Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 273
Ishikawamura is no fool.The reason why he was addicted to drinking and sex, and he didn't care about managing the feudal government, was because the deficit hole of millions of taels couldn't be fixed by anyone.

At the beginning, Date Shigemura took over the project of Kanto general recruitment in order to be able to be subordinated to four people like the Shimadzu Shigego of the Shimadzu family, and finally spent 22 taels of gold.

In the fifth year of Minghe (1768), because of the serious loss of copper in the country, Edo ordered that the Sendai clan should use the iron produced by the clan to cast Kanei Tongbao iron coins, and gave a seven-year permission period.

Date Zhongcun saw that it was okay, but after passing this village, there will be no such shop, so fight!As a result, a large amount of square iron coins flowed into Edo, causing the value of iron coins to drop, and prices in some areas skyrocketed.

After four years, the shogunate couldn't hold it anymore. The typical bad money drives out good money!Tanuma Yiji then ordered the Sendai Fan to stop casting iron coins.The Sendai vassal had already enjoyed the benefits at this time, so they were willing to give up. After several years of pleading with the shogunate, they finally continued to make money in the fifth year of Ernst and Young (1776) on the condition that they would not flow out iron money to other vassals.

But since then, the Sendai Fan can only eat themselves.

Ishikawa Cunwen and Shibata Juezang left with Zhao Xin's conditions.Although he is an old writer, he can't make decisions on such a big matter, so he has to go back and call a meeting of various families to discuss.

And Zhao Xin doesn't care!At worst, it's a good deal to exchange cannonballs for an obedient owner.Compared with the poor southwestern feudal clans who want to be pants, the Sendai feudal clan is considered to be in a good economic situation and has a foundation for doing something.

So you see, this year is an era in which the shogunate and the daimyo compare each other's badness; there is no good, only bad and worse.

After leaving Ishinomaki Port, the Thor headed south all the way, and headed straight for Edo Bay at full power.And Pingtai also took a few of his men and ran all the way to Edo along the Tokaido. Three days later, a group of five people finally arrived at Nihonbashi in Edo Castle in the early morning; this is also the starting point of the five streets in the island country.

In the early morning, Edo Castle is full of people, and the seafood and vegetable market under the Nihonbashi is the busiest time for people to come and go.Pingtai and others, who ran all the way, first found a small stall and ate two bowls of soba noodles, and then found a hotel nearby to stay in a cage after recovering.After resting until noon, the five of them went out separately, wandering around various towns to inquire about news.

Due to the great famine in the past two years, farmers left their hometowns, some went to Sendai, and a large part came to Edo Castle. They were looking forward to finding a better life in the bustling downtown.At this time, in the Edo Castle Town, there were more than 200 village chiefs under the jurisdiction of the three "machi years" of Naraya, Taruya, and Kita Village, each managing several to dozens of streets.The rows of longhouses facing the street were full of landowners from the countryside and commoners from the cities.

Those refugees who fled to Edo with their families lived together in nearby Kanda, Koji-cho and other places, relying on the introduction of guarantors and people in the guild, doing handy jobs in various places in the city every day.

In the afternoon, a Beihai town spy guarding outside the gate of the imperial city saw several fast horses entering the imperial city with messengers.And Heita and others who were inquiring about the rent of shops near Kyobashi and Nihonbashi also began to hear rumors from people around that a large white foreign ship suddenly came to Uraga in the morning.

At this time, the Raytheon was moored in the ocean between the Sanguan Peninsula and Futtsu.Since the morning, the large and small ships on the sea transporting supplies from various places to Edo were frightened and fled in all directions when they saw the Thor.All the ships from the west fled back to Izu, and all the ships from the northeast fled to the Shangso area to take refuge; while the ships from Edo Bay either turned around and fled to Yokohama, or went west to take refuge in Uraga Port.

The first to issue the alarm was the guard of the "Dengmingtang" on Pinggen Mountain, the easternmost tip of the Sanfu Peninsula.Immediately afterwards, several Yuli who were stationed in Xipuhe arrived one after another with their subordinates.At noon, the Tokugawa navy stationed in Uraga Port began to dispatch.

Before the arrival of the black ships of later generations, the Uraga Magistrate's office served as a customs office.

There are no decent defense facilities here at all, except for the wharf, shipyard, and East and West House (similar to a post station), there is only one executive office and imperial office.The original local armed force had ten Yuli and fifty Tongxin; that is to say, ten police chiefs led fifty official policemen.The responsibilities of the Bansuo are mainly boarding inspections, collecting taxes, and expelling ships that are not allowed to enter Edo Bay.

