Tanuma Yiji didn't know that this account of his own, after he returned to Japan, became the first-hand information of the Japanese teacher of the Tang Dynasty, and was considered by later generations of Japanese to be the first masterpiece of ancient and modern times to open their eyes to the world. Writing, Fun, and Pavilion www.biquge.info and after several years of circulation, this "Tanuma Dispatch to Tang Chronicles" quickly gave rise to several different currents of thought in Japan. Many historians believe that Tian Nua's record of the Tang Dynasty scenery and diet is one of the reasons for the direct collision of ideological trends.

Tanuma Yoshiji's speculative and logical analysis believes that Japan's inability to develop a complex diet like the Tang Dynasty is related to the lack of small things in the country. This view is accepted by the vast majority of people, because the sense of crisis in the consciousness of the Japanese island nation also comes from this. It's just that people with lofty ideals have come up with different opinions on how to save this. The more radical faction believes that Japan should be asked for from the outside world, which is actually the kind of thinking that emerged after the Meiji Restoration in Japan, and the advocates believe that the knowledge and technology of the Tang people should be widely absorbed, so as to strengthen Japan, and finally expand to the outside world like the Tang people, their first target is Korea and the Ryukyus, followed by Taiwan, the mainland, Siberia and even Southeast Asia. Proponents of this view also fantasize that after Japan completes its conquest of these regions, it will have sufficient national strength to compete with the Tang Dynasty for global hegemony, and finally defeat the Tang Dynasty, and Japan will become the master of the world. The martial and radical national temperament made this idea very influential for a time.

On the other hand, the former called the "capitulation faction", which believes that no matter how hard Japan tries, it will not be able to complete the transformation of small to large, and that if Japan wants to get out of poverty and weakness, it must rely on the strong, and even integrate into the strong. This faction is also relatively marketable, and they have made a messy argument, and some people even think. The Japanese race should need to be improved. They proposed that Japanese men were short and ugly, Tang men were tall and full of manners, Japanese women had radish legs and poor proportions, and Datang women were long and elegant, and the Japanese nation must be eradicated ethnically. Only by integrating into the Tang people can "salvation" be realized.

This trend of thought is not absent in another plane, and this is the case with the theory of leaving Asia and joining Europe, but they do not see the strength of the Europeans in this plane, but the Tang people. It is not a joke that the transition from Asia to Europe was proposed by Yukichi Fukuzawa, the head of the yen, and it was once extended from a comprehensive study of politics and economics to the evolution of the human race, which is not a joke, and a large number of mixed-race people in Japan have such cultural abuses. Even this idea continued to the Chinese Restoration, and Kang Youwei intended to establish the ideal country, which mentioned the evolution of China's race. He divided the people of the world into three classes. Caucasians, yellows, blacks, and even talked about how many hundred years it would take to whitewash the yellows. Finally, he also said that blacks belong to the hopeless race and should be discarded directly.

Not to mention the influence of Tanuma Yiji on the Japanese later, the impact of Tanuma Yiji in the Tang Dynasty at this time was definitely no worse than the Japanese who argued later. After all kinds of absurd things, Tanuma Yoshiji was finally able to meet with officials from the Tang Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the principle of diplomatic reciprocity, Tanuma Yoshiji was actually the second-in-command person in Japan's shogunate, but Japan's nominal supreme head was still the emperor. Then Shogun Tokugawa Ieji is actually at the level of the head of government, that is, at the level of the prime minister. The equivalent of Datang should be Liu Tian, secretary general of the National Council. Then the old Nakata Marsh Yoshiji further down, obviously it is appropriate to use the ministerial reception. Of course, Datang can be one level lower, which can be regarded as expressing his low opinion on the Japanese side, but at this time, the Japanese do not understand this, which is equivalent to rolling their eyes to the blind. So it was Foreign Minister Su Liangxing who attended directly.

Tanuma Yoshiji was once again shocked by the imposing nineteen-story building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but he was almost used to the earthquake. After being ushered into the conference hall, Tanuma wanted to kneel down and show the guilt and sincerity of the Japanese side to apologize for their guilt with a big gift. I don't know if it was intentional or really didn't stop it, Tian Nush Yi knelt down successfully. And not just himself. All those who followed him to the meeting knelt.

Su Liangxing couldn't help but scold in his heart: "It's really difficult to make the Japanese kneel down and apologize for their sins in the 21st century, but at this time, they are so conscious, and it is useless to reason with the Japanese, it is true to scare them." ”

Although he thought so, Su Liangxing still talked about diplomatic principles and asked people to help the Japanese up, and said: "Please adhere to the international diplomatic etiquette, don't embarrass us, and now officially start talks." ”

It seems that the Japanese, who have just come into contact with a new world and rules, do not want to lose face in anything, and Tanuma Yoshiji also sits down with everyone in a casual manner, and attaches great importance to sitting upright.

Su Liangxing expressed the official position of Datang very frankly, and Datang was extremely indignant at the previous insult of Matsudaira Kangfu, and at the same time took more drastic measures to respond.

Tanuma Yoshiji hurriedly replied, Matsudaira Yasufuku's personal meaning does not represent the Japanese shogunate, Matsudaira Yasufuku has been punished for his false words, and the head has also been brought to you.

