The chimneys spewed thick black smoke, and the smell of burnt coal filled the air, making the base of one's tongue taste bitter.
The "behemoth" made of wood and steel roared repeatedly.
The deck, which was originally relatively stable, gradually became unsteady and difficult to stand on.
Before it arrived, Edo was left far behind as Kanrimmaru left the port.
At this time, Qingdeng realized belatedly: This was the first time in his life that he had taken a boat ride.
In his previous life, he had only ridden on that kind of small speedboat.
Not to mention in this world, he has never been to a port since time travel, and today is the first time.
Under normal circumstances, he might have admired the sea view with great interest and taken a look around the cabin of Xianlin Maru.
However, at this moment, he stood upright on the side of the ship, holding on to the railing, looking at the nine small dots on the sea in the distance.
At this time, Katsurin Taro suddenly appeared and walked to his side with a solemn expression.
"... Qingteng, although my question seems to be too late, I still want to ask - how confident are you about this increasingly serious 'makuei negotiation'?"
Qingden smiled calmly.
He did not look at Katsurin Taro and continued to look into the distance:
"Rintaro, you are not the first person to ask me this question."
"Then I won't bother saying it again."
"Don't worry."
"I will never fight a battle that has no chance of winning."
"Since I dare to stand here, then I am sure of victory."
"It's just that there are very few 'unlosable battles' in this world."
"All I can do is give my best and wait for destiny."
Katsurin Taro then asked:
"Specifically, how do you plan to act?"
A meaningful look appeared on Qingdeng's face, and then he changed into a faint tone:
"All Western countries are bandit countries."
"They relied on their strong ships and cannons to burn, kill, and loot everywhere. They committed all kinds of evil and accumulated huge wealth."
"Finally, it packages itself, calls itself civilized, and then turns around to accuse and belittle those countries and places that have been invaded."
"It's so hypocritical and disgusting."
"They have been domineering for many years, so they are used to being unreasonable."
"Even if you speak a little bit of truth, you must be forced to do so."
"Therefore, you must never show weakness in front of them."
"Once they show weakness, they will only push forward and get into trouble."
"Only by showing a tough stance of 'fighting at all costs' can we scare them and force them to the negotiating table."
"This is one of them"
"England is the most powerful country in the world."
"They have territory spread all over the world and a navy unparalleled in the world. They are truly the 'empire on which the sun never sets'."
"However, they are not invincible."
"France, Prussia and Lucia are all powerful countries that can make England feel deeply afraid."
"In order to suppress the European countries, England has been carefully playing with checks and balances and carefully preserving its own strength."
"European continent is its core interest, but the Far East is not."
"For the sake of a Far East that is not their core interest, they have lost a lot of troops - they will never do this kind of loss-making business."
"If they find out that a full-scale war breaks out with the shogunate, they will suffer huge casualties far beyond their expectations, and they will definitely take action and not dare to move lightly."
"This is the second one."
"In the end, it is the commonality of human beings."
"In a dark room, when you say you want to open the windows, others won't agree, but when you say you want to lift the roof, others will agree to open the windows."
"To sum up, as long as you grasp these three points, you will have a considerable chance of winning the negotiation."
Katsurin Taro listened very carefully, even his breathing slowed down unconsciously.
As a result...he only understood roughly.
Among them, the second point puzzled Rintaro Katsu the most.
Let the British discover that if a full-scale war breaks out with the shogunate, they will suffer huge casualties far beyond their expectations... What should they do?
Where did the shogunate get the ability to cause the British to suffer heavy losses?
Katsurin Taro fell into intense confusion and suspicion...
At this time, the Hamrim Maru had sailed into the depths of Edo Bay.
As the distance between the two sides continues to narrow, the nine "black spots" gradually reveal their "true identities".
For people who rarely go to sea, the Hamlin Maru equipped with a three-masted sail is already an incredible behemoth.
However, compared with these 9 British ships, Xianlinwan really pales into insignificance!
Hamrimmaru is just a junior battleship. Whether it is tonnage, speed, or combat capabilities, it can only be regarded as mediocre.
On the other hand, looking at the British fleet in Edo Bay - every ship in it is much larger than the Hamrimmaru!
The difference between the two is like a car and a large truck.
I saw nine British ships lined up in a row above the "T".
Anyone who has a little knowledge of the naval warfare tactics of this era will definitely be able to recognize this formation after seeing this formation of British ships: this is the classic attack formation of the 19th century naval battles!
In the 19th century...or in the era of "big ships and big guns", in order to be able to carry as much firepower as possible, the cannons were installed on both sides of the ship.
Therefore, only by turning the ships sideways, that is, arranging them into a "long snake", can the maximum combat power be exerted.
There is no doubt that the British fleet has already entered the attack mode!
As long as the attack order was given, all the ships could fire their guns together and rain down bullets on Edo.
Thanks to the efforts of the shogunate in recent years, the defensive capabilities of Edo Bay have been greatly enhanced.
