In mid-August of the sixth year of Kaei Kaei (late September of 1853 in the Western calendar), Omefu Oguri Tadashi returned to Edo obediently to Ezo. After handing over the "envoy" errand, he was summoned by Omefushi Horiken

.

As soon as they met, Horiken questioned Oguri, but Oguri was diligent in official affairs. When he returned to Edo, he only changed his clothes at home and then hurriedly handed over his official duties. Therefore, he was not clear about the major events that had happened recently. He only knew that the official

Fang Yang passed away, but everyone in Edo knew about it, so Ometsuo definitely didn't ask about this. Feeling guilty, he mistakenly thought that there was something wrong with his mission to the north. At that time, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat - there was nothing he could do about it.

, Naohide did too many "bad things" in Kitaizo Land, and he would definitely be dead if he was punished.

But actually this is just a misunderstanding.

"It's such a troubled time. It's a shame that the Russians came to Nagasaki as envoys at this time." Seeing Oguri Tadjun's reaction, Omefuhori Toshiken thought he also knew that after the visit of the black ships, high-level ministers went on envoys to Western countries.

Fuso's matter is very sensitive, and the shogunate has loosened its previous control over it, so it is not surprising that Oguri, as an omifu, knows about it.

When Oguri heard that it had nothing to do with Naoxiu, he just wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but he immediately realized that this was not a good thing. Tigers were rejected through the front door and wolves were admitted through the back door. The Miren Black Boat came and tormented everyone to death. This

The Lucian ships are coming again, do you have to peel off another layer of skin?

Therefore, Xiaoli vaguely said that he understood a little bit, but did not know the inside story.

After hearing what he said, Omefushi Horiken introduced the whole story in detail.

The Japanese black ship left on the twelfth day of the sixth lunar month by the Japanese lunar calendar. Later, the shogunate sent someone to notify Mizuno Tadatsuki, the head of Nagasaki, and asked him to be on higher alert. But what was he afraid of? On the 18th day of the seventh lunar month, the special envoy of Russia, Pu

Jiating suddenly appeared at Nagasaki with four sailing battleships.

After a brief negotiation, Nagasaki who was on duty did not dare to neglect Mizuno Tadatsuki and quickly sent someone to deliver a message to Edo, while the Roku envoy stayed in Nagasaki waiting for a reply.

Letting envoys from various countries negotiate in Nagasaki is a common tactic used by the shogunate.

After the Sino-English War in the South China Sea, the shogunate canceled the "Foreign Ship Disarmament Order" and replaced it with the "Fuel and Fresh Water Supply Order". Anyway, when encountering envoys from Western countries, they would all be sent to Nagasaki, and then tell others to arrive from Nagasaki.

It takes three months to go back and forth from Edo. If you can wait, just wait. If you can't wait, you can come back next time.

Not to mention, although this trick is a bit cumbersome, it is very effective and has fooled away several waves of messengers.

However, it was estimated that this time it would not be possible to delay, so Nagasaki Minister Mizuno Tadatsuki specifically reminded all the adults in Edo that "Shiro is very determined, and he is bringing four warships with him on this trip."

Why did Mizuno mention "four warships"?

This is an old joke:

After Chief Lao Zhong Abe came to power, in order to deal with external threats, he repeatedly proposed a large-scale coastal defense. Because the investment was relatively large, ministers and princes did not want to do it. Wouldn't it be nice to have the money to drink some wine or make some money? So

The ministers took a roundabout way and said, "This matter is of great importance. How about we conduct an investigation and study?"

Because there were so many people, Abe had no choice but to hold his nose and agree, but the final result of this investigation was very deceiving - according to a detailed summary and analysis, there were no more than two foreign ships coming at the same time, so there was no need to make a big fanfare, everyone just needed to

Just build a few more platforms and take precautions. Although it is not stated explicitly, the implication is that Abe-sama, you are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Of course, Abe could ask people to ask, "What if there are more big ships coming in the future?", but this is not the style of Abe-sama, who is known for his all-round skills - he refused to fight with everyone, so he had to make an announcement. , this matter just got over in this way - in fact, several daimyo actually believed in it, these are Mito Clan, Saga Clan, Chikuzen Clan and Tosayamauchi Family.

