At the end of June in the sixth year of Ansei (1859), Xianheng's foreign trade company ran away, and the secret trade with the shogunate that had been carried out since the third year of Jiayong (1850) was suspended.

Because there was no warning before, the shogunate center was extremely shocked after hearing the news.

After about a month and a half of hard work, it was discovered that there were already signs of this happening:

First, the personnel of Xianheng Foreign Company had already begun to evacuate, but the shogunate was slow and unwary of this.

In the Tsushima Naval Training Institute established in the seventh year of Kayei (1854), there were originally eight Western naval professors, all from Hamhyoyoyo. However, in the fourth year of Ansei (1857), the shogunate opened the Tsukiji Naval Training Institute in Edo.

The Tsushima Naval Training Center was abolished, and these eight foreigners left Fuso.

At the same time, there were originally some Western technicians at the Niriesan Iron Works, who were also provided by the Hamhyung Company, but they all left later, also in the fourth year of Ansei.

As for the business people, since Xianheng Foreign Company is engaged in secret trade, the purchasing and sales are entrusted to the Nagasaki Office. There are only three permanent personnel on Tsushima Island. But these people also came with them this time in the name of visiting relatives.

The merchant ship slipped away.

Looking at it now, it is extremely suspicious to leave no one behind.

But the two parties had been so close before, so who would have thought that Xianheng Foreign Company would suddenly withdraw? In response, the shogunate severely punished the supervisors, but it still didn't help.

Another sign is the change in the types of goods traded between the two parties.

Originally, in addition to importing books, newspapers, machinery, and ordnance, Xianheng Foreign Company also imported some cloth and other items. However, since the second year of Anzheng (1855), "Fuso gold was exchanged for overseas silver", these ordinary goods

The share gradually decreases.

It stands to reason that the decline in transaction volume is an obvious sign of trade disruption, but because the amount of gold and silver exchange between the two parties has increased year by year, no one has noticed this - because on the surface, the trade volume appears to be rising.

In fact, it’s not like no one was aware of the danger in advance.

When Oguri Tadatsun took office in Nagasaki, in view of the importance of Hamoyo Foreign Company, he made many suggestions to Edo:

"Since the signing of the Three Kingdoms Peace Agreement in the first year of Ansei, there have been more and more Western ships coming and going. Due to their secret activities, it has been inconvenient for Xianheng ships to and from Nagasaki. Please choose Niigata or other places as a hidden port to prevent unexpected events."

In fact, Xiaoli has already discovered one of the reasons why Xianheng Foreign Company interrupted its trade, that is, the inconvenience of travel.

Since 1854, when Fuso signed a marriage agreement with the Mi people, England, and the Lan Kingdom, the number of Western ships visiting Fuso, especially Nagasaki Port, has increased day by day, which has caused a lot of inconvenience to the Xianheng Company.

You must know that what was signed at that time was only the content of the port of refuge and supply port. In name, only the Languo family could trade with Fuso. Therefore, although the secret trade conducted by Xianheng Foreign Company was with the shogunate, it had to be done secretly, otherwise

Lan Guo's protest is a trivial matter. If other Western countries are provoked to use this as an excuse to demand trade, it will be a big trouble.

Originally, it was not that there was no way to cover their eyes. In the beginning, Xianheng Foreign Company was operating under the banner of the Tang Dynasty, but now there are more Western ships. If the warships block them in the port, wouldn't the truth be exposed to the world?

To be honest, Lan Guo Merchant House was really thinking about this at the time. Even if he didn't do it himself, he could inform the Mi people and the British people, and the relationship could be removed. But after careful consideration, in view of the fact that he was in Fusang

The interests were not small, and in the end Lan Ren did not act rashly - although there were people competing with him for business, if he killed this weak one and then summoned a group of hungry wolves to compete with him for food, it seemed that he would not be guilty.

Oguri's first relevant letter was in the summer of the seventh year of Kayei (1854). At that time, the location of the secret trade with Hamoyo Company had been transferred to Tomozaki Port in the Tsushima Islands.

