Edo, which was originally only the residence of the Edo clan, a wealthy family in the Kanto region of Japan, belonged to the Hojo clan's sphere of influence during the Warring States period, and after Toyotomi Hideyoshi completed the nominal unification of Japan, he sealed the obedient Tokugawa Ieyasu here. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Tokugawa Ieyasu used Edo Castle as his new base, and then defeated the Toyotomi clan, who had only been rich for three generations, and ascended to the pinnacle of Japanese power.

The expansion of Edo Castle began in 1590 and was completed in 1636, making it the largest castle in Japan for almost half a century, replacing the titular capital of Japan in its political position.

As the home of a new generation of Japan's ruling families, Edo Castle far surpasses the more romantic Azuchi Castle and Osaka Castle built during the Warring States period in terms of scale and construction time. The former is a true combination of socio-political, economic, cultural and military, while the latter two are more expressive of the ambitions and personal feelings of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

and then return to their own territory. This system had a certain effect in preventing local daimyo from becoming bigger. ）

By the Meiji Restoration, the Tokugawa shogunate withdrew from the stage of history, and the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshiki, handed over control of Edo Castle. The Meiji government, which completed Japan's modern political reforms, officially set the capital of Japan in Edo and renamed it Tokyo, and the Japanese imperial family that had been living in Kyoto moved from then on, and the residences of successive shoguns became the imperial palaces of Japanese emperors.

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Edo Castle in the 17th century was far from the size of later Tokyo, but it was also a giant city covering an area of more than 20 square kilometers. The refined and elegant Yamannote (upper class community), the bustling Shitamachi and Edominato (common community and Minato Ward), have a total population of more than 400,000.

In Edo Bay, a group of warships, all of which are completely different in style and size, are quietly moored in the outermost water of Edo Port, and they all aim at a huge building in the distance.

In Edo Castle, the five-story and six-story castle tower in the center was the residence of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun, and the shogunate center of Japan. At this moment, a heated debate is underway under the chairmanship of Tokugawa Iemitsu.

The lower head was flanked by a group of shogunate magnates with different expressions, and they were clearly divided into two factions, one was agitated and indignant, and the other was a little embarrassed and troubled.

“…… It is arrogant that hundreds of southern barbarian troops only occupied the Misaki Office with a despicable sneak attack, and now they dare to anchor in Edo Bay to demand compensation. If we do not respond with a correct and forceful attitude, we will undermine the majesty of the Lord and shake the great policy of defending the country. ”

"Matsudaira Tadanobu was in charge of the bombardment of the envoys, but it was also his duty, and he did not receive any documents of representation from the Nanban after the warning. I think some people are also responsible for the fact that the Nanban invaded Edo Bay and the navy abandoned coastal defense, right? ”

After speaking, Matsudaira Nobutsuna almost let out a cold snort in a nasal voice, and by the way, he secretly glanced at Matsudaira Tadanobu and Miura Yoshira, who were kneeling in fear outside the door, and were very dissatisfied with these two wastes who could only fight in the nest.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna, the shogunate's elder, had always been a staunch supporter of the Tokugawa shogunate's ban on Western religion and seclusion, and he had served as the general of the bloody suppression of the Shimabara Rebellion (Nagasaki Catholic rebellion) many years ago.

Most people's attention was on waiting for Tokugawa Iemitsu to express his opinion, but on the other side, a middle-aged shogunate man who did not look inferior to Matsudaira Nobutsuna was standing in front of the window as if no one was around, holding a monocular, all the time looking at the bay in the distance, his expression was very solemn.

Susu, the middle-aged man returned to his place and sat down, and bowed his head respectfully to the Tokugawa Iemitsu who was seated up: "The Miura coastal defense was broken by the heavy artillery of the Nanban ship, and now it is parked in the bay, what will happen next, I'm afraid no one will calculate." The middle-aged man glanced at Matsudaira Nobutsuna on the other side, and his tone was still very calm, "I remember that the Edo naval army went to stop the Nanban fleet that day, and the other party did not force it in, but sent letters and gifts to the lord. It is also a fact that the use of force against the messenger awaiting a reply is a faux pas that damages the reputation of the Lord......"

Abe Tadaaki was a typical civilian official, who was later known as the "only and unique statesman" of the early Tokugawa shogunate, and unlike Matsudaira Nobutsuna, who was a military force who was tough at every turn, his political actions were more stable and comprehensive, and he made positive contributions to the alleviation of social contradictions and the development of the economy in the early Tokugawa shogunate.

