Meeting Zhao Xin's parents was the biggest surprise for Shen Xuan.
However, when she listened to Zhao Xin's parents speaking extremely fluent Beijing Mandarin, she felt a murmur in her heart.
Are these two old men really coming back from overseas? Why do you feel like an old resident who has lived in the capital for decades?
Fortunately, the ancients taught us that before a woman gets married, she must obey her parents' orders, and after she gets married, her husband and parents-in-law must obey them. Therefore, even though she had doubts in her heart, Shen Xuan was still respectful and did not dare to question him at all.
The two of them paid homage to Zhao Xin's parents, and Zhao Xin's mother, who was so happy that she couldn't smile from ear to ear, took out two big shiny gold bracelets and put them on her daughter-in-law's wrists, which immediately made Zhao Xin dumbfounded. We don’t lack anything, and we don’t lack this!
Afterwards, Zhao Xin told Shen Xuan that what happened to Zhao's parents and Zhao's mother must not be told to outsiders, not even Shen Jingdan and his wife. Shen Xuan saw her husband telling her the instructions with a serious face, and then thought of what happened to Fan Tong a while ago, so she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
The day after the wedding, a refreshed Zhao Xin packed several big red envelopes and gave them to the old eunuchs from the Qing Palace who helped. Each of them contained a 100-yuan Beihai Town gold coin. This thing is a rarity. Since its release, few people have seen it.
The old eunuchs were very grateful, and then they climbed up the pole and knelt down together to beg Zhao Xin, saying that we wanted to enter Prince Zhao's mansion to serve him. Of course Zhao Xin would not agree. Even if his family needs to hire cooks or helpers, they can never use eunuchs. This is a matter of principle. So the old eunuchs had no choice but to leave in disappointment with their red envelopes.
Zhao Xin was very satisfied with the entire wedding. His only regret was that Wu Siyu, Liu Sheng, his wife, and Fan Tong were unable to attend because they were too far away. Of course, Zhao Xin can pick them up. The question is who knows if the general is gone and will there be trouble in places like Yaksa and Kyaktu? After experiencing Fan Tong's kidnapping, no one dared to take the risk again.
After Zhao Xin got married, in addition to Zhao Xin's parents who were staying for a short time, the residents of the house also had the Xu brothers and A Miao who moved here. Chef Hu Fugui and Hu were also hired as cooks by Zhao Xin with a high salary, and four other island women were hired as helpers. If Wan Zao's wife hadn't been involved in civil affairs, she would have quit her position as "women's director" and come to help.
Follow the leader closely, this logic cannot be wrong no matter in time or space.
As the number one in Beihai Town, it is absolutely impossible to take a wedding leave. Although Zhao Xin and Shen Xuan were obsessed with being turned over by the Red Wave and Wushan Yunyu, on the third day after the wedding, Zhao Xin still resisted the urge to "from now on the king will not come to court early" and received the messenger from the shogunate.
"Kasama Hou, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"The Lord ordered me to come and discuss with Zhao Wangdian to end the war, and ask Zhao Wangdian not to support the rebels of Sendai Clan. The shogunate can also agree to the conditions that Sendai Clan can agree to, and there will be more."
The person who spoke to Zhao Xin was Makino Sadaga, the second-in-command of the shogunate who led the mission. All the vassals in the island country knew that Zhao Wangdian's island dialect was slippery, so there was no interpreter. In addition to the two of them, there were also a personal attendant of Makino Sadaga, a guard of Zhao Xin, and the Beihai Town official responsible for recording the conversation.
The reason why the shogunate sent this man was because as the lord of the Hitachi Kasama Domain and the fifth generation of the Makino family of the Seraisada family, Makino Sadaga has a rich resume and is much better than the young Matsudaira Sadanobu.
This man succeeded the family governor at the age of sixteen, and began to serve as the shogunate's chief minister at the age of twenty-six. He successively held the official positions of temple chief, Osaka Castle representative, Kyoto chief minister, etc. He understands the economics and has a high level of governance. In addition, he is also a master of the sea dog government. Trusted by two generations of father and son.
In addition, Makino Sadaga is the only one who has fought against the Northern Navy on the battlefield. Last year in the Battle of Manuuma, the 1,500 vanguards he sent were severely defeated by the Northern Navy and the Aoba Battalion, and almost the entire army was wiped out. But even so, among the veterans of the shogunate, he was the only one who was "familiar" with the Northern Navy's tactics and weapons and equipment.
The meeting place between the two parties was still the office next to the Beihai Town Square, which surprised the shogunate. They did not expect that the official office of Zhao Wangdian, which was notorious throughout the island country, would be so simple, without any gorgeous and exquisite furnishings and appliances. Not even the poorest daimyo in the island country.
In fact, Zhao Xin has no interest in turning his new house into a small court, with no distinction between public and private matters. Just like Yongzheng, there is a curtain between the home of Yangxin Palace and the front hall, which is only 1.8 meters in total.
