Ishikawa Murafumi is not a fool. The reason why he was addicted to wine and sex and had no intention of managing the vassal government was because no one could fix the deficit hole of millions of taels.
In order to be like Shigego Shimazu of the Shimadzu family, Date Shigemura took over the project of Kanto General Recruitment from four people, and finally spent 220,000 taels of silver.
In the fifth year of Meiwa (1768), due to the serious loss of copper in the country, Edo issued an order requiring Sendai Domain to use iron produced in the domain to cast Kanei Tongho iron coins, and gave a seven-year permission period.
Date Shigemura saw that this was not bad. After passing this village, there would be no such store. Fight! As a result, a large amount of square iron coins flowed into Edo, causing the value of iron coins to fall and prices to rise sharply in some areas.
After four years, the shogunate couldn't bear it anymore. It was typical of bad money to drive out good money! Tanuma Yiji then ordered the Sendai Domain to stop casting iron coins. The Sendai clan had already reaped the benefits and was unwilling to give up. After several years of continuous petitions to the shogunate, they finally continued to mint coins in the fifth year of An'ei (1776) on the condition that iron coins would not be leaked to other clans.
But from then on, the Sendai clan could only eat itself.
Ishikawa Cunwen and Shibata Kakuzo left with Zhao Xin's conditions. Although he is the elder of the Bitou family, he cannot make the decision on such a big matter. He must go back and convene a meeting with all the families to discuss.
And Zhao Xin doesn’t care! At the worst, I could exchange cannonballs for an obedient householder, but this business would still be a good deal. Compared to the southwestern vassals where the poor had to work as pants, the Sendai vassal was in a pretty good economic situation and had the foundation to do something.
So you see, this is an era when the shogunate and the great names are competing against each other; there is no good, only bad and worse.
After leaving Ishinomaki Port, the Thor headed south and headed straight for Edo Bay at full speed. Heita also took several of his men and ran all the way to Edo along the Tokaido. Three days later, a group of five people finally arrived at Nihonbashi in Edo Castle in the early morning; this is also the starting point of the five streets in the island country.
Edo Castle is already bustling with people in the early morning, and the seafood and vegetable market under the Nihonbashi Bridge is the busiest time. Heita and the others, who were running with their hearts in mind, first found a small stall and ate two bowls of soba noodles. After they calmed down, they found a hotel nearby to stay. After resting until noon, the five of them went out separately and wandered around the towns to inquire about news.
Due to the great famine in the past two years, farmers have left their homes. Some went to Sendai, and a large number of others came to Edo Castle. They looked forward to finding a better life in the bustling downtown. At this time, in the Edo Castle Town, under the jurisdiction of the three "machi nenyoshi" of Naraya, Taruya, and Kita Village alone, there were more than 200 village chiefs managing a few to dozens of streets each. The rows of long houses facing the street are filled with landowners from the countryside and urban civilians.
Those refugees who fled to Edo with their families gathered in nearby Kanda, Komachi and other places. Relying on the introductions of their guarantors and people in the guild, they worked in various parts of the city every day.
In the afternoon, a Beihai Town spy who was guarding outside the imperial city gate saw several fast horses leading messengers into the imperial city. Heita and others who were inquiring about shop rents near Kyobashi and Nihonbashi also began to hear rumors from people around them that a large white foreign ship suddenly arrived in Uraga in the morning.
The Thor was anchored in the ocean between Miura Peninsula and Futtsu. Since the morning, large and small ships transporting supplies to Edo from various places on the sea have fled for their lives due to panic. Ships coming from the west all fled back to Izu, ships coming from the northeast ran to the Kamiso area to take shelter; and ships coming out of Edo Bay either turned around and fled to Yokohama, or went west to escape into Uraga Port.
The first person to sound the alarm was the guard at the "Dengmingtang" on Pinggen Mountain at the eastern end of the Sankuo Peninsula. Immediately afterwards, several Yoli stationed in Nishiurahe arrived one after another with their subordinates. After noon, the Tokugawa Navy stationed in Uraga Port began to dispatch.
Before the arrival of the black ships of later generations, the Uraga Office functioned as a customs office.
There are no decent defense facilities here at all. Apart from the wharf, shipyard, and east-west interrogation house (similar to an inn), there is only one execution office and one imperial office. The local force consists of ten officers and fifty officers; that is to say, one police chief leads five official police officers. The main duties of the bansuo are to board ships for inspection, collect taxes, and expel ships that are not allowed to enter the port.
In addition, due to the Thor invasion of Nagasaki the year before last, 50 Ashigaru people, 11 navy leaders, and 190 sailors were added.
So at noon, dozens of black sloops formed a large circle, with the Thor in the middle.
Looking at the big white ship in front of them, the leaders of the navy were trembling with fear, wondering how they could fight such a big guy! It's best to stay for one day and then leave. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to go back to their respective homes and live peacefully?
