On the way through Xiamen, Li Xiande met the American cruiser "Monacan", and through personal connections and financial inducements, he persuaded Lieutenant Commander Masson, the captain of this powerful battleship with a displacement of 6.4-inch cannons and a displacement of 4,000 tons, to join in and become the backup of the Japanese expeditionary forces.

However, what he did not expect was that under the powerful counterattack of the Qianguo Navy and Army, the entire army of the Qianguo Army was annihilated, and not only did Li Xiande become a prisoner of the Qianguo Army, but the "Monaken" was also captured by the Qianguo Navy, and the Qianguo Government launched solemn representations with the US Government on the basis that the "Monaken" violated neutrality and attacked the Qianguo Navy. This made the US Government extremely embarrassed, and in the end, the US Government extradited Li Xiande and others back to China for trial, and put them in prison, and sold the "Monaken" to Qianguo at a symbolic price of $1 as compensation.

Because of the crime of aiding the Japanese invasion of Qianguo, Li Xiande was sentenced to three years in prison and served his sentence in the Philadelphia State Penitentiary.

Because Li Xiande had contributed a lot to Japan's planning of the conquest of the people of Moswan, his talent and enthusiasm also left a deep impression on the Japanese government, so when Li Xiande came to defect, the Japanese government accepted him without hesitation and made him a senior adviser to the Ministry of War.

Now Li Xiande is running around for the Japanese government to win foreign aid.

Long before the outbreak of the Southwestern War. In order to prevent the rebellion of the Kagoshima clan. The Japanese government has been working hard to strengthen its armaments. In order to quickly build an army to deal with the possible rebellion, the Japanese government purchased a large number of old ships from the United States at a relatively cheap price, and the mediator was Li Xiande.

"I have to bring you good news." Li Xiande smiled and sat down on the chair in front of Okubo Ritsu, "I brought the 'Alert' number. The ramming gunboats 'Fury' and 'Shock', both equipped with powerful new underwater lightning strike devices, could easily sink a giant ironclad ship and are now parked in Tokyo Bay. They are piloted by retired U.S. Navy officers and sailors, and these warships are ready for battle. ”

"Thank you so much!" Okubo was relieved to think that Tokyo's current thin maritime defense had been strengthened by the addition of these three American gunboats.

After learning that the two ironclad ships, the "Hiei" and the "Kongo," had been secretly looted by the Satsuma, Okubo was shocked and inexplicable, and he was afraid that the Satsuma Navy would take these two ships as the vanguard and drive straight to Tokyo, and now except for the "Fuso" ironclad ship that had not been able to fight in Tokyo Bay. There is no one in the government navy who can match these two ships. Okubo was worried, and the Japanese government had limited financial resources at this time. Unable to afford to buy another big ship, the arrival of the three "underwater pole mineboats" that Li Xiande bought for him at this time undoubtedly solved his urgent need.

"You seem to be very worried, Your Excellency Okubo." Noticing the sad expression on Okubo's face, Lee immediately asked, "Did something happen during my absence?" ”

"Osaka Castle has fallen, my friend." Okubo Ritsu sighed and sat down, "And at this important moment, Mr. Matsuju died of illness......"

"It turned out that Mr. Takayoshi Kido passed away." Hearing the news of Kido Takayoon's death, Li Xiande's face showed a solemn look, "It's really unfortunate. ”

"The rebels are attacking very aggressively, and I expect them to launch a new offensive soon...... "Okubo remembered the current situation of the battle, and his face was full of gloom.

"Your Excellency Okubo, at such a tense time, I would like you to reconsider my proposal to quell the rebellion with the help of foreign military force." Li Xiande looked at Okubo Ritsu and said.

Okubo Ritsu sighed and was silent.

"Your Excellency Okubo, you are familiar with the history of your country, I remember that it was during the reign of the shogunate, and in order to quell the rebellion, the shogunate once invited Dutch warships to participate in the suppression of the rebellion." Li Xiande further persuaded, "There was also a rebellion of cultists in Qianguo, which is adjacent to Japan, and the scale of which was greater than that of any other war in Europe, almost swept the whole country, and the Qianguo government used almost all the troops of the whole country, but it was unable to quell it, and it was only after it was forced to bring in foreign troops to assist in quelling the riot. In order to quell the rebellion, the Qianguo suffered astonishing losses, and I have always believed that if they had heeded the advice of the foreigners earlier and quelled the riot with the help of foreign troops, they would not have allowed the riot to last for nearly thirteen years, and the great catastrophe for the country could have been completely avoided. ”

"What you say makes sense, General, but you must know that the situation in Japan is different from that of the Qianguo now." Okubo Toshitsu sighed, "Mr. Matsuki made a similar suggestion to His Majesty the Emperor on his deathbed. ”

"Oh? What did Kido say? Li Xiande immediately asked.