Two shogunate bosses with completely different styles and even opposing positions were in the same venue at the same time, and although there was no direct verbal attack on the surface, the supporters of the two present were still under a lot of pressure.

Except for the two direct parties who knelt outside the door, Yoshira Miura and Nobutsuna Matsudaira, what was the point of the main battle faction and the main peace faction colliding in front of Tokugawa Iemitsu, but at this time everyone had to go all out in order to get the excellent evaluation of the general afterwards.

"In any case, let's deal with the Nanban invasion first. The views of Lord Bungo Moritaka (Abe Tadaaki) can be discussed after the victory. ”

After Matsudaira Nobutsuna finished speaking, he cast a smiling glance at Masanori Inaba, who was eager to try, and the latter raised his head in high spirits.

"Bungo Shou Chun Cho is very comprehensive, but Izu Shou Tsuna's opinion is more pertinent. Putting up with the Nanban ship forcibly breaking into Edo Bay is already the greatest forbearance we have made, and the necessary active punishment is to show our bottom-line attitude. ”

Inaba Masanori, the lord of the Odawara Domain, is only twenty-three years old this year, and his early death father Inaba Masakatsu was the son of Tokugawa Iemitsu's nanny. His father, Masakatsu, grew up with Tokugawa Iemitsu since he was a child, and according to this relationship, it can be said that the young and vigorous Inaba Masashi is the most hardcore banner clan that maintains the Tokugawa family regime in addition to a family of relatives in various places.

"Haha, is it important to do something stupider and have a worse outcome? If the Nanban ships can shell the Miura coastal defense from a distance of several miles, will they not have the ability to destroy Edo? Why they are waiting shows that they want to say no less than the regular adult. ”

"With regard to the compensation for the bombardment emissaries, the Lord has full confidence that we can respond in the best possible way, and not show our strength regardless of the consequences."

After saying that, Abe Tadaaki bowed deeply to Tokugawa Iemitsu again, and although he had a smile on his face, his fists were secretly clenched.

Qi Shu's eyes once again converged on the face of Tokugawa Iemitsu, who was seated, and the latter casually rubbed the letter of negotiation from Nanban on his hand that had been submitted by his subordinate half a month earlier.

Tokugawa Iemitsu's expression was numb, or for a long time he had the impression of strangers as absent-minded. However, the Tokugawa family has some unbearable neuroticism and mischievous fetishes under the cold skin, so the more he doesn't speak, the more the servants are on pins and needles.

Since he was a child, he was not loved by his parents, and his retainers were once estranged from him, and tolerating and wronging was the most common feeling of Tokugawa Iemitsu when he was young, and even Tokugawa Iemitsu, who was unbearable to be unjust around him, attempted suicide once when he was young, and completely relied on the nurse to run in private to keep his position as heir.

After he succeeded to the throne as the third shogun, these repressions evolved into a kind of neurotic toughness, not only adopting a large number of tough policies in government affairs, but also showing a kind of tyranny in family relations, forcing his own brother Tokugawa Tadanaga to death.

A large number of strict laws of power were promulgated during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu, so most of the historical evaluations of Tokugawa Iemitsu are "arbitrary politics" and the like.

"Express your heart to them, and if you don't understand, leave as soon as possible."

The venue was cold for more than ten minutes, and Tokugawa Iemitsu said something unhurriedly.

"Woohoo!"

Without waiting for Matsudaira Nobutsuna to react, Abe Tadaaki preemptively "received" this ambiguous order, and by the time Matsudaira Nobutsuna and a group of supporters showed annoyed expressions, Abe Tadaaki had already left the venue with a few people.

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Dozens of ships of various sizes were surrounded by ships of various sizes, thousands of kilometers from the anchorage of the Combined Fleet of the Three Kingdoms, and almost none of the ships dared to approach.

The four thick and hideous muzzles on the huge white ship in the distance made them instinctively feel that they were not opponents, and in order to stop the hard break of these southern barbarians before, a small one had already been scattered by a few near-misses.

At dusk, Abe Tadaaki, who came from Edo Castle, dressed in ordinary civilian clothes and brought only two attendants, sat in Kozao and approached the largest Nanban white battleship. At the bow of the ship, a squire desperately waved a colorful long flag, expressing his identity.

