Chapter 296: War? marvelous!
The turmoil in Goryeo in recent years is highly related to the Japanese.
Japan is building ships crazily. The most nervous people are not the Qing Empire, but Gaozong and Concubine Min.
The "Yoshino" under construction in Japan has a displacement of only 4,150 tons. According to current naval theory, it cannot threaten the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" with a displacement of up to 7,000 tons. Therefore, the Qing Empire spent military funds to repair it. Yuanzi can understand.
The new troops trained by the Amur Military Region for Goryeo have not yet been deployed to Goryeo. Emperor Gaozong and Concubine Min had trouble sleeping and eating, so before winter, Concubine Min took the crown prince Li Tuo directly to Vladivostok and moved in this summer. The built palace.
Emperor Gaozong and Concubine Min came to Vladivostok too frequently, coming two or three times a year.
After two visits, Emperor Gaozong simply bought land and built a palace in Vladivostok.
For this kind of thing, George must have given the green light.
Gaozong's palace is located in the beautiful Peter the Great Bay, with convenient transportation and convenient life. In order to allow Li Tuo to attend Vladivostok Middle School, Gaozong donated a large sum of money to Vladivostok Middle School.
Even if Emperor Gaozong did not donate money, George would give special permission for Li Tuo to enroll.
A pro-Russian prince of Goryeo would be more conducive to the ever-lasting friendship between Goryeo and the Russian Empire.
As for the Eastern School, Gaozong and Concubine Min can handle it clearly without George's instructions.
George still noticed the anti-Russian sentiment among the Korean people and needed to guide it.
The culprit of Goryeo's predicament was not the Qing Empire or Russia, but rather Japan, which was across the sea.
In 1876, Japan used force to open the country of Goryeo and forced the Goryeo government to sign the Treaty of Ganghwa. From then on, Goryeo became a source of raw materials and a dumping ground for Japan's inferior goods.
Before the Kashin coup, the trade volume with Japan exceeded 80% of Goryeo's total foreign trade. Japanese businessmen purchased rice, soybeans, cotton and other agricultural products from Goryeo at low prices, shipped them to Japan and sold them at high prices, making huge profits from them.
At the same time, Japan dumped inferior textiles at high prices in the Korean market and made huge profits.
Japanese capitalists also controlled Goryeo's financial industry, shipping industry, and fishery.
After the Kashin coup, Goryeo's foreign trade structure underwent major changes. Exporting labor to Amur became the main source of finance for the Goryeo government. Trade with Japan decreased rapidly. Industrial products from Amur gradually occupied the Goryeo market, triggering Japan's Strong dissatisfaction among businessmen.
With Amul's support, Goryeo is discussing with Japan to modify some of the contents of the "Treaty of Ganghwa" to protect Goryeo's interests.
Many contents in the "Ganghwa Treaty" were very unfavorable to Goryeo. Through the "Ganghwa Treaty", Japanese goods were exempted from tariffs in Goryeo, Japanese currency could circulate in Goryeo, and Japan also gained consular jurisdiction. These unfair terms were against Goryeo. The trampling of Goryeo's sovereign red fruit.
In order to raise funds for military expansion, the Koryo Kingdom imitated the Qing Empire and handed over the customs to the Amur side for management. After Alexei took over the Koryo Customs, he proposed to amend the "Treaty of Ganghwa".
Most of the products in Korea come from Japan.
Japanese products enter Korea without paying taxes.
If this problem is not solved, Korea Customs will be useless.
The "Treaty of Ganghwa" only stipulated various rights enjoyed by the Japanese in Koryo, and almost did not mention the rights of the Koryo people and the obligations of the Japanese. The Japanese would definitely not agree to amend the "Treaty of Ganghwa".
So in early November, the Goryeo government announced that it would suspend the implementation of the "Ganghwa Treaty" until the two countries revised the "Ganghwa Treaty".
As soon as the news came out, the Japanese government and the public were furious. Hardliners in Japan immediately clamored to use force to punish the Koreans and restore the validity of the "Ganghwa Treaty."
Long before the Goryeo government unilaterally abrogated the Treaty of Ganghwa, Goryeo merchants had refused to accept Japanese yen and would no longer sell Goryeo rice to Japanese merchants.
The Japanese's abacus is ringing. They use Japanese yen to buy rice from Goryeo, and then sell the inferior textiles produced in Japan to Goryeo at high prices. They take it all in one go, and they win.
Korean merchants no longer accepted Japanese yen and required Japanese merchants to pay in kind such as gold and silver, or in currencies with higher market circulation such as rubles or pounds.
Japan originally expected to use this empty-handed approach to purchase agricultural products from Goryeo at low prices to stabilize domestic prices in Japan.
As a result, after Goryeo stopped accepting Japanese yen, Japan's material shortage this winter was even more exacerbated.
On November 20, Koryo Customs seized a merchant ship in Busan that was loaded with Koryo rice and was about to be shipped to Japan on the grounds of tax evasion.
The Japanese businessmen were extremely arrogant, injuring Goryeo customs staff, and forced a merchant ship out of Busan Port. In the process, a Goryeo navy patrol boat was rammed and sunk, killing four Goryeo sailors.
The Goryeo government responded quickly. On November 25, it ordered the closure of Japanese business residences in Busan, Wonsan, and Incheon, confiscated Japanese business property, deported Japanese immigrants, and stopped the sale of agricultural products to Japan.
It’s better now.
