。 The Imperial Palace of the Shogunate of Edo Castle, the elder of the shogunate, Sakai Shizuna, knelt down in front of Chen Xinghua and said respectfully: "The thunder of the kingdom has rained down, and the prince is frightened, and he is lying in bed ...... sick."

Tokugawa Yoshimune was indeed frightened, but when he said that he was sick and lying in bed, he obviously shirked it. This time he did not dare to come forward in person, the Chinese envoy will inevitably put forward even harsher conditions than last time, as the final decision-maker, naturally he cannot show his face, whether he refuses or accepts, there must be a black pot.

Following this great change, Tokugawa Yoshimune was ready to abdicate and live in seclusion, and Sakai Tokitsuna was also ready to seppuku, and their fate was tied to Chen Xinghua's mouth.

Tokugawa Yoshimune discussed with Sakai Tokitsuna and several old middle schools, it was impossible to continue fighting, the Battle of Edo Bay had broken the backbone of the shogunate, and if they continued to hold on, the British would attack Edo Castle, and he had to flee, and this escape would cause the authority of the shogunate to collapse.

For the sake of the shogunate's future, peace had to be negotiated, and Tokugawa Yoshimune set a bottom line for this, that is, to accept Chen Xinghua's previous conditions in full. Accepting the seal of the Japanese king and offering a letter to Great Britain as a minister, this is just face anyway, since you can't even beat a little finger of Great Britain, then you just don't want this face.

As for the British demand for contributions, the shogunate also decided to replace them with money, and internally in the name of "military compensation", as for where the money came from...... Sakai Tokitsuna saw Takahashi Yoshilian, a retainer of the Satsuma Clan kneeling behind Chen Xinghua, the corners of his eyes suddenly twitched, and he came out of the Japanese traitor who led the wolf into the house: the Satsuma Domain.

But Tokugawa Yoshimune emphasized that this is also Sakai Tokitsuna's advice, never sign any documents! Once an official document was established, it would leave the shogunate as a "traitor" to the feudal domains. The authority of the shogunate could no longer be maintained. Sakai Tokitsuna felt that this was not difficult to do, after all, the general had declared himself a vassal to the British Emperor, and the other party should be satisfied.

As for the Ryukyu matter, the secret treaty was only signed by the Satsuma clan when the Satsuma clan forced the Ryukyus, and the shogunate only recognized it. The shogunate left the matter to the Satsuma clan to deal with it themselves. The shogunate then affirmed to the British Emperor that Ryukyu was an independent country.

In short, give face to the British Emperor. The shogunate assumed informal responsibility, and a catastrophe of national destruction was dissolved, and the shogunate was able to account for it to the world. Wait until later...... The shogunate changed shoguns. These promises, these responsibilities, can naturally be discognized, because this is only an agreement between the British Emperor and the contemporary generals......

Sakai Shigang was turning such an abacus, and Chen Xinghua said: "Since I'm back, what I want to say will be different from last time......

Sakai Toksuna's heart jumped, and he secretly said that this must be a difficult negotiation.

"This time, I won't talk to you about the Ryukyus, and the Ryukyus are attached to the land. It's already the territory of my Celestial Empire. ”

Chen Xinghua's sentence came out, and the kneeling Sakai Shigang almost fell to the ground, what!? Great Britain is so arrogant. I swallowed the Ryukyus directly!

He was suddenly sweating and heavy clothes, could it be that the British still wanted the shogunate to cut the soil? This is absolutely unacceptable. This negotiation is about to fail before it is discussed, and is it doomed to seppuku?

"Originally, we also wanted to divide Japan, such as bringing Kyushu or Shikoku under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Empire......"

And so it was! The magic dragon is the magic dragon, too arrogant and shameless!

"But...... The Satsuma clan is a protector of the entire clan and hopes to maintain the integrity of Japan, and we see from the Satsuma clan that you Japanese people have the same integrity as we Chinese. We admired such virtues, so we gave up on them. ”

Satsuma Domain!? Was it the Satsuma clan that saved Japan and saved me?

Sakai Tokzuna looked at Takahashi Yoshihari out of the corner of his eye, and saw that the other party was also kneeling on the ground, his head was dead on the ground, and his body was still trembling slightly, as if he was extremely excited. Sakai Toksuna was filled with gratitude, but then anger. Your Satsuma clan has a great bad conscience! Do you want to blackmail yourself and dominate the shogunate!? …,

Of course, Sakai Tokitsuna couldn't have imagined that the reason why Takahashi Yoshiren was trembling was not excitement, but fear. In the Battle of Edo Bay, he was on the Huai River, and seeing the shogunate's fleet slaughtered and the Uraga Fort collapsed, he immediately conveyed to Feng Jingyao and Chen Xinghua that the Satsuma clan was willing to obey the British command, and the only requirement was to ensure the integrity of Japan.

