Neil, the acting minister of England, has been quite troubled lately, and he can't find a safe way to deal with the aftermath of the Shimonoseki incident.

So, he told the matter to the governor of the British box hall who came to visit, who knew that John. Brian laughed when he heard this, the way to deal with this matter was very simple:

"What's so hard about this, don't forget, there's someone above you!"

Neil shook his head and smiled bitterly after hearing this:

"Minister Ali can help me, do you believe it or not, and besides, he hasn't come back yet."

Brian understands, if it's really a pure acting minister, then why do you want Neil to come to Fuso?

Yokohama Governor Howard? Vais is in the local area, and Vais is familiar with Fuso affairs, so let him act for a while.

Therefore, Neil is here to replace the kingdom of Ali.

It can be counted that Ali Guo, like Neil, also came to Fusang from China, Ali Guo was originally the governor of Matsue, and Neil was the secretary of the legation before, so why bother making such a fuss - Brian was reluctant to mix with Neil before, which is also one of the reasons.

But now, since Brian has already bet on Neil, what is there to hesitate, just increase the weight, so that everyone can get what they need:

It was easy to help Naoxiu and let Neil take off his "agent" hat, and when he sat down as a minister, he couldn't thank himself.

It turned out that Brian had plotted for himself the position of governor of Yokohama.

This is also the fundamental reason why Naoxiu was able to convince Brian, "The icing on the cake is not a charcoal in the snow", you help me, I help you, isn't it good.

Of course, Neil himself has his own conveniences - as a former clerk, he also has a heel.

Thus, Brian explained to it:

"As for Minister Aliguo, don't count on it for the time being.

But you still have the old chief, why can't you start here? ”

In this regard, Neil said:

"I figured it out.

But in his reply to Sir Bruce, the Minister to China, he only advised me to 'be cautious, and not to fall the sun or set the majesty of the Empire.'"

How do you look at it, this is also the meaning of suggesting a tough deal with the Xiaguan incident. ”

This is a fan of the authorities, does Brian really want to get his dry shares back now-Bruce has actually made it very clear, you are hesitant, you don't look like you are doing big things.

In fact, from the military to the foreign affairs officer, Neil really has no future, at least his performance in Fusang is not good:

If Naohide hadn't messed in, and Neil was acting as minister in Fuso, it would have been a mess.

After the Shomai Incident (August of the second year of Bunhisyu), the aftermath was delayed, and it was not until May of the third year of Bunkyu (1863) that Neil negotiated with the shogunate and received a compensation of 100,000 pounds.

At that time, many of the British, including Yokohama Governor Wasse, were dissatisfied with the delay, and thought that more incentivized retaliation should be taken, and even immediately took military action in Yokohama.

But Neil put all of this to a dampen - don't look at him for yelling at the shogunate, but he was a moderate on the inside.

Then, he took the warship to Kagoshima, but the negotiations with the Shimazu family did not go well.

And after the final battle, it actually became a bad score, and even the captain of the flagship was hung up, and in the end the British retreated.

Afterwards, the Mi people gloated about the report:

"What Westerners should learn from this war is that they should not underestimate Fuso.

They are brave and adept at Western-style weapons and tactics, making it difficult to get them to surrender.

Despite the menacing strength of England, it failed to thwart the courage of Fuso".

The more critical point is that the British themselves are not on Neil's side of public opinion:

"If you have received a huge amount of compensation, why bother.

What's more, it hasn't won yet.

What the hell is this? ”

In fact, Neil was also very wronged, at that time he entrusted the Admiral of the Navy to be fully responsible for the military situation, and he was also coerced in the matter of starting a war!

Of course, the famous translator Yukichi Fukuzawa, who also contributed a lot to it:

It is said that Fukuzawa translated the British demand from "the murderer (the person who did it)" to "the first offender".

But who could be the first offender?

With such a big hat, it could only be the highest status in the Satsuma Domain's team at that time, that is, Shimazu Hisamitsu.

And Hisatsu is the father of the feudal lord, and he controls the power of the domain, can he hand himself over?!

Therefore, the two sides finally collapsed and could only fight.

As for whether Fukuzawa Yukichi did it on purpose, this is a mystery for the ages.

Because of this nonsense, when Ali Guo returned to Fuso, Neil could only get out of the way.

Now, Naoxiu's little hands are fishing, and Neil's ending is naturally very different:

The raw wheat incident did not happen at all, so Neil had no chance to delay at all, and therefore did not provoke general discontent among his subordinates;

And although the Shimonoseki incident happened, but at the instigation of Naoxiu, Brian didn't run to help.

Brian gives Neil a ghost idea:

"In his reply to Sir Bruce, Minister to China, 'Be careful, and make sure that the sun does not fall on the majesty of the Empire,' which is a good thing.

This tone is so tough, it is not to ask you to use strong measures, but to clearly express your support for you! ”

Neil nodded, saying what I thought too.

