Since ancient times, China's great unified dynasties have paid attention to the fact that a teacher is famous, as long as the name is justified, he can justify himself, even if he is full of benevolence and morality, in fact, he is a man thief and a prostitute. The reason why this is all due to Confucianism, this kind of thinking that morality is above all else, and later even for the sake of the country's righteousness, we have to find a noble-sounding excuse, in fact, the reason for striving for more interests for the nation and the country is not enough?

In history, those Confucian scholars held high the banner of morality, but they were really fighting for fame and fortune for their own selfish interests, and it was an era when a dying dynasty was about to collapse, because these guys who claimed to be humble gentlemen had torn their faces, so how far would social morality fall? From this, we can see why when the world was peaceful, Confucian scholars called themselves "gentlemen do not speak of profit", this thing must not be taken seriously, if anyone really believes it, it is a nerd, such as the original Jiang Tian before the crossing. So when the Tokugawa shogunate went to Beijing with the emperor's envoys to make a pilgrimage to Zhang Tao, the Manchu civil and military people understood in their hearts that this was a small @ Japanese suit softened, but they said that it was the power of the Son of Heaven that was widely spread all over the world and all the people worshiped and surrendered.

Zhang Tao sat in the imperial study and held the Japanese congratulatory letter in his hand, and looked at his fellow countryman: "What do you think of things?" ”

Jiang Tian sat opposite him, first glanced at Zhang Huan, who was standing behind him and listening, knowing that this was Emperor Zhang who asked him to say that the test tube was given to the prince, and then said: "In my opinion, this is also normal, although the Tokugawa family is a shogun, they actually control the political situation in Japan. But after all, there were still many daimyo who did not submit to their rule. In other words, he has been looking for an opportunity to turn over, and this attack on the Seto Inland Sea can be seen as a manifestation of these opposition forces seeking external assistance, if it is placed in the past, the Tokugawa family in order to cut off these foreign aid, may take measures such as increasing the intensity of closing the country, but now he himself is not only the beneficiary of the switch trade, but the Ryukyu War made him understand that he has no right to say no, so he simply pulled the only emperor who was recognized by us to worship the mountain first, maybe it made us their foreign aid, Completely wipe out those oppositionists. ”

Zhang Tao just smiled slightly when he heard this, this kind of analysis doesn't need Jiang Tian to say that he can think of it himself, but those old-style officials who only understand it will not say so even if they think of it, and then look at the prince behind him, he hopes that his son can understand that the Chinese Dynasty cannot rule the world only by cultivating and reading heirlooms. Zhang Huan has been communicating with his master for a long time, of course he can understand the stakes here, but those old men who are also discussing politics in the imperial study do not know the situation. Song Yue felt that he couldn't let himself be too far away from this inner circle, no matter what the other colleagues thought, anyway, he wanted to ask clearly: "Lord Jiang said that the first battle of the Ryukyus made these Japanese robbers fearful, but I don't know why?" ”

Tian Xuhai's father spoke, Jiang Tian couldn't help but give this face, so he asked rhetorically: "Lord Tian, you can imagine that if a group of powerful Japanese invaders invaded the Yangtze River in the former Ming Dynasty, or cut off the northward transportation of grain from the Grand Canal, and we don't have a powerful naval army to drive them away, what will happen?" ”

Tian Yu didn't even think about it: "Of course, I tried my best to fight with it, and the Yangtze River was intercepted when the grain was interrupted, which is a sign that Gyeonggi will be cut off and the world will be in chaos!" ”

"Not bad!" Jiang Tian still kept smiling: "For Japan, the land is mountainous and the roads are difficult to travel, so the Grand Canal that maintains their lifeblood is the coastal waterway connecting the major coastal cities, but Japan not only does not have the imperial court to unify the government nor the means to build strong ships and cannons, and our navy is a joke compared to their water heroes, even if you want to fight to the death with us, it is not enough, if the Dinghai is blocked at the gate of Edo Bay, cutting off their sea supplies, don't say that the land route cannot guarantee the supply of Edo City, Even those daimyo who are waiting for an opportunity are ready to move, so it makes sense that they will come to show goodwill. I'm curious that the Tokugawa family has such a capable person, and I have already guessed the ending before I can show off my might! ”

