Chapter 264 Otsu Incident
In order to see George as soon as possible, Nicholas did not visit carefully along the way and stayed in each area for no more than 3 days.
After meeting George, Nicholas was not in a hurry and spent a week in Nagasaki.
Maybe George emphasized the threat of Japan to Nicholas too many times. Nicholas was very interested in Japan. He even bought a clog commonly worn by the Japanese and tried it on himself.
Since Japanese men can also wear women’s clogs, George did not tell Nicholas what the difference was between the clogs worn by Japanese men and women.
Nikolai's interest in anything was short-lived.
After trying the clogs, I forgot about the clogs and went to buy a folding fan.
The shop owner introduced to Nicholas that the folding fan was invented in Japan.
Nicholas didn’t know much about it and was used to looking at George.
George scoffed.
The Japanese not only insist that the folding fan was invented in Japan, but also say that the folding fan of the Qing Empire originated in Japan.
There are no records about fans in Japan until the 7th century AD.
Across the sea, it is said that fans already existed in the era of Yao and Shun.
So if the Japanese want to talk, let them talk. Anyway, this matter has nothing to do with the Russian Empire.
But then the shop owner said that Japanese swords were also invented in Japan, and George couldn't help it.
"Understand it. It's a small country with few cultural traditions and little family wealth. Whenever you see something good, you want to take it home, regardless of whether it was stolen or robbed."
George spoke in Russian, and the shopkeeper listened. don't know.
Of course the translator couldn't translate these words, so the shopkeeper smiled and nodded in agreement.
Nicholas and George of Greece laughed very happily.
The shop owner was very disappointed because no one bought it.
"We'd better go back and have a drink. What's so good about this shabby place -"
Greece George doesn't like Nagasaki, and prefers to go back to the hotel and learn to dance with geishas.
"You don't mind being dirty, and you don't mind being cold!"
George doesn't like anything related to prostitutes.
George knew that many Japanese people insisted that geishas did not sell their bodies.
This is not flaunting, but driving up the price.
Anyway, George of Greece has been singing every night and being a groom every day these days.
In order to make money, the government organizes citizens to sell their bodies overseas on a large scale. How much moral integrity can you expect Japanese men to have?
George raised his finger, those so-called geishas who only sell their skills but not their bodies can be lined up from Nagasaki to Kyoto.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not George of Amur, but George of Greece.
"What do you mean?"
Greece George talks about it with a sullen expression.
Once you get sick these days, it is a terminal illness.
"That's what you understand."
Under George's supervision, Nicholas finally made no mistakes.
Alexeyev was creative and organized a ship review ceremony for Nikolay.
Nicholas went away happily, and then came back dejected.
"What does this guy mean?"
Nicholas's self-esteem was severely hit. The warships of the Siberian Fleet were really too broken.
It’s okay if the warships are old. There aren’t any decent fleets in East Asia.
There are few key points to break, which allows Nikolai to break the defense directly.
Only three warships participated in Alexeev's so-called ship review. The rest of the warships were not at home, but parked at the berth and could not move, and fell apart as soon as they moved.
With this, can we expect the Siberian fleet to protect Vladivostok?
“This means that no matter how biased the empire is, when it equips the Baltic Fleet and Black Sea Fleet with battleships, it should at least equip the Siberian Fleet with a few cruisers——”
Although George and Alexeyev had not had many interactions with him, and he also hoped to enhance the strength of the Siberian fleet.
Without a fleet, there would be no confidence and no right to speak in this sea area. No matter how powerful the army is, it will never be able to swim from Vladivostok to Japan.
George did not expect the Siberian Fleet to be stronger than the Qing Empire's Beiyang Navy.
It can’t be inferior to Japan.
Japan has begun to build a navy, but the Siberian fleet is still silent.
"George, in order to prepare for the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in the past two years, military expenditure has been reduced by nearly one-tenth. The military is already very dissatisfied, and the navy is even more dissatisfied."
Nicholas could only sigh.
If possible, Nicholas also wants to replace the entire Siberian fleet with battleships.
It’s a pity that I can only think about it.
“You go and ask for the money, and I will find a way.”
George is still in a familiar pattern.
"Why don't you come!"
Nicholas spread out his hands and asked whether he wanted money or not. He is here and it's up to you.
There is nothing George can do, this is all he can do.
On May 9, Nicholas and his party arrived in Kyoto and were warmly welcomed by the emperor and the government.
George is the commander-in-chief of the Amur Military Region and receives as much attention as Nicholas.
Army Minister Yamagata Aritomo took the initiative to approach George, hoping to strengthen exchanges between the Japanese Army and the Amur Military Region.
Yamaxian Yutomo was quite smart and did not use the Japanese Army to benchmark the Russian Army.
"Do you have an army?"
George was extremely arrogant.
Japan really has it.
But the history is not long either.