However, those who can become the head of the shogunate are not good at it. Abe's strong attack failed, so he adopted the strategy of pulling out the firepower. Didn't the old lord of Mito, Tokugawa Saiaki, always declare that "repelling the barbarians is the top priority of the shogunate, and we must rectify our military preparedness." "To prepare for the unexpected", so Abe prepared to push Qi Zhao to the front to charge for him. Unexpectedly, the plan did not change quickly. Qi Zhao had only been in Shanghai defense for a year and then this man attacked in large numbers - getting up early Catch a late gathering, where can I go to argue with you!

Nagasaki Minister Mizuno Tadatsuki specifically mentioned "four warships". Whether intentional or not, it indeed caused a commotion in Edo - because the black ships that had just left were also four!

But after all, the Lucians came to Nagasaki to negotiate in accordance with the rules of the shogunate, and according to feedback, their attitude was very gentle and did not sound threatening like the Mi people, so the shogunate was relatively calm - Admiral Perry of the Mi people said, "Chihuo The steamer will arrive at Fusang in eighteen days and nights." Do you hear this as a human saying?

Moreover, several coastal defense officers also said that there was nothing to fear from this Lucian man, because firstly, the people who came were all sailing boats, and secondly, they had something to rely on - the new Odaiba in Nagasaki had also been repaired.

After the Kurofune's visit, the ministers learned some Western information and understood that steamships were sharper than sailing ships. A pure sailing ship attack was disadvantageous - that is, if the wind direction and strength were favorable, a sailing ship would attack Edo. Places like Nagasaki with their own harbors are very inconvenient, but steamships do not have this shortcoming.

As for the construction of Nagasaki Odaiba, it was a blessing from God, and it happened just in time. This was one of the few good news for the shogunate this year.

As Fuso's only place for foreign trade, Tsushima Island is small and Naha is still nominally the territory of the Naha Kingdom, so it is naturally the focus of defense. Many platforms have been built before, but the first one is that the large tubes are outdated. , Secondly, the Odaiba is also old and in urgent need of renovation.

In the past, Chief Abe asked everyone to rectify their armaments. Several feudal lords paid more attention to it. Among them were the Nagasaki Imperial Banner Saga Domain and the Fukuoka Domain. It would be fine if these two families did not pay attention to it. As Imperial Banners, the shogunate general of Nagasaki The defense task is entrusted to these two families, and they will be responsible if anything goes wrong.

And it is not that things have happened before. In the fifth year of Bunka (1808), the British battleship Phaeton captured Nagasaki. At that time, Nagasaki ordered Yasuhide Matsudaira to perform a disgrace and apologize, and the Nabeshima family in Saga was also in disgrace.

If something like this happens again, it is certain that the Nabeshima family will reduce its seal or even eliminate the feudal clan. The Fukuoka Kuroda family does not dare to be careless. "The two families take turns guarding Nagasaki. Who can guarantee that Saga will always be the unlucky one?"

So the two families joined forces - of course, because the territory around Nagasaki belonged to the Nabeshima family in Saga, the Nabeshima family exerted greater strength. From the fourth year of Koka (1847) to the third year of Kayei (1850), two The family repeatedly petitioned the shogunate and finally received permission to start renovating the fort and replacing the barrel.

In addition, the Saga Domain also received a license from the shogunate to build two forts on Ioujima and Kannajima outside the original Odaiba.

Of course, when the princes built fortifications for Nagasaki, the shogunate had to give them benefits. The main benefit was to lend money to these two families. In addition, Saga also gained the right to manage Amakusa County, the 25,000-koku imperial lord.

