Chapter 646: Fortune and Misfortune (Part 1)

Soon the buds of Japan's capitalism were wiped out by the combined efforts of the domestic government, foreign capital, and Franz, the mastermind behind the scenes.

For a time, Osaka Bay and Edo Bay were filled with the corpses of merchants. At this time, even the most enlightened feudal lord would not betray his class and stand with the merchants.

Not to mention that these merchants were already in an antagonistic relationship with the feudal lords. Considering that they could be relieved of a large debt if their creditors died, it was impossible for those feudal lords to help their merchants.

And even if someone really has a vision beyond the times and chooses to help those businessmen, he will become the enemy of the whole "world".

Korean enemy is a special name for political opponents in Japan. In most cases, the party called the Korean enemy will become the target of crusade.

If the emperor's order or the general's authorization can be obtained, the enemy will be considered the "evil" party, and those who attack him will be the "official army" and "just" party.

The Choshu clan has enjoyed this treatment in history.

As the Japanese merchant group declined, the shogunate once again consolidated its rule. Abe Masahiro is also known as the "Minister of the Shogunate's Restoration", but Austria's efforts to knock on Japan's door also spread quickly.

The British were the first to visit, but after learning about Japan's attitude and Austria's guarantee, they relayed the news to the French.

Cecil, commander of the French Far East Fleet, was very angry when he learned of the incident and immediately led the fleet to Ryukyu.

After receiving sufficient salary and extra grain, local officials and warriors expressed their willingness to defend the country to the death and fight against the demon.

(At that time, Ryukyu people were called islanders and their status was very low. Even if they held the same official position, they did not receive the same salary.)

Historically, Cecil's fleet was driven away by the local indigenous people. This time Lumi fully distributed the local officials and took the lead in defending the island.

In fact, the Ryukyu people's behavior made Cecil very angry, but it was impossible for him to really rush into the island and start a war.

So he remembered his experience in the Qing Dynasty and began to put pressure on the shogunate officials.

The lord of Satsuma Domain, Shimazu Saiki, is a resolute anti-barbarian faction. Although he has no ability, he has two very outstanding sons.

Then his eldest son Shimazu Saibin took over this task. Before leaving, he wrote a suicide note and resolutely went to Ryukyu with his cronies. As a result, he laughed when he saw the French fleet.

The so-called Far East Fleet of the French only has a few old-fashioned sailing battleships of about one thousand tons, which are not at the same level as the steam ironclads of the Austrian Empire seen before.

As a result, during the negotiations between the two parties, Shimazu Qibin took several pressures from Cecil calmly and even retorted.

"Mr. Shimazu, I think you don't want your home to be reduced to ruins?" Cecil asked seemingly concerned.

Shimazu Qibin also relaxed.

"Mr. Cecil, I should have told you that the Austrian Empire has been our trading partner since time immemorial, and by declaring war on us you are declaring war on the Austrian Empire based on ancient alliances."

Cecil laughed, then suddenly growled seriously.

"JAPS (Japanese Monkeys)! Did you know Austria is on the other side of the world! What do you think they can do to help you!"

Shimazu Qibin also stood up and shouted sternly.

"But there is only the Rhine River between Austria and France! You don't want your beautiful hometown to be reduced to a sea of ​​fire! Hahahaha!!!"

Cecil was really angry. He really wanted to pull out his command knife and chop the damn dwarf in front of him.

Shimazu Qibin had also reached for the revolver in his arms. He thought that if he could kill the enemy chief here, it would surely boost his own morale, right?

But just as the situation was tense, Cecil's adjutant suddenly ran in.

"Your Majesty Commander, no, that's not good."

Cecil winked at the adjutant, and the latter immediately whispered something to the former.

"This is impossible!"

Shimazu Qibin was actually prepared to die, but he was also very curious about the sudden situation.

So they came to the deck together, and then they saw a fleet slowly sailing here.

Cecil's hand holding the telescope had veins popping out. The sight in front of him made him unbelievable. At least twenty sail warships were heading towards him, and the leader was a standard 74 ship.

Shimazu Qibin was also surprised and received the telescope he ordered from an Austrian businessman from his retainer.

What appeared in the mirror was the emblem of the Mori family - One Monji Three Stars, and standing on the bow of the flagship was Shoin Yoshida, the youngest counselor in the history of the Choshu Domain.

At this time, Cecil thought that the fleet of the Austrian Empire had not left. He was not afraid of the latter, but he would never have the courage to go to war with the great powers without authorization.

Shimazu Saibin seemed very happy, and he spoke in German with Kagoshima dialect.

"Mr. Cecil, do you want to stay as a guest?"

"No! You rejected civilization! This is your loss! Let's go!"

While the French Far East Fleet hurriedly boarded the ship and raised its sails, they did not forget to play music on the ship to show that they were not escaping, but leaving with honor.

In fact, although the Maori family did not buy Austria's latest ironclads, they did get a large number of US warships obtained in California during the US-Mexican War.

In fact, most of these warships were converted into merchant ships by the Austrians, but some were not easy to convert or not worth converting.

These ships were all sold to the Choshu clan. They might not be able to fight against armed merchant ships in Europe, but they could still be arrogant in the Far East and Southeast Asia.

To be honest, Mori Takashika had already known about the French coming before, and was more aware of the situation of the Satsuma clan, but due to some customs, he did not dare to send a fleet to support.

Yoshida Shoin, a councilor of the Choshu clan, said that Mori Takashika did not need to worry about being punished. In fact, when the shogunate learned of this situation, it would not only not blame him, but would greatly praise him.

As expected by Yoshida Shoin, the 12th Shogun Tokugawa Ieharu submitted a memorial to the emperor, and not only did he not punish the Choshu clan for sending troops privately, but he also increased Mori Takashika's salary and granted him a small fiefdom.

In fact, Abe Masahiro was helpless. He had long known that the Choshu clan had a close relationship with the "prince" of the Austrian Empire, and he had a powerful fleet in his hands.

If the shogunate wanted to live in peace, the best way was to turn a blind eye, after all, Austria had promised to protect the interests of the shogunate.

And being able to drive the French away was a good thing for the whole of Japan.

A month later, three American warships came again. In fact, James Biddle, who came this time, just wanted to kill rabbits by robbing straw.

After bullying the Qing Dynasty next door, he heard the British say that there was an advantage on the other side, so he happily went there, but he encountered. Flying Thunder God!