Everyone's hearts moved, no wonder Emperor Zhang's character of gritting his teeth when he mentioned the Japanese invaders, how could he attack Taiwan first instead of making trouble with the Japanese, it turned out that he had long planned to deal with the Japanese slaves without blood. In fact, China has always used this method of taking advantage of the internal contradictions of the other side and using economic means to suppress the enemy...... Just look at the results of the imbalance of power in the Northeast at the end of the Ming Dynasty. So Jiang Tian's method is not much new, but this understanding of Japan's economy and politics is what others sigh about, no wonder the emperor values his junior brother so much, he wants to exterminate the Japanese Kou, this person is well known, and having such a junior brother who is familiar with the enemy's situation is not like a tiger with wings by his side.

Jiang Tian is bent on replicating the Black Ship Incident and even considered blackening the Dinghai to cater to history, but since it can't be done, he will not kidnap the interests of the country for his own bad taste, Zhang Tao is still very relieved about this, the current situation is that the Tokugawa family takes the initiative to show weakness, and the original action to further knock on the door of Japan is not necessary, and the preparation of using other daimyo to fall will endanger national interests, a stable and open Japan is more suitable for economic and trade exchanges than a chaotic Japan, An old government that is weak and flattering is more convenient than a new government that comes to power violently and unruly. This is also the main reason why the foreign adults helped the Qing Dynasty to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and Stalin supported Chiang Guangtou to deal with the Red Army despite the class friendship of the communist @procrastination @ist@righteousness camp.

The same problem is now placed here in the Chinese Dynasty, in order to resume the import and export trade affected by the short war against Taiwan as soon as possible, and also to obtain low-cost Japanese copper ore and silver as soon as possible, the Tokugawa family is already important whether it is behind the scenes or not, only the silver transported into the port and the ore in the smelting furnace are the most real, as for the question of who will bear the black cauldron Jiang Tian also has a belly case, but he can't say it at this people's mouthy imperial meeting. In fact, he still has a guess that he has not said, from the perspective of vested interests, the original Seto Inland Naval Battle is more like the Tokugawa family has premeditated, the purpose is to make China fight against the daimyo who do not submit to him, and even bring foreign troops to defeat the vassals!

Fujiwara, the "old friend" of the Chinese, sat in the living room of Jiang Mansion again, don't look at the brain fat he ate kickbacks during this time, but this is like a deflated leather ball completely lost the previous vassal elegance, Jiang Tian looked at him a little funny, through the spies who broke into the caravan in Japan, Zhang Tao already knew that this kid ate two points of kickbacks, but did not expose his plans, but the change of the situation made his good life come to an end.

"Lord Fujiwara is fond of tea, this is the autumn tea shipped from Fujian this year, why can't you drink oolong tea?" Jiang Tian teased knowingly.

"No, no, no." Fujiwara realized that he was a little out of shape, mainly because he didn't expect his good life to end so soon, so he hurriedly raised his glass and took a sip of tea: "Lord Jiang's tea here can always amaze the foreign ministers, but the original negotiation of your country supports my emperor's return to power, how can this be reversed?" ”

Jiang Tian looked at him embarrassedly: "It's not that I don't keep my promises, it's just that the Shimazu family on your side broke the contract first, not only teamed up with the Chinese judges to attack the Chinese envoys, but also tried in vain to intercept and kill the sons of your country's vassals who sent China to study. ”

This robbery made Fujiwara speechless, and he absolutely believed that the Shimazu family could do such a thing, because these guys had long been dissatisfied with the exclusive foreign trade after the switch, and even more dissatisfied with the return of Ryukyu. Don't look at them saying that they respect the emperor, but whoever overthrows the Tokugawa shogunate will not return to the emperor, but just change the family and become a general. After thinking about it, he could only clear up the suspicion on his side first: "Lord Jiang, you also know that these people do not know the dignity of the elders and the young, and have always despised the authority of our emperor, but our royal family is all hostile to the Heavenly Empire!" ”