The request was just a casual one, but Feng Jingyao and the others looked at each other very tacitly, and then said, Okay, the heavy responsibility of Japan's integrity will be borne by you, the Satsuma Domain.

At that time, Takahashi Yoshiren was still dazed and thought that this was a good thing, but now that Chen Xinghua said this to Sakai Tokitsuna, he finally came to his senses, and the Satsuma Domain was going to break away from the shogunate system and become a pawn used by the British to manipulate Japan. Such a future, I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse, Takahashi Yoshihari is extremely afraid.

Not bothering to pay attention to the thoughts of the two Japanese, Chen Xinghua continued: "Since the Satsuma Domain has made us re-acquaint ourselves with Japan, then the Celestial Empire will have a new disposition of Japan......"

He threw out a stack of thick papers, and without speaking, the foreshadowing had arrived, and now it depends on the other party's reaction, and he also believes that the reaction will be very exciting.

Although Chen Xinghua guaranteed the integrity of Japan, which meant that the possibility of the two sides continuing to fight was greatly reduced, based on the reality of the British flagrant annexation of the Ryukyus, Sakai Tokitsuna took the document with a heart of apprehension as if he was on the verge of an abyss, and at that moment, he felt that he was about to be pressed under the abyss by this document.

Turning over the document with a trembling hand, reading page by page, Sakai Shizuna's soul was pulled out of the abyss one by one, and he even felt the bright sun shining through, how could this be?

The two countries are about fraternal countries, friendly from generation to generation, non-aggression, mutual support, equality and mutual benefit......

The two countries sent ministers to each other to discuss business, trade, overseas Chinese and other affairs......

The affairs of the expatriates of the two countries need to be negotiated between the two sides, with respect for the laws of the two countries as the first priority and mutual assistance as the ......

Seeing these entries, Sakai Tokitsunashin said that the ambition of Toyotomi Taiko's expedition to Korea in the past was unrealized, but now it was hit by China, but it was realized, and so on......

Then he discovered something strange, "The two countries are open to trade and come and go freely. ”

Sakai Shizuna's face suddenly turned gray, the first few were not humiliation at all, or even victory, but this one. The shogunate would never have agreed. The shogunate relied on the closure of the country in order to maintain the suppression of the feudal domains and to hold the ruling power in their hands. Once trade was opened, it was a return to the Warring States period, and other feudal domains were bound to rise. This is the lifeblood of the shogunate.

It's a pity......

Sakai Tokitsuna was extremely entangled, and he understood Daying's requirements very well, and Daying was a comprehensive trade. All are welcome. Since the two sides are friendly countries and Japan is not open to trade, is that equal and mutually beneficial? But the Great Britain is governed by the emperor. The country is in good shape. And the shogunate governs, but because there is still an emperor at the head, it always can't hold the righteousness......

Hearing Sakai Shigang casually pointed out that the opening up of trade is unacceptable, Chen Xinghua said secretly, you have agreed, but we have not agreed, this one is just bait.

He threw out the paperwork. It was a complete reproduction of the Lisbon Treaty, because it was just a pretense, and the General Office did not pay enough attention to the text revision. The Ryukyu affair was directly changed to Ryukyu in the terms of the resumption of Macau.

Regarding Japan's disposal plan. It was drawn up long ago, and that was the treaty of commerce. But how to achieve it was not completely replenished until this battle was fought, plus the "sincerity" of the Satsuma Domain.

The General Office has long drawn up the diplomatic policy of "Huaxia Nine Suits", and until now, this framework has not changed, and some roles in the framework have changed positions. For example, Ryukyu, which was originally set to be nearly three suits, "Ze", but based on the reality of Ryukyu and the importance of related to Japan, the emperor resolutely made up his mind and swallowed it directly, and changed it to "Yan" in the inner three suits. ..., in the preparation stage of the war in July, Feng Jingyao forced the puppet Ryukyu King to present the attached book, and then the whole family went to Whampoa as a duke. The Ryukyus were also transferred to the trusteeship of the Beiyang Company, operating like other colonial companies, and the Beiyang Fleet was also based in the Ryukyus. As for the hearts of the local people in the Ryukyus, they didn't understand it because they didn't pay attention to it before, but now that they pay attention to it, the emperor has also made up his mind, and it is not enough to worry about 100,000 people. The Beiyang Company started from both the economic and political sides, the Catholic priesthood also came to the Ryukyus, starting from the hearts of the people, and the newly established army mobilization division stationed in the Ryukyus, starting from the force, was enough to straighten out the Ryukyus.