Rear Admiral Rasmussen, the nominal commander-in-chief of the Three Kingdoms Combined Fleet, is still leading a group of bandit-like European mercenaries to burn and loot all kinds of supplies along the coast of the Miura Peninsula at this moment, while Captain Ki Chaokai, the commander-in-chief of the Huamei Task Force, who clearly has the command of naval operations, directly led most of the ships of the Combined Fleet into Edo Bay under the instructions of the country, and forced the Tokugawa shogunate to come forward with the most **** posture.

The diplomatic document requesting the negotiation has been sent out for about half a month, but the Tokugawa shogunate has hardly made any clear reply to the previous armed conflict, except for the courtesy of sending fresh water and food, which makes Ji Chaohai a little anxious.

Another week has passed since the Asian Fleet received the order for the task force to return as soon as possible, and there is still one last week left, when the task force must return to Hong Kong. And in order to make this trip not end halfway, the end of the order allowed Ji Chaohai to make the Tokugawa shogunate bow his head in any way, and authorized him to sign a diplomatic contract.

Edo, who was mostly rendered by the setting sun, was imprinted in Ji Chaohai's eyes, and it was hard for him to imagine that he would fire a large number of cannonballs at this seemingly bustling and busy city in the next few years.

"Colonel, the envoy of the Tokugawa shogunate has been accepted into the officer's quarters, and he looks very ordinary, but his identity is very heavy. The clerks of Portugal and the Netherlands have gone in first. An officer walked up to Ji Chaohai's back and reminded him softly, "According to the agreement in advance, you will be responsible for the negotiation of compensation and trade switch." ”

"The content of the agreement was set before the departure, so this time it will be written according to the script, right? What an errand ...... not very adaptable."

Ji Chaohai sorted out his military uniform and changed his appearance, and turned around helplessly and walked towards the deck hatch.

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The 120mm guns on the fore and aft decks of Princess Kaneshiro once again shocked Tadaaki Abe, who was observing at close range, and he followed the Chinese naval officer into the officer's dining room almost without saying a word, first marveling at the strange lamps on the wall of the officer's dining room that did not look like oil lamps for a few seconds, and then sat in the corner with his eyes closed.

The clerks of Portugal and the Netherlands were whispering, a little unhappy that they could not lead such high-stakes negotiations, but the pre-departure instructions of their immediate superiors forced them to act here only as spectators and final signatories.

"I guess it's going to rain, it's too stuffy in the cabin, can you drink something?"

Ji Chaohai walked into the officer's cafeteria, except for Abe Zhongqiu, everyone else stood up and saluted.

"Oh?"

Tadaaki Abe, a high-ranking samurai in Japan, could understand Chinese, and at this time slowly opened his eyes and carefully looked at the Colonel Kami, who looked slightly younger than him, who sat up opposite him. Although he saw many Asian faces when he got on the boat, he was slightly surprised by the man in front of him, who seemed to belong to the Supreme Commander.

"Ji Chaohai, Captain of the Navy of the Republic of America of China, Captain of the USS Princess Kaneshiro and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, welcomes Mr. Tadaaki Abe to our ship. Sorry, there is no more fruit, just chilled blended wine and plain water. ”

Ji Chaohai pushed the restaurant list in his hand in front of Abe Zhongqiu, showing a kind expression.

"...... of the United States of America" Abe Tadaaki was slightly stunned, but immediately calmed down, and tried to imitate the tone of the other party and ordered a cold blended wine, "I thought it was Mingren......

"Huamei is a country of immigrants from the Dongtu people, and the ancestors are descendants of the Song people...... Mr. Abe speaks Mandarin very well. In this case, let's make a long story short, and I repeat once again the attitude of the combined fleet of the three countries and of our government towards previous unfriendly incidents......"

felt that the other party was a well-cultivated person, Ji Chaohai also put down his diplomatic shelf and entered the negotiation process as if he was talking to a new friend.

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At night, Abe Tadaaki did not choose to leave the Jincheng Princess, but took the initiative to ask to stay on the battleship, and even turned around and hoped that Ji Chaohai would take him to visit the Jincheng Princess, which was much larger than the largest ironclad ship in Japan in terms of shape and size.

Except for some military secrets departments and places where the environment is not very good, Ji Chaohai took Abe Tadaaki to visit many places on the ship, and Abe Tadaaki did not express any opinions from beginning to end, but the two attendants were staring at each other. Especially after finally figuring out that the "lamps" arranged in important passages do not need to burn lamp oil, I feel a different world.

