At this time, Kanetaro said, "Is there really no way? I remember that at the beginning of the Japanese-Qing War, the 'Gaosheng' incident was also very irresistible. British public opinion was very likely to go to war with our Japan, but it was calmed down after our treatment. Can't we try to deal with it again this time?"

Komura Sutaro smiled bitterly and said, "This time, another time, these two things have different natures, so they cannot be like this."

The Gaosheng incident occurred in the Battle of Fengdao at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. At that time, the Qing court rented a British merchant ship, the Gaosheng, to transport troops to Korea, and sent warships Jiyuan and Guangyi to escort them. In the waters of Fengdao, the Guangyi was intercepted by the Japanese fleet, and the Guangyi was sunk. The Jiyuan commander Fang Boqian escaped at the last battle. The Qing army on the Gaosheng refused to surrender to the Japanese warship and was eventually sunk by the Japanese warship.

This incident did cause an uproar at that time, because the Gaosheng was a British merchant ship, and the Boer War had not yet occurred at that time. The British Empire was at its peak, and the Japanese warships dared to sink it openly. Therefore, the whole country of Britain was in an uproar, and public opinion was boiling, and they all expressed their desire to severely punish Japan. The British Navy also asked the British government to authorize it to retaliate against the Japanese Navy. The Qing court, including Li Hongzhang, also believed that Britain would definitely stand on its own side. Even if it could not directly send troops, it would join forces with other countries to sanction Japan.

Nazhi, after the British Maritime Court conducted an investigation and hearing, it ruled that the Japanese warship sunk the British merchant ship "Gaosheng" as a legal act. The reason was that China and Japan were in a state of war. The Gaosheng carried Chinese soldiers and military supplies, so it was already involved in the war. Moreover, the Chinese soldiers on the ship also refused to implement the captain's order to surrender to the Japanese army. From an international law, the Japanese warship had the right to sink the Gaosheng, so naturally they would not hold Japan accountable, and the compensation liability was borne by the Qing government. Of course, the substantial reason was that Britain had chosen Japan as its Far East agent at this time, so naturally he was unwilling to suppress Japan too much. In the final analysis, international politics serves the interests of its own country, if it were.

Of course, in order to win the outcome of the Gaosheng incident, Japan also did a lot of public relations work. Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Japan provided 600 pounds of funding to Reuters in exchange for Reuters' care for Japan. After the Gaosheng incident, the Japanese government drew 1,000 pounds as funding for the activity, which won some British experts and scholars publicly defend Japan in the media. For example, at that time, Westlake, professor at Cambridge University and Professor Huland of Oxford University, published articles in the Times to defend Japan. Therefore, public opinion later reversed, and the Japanese government protested strongly against the UK, demanding that the British government order their subjects to strictly adhere to neutrality. Therefore, the Gaosheng incident also became a major victory for Japan in the diplomatic battlefield during the Sino-Japanese War of 1895.

Katsurao turned this incident back in hopes that Japan would have another major reversal of public opinion like the Gaosheng incident. But Komura Sutaro knew that it was impossible to reversal this time, because in the Gaosheng incident, Japan's behavior stood firm in international law, so Japan firmly held on to this point and won the best result for itself. Some experts and scholars dared to defend Japan because of this battle. This time, the behavior of the Japanese army cannot be accepted by the public, and no one dared to defend Japan again.

Another important reason was that Japan was able to win the victory of the Gaosheng incident. Another important reason was that the Qing court's performance was too clumsy. On the same day that the Gaosheng incident occurred, the Japanese side had already begun to discuss the matter with the British side. They expressed their willingness to compensate Britain for the losses and severely punished the Japanese captain who made their own decisions. They also properly placed the British crew members on the Gaosheng, and actively carried out a large amount of evidence preparation for the British hearing investigation, collected a large number of investigation records of the rescued Gaosheng captain and chief mate, as well as testimony from other rescued people. When they blamed that these testimony were beneficial to Japan and all provided help for Japan's final victory in the Gaosheng incident.

The Qing court's reaction speed was obviously not as fast as that of Japan. Two days after the Gaosheng incident, the Qing court began to discuss the matter with the British minister. Not only did it take a step forward, but the Qing court also believed that Britain would definitely come forward to teach Japan a lesson. It did not start an investigation or collect evidence, and it was all waiting to watch the show. No one thought about what to prepare, nor did he think about taking the initiative to use public opinion. In the end, even the hearing, including the second hearing, was held in Shanghai, China, did not send anyone to attend.

