Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 325: Tokugawa Shogunate and the Qing Dynasty

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yuandao just sneered disdainfully.

"haha, really?"

"I don't think so."

"The only ones who can't be defeated are you Qing monsters. We, the Tang Dynasty, can still defeat you."

Zhuang Yuandao said this very confidently.

"It only takes a few thousand men for the Tang Dynasty to capture Dagukou and Tianjin. If Your Majesty is not concerned about disaster relief, you only need to send more troops to reinforce Dagukou, and the capital will soon belong to the Tang Dynasty."

Zhuang Yuandao's words were not only to show off the fighting power of the Tang army, but more importantly to use Tianjin to threaten the Qing court and tell the Qing court's envoys that he was capable of threatening your capital.

This forced the Qing delegation to suffer a disadvantage in the subsequent negotiations.

As soon as Zhuang Yuandao said this, Baojun and Shen Guifen's faces immediately darkened.

Baojun frowned and started to refute.

"Master Zhuang, what you said is not right."

"As for the war in Tianjin, if the Qing Dynasty did not want to negotiate and did not want the war to continue to escalate, it would be impossible for you to occupy Tianjin with only a few thousand soldiers."

Shen Guifen also quickly spoke up to agree, saying that if the Qing Dynasty wanted to recapture Tianjin, it would definitely be able to do it.

Zhuang Yuandao sneered disdainfully.

"Since you think I can take back Tianjin from the Tang Dynasty."

"Then why not give it a try!"

"We can continue the discussion after you finish the trial."

As far as Zhuang Yuandao knew, during this period of time, the Tang Dynasty had transported a lot of military equipment and food to Tianjin by sea to strengthen Tianjin's city defenses.

Today, Tianjin’s defense can definitely be described as impregnable.

When the Tang army first captured Tianjin, the Qing army was unable to recapture the important city of Tianjin, let alone now.

The Tang army was not just sitting there doing nothing during this period of time in Tianjin.

When Baojun and Shen Guifen heard this, their expressions froze.

Zhuang Yuandao is so direct in his words!

But there is nothing wrong with it.

If you don't agree, fight. This is the simplest and most effective way when there is a dispute between two parties.

Unfortunately, although this method is simple and effective, the Qing army cannot use it.

Taking a deep breath, Baojun suppressed his anger and spoke.

"Since I have come here today, I am sincere in wanting to negotiate with the Tang Dynasty."

"I hope the Tang Dynasty can also be more sincere."

There was already a hint of surrender in Baojun's words.

"Please tell me what you want, Master Zhuang, before you are willing to make peace with the Qing Dynasty."

Zhuang Yuandao heard this and held up three fingers.

"First, the Qing Dynasty needs to compensate the Tang Dynasty for blowing up the Yellow River embankment and changing the course of the Yellow River. The total amount of compensation is 100 million silver dollars."

"Second, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty must announce to the world that he will step down as Emperor and pledge his loyalty to the Tang Dynasty."

"Third, the Qing Dynasty must completely withdraw from the interior of China, cede the Liaodong Peninsula to the Tang Dynasty, and seek peace with the Tang Dynasty."

"Only in this way will the Tang Dynasty consider agreeing to a ceasefire."

It was obvious that Zhuang Yuandao was asking for too much.

Although he knew that the Qing Dynasty would never agree to such a request.

However, this did not stop him from proposing to give it a try.

What if the other party agrees?
Anyway, the Tang army has the upper hand on the battlefield now, and the initiative in negotiations is in the hands of the Tang army.

In this case, Zhuang Yuandao was naturally not afraid of the breakdown of the talks.

After hearing the three conditions proposed by the Tang Dynasty, Baojun and Shen Guifen could not help but look at each other.

Immediately, anger ignited in their hearts.

Shen Guifen slammed the table and spoke loudly.

"impossible!"

"I, the Qing Dynasty, will never agree to such a condition!"

Shen Guifen was very excited and felt extremely humiliated.

Baojun on the side also said with a serious face.

"The Qing Dynasty is sincere about the peace talks."

"I hope the Tang Dynasty can make some meaningful demands and stop joking with us."

Upon seeing this, Zhuang Yuandao crossed his legs and asked back with a look of disdain.

"is it?"

"Then I wonder what conditions the Qing Dynasty can accept?"

When Baojun heard this, he immediately knew there was something to talk about. His expression improved slightly, and then he spoke.

"Compensation for the disaster area is fine, but 100 million taels of silver is impossible."

"The most the Qing can offer is one million taels."

The term "silver dollar" was used in the Tang Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty naturally continued to use "liang" to express the unit.

Can the Qing Dynasty come up with 100 million taels of silver?

The answer is yes.

The Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty plundered the world's wealth for two hundred years, and everyone from top to bottom was rich.

As long as the Eight Banners are willing to contribute money and effort, not to mention 100 million taels of silver, even if it is several times the amount, they can come up with it.

But the problem is that the Qing Dynasty belongs to the Aisin-Gioro family. Why should the Eight Banners pay money to protect the Qing Dynasty?

This is impossible! Of course, the emperor is also rich.

Not to mention anything else, just the treasures in the Forbidden City and the Old Summer Palace, as long as Yi is willing to sell them, the gains will be countless.

But the same thing goes, the Qing Dynasty was a common Qing Dynasty of the Eight Banners. Why should the Aisin-Gioro family be the only one to pay for the protection?