In 1884, Japan established 6 regular army divisions for the first time on the basis of the old army, namely the 1st to 6th Divisions. However, the Japanese divisions during this period were not large in size, with only about 10,000 people per division, and their weapons and equipment were not advanced enough. They were not equipped with the latest magazine-type rifles, or even smokeless gunpowder.
So the Japanese Army has to put extra emphasis on its will to fight, because when it comes to equipment, Japan, let alone Russia, cannot even compete with the Qing Empire.
“Duke, although Japan’s national power is still very weak compared to the strength of the Russian Empire, please give Japan the respect it deserves.”
Youpeng from Shanxian County was very angry. What's the point of being slapped in the face?
“A country without strength is not worthy of respect——”
George is arrogant.
In George's view, these words were also humiliating to Shanxian Youpeng.
As long as you have some integrity in Shanxian County, you should be tit for tat with George.
"Hey! What you said is so correct, that's why we have to learn from you-"
Shanxian Youpeng was not only not angry, but became more and more respectful.
George has a headache.
Are you Japanese so mean-spirited?
No wonder.
The core of Japanese culture is self-esteem. Discussing self-esteem with Japanese people is to play the piano to an ox.
Think about how Japan served the United States in the last life, and you will know the virtues of the Japanese.
So talking about good neighborliness, friendship, and mutual assistance to the Japanese is totally the opposite. They treat the Japanese like that, and if they don’t obey, they will be beaten and starved for three days, and then they will just watch the door.
This is why the more arrogant George is, the more respectful his friends in Shanxian County are.
Of course there are side effects to this.
The more respectful you are now in Shan County, the more cruel you will be when you have a chance to retaliate.
And the learning mentioned by Shanxian Youpeng is really not just talk.
If George nods in agreement, then the Japanese will flood into Vladivostok and run around Amur.
“That’s not impossible.”
George will definitely not let the Japanese go to Vladivostok.
But George can let Fu Tuan come to Japan for exchange.
The situation in Japan is similar to that in Russia. Both the navy and the army want to seize it, and both want to be strong.
The Russian Empire is concentrating its Chinese efforts to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, but it wants to be tough but cannot be tough at the moment.
Japan does not have this strength at all, it is all based on fantasy.
British colonies are spread all over the world, and the Royal Navy is invincible. It places more emphasis on sea and less on land. It spends all its resources on the navy as much as possible.
The current income of the Japanese government is loans in addition to crooked ways. The whole country is betting on everything, like a gambler who has lost his sights, without considering what the future will bring.
So George wanted to see if he could lead Japan onto another path.
For example, firepower is king.
Japan has no money, so it can only take the path of suffering.
If George can make the Japanese army toughen up and equip it with a large number of artillery and machine guns, then the development of the Japanese navy will be affected.
Allowing the Japanese Navy to purchase one less warship may have a fatal impact on future naval battles.
Japan's several wars were all military adventures. As long as they lost once, Japan would be doomed.
"Then we must have a good drink!"
A friend from Shanxian County took the initiative to toast George and drank it all in one gulp.
George just tasted it.
No matter how bad George behaved at the banquet, no one would have a fit on the spot.
So the guests and hosts at the banquet had a great time, and Nicholas returned satisfied.
After spending two more days in Kyoto, on May 11th, Nicholas went to Otsu.
Before departure, George ordered people to prepare an armored RV for Nikolai.
Nikolai did not want to take the RV. He and Greek George both wanted to take an open-top rickshaw to Otsu.
"Nicky, don't forget how your grandfather died."
You're welcome, George, the royal family is assassinated every day, why don't they have any memory.
"George, don't worry, in the Far East, who dares to assassinate the crown prince of the Russian Empire!"
Greece George disapproved, the Japanese are so delicate and soft, so how could they have any evil intentions? Where is my son?
"Nikki, if you don't agree, I won't let you go."
George uses his uncle's power.
“George——”
Nicholas had pleading in his eyes.
Now George couldn't refuse.
Nothing happened on the way to Otsu, and Greek George laughed at George for being too cautious and not giving Nicholas a perfect experience.
Coming out of Mayor Otsu's house, Nicholas and Greek George were clamoring to go to the market.
At the market, Greek George bought a crutch made of bamboo.
The streets in Japan are very narrow. When a rickshaw passes through the street, pedestrians on the road actively step aside to let the rickshaw pass first.
In order to ensure Nikolai’s safety, the Japanese government also arranged police to maintain order along the way.
The May sun shines on your body, making you drowsy with its warmth.
George didn't drink at the banquet just now. He was focused on staring at the rickshaw that Nicholas was riding in.
The moment Tsuda Sanzo drew his sword, George pulled out his gun and knocked Tsuda Sanzo to the ground.
George's reaction was still a little slow, and Nikolai was slashed by Tsuda Sanzo on the right side of his forehead.
What makes George angry is that Tsuda Sanzo is not a passerby, but a policeman arranged by the Japanese government.
What the hell does this mean?
(End of this chapter)