Beiyang Dream

Chapter 263 Emperor Meiji: We can't let only Emperor Guangxu win, I must win too! (Burn, this chapter is burned)

At Ding Ruchang's command, Zhang Desan began to shout.

"Hurry up! Get the hell moving! Stop dawdling..."

"First stall! Bring that old man in!"

Two brave soldiers ran over, dragged the old priest who was tied to the ground up, and without saying a word, took him away!

Zhang Desan shouted again, "That drum! Carry that drum too... Don't leave it behind!"

Several brave soldiers immediately ran over, picked up the yakana drum, and carried it away.

One of these is "witness testimony," and the other is "physical evidence," both of which must be taken back.

Ding Ruchang nodded in satisfaction when he saw that everything he needed to bring had been brought.

Zhang Desan ran over and said, "General, you go first! Leave this to me!"

Ding Ruchang grunted in agreement: "Alright, then you handle it yourself... Don't drag it out too long!"

"Do as you see fit" means, of course, "do as you see fit"...

Zhang Desan clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute: "I understand!"

As soon as Ding Ruchang left, he started shouting again.

"Erpeng! Ma Tonghui!"

"have!"

A burly Shandong man ran out from the group.

Zhang Desan asked him, "Did you bring the kerosene I asked you to bring?"

Ma Tonghui patted a tin bucket hanging from his waist and said, "I brought it! A full bucket!"

The tin barrel wasn't big and couldn't hold much kerosene, but it was enough to burn down the main hall of Hachiman Shrine.

Zhang Desan pointed to the main hall of Hachiman Shrine and said, "Burn it down!"

Ma Tonghui was stunned for a moment, then said, "Huh? It burned?"

"What? Burn it!" Zhang Desan said, "Let's teach those Japanese a lesson! Let them never dare to invade our Great Qing again!"

snort!"

"Yes, sir!"

Upon receiving the order, Ma Tonghui immediately called over several of his men, who, carrying the bucket of kerosene, ran towards the main hall.

The main hall of Hachiman Shrine is a wooden building, very, very old. The wood is completely dried out, as black as firewood.

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Ma Tonghui had people pour kerosene onto the wood, and it got everywhere.

After splashing the kerosene, Ma Tonghui took a few steps back, pulled out a box of matches from his pocket, struck one, and threw it onto the kerosene.

Whoosh.

Then the fire started.

It's getting bigger and bigger, burning brighter and brighter!

The centuries-old house was reduced to ashes...

Ma Tonghui stood there for a while, then, deciding it was about time, waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, let's go!"

Then he led the dozens of men from the second shed, carrying guns, and ran along Wakamiya Avenue towards Yuihama.

After running for about ten minutes, when we were almost at the beach, we suddenly heard the booming sound of cannons in the distance.

"What's going on?" Ma Tonghui was startled and looked up.

Then I saw the cruiser "Zhiyuan" firing its guns on the sea. But it wasn't firing at the shore, it was firing at the sea. In the distance, I could see a ship, only a few hundred tons, circling on the surface of the sea, emitting smoke.

That was a Japanese whaling ship.

Kamakura is a fishing port, and that ship had probably just returned from whaling when it collided with the Zhiyuan.

"Changyuan" and "Zhiyuan" came here not only to land in Kamakura and burn down Hachiman Shrine, but also to break diplomatic relations!

Now is the perfect time to break through!

Since the start of the war, Japan's coastal waters had not been harassed by the Qing navy.

The Beiyang Fleet was busy fighting in the Yellow Sea, while the Nanyang Fleet was lying low. As a result, Japanese merchant ships operating in the waters near Japan had not yet learned to fly the British flag, nor had they formed escort fleets... They all obediently flew the Rising Sun flag and were all "legal" targets for bombardment!

Every shot hits its mark!

Ma Tonghui continued leading his men toward the beach.

At this time, chaos began to break out in Kamakura Town.

The townspeople were still in a daze when they first saw thick smoke rising from the Hachiman Shrine, and then heard the sound of cannons coming from the sea. This caused quite a stir.

Rumors spread quickly, with some saying that the Qing army had landed, numbering in the tens of thousands, and was about to attack Tokyo!