Just after two o'clock in the afternoon, Yuri Tanzawa Hisaemon of the Uraga Administrative Office and a companion took a small morning boat and approached the Thor.
This was the second time that Zhao Xin met officials directly under the Tokugawa Shogunate. The last time was in Nagasaki.
The strength of the shogunate belongs to the basic samurai, but because they deal with common people all day long, most of them are good at talking. In terms of clothing, Yuli always wears a relatively wide single-color "shoulder jacket" and a "horse-riding hakama" cut from pinstriped floral fabric.
"Are you from the Tang Dynasty?" Tanzawa Hisaemon asked loudly in a broken Zhapu dialect.
Jiuzang, dressed in military uniform, appeared on the side of the ship and loudly said in the island's dialect: "I can't understand a word you said."
Tanzawa Hisaemon breathed a sigh of relief. The other party could speak his own language, making communication much easier.
"Please tell me your identity!"
"I am Zhao Jiuzang. On behalf of Beihai Town and the Great Ainu Kingdom, we are here to negotiate with the shogunate."
Tanzawa Hisaemon and his companions were stunned for a moment, then thought for a while and continued: "Your Excellency, we request to board the ship for negotiation. You have entered our country's waters without authorization. On behalf of the shogunate, I hope you can withdraw from the waters of Uraga."
"Oh, may I ask what your official position is? My Royal Highness is ordered to only talk to people of equal status."
"Your Highness?" Tanzawa Hisaemon was startled, wondering where his Highness came from. Aren't these people Tang Yi pirates? !
Due to the suicide of Toda Clan and the disastrous defeat of the Saga Domain, Zhao Xin actually did not know that he was already notorious among the coastal vassals. Tanzawa Hisaemon said in his heart that he had built a fort in Nagasaki and you couldn't beat it, so he came to Uraga again!
The companions on the morning boat were so anxious that they immediately pointed at Tanzawa Hisaemon and loudly said: "This gentleman is the deputy chief of Uraga who is in charge of negotiations."
Jiuzang was stunned for a moment, thinking that the deputy chief executive was here. He was about to turn around and report to Zhao Xin when he heard Zhao Xin behind him laughing loudly and saying: "What the hell can you make such nonsense! Does Uraga have a deputy chief executive? Ask him who he is Not a team leader."
Only then did Jiuzang realize that the other party was deceiving him, and his expression suddenly changed. He was born as a mountain man and had no idea about the establishment of the Yuanguo Administrative Office. But Zhao Xin understands this matter very well. He once made a special trip to Yokohama Chinatown and visited the museum in Yokosuka.
The establishment of the Uraga Administrative Office is composed of two envoys, one of whom is stationed in Edo Castle. Under the envoy are the first two members of the group, followed by Riki and Tongxin.
"Asshole! My Highness asked me to ask you, are you the leader?"
Tanzawa Hisaemon and his companions looked at each other and said to themselves, the lie has been exposed!
The two of them were beating drums in their hearts when they heard another voice suddenly coming from above their heads: "Your father-in-law is too young, and the old man has stepped down again. Forget it, I will reluctantly let someone from the Yu San Family or Yu San Qing come. One, I’ll talk to him.”
"You are rude!" Tanzawa Hisaemon and his companions were furious. Who are the people in the Yusan family? They are all high-ranking officials from the second position; and the three Yuqings are all "qing" from the third position. What qualifications do you pirates have?
Seeing that the other party was silent, Jiuzang said: "We have defeated the 10,000 troops of the Saga clan. How long do you think Uraga can hold out? Go back and recover quickly. Our highness will not beat you because we are afraid that there will be one in the end." A large group of people committing seppuku!”
Tanzawa Hisaemon sneered: "Although our country is small, there are countless people who are willing to die! Ten thousand people are nothing, within a few days, there will be hundreds of thousands of soldiers gathered around here."
"Oh, Hatamoto has 80,000 riders, right?" Zhao Xin walked slowly to the side of the ship, looked down at the two warriors below, and sneered: "Dare you two use bamboo slices wrapped in tin foil to do your work? Do you still have your armor?"
Tanzawa Hisaemon is about to explode with anger. He can't continue the conversation! Everyone has a face. Now the Tokugawa shogunate has nothing to ask for, except face. People actually slap them in the face without mercy.
"We can't even get a single boat in or out for one day!" Zhao Xin's face changed and he continued: "Tell the people in the imperial city what I said word for word. I only give you two days, otherwise I will blow up first. Pingura congratulates the Imperial Guard, and then bombards Imperial City Zhongou!"