Originally, the Ryukyus were linked to Japan, and rashly eating them would seriously affect the policy toward Japan, but now, it is precisely at the juncture of establishing mutual relations with Japan through the Battle of Edo Bay, and the Anglo-Chinese will not hold a grudge against the Ryukyu incident, but will be glad that it can still ensure its integrity and will not become the target of Anglo-Chinese territorial expansion.

In terms of trade, Sakai Toksuna's reaction fully reflected the foundation of the shogunate's political power, as a government that did not hold the general righteous, it has always been closed as a tradition, and in this respect, the shogunate is indeed very similar to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the only difference is that the shogunate is the same race after all, even if the society is divided in the future, it will not cause comprehensive and fierce turmoil, and the tradition of Japan will not be completely overturned.

"Really? We have such terms with Portugal, and since you don't want to accept them, then use the Siamese terms. ”

Chen Xinghua had already expected it, and threw out another document.

Siam is the most important pawn of the British and Chinese in the South Seas, and of course, the word "partner" is used in the official face. Anglo-Chinese respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Siam, do not directly interfere in Siam's internal affairs, and the two sides trade freely, and at the same time form a strategic alliance to jointly deal with Myanmar. Trade and everything are very small and very basic conditions. Siam even leased a port facing the West to Yinghua as a base for the Anglo-Chinese fleet.

However, in order to facilitate the management of customs, Siam designated Bangkok as the only treaty port in terms of trade, which is only a technical need. Just as Yinghua designated Huangpu, Hong Kong, Quanzhou and Fuzhou as foreign trade ports, and Huangpu and Zhangzhou as trade ports of the Nanyang colonies.

In addition to the close cooperation between Britain and Siam in all aspects, Sakai Tokitsuna was very satisfied with the two countries and the terms of commerce. The shogunate was not completely locked down, and through the ports of Nagasaki and Tsushima, Japan had been doing business with China and Korea. And the Satsuma Domain engaged in smuggling through the Ryukyus, and the shogunate also turned a blind eye, after all, it was too far away to manage, as long as it was not too excessive, so that the Satsuma Domain's gang of hard workers could survive and stabilize Kyushu was also good.

However, some details need to be discussed, such as trade volume and tax management, the trade terms listed by the shogunate in the past were extremely strict, and now they have to be abolished, and there are too many scruples, and the British clearly use the Satsuma domain as a treaty port in this clause, which is a direct corner of the shogunate...... The shogunate would not allow foreign feudal domains to have formal relations with powerful China.

Sakai Shigang was still picking and choosing, and Chen Xinghua snorted coldly: "Do you want me to go back again?" ”

Inch in, inch inch......

Sakai Tokitsuna is sober, China has shown favor and concessions, and he is still so greedy, this negotiation will not be able to continue, and he will have to cut his stomach for the breakdown of the negotiations.

The Siamese plan proposed by Chen Xinghua was handed over to Tokugawa Yoshimune, and His Excellency the General's heart, which was soaked in sulfuric acid, also came out of trouble and came back to life...... But then he saw something bad: the Satsuma Clan.

"This is a conspiracy of the Chinese to support the puppets and secretly devour my Japan!"

"It's so obvious! The temple must not agree! Japan is divided in a different day, just because of this one! ..., at the emergency meeting, many important ministers were firmly opposed to the conclusion of the treaty, just because it contained the Satsuma Domain.

"The main thrust of the agreement is that the two countries are equal and friendly for generations to come. Because of the Ryukyu incident, the Satsuma Domain had a different relationship with China, and deliberately pulling the Satsuma Domain out was also a necessary consideration for the Chinese side. We can't speculate on China with a sinister heart! ”

"The Satsuma Domain and the shogunate were originally very far away, and smuggling has become a formal matter, and now it can be placed in the open, and the shogunate can still directly see and manage directly, which is actually a good thing!"

Some pragmatists expressed different opinions, and Tokugawa Yoshimune was again in a dilemma.

"Gentlemen! As I said earlier, China is a country of etiquette! Only by following China can Japan become rich and strong! Now the treaty proposed by China is so equal and benevolent that it would be a sinner for Japan to abandon it!? ”

Aoki Kunyang said excitedly, which made the corners of Tokugawa Yoshimune's eyes jump, Japan? You're thinking about Japan, not our shogunate?

"If we don't accept it, I'm afraid there will never be a ...... in the future"

Sakai Tokitsuna expressed his opinion for the sake of the interests of Japan, the interests of the shogunate, and his own belly.

The elders all thought like this, and the swaying scales in Tokugawa Yoshimune's mind tilted rapidly, and then recalled the panic in Edo Castle a few days ago, and what happened to him when he almost escaped from Edo, he nodded with a bitter face. ()