Furthermore, Beihai Town relied on strength, and Zhao Xin felt that this office was enough. If we really want to talk about ostentation, no one can compare with Qianlong in the south. He dedicated the blood of all people to serve one person in the world, which can be said to be the best in the world.
Makino Sadaga's posture was very low. If this office had a tatami, he would have liked to bend over and kneel down. Right now, I felt very uncomfortable sitting on a Chinese-style chair with backrest and armrests, so I could only bow to signal.
It wasn't just the chair that made him uncomfortable. In the past few days when the shogunate's delegation came to Beihai Town, they were stunned and dazzled by everything in front of them from the moment they got off the boat.
From the two long-famous large iron ships moored at the pier of Whale Bay, to the tall chimneys spewing white smoke day and night on the east bank of the Sira River, to the monsters with wheels that often whiz by on the road; From the weapons on the waists of the security police to the shining "spewing iron cannon" in the hands of the North Korean Navy ceremony soldiers at Zhao Xin's wedding; not to mention the streets in Beihai Town that are brightly lit at night as if they were daytime, and the food and clothing of every household. Abundance.
Those shogunate officials who were used to being worshiped by the common people in Edo were all surprised when they saw that the residents of Beihai Town refused to worship the officials. Some local residents could tell by looking at their appearance that they were refugees who had migrated here from the island country. However, the shogunate officials found that these residents almost all gave them a big roll of their eyes when they saw them; what's more, after they passed by, He actually made a sound of "bah".
This situation almost made the shogunate lords so angry that they vomited blood. It's so outrageous that the former filthy and inhuman people dared to look down on the samurai! What kind of world is this? !
Makino Sadadaga proposed to the civil affairs cadre in charge of reception that he wanted to visit the steel plant in Beihai Town, but was rejected; he wanted to visit the Beihai Navy Camp, but was rejected; he wanted to visit the large iron ship, but was rejected; even he wanted to go It wouldn’t do to visit a few families who were former island country refugees.
"Yes. The shogunate wants peace." Zhao Xin nodded, and then asked with confusion: "Then why did you kill Date Shigemura in the first place? If you had known this, why did you do it in the first place?"
Makino Sadaga said sincerely: "Uh... what Kōkata means is that after the peace treaty between the two parties is signed, the shogunate will return Shikisaburo and Mrs. Toki."
Zhao Xinxin said that you really want to let go, but I think Ishikawa Murabu may not be happy with it. It feels so good to have the power now. I wish that the mother and son would stay in Edo forever and never come back.
It is said that Ishikawa Murafumi has been visiting everywhere in the past few days accompanied by Beihai Town officials. The group not only visited the production line of the Type 84 revolver, but also visited the production workshop of the Type 1787 12-pound front-loading smoothbore cannon and watched the firing of the artillery. Demo.
Ishikawa Murafumi was quite satisfied with the power of the Type 87 12-pounder gun, and immediately placed an order for one hundred guns, with a total price of fifty thousand taels of gold. In addition, this person felt that the long-range power of the 84 revolver was insufficient, and once again proposed to purchase the standard weapon of the North Navy.
Of course Zhao Liang, the head of the military-industrial complex, would not agree. The alternative he proposed was a "combat revolver" copied from another time and space. Anyway, the general principle of Beihai Town is to strictly control the output of primers and strangle the necks of the partners - the losers.
"The Lord agrees that the Satsuma Kingdom and Ohsumi Kingdom among the three kingdoms of Southern Kyushu will be given to the Sendai Domain, and the Hyuga Kingdom will be returned to the shogunate and become Tenlord. The three counties of Izuku, Isa, and Hisikari will be managed by the Zhao Palace." After Makino Sadaga said this, My heart is bleeding.
In fact, this condition was the final decision made by Matsudaira Sadanobu after repeated weighings, and was approved by Tokugawa Ieki and his biological father Tokugawa Haruji.
In the past few months, the shogunate has seen people from the Sendai clan jumping up and down in Kyoto, liaising with ministers, spreading money in large amounts, and trying to win people's hearts. Today's Tokugawa family has lost its dignity. If this continues, in a few years no one in the world will listen to Edo.
Brutal natural disasters and the resistance of domestic samurai and intellectuals have left Matsudaira Sadanobu's cabinet in a state of disarray. However, Beihai Town's frequent attacks on the gates and the opposition to the Sendai Clan made Matsudaira Sadanobu even more tormented. This kind of life of waiting for others to decide your destiny is really not a life for people!
Zhao Xin's purpose is not to occupy the island country or change a general, but to fish in troubled waters by taking advantage of the split. He pretended to think for a while, then nodded and said, "Okay."
Makino Sadaga was overjoyed when he heard this, and took advantage of the situation and proposed that he wanted to learn from the Sendai clan and obtained a low-interest loan from Beihai Town. In line with the principle of "if you have money, don't make a bastard", Zhao Xin immediately asked the other party the amount. Makino Sadaga stretched out his hand and said hesitantly five million taels.
Zhao Xin calculated the gold in stock. The gold stockpile in Beihai Town is currently top secret, and even the civil affairs department does not know the specific figures.
