Starting from June 2, the sixth year of Ansei (July 1, 1859), Nagasaki, Kanagawa (Yokohama), and Hakodate opened to foreign trade.

It stands to reason that compared with the other two ports, the trade conditions of Hakodate are so different that there is no comparison at all:

In terms of weather, location, and people, these three places were the first to open ports and trade to Westerners. They have all the time, but when it comes to location, people, and Hakodate, they are far behind!

Nagasaki is in the west of Fuso, closest to the two major Far Eastern commercial ports of Hong Kong and Songjiang, and is the most convenient to travel to. Moreover, as a place of trade with the Lan Kingdom and the Tang people for more than two hundred years, its influence is very profound. Not to mention, Nagasaki

The management of the practice is also quite thoughtful;

Compared to Nagasaki, Yokohama is stronger.

This place is right next to Edo. Unless the other two capitals, Osaka and Kyoto, are also open, it can't be compared to anywhere else.

You know, among the millions of people in Edo, there are many rich people, and their purchasing power is the highest in Fuso. Besides, the nearby Kanpachishu is rich in products, and the nearby Tokaido, Ono, and Kinki are also rich places.

, presumably these materials will be transported here nearby after the Yokohama port opens.

Sure enough, as soon as Yokohama opened its port, the local prosperity was in vain, like oil cooking on a hot fire.

Compared to the first two, Hakodate is miserable. Not only is the location unfavorable, but the practice office has also been established less than five years ago. In any case, it is just a mere addition!

This business is nothing but buying and selling:

For this purchase, do Westerners come all the way to buy mounted goods and aquatic products?

This sale, not to mention the Ezo land where Hakodate is located, is to tie together the nearby Kita Ezo land, Dewa, and Mutsu. Just these poor and cold places, how many things can Westerners sell!

Therefore, everyone felt that there was no hope for Hakodate to open a port for trade. These people were just here to hunt whales, and the remaining Lucians not only had no hope of doing business, but also had to be careful against sudden attacks.

But things are always unexpected.

Before June 2nd, before the port officially opened, English and American cargo ships gathered in Haikou. Of course, gathering is an exaggeration, but there are always seven or eight large merchant ships.

A prosperous business indicates a wealth of money, and everyone who practices this will naturally be happy.

Of course, as long as there are Westerners coming, it is a good thing. After all, when Lucia attacks, they always have to take advantage of the enemy. It is pitiful that ordinary townspeople have not yet established confidence in Naohide and others, and they are really worried about the war with Lucia.

However, even if you are worried, you have to work and eat. Amid the uneasiness of the town, the time came to mid-October 1859 - the two battles of the White Lord were both fought in August. If the Lucians were not on time, they would not be able to come.

Coming!

After much anticipation, good news finally came from Edo, "Fuso, Lucia has negotiated peace!"

There was no need to fight anymore, and everyone in the execution office breathed a sigh of relief - even Naohsiu's group.

To be honest, it would be best not to fight.

After the opening of the port for trade, it was a good opportunity for the development of the Northland. But if we continue to fight, what are we aiming for?

After two raids by the Anglo-French coalition forces in 1853 and 1854, Lucia's territory in the North Pacific was severely weakened, and even Alaska was forced to be sold to the British Governor-General of Quebec.

What's more, a rebellion later broke out there, and the Lucia territory in the north is now riddled with holes. Normally, it is estimated that it will not be able to recover within ten years.

Besides, according to the Tianjin Agreement of 1858, Miaotun was designated as one of the new treaty ports. After the agreement came into effect, the Tang Dynasty would surely vigorously operate the Wulong River Estuary, which would naturally block the space for Lusia's eastward expansion.

Therefore, Naohsiu and his family have long wanted to stop.

However, the shameful sword was hard to sheathe, and the Lu people were still unwilling to give up. Therefore, the war continued with no end in sight.