That night, when Zhao Xin's warning reached Nakaou in Edo Castle, Tokugawa Ieki immediately panicked. He had heard about the Thor's bombardment of Nagasaki Port. It was a single shot that sank a customs ship and killed the demon king who appeared in a sea of blood and corpses at the foot of the mountain! This is really unreasonable. Move immediately, immediately, now!
It's impossible not to hide. Tokugawa Ieqi is only 13 years old and doesn't even have a son. Besides, the Mito clan has been eyeing the position of general with eager eyes. Even if Ieqi doesn't want to leave, his biological father Tokugawa Haruji doesn't agree.
So Gong Fangzhang quickly moved his biological mother Yu Fuyugata and Moji, who had not yet married, to Hitotsubashidon Yashiki in the northwest of the castle. At night, Jiaqi, who was frightened and frightened, fell asleep accompanied by his mother and wet nurse, but the princes in Zhongao were still discussing countermeasures all night long.
"Marquis Sendai, you should come forward to negotiate this matter. Do you still need me to tell you the specific reasons?" The speaker was Tokugawa Jiho of the Mito Tokugawa family.
"This, what does this have to do with me?! The conscience of heaven and earth, Matsushima Town and Ishinomaki Port were also attacked by Tang Yi. This domain and Tang Yi are also sworn enemies!"
"Hmph~" Harumo Nabeshima, the chief lord of the Saga clan sitting in the back, rubbed the wound that would get sore when the weather got cold, and said to continue acting.
Maeda Jikyu, the lord of the Kaga Domain, asked: "How is the current troop gathering situation in the city?"
have to! Which pot is not opened and lifted? Although the order to mobilize troops to each domain has been issued, don't you have a good idea of the virtues of today's samurai? Look, the prices of all the swords, guns, armor, bows and arrows in the city will increase tomorrow.
One of the people present said: "People have been sent to check whether the stored cannons, muskets, gunpowder and war horses are complete. Every family in the city is purchasing them overnight. It's just... there is a slight shortage of saltpeter."
Not only is there not enough saltpeter, but there is not enough swords, guns, and war horses. In one word, it can be summed up as - extremely corrupt!
If Tang Yi really comes in, everyone will have no choice but to move on and live in a large country villa in Nikko Toshogu in Shimono.
"So..." Maeda Jikyu turned to look at Date Shigemura: "Sendai Marquis should make a hard trip and delay for a while to see what Tang Yi wants."
Sendai Houida Shigemura is so angry! Damn it, Tang Yi didn't come earlier or later, but he came at this time. Everyone here was scolding themselves with guns and sticks, and their eyes wanted to eat them alive.
Date Shigemura said why? Isn't this vassal just buying some food from Tang Yi and selling some untouchables! If you have the ability, go ahead and sell it! If people don't starve to death these days, it's a victory. I'm also helping the shogunate reduce its burden!
Besides, the Sendai clan really couldn't defeat those Tang Yi... Date Shigemura felt terrified when he thought of the big bomb crater he saw in Matsushima Town. With just one shot, dozens of warriors were riddled with wounds, and many of them couldn't even collect their bodies.
"In the past few months..." Shimazu Shigehao, who had been silent at this time, spoke. This is the feudal lord of the Shimazu clan, the future father-in-law of Gongfang Zhi, really.
"The news came back from North Korea. It is said that the leader of Tang Yi is named Zhao. However, people in North Korea say that this person is actually named Zhu and is a descendant of the former Ming Dynasty King Zhao."
Tokugawa Jiho interjected: "So what? Even if he is a descendant of the former Ming royal family, China is now dominated by barbarians and Tartars."
Shimazu Shigehao frowned slightly and continued: "The year before last and the year before last, this man defeated tens of thousands of Qing's conquest troops outside the Qing customs in the northeast. It is also said that he captured the leading general and was a relative of the Qing emperor."
As soon as these words came out, several ministers who had been shouting to fight off Tang Yi at first were stunned.
Tokugawa Chicha from the Tian Adekawa family looked sideways and said, "Satsuma Lord, there is a powerful enemy at hand. What do you mean by this?"
"My intention is self-evident. It would be best if these people are not enemies."
Shimazu Shigehao thought very far, what if the man named Zhao Xin conquered the Qing Dynasty and restored the Han people's rule. When the time comes to turn around and deal with the island countries, the first one to bear the brunt will be the Satsuma Domain.
Since the 14th year of Keicho, which is the 37th year of Wanli in the former Ming Dynasty, the Satsuma Domain has been trying to annex the Ryukyu Kingdom. Although Tokugawa Hidetada, the second generation of the Tokugawa family, completely cut off the idea of Satsuma Domain annexing Ryukyu, the Ryukyu Kingdom has become a vassal of Satsuma Domain after nearly two hundred years of continuous encroachment.
If one day, what kind of situation would the Satsuma Domain without Ryukyu be in... Shimazu Shigehao didn't dare to think about it anymore.
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