It was Tokugawa Keiki who proposed using Iwami Ginzan shares as a compensation plan. It is true that he had the intention to help them transform Ginzan with the help of Xiao Letian's strong funds and scientific research power, but the real reason was still poverty.
Japan's civil war between the north and the south has depleted Japan's two hundred years of wealth reserves. Although the two hundred years of peace brought by the Tokugawa Shogunate have accumulated a lot of wealth, they never expected that a modern Western-style army would actually burn so much money. .
Foreign guns, bullets, artillery, standard equipment...even military uniforms and belts must be replaced with new ones. Don't look at the foreign guns sold to the shogunate by the French for less than the cost price, but the Japanese don't know. There is a rifle revolution going on in Europe right now.
Breech-loading rifled guns have completely replaced front-loading rifled guns, and full-metal cartridge bullets have replaced Mini bullets. There are mountains of broken arms in European arms warehouses. Now let alone lower than cost price, it is not even a problem to buy one and get one free. .
The shogunate was deceived by the smoke bombs of the French. He thought the French were so kind, but little did he know that the entire Japan had become a low-end market for Western dumping of tattered goods.
Businessmen are always shrewd. The rifles can be sold half and half given away, but the bullets will definitely make money, and you can’t produce them in Japan anyway.
Bullets and gunpowder are definitely consumables. The black powder produced in Japan is definitely not usable. If you want to buy the French gunpowder formula, they won't sell it. They can't even jointly build a military factory. In the end, the shogunate can only spend all their money to purchase it overseas. .
At that time, Tokugawa Yoshiki swore to his ancestors that as long as Japan was unified, he would build a world-class military factory, and he would never let anyone bully him like this again.
Reason is very rich, but reality is very skinny. The war of Japanese reunification made Xiao Letian, a fierce dragon crossing the river, troubled, and all hopes suddenly came to nothing.
Not only the shogunate, the situation of the four southwest vassals was not much better. They had also spent all their money for this decisive battle. Especially after they rejected Xiao Letian's request to directly send troops to assist, Ryukyu's arms funding also increased. If there is less, they can only buy it with real money.
No money, this is a very real problem, and the Kirigakure kid's audacity later made Japan bear the crime of assassinating His Majesty the Qing Emperor. This kind of thing cannot be settled without money, although Japan does not believe that the Qing Dynasty will ask The Japanese archipelago sent troops, but what if the Qing Dynasty officially authorized Ryukyu and Western powers intervened.
After much deliberation, I scraped together the treasury of several companies, and now I only have more than one million taels of silver in the bottom of the box. If all this money is lost, Japan will be really impoverished.
What's even more sad is that how could the mighty Qing emperor calm down his anger with one million taels of silver? Telling this number would not only fail to solve the problem, but would make the Manchus feel even more humiliated.
After much deliberation, Tokugawa Kexi suddenly came up with a stock-for-shares plan, which was to use Iwami Ginzan's shares as compensation for the little emperor.
Firstly, they don't have to ask for cash directly. Secondly, they can tell the outside world that they have compensated a mountain of silver, and the good-looking government of the Manchu Qing Dynasty will be more accepting of it. Thirdly, they may be able to exchange it for Xiao Letian's technical upgrade of Iwami Yinshan. This It's a good strategy to kill three birds with one stone.
But he didn't expect that such a clever plan could not fool Prime Minister Xiao of Donghai. The angry Xiao Letian even threw the draft away.
"You are just dreaming if you want to play tricks on me. Don't be too smart in your calculations, and don't treat the world's heroes as fools." Li Mi was spinning around in the room like a trapped animal, and his roar shocked the entire Osaka Castle Tower into silence.
"There is no principle in the world where you can only take advantage without suffering a loss. Let's not talk about the Tokugawa shogunate. Let me talk about the four Southwest vassals. After you became independent from Ryukyu, how much arms and cash support you received from me. Think about it for yourself."
"Not to mention the tariff concessions for the four of you businessmen, but how did you repay me? It was indifference, and you refused people thousands of miles away..."
"I proposed a joint venture to build an arms factory in Kyushu, but you refused; I proposed establishing a free trade zone in Shimonoseki, but you still didn't agree; I proposed extending the telegraph line from Kagoshima to Kyoto or even Edo, but you actually said it would fund the enemy. , and it’s even more forbidden... Do your calculations, from the time we cooperated until now, apart from asking me for weapons and money, have you ever given me anything in return?"
Xiao Letian suddenly walked up to Shimazu Tadayoshi and stared into his eyes, "Do you think I'm like a rotten scholar educated by Confucianism? I'm very particular about repaying evil with evil and selfless dedication. Just give me a few nice words and you'll be able to get rid of me." I can’t find North.”
"So you can hide your contempt for me under your warm appearance. You still think it's natural to eat, drink, and use me. But when I lower the military aid, you won't be able to bear it anymore, so you are deliberately You alienated me, refused to share intelligence with me, and even refused to disclose your plans for war..."
