It was Tokugawa Yoshiki who proposed to use Iwami Silver Shares as a compensation plan, and it is true that he had an attempt to help them transform Silver Mountain with the help of Xiao Letian's strong funds and scientific research strength, but the real reason was actually poverty.

Japan's civil war between the north and the south has depleted Japan's wealth reserves for 200 years, and although the 200 years of peace brought by the Tokugawa shogunate have accumulated a lot of wealth, they never imagined that a modern Western-style army would burn so much money.

foreign guns, bullets, artillery, standard equipment...... Even the military uniforms and belts had to be replaced with new ones, not to mention that the prices of foreign guns sold by the French to the shogunate were lower than the cost price, but the Japanese did not know that a rifle revolution was going on in Europe now.

Breech-loading rifled guns have completely replaced front-loading rifled guns, all-metal cartridges have replaced Minnie rounds, and European arsenals are piled up with tattered arms, not to mention below the cost price, and even buy one get one free is not a problem.

The shogunate was deceived by the smoke bombs of the French, and he thought that these French people had good intentions, but he did not know that the whole of Japan had become a low-class market for the West to dump and tattered.

Merchants are always shrewd, and rifles can be sold half-sold and half-given away, but bullets are definitely going to make money, and you can't produce them in Japan anyway.

Bullets and gunpowder are definitely consumables, and Japanese black powder is definitely not usable, and people who want to buy French gunpowder formulas do not sell them, and they can't even build a joint venture military factory, and in the end the shogunate can only use all its money to purchase from 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 no longer be bullied like this.

The war of Japan's reunification made Xiao Letian, a fierce dragon crossing the river, a stirring up of life, and all hopes were suddenly in vain.

Not only the shogunate, but also the situation of the four feudal clans in the southwest was not much better, and they had already exhausted their money for this decisive battle, especially after they rejected Xiao Letian's request to directly send troops to help, and the arms funding of the Ryukyu side became less and less, and they could only buy it with real money.

This is a very real problem, and then the audacity of the little imp in the fog also made Japan bear the charge of assassinating His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, this kind of thing is not okay without money, although Japan does not believe that the Qing Dynasty will send troops to the Japanese archipelago, but what if the Qing Dynasty officially authorizes the Ryukyus and Western powers to intervene?

After thinking about it, I came together to sweep the bottom of several companies' warehouses, and now it is just the bottom of the box of more than one million taels of silver, and if this money is lost, Japan will be really poor.

What is even more tragic is that how could the emperor of the Qing Dynasty use one million taels of silver to calm his anger? Far from solving the problem, this figure will make the Manchus feel even more humiliated.

After thinking about it, Tokugawa Yoshiki suddenly thought of a plan to compensate with shares, which was to use Iwami Ginzan's shares as compensation to the little emperor.

First, they don't have to ask for cash directly, and secondly, they say to the outside world that they have compensated a silver mountain, and the good-faced government of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is more acceptable, and third, they may be able to exchange it for Xiao Letian's technical upgrade of Iwami Silver Mountain, which is a good strategy to kill three birds with one stone.

But he didn't expect that such a clever plan could not deceive the eyes of Prime Minister Xiao in the East China Sea at all, and the angry Xiao Letian even threw the draft out.

"You want to be sloppy in front of me! You are dreaming! Don't be too shrewd in your calculations, don't take all the heroes of the world for fools!" Li Mi circled around the room like a trapped beast, and his roar startled the entire Osaka Castle Tower.

"There is no reason in the world to take advantage of the advantages and not suffer losses, not to mention the Tokugawa shogunate, let me tell you about the four feudal clans in the southwest, after the independence from the Ryukyus, how much arms and cash support you received from me? Think for yourself!"

"Not to mention the preferential tariffs on the four of you merchants, but how do you repay me? is it indifference, is it rejection of people thousands of miles away......"

"I proposed to establish an arms factory in Kyushu as a joint venture, but you refused; I proposed to establish a free trade zone in Shimonoseki, but you still did not agree; I proposed to pull the telegraph line from Kagoshima down to Kyoto or even Edo, but you actually said that it would be an enemy......? Do your own calculations, from the time of cooperation until now, in addition to opening your mouth to ask me for weapons and money, have you ever given me a cent in return?"

Xiao Lotian suddenly walked in front of Shimazu Tadayoshi and stared at his eyes: "Do you think that I am the same as the rotten Confucianism educated by Confucianism?

"So you can hide a contempt for me under your enthusiastic appearance? Do you think it's right to eat me, drink me, and use me? When I lower my military aid, you feel that you can't stand it? So you are deliberately alienating me, refusing to share information with me, and not even revealing your plans for war......