Lying in an officer's cabin, Abe's mind was full of the contents of the talks and what he had seen and heard during the visit. Thinking of the collapse of the Miura Coastal Defense Fortress, I am even more glad for the decision I made.

Compensating for the losses incurred by diplomatic envoys due to the shelling was a trivial matter, roughly calculated at 100,000 kan, and an additional 100,000 kan for the soldiers killed and wounded as a result of the capture of the Misaki Prefecture was even more expected by Abe Tadaaki.

What made Abe Tadaaki unacceptable for a while was the request that Ji Chaokai explicitly hope that the Tokugawa shogunate would repeal the "Lockdown Decree", reopen the Nagasaki outlying island trading post (the foothold and area where the Portuguese traded in Nagasaki back then), and demarcate a part of the land opposite the outlying island as a public trade concession.

Although the shogunate had a monopoly on Nagasaki trade, the country's economic downturn and anti-Catholic policies required the port to trade at this foreign trade port was severely restricted. With the exception of the very limited Ming merchant ships and the Karajin Yashiki (a place of residence arranged by the Nagasaki port area for Ming merchants who specialized in trade), European merchants were no longer allowed to stay in Nagasaki, the Portuguese were permanently expelled, and only Dutch merchant ships were allowed to trade with Nagasaki annually under strict restrictions.

In Colonel Kami's suggestion, the Kami government would not recognize the validity of the Tokugawa shogunate's "Lockdown Order", and if the Tokugawa shogunate did not publicly abolish this policy of hindering "free trade", then the Kami government would decide to start independent trade with some friendly people in Kyushu.

Everyone understands what this means when they say this, the Satsuma Domain is one of the few local daimyos that cannot guarantee 100% control since the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the influence of the Shimazu clan in Kyushu is no less than the status of the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Kanto region. As long as they did not openly threaten the dominance of the Tokugawa shogunate, no one would take the initiative to touch the local interests of the Satsuma clan.

If Huamei openly launched a national-level maritime trade with the Satsuma Domain, then the strength of the Satsuma Domain would definitely not be controllable, and if other foreign feudal domains did the same, the country under the Kang Gong would be completely hollowed out, and another Warring States era was likely to appear.

What kind of friendly visits, what kind of conflict claims, in fact, are all fake, and trade is real...... Abe Tadaaki didn't sleep all night.

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"Bungo-sama, Bungo-sama! Oh no! Oh no! ”

In a daze, Abe Tadaaki was woken up by a fierce shaking and roar. The two attendants were nervously guarding the bedside, and the dim cabin could not tell the day or night, but the panicked look on the waiter's face could still be seen

Another deafening roar appeared, sending heads dizzy, and the battleship beneath its feet began to shake again.

Rolling and getting dressed, and then guided by a strange-looking second lieutenant of the Chinese Navy, Abe Tadaaki arrived at the bridge of the Kaneshiro Princess.

Outside the glass window, a large Guan ship was burning a few hundred meters away, and in addition to the Kaneshiro Princess, several other gorgeous battleships were venting their fire like a game towards the unlucky guy who didn't know when it was approaching.

The huge muzzle and deafening sound of cannons drove away the usual small merchant ships in Edo Bay, and only the various small ships of the Edo Navy were chaotic in the distance, and the large ship that was almost burning and disintegrating.

"It should be Matsudaira Nobutsuna-sama, and the banner of Inaba Masanori-sama......"

The attendant stood behind Abe Tadaaki tremblingly, his face pale, as if he was in a wolf's den and his life was in danger.

"Ignoring our warnings and ongoing official negotiations, they continue to provoke with force in the form of sneak attacks. It's a bit surprising that your government is binding on the military sector, Mr. Abe, do you think the talks need to continue? Or is last night's meeting just your personal position? ”

Ji Chaohai's expression was very ugly, yesterday's friendly attitude was gone, and of course, he still maintained a minimum of etiquette towards Abe Tadaaki himself.

"Mr. Ki, I apologize for the rash and rude behavior of the lord of the Odawara domain. But I'm sure that this is not the intention of the Shogun himself, let alone my attitude towards the content of the talks! ”

Abe Tadaaki struggled to keep his composure, but the disintegrated fireship in the distance, as well as the corpses and survivors floating on the sea, made Abe Tadaaki unbearable to look at him.

"Although you are optimistic and friendly about the peace talks, the state of war itself is not over, Mr. Abe, you should understand that."

