A three-year lease is not a long term, just a buffer time.

The matter of Ezo is not something that the Matsumae clan can call the shots, and there are so many people that it is impossible to hide it if you want to hide it completely.

Matsumae Shihiro decided to talk a little bit about this side of the matter when he went to Edo to explain this time.

After all, as for how to say it, it's a bit tricky.

It is only said that a ship of Dashun was shipwrecked, and as for the specific situation, I will not go into details.

If the shogunate strictly orders that it must be dealt with, come back and deal with it.

If the shogunate listened to his ambiguity and didn't take it seriously, then according to the established idea, they would marry merchants and trade quietly.

Soon, the retainers in charge of the negotiations went to the place where Dashun built the city to rest, and the two sides signed a very "equal" treaty.

Draw a range for them to rest here for a while.

However, it is not allowed to go out of the circle, and it is strictly forbidden to trade directly with the local Ezo people.

All the goods were to be sold to the merchants of the Matsumae Domain, and as soon as the ships were ready, they had to leave as soon as they were ready.

But these Dashun refugees are allowed to fish and log here.

As soon as the treaty was signed, merchants came in small boats and carried away the goods.

The merchants of the Ryohama Group were not qualified to participate in the trade of Nagasaki, the principal was not enough, and the relationship was not hard, so it was rare to have the opportunity to buy Chinese goods, and one by one they were naturally elated.

Most of the silk can be used as Ezo brocade, and the monks of Edo and Kyoto are willing to use this type of Ezo brocade as robes, and the shogunate has acquiesced in the existence of this brocade.

Most of the goods were delivered in silver and gold, and the rest were exchanged for some dried fish.

There were not many goods, and after giving the Matsumae clan a land lease fee of 1,000 taels of silver, I still made a little profit by removing the dried fish.

The area demarcated is not large, but these people don't need much space.

Repair the city first, then cultivate the fields, and the top and bottom are restricted, do not come into contact with the Ezo people, and do not come into contact with the Ezo people for at least three years.

Before the winter freezes, another ship arrives.

Three cannons were unloaded, thirty Orion-born recruiters from Vladivostok, and a large amount of food.

Many of the first immigrants had experience living in Vladivostok and did not need the help of the local natives to survive the first winter here.

The officers had sensed that something was not quite right, and some of them had a keen sense of smell and had already smelled the gunpowder of war.

By the time winter came, the basic defenses had been completed and the gun emplacements had been repaired. The winter here is not too cold, but the snow is a little heavy, and the officers who feel that there may be a war have trained these immigrants well.

The officers are all cadets who have come out of the military academy, and the drill of flintlock pistols is also very easy, and they are not regular soldiers, as long as the church hides in the city and fires the guns.

On the coldest days, officers and officers sat around the fireplace, a pot of hot venison stewed and served with a bowl of Vladivostok spirits.

"You say, in three years, the Matsumae family drove us away, is there going to be a war?"

The lieutenant smiled: "Forget it, we have enough food, enough gunpowder, and artillery." As for the people of the Matsumae Domain, they can only besiege and not attack. If you surround it, you won't be able to surround it without 5,000 people. 5,000 people...... He's just a 10,000-stone daimyo, where can he get 5,000 people? Can he afford 5,000 people to eat and drink Lazar? ”

"If you tell the shogunate, even if you send troops, after three years, you will drive us out, send someone to fight us, and if you can't fight, you will tell the shogunate. The shogunate will send troops and transport artillery again, and it is estimated that it will take another year and a half. An army of four or five thousand people, I'm afraid it's not so easy. ”

"Next year, Uncle Eagle will send people here. If they want to take it down, I am afraid that they will use the power of the whole country just like we did to fight the Dzungar Department. ”

Small lieutenant, big confidence.

Knowing that relying on the fortress system, with Japan's tactical level at this time, if you want to attack it, you have to prepare for a long time.

The first step in the castle near the sea is to cut off the supply from the sea.

Not to mention the storage of grain, is the Japanese navy really able to block the fleet in Weihai?

Only these people who are isolated overseas can deeply feel the importance of the navy, and they can also truly feel the peace of mind that there is a huge country behind them that will not give up on them.

The man who had asked the question before rejoiced, "In this way, it will be a great war." I'm waiting here, and if I can hold on, it will be a great achievement. I just don't know what Ying Sabo thinks? Is it to occupy this Ezo land? Or do you have another idea? ”

The lieutenant, who had attended an officer school to enhance his vision, asked rhetorically, "Is there anything special about this Ezo land?" Such a land, from Vladivostok to the north, thousands of miles. If it's just for this Ezo land, I don't think it's worth it. Wait, in a few years, there will be a lot of excitement to see. We still have to train these people well, and the acres of land are cultivated. When the time comes, he will not leave, and he will be able to do it with me? ”

…………

There are still several years to go before the preparations for war against Japan are completed.

Shipbuilding and artillery are all boring step by step, and they are already on the right track, and Liu Yu doesn't need to watch there.

At this time, Liu Yu was not in Weihai, but went to Dagukou by boat, and the emperor allowed him to return to the capital to celebrate the emperor's birthday.

