Nanyang Storm 1864

The Great Chu Empire's tough stance was justified. Following the Black Ships incident, six countries—the United States, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Russia—forced Japan to sign unequal trade treaties by threatening military force.

The Great Chu Empire was a step too late. When the Fusang Kingdom refused to submit, it directly dispatched its fleet to massacre the Fusang fleet at Lake Ikeda, annihilating the main force of the Fusang fleet in one battle. That was the prestige earned through real fighting.

Therefore

The Empire not only seized a large Chinese concession in Nagasaki, but also established a Chinese concession in Kagoshima, the stronghold of the Satsuma Domain, and implemented more thorough colonial administration.

This is unique among all countries, and no one can compare to it.

Now comes the problem
I fought my way to victory, and I signed the Chinese concession treaty with my own strength. Why should I hand it over for free?

Due to its natural geographical limitations as an island nation, Japan's national lifeline lay in maritime trade routes. Its colonization of the Korean Peninsula was merely icing on the cake, and the two should not be confused.

Therefore

The Great Chu Empire had ample strength to control Japan. Even the complete annihilation of the Russian Pacific Fleet did not shake the powerful psychological advantage of the Great Chu Empire's Royal Navy.

Forty years ago, they were able to annihilate the main force of the Japanese navy, and they can still repeat this historical process today.

Both Chu and Japan had a clear understanding of their own naval strength, so Chu took a tough stance on abolishing its concessions and refused to budge even after four or five years of negotiations.

Japan did not dare to truly turn against Russia. Previously, it was to prepare for war against Tsarist Russia, but after annihilating the main force of the Tsarist Russian Pacific Fleet, the Japanese people's confidence soared to unprecedented heights.

The opinions of the Fusang Allied Fleet were divided into two completely opposing sides. One side, the warmongering faction, arrogantly believed that the strength of Fusang was already strong enough to defeat Chu, and that there was no need to be cowardly and timid.

Since the Fusang Combined Fleet was able to cleanly and decisively destroy the Russian Pacific Fleet, it is capable of destroying the equally powerful Royal Navy Fleet of the Great Chu Empire, truly dominating the Western Pacific, and gaining the respect it deserves.

The Japanese Combined Fleet could make up for its shortcomings with its superior gunnery, world-class training, and high morale, firmly believing that the Japanese would be the ultimate victor.

These people are mindless and fanatical, completely ignoring the apparent disparity in strength between the two fleets on paper.

The original Russian Pacific Fleet and the reinforcements from the Second and Third Pacific Fleets, on paper, were almost two to three times stronger than the Japanese Combined Fleet, yet they were still completely annihilated.

Therefore, given the overwhelming and virtually invincible power of the Fusang Combined Fleet, these advantages on paper are nothing but fleeting clouds and nothing to fear.

On the other hand, the conservative naval faction clearly recognizes that the power gap cannot be bridged in more than a decade or even longer, and that bilateral relations must be handled with caution. They condemn the warmongers as arrogant and foolish.

The Great Chu Empire was not like Tsarist Russia, a country without a naval tradition. From its rise in Southeast Asia more than 40 years ago to its direct confrontation with naval powers such as Spain, France, and Britain, the Royal Navy of the Great Chu Empire was always at the forefront.

Its remarkable achievements are recognized worldwide, unlike Tsarist Russia, a land power without a naval foundation; the two are not even in the same situation.

From the battles known so far, the strength of the Chu royal fleet has been fully demonstrated. Its naval equipment, naval warfare regulations, and even its illustrious historical record all prove that it is not an easy world-class enemy to deal with.

Compared to them, the Russians were nothing more than a bunch of foolish peasants.

It is particularly important to point out that

Admiral Togo Heihachiro, who commanded the combined fleet to a great victory, was a major force of the conservatives. He strongly opposed antagonizing the State of Chu and believed that the combined fleet was not yet strong enough to challenge the Chu Royal Navy.

After more than two months of heated debate between Chu and Japan, by September, Fusang's voice had noticeably subsided, and the rampant public opinion within the country had gradually calmed down and come under strict control.

This is because there's no other way but to back down.

Under the strict control of the Great Chu Empire's ban, hundreds of thousands of women from Southeast Asia were unable to work, which led to a sharp decline in remittances from overseas Chinese to Japan, leaving the country financially strapped.