"Mr. Songju believes that the key to this war is at sea, so he hopes to lease warships of foreign navies to defeat the rebels' navies, cut off the rebels' sea routes, and achieve the goal of defeating the rebels." Okubo replied.

"With all due respect, Your Excellency Okubo, I think that not only the Imperial Navy, but also the situation of the Imperial Army is no longer optimistic." Li Xiande said in a deep voice, "Because of the successive defeats, the morale of the Imperial Army has dropped to a very low level, and on my way to Tokyo, I passed by some fortresses where the Imperial Army was stationed, and found that both officers and soldiers there were shrouded in a deep defeatist mood and fear, and such an army, no matter how advanced the equipment, could not defeat the enemy. ”

"You're right, my friend, the Imperial army is in desperate need of a victory right now to boost their low morale." Okubo nodded, "I'll reconsider your suggestion." ”

"That's great!" Li Xiande said happily when he heard that Okubo Ritsu seemed to be loose.

"I will advise His Majesty the Emperor in due course and consider this matter with my colleagues." Okubo thought for a moment and then said, "However, before that, you can make relevant preparations, for example, you can recruit some people from among the retired American foreign military personnel to come to Japan as military advisers to help the Japanese government tide over the difficulties, and of course, they will be paid and honored accordingly." ”

"Yes, Your Excellency, I will do my best." Li Xiande became excited again, and because of the excitement, fine beads of sweat oozed from his bare forehead, which was not covered by hair.

At this time, he seemed to have seen himself wearing a medal, and the warm scene of being welcomed by the American people's hero after returning to his hometown.

But Lee didn't expect that this would be the last time he would discuss his proposal with Okubo Ritsu.

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On the battlefield outside Kyoto, after a burst of heavy artillery bombardment, the samurai rushed forward in a swarm of violent, and the government army was locked in an unprecedentedly fierce battle, and it was gradually difficult to hold out in the face of the onslaught of the Satsuma army.

The onslaught of the Satsuma army had completely shaken the front of the government army, some of the government soldiers had already run out of bullets, and the officers began to give orders to "jade shattering", burn the military flag, and then launch a suicidal charge at the enemy.

On the high ground, Saigo Takamori held a telescope and carefully observed the battle situation.

He saw that some of the civilians in Kyoto who had assisted the government forces in the war had taken up their guns and joined the battle, as did all the government officers and soldiers. Originally, he thought that these forcibly conscripted civilians would not participate in the battle, but what he did not expect was that at this moment, they showed stronger courage and will to fight than the government soldiers.

But unfortunately, without much military training, they faced brave and warlike samurai.

Every bullet fired by the samurai was like an eye, inflicting terrible damage on the government troops, and seeing that a simple shot could not repel the enemy, the civilians, together with the government soldiers, raised their stinging guns, let out an earth-shattering cry, and rushed at the samurai in a frenzy and desperate. As countless sharp bayonets cut through the morning air, flickering with a deadly chill in the golden sunlight, the soldiers roared menacingly like beasts, bullets useless to both sides of hand-to-hand combat. Heavy butts whirred, shattered skulls splattered, blood covered the battlefield like a rainbow, and the gasps of fighting, cursing and screams of the wounded continued. The battlefield was filled with a strong and fresh pungent smell of blood.

Saigo Takamori saw a civilian kill a Satsuma soldier, but he was immediately slashed by the long knife of the Satsuma samurai, and blood spurted wildly and fell.

The battle is over, and Saigo Takamori notices a government officer who is on the verge of death looking at the battlefield with distracted eyes. Saigo Takamori followed his gaze and saw that the battlefield was full of solidifying corpses, and many angry and unyielding soldiers on both sides had different expressions and lifelike, still maintaining the fighting posture of the last moment of their lives.

Seeing this tragic scene, Saigo Takamori silently put down the telescope in his hand.

For him, who has been on the battlefield for a long time, such a tragic battle scene is rare.

At this moment, a samurai who reported the news came galloping forward. (To be continued......)

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