In the past, if the Japanese were willing to pay real money, they could also obtain agricultural products from Korea.
Now that the Goryeo government has voluntarily stopped trade with Japan, Japanese businessmen cannot purchase agricultural products from Goryeo even if they are willing to pay.
The news reached Japan, and the Japanese government was finally unable to suppress the calls for war in Japan and decided to dispatch a Japanese fleet with "Naniwa" and "Takachiho" as the core to threaten Goryeo with force.
Japan's new Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi is still sensible. Before the Japanese fleet set off, Ito Hirobumi took the initiative to come to Vladivostok and explained to Milyugin face to face that he hoped Milyugin would not interfere in the dispute between Japan and Goryeo.
“Revising the Treaty of Ganghwa is only the first step. If Japan loses its power in Koryo, all countries will lose their privileges in Koryo. This will arouse strong dissatisfaction among countries and aggravate the turmoil in East Asia.”
Ito Hirobumi knows how to take advantage of momentum.
After Goryeo signed the "Treaty of Ganghwa" with Japan, it signed similar treaties with the United States, Britain, and Russia.
Now Goryeo only demands modification of the Treaty of Ganghwa, which does not violate the interests of the United States, Britain, and Russia in Goryeo.
This is also the reason why the United States and Britain did not interfere in the treaty between Korea and Japan.
However, Japan dared to dispatch a fleet to issue a war threat to Goryeo. It is unknown whether there was any instigation from the United Kingdom and the United States behind this.
“If Japan wants to integrate into a civilized society, it must interact with other countries in a civilized society. The Treaty of Ganghwa is an unfair treaty that seriously violated the interests of Goryeo and has caused damage to the international image of the Japanese government. Influence, you should correct this mistake. "Milyugin understands civilization.
Ito Hirobumi was almost pissed off.
The root cause of the poor international image of the Russian Empire is that the Russian Empire is not civilized enough when dealing with other countries.
The Russian Empire plundered more than one million square kilometers of land from the Qing Empire through unequal treaties.
As the biggest bandit in the Far East, he actually had the nerve to accuse Japan of not being civilized enough. Ito Hirobumi really had nothing to say.
“I hope you can understand that the Japanese government’s actions are only directed at Koryo and not against any other country. The Japanese government is safeguarding the overall interests of all countries in Koryo.”
Ito Hirobumi I don't want to intensify the conflict with the Russian Empire.
"Haha, it's useless for you to tell me this. If you want a promise, you should go to Super Duke Yurievsky."
Milyugin asked Ito Hirobumi to find George.
Compared with the old oily Milyutin, George is notoriously difficult to deal with.
Ito Hirobumi went to Yuriev Palace to hand over a sign and asked to see George.
But was rejected by George.
George would not meet any Japanese until Japan reflected deeply on Nikolai's assassination.
Not even the Prime Minister of Japan.
Ito Hirobumi left Vladivostok directly and returned to Japan without too much entanglement.
After Hirobumi Ito returned to Japan, the fully equipped Japanese fleet finally fired up and weighed anchor and headed for Incheon.
Leading this fleet was Vice Admiral Ito Yuhiro, the commander of the Yokosuka garrison.
Incheon is only 65 kilometers away from the capital of Korea and is Korea's second largest trading port after Busan.
After the Japanese fleet set off, the Japanese government issued an ultimatum to Goryeo, saying that if the Goryeo government did not restore the Treaty of Ganghwa and compensate Japanese businessmen for their losses, the Japanese fleet would use force to protect Japanese expatriates. Benefit.
The Goryeo government did not immediately respond to the Japanese threat.
But instead asked the Qing Empire for help.
Dad Qing Guo, the little dwarf is going to hit me again, will you ignore it?
As the suzerain state of Goryeo, the Qing Empire was in a dilemma.
After the signing of a series of unequal treaties, Goryeo gradually became a semi-colony of the great powers, and the Qing Empire, the suzerain state, had increasingly weaker influence on Goryeo.
After the Gaishen coup, Amul became the new father of Goryeo. After the Qing Empire and Japan agreed to withdraw their troops, the status of the suzerain state was in name only.
When Goryeo hugged Amul's thigh, he did not ask for the consent of the Qing Empire.
Now facing the threat of war from Japan, Goryeo turned to the Qing Empire for help.
To save or not to save?
If we save him, it will trigger a conflict with Japan.
If we do not save it, the Qing Empire will completely lose the vassal state of Goryeo.
Sending troops to Goryeo might cause the Qing Empire to fall into a foreign war.
This kind of thing cannot be decided overnight. The internal disputes in the Qing Empire are fierce, and there are people who support whether to save or not to save.
The threat from Japan is imminent.
On December 10, the Japanese fleet arrived off the coast of Incheon. Ito Yuhyung ordered the Korean government to respond to the Japanese request within 48 hours.
This ultimatum is not for Goryeo.
But for George.
George immediately summoned Milyutin, Mikhail, and Yeluoxin for a meeting.
"Are the Japanese going to land? Great!"
Ye Luoxin's true colors were revealed, and her first reaction to the war was joy.
Milyugin looked at George helplessly.
Look what kind of people you have trained!
“If Japan carries out war mobilization, it may be able to form an army of more than 200,000 people. Is it necessary for us to fall into a war that is not necessary for us because of Goryeo?”
Mikhail didn't want to fight, he just wanted to make money.
"George, we need the attitude of St. Petersburg."
Milyugin is mature and prudent, and there have been enough criticisms about George.
(End of this chapter)