Su Liangxing also said that our Datang is an advanced civilized country, and we have no interest in such things as head compensation.

Tian Nush Yiji asked, how can I calm the anger of Datang.

Su Liangxing smiled and said solemnly that Datang believes that Japan should be responsible for its own actions, and it can't be finished just because it disposes of a guy and then puts all the blame on him. The last one to insult the Tang Dynasty was the Qing State next door to you, and the emperor who insulted the Tang Dynasty has been "abdicated", and you generally know what is happening later.

Tian Nush was shocked and asked, "Do you want to let the general retreat?" ”

In Japanese shogunate politics, retirement was a common term for the shimono, where daimyo who had lost power retired to preserve themselves, often because their domains were deprived by their superiors or inherited by their own heirs.

Su Liangxing shook his head and said: "We have no intention of interfering in the politics within the shogunate, the fate of His Excellency Ieji Shogun is his own decision, if Ieji Shogun's attitude is positive and friendly, of course we are happy to see that he urgently needs to govern." ”

Tian Nush Yiji hurriedly said: "The general admires Datang very much, and some misunderstandings and unpleasant things have happened, and the general is very annoyed and sleepless at night, so he specially sent him to apologize to Datang." The Tang Dynasty is noble and advanced, and the general hopes to set an old example of sending Tang envoys back then, with the Tang Dynasty as the division commander, and I will serve humbly in Japan. ”

Su Liangxing's statement on Tian Nua is not surprising, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Tang Dynasty has figured out that the Japanese have basically lost their courage against the powerful Datang, and the sabotage of the navy on the coast of Japan has made it difficult for Japan to support the war, so there is no option for the Japanese to continue to be hostile to the Tang people. So in this way, what conditions the Tang people prescribe depends on their own greed and mood.

Su Liangxing showed his conditions: first, the Japanese shogunate officially apologized to the Tang Dynasty, and a letter of apology signed by the general was required; Second, the shogunate ceded the country of Dewa and the country of Mutsu, and recognized the sovereignty of the Tang Dynasty over Mutsu, Dewa, and Nanguwei Island; Third, Japan fully opened up trade to Datang, and the two sides concluded the most-favored-nation trade treatment, and with the assistance of Datang, Japan established a customs office, which was administered by Datang, and collected customs duties for five years as compensation to Datang.

After Tanuma Yiji heard these three conditions, the whole person was in a state of decadence. In comparison, Articles 1 and 3 are relatively easy to accept, and although the apology is somewhat humiliating, there is no substantial loss. Japan's major trading ports were now in Kyushu and Kansai, and a large part of the tax revenue collected by the daimyo was his own revenue, and the shogunate never regarded customs duties as its main revenue. Even Tanuma Yoshiji, if he communicated well with the Tang people, after five years, these customs would be directly collected by the shogunate, which would be a check and balance for the major daimyo and could bring in revenue. Tanuma Yoshiji did not know how much money the Tang people could take away from the Japanese customs, but he began to have a blind trust in the Tang people, and he was a mercantilist politician himself, so he was also optimistic about the development of foreign trade.

The cession of Dewa and Mutsu was tantamount to giving up a quarter of Japan's land, even though these areas were fiefdoms of the daimyo of foreign lords. However, if the shogunate failed to protect their rights, the authority of the shogunate would soon be questioned, and it could even lead to a crisis of confidence among other daimyos, which would eventually lead to civil war. This is something that Tokugawa Isaharu and Tanuma Yoshiji cannot accept.

However, if the conditions of the Tang people are not agreed, then the Tang people will inevitably continue to attack the shogunate, and there is no need to even wage a full-scale war against the shogunate, as long as the Tang people continue to attack the coast, it will make the order of the shogunate's territory chaos, and the destruction of production will also give a huge blow to Japan, which is already very poor in financial power, and the people will launch a fight, and the daimyo will also take the opportunity to make trouble, and the result will definitely be similar.

Tanuma Yoshiji also had a deeper consideration: if Japan wants to avoid national destruction and work hard, it must learn knowledge and technology from the Tang Dynasty. Obviously, it is definitely impossible to get something from Datang by going against Datang, so Japan can only give in.

Tanuma took a deep breath, and many thoughts had already turned through his mind. He understands the traditional art of "going down to the top" and carrying the pot in Japanese politics, and Matsudaira Yasufuku has already been a back-the-pot man. For the sake of the lord Tokugawa Isaharu and the future of Japan, Tanuma Yoshiji has already made plans, and at this last resort, he must put his life and death aside and be a backstabber.

This treaty was signed with the Tang people, thus restoring peace between the two countries and obtaining everything that Japan needed from the Tang Dynasty. The actual losses of the shogunate were limited, and they were able to take advantage of this opportunity to advance. He will admit that he will privately sign a traitorous agreement with the Tang people, attract all the firepower, and even sacrifice his life in the end.

"To be able to resurrect Japan from the ashes with one's own body, even if it is glorious to die!" Tanuma Yiji made up his mind, and his eyes were full of determination. (To be continued.) )