Jiang Tian nodded: "I understand what Fujiwara-sama means, and I also believe that the emperor of your country does not know about this, but at this point, all the civil and military officials of my dynasty are full of righteous indignation, and the voice of crusade is endless, and the covenant is made by you and me in private, and it cannot be shown to the public, and the Tokugawa family seized the opportunity to come to show goodwill, and the situation is so futile and helpless?" ”

Seeing that the fat in his mouth was about to be taken away by the Tokugawa family, how could Fujiwara give up, and if the matter of eating kickbacks was revealed, then Japan would really have no place to die, and he was angry when he wanted to fight here, and he calmed down again, even if it was not for the emperor's mission but for the sake of his own purse, he couldn't offend Jiang Tian in front of him, so he turned to smile mysteriously: "Lord Jiang is familiar with the national conditions of our country, and he knows that the Tokugawa family has always disrespected the emperor, so there is a great name of the king who plots to overthrow, There may be some young people who have created a little discord, so my Majesty thinks that the two families still focus on the old relationship, and don't hurt the friendship of the two families for some villains, as for Lord Jiang who mediates in the middle, Your Majesty has his own intentions. ”

Jiang Tian was silent, both sides met with swords but were said to be discordant, but he wouldn't be more serious about diplomatic rhetoric, but this very obvious bribery @ bribery made him embarrassed, he was not worried that someone would impeach him, but the national strategy has been prepared from supporting the fall of the curtain to forcing the shogunate switch, at this time, if he jumps out to support the original plan, no one will raise objections, and even Zhang Tao may support a simple and crude solution, but in the long run, it is best for China not to get involved in other countries' civil wars, Moreover, for the time being, one's own national strength cannot support the three lines of the Fallen Curtain, the Northern Expedition, and the Great Voyage, and once it returns to the route of the Fallen Curtain, it will inevitably affect other strategies. Speaking of which, this is still Jiang Tian's own fault, because the new navy he built was more expensive than expected, and it took longer to form combat effectiveness, and the sudden visit of the Spaniards led to the early opening of the Western strategy, and out of the need to lay out the European strategy, which posed the greatest threat to China, it was also necessary to change the strategic focus of the sea from the east to the south, so that the importance of Japan was reduced again.

Seeing that Jiang Tian didn't speak, Fujiwara muttered a little in his heart, the idea of bribing @ bribing was his own temporary idea, even if the poor emperor wanted to do this, he couldn't come up with extra money, only he Fujiwara had the financial resources and willingness to bribe @ bribe Jiang Tian, and only he knew in his heart that the two-point kickback didn't seem to be much, but compared with the expanding Sino-Japanese trade, this oil and water was enough to make him a little frightened when he didn't have a fiefdom, originally he came to China this time and saved the plan to buy a piece of land and live in exile in China, Now it seems that if the Chinese emperor can still support the emperor, then he can not only continue to enjoy the wealth that has been rolling in, but also leave a reputation as a capable minister with the emperor, and after a few years of earning money, he will say that he is in poor health and go to China to enjoy happiness.

Seeing that Jiang Tian still didn't react, Fujiwara had the courage to continue to increase: "Lord Jiang has been working hard for a long time for the peace and friendship between the two countries, and this time His Majesty has asked the foreign minister to bring a thin gift, so he ordered someone to send it to the mansion, and after the matter is completed, he should be thanked." ”

"Alas......" Jiang Tian sighed in embarrassment: "The things entrusted by your country are really difficult to do, so it's better to go into the palace to find out what my majesty means, whether it is successful or not depends on how the business is." ”

This can be said to be a standard excuse, Fujiwara is not stupid enough to believe that the other party agreed to come down like this, naturally he thought that Jiang Tian was moved by money, so he also nodded thoughtfully: "It's all thanks to the thoughtfulness of the adults, I'll go back and order someone to move things." ”

It was still the imperial study, but there were only three people in it at this time, because there were no other officials present, Zhang Huan was sitting on the side listening to the conversation between his teacher and his father, Zhang Tao turned his head and said to Zhang Huan after listening to Jiang Tian's narration: "What does the emperor think about this matter?" ”

Zhang Huan thought about it and felt that it was better to pat the teacher's ass first, and then say: "The teacher can not be tempted by heavy money, and if he puts state affairs first in advance, this is enough to show the high character of Mr. ......."