"First borrow a five-year term of two million taels. If you can repay it on time, you can continue to borrow money later."
When the two sides talked about this, it was basically settled. The remaining matters such as the purchase of food and weapons were left to the people below to discuss in detail.
At this time, Makino Sadaga made a request to visit various places in Beihai Town, and Zhao Xin immediately agreed. But in this matter, it is not the civil affairs officials who have the final say on where to go or not.
Before Makino Sadaga said goodbye, Zhao Xin thought of one more thing.
"Marquis Kasama, there is something I need to remind you of."
"Prince Zhao, please tell me."
"The English and the Dutch are at war. Do you know this?"
Makino Sadaga recalled for a while, and his subordinates came up to whisper a few words, and then said: "This matter was mentioned in the letter of the Nagasaki Acting Governor two years ago. It is precisely because of this that the Dutch ship traffic has been rare in these years. There has been no Dutch ship arriving at the port for four years. I wonder why Prince Zhao mentioned this matter?"
What Zhao Xin is talking about is the fourth Anglo-Dutch War in history. The Anglo-Dutch war lasted from 1780 to 1784, and ended with France intervening and the Netherlands admitting defeat. The cause of the war was that Britain used the Netherlands to support the American War of Independence, and in 1780 it unilaterally abrogated various treaties of the Anglo-Dutch Alliance led by William III.
Britain made huge profits from this battle. It originally borrowed huge national debt from the Dutch within a hundred years, but used the war as an excuse to waive interest payments. After the war, the British purchased the national debt from Dutch businessmen at low prices. The most important thing is that the financial center of Europe moved southward, with London replacing Amsterdam, which eventually led to the bankruptcy and dissolution of the Dutch East India Company.
However, Zhao Xin's next words shocked Makino Sadaga.
"As far as I know, British warships are coming to Nagasaki."
"Why is this?! Does Zhao Dian have any conclusive news?" Makino Sadaga stared at Zhao Xin, trying to find the answer from the other party's expression.
Zhao Xin lied without blinking an eye. He explained: "The Dutch were defeated. I think the British will use the Dutch attack on Nagasaki as an excuse to allow the shogunate to open the port."
In fact, this is simply impossible. In another history of time and space, the British invasion of Nagasaki would have to wait until the "Napoleonic Wars" twenty years later. At present, the British are still digesting and absorbing the benefits after the end of the war, and the East India Company has no time to take care of the island country.
Looking at the departing back of the worried Makino Sadataga, Zhao Xin felt a little proud. His purpose was actually to let the shogunate use the loan to buy some Type 87 12-pound guns to consolidate coastal defense and be prepared. Besides, the effective range of these 12-pounders is only 1,600 meters, so no one can defend against the North Korean navy's cannons.
A few days later, after some back and forth, Beihai Town, the shogunate mission and the Sendai Domain finally reached a draft truce contract on the negotiation table. The reason why it is a draft is because Makino Sadaga has no right to make the decision. He has to take the draft back to Edo and submit it to the Lao-Chinese meeting for discussion, and the Sea Dog Official will make the final decision.
But in addition, the shogunate mission also privately signed a loan agreement with Beihai Town: First, Beihai Town will lend 2 million taels of gold with a gold content of 99% to the shogunate. The loan period is five years and the annual interest rate is 5%. ; Second, the shogunate purchased one million tons of rice from Beihai Town and delivered it within one year; third, the shogunate purchased one hundred Type 87 12-pound guns and one thousand Type 84 revolvers from Beihai Town, which were delivered in two installments.
In fact, not counting anything else, Makino Sadaga felt that he had made a big deal just from borrowing money this time.
As mentioned before, the gold content of Yuanwen Xiaoban gold issued in 1736 is 65%. However, starting from the third year of Tianming, due to financial difficulties, the gold content of the gold coins issued by the shogunate became increasingly lower and lower. Historically, by the time the small civil and political fines appeared in 1819, the gold content was only 56%.
If the two million taels of 99 red gold are used to make small judgments, three million gold coins can be issued, which will greatly alleviate the financial difficulties caused by the "Donation and Abandonment Order".
The reason why Zhao Xin did this was because Matsudaira Sadanobu, the current leader of the Lao Middle School, was a firm believer in Zhu Xixue.
This person's goal in governing was to establish a secluded and self-reliant system based on agriculture, and established a two-level examination system, Sudu Yinwei and Xuewen Yinwei.
This system related the test results of Zhu Xi's knowledge to the priority of filling vacancies and newly created positions, and even linked the test results to the ministers' inheritance rights to the family business.
Regarding the ocean expansion theories among the islanders that "since you can't afford to eat, why not build cannons or buy warships", Matsudaira Sadanobu formulated and implemented the "Prohibition of Kansei and Foreign Studies", which specifically targeted the propaganda of naval doctrines and those outside the Zhu Xi school. Other schools of thought.
In this case, let the island country continue to be in seclusion and cultivate the land well!