With that, Ji Chaohai gave the order to attack any Edo naval forces that did not exit the warning range. With the command of the flagship signal flag, the Huamei Task Force, which had always maintained the highest combat readiness, began to spread the flames of war. Several Dutch or Portuguese sailing ships even looted many of the moored ships in Edo Bay.

Abe Tadaaki watched as one Edo navy boat after another was blown up and set on fire, and the navy, apparently the commander in chief, collapsed like lost dogs in the midst of the undulating and exploding waters, swaying corpses, ship debris, and blood.

Under the ravages of white phosphorus incendiary bombs used for the first time by the Chinese and US Navy, two large ships that had been built at great cost were completely destroyed, more than a dozen small and medium-sized ships were sunk, and even a few missed shells flew to Edominato, setting off a fire of considerable scale in a wooden building.

It is not known whether intentionally or unintentionally, more and more shells that deviated from the target landed on both sides of the Edominato and Sumida rivers, and gradually scattered inland over a wider area, and a historic temple located in the "hand of the mountain" was hit.

The hall collapsed, the priests scattered, the collapsed buildings blocked the way out, and many people were suffocated or burned alive by the poisonous smoke of the explosion of the white phosphorus incendiary bombs. The flaming debris from the explosion even jumped into the nearby mountains and neighborhoods, setting fire to hundreds of meters of woods and beautiful wooden houses.

The fire spread rapidly under the blowing of the sea breeze, and countless residents living around the temple fled in panic or put out the fire with wooden basins and buckets, but no matter how hard they tried, the fire spread and flooded the entire street.

The violent explosion and soaring fire caused the big names of the castle tower in the center of Edo Castle to fall into terror.

Tokugawa Iemitsu shrunk in the quilt surrounded by his surname, his teeth were shaking against the corner of the quilt, and Takako Takashi of the main room on the side was even more paralyzed, dragging the calf of a fallen maid and crying.

On May 31, 1646, Japan was in the second year of its reign.

The war, which later generations called the "curtain of the new deal of the Ming Dynasty" and the "Battle of Edowan", began and ended in a hurry on this day. (Note: The Ming calendar is a Japanese era name in the mid-17th century.) ）

Matsudaira Nobutsuna strongly recommended Inaba Masanori, the lord of the Odawara domain, to serve as the temporary commander-in-chief of the Edo Navy, and the expulsion war launched against the combined fleet of the three countries led by the Chinese and American navies ended in a one-sided and brutal result, and Inaba Masanori was burned alive directly on his own ship.

Three days later, on board the Kaneshiro Princess, the shogunate elders Naka Abe Tadaaki and Matsudaira Nobutsuna, who had been officially authorized by Tokugawa Iemitsu, signed the "Memorandum of Understanding on Peace Talks in Edowan" with Ji Chaokai, deputy commander-in-chief of the Three Kingdoms Combined Fleet.

The Combined Fleet of the Three Powers announced the withdrawal of its troops, and the landing force led by Rasmussen, who had retreated from the Miura Peninsula to the Combined Fleet, had looted a large amount of food and money during its free activities for most of the past half month.

The diplomatic memorandum stipulates that the four countries of China, the United States, Japan, Portugal, and the Netherlands will start diplomatic peace talks in Nagasaki in a year's time, and that all losses and expenses incurred by the joint fleet of the three countries during their visit to Japan will be paid in advance, equivalent to 500,000 US dollars and silver coins.

This unexpectedly brutal diplomatic move was only mentioned in the subsequent Chinese newspapers, and it was only known that a year later, Chinese goods could directly enter the Japanese market.

The Tokugawa shogunate, on the other hand, received the last gifts left by Ki Chaohai when he withdrew: a batch of high-end household items and three 34b special edition rear-loading flintlock pistols.

Compared to the 34A rear-loading flintlock pistol, which was wreaking havoc in Europe, this series model has better materials, higher accuracy and range, and has more beautiful floral decorations, which is perfect for the powerful to hunt.

The Tokugawa shogunate had also acquired some second-hand 21b flintlock pistols in the Nagasaki trade, and had already marveled at their performance as good as those made in Japan. When Tokugawa Iemitsu couldn't put it down with the 34B rear-loading flintlock pistol, Abe Tadaaki and Matsudaira Nobutsuna were scared into a cold sweat: if this weapon was not under the monopoly trade of the shogunate, it would be a very terrible existence.

With large ships, huge cannons, breech guns, and a variety of exquisite and practical civilian goods, Abe Tadaaki seems to feel that the times have changed too fast, so fast that he can't keep up with the rhythm. (To be continued.) )