The stomach was full of complaints, but thinking of the throne of the governor of Yokohama, Brian couldn't help it again.

He went on to analyze Neil:

What year is this year, this must be dealt with resolutely and decisively, no matter what, it can't be delayed any longer!

It turned out that in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, England seized two important lands from France - Quebec in North Mi and Tianzhu, the future pearl of the English Empire.

From then on, England began to call itself the "empire on which the sun never sets".

And this year is 1863, which is the centennial anniversary, so it is better to end the shelling of Shimonoseki as soon as possible - a gift, you know?

Of course, counting the days, no matter how fast the information is, it will not return to the British mainland this year.

But it's better to be late than never.

Neil said that the baby didn't say it, but the baby was very aggrieved:

"I know all of that.

But isn't the local government implementing the 'Little English strategy' at present, and if it adopts a tough stance and forces the shogunate to be in a hurry, won't it be a wax to fight? ”

"Edo wants to do it?"

Neil shook his head, Oguri Tadashun and others wanted to "make big things small, small things", this attitude is clear.

Brian was almost stunned, Lord Acting Minister, what the hell do you mean by being old!

"You want the negotiations to break down and fight to the end?"

"I don't want to, it's the Francis who are clamoring, and some of our own people are also counting on a big bite to get promoted and get rich."

At this point, Brian finally figured out that Neil had caught the bear's tail and was difficult to ride a tiger, and he himself was inclined to negotiate a peace solution.

Wouldn't that be easy?

About the Buddhas, Brian told Neil a story, after the battle of the Yarrow, the outside world commented on the four countries of Britain, Buddha, Mi, and Lu:

Four people went to grab the orchard, and two of them were stupid and struggled to climb onto the fruit trees to pick them. And the remaining two stood on the ground, letting out the wind, and waiting for the fruit to fall.

When the owner of the orchard arrived, the two men on the ground grabbed him and calmed him down.

In the end, the owner of the orchard finally fought with the two people who climbed the tree, but he was at a disadvantage. In the end, I had to watch the three robbers who got the fruit leave.

"And a bandit who let the wind go?" Neil asked.

Because he was not greedy enough, he took the fruit and wanted to rob other people's houses, but he was taught a lesson by the owner of the orchard and his original accomplices, and he gained very little.

Neil understood as soon as he heard it, didn't he say the four countries of the Battle of Yarrow:

Britain and Buddhism are at war with China, and Mi and Lu, who maintain neutrality, are the ones who let off steam.

Later, the Lu people became greedy and plotted against the land of China, but they were defeated in the Battle of Aihui in the Far East, not to mention the vigilance of the British. In the end, with the intervention of the British, the Lu people received only a negligible amount of compensation, except for commercial interests.

The story is a good story, but what does this have to do with the shelling of Shimonoseki?

Understood, Neil thought about it, and he understood what Brian meant:

The shelling of Xiaguan by these three countries actually involved four families, Britain, Buddha, Mi, and Lan - but Lan was weak and there were no warships.

And this incident was originally a Buddha and a tree on rice picking fruits, and England and Lan enjoyed the success.

But because Buddha and rice didn't take advantage, the British finally settled the matter.

The problem was that the shogunate gave the largest portion of the fruit to England early.

Oguri Tadashun sent an envoy, bought warships and machinery, and promised special commercial interests, so it seems that the British did not need to make a move.

Even if they can get some indemnities and some commercial benefits, in fact, there are so many fruits, and the British are equivalent to sharing their own extra share, which is really unjust!

Of course, if you can grab more, then this logic will not hold.

But the Fuso soldiers and horses on guard in Yokohama now are the Beidi soldiers who have defeated the Lu people twice, and their equipment and quality are so good that they have never been seen by Neil and others - compared with their previous opponents.

If the shogunate of Fuso can still come up with such soldiers and horses, not to mention 10,000, it is 8,000 or 5,000, then it is not something that Shikoku's current strength in Fuso can push flat.

And it wasn't that Shimonoseki didn't land on the shore, and after defeating the so-called Maori regular soldiers and horses, those elusive cold gunners made everyone suffer a lot. More than half of the casualties were caused by these sneaky rats. But the problem is, there is really nothing to do with these cowards who dare not duel head-on.

At present, Shikoku's blackmail has not been successful, and the negotiations with the shogunate have reached a tug-of-war, and military considerations are an important factor - in order to achieve the original goal, this will not work without sending additional men and horses to Fuso!

And a large number of people

Horses, obviously in conflict with the principle of the "Little England Strategy", which is a small profit and a big profit.

This, in fact, is an important reason why Neil is hesitant to make a decision on this matter.

Now that it's a metaphor for a story, it's even clearer.

Therefore, the clamor of the Francis should be suppressed from the point of view of the amount of fruit—it is obvious that the shogunate is closer to England.

