"Nope." Hirobumi Ito sighed, "The fate of a country is not so easy to decide. ”

"Yes, His Majesty the Emperor has his own difficulties, because it is indeed a difficult matter to decide. At present, Japan is already on the verge of life and death, and relying on Japan's own strength, there is no way to win against the southwestern bandits. Luckily, Lucia has good intentions for Japan. Lucia went out of her way to support us so that we could fight. Shibusawa Sakae nodded and said, "But the Lucia army is also fighting very hard, and the military discipline is not good enough, harassing the people everywhere, the war is so protracted, the people are ravaged by the war, and after a long time, the people are exhausted, and the country will definitely have great chaos." ”

"You're right, so, we have to find a way to end the war as soon as possible." Hirobumi Ito said, "In the Battle of Osaka, the rebels were victorious, but they were already exhausted, and if they could cut off their economic resources and run out of weapons and supplies, the war could be ended in a short time." ”

"What Ito-kun said is that I have been researching the sources of funding for the rebels in the southwest recently, and I have sent people to investigate in the counties in the southwest, and I found that the rebels have not expropriated in the occupied areas, and the materials and grain they need are all purchased from the private sector and paid in cash, and the banknotes 'Saigoza' paid can also be exchanged for cash in full. When I learned the news, I was very surprised, this is Saigo Yoshinosuke's act of buying people's hearts, needless to say, but what kind of financial resources do the rebels have to buy with money, and not forcibly expropriate the people? "When the Lucia Army came to Japan, our government was in a financial situation due to military needs, and it had to repeatedly increase the burden on the people. The rebels don't need that. Its financial resources are abundant. It's unimaginable. ”

"The rebels occupied the three capitals, Kobe and Osaka were both rich places, and Osaka was the location of the Mint, where the rebels minted and circulated coins in Osaka, and could smuggle trade with foreign countries, so they could gain wealth and support the military." Hirobumi Ito said, "In the Southwest rebels. There must be capable people who are proficient in business and financial management. ”

"I'm afraid that's not enough," Shibusawa Sakae shook his head, "I've been wondering if the Southwest rebels have received foreign funding. ”

"Oh? Shibusawa-kun actually thinks so? Ito Hirobumi was taken aback, put down his chopsticks and asked.

"Yes." Shibusawa Eiichi sighed, "This is just my own speculation, and so far, no direct evidence has been found. ”

"The Qianguo had hated the imperial government because the empire sent troops to recruit Mowan Shengfan, and this time the southwest rebelled. As far as Qianguo is concerned, this is a good opportunity to weaken our country. Although there is no action on the surface of the Qianguo, I think they will not let go of this opportunity. "Shibusawa-kun thinks that the rebels have foreign financial support, perhaps from the Qianguo. ”

"As Ito-kun said, there is such a possibility, but it is not very big." Shibusawa Eiichi said, "Because of the excessive cost of quelling the Agubo rebellion in Xinjiang, the Qianguo had to borrow money from foreign banks such as HSBC, and the southwest rebels spent more than the westward expedition to Xinjiang, which is beyond the responsibility of the Qianguo government. ”

"If it weren't for the Qianguo, it might be Britain and France and other European powers......" Ito Hirobumi looked grim.

"These are just my guesses, since Ito-kun asked, I'll talk about it casually and give Ito-kun a wake-up call." As soon as Shibusawa Ei saw Ito Hirobumi's solemn expression, he stopped eating, and immediately said, "Ito-kun must not interfere with his thinking and work because of my statement, that would be bad." ”

"I understand what Shibusawa-kun means." Hirofumi Ito nodded, "In this way, I would like to ask Shibusawa-kun to pay more attention to the investigation of the rebel funding, and the matter I want to ask Shibusawa-kun is also related to this funding issue." ”

"What does Ito-kun want me to do?" Shibusawa Eiichi asked.

