Xinshun 1730

Chapter 250 Deception
The three-year lease period is not long, so there is just a buffer time.

The matter of Ezo is not up to the Matsumae clan's family, and there are so many people talking about it, it is impossible to hide it completely.

Matsumae Jihiro decided to talk a little bit about the matter here when he entered Edo to attend the pilgrimage this time.

After all, as for how to say it, there are some skills.

It is only said that a Dashun ship was shipwrecked, but as for the specific situation, don't go into details.

If there is a strict order from the shogunate to deal with it, then come back and deal with it.

If the shogunate heard his ambiguity and didn't take it seriously, then according to the established idea, make good businessmen and trade quietly.

Soon, the retainers in charge of the negotiations went to the resting place where Dashun built the city again, and the two sides signed a very "equal" treaty.

Draw a range and let them rest here temporarily.

But you can't go out of the circle, and it is strictly forbidden to directly trade with the local Ainu people.

All goods were to be sold to merchants in the Matsumae domain, and the ships were to leave as soon as they were built.

But these Dashun refugees are allowed to fish and log here.

As soon as the treaty was signed, merchants came here in small boats to transport the goods.

The merchants of the Ryohama group were not qualified to participate in Nagasaki's trade. They didn't have enough capital, and the relationship was not strong. It was a rare opportunity to buy Chinese products, and each of them was naturally elated.

Most of the silk and satin can be used as Ezo brocade, and now the eminent monks in Edo and Kyoto are willing to use this Ezo brocade to make cassocks, and the shogunate has also acquiesced in the existence of this kind of brocade.

Most of the goods were delivered in silver and gold, and the remainder was exchanged for some dried fish.

There were not many goods. After paying Matsumae Fan 1000 taels of land rent, he still made a little profit after removing the dried fish.

The demarcated area is not too large, but these people don't need too much space.

First build the city and then reclaim the land, all the top and bottom are restrained, do not contact the Ainu people, and do not contact the Ainu people for at least three years.

Before the winter freeze, another ship came.

Three cannons were unloaded, thirty Orion recruits from Vladivostok, and a large amount of food.

The first batch of immigrants had a lot of experience living in Vladivostok, and they could survive the first winter here without the help of the local natives.

The officers already felt that something was wrong, and some with a keen sense of smell could already smell the gunpowder of war.

Before winter came, the basic defenses were completed and the emplacements were repaired.The winter here is not too cold, but the snow is a bit heavy. Taking advantage of this winter, the officers who felt that they might go to war gave these immigrants a good drill.

The officers are all cadets who have come out of the military academy, and it is easy to practice flintlock rifles, and they are not regular soldiers, as long as they teach them to hide in the city and fire guns.

In the coldest weather, officers and officials sat around the fireplace, a pot of hot venison stewed thoroughly, paired with a bowl of strong wine from Vladivostok, it was really delicious.

"You said, three years later, the Matsumae family drove us away, is it going to war?"

The lieutenant smiled and said: "Forget it, we have enough food, gunpowder, and guns. As far as the Matsumae clan is concerned, they can only besieged, but not attacked. If there are no 5000 people to siege, we can't be surrounded. 5000 people ...He is only a famous name of 5000 shi, where can he get 5000 people? [-] people eat, drink, and scatter, can he afford this money?"

"If we tell the shogunate, even if we send troops, we will be driven away after three years, and we will be sent to fight. If we can't be beaten, we will tell the shogunate. It will probably take another year and a half for the shogunate to send troops and transport artillery. Four An army of 5000 people, I'm afraid it's not that easy."

"Yingsuobo will send people here next year. If they want to attack, they will probably use all the power of the whole country like we did when we attacked the Junggar tribe."

Little lieutenant, big confidence.

Knowing that relying on the bastion system, with Japan's current tactical level, it will take a long time to prepare to attack.

For a castle near the sea, the first step in capturing it is to cut off the supplies at sea.

Not to mention the storage of food, even the Japanese navy, can it really stop the Weihai fleet?

Only those who are alone overseas can deeply feel the importance of the navy, and they can also truly feel the peace of mind that there is a huge country behind them that will not give up on them.

The person who asked the question before said happily: "If this is the case, it will be a big battle. I am waiting here. If I can hold on, it will be a great achievement. I just don't know what the eagle thinks? Is it to occupy this land? Still have other ideas?"

The lieutenant, who had gone to a military school to enhance his vision, asked back: "Is there anything special about this Ezo? This kind of land is thousands of miles north from Vladivostok. If it's just for this Ezo, I don't think it's worth it. Just wait, a few years later, there will be a lot of fun to watch. I still have to train these people well and reclaim the fields. When the time comes, I won’t leave. He Songqian has a lot of money and can help me and me?"

…………

It is still several years before the preparations for war with Japan are completed.

Shipbuilding and cannon building are all boring step by step, and they are already on the right track, so Liu Yu doesn't need to watch over there.

At this time, Liu Yu was not in Weihai, but went to Dagukou by boat. The emperor allowed him to return to the capital to celebrate the emperor's birthday.