In fact, it was also to discuss with him about the visit of the French envoys.

After the ships laden with glass and silver docked near Dagukou, someone organized to send these goods to the capital, and Liu Yu went to see the fort at Dagukou.

This is a fort built during the Yongle period of the previous dynasty, and since the plague subsided, it has gradually been abandoned here.

But today, there are quite a few people here who are ramming the earth, obviously preparing to overhaul the fort.

The person responsible for building the fort hurriedly saluted after seeing Liu Yu, and as a student who studied artillery and fortress engineering from a small station training, he respected Liu Yu very much.

In order to show his closeness, the young man did not call Liu Yu an adult or a lord, but called him a very special title.

"Sir, the fort here was made of stone, which is not suitable. Just like the books we learned in Liugong Island, the fort should be rammed earth, and there should be a thick slope and dirt bags on the outside. When a stone is smashed by a cannonball, stone chips are splashed, and it is easy to injure people. And it can't be unloaded, it's not as good as the dirt slope. ”

"Your Majesty is going to build a fort here, and you have to build two fortresses. I'm not the chief officer, I'm just the superintendent. ”

The young man enthusiastically led Liu Yu around a few times, hoping to get a word or two of praise from Liu Yu's mouth. The emperor didn't know whether the fort was repaired well or not, and if he could get a few words of praise from Liu Yu, it would be very comfortable.

After turning around twice, Liu Yu praised the young man a few words, but he understood why the emperor did this.

The heart said that with the money to repair the fort, it is better to invest it in the navy and build a few more big ships.

The safety of the Bohai Sea is in the ports and fleets of Weihai and Lushun, not in Dagukou.

The fort was clearly a face-saving project, and should have been built for the upcoming French mission.

The East India Company had already sent the news of the arrival of the mission, which was supposed to arrive in July and August of this year, according to the monsoon season.

The emperor did not want them to go through the interior, especially the canals, so he should have allowed them to enter the capital from the Dagu Pass.

It's just a bit of a pants off fart and a bit of a fart.

In the past, when the map of the whole country was made, it was a group of French missionaries. I am afraid that the map of Chinese mainland in the hands of France is no worse than that in the Chinese court.

Historically, the British did not understand China, and if France had just signed the "Franco-Vietnamese Versailles Treaty" with Vietnam and had already sent missionaries to help draw the map, they might have thought of cutting the canal and cutting off the north and south at the first time.

However, although this is a face-saving project, it seems to be worth it, and it can be regarded as a bargaining chip with France.

This was also a good thing, and it was evident that the emperor was willing to spend money on the repair of the fort, which shows the importance attached to the visit of the French mission.

After checking the forts, Liu Yu found that there were no cannons on the forts that had been repaired.

"Cannon, was it cast in the capital? Or is it cast here? I'm in Weihai, why haven't I heard about this? ”

The young man in charge of building the fort whispered, "There are no guns for the time being. Decorate it with some wood, so that people think that there are cannons here. Maybe I'll cast a cannon later. ”

This somewhat unexpected answer made Liu Yu stunned for about half an hour, and then laughed.

It seems that there are still a lot of talents in the court, not all of them are fools who eat the ancients, and they also know how to spend the least amount of money to achieve the desired effect under the limited circumstances.

"Okay, anyway, the fort is heavy, and idlers are not allowed to enter. However, the cannon can be slowed down, and since this fort has been repaired, it must be repaired. Don't spend money in vain. ”

"Don't worry, my lord, I know this. It's a lot of money, and I don't care about the salary, but if something happens in the future, I'm going to have my head cut off. So I'm going to keep an eye on it. In addition, the officials did not treat me very well, and they were probably afraid that my six relatives would not recognize me, but they did not say anything about sharing the money with me. ”

This method of checks and balances and differentiation still has some effect. The imperial power is mediated, deliberately causing people from the two systems to distrust each other. Now the emperor feels that it is enough to control it, but there are too few people who have learned from practice, and if there are more in the future, he will always have to make a choice.

"When will this be fixed?"

"Your Majesty has decreed that it must be completed by July. I did the math, and it should be about the same. Barracks or something, they will be built. ”

The completion before July confirmed Liu Yu's judgment.

There are many things that cannot be done on your own. However, judging from the construction of the Dagukou Fort, there should be someone in the imperial court who is really concerned about the visit of France.

That's a good thing. Since there is to negotiate, the appearance that should be pretended to be still pretended, if the French see the Dagukou Fort, which had been in disrepair for a long time, they may despise it in their hearts first.

If the French came to Weihai directly from the headquarters of the Guangdong Commercial Hall and turned to Dagukou, what they saw was the defense of Weihai and Dagukou.

If you don't go directly to Weihai, then as long as you don't go inland and stay in Guangdong, Zhangzhou, Songjiang and other places, you will see a thriving area, and you will definitely not see the real poverty belt.

Liu Yu thought to himself, this is not bad. Jin Yu is ruined on the outside, don't peel off the skin, do you know if I am Jin Yu or ruined?