At this time in 1906

The average annual income per person in the Great Chu Empire was 157.5 silver dollars, with a monthly income between thirteen and eighteen silver dollars, which was typical of a developed industrial country in the south, on par with Germany.

The workers' annual income was slightly over two hundred silver dollars, which was about 40% to 50% higher than that of farmers.

Compared with other industrialized countries
In 1905, American workers earned $0.22 per hour, with an average income between $200 and $400. Approximately 3.2 million American workers went without work for four to six months each year.

The highest-paid American coal miners earned $629 a year, while German miners earned only 815 marks, equivalent to 194 silver dollars.

The average annual income of the people of Chu was lower than that of the United States, approximately 35% to 60% of that of the United States.

Compared to Germany, it is about 10% higher, and is generally at the level of a developed industrial country.

The income level of the people of Chu was 4.2 times that of the people of Fusang, which was unmatched in the whole of Asia, making it a typical high-income industrial country.

Within the territory of the Great Chu Empire

When there are many, they naturally become worthless. Japanese-style brothels and sex parlors are low-end, winning by offering good service, low prices, and large quantities, and mainly serving middle and lower-class working people.

A normal service fee ranges from three to five cents, sometimes even as low as one cent. The best service is only one silver dollar, and this only refers to the service itself, not including drinks or food.

An average-looking woman from Southeast Asia could earn tens of silver dollars a month, while a pretty girl could earn hundreds of silver dollars.

Ninety percent of this money has to be handed over. First, these brothels and brothels will be heavily taxed, with nearly half of their income going to taxes. There are also quarantine and inspection fees from the Department of Health, commissions from municipal departments, protection fees from the police department, and so on. Various departments are taking advantage of the situation.

Aside from food, drink, and other expenses, everything else had to be handed over and remitted back to China.

On average, each Southeast Asian woman remitted about two to three hundred silver dollars back to China each year, though there is no authoritative statistic on this.

In these Japanese-style brothels and brothels
Each establishment has dozens of Japanese girls, a variety of male owners, pimps and thugs, maids trained in childhood and servants, kitchen staff and maids who cannot entertain with their looks, and prostitutes who are sick and out of business.

Young prostitutes in their prime will inevitably contract venereal diseases within two or three years, or even five or six years, and from then on, they will simply sit and wait to die.

This is a dark, dirty, and oppressive industry chain. Every year, new girls are sent in, and countless prostitutes die from serious illnesses.

Behind these Japanese-style brothels and spas was the Japanese government, which exploited these women from Southeast Asia to the extreme. They were given the worst food, clothing, and other necessities, and had no money for treatment when they fell ill. They could only rot in pain and were simply wrapped in a mat and thrown away after they died.

Upon learning that some prostitutes were ill, they were strangled to death with ropes by Japanese thugs to avoid wasting food.

Why is this so?
The Chu State Health Department was extremely strict in its investigation of prostitutes who operated while ill. Once confirmed, they would be fined huge sums of money, often thousands or even tens of thousands, enough to bankrupt a brothel.

For these Japanese-style brothels and spas, girls with venereal diseases were of no value.

The income of ordinary citizens in the Great Chu Empire was high, so medical fees were naturally expensive. A doctor would charge at least 1 silver dollar for a single consultation, not including the cost of the medicine.

Once a girl was diagnosed with an illness, these doctors from the State of Chu had to report it and were absolutely forbidden to conceal it privately, otherwise it would affect their medical licenses.

One warning, two demerits, three times and the medical license will be revoked, and no amount of money can make up for it.

The Great Chu Empire had extremely strict ethical requirements for medical practitioners; a single mistake would result in a lifetime ban from employment, effectively ruining the entire reputation of the profession.

Some people say, "I can't even change?"
I'm sorry, there really is no chance. The Great Chu Empire has extremely strict restrictions in this regard, and there is absolutely no room for trial and error.

so
Trying to bribe doctors is simply not feasible. If you can bribe one doctor, what about three, five, or even more? Can you bribe them all?

This is obviously unrealistic. Who would ruin a promising medical career for a mere few hundred silver dollars? Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
After being reported to the Department of Health
The relevant medical treatment will begin, and you will need to get the medicine according to the treatment plan, see the doctor again and again, undergo follow-up examinations by the Department of Health, and purchase various Chinese and Western medicines, all of which will cost money.