"Now that the country's financial resources are extremely poor, under such circumstances, what I want to entrust to you is whether you can borrow a sum of money from the French bank through your relationship with the French side to solve the government's urgent needs." Hirobumi Ito said, "In addition, Lucia wants to transport local troops to Japan, and now there is a shortage of ships, and the government's munitions transfer work was originally the responsibility of Mitsubishi Trading, but Mitsubishi Trading Co., Ltd. has suffered great losses due to the fall of Osaka and Nagasaki and the naval raids of the rebels, and the remaining ships are not enough to undertake the transshipment work entrusted by the government, so I hope that Mitsui Co., Ltd. can cooperate with Mitsubishi Trading Co., Ltd. to set up Japan's largest shipping company to help the government complete the task of transporting troops." ”

"I'm afraid I'm not up to the task of such a big one." Shibusawa Eikazu heard Hirobumi Ito mention the Mitsubishi Company controlled by Yataro Iwasaki, his face changed slightly, and he excused himself.

"Is it incompetent? Shibusawa-kun? Hirofumi Ito seemed to know that Shibusawa Eiichi would react like this, and said with a smile, "It's because you don't think you have much hope of success, so you don't want to accept it, right?" ”

Regarding the grievances between Shibusawa Eiichi and Yataro Iwasaki, Hirobumi Ito knows very well.

As in Qianguo, fierce battles in the commercial sea are often associated with fierce officialdom struggles. Both resigned from their official positions to go to the sea to do business, Shibusawa Eiichi and Iwasaki Yataro can be said to be a pair of old rivals. Shibusawa Eiichi was not only born in the same year as Yataro Iwasaki, but also similar in family origin, education, etc., and both of them had acts of rebellion against authority when they were young. However, their business philosophy and business strategy are just the opposite.

In the second year of the Meiji era, Shibusawa Eiichi was appointed as the tax collector of Ōzokaku, when Shibusawa Eiichi was only 30 years old, and his boss was Daisuke Daisuke Ito Hirobumi, who was one year younger than him. But when Shibusawa Eiichi was working in the Ministry of Finance, his most tacit boss was Inoue Shin.

At that time, Japan was taxed on the basis of mina, and in order to transport tribute rice from the local government to the central government, it was necessary to have a competent fleet of ships to accomplish this task well. However, the private sector used old-style Japanese ships, which were prone to the danger of shipwreck and flooding, and the freight was also quite high, so Shibusawa Eiichi negotiated with Mitsui to establish a half-government and half-civilian shipping company. In January of the Meiji era, after the establishment of the postal steam company organized by Shibusawa Eiichi, many of the weak old-style shipping companies of the private sector were quickly pushed to the brink of bankruptcy, and Yataro Iwasaki's shipping company was also greatly affected.

In the sixth year of the Meiji era, the political situation in Japan changed. Choshu politicians such as Inoue Shin, who had been sheltering Mitsui and supporting the Post Steam Club, gradually lost power. Outcome. Inoue resigned from the Cabinet. Shibusawa Eiichi also resigned. However, Shibusawa Eiichi was ready to go back and co-financed the establishment of Japan's first national bank, with himself as director. In October of that year, Shigenobu Okuma was appointed Secretary of Treasure. In November, Okubo was appointed Secretary of the Interior. Literati factions such as Okubo Toshitsu and Okuma Shigenobu gradually emerged, and the samurai faction was sidelined. Or even exile. Yataro Iwasaki has always maintained close ties with the literati faction, and his power has soared. Yataro Iwasaki actively asked Okubo Ritsu for instructions to undertake all the military transportation work. Okubo agreed to purchase 13 steamboats for the government for 7.71 million yen and commissioned them to Mitsubishi, and from this time on, the status of Shibusawa Eiichi's postal steam company and Mitsubishi Chamber of Commerce was reversed. Soon after, the subsidy that the Post Steam Company regarded as the lifeblood was also stopped, and the Japanese government instead bought 18 ships of the Post Steam Company for 225,000 yen, and together with the 13 ships owned by the government, leased them to the Mitsubishi Chamber of Commerce for almost nothing. In addition, the government grants Mitsubishi a subsidy of 250,000 yen per year.

After the outbreak of the Southwest War, Okubo Ritsu consulted with Shigenobu Okuma. Yataro Iwasaki was given exceptional preferential treatment in the form of a 15-year installment loan. lent Yataro Iwasaki 3.45 million yen to purchase 10 ships, allowing Mitsubishi Trading to fully assist in military transportation; After the war, all these ships were given to Mitsubishi. In the first year of the Southwest War, the Japanese government spent as much as 13 million yen on shipping, most of which was earned by Mitsubishi. Today, Mitsubishi owns 61 steamships with a tonnage of 35,464 tons, accounting for 73% of the total tonnage of steamships in Japan, excluding losses in Osaka and Nagasaki. The goods in Mitsubishi are transported by Mitsubishi's ships, and Mitsubishi is responsible for insurance and collected in Mitsubishi's warehouses, so Mitsubishi's profits in exchange, insurance, transportation, warehousing and other aspects have also increased exponentially, and it is a thriving scene.

