 Domestically, the action also mollified those within the Meiji government who were pushing for a more aggressive foreign policy, and who were enraged by the government's refusal in 1873 to attack Korea.It is significant that the expedition took place shortly after the Saga Rebellion, and was led by Saigō Jūdō (Saigō Takamori's younger brother) and consisted largely of former Satsuma and Saga "samurai".More generally, the Japanese incursion into Taiwan in 1874 and the feeble Chinese response was a blatant revelation of Chinese weakness and an invitation to further foreign encroachment in Taiwan.