If even a dozen or so young prostitutes fall ill, the Japanese-style brothel will have worked for nothing for the entire year.

Therefore, this is an industry chain filled with blood and tears, a silent tragedy of hundreds of thousands of women from Southeast Asia who used their frail bodies to shoulder the burden of Japan's industrialization. Now, with the sanctions imposed by the Great Chu Empire, the Japanese have utterly surrendered.

In any case, they cannot afford to lose this profitable industry chain.

After entering October 1906

New regional hotspots quickly shifted the news focus, and the Great Chu Empire quietly relaxed its ban, allowing thousands of Japanese-style brothels and spas to resume operations. These included Japanese bathhouses, massage parlors, acupressure therapy shops, dance halls, and brothels, all of which reopened to welcome customers.

The ban was not lifted; the police simply turned a blind eye.

Consequently, these businesses have to pay a higher price, having to provide more money to the police and other departments because they are taking on the risks!
The Ministry of Commerce of the Great Chu Empire also had a very good reason.
After all, it is the imperial administrative department in charge; it is impossible for them to change their orders arbitrarily, or that would be a joke!

In a Japanese garden in Kyoto
Several distinguished elderly Japanese men, dressed in kimonos, would sit on the tatami mats in the Japanese-style room. The elderly man in the center, with a thin face, was none other than former Prime Minister Duke Yamagata Aritomo, who is also one of the veterans behind the scenes in Japanese politics today.

The atmosphere inside was extremely heavy; they were not discussing anything lighthearted.

"Well, that's settled then." Yamagata Aritomo said with a deep sense of reluctance on his face.

"Yes, sir!" The other adults all lay down on the tatami mats and answered respectfully.

Among these people was General Katsura Taro, the former prime minister who was blamed for the Russo-Japanese War and resigned in disgrace.

This faction, led by powerful nobles of the Choshu Domain, gathered around Genro Yamagata Aritomo. It included influential figures such as Field Marshal Oyama Iwao, and consisted of ambitious colonial expansionists.

The turmoil in Japan has been escalating recently, and their instigation has certainly played a part in it.

The domestic uproar caused by the "Black Dragon Society Incident" forced Yamagata Aritomo's party to back down due to strong opposition from the Japanese naval faction, but this did not mean they gained nothing.

At least in the hearts of the vast majority of Japanese people, it has left a deep thorn.

As long as the opportunity is right

This thorn could take root, sprout, and grow strong at any time, giving the colonial expansionists an excellent effect of commanding widespread support.

By then, a broad social consensus will be formed, and those cowards in the Combined Fleet will have no chance to stop it.

Today, the "Yamashita faction" refers to Admiral Togo Heihachiro as "Cowardly Togo," which is undoubtedly a highly humiliating nickname.

The combined fleet, mainly composed of the Satsuma Domain, referred to Army Marshal Oyama Iwao as "dull-witted Oyama" and used adjectives such as "stupid" and "a bunch of brainless brutes" to express extreme disdain.

The main conflict between the two sides revolved around the direction of colonial expansion: "northward to Manchuria and Mongolia" or "southward to the Indochina Peninsula." Each side had its own reasons, and the debate continued incessantly.

The Japanese army largely supported "Northern Manchuria and Mongolia." The First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion of Beijing in 1900, and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 were all products of this strategic expansion, which led to the expansionist wars of aggression against the northern continent launched with the full strength of the nation.

After so many years of fighting and so many deaths, the situation is becoming increasingly clear.

It was nearly impossible for Japan to monopolize the three northeastern provinces. After suffering a huge loss of more than 26 lives, Japan, which had won the Russo-Japanese War, had no choice but to relinquish control of the three northeastern provinces with resentment.

The Japanese stumbled on this issue, and the Tsarist Russians suffered even more setbacks.

This made them clearly realize
The world powers, led by Britain, France, the United States, and Hubei, could not tolerate any force monopolizing the three northeastern provinces. Only under the impatient, cowardly, and incompetent Qing Dynasty could these world powers feel at ease and refrain from hindering their interests in the north.

If Japan reveals its intention to monopolize the three northeastern provinces today, then the Anglo-Japanese alliance will break down tomorrow.

