After Naohide arrived in Edo, he settled in for a while and then hurried to the residence of his friend Oguri Tadjun.

But this key figure in charge of negotiating the Three Kingdoms bombardment of Shimonoseki, Oguri Tadjun, who was responsible for the designation and implementation of foreign affairs, was talking leisurely with his family at this time.

October 25th, the third year of Bunkyu (1863), was the National Day off. As a popular figure in the shogunate, it was rare for him to have a day off.

The family knew that he was in a bad mood recently, so they chatted with him together, hoping to relieve his mood.

The adopted daughter Yuezi and the son-in-law Zhongdao were a smart young couple who always received advice and obedience from the old master of the family. The Taozi and his wife liked them, and it didn't take long for them to become happy.

Tadamichi was the second son of Komai Asahan, the current shogunate chief, and like Yueko, he entered the Oguri family in the first year of Bunkyu (1860).

At that time, the shogunate sent Oguri Tadatsun and others as envoys to Europe. In order to prevent accidents, the Oguri family accepted Yuezi as their adopted daughter, and took Tadamichi from the Komai family as their son-in-law and adopted son.

The plan at that time was that if something unexpected happened to Oguri Tadashi overseas, Tadashi would inherit the throne. As a result, Tadashi went on a mission in December of the first year of Bunkyu and returned in December of the second year of Bunkyu. There were no accidents on the way, so it was all in vain.

Was worried for a while.

The arrival of Yuezi and Tadamichi is considered to have brought good luck to the Oguri family. In addition, they are lively and cute, so they are loved by everyone in the family.

Zhongdao knew that his adoptive father had been having a hard time negotiating with foreigners recently, but he was still young and didn't quite understand it, so he had to ask round and round:

"I heard that my sample is very popular in Europe, please tell me more about it."

The success of this mission to Europe was a matter of great pride for Oguri and his family, who never tire of hearing about it. Therefore, when Tadashi was mentioned, his father Tadaka, Mrs. Tadoko and Yuezi all became energetic.

Oguri Tadashi couldn't refuse, so he had to talk about old things familiarly:

In December of the first year of Bunkyu (1861), the shogunate appointed Tadatsuki and Matsudaira Yasunao as the chief and deputy envoys, accompanied by the imperial minister Kyogoku Gaoming and others, and a group of thirty-four people went to Europe to discuss the postponement of the opening of the two ports and two capitals.

Although this trip was proposed by the British Minister Aliguo, many people in the shogunate were quite pessimistic about the trip, thinking that it was seeking the skin of a tiger and bringing humiliation upon themselves.

Sure enough, after passing through the South China Sea, the Tianzhu Sea and then heading north by the Nile River to land, and then changing trains in Alexandria, after going through a lot of hard work to reach France, things turned bad:

Although he was given a formal reception, Emperor Napoleon III rejected Fuso's application for an extension of the opening of the port, and his attitude was also very arrogant.

Moreover, the welcoming ceremony held in Paris Square also made the members of the Fuso Mission wearing hunting clothes and black hats extremely uncomfortable - the crowds of citizens, their contemptuous glances, and rude tones all stung.

Everyone’s self-esteem.

After Napoleon III's vigorous renovation, the streets of the famous capital Paris became more and more gorgeous and spacious. However, Oguri Tadjun and others at that time had no intention of appreciating such unforgettable beauty. They only felt ashamed and disheartened.

Hearing this, Xiaoli's family all knew that a big turn was coming, and they couldn't help but smile.

Oguri Tadashi continued to recall with a smile:

"At this time, a turning point occurred..."

It turned out that the accompanying doctor Saburo Kusanahara and his wife Otome discovered a piece of news in the newspaper - Silkworm plague had begun in France like other places in Europe.

As France, a country with developed agriculture, silkworm farmers began to suffer

On "Pepper Disease".

Silkworms suffering from this disease have brown and black spots all over their bodies, as if they are covered in pepper. They either die quickly or have incomplete cocoons. However, silkworm farmers have tried every means, but they have failed to do anything about it.

No solution.

Although silkworm blight has not yet swept through all parts of France, some places have already begun to suffer.

After seeing the news, Xiaoli was immediately overjoyed:

Foreign service is a part-time job, and appointment service is Oguri’s duty, so he can cure this disease!

It turns out that after the opening of Fuso, raw silk was the largest export product. As the director of finance, Oguri paid great attention to the sericulture industry.

It just so happens that symptoms similar to pepper disease have also appeared in the fusang sericulture industry, but they have been eradicated long ago.

As for the solution, Oguri Tadjun happens to know it.

Moreover, Oguri also knows that agriculture is France's strong point and is taken very seriously. If he can solve the pepper disease, maybe the negotiations with France will turn around - at this time, a dead horse must be treated as a living horse.

Give it a try.

How did he know this?

It turned out that in the letter from his good friend Naohide, when he knew that he was going to France as an envoy, he not only sent doctor Saburo Kusanahara and the Otome couple to follow him and take care of him, but also mentioned the customs of the powerful European countries, and specifically reminded France.

Agriculture is developed, and the influence of farmers and farmers is very great.

