianshou Pavilion became harmonious in an instant. Under the light of gold, the wine behind was extremely smooth. The minister even accepted the two maids given by the general.

Only the little ghost in Fog Hidden spoke a little disappointed. "Our preparations are indeed very sufficient, but the biggest variable is not on our Japanese island, but in Ryukyu. Will Xiao Letian intervene directly?"

Xiao Letian's name is the root of the disappointment of the banquet. The general and the minister put down the wine, and his expression became serious.

Minister Roche whispered, "I admit that Xiao Letian is indeed very powerful. His new army is not something you can deal with. The situation in Europe now is very delicate. We France cannot mobilize our army to Asia to deal with a small Ryukyu..."

"So our actions must be kept confidential. This new army must be used as a trump card. Never expose it. We have no other choice except for the surprises to win..."

Speaking of this, Minister Rosh suddenly laughed, "I think we have forgotten a very important factor, that is, the composition of the forces between the enemy and us... The shogunate has been a solid piece from ancient times to the present. Our advantage is that we will not have internal constraints..."

"But those inverted factions, the four southwestern vassals each have their own ideas. Now, with the Emperor and the Xiao Letian of Ryukyu, all parties have different interests. Do they still want to win after leaving many schools?"

"Hahaha... If I was not wrong, the four Southwest Domains would definitely not let the new army intervene directly. The Chinese saying goes that it is easy to invite gods and it is difficult to send gods. Once Xiao Letian's regular army landed on the Japanese archipelago, it will be difficult to leave."

Rosh is really a Japanese and Chinese. He has an extremely clear understanding of Asian people's thinking, and he hits the point with one sentence.

Tokugawa Keiki and Kirihiko looked at each other, with admiration and shock in their eyes.

"The wisdom of the minister is admirable. Everything will follow the plan of the minister. From today on, the Tokugawa family will show weakness and then weakness, and make the enemy's heart completely relax..."

On the Edo Tensou Pavilion, the Japan-French Alliance was officially established.

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