In fact, it was also to discuss with him about the visit of the French envoy.

After the ship loaded with glass and silver docked near Dagukou, someone organized to send these goods to the capital, and Liu Yu went to see the fort at Dagukou.

This is a fort built during the Yongle period of the previous dynasty. Since the Japanese invasion subsided, it has gradually been abandoned.

But today, there are quite a few recruited civilians here, who are tamping the earth, obviously planning to overhaul the fort.

The person in charge of building the fort quickly saluted Liu Yu after seeing him. As a student who studied gunnery and fortress engineering from a small station training background, he respected Liu Yu very much.

In order to show his closeness, this young man did not call Liu Yu an adult or a lord, but called him a very special title.

"Sir, the fort here was originally made of stone, which is inappropriate. Just like the books we learned in Liugong Island, the fort should preferably be made of rammed earth, with thick slopes and soil bags on the outside. Stone When hit by a shell, stone chips splash, which can easily injure people. And it can’t relieve the force, so it’s not as good as an earth slope.”

"Your Majesty wants to build a fort and two bastions here. I'm not the chief officer, I'm just a supervisor."

The young man enthusiastically led Liu Yu around a few times, hoping to get a word or two of appreciation from Liu Yu.The emperor didn't know if the fort was repaired well, if he could get a few words of appreciation from Liu Yu, it would be very comfortable.

After turning around twice, Liu Yu praised the young man, but he understood why the emperor did this in his heart.

I thought in my heart that if I had the money to build the fort, it would be better to invest in the navy and build a few more large ships.

The safety of the Bohai Sea lies in the ports and fleets of Weihai and Lushun, not Dagukou.

This fort is obviously a face project, and it should be built for the upcoming French mission.

The East India Company has already submitted the news of the mission's arrival. According to the monsoon season, it should arrive in July and August this year.

The emperor didn't want them to go inland, especially the canal, so they should be allowed to enter Beijing from Dagukou.

It's just that it's quite a bit of taking off your pants and farting.

When the national map was drawn before, it relied on a group of French missionaries.I'm afraid that the map of mainland China in the hands of France is no worse than that in the Chinese court.

In history, it was because the British did not understand China. If France had just signed the "French-Vietnamese Versailles Treaty" with Vietnam and sent missionaries to help draw the map, it might have thought of cutting the canal, North and South.

But although this is a face project, it seems to be worth it, and it can be regarded as a bargaining chip with France.

This is also a good thing. It can be seen that the emperor is willing to spend money to repair the fort, which shows that he attaches great importance to the visit of the French mission this time.

Checking the forts, Liu Yu found that there were no cannons on the forts that had been repaired.

"The cannon, was it made in the capital? Or here? I'm in Weihai, why haven't I heard about it?"

The young man in charge of building the fort whispered: "There are no cannons for now. Let's decorate it with some wood to make people think that there are cannons here. Maybe we will build cannons later."

This somewhat unexpected answer made Liu Yu stunned for about a quarter of an hour, and then burst out laughing.

It seems that there are still a lot of talents in the imperial court, not all of them are old-fashioned idiots, and they also know how to spend the least amount of money to achieve the desired effect when money is limited.

"Okay, anyway, the fort is a heavy place, and idlers are not allowed to enter. However, the cannon can be slowed down. Since the fort has been repaired, it must be repaired. Don't waste money."

"Don't worry, my lord, I know this well. It costs a lot of money, and I don't care about the salary, but if something happens in the future, my head will be cut off. So I will keep a close eye on it. Another thing, the officials don't treat me very much, I guess I was also afraid that my six relatives would not recognize me, so I didn't talk about splitting the money with me."

This method of checks and balances and differentiation is still somewhat effective.The imperial power was adjusted in the middle, deliberately causing people from the two systems to distrust each other.Now the emperor feels that it is enough to control it. It is nothing more than too few people who learn practical knowledge. If there are more in the future, he will always have to make a choice.

"When will it be repaired here?"

"Your Majesty has ordered that the construction must be completed before July. I calculated it, and it should be about the same. The barracks and everything will be completed."

The completion of the project before July further confirmed Liu Yu's judgment.

There are many things that cannot be done on your own.But judging from the construction of the Dagukou Fort, someone in the imperial court should really care about the visit from France.

This is a good thing.Since it is necessary to negotiate, it is still necessary to pretend that it should be pretended. If the French see the Takukou Fort that was in disrepair before, they may despise it in their hearts.

If the French came directly to Weihai from the headquarters of the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce and turned to Dagukou, what they would see would be the defense of Weihai and Dagukou.

If you don't go directly to Weihai, as long as you stay in Guangdong, Zhangzhou, Songjiang and other places without going inland, you will see prosperity, and you will definitely not see the real poverty belt.

Liu Yu thought to himself, this is not bad.The gold and jade are on the outside and the catkins are in it. If you don’t peel off the skin, do you know whether I am gold or jade?

(End of this chapter)