"Nothing is wrong!"

The shogunate felt that Tsushima was sufficiently private and safe, so Oguri's petition received no response.

In fact, Oguri was very loyal, and trade was a way of making money. As Nagasaki adhered to it, he suggested land exchange, which was to push gold and silver out.

But why others don’t see it very much.

He can write anything in his memorial, but he should never mention the place "Niigata":

First of all, there is a favorite of the shogunate near the Niigata Port - Sado Gold Mountain. As the largest gold and silver producing area in Fuso at the time, Sado Island was the lifeblood of the shogunate. Whoever touched it would die. Put Xianheng Foreign Trade Co., Ltd. in Niigata, just in case

What to do if we call in other Western wolves?

Another thing is that Oguri Tadashi's father, Tadaka, once served as Sado priest for many years. For others, this exchange means giving up a way of making money. For Oguri, isn't this moving from the bowl to the pot?

Nagasaki has two laws, because

Another Nagasaki devotee fiercely objected to this suggestion:

"Not to mention Nagasaki, which is as big as an iron barrel, and Tarozaki, which is not known to outsiders, how could it be used in exchange for land!

If you’re really worried, aren’t there many small islands near Nagasaki? Just choose one to trade with.”

This is just standing up and talking without pain in the back. Tsushima is so big and a hub of maritime transportation, how can it be considered "not known to outsiders"? There are indeed many desert islands near Nagasaki, but if they can be used as a trading place, then

What has the shogunate been doing all these years?

Besides, in the future, the Western countries pressured Fuso to open the port, and the proposed locations were five ports and two capitals, that is, seven ports. These places were Nagasaki, Hakodate, Kanagawa, Hyogo, Niigata, Edo, and Osaka.

, from a secret point of view, that is, Niigata is an optional transfer place - other places are either too prosperous to keep secret, or there are many Western ships.

Therefore, Oguri Tadashi is really out of a public heart.

But after all, it doesn’t matter what he said! Over the years, Xian Heng Matheson has taken the initiative to request many times, and Oguri Tadjun has also submitted letters many times, but the trading place has never been changed, and it is fixed at Tomozaki Port in the Tsushima Islands.

In the fifth year of Ansei (1858), after Oguri resigned from Nagasaki to serve as a military official, Hamoyo Company also accepted its fate.

But the trading place is Tsushima Island's Tomozaki Port, which makes Xian Heng's company suffer:

Although they were merchants from the Mi people, Fuso and the Mi people had not yet officially entered into trade. It was a taboo to leave your companions to eat alone!

Moreover, although there is no explicit regulation, importing advanced ordnance, machinery and technology to a non-Western country like Fuso is an act like Judas. If you are really caught, even if you are not hanged in public, you will be attacked by a group and your reputation will be ruined.

end.

For this reason, Xianheng Foreign Company changed its name to Shihaiye Company in 1855, and did not dare to inform the shogunate for fear of leaking secrets.

At the same time, in order to establish a firewall, Songjiang Huili Foreign Company was also established in the same year, completely dividing the overseas forces of the Naohide series into light and dark.

But even so, things still changed in a bad direction.

In the second year of the Ansei period (1855), news leaked that there was a Western professor in the Tsushima navy training institute.

I don’t know how the Japanese and British navies knew about it. Anyway, there were ships occasionally blocking the ships of Xianheng Company in the waters near Tsushima Island - but fortunately, these two families did not officially break up with the shogunate, so they went to the island to arrest them.

After all, the bad things that happen to people never happen.

Xianheng Yangxing used a steam-sail hybrid merchant ship from the beginning, which was not only maneuverable and flexible, but also specially modified to increase the speed. Therefore, although it was discovered several times, it escaped smoothly - in fact, was it deliberately caught?

My own, and Xianheng Yangxing Company did not confirm it. Anyway, it is always right to run away when you meet.

Later, in order to save their lives, Xianheng Foreign Company started to perform - not to mention changing the name of the ship, pretending to be a merchant ship from other countries was a routine operation, and its whereabouts began to be mysterious, and it no longer sailed according to the monsoon pattern.

