However, in February 1874, before he came to reside in Qing, he was dismissed from the extraordinary envoy of Qing due to the outbreak of the Saga War, travelling to Kyushu to suppress the war.
しかし、清国駐在に至る前の明治7年（1874年）2月、佐賀の乱が勃発し、同職を解かれ、乱鎮圧のため九州出張。