In contrast to Mitsubishi, Japan's Mitsui & Co., which had been at odds with Mitsubishi in the past, was hit hard by Mitsubishi's rapid expansion. Mitsubishi's local steamboat company, which generally competed with each other, had to charter Mitsubishi's ships after going bankrupt. For other small steamboat companies, Mitsubishi generously leased them to ships; Only for Mitsui & Co., Yataro Iwasaki did not agree to lease the ship to it. Even though Mitsui & Co. finally offered a lease fee of more than 700,000 yen per year, Yataro Iwasaki firmly disagreed.

Unable to bear it, Eiichi Shibusawa consulted with Takashi Masuda, chairman of Mitsui & Co., to gather local ships, wholesalers, and shippers who had gaps with Mitsubishi, and to create a large shipping company in the form of a joint stock that Eiichi Shibusawa was best at, and to fight back against the arrogant Yataro Iwasaki. The new company they established was named Tokyo Sailing Company, with an investment of 366,000 yen, and the general manager was Shibusawa Eiichi's cousin, Shibusawa Kisaku.

In the face of Mitsui's counterattack, Yataro Iwasaki's Mitsubishi Corporation launched a full-scale discordant operation. First of all, Yataro Iwasaki first sent a capable general to persuade the local wealthy people not to invest in shipping companies that were in difficulty, but to accept Mitsubishi's comprehensive help and organize a product company. As a result, the local elite who were ready to invest or had already invested in the Tokyo Sailing Company withdrew one after another, and with the help of Mitsubishi, they established a product company to compete with Mitsui Kaisha, which was led by Shibusawa Eiichi.

Secondly, Yataro Iwasaki also created public opinion through the media and attacked Shibusawa Eiichi. At his behest, Japan's "Tuan Tuan Zhenwen" reported: "Shibusawa Eiichi lost 500,000 yen due to speculation, which caused a huge financial hole, and in order to make up for the hole, the Sailing Club was established to reduce the loss." The "Recent Events Review" also reported: "Shibusawa Eiichi was disappointed by the failure of his speculative business in the rice industry and banking, and after discussing with Mitsui Bank, he organized a sailing company to raise funds from various places to make up for his losses." "Before the public opinion offensive of true and false, Shibusawa Eiichi's business in the rice industry and banking industry was greatly affected, and even the First National Bank and the paper company suffered losses, and they fell into a dilemma for a while.

In addition, Yataro Iwasaki also began to secretly acquire shares of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which was founded by Eiichi Shibusawa and Mitsui Kaisha. Yataro Iwasaki racked his brains for this and did whatever it took to do so. Finally made the strategy of acquiring stocks successful. Shibusawa Eiichi's younger brother, Shibusawa Kisaku, was forced to resign as general manager.

Under the ferocious blow of Yataro Iwasaki. Due to the betrayal of local investors, the capital of the Tokyo Sailing Company was plummeted to 170,000 yen, and its customers were robbed one by one, and its crew members were constantly poached.

Although Shibusawa Eiichi lost badly in the competition with Yataro Iwasaki, he did not completely collapse, but as the situation developed. He was unexpectedly given the opportunity to fight back.

In February of the 12th year of the Meiji era, Okubo Ritsu was assassinated in Tokyo by Hayashi Yatishi, who had been the most important supporter of Yataro Iwasaki, and his death had a great adverse effect on Mitsubishi Corporation. Because Iwasaki Yataro made a fortune in the war before, even if he suffered losses in Osaka and Nagasaki, he made up for it, and he acted as domineering as Okubo Ritsu, which caused many people to be dissatisfied, and it was Okubo Ritsu who died, and Iwasaki Yataro suddenly lost his most powerful protector. Immediately, some people jumped out and accused him of being a "national thief who got rich overnight", but fortunately he was protected by Shigenobu Okuma. So nothing happened.