But then again, even if the Qing Dynasty could come up with 100 million taels of silver, it would certainly not really give it to the Tang Dynasty.

Wouldn't it be nice if they used it to reward the army, purchase weapons, and open up new land outside the Great Wall?

Why give it to the enemy, the Tang Dynasty, for no reason!

One million silver dollars is the current bottom line of the Qing Dynasty.

Baojun continued.

"Second, the Qing emperor would not abdicate and become a vassal. At most, the two sides would agree to be brother countries."

"As for the third point, the Qing Dynasty can withdraw from the border areas, but not now."

"The Qing Dynasty will need at least ten years to complete the migration work."

"Moreover, the land outside the Great Wall is the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty. No matter what, the Qing Dynasty will never cede the land outside the Great Wall to the Tang Dynasty. This is non-negotiable."

Zhuang Yuandao just snorted coldly when he heard this.

"It seems that you are really not sincere about the ceasefire negotiations."

"The above three conditions are the basis for ceasefire negotiations. If you are unwilling to agree, then there is no need to discuss. Let's continue to fight on the battlefield to see the outcome."

"..."

The negotiating delegations of both sides argued fiercely and kept going back and forth over several conditions.

As the argument progressed, the negotiation terms gradually began to move towards the psychological expectations of both parties.

……

At the same time, Li Yi also met with the special envoy sent by the Tokugawa shogunate, the shogunate elder councilor Horida Masamune, in his own headquarters.

Looking at the Japanese soldier sitting opposite him who was wearing samurai clothes and had a shaved head, Li Yi raised his hand to motion for him to sit down, and then said.

"First of all, on behalf of the people in the disaster area, I would like to express my gratitude to Japan for its free donations."

"The Tang Dynasty and Japan have a very deep traditional friendship, which I cherish very much and sincerely hope that both sides can continue to maintain it."

Upon hearing this, Horida Masamune immediately bowed.

"The whole shogunate is deeply grateful to receive the king's praise."

"Japan is willing to maintain peace with the Tang Dynasty forever and never engage in war."

Li Yi smiled and nodded in approval.

Then he continued.

"I already roughly know the purpose of the envoy's visit."

"Whether the shogunate wants to send envoys to the Tang Dynasty or wants the Tang Dynasty to help the shogunate train a new army, considering the deep traditional friendship between the Tang Dynasty and Japan, the Tang Dynasty can agree to these things."

Upon hearing this, Horida Masamune immediately bowed down excitedly.

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your grace."

"When the news reaches Japan, the shogunate will surely be deeply grateful for the kindness of the Tang Dynasty..."

Li Yi heard this, but just waved his hand and said.

"But, I have something that I need the assistance of the shogunate."

Upon hearing this, Masamune Horida spoke immediately.

"Please give your instructions, Your Majesty. If the Tang Dynasty has any request, as long as the shogunate can do it, we will never refuse."

Li Yi nodded slightly and then said.

"Vietnam is disloyal and rebels against the Tang Dynasty. I have decided to conquer it."

"We hope to borrow troops from Japan to help us conquer Vietnam."

"Doesn't the shogunate want Tang to help it train new troops? If the new army wants to take shape, it's not enough to just train on the training ground."

"If an army wants to complete its transformation, it needs to go to the battlefield and be tempered by blood and fire."

"This expedition to Vietnam is an opportunity for the new shogunate army to be tempered in blood and fire..."

Li Yi's purpose was very clear. He wanted to get Japan to join in and fight Vietnam together.

The reason why he had such an idea was that the Tang army did not have sufficient military strength.

It is not a problem to concentrate the elite main forces to capture several important cities in Vietnam.

However, after taking down the important cities in Vietnam, it would require a large number of troops to clean up the rural areas outside the cities.

And in this process, it is estimated that there will be a lot of casualties.

Therefore, Li Yi planned to recruit the Japanese to join him. After the Tang army captured the important cities in Vietnam, he would let the Japanese fight a security war and fight for their lives with monkeys in the jungles of Vietnam.

This would reduce the Tang army's manpower deployment and casualties.

That is to say, let the Japanese help the Tang Dynasty conquer Vietnam.

In addition, Li Yi also wanted to use this opportunity to support the Tokugawa shogunate.

To give an inappropriate example, Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate is equivalent to China's Qing Dynasty.

If the Tokugawa shogunate was not overthrown, even if Japan established a new army, carried out industrial reforms, and even established new-style schools, it would only be a copy of the Qing Dynasty.

Even worse than the Qing Dynasty!
The Qing Dynasty at least achieved centralization.

The political system of the shogunate was not even centralized at all. Instead, the shogunate and local daimyo ruled together, and many powerful local feudal lords had considerable real power.

You can even raise an army and fight the shogunate at any time!
Moreover, there is a nominal supreme leader, the emperor, above the shogunate.

This meant that the Tokugawa Shogunate was inherently flawed. From the moment it was established, it was determined that it did not have the ability to integrate the entire Japan and then begin external expansion.

Even if the Tokugawa shogunate completed the reforms, their main focus would not be on external expansion, but on internal suppression.

Therefore, in history, Japan had to first overthrow the shogunate, then carry out the Meiji Restoration and centralization, and then concentrate resources on development, and finally embark on the path of militarist external expansion.

What Li Yi has to do now is to support the Tokugawa shogunate. By supporting the Tokugawa shogunate, he can intensify Japan's internal friction, suppress Japan's development, cut off Japan's future, and turn Japan into a loyal dog of the Tang Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)