Since the "Black Ship Incident", in order to avoid repeating the same mistake, the shogunate built a large number of forts on Edo Bay, most of which were supervised by Katsurin Taro.
For this reason, these nine British ships did not dare to get too close to Edo.
Otherwise, they would really dare to march directly to Edo Port like the "black ships" did 10 years ago, and create a real "shogunate in the face".
However, it is a complete fantasy to completely block the British fleet from the shore with just these coastal defense guns.
Xianlinwan split the waves and sailed toward the British fleet alone, like a lone knight riding alone into the battle.
Looking at the opponent's huge hull and the numerous black gun muzzles, the crew members on the Xianlin Pill couldn't help but swallow their saliva, and all looked frightened.
Even Katsu Rintaro couldn't help but pursed his lips and tensed up his whole body.
Only Qingdeng still looked calm.
Suddenly, the rapid sound of "thump thump thump" came from behind Ayoto and Katsurin Taro.
Manjiro trotted over and said loudly:
"Nioh-sama! Katsu-sama! We are about to pick up the ship! We are about to pick up the ship!"
Katsurin Taro immediately responded:
"Well, everything cheers me up!"
Their destination was naturally the flagship Iulialas, the ship at the center of the British fleet.
Iron-armored battleships had just been introduced not long ago.
Even for Western countries nowadays, this is a rare thing.
Ships "mostly made of wood and a small part of steel" still account for the majority of Western navies.
Therefore, these nine British ships, including the flagship Euryalas, without exception, all have wooden hulls.
Of course, these nine wooden ships are all equipped with advanced steam engines and are truly steam ships.
Qingto turned his head and said to Manjiro who was not far away:
"Manjiro, I'm going to trouble you later."
Manjiro stood up straight in a hurry:
"Yes! Lord Nioh, please rest assured! I am already familiar with the work of 'interpretation'!"
"Language" is a use-it-or-lose-it thing.
If you talk too much, you will naturally learn to talk; if you talk too little, you will naturally stop talking.
Once out of the corresponding language environment, even the mother tongue will quickly degrade.
If it were before time travel, Qingden, who was born as a top student, would still be able to communicate with people in simple English.
Today, he can still recognize most common English words.
But when he opened his mouth to speak English, he would stutter like a stammer, and he couldn't even say a word for a long time.
Funny to say, because he always interacts with the Angoulême family, he is now more fluent in French than in English.
Qingden lowered his eyelids, squinted his eyes, and stared straight at the Julius, which was getting closer and closer.
With the excellent eyesight blessed by his talent "Fire Eye + 5", he clearly saw that the side of the Julius facing Xianlinmaru was filled with densely packed sailors.
These sailors were hanging on the railings, looking at Xianlinwan with interest, like animals in a zoo, with strange smiles on their faces, whispering to each other, and saying something "chirp".
Due to the distance, Qingdeng couldn't hear what they were saying.
But he could roughly guess that he was probably saying: "Look, the monkeys from the East are here again", "What a bunch of stubborn guys" and other words full of discrimination and ridicule.
…
…
In fact, the sailors on the side of the Uriaus were exactly as Qingteng expected.
While they were full of contempt, they ridiculed and cursed unscrupulously:
"Look! It's the shogunate's ship!"
"The monkeys from Japan are here again!"
"Oh my gosh, their ships are really small! Fortunately it's a sunny day today. If the wind blows, I'm worried that their ships will be capsized!"
"Don't say that, this is already the best ship they have!"
"What a bunch of stubborn guys! Where did they get the courage to challenge us?"
"It is said that they changed an envoy! It seems that they sent a... uh... some kind of king."
"What's his name?"
"I don't remember, I just know that he seems to be a general, and his status seems to be quite high."
"Who cares who he is! How many envoys have they changed before? In the end, they were so intimidated by us that they clamped their legs and fled in a panic!"
"The captain is so kind! Send a few cannonballs into their city so that they don't dare to say anything again!"
…
Their sentences and expressions were full of undisguised contempt.
On the other side, Captain Jocelyn, the captain of the Uriaus, was saying to their temporary minister John Neil:
"Your Excellency, the messenger from the shogunate is here."
Neil replied without raising an eyebrow:
"Well, get ready to welcome it."
Colonel Jocelyn continued:
"Your Excellency, do you need to put on a 'welcome ceremony'?"
"certainly!"
Neil curled up the corners of his mouth, and a strange smile appeared on his lips.
"Send the order, let the soldiers get their weapons, line up in formation, and give the shogunate's envoy a 'grand' welcome ceremony!"
Colonel Jocelyn then showed a strange smile.
"Yes! I will do it immediately!"
Previously, in order to intimidate the shogunate's envoys and to demonstrate the "power of God" of the empire on which the sun never sets, whenever the shogunate's envoys boarded the ship, they would arrange neat and powerful military columns on the left and right sides of the boarding port.
The soldiers in the military column were all carrying the latest rifles, with bright bayonets attached to their muzzles, making them intimidating.
Looking back at every previous negotiation, it can be said that their move was always successful!