And after the death of Okubo Ritsu, Iwakura Gushi served as the secretary of the interior, and the Choshu faction such as Inoue Shin and Ito Hirobumi, who were close to Mitsui Kaisha, took power, and Shibusawa Eiichi became active again, this time Shibusawa Eiichi used Iwasaki Yataro's method of dealing with himself to pay tribute to him, and started a war of public opinion, making a big fuss about his daughter Iwasaki Yuka and Mitsubishi Osaka branch members who were abandoned in Osaka by Iwasaki Yataro, accusing Mitsubishi Trading Company of collaborating with the enemy, and because the Japanese Navy was defeated by the Satsuma Navy one after another, the Satsuma Navy achieved sea supremacy, Before the arrival of the Russian Navy, the Mitsubishi Trading Company suffered a great loss and its reputation was greatly damaged, and Shibusawa Eiichi was very shrewd and reached an agreement with the French company in advance to let the merchant ships of the Tokyo Sailing Company fly the French flag, change the name of the French ship, and accept the escort of French warships, as a result, there was almost no loss, not only the credibility was greatly increased, but the capital and customers who had fled were returned, and the business flourished for a while, and there was a great tendency to make a comeback.

And it was precisely because he knew that Shibusawa Eiichi and Iwasaki Yataro might fight again, that Ito Hirobumi would summon Shibusawa Eiichi at night and persuade him to cooperate with Iwasaki Yataro, so that Mitsubishi and Mitsui, a pair of enemies, could work together to serve the Japanese government.

"That's right, Lord Ito." Shibusawa Eiichi certainly understood what Ito Hirofumi meant, but he still made his attitude very resolute.

"To be honest, I don't want to make such a request to you, but the country is too difficult right now...... "Ito Hirobumi sighed, "I just hope that Shibusawa-kun will put state affairs first." The stakes are high, and if you think of the disgrace and shamelessness when you can't finish it, maybe it's wiser to resign. But now is no longer the time to think about personal reputation and responsibility. You need to lend your knowledge, friendships, and all other abilities to save the country. May I? ”

"Alright! Since His Excellency Ito has said so...... Shibusawa Eiichi was moved by Ito Hirobumi's words, and finally nodded and agreed to Ito Hirobumi's request.

Ito Hirobumi was very happy to see that Shibusawa Eiichi had agreed to his request, and asked his servant to take out his precious red wine from the Emperor's Imperial Gift and drink it with Shibusawa Eiichi.

"By the way, I heard that Mr. Yataro Iwasaki's nephew, Second Lieutenant Hideya Iwasaki, was killed in battle, and if it is convenient for Shibusawa-kun, in the name of condolences, I might as well have informal contact with Mr. Yataro Iwasaki first." Hirobumi Ito was worried that Eiichi Shibusawa would be embarrassed and couldn't find a chance to meet Yataro Iwasaki, so he made such a suggestion.

"Oh? What a misfortune! Shibusawa Sakae looked surprised, "How did Your Excellency Ito know this news?" ”

"I was browsing the relevant war reports at the Ministry of War and saw the name of Second Lieutenant Iwasaki Eiya from a list of fallen soldiers, and I specially asked someone to investigate, and he was indeed the nephew of Mr. Yataro Iwasaki." Hirobumi Ito sighed, "He was captured during the battle in Osaka, but he managed to escape wittily, arrived in Tokyo, brought a lot of useful information, and returned to the battlefield, where he died in battle." ”

"Brave young man! What a shame! Shibusawa Eiichi couldn't help but sneer in his heart when he thought of this young man from the Iwasaki family, but he still respected him on the surface.

As far as he knows, there are some unpleasant things about this young man's life experience......

And he dared to conclude that this young man's return to the battlefield was definitely not out of his intention!

"I'll prepare for it in the next two days and pay a visit to Mr. Yataro Iwasaki's house." Shibusawa Eiichi said.

"Thank you very much! Shibusawa-kun! Hirobumi Ito said happily.

When I came out of Ito's house, it was late at night, and the weather was getting a little cold, so Shibusawa Eiichi sat in the carriage, wrapped in his coat, and couldn't help but sneer when he thought about the grievances between him and Yataro Iwasaki. (To be continued......)

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