"But now some people in the mansion are also very stubborn, and they can't make concessions."

When Brian heard this, this Neil had actually made up his mind, but he was still worried:

Ease the treatment, he is afraid that he will block the opportunity for his subordinates to be promoted and make a fortune, and then it will cause public anger, and his acting minister still can't be turned into a regular - even if he does, it is not a good thing to go up and down.

But this matter is simple, "donation" is not a Fuso feature, the United Kingdom also has it.

In this regard, Neil slapped his thigh and repeatedly said "mistakes, mistakes":

This indemnity is public-to-public, and it is difficult to say how much it can really fall into the hands of individuals. But the shogunate's donation, that's 100% personal!

It's a bit troublesome to operate, and it's easy to leave the tail of the hand.

However, he looked up at Brian, this matter is not easy for him to do, but for Brian, who has foreign banks and banks in Fuso, it is not so easy.

casually engaged in a name, such as selling raw silk, lending money, etc., and it didn't take long to be whitewashed.

So, when Neil figured it out, the handling of the shelling at this pass was basically unimpeded:

In fact, with the efforts of the shogunate, the Mi people and the Lan country have been loosened.

Coupled with the defection of Neil, the strongest British representative, the Buddhist minister Berkut could not support it alone, so he had to follow the concession - besides, the donations through the Brian channel have all been received, and it is embarrassing not to give in.

Before Naohide's visit to Oguri Tadashun, the latest results of negotiations between the three countries on the shelling of Shimonoseki were:

Or 200,000 pounds in compensation, or Hyogo immediately opened its port.

But the foreigners relented, and this time it was the shogunate's turn to take it:

The shogunate did not dare to open the port of Hyogo, fearing that it would cause a large-scale attack by the rebels, so it was inclined to pay for peace.

The compensation of 200,000 pounds, plus the contribution of 50,000 that does not appear in the accounts, is about 1,040,000 small awards!

And Takasugi Haru, the representative sent by Choshu, said that Choshu couldn't take out so much for a while, and most of them had to be put on the shogunate first.

But whose money is blown by the wind, and the shogunate is also ......

In fact, there was really a sum of money in the shogunate's account, but it was saved by secret trade with Xianheng and the foreign company back then, and the earliest person who handled it was Oguri Tadashun.

With gold and silver is still a secret, these money is the hope of the shogunate, from the shogun Jiashige, the president of political affairs Keinaga, down to the shogunate who knows about it, such as Daimu Fu, who sees this money as the root of life~.

Therefore, before Naoxiu came to the door, the consideration of the negotiation foursome was to pay in installments:

In addition to the contribution that must be paid as soon as possible, the remaining 200,000 pounds are to be paid in four installments, that is, 50,000 every six months, and the first installment will be paid when the contract is signed, and it will be paid in one and a half years.

But Choshu still refused to agree, and continued to implore the shogunate to pay in advance.

This Maori family head Kei and his son Dingguang, the two of them became shrunken turtles, and Takasugi Chun Shun, who was sent to Edo, he could only stiffen up:

The donation of 50,000 plus the first installment of 50,000 pounds is a total of 100,000 pounds, which is equivalent to more than 410,000 yuan in a small judgment.

Choshu could only make up more than 200,000 yuan of this money, and the remaining 200,000 yuan could only be paid in advance by the shogunate.

Moreover, within a year and a half, Choshu will not be able to pay all the indemnities no matter what, and it is estimated that the shogunate will have to cover the back.

In the end, Takasugi was forced to be anxious, and he took out his knife - not to turn his face, but to apologize!

Considering that Choshu did not "want money rather than death", but really had no money, the shogunate could do nothing about it.

Therefore, the negotiations with the foreigners were stuck, and the foreigners gave in, but the shogunate was unwilling to pay for Choshu.

And now Naoxiu is coming to the door of the Oguri family, and he is here to be the big boss.

Naohide considered that as long as the shelling of Shimonoseki was resolved, Wenjiu Innovation would be able to continue to push forward in a big way:

First, the foreigners don't make trouble, which removes the worries of the shogunate;

Second, if the ending can be relatively perfect, then it can prove that the Westernization reform promoted by Oguri Tadashun is justified.

In the previous negotiations, Oguri showed his skills, and if things land safely, at least it can prove that people are capable. And if Oguri has the ability, then what he said makes sense.

Moreover, after ten months of fermentation, "Fusang Breeding Industry and Industrial Jianbai" has also reached the point where "everything is ready, only the east wind is owed", according to the saying of "one blow, then decline, three and exhaustion", this time something will go wrong, and it will be even more difficult to clean up in the future.

However, although "it is the uncle who borrows the money", what makes Naoxiu a headache is that before the money is given, Oguri's shelf is up:

"Changzhou's loan, what is the matter with Uncle Guanben. If you want to go up the pole and pay for it, you should go to Takasugi Haruru! ”