After the trade volume of "Exchanging Fuso Gold for Overseas Silver" became large, fortunately, there were not even many ordinary goods to be loaded, and only a clipper ship appeared and disappeared, like a ghost.

In the fifth year of Ansei (1858), there were more foreign ships in Fuso. At this time, the Hamhyung Company was cornered and even began serious discussions with the Nagasaki Office, "Tsushima Island seems unreliable, Nagasaki."

Aren’t there many small islands nearby? Is it okay to trade there?”

However, according to the trade agreement signed that year, Nagasaki, Kanagawa (Yokohama), and Hakodate officially opened trade with foreign countries starting from June 2, the sixth year of Ansei (July 1, 1859). Therefore, the shogunate just advised Hamoyo to deal with it by changing its skin.

——We have officially opened up trade. Can you change your name and show up in a big way soon?

What a shame, standing and talking doesn’t hurt your back!

In fact, Xianheng Foreign Company has always been engaged in beheading business, but the shogunate did not pay enough attention to this sacrifice.

Thinking about it, over the years, Fuso has suffered from natural and man-made disasters, suffered internal and external difficulties, and the Edo bosses have been fighting among themselves. How could they have the time to care about this? The only one who paid attention to this matter was Oguri Tadjun, but others thought he had benefited greatly.

So I just can’t bear to let go.

Getting on the pole is not a business!

Xianheng Foreign Company sold at a loss and shouted, "If you don't make money, or even make a lot of money, why are you working so hard?"

Speaking of which, Xianheng Foreign Company has really made a lot of money in recent years:

It's said that selling at a loss makes a profit, but ocean trade is inherently profitable. Even if the price is more reasonable, it's impossible not to make money.

In addition, ordnance and other goods are all produced by our own industry in the United States, and the prices supplied are very advantageous. Except for Xianheng Company itself, there are no other middlemen to make the difference, so how can we not make money!

Moreover, light "exchanges gold for silver"

Xiang, because the capital was paid by the shogunate, the gross profit of Xianheng Foreign Company reached nearly 600,000 US dollars-equivalent to 150,000 natural small deposits.

Although the money earned by Xianheng Foreign Company was not bad, and there was no Hongzhimu gold and silver mine to cover up, these large gold and silver exchanges were enough to defeat the Xiangjiang market, but the shogunate did not know it, and only saw a lot of money falling into the hands of foreign companies -

-Besides, the price ratio of gold and silver overseas is 1:15, not Fuso's 1:5. Even if you earn 450,000 gold, you can't rob it so quickly!

Damn it, how can you do such repeated calculations?

The money earned by Xianheng Foreign Company can be exchanged for a lot more silver, but the price of overseas silver is low and the gold given by the shogunate has not changed, so the gross profit is still nearly 600,000 US dollars - please take care of yourself, math teacher, the world needs you very much!

Of course, after Xianheng's foreign company ran away, the shogunate carefully checked the account books, and this common misunderstanding was finally eliminated.

The reason for this is that Xianheng Yangxing is too sensible.

Because every transaction was handled very thoughtfully, from the official samples to the Edo ministers to Nagasaki, the person in charge of Tsushima, and the handlers, every time nothing was left out, and they were very attentive, it was inevitable that they would be suspected of making a lot of money.

Wealth like the sea.

But the illusion will disappear.

At the end of June of the sixth year of Ansei (1859), after Xianheng's foreign company ran away, the shogunate fully evaluated the impact of this incident, and then realized that "it was originally a matter of mutual benefit, but it may be that one side had too high a self-esteem, and when it came to the matter

Screwed up."

Of course, you can think so but you can’t say it. The shogunate center still pinched his nose and “firmly believed”:

"Since Xianheng Foreign Company left a letter saying 'the situation forced it', it must have encountered other difficulties. The shogunate has always had no problems in this regard, and it is a happy place.

Maybe in the future, if people leave and come back, the business will continue."
To be continued...