Some say that Qing Dynasty warships at sea are bombarding Kamakura and are about to raze the entire town to the ground.

Some people went even further, saying that the Qing army had already captured the Emperor and was on its way to Beijing.

There are all sorts of opinions.

The townspeople panicked and began fleeing with their families. Some ran to the mountains, some to the seaside, and some simply hid in their homes, not daring to breathe.

The entire town of Kamakura was in complete chaos, like ants whose nest had been disturbed.

Unbeknownst to anyone, several sampans carrying about a hundred Qing soldiers, a priest of the Hachiman Shrine, a white flag of the Minamoto clan, and a taiko drum were heading towards the "Zhiyuan" on the sea.

7 month 25 day.

Tokyo, Imperial Palace.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Emperor Meiji was fast asleep in his bedroom.

This Japanese "deity in the mortal world" has one queen and five consorts, but he never sleeps with them. When a "deity" sleeps, he cannot be disturbed by worldly affairs.

But today, I can't leave him alone!

Hurried footsteps echoed in the corridor and stopped outside the door.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Emperor Meiji was startled awake. He frowned and sat up.

A trembling voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty—the Qing army has landed in Kamakura...and now, a huge fire is burning there..."

'

Nani?

Kamakura?

Emperor Meiji was awakened!

A true wake-up call!

Kamakura is only 50 kilometers from Tokyo!

How did the Qing army manage to reach Kamakura?

Yesterday, the battle report from headquarters said that the Imperial Army was about to land in Zhili, Qing territory, and was going to attack Tianjin to force Qing to pay reparations and cede territory!

How come... the Qing army came to Japan first?

What kind of battle is this?

Who is actually going to cede territory and pay reparations?

Those navy and army personnel... are they trying to deceive the emperor?

Thinking of this, Emperor Meiji broke out in a cold sweat!

But he was, after all, the Emperor, the living god of Japan, and he couldn't be terrified by the news that the Qing army was 50 kilometers away.

The Qing army has come from so far away, their numbers can't be many, maybe a thousand or two at most. Meanwhile, the Imperial Guard Division hasn't even moved from Tokyo yet!

Thinking of this, Emperor Meiji calmed down a little.

He took a deep breath and then loudly ordered, "Summon all members of the General Headquarters to the Imperial Conference Hall within the Imperial Headquarters in the Palace Castle! Also, summon Ito Hirobumi and Mutsu Munemitsu!"

"Hai!"

The chief aide responded and ran out to relay the order.

It was exactly 8:00 AM.

In the Imperial Conference Hall at the General Headquarters, everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived.

Chief of the General Staff, Prince Arisugawa, has arrived, along with Vice Chief of the General Staff, Vice Admiral Kawakami Soroku, and Chief of the Naval General Staff, Kabayama Sukenori.

Navy Minister and Army Minister Saigo Tsugumichi... along with Ito Hirobumi and Mutsu Munemitsu, a whole bunch of them came.

They all rushed over in a panic, and none of them looked well.

It's clear they already know about the Qing army's landing in Japan and the burning of Kamakura!

Burning the Kamakura... Was that the Kamakura being burned?

That's burning the face of the Emperor and all Japanese samurai!

The last time Kamakura was burned was when the Kamakura Shogunate fell; it hadn't been burned for hundreds of years. This time, the Qing army actually burned it down...

This matter has caused quite a stir... Before this war began, everyone had patted their chests before His Majesty the Emperor and assured him that they would win!

Ha, now look what's happened! The Qing army has already reached Kamakura!

50 kilometers from Tokyo!

Does this look like a sure thing?

These high-ranking officials of the Emperor, each one ashamed as a schoolchild who had made a mistake, stood there with their heads bowed, waiting...

The teacher came to give them a lecture.

After a while, someone was heard shouting in a melodious Kyoto accent: "His Majesty the Emperor has arrived! All officials respectfully welcome him..."

Then the door was pushed open.

Emperor Meiji, dressed in a black army marshal's uniform, strode in.

His face was incredibly ugly, as if someone owed him eight million taels of silver.