As a result, it was better to rush it than to rush it. The entire project was completed in May of this year (Heli), and a new type of large tube was installed, which provided the shogunate with confidence to deal with the Lucians - the "new style" mentioned here is the same as before.

compared to.

Moreover, most of the large tubes are produced by Fuso. If you don’t know the inside story, it is very exciting to come here in advance. Under Naohide’s remote guidance, Saga built the ironworks one year ahead of schedule in 1851.

Moreover, the cannon-casting technology has also been improved to a certain extent compared with the past. The volcanic ash cement and masonry also allowed the two forts on Ioujima and Kannajima to be completed one year ahead of schedule.

Oguri Tadatsun watched Horiken's words with great interest, but the more he listened, the more confused he became. What does this have to do with me? As a big head, you have a lot of things to do, so why do you have time to talk to me about this?

It just so happened that Hori Ken had basically finished explaining the ins and outs and finally returned to the topic:

"Sir, please tell me, is it reliable to team up with the Lucians to resist the Mi people?"

It turned out that Shirozu and Matsumae in the north were the first line of defense against the Lucians moving south. Ohmatsuke Horiken felt that Oguri had just returned from there and should know the Lucians better. In addition, Oguri had served as a Nagasaki Mesuke.

The famous Nanmantong in the shogunate, so he wanted to find Oguri to analyze the feasibility of this plan.

"Who dares to say this? You can cut off this person's head immediately to thank the world!"

When Xiaoli heard this, he became angry and said that this method was too outrageous and he should kill the sinner quickly.

Then he analyzed the pros and cons for Horiken.

First of all, this is a bad idea. Let’s not talk about whether the Lucians can agree to join hands with the shogunate to fight against the Mi people, nor whether the two families can fight together. It is easy to ask the gods but difficult to send them away. Have you not considered this?

Besides, if the Lucian people can do things in vain, why don’t they want to open a country and open a port? Isn’t this the front door to reject the tiger and the back door to let the wolf in? Even if you see a rabbit or a dog, and seek medical treatment in a hurry, you can’t think of it as one thing.

Horiken smiled sarcastically and explained, "Someone suggested it (the emphasis is that "someone" is not me). I think this idea is quite bizarre, but people said that the Mi people were coercive, and it was our shogunate's initiative to unite with Lucia, so among them

The meaning is very different.”

Xiaoli almost died of anger. What's the use of active and passive? It's just a good reputation. In fact, it doesn't smash the ancestral family tradition to pieces. Of course, it should be beaten, but it's not this way.

But then he thought about it. Speaking of justice or reputation, many ministers really cared about it. This was probably the reason why Daimufu was tempted - if he didn't feel tempted, could he ask if it was feasible?

As a result, Oguri became very vigilant. He knew that it was difficult to distinguish right from wrong by reasoning, and Horiken did not listen to his reasoning, but asked whether he was right or wrong.

Whether it is feasible or not means whether the two partnerships can win.

So Oguri calmly began to analyze Horiken, "There are actually three things that cannot be done about this Lu man":

First of all, the Lu people don't have much strength, at least not near Fusang.

Before, Naohide was afraid that the people in Edo would sell out his teammates - if out of panic or for some unexpected reason, the shogunate directly assigned the Northern Ezo territory to Lucia, then wouldn't his group have been working in Shirozu in vain, so

He asked Xianheng Yangxing to clearly explain the form of the countries and the strength of the Lucians in the Feng Shuo.

"The Okhotsk District fleet in the northeast of the Lu people only has four transport ships, two small boats, and five small sailing ships. Do you know this?"

Horiken nodded, and took out a few books from under the boxes, which were the storybooks submitted by Xianheng Matheson over the years.