"What's the result? What's the consequence? It's a failure. I'm watching you walk into the Tokugawa family's trap step by step. If I hadn't appeared, I'm afraid you know what the final fate of the four Southwest vassals would be."
Li Mi's cold words made the four feudal lords sweat, especially the three feudal lords Tosa, Choshu, and Hizen. The first time they met Xiao Letian, they encountered such a slap in the face. No one expected such a young prime minister. The momentum is so strong.
After teaching the four southwestern feudal lords a lesson, Xiao Letian looked at Tokugawa Yoshiki quietly for a long time before speaking, "I have to say, as the shogun in times of crisis, you actually worked so hard to rule the Tokugawa family. It's really not easy. ah……"
"The cooperation with the French has drained the treasury of the shogunate for two hundred years. You are really a business genius to come up with the idea of using Iwami Ginzan shares to cover the debt... It's a pity that a clever woman cannot make a meal without rice. Japan is not a good family. Damn it."
This sentence almost made Tokugawa Keiki cry. Japan is not only a difficult place to live in, it is simply hell. Internal and external troubles have swept up all at once. It requires money, technology, equipment, and even food. None, of course, countless samurai still died.
The civil war continues, and the pressure from the outside world becomes more and more intense. Tokugawa Yingxi has wanted to give up his job countless times. He is also a dignified general after all. Even if the great power is returned, I will still have to be given a few bureaus, and there will be two in a year. A salary of three hundred thousand dan.
When the time comes, I will drink wine, admire the moon, listen to Japanese songs and play geisha. How relaxing that life will be.
"The difficulties of life in the lower country are beyond the imagination of the upper country." Tokugawa sighed deeply, put down all the psychological baggage, and finally started negotiations with Xiao Letian candidly.
"Japan is not China. On this small island, there are many mountains and forests but few fields. The food produced every year is not even as good as that of China... let alone disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and typhoons. In a small country, The poor people are not just an idiom."
"Of course the Prime Minister will be dissatisfied with what we do. Neither the four southwestern vassals nor the Tokugawa Shogunate are willing to allow powerful figures like the Prime Minister to come to Japan. The reason is simple. Japan is too poor. We really don't have any extra 'rations' to distribute to outsiders..."
Looking out the window at the direction of the draft that had just been thrown away, Tokugawa Qingxi said with great sadness, "If the Prime Minister is not satisfied, we can continue to talk until the Prime Minister is satisfied... But the cruel reality, Prime Minister, please do not forget that the Japanese nation has suffered It’s unspeakable that we are almost on the verge of collapse, we have to survive..."
"Suppressing the Japanese nation in a short period of time can bring temporary benefits to the Prime Minister, but you have also gained the hatred of the Japanese people. Is this result really what you want?"
Oops, this is soft yet thorny. This general's realm is much better than that of ordinary people. After all, he has received a top-notch education and speaks well.
Listening to the general's words, Xiao Letian couldn't help but think of French Marshal Foch saying, 'This is not peace, but a 20-year truce' after hearing the news of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
Is it really wise for the winner to brutally suppress the loser? Not necessarily. Even if you take advantage of it for a moment, you will still gain eternal hatred. Without the common hatred of the whole nation, what is the hatred that comes from the bone marrow? How can we launch a madman like Hitler?
Xiao Letian sneered and said, "So, I have to consider your ideas for what I want to do. Haha, you are all ladies of the family, and your emotions are relatively fragile. I should pamper you more."
"Prime Minister." Nabeshima suddenly straightened his back. "Please take back what you just said. We will never accept such an insult. How dare you compare a samurai to a woman."
"Back off." Before Xiao Letian could say anything, Tokugawa Yingxi showed off the momentum of a general and yelled back at this daring guy, "I am the shogun of the shogunate. The emperor has authorized me to manage Japan. If you dare to overstep like this, I will punish you." Go to the Hizen Domain, you are no longer needed here..."
"General..." Nabeshima Naoda's face turned blood red, but in the end he bowed his head and resigned himself to his fate and turned around to leave.
Everyone looked at Nabeshima Naoda who was blown away, and everyone had mixed feelings. Finally, the Yamauchi Hall of Tosa Domain said, "Why do we bother getting entangled in these illusory appearances? Why don't we listen to the Prime Minister's suggestion? In this room Who else can the wise man be except the Prime Minister?"
After rambling for a long time, the fox finally heard the implication of Xiao Letian's message. As the first prime minister of East Asia who went on an expedition to Europe, he could not be immature politically. He deliberately angered everyone and tore apart all the shiny things in Japan. This is definitely on purpose.
Xiao Letian gave him an appreciative look, and then asked Mr. Long to take out a draft that had been drafted for a long time, and quietly pushed it in front of Tokugawa Qingxi.