Oli took the newspaper and found the French government again, but was laughed at ruthlessly:

"You, an Oriental (barbarian), claim to be able to cure the silkworm disease that none of us can cure. Is your method witchcraft?"

In fact, if you refuse, just refuse, but to say it so harshly, isn't it because you are actively looking for a fight? Unexpectedly, the Otome who accompanied him became furious and punched the man, giving him a profound lesson.

Eventually the matter became so big that even Emperor Napoleon III heard about it.

Beating someone is not good, but when two countries are involved, the merits still have to be discussed:

The trial was held at the Paris High Court. The person who appeared in French was Louis Pasteur, the new academician of the Academy of Sciences, while the person who appeared in Fuso was a woman - who asked Otome to beat someone? She couldn't do it unless she came forward.

France is famous for its many meddlesome people, so there were a large number of spectators at that time.

It turned out that the Fuso Mission also temporarily hired a local lawyer, but it did not play any role in the process.

Otome was naturally heroic, and when she appeared in court, she explained clearly how to prevent silkworm disease, while Pasteur was a sensible person, and he nodded immediately when he heard about bacteria, microorganisms, etc.

Even the academicians of the Academy of Sciences on my side thought it was reasonable, so what nonsense was there? Finally, the judge pronounced the verdict:

"It's wrong for Otome to hit someone. As punishment, you have to pay some money;

The foreign affairs staff were unreasonable and need to apologize in court."

As soon as the verdict came out, the Fuso Mission was very happy. The compensation was small, but the face was big. Unexpectedly, they won the lawsuit in a place where they were unfamiliar with it. What a long time!

Originally, Oguri was the envoy, and the other members of the mission did not know how to raise silkworms, so the only one who met the conditions to appear was Saburo Kusanagi. However, Kusanagi had not yet appeared, and Otome unexpectedly won the battle alone.

A lawsuit was filed.

As the news spread, Otome became famous, and her chubby face appeared on the front pages of several newspapers!

In fact, this is all because of novelty:

Except for a limited number of female nobles, the status of women in Europe at this time was very low. But the Fuso women

How can a man compare with a woman from his own country? "Mysterious Eastern witches can cure pepper disease." What is the topic? This is the topic!

The impact of this incident was so great that even Emperor Napoleon III's queens specially visited her.

Originally, Otome was going to be severely punished, but after the queen's reception, the members of the shogunate's delegation all withered:

"It's better to do less than to do more. After all, it only enhances one's own prestige and everyone just turns a blind eye."

It is a pity that although the Fuso mission made a big splash and the French government's attitude became much gentler afterwards, they still did not agree to Fuso's request to postpone the opening of the port.

However, since this incident, the members of the mission have become much more inspired - foreigners can do it, Fusang may not; but Fusang also has its own unique skills, which should not be underestimated!

With regrets and renewed vigor, the mission set off for England - no one expected at the time that the legendary journey of the Wenjiu Mission would officially begin.

When we arrived at Thames, it happened to be the eve of the opening of the English International Industrial and Art Fair.

Originally, the Third World's Fair in 1862 was supposed to be held in 1861, but the construction of the exhibition hall was delayed, so it had to be postponed by one year.

Although the delay is a bad change for England, it couldn't be better for the Fuso Mission:

Because the Expo was postponed, there was enough time for the news to reach the distant East, so the mission was able to bring some items to the exhibition.

The World Expo is also known as the World Exposition. Wouldn’t it be more respectable and logical to add a Fuso booth?

However, Fuso is not taken seriously, so the location of the booth is very bad, small and remote, making it difficult for ordinary visitors to find this place.

In this regard, members of the shogunate mission did not care:

They are majestic warriors, how can they easily show off or even bargain. The reason for participating in the exhibition is just to show Fuso's presence.

Therefore, being small and remote suits the wishes of some members.

The theme of the expo is "Industry and Art", and England is the leader at this time. The products brought out must be dazzling. Therefore, everyone, including Oguri Tadjun, went to see the diorama, leaving only what they brought

The servants, Saburo Kusanahara and Otome stayed behind.

Originally, according to everyone's wishes, Otome, the troublemaker, would have stayed in the foreigner's "hatagoya".

But Otome is no longer a celebrity, and England is the queen, so she pays special attention not to be rude to ladies, so England specially told her to invite Otome to the expo no matter what, so she showed up again in a swaggering manner.

Otome is Ryoma's older sister. Not only has she been rich since she was a child, but she is also gifted with supernatural powers. Since she returned from studying abroad, she has become even more daring and bold. In fact, Otome has a rough and tumble quality. She has a straightforward personality and generally does not cause trouble, so everyone is used to it.

It stands to reason that she should be more stable after her marriage to Kusanagi Hara Saburo, but the problem is, not to mention Kusanagi is a gentleman (wife slave), but this brother-in-law Ryoma is also a domineering one, so how can he restrain Otome, and this has

After wiping her buttocks, Otome became even more arrogant.

Unless she is given no chance at all, this person may break the sky.

Therefore, it was not surprising at all when Oguri Tadashi and others came back from their stroll and found that their booth had changed drastically.
Chapter completed!