His gaze was icy cold, sending chills down the spines of those below.

The Emperor's high-ranking officials quickly bowed, all at a 90-degree angle, making them all "bowing immortals."

The Emperor was in a bad mood and wouldn't let anyone sit down, making them stand and answer his questions.

He walked up to the throne at the head of the table, plopped down, and then asked a question through gritted teeth.

"Kamakura, how is it?"

"Where are the Qing army now?"

Prince Arisugawa Taruhito quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, Kamakura has been recaptured by the Imperial Army!"

Upon hearing this, the Emperor breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He thought to himself: "Well, it's good that we've recovered it. The Imperial Army soldiers are still brave. Although the Qing people landed, at least we drove them away."

He then asked, "How many prisoners were captured? How many enemy soldiers were killed?"

Prince Arisugawa Taruhito immediately fell silent.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again, then opened it again, then closed it again, but he couldn't say a word.

The Emperor's face darkened again.

"What happened?"

Prince Arisugawa, having no other choice, stammered, "Your Majesty—and there were no prisoners, nor were any killed—"

The Emperor's eyes widened immediately.

"What did you say?"

Emperor Meiji was indeed knowledgeable about military affairs!

How could it be possible to recapture an enemy-held stronghold without capturing or killing a single enemy?

Prince Arisugawa Taruhito quickly explained, "The Imperial Army, the Imperial Army of Yokosuka Naval Base, has already rushed to Kamakura by train at top speed. But, but we're still a step too late—the Qing Army, the Qing Army has just escaped—"

The Emperor cursed inwardly, "Baka!"

You call this a recapture?

It was clearly the Qing army that ran amok in Kamakura, took photos, and then sailed away on their own boats.

You actually call this a recapture?! Shameless!

The more the Emperor thought about it, the angrier he became.

He could already imagine how the foreign newspapers would write it in a few days. The Times would definitely have it on its front page with a huge headline: "Qing troops land on the Japanese mainland, only fifty kilometers from the Emperor's Palace."

Then came a bunch of sarcastic comments from British journalists, such as "Japan claims to be leaving Asia and joining Europe, but it can't even defend its own doorstep."

At that time, Japan will become a laughing stock in all of Europe.

Why bother with Asia or Europe?

Which European country would allow Qing troops to advance to within 50 kilometers of the capital?

They've completely lost face.

The Emperor gritted his teeth and asked again, "Are my Imperial Army just going to stand by and watch them escape?"

The ministers below looked at each other in bewilderment.

We looked at each other, and neither of us dared to speak.

What else could we do but watch them escape? They came in a cruiser; were we supposed to send Imperial Army soldiers swimming after them?

In the end, it was Naval General Staff Chief Sukenori Kabayama who reluctantly stepped forward.

He said, "Your Majesty, the Qing army came to Kamakura aboard cruisers—currently, the main force of the Combined Fleet is carrying out the mission of blockading Tianjin, Lushun, Weihaiwei, and other places, and supporting the attack on Yantai—"

He wanted to continue, saying, "Therefore, we cannot spare any troops to pursue the Qing army's cruisers for the time being," but the Emperor did not let him finish speaking.

The Emperor suddenly interrupted him, saying slowly and deliberately, "Immediately issue orders to Ōyama Iwao and Ito Sukeyuki."

"Within ten days, my imperial army must set foot on the soil of Tianjin! It must..."

"No, we can't let only Emperor Guangxu win! I must win too!"

"Otherwise... Britain, Britain will abandon Japan!"

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

The Emperor's senior ministers immediately understood the thoughts of this "wise ruler".

The Qing army landed in Kamakura and set it on fire... It's such a slap in the face!

If we don't fight back quickly, the British Empire will definitely think that Japan is no good, that it can't be a "dog" and will be "dog food" instead!

That would completely ruin everything!

Therefore, we must now give Emperor Guangxu a good slap across the face!

We must let "Father England" know that the Qing army's landing at Kamakura was just an accident, just like the sinking of the Akitsushima, the sinking of the Takachiho, and the capture of Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa.

The advantage still lies with Japan!

Then everyone bowed even deeper and shouted, "Hai!"

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