But now Japan is facing overseas Chinese, and their understanding of public opinion is obviously much deeper than that of the Qing court, and the means of manipulating public opinion are a hundred times better than that of the Qing court. Just look at this time, the evil deeds of the Japanese army were spread all over the world in just a few days, making Japan extremely passive, which shows its ability to manipulate public opinion.

Of course, the most important point depends on its performance in the war. The final ruling of the Gaosheng incident was issued on November 10 of that year. Before that, Japan won the Dadonggou Sea Battle on September 17, broke through the Yalu River defense line on October 26, and attacked the Chinese border. It occupied Jinzhou on November 6 and occupied Dalian Bay on the 7th, basically locking in the victory of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. At this time, Britain made a ruling in favor of Japan, and the meaning of it was naturally self-evident.

On the battlefield now, the Japanese army's defeat was determined, but the difference between big defeat and small defeat. Even if they can retreat to the Korean Peninsula, it is still unknown whether they can make a comeback. However, at this time, the People's Army was in full swing and was at its peak. In this case, who would support a loser?

After listening to Sutaro Komura's explanation, everyone realized that the victory that year was impossible to replicate, because there was nothing to say.

After a while, Yutoto Yama Prefecture, who had not spoken out, said: "Ito-kun, what do you think?"

Hirobuki Ito said: "The army is the most important thing, and the others are false names. Only by protecting the army and allowing the army to retreat to the Korean Peninsula can we have a chance to turn the tables. Even if we negotiate peace with the East China government and the army is still there, we can have enough bargaining chips? If we lose this group of troops, Japan's Guoyuan will definitely be in a slump from now on. Therefore, as long as we can protect the army, we must do whatever we can."

When Yama Prefecture heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Hirofumi Ito never likes military personnel to interfere in politics, but was afraid that Hirofumi Ito would not let go of the improper behavior of the army and use it to attack the military's forces. Now he can feel at ease.

Hirofumi Ito is the one who can distinguish priorities. Japan has consumed a lot of national strength for this war, and its domestic economy is almost on the verge of collapse. The current situation is extremely unfavorable to Japan. It is almost impossible to rely on profits from this battlefield. What we need to do now is to minimize Japan's losses as much as possible.

According to Hirofumi Ito's plan, once the Japanese army retreated to the Korean Peninsula, they immediately started negotiations with the East China government. As long as Japan's interests in the Korean Peninsula are protected, they can watch the East China government fight with Russia, and then wait for an opportunity to act. However, the negotiations must be backed by strength. Now, the navy built by Japan for 10 years has been almost wiped out, and only this army is still a little weight, so it must not be lost. Hirofumi Ito is not a person who talks about benevolence, righteousness and morality. At this time, as long as it can protect the Japanese army, any means can be used.

At this time, Kanetaro said again: "Ito-kun, then what should we do?"

Hirobuki Ito said: "First of all, the governments of Britain and the United States still support us now, and they can only support us, because both the East China government and Russia are in power are not good for them. So Komura, when you meet with the ambassadors of Britain and the United States, you should tell them this thoroughly, don't be led by them, and don't be scared by their bluffs. As for the pressure of public opinion, the governments of Britain and the United States should find ways to deal with it, and we don't have to worry about this. Of course, the necessary commitments can be made, and you can consider the degree of your own."

Komura Sutaro smiled bitterly, knowing that this was a thankless thing, but Hirobuki Ito was right. Now Japan must use any means to protect the Japanese army, so he nodded and said, "Okay, I will do my best to deal with it."

Hirofumi Ito turned to Aritomoto Yama Prefecture again and said, "Yama Prefecture, please immediately order the front line, ordering the army to cross the Yalu River as soon as possible, and giving up all vehicles and supplies, and saving talents is the most important thing."

Yupeng of Shanxian hesitated for a moment before nodding, saying, "Okay, I will order the front line immediately."

Hirobuki Ito also said: "If our army successfully withdraws back to the Korean Peninsula, I hope the cabinet will immediately start negotiations with the East China government, and from now on, we will start preparing. At the same time, I hope you can support it with all your strength."

Kanetaro hesitated for a moment and said, "Ito-kun, is it the right time to negotiate with the East China government now? The war will definitely break out between the East China government and Russia. We can actually wait and see."

Hirobuki Ito shook his head and said, "It is precisely because the East China government and Russia must fight, that now is the best time to negotiate with the East China government. Only at this time can we get a good result. The East China government will never dare to offer too high prices, and will even make some concessions to us. After the war between the East China government and Russia is over, we can decide our next action based on the results."
Chapter completed!