Xiaoli took a look and saw that they were well prepared, which was good. He saved himself a lot of talking. He opened the storybook about ordnance and pointed out that the Lu Navy only had sailing ships and no steam ships. It only had solid bullets but no split bombs, and the large barrels were also

Compared with those who are behind the times and those in the book, the strength gap is huge.

"What you said is very good, and you are familiar with the business, but doesn't Nagasaki Roshima still have four large ships? It is said to be from Europa. No matter what the combat power is, our shogunate does not have a single large ship." Hori Ken

It means that I am not a person who eats dry food.

"My lord is wise." Although the direction of his attention is wrong, Oguri is quite pleased that the top ministers are now paying attention to Western information.

"With the same number, the Lu people will definitely not be able to defeat the Mi people, right?"

Horiken nodded. This can be seen from his attitude. Admiral Perry is so arrogant. Not only did he break into Edo Bay, but he also fired threats with artillery. This commander Pu Jating is said to be gentle and soft-spoken. He must be so arrogant.

It's because of lack of strength.

Oguri Tadatsun beckoned someone to bring a globe - Xianheyang Company gave it away for free for almost no money, so as long as the ministers were interested in getting one, it would not be difficult to find it.

He pointed to the globe and explained to Omufu that if the Lu people wanted to reinforce Fuso, they would first go from Europa to the Cape of Good Hope and then all the way east to reach Fuso. But if the Mi people wanted to come to Fuso, they could get there directly along the Pacific route.

To quench our thirst, even if the Lucians lend us four large ships, the Mi people can continue to increase their troops.

Although there is a globe, Tomon Ohmefuhori really hasn't studied it carefully - Fuso is just such a small lump on the globe. People usually brag about Fuso's vast territory. This comparison is so disturbing that many ministers

They didn't even look at the globes, and some even suggested destroying all the globes. Fortunately, the senior middlemen were relatively sensible and refused to agree.

Horiken compared the two routes and determined that Oguri was not exaggerating, but he had a question:

"Why don't people like this fly directly to Fusang instead of taking a detour to Xiangjiang?"

In this regard, the Omatsu was actually very dissatisfied, "Do we have to go around in a circle and look down on Fuso?"

Oguri expressed his calmness about this. The shogunate closed the country and ocean navigation was completely abolished. Therefore, most of the shogunate had no idea about monsoons and ocean currents. It was not surprising that Horiken asked this.

After the explanation was completed, Horiken expressed regret, "It turns out that this is what Fuso Kamikaze has been passed down from ancient times. The Mongols are really stupid!"

"Moreover, the Lu people and the Mi people are very close. It would be a blessing if they didn't invade together." The building was tilted to an unknown place, and Oguri quickly pulled him back. He explained the Mi people's experience in establishing a country, expressing that the Mi people and the Mi people

The Lu people are now vaguely united to resist the British, so there is basically no possibility of them fighting each other - don't just think about good things.

Moreover, Oguri also found predictions and analyzes about the Crimean War from the storybooks. He told Horiken that the Russians would soon fight with England and France in Europa, and everyone had their own family.

Trouble needs to be solved, and I don't have the energy to distract myself from helping the shogunate.

After hearing this, Horiken was both regretful and fortunate. It was a pity that the Lianlu Anti-Japanese War was completely ruined. Fortunately, if this was the case, it would not be difficult to dismiss the Lucian envoy. However, he was worried about one thing in his heart, and he almost reached the point of

He didn't ask clearly how much he couldn't sleep, so he asked Oguri directly:

"Xianheng Foreign Trade cannot be said to be disrespectful. It worries about my needs, thinks about what I want, and its methods are superb. It is true to its words. You are a rice man, what do you want?"

The trade between Hamoyo and the shogunate was handled by Oguri Tadatsun when he was in charge of Nagasaki Mesuke - Hamoyo has always said that I don't believe anyone except Mr. Oguri. Now Hamoyo is becoming more and more important to the shogunate, but why is this American businessman so interested in the shogunate?

Okay? You have to give a reason.
Chapter completed!