Whenever they put on this "welcome ceremony", the envoys from the shogunate who came to negotiate were all shocked and changed their expressions.
What's more, it's even difficult to walk.
For example, the young lord of the Owari clan, Tokugawa Yoshiki, turned pale with fright after seeing the British "welcome ceremony".
Have you ever seen such a large number of musketeers in the shogunate?
Have you ever seen such an awe-inspiring array of rifles?
As the British negotiator, Neil naturally learned that the shogunate had changed its envoy immediately.
This envoy was the commander-in-chief of the shogunate and enjoyed extremely high prestige in East Japan.
Neil had only one thought about this: So what?
For Neil, it didn't matter who the shogunate negotiated with them - even if Tokugawa Iemo came here in person - he felt it didn't matter from the bottom of his heart.
He had seen through the weakness of the shogunate and the incompetence of the shogunate officials.
No matter who comes, they are just coming with a new soft-footed shrimp!
They lack both diplomatic experience and the courage to overturn the table.
Neither of them exist, both are just like a piece of plasticine that they can poke and press.
No matter what, we in the UK will decide on this 100,000 pound compensation!
Thinking of this, Neil proudly picked up the pipe in his hand, took a long puff, and thought with interest about how he would tease the new envoy of the shogunate who was coming soon.
…
…
Hamrimmaru sailed to the side of the Julius and then moved it across the hull so that the two ships could be as close to each other as possible.
Due to the huge size difference between the two ships, it was impossible to directly "jump gangs" to board the ship.
A rope ladder was thrown from the side of the Julius to allow Aomori and others to board the ship.
There are three people in charge of boarding the ship——
Messenger Qingdeng.
Deputy Katsurin Taro
Translated by Manjiro.
Katsurin Taro looked at Qingden and said solemnly:
"Qingdeng, let's go."
After that, he and Manjiro turned around and walked towards the rope ladder.
As a result... Qingdeng stayed where he was, motionless.
"Rintaro, Manjiro, don't be anxious."
The two of them were stunned, turned around, and gave Qingdeng doubtful looks.
Qingden chuckled a few times.
"Anyway... let's give them a little 'surprise' first."
After saying that, he gently caressed Vairocana on his waist...
…
…
The Julius—
The sailors on the ship have formed two neat rows of tight human walls on the left and right sides of the boarding port as Neil planned.
They all held their heads high, straightened their chests, and wanted to point their nostrils to the sky. They held their rifles tightly in their left arms, with the muzzles of the guns and the tips of their bayonets pointing diagonally at the sky.
As for Neil and Colonel Jocelyn, they stood side by side at the end of the human wall.
They held their hands behind their backs and had soft smiles on their faces.
At first glance, they seemed to be waiting for the arrival of Qingdeng and others - in fact, they couldn't wait to see what Qingdeng and others would show after seeing their "welcome ceremony"
Interesting reaction.
The sailors held their heads high and their chests high.
The minister and captain were full of ambition.
A peaceful atmosphere.
But at this moment... the scene suddenly changed!
A certain sailor suddenly frowned, his expression was painful, his waist was bent, and his steps were swaying uncontrollably.
The comrades beside him saw this and immediately reached out to support him:
"Brother, you..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly froze, and then, like this man, his expression was dominated by a look of intense pain.
It's like it's contagious.
Passed from one person to another... everyone showed pain on their faces, and Neil and Colonel Jocelyn were no exception.
One second they were smiling triumphantly, and the next second it was as if they were suddenly ill. The blood in their cheeks quickly faded, and drops of cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.
Neil murmured with difficulty:
"What's happening here……?"
At this moment, everyone present felt as if a huge stone was pressing on their shoulders! They were so "pressured" that they couldn't breathe! Breathing became extremely difficult!
Some people managed to hold on and were still able to stand firm.
More people were swaying in their steps and swaying, and had to bend down and lower their heads to make themselves feel better.
There were also some people who simply sat slumped on the ground, panting like dogs.
The originally tight human wall gradually became loose and eventually became messy.
Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch...
At this time, Neil heard footsteps coming from ahead.
He raised his eyelids with difficulty and looked forward - a tall figure was slowly walking towards him.
The sun shines from behind him, outlining his figure.
Because the sun was too bright, his body and face were in relative shadow, making it difficult for people to see his face clearly.
Neil... no, it should be said that he is a person with keen senses. He can all sense that there is an invisible aura escaping from this person's body.
It is this "invisible aura" that makes it difficult for them to breathe and stand!
Wherever he goes, the pressure is greatest, so the formation becomes more chaotic.
Wherever he passed, the sailors were like wilted wheat, they were weak.
The scene is so shocking!
Soon, a tall figure stood 5 steps in front of Neil.
"The governor of Gyeonggi Town, the chief minister of the Ministry of War, Ju Qingdeng."
He said this calmly.
*******
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I went to sweep the tomb yesterday and was exhausted. I slept until the afternoon and didn't wake up until the afternoon... So today's word count is slightly less, but I still tried my best to code up to 5k and did not return 4k.
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This chapter has been completed!