But now suddenly, Lucia unexpectedly agreed to negotiate a peace. What the hell happened during this period is really curious!

According to the Edo envoy, this time the shogunate used barbarians to control barbarians. Through England and France, France put pressure on the Lu people, and finally ended the war. Of course, the price was not small, and this matter cost a lot of money.

One million taels of gold from the shogunate!

The story begins at the end of August in the fifth year of Ansei, when the shogunate donated money to Britain and France in the name of purchasing ships, and then the two countries' envoys agreed to mediate the war between Fuso and Lucia.

At that time, the two parties agreed that the shogunate would purchase two third-class sailing battleships and one second-class sailing battleship from France respectively from England and France, with a total price of 500,000 small natural protection deposits.

You should know that in terms of gold content, 1 pound is equivalent to 1.24 pieces of Tianbao gold, and 500,000 gold is equivalent to more than 400,000 pounds, which is equivalent to more than 1.2 million taels of Tang Dynasty silver.

What can you buy? A pure sailing battleship, or a second-hand one?

In fact, the shogunate also knew that steamships were very popular nowadays, and it would be a loss to buy old sailing warships. But if you don't buy them, why should they help you?

After all, this is just a donation.

Besides, although these sail warships are already obsolete in Europa, they are not available in Fuso. They are still good things. They will greatly increase the strength of the shogunate navy, so they really cannot be said to be useless.

At that time, the special envoys of Britain and France, Elgin and Gross, had already decided to restrict the expansion of the Lu people in the North Pacific after discussions. However, they had no excuse, so the shogunate's proposal to purchase the ship was just the right time!

According to the international public law at this time, neutral countries cannot deliver ordnance and warships to the warring parties.

But after the sale of the ship, Yingfo had an excuse to intervene in the war between Fuso and Lucia - if the war doesn't stop, the transaction cannot be carried out, and you Lucia can't delay everyone's fortune!

You know, although the British and Buddhist families have a great business, the landlords have no surplus food at this time!

After the Crimean War was fought from 1853 to 1856, the European powers that participated in the war knew their own suffering:

Prices in Lucia have soared and people's livelihoods have declined, which has triggered a wave of innovation, but England and France are not much better!

Large amounts of military spending and post-war pensions caused economic problems in both countries, especially in England. There was a run on banknotes in exchange for gold, which almost caused the Thames Financial Street to collapse.

England was the most powerful country at the time, but it was in such a mess that one can imagine France's predicament.

Therefore, in order to expand exports and revitalize the economy, there are profound reasons behind the Yarrow War between the two countries and the Tang Dynasty. Of course, Fuso, as an addition to the Far East market, was unfortunately also affected by Western countries.

The economic crisis of 1857 is known as the first world economic crisis! Not only the continent of Europe was affected, but also North America was not spared - an Ohio insurance company went bankrupt that year, which triggered an economic panic across the United States.

Fuso's purchase of the ship, which totaled more than 400,000 pounds, was a drop in the bucket, but it came from an old ship that was to be eliminated, so the cost was only 20%. It seems that the achievements of the two special envoys were added out of thin air.

Besides, it was so easy for Fuso to open up a country and trade after China. How important is making money in this war!

Whether it is for "restricting the expansion of the Lu people in the Far East" or to ensure trade, I believe that the two centers will agree to mediate this small friction in the Far East.

The development of the matter was as expected by the two envoys. After they returned to Europa, England and France made efforts at the same time to ask Lucia to end the war with Fuso as soon as possible.

It was already the spring of 1859, and it was a bit late for mediation, but it was not too late after all!

As a victorious country, an economic crisis broke out in Britain and France, and the defeated Lucia was naturally even more difficult - since the signing of the "Paris Agreement" in March 1856, the people's livelihood in its territory was in decline, and the wave of innovation continued to rise. Emperor Alexander II of the Lu people

The situation in this world is very worthy of the name - "stressful"!