"What is the result? What is the consequence? It is a failure, I have watched you step by step into the trap of the Tokugawa family, if it weren't for me to appear, what would be the final fate of your four southwestern feudatories, I'm afraid you know it yourself!"

Li Mi's cold words made the four feudal lords sweat like pulp, especially the three feudal lords of the Tosa Domain, the Choshu Domain, and the Hizen Domain, they encountered such a head drink when they saw Xiao Lotian for the first time, and no one expected that such a young prime minister would be so imposing.

After teaching the four feudal clans in the southwest, Xiao Lotian quietly looked at Tokugawa Qingyi for a long time before he spoke, "I have to say, as a shogun in a time of crisis, it is really not easy for you to take such pains for the rule of your Tokugawa family......"

"The cooperation with the French has drained the treasury of the shogunate for 200 years, right? You are really a business genius to come up with the idea of using Iwami Ginzan shares to cover the accounts...... It's a pity that it's difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, and it's not easy to be a family in Japan!"

In one sentence, Tokugawa Keiki almost cried, this Japanese family is not only not good, it is simply hell! Internal and external troubles swept up together, and there was no money, no technology, no equipment, not even food, and of course, countless samurai were still dead.

The civil war continued, and the pressure on the outside world increased, and Tokugawa Yoshiki wanted to pick a son countless times. I am also a dignified general, even if the great government is returned, I have to give me a few bureau cities, and I have to have two or three hundred thousand stones a year.

When the time comes, I will drink and admire the moon, listen to waka songs and play geisha, how easy it will be to live like that!

"The difficulties of life in the lower kingdom are not something that the lord of the kingdom can imagine!" Tokugawa Qingxi sighed, let go of all his psychological baggage, and finally opened and honestly negotiated with Xiao Letian.

"Japan is not China, and this small island has many mountains and forests, but there are few fields, and the annual grain output is not even as good as that of China...... Not to mention disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and typhoons, small countries and widows are not just an idiom!"

"Of course, the Prime Minister will be dissatisfied with what we have done, whether it is the four feudal clans in the southwest or our Tokugawa shogunate, in fact, they do not want such a powerful person as the prime minister to come to Japan, the reason is simply that Japan is too poor, and we really don't have any extra 'rations' to distribute to outsiders......"

Looking out the window in the direction of the draft that had just been discarded, Tokugawa said with great sadness, "If the prime minister is not satisfied, we can continue the conversation until the prime minister is satisfied...... But the cruel reality, please don't forget that the Japanese nation is already suffering and is on the verge of collapse, and we have to live......"

"The short-term oppression of the Japanese nation can bring temporary benefits to the prime minister, but you have also gained the hatred of the Japanese people, is this really what you want?"

This general's realm is much stronger than ordinary people, after all, he has received a top-level education, and he has a level of speech.

Listening to the general's words, Xiao Letian couldn't help but think of the French Marshal Foch who said after hearing the news of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, 'This is not peace, but a truce of 20 years'.

Is it really wise for the victor to brutally suppress the loser? Not necessarily, even if you take advantage of it for a while, you will also gain eternal hatred, and without the hatred common to the whole nation, how can the hatred from the bone marrow push out a madman like Hitler.

Xiao Lotian sneered and said, "So, what do I want to do, I have to consider your thoughts?" Hehe, you are all beautiful girls, and your emotions are relatively fragile, how much should I spoil you?"

"Prime Minister!" Nabeshima suddenly straightened his waist, "Please take back what you just said, we will never accept such an insult! You dare to compare a samurai to a woman!"

"Stand down!" Without waiting for Xiao Lotian to speak, Tokugawa Keiki took out the momentum of a general, and shouted back to this bold guy, "I am the shogunate general, and the emperor authorized me to govern Japan, you dare to be so arrogant! Go back to your Hizen domain, you are not needed here......"

"General......" Naoda's face was bloody, but in the end he bowed his head and turned his head to leave.

Everyone looked at Naoda Naojima, who was blown away, and they all had mixed feelings, and finally the Yamamochi Hall of the Tosa Domain spoke: "Why are we entangled in these illusory faces, why don't we listen to the proposal of the Prime Minister? Who else can the wise man in this room be besides the Prime Minister?"

After a long time, in the end, this fox heard Xiao Letian's voice, as the first prime minister of East Asia on the expedition to Europa, it is impossible to be politically immature. He deliberately provoked everyone and tore apart everything that was shiny on the surface of Japan, and this was definitely for a purpose.

Xiao Lotian gave him an appreciative look, and then asked Long Ye to take out a draft that had been drafted for a long time, and quietly pushed it in front of Tokugawa Qingxi.