The day after tomorrow, the British will join forces with Tsarist Russia, the State of Chu, and the United States to turn their attention to Japan without any hesitation.

What allies? They're nothing but a fart.

This undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the ambitious northward colonial expansion plan of the Fusang Kingdom. With the road blocked, could they consider heading south?
The Black Dragon Society incident has escalated to the point that there is undoubtedly a mastermind behind it.

There were two options for southward expansion: one was the French Indochina Peninsula, and the other was the eight islands of the Chu Kingdom (note: including Shangri-La Island).

Driven by greed, a group of staff officers from the Army General Staff Headquarters acted rashly and set their sights on the State of Chu, while the higher-ups remained ambiguous about this.

This is also a temptation.

These fanatical Japanese samurai subconsciously believed that the Chinese were easy to deal with. They already had countless successful experiences with them.

Even if the Chu people had better weapons, so what?

When faced with the fearless, well-equipped, and well-trained Imperial Japanese Army, they could at most hold out for a little longer, but ultimately could not escape their fate of annihilation.

Even the most troublesome Tsarist Russia was defeated by the Japanese, so how could the State of Chu be a match for them?

Once those cowards in the navy send army divisions to the island, all the remaining problems will be solved by the warriors of the Royal Army.

The majority of army staff officers, including many senior generals, held this view. They arrogantly believed that they could completely defeat the Chu people and become the true hegemon of the Western Pacific.

In contrast, the Japanese Combined Fleet was not nearly as foolish and arrogant as the army.

The prevailing opinion, led by Admiral Togo Heihachiro, was that it was not advisable to provoke the Great Chu. They preferred to face the French Far East Fleet rather than engage in a decisive battle with the Chu Royal Navy.

That's how the nickname "Timid Togo" came about.

The Fusang Kingdom is currently in a difficult period of strategic choice. Seeing the Great Chu Empire expanding its territory around the world and bringing large amounts of fertile land into its possession, the Fusang people are filled with intense jealousy and resentment.

To put it simply, the flowing milk had already soaked the front of his shirt, and he was green with envy.

This trend in military and political circles spread to society, leading to a flourishing of Sinology culture.

Many young members of Japanese nobility and elites take pride in wearing Tang-style clothing, including long gowns with horizontal buttons, elegant calligraphy, and fluent Mandarin, as well as Chinese songs that have recently become popular in Southeast Asia.

With the vinyl record playing, the combination of Chinese orchestral music and Western rhythms and drums creates an intoxicating atmosphere of classical jazz dance music.

The song "Spring in the South" includes the lyrics: "Graceful coconut palms, vast blue sky, a gentle southerly breeze, kapok flowers blooming on the hillside, ah... spring in the South..."

Upon its release in February 1906, this famous song instantly became a sensation in the markets of the Great Chu Empire and Japan, becoming the most popular song in the Western Pacific countries.

The vinyl record sales set a record of 2.35 copies. In that era, the sales of one vinyl record meant one record player and dozens or even hundreds of fashionable young listeners.

In Fusang, there emerged a group known as the "Eavesdropping Clan," mostly Fusang teenagers aged 14 to 16 or 17. They were obsessed with loitering among the trading companies, businesses, and shops of the Great Chu Empire, just to enjoy the intoxicating music flowing from these establishments.

Almost without exception, these Japanese teenagers who were showing their support were all wearing Tang suits with horizontal buttons and dancing a very rhythmic row dance, which is a folk version of a court dance.

In the early 20th century, chasing the latest superstar music from the Great Chu Empire was the epitome of trendiness and glamour, and no young Japanese could resist this allure.

Within this small corner of Asia, the Great Chu Empire is a leader in finance, industry, culture, music, commerce, and entertainment, with an influence that no one can match.

Discussion
Following Chinese etiquette, the attending dignitaries bowed and departed, leaving only Katsura Taro and his master, Yamagata Aritomo, behind. The two were representatives of the radical colonial expansionists.

“Go take a walk, Katsura Taro, just like we did when we were young. Full of passion, full of the ideal of changing this country, throw yourselves into it without hesitation.”

Reflecting on the past, Yamagata Aritomo, a pioneer of the Meiji Restoration, spoke with deep emotion. (End of Chapter)