After the Second Battle of the White Lord occurred on August 19, 1858, the Lu people used the Amur River to send the news to Irkutsk upstream, and then traveled through the Siberian Post Road, finally arriving in St. Petersburg at the end of October.

The reason why message delivery is so slow is because today's communication methods are extremely backward:

Although wired telegraphy appeared in 1837, long-distance communication is still a tragedy:

It would be until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 that the submarine cable from Europa to Tianzhu would be laid, and then a submarine line from Tianzhu to Xiangjiang would begin.

As for the cable telegraph from Xiangjiang to Songjiang, it was not laid until 1870 and finally started operation in 1872.

Wired telegraph across two oceans, the Atlantic submarine cable was not successfully put into use until 1866, and as for telegraph communication across the Pacific, it was even later than 1902.

Therefore, before the British envoy returned to Europe in the spring of 1859, during this window, the Lucians continued to seek death:

Although there is no capital to continue causing trouble, the defeat at the hands of a small country in the Far East will do great damage to the reputation of the empire, so it always has to struggle.

In December 1858, under pressure from the angry nobles, Emperor Alexander II ordered eight warships to go to sea.

Different from the last few times, this route does not take the Cape of Good Hope, but turns northward from Europa - North America - Cape Horn, resting and replenishing in Kamchatka Peninsula on the way, and then

Later, they invaded Fusang Northland.

But this was the wrong time to send troops - going to sea at the turn of winter and spring was a big taboo at this time! As a result, not to mention Cape Horn, even the North American continent was not reached.

While crossing the Atlantic, eight warships unfortunately encountered a rare storm. In the end, only one lucky steam warship returned to Europa riddled with holes.

In the past, Rusia originally had three fleets, two large and one small. The fleet in the Okhotsk District in the Far East was the smallest, and the two fleets in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea were larger.

But the two fleets of Okhotsk and the Black Sea were wiped out in the previous Crimean War. This storm severely damaged the only Baltic Fleet that had become a combat force. It was really unlucky to have a leak and rain all night!

In 1856, the Baltic Fleet had 27 battleships alone. Although there were only a few steamships, they still looked huge!

But in the two battles of White Lord in 1857 and 1858, five battleships alone were lost.

To make matters worse, this Atlantic storm gave Poseidon five more ships.

The newly built ship that tightened its belt has not lost its value fast enough. How do you think this thing can be broken?

Sending another ship to the Far East will worsen the financial situation of the empire. The Baltic Fleet, which has lost half of its strength, will really be unable to protect its territory. If there is any war, it will be really dangerous;

But if we don't send it, even a small fusang can't be cured. Wouldn't this become the laughing stock of Europa? This will definitely be a fatal blow to the empire that has not yet emerged from the shadow of the defeat in Crimea!

Various factions of the court were quarreling endlessly, and no resolution was reached until the spring of 1859.

You know, although the emperor and Foreign Minister Gorchakov are both staunch supporters of marching eastwards, they cannot stand the dissent of the majority of nobles:

"What's so good about this East Siberia? It's just a big financial pit. The gold coins you put into it don't even get a response. Stop being willful!

With such energy, wouldn't it be nice to exempt the vast number of farms from taxes or build a few factories?

You know, the foundation of the empire is not in the Far East but in Europe!"

At this time, the joint mission of Britain and France visited St. Petersburg, asking Lucia and Fuso to stop and make peace, and then everyone could make a fortune together.

"Make a fortune!"

Who doesn't know that you two have made the empire's territory in the North Pacific a mess? Now that the empire has no capital there, what business can it do!

But at this time, Lucia was deeply troubled internally, and the emperor and Foreign Minister Gorchakov did not dare to make any mistakes, so they pinched their noses and agreed to Yingfo's mediation.

In the eighth month of the sixth year of Ansei (1859), the special envoy of the Lu people, Pirovsky, visited Yokohama accompanied by the special envoy of Britain and Buddha.
To be continued...