Jiang Tian glanced at Zhang Tao, and the other party also looked at him with a smile, and both sides were silent. This ring is no longer the hairy boy who didn't know the world back then, but after such a short time in Jiang Tian's place, the way of life began to be smooth, of course, this is not the result of Jiang Tian's teaching, it can only be said that those things hidden in his personality have been released by open-ended teaching, and the result of letting him contact with society is that he can't be expected to be as pure in mind as ever.

Seeing that the two elders didn't speak, Zhang Huan changed his words: "However, Erchen thinks that the reason why Mr. is hesitant is mainly because he can't believe the nonsense of the Tokugawa family, so he wants to leave an insurance policy in Japan, so that he can have a way out in the event of an accident in the future." ”

This time it was Jiang Tian's turn to smile bitterly, his student had learned too well, and it seemed that there would be nothing to teach in the future except for scientific knowledge.

Zhang Tao nodded very happily: "What the emperor said is good, this widow has no faith at all, so your master did not believe him, but of course the silver sent to the door should not be in vain, it just so happens that the expansion of the navy still needs additional appropriations, and this bribe is regarded as the fund of the Naval Research Institute no matter how much it is." ”

Lord Jiang, who was ordered to accept bribes from @, was not so easy, the reception of the Japanese mission was a matter for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he was no longer the vice minister of foreign affairs, so he naturally didn't have to worry about it, but when the two large boxes of silver ingots were placed in front of him, he, the black hand behind the scenes, was still a little moved. Because the metallurgical level of Japan is not high, the fineness of silver ingots naturally cannot be compared with China's Kuping silver, these silver ingots are roughly calculated to weigh less than one ton, converted into less than 16,000 or seven silver coins, for a Chinese official with a lot of power, this price is a bit low, and it is not enough to build a heavy cruiser, but Jiang Tian is lamenting that in a short period of time, he Fujiwara can accumulate such family assets by eating kickbacks, which shows how much China has actually made 20% of the profit has looted only for the coinage and fire consumption. Even if it is for long-term exploitation, Japan cannot be allowed to become chaotic early.

In addition to putting these into the account of the research institute, Jiang Tian, who had received the money, instructed Okada to be silent for a period of time before the emperor's birthday, saying that the post of the Japanese Tokugawa family's shogun was obtained by coercing the Japanese emperor, and that he could represent the emperor and Japan, and asked for the refusal of the Tokugawa envoys to meet in the next process of submitting credentials, and only exchanged credentials with the envoys of the Japanese emperor...... Not many people in the Chinese court were interested in this twist and turn, because the traditional civil officials believed that it was only right to talk with the envoys of the king of a country, and the so-called great generals were people without troops and fathers, and the gentlemen naturally could not be with them.

This recital was written by a traditional literati, and it would not have been noticeable, and besides, everyone thought that Qiu Tian had nothing to do recently. However, the question he said also catered to some Confucianism, and it was effectively connected with the principle of diplomatic reciprocity proposed by Jiang Tian, and the "China Times" reprinted this excerpt in full, and for a time the whole of the capital on the question of who could represent Japan became a topic of conversation among everyone. In any case, the prevailing idea is that only the emperor can represent Japan. Of course, this caused a lot of public pressure on the envoys sent by the Tokugawa family, and they were not familiar with China's new political system, and they were completely unable to clarify the direction of the matter, so that they went to Fujiwara to discuss countermeasures in a daze.

Fujiwara admired Jiang Tian's ability in his heart, and at the same time talked about the conditions according to Jiang Tianjiao's strategy, in fact, there was only one core content, that is, to provide a fixed amount of tariff preferences for the emperor's imperial merchants, and the Tokugawa family to provide silver for the emperor to trade with China. The envoy of the Tokugawa family stopped doing it as soon as he heard it, they came to China in such a low voice in order to suppress the trade between other daimyo and China, anyway, the main mines are controlled by his Tokugawa family, and the current private silver deposits are almost hollowed out by Sino-Japanese trade, and the value of the new silver coins minted by China for Japan is rising sharply, and as long as the Tokugawa family can directly exchange silver coins from China, they can control the amount of silver coins put in Japan, and for this reason, they will not hesitate to bear all the fire consumption, how can they leave an opening for the emperor?