In addition, because of the Thor invasion of Nagasaki the year before last, 50 ashigaru, 11 water masters and 190 sailors were newly added.

So at noon, dozens of black sloops formed a large circle, with Thor in the middle.

Looking at the big white boat in front of them, the water masters were all terrified, thinking how to beat such a big guy!It's better to stay for a day and leave. Everyone goes back to their respective homes. Wouldn't it be better to live in peace?
After two o'clock in the afternoon, Yuri Tanzawa Hisaemon of the Uraga Monastery and a companion approached the Raijin on a small early boat.

This is the second time for Zhao Xin to meet officials directly under the Tokugawa shogunate. The last time was in Nagasaki.

The power of the shogunate belongs to the lower-level samurai, but because they deal with common people all day long, most of them are good at communication.In terms of clothing, Yuli wears a relatively wide monochrome "shoulder coat" and a "horse hakama" cut from pinstriped floral cloth.

"Is your Excellency from Tang Dynasty?" Danzawa Hisaoemon asked loudly in his crappy Zhapu dialect.

Jiuzang in military uniform appeared on the side of the boat and said loudly in the island dialect: "I can't understand a word you said."

Tanzawa Hisaemon let out a sigh of relief, the other party could speak the native language, and it was much easier to communicate.

"Please tell me your identity!"

"I am Zhao Jiuzang. This time, we are here to negotiate with the shogunate on behalf of Beihai Town and the Great Ainu Kingdom."

Tanzawa Kuzaemon and his companions were taken aback for a while, and continued after thinking for a while: "Your Excellency, we request to board the ship to negotiate. You have entered our country's waters without authorization. On behalf of the shogunate, I hope you can withdraw from the Uraga sea."

"Oh, what is your official position? My Highness has orders. He only speaks to people of equal status."

"Your Highness?" Danzawa Hisaoemon was taken aback, thinking that this is where the Highness came from, aren't these people Tang Yi pirates? !

Due to the suicide of the Toda Clan and the fiasco of the Saga Domain, Zhao Xin didn't know that he was already notorious among the coastal domains.Tanzawa Hisaoemon said that the co-author Nagasaki built a fort and you couldn't beat it, so he went to Uraga to toss again!

The companions on Xiaozao's boat were eager to gain wisdom at this time, and immediately pointed to Tanzawa Hisaoemon and said loudly: "This gentleman is the Uraga vice-president who is in charge of negotiations."

Jiuzang was stunned for a moment, thinking that the vice president was here, and he was about to turn around and report to Zhao Xin, when Zhao Xin behind him laughed and said, "How can you tell nonsense! Does Puhe have a vice president? You ask him? Not a team leader."

Only then did Jiu Zang realize that the other party was fooling him, and his expression suddenly changed.He was born in the mountains, so he didn't know the establishment of the Yuanguo Enforcement Office at all.But Zhao Xin understands this very well. He used to travel to Yokohama Chinatown, and visited the museum in Yokosuka.

The organization of the Uraga Monastery Office is two people, one of whom is resident in Edo Castle, and there are two heads of the group under the enforcement, followed by Lihe Tongxin.

"Asshole! My Highness asked me to ask you, are you the group leader?"

Tanzawa Hisaemon and his companions looked at each other, and said to Danni, the lie has been exposed!

The two of them were beating drums in their hearts, only to hear another voice from above their heads saying: "Your public Fang is too young, and the old man has stepped down again. Forget it, I will reluctantly let Yu Sanjia or Yu Sanqing Come one and I'll talk to him."

"You are so rude!" Tanzawa Kusaemon and his companions were furious.Who are the members of the Yusan family? They all follow the two senior officials; and the Yusanqing also follow the three "qings".You group of pirates, what qualifications do you have!
Seeing that the other party didn't speak, Jiu Cang said: "We have beaten the [-] troops of the Saga Domain to the ground. How long do you think Uraga can last? Go back and return to your orders. Our Highness doesn't beat you because we are afraid that there will be some people in the end." A large group of heartbroken apologies!"

Tanzawa Hisaemon sneered and said: "Although our country is small, there are countless people who dare to die! What is 1 people? In a few days, there will be hundreds of thousands of soldiers gathered around here."

"Oh, the banner is [-] cavalry, right?" Zhao Xin walked slowly to the side of the boat, looked down at the two warriors below, and said with a sneer, "May I ask you two that the sword is wrapped in tinfoil with bamboo slices? Is your armor still there?"

Tanzawa Kuzaemon is about to explode, this nima can't continue talking!People have a face, and now the Tokugawa shogunate has nothing to do with it, only face is left, and they are mercilessly slapped in the face.

"We'll stay here for a day, and a boat won't even think about getting in or out!" Zhao Xin changed his face, and continued: "Tell me to the people in the imperial city without saying a word. I only give you two days, otherwise the bomb will explode first." Pingpuhe Imperial Bansuo, then bombard the imperial city of Zhongao!"

That night, when Zhao Xin's warning reached Zhongao in Edo Castle, Tokugawa Iezari immediately panicked.He had heard about the bombardment of Nagasaki Port by the Thunder God back then. It sank a closed ship with one cannon, and hit the demon king who found a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood at the foot of the mountain!This can't be messed with, right now, right now, right now, move!
I can't hide, Tokugawa Jiaqi is only 13 years old, and he doesn't even have a son.Besides, the Mito clan has been eyeing the general's seat all the time, even if Jiaqi doesn't want to leave, his own father Tokugawa Jisuke doesn't agree.

So Gong Fangzhang quickly took his biological mother Yu Fuzhifang and Mao Ji, who had not yet passed the family, moved to the house of Hitotsubashi Temple in the northwest of the imperial city.At night, the startled and frightened Jiaqi fell asleep accompanied by his mother and nurse, but the princes in Zhongao were still discussing countermeasures overnight.

"Marquis Sendai, you should come forward to negotiate this matter. Do you need me to tell you the specific reason?" It was Tokugawa Jiho of Mito Tokugawa's family who spoke.

"What, what does this have to do with me?! The conscience of heaven and earth, Matsushima Town and Ishinomaki Port were also attacked by Tang Yi back then, and this clan and Tang Yi are also sworn enemies!"

"Hmph~" Sitting in the back, Nabeshima Jishige, the lord of the Saga domain, rubbed the wound that would ache when the weather was cold, and continued to act.

Maeda Jixiu, the feudal lord of the Kaga clan, said, "How is the mobilization of troops in the castle now?"

have to!Which pot is not opened and which pot is lifted.Although the order to transfer troops to the various feudal clans has been issued, don't you know the virtues of the current warriors?Just wait and see, all the prices of swords, guns, armor, bows and arrows in the city will increase tomorrow.

One of the people present said: "People have been sent to check whether the stored cannons, muskets, gunpowder, and horses are complete. Every family in the city is buying them overnight. It's just that there is a slight shortage of saltpeter."

Not only is there not enough saltpeter, but there are not enough knives, guns, and war horses. One word sums it up-extremely corrupt!

If Tang Yi really came in, everyone would have to continue to move and go to the Nikko Toshogu Palace in Xiaye to live in a large country villa.

"That's it." Maeda Zhixiu turned his head to look at Date Shigemura: "The Marquis of Sendai should take a hard trip, delay for a while, and see what Tang Yi wants."

Hou Yida Shigemura of Sendai is so angry!Damn Tang Yi didn't come sooner or later, but he came at this time.All the people present scolded themselves with guns and sticks, and their eyes wished to swallow themselves alive.

Shigemura Date said why?Isn't Benfan just buying some food from Tang Yi and selling some untouchables!If you have the ability, you can also sell it!Not starving to death in this year is a victory, and I also help the shogunate reduce the burden!
Besides, the Sendai Clan really can't defeat those Tang Yi. When Date Shigemura thought of the big bomb crater he saw in Matsushima Town, he felt frightened.With just one shot, dozens of warriors were battered, and many of them couldn't even get their bodies together.

"A few months ago." Shigeho Shimadzu, who had been silent at this time, said.This is the lord of the Shimadzu clan, the future father-in-law of Gong Fangzhang, the real one.

"There is news from North Korea that Tang Yi's leader is said to be named Zhao. However, people in North Korea say that his surname is actually Zhu, and he is a descendant of King Zhao of the Ming Dynasty."

Tokugawa Jibo interjected, "So what? Even though he is a descendant of the imperial family of the former Ming Dynasty, China is now dominated by barbarians and captives."

Shigeho Shimadzu frowned slightly, and continued: "The year before last and last year, this person was outside the customs of the Qing Dynasty, in the northeast, and defeated the Qing's tens of thousands of conquering troops. It is said that he also captured the leading general, who is also a relative of the Qing emperor."

As soon as this remark came out, the ministers who had shouted at the beginning to repel Tang Yi were stunned.

Tokugawa Jicha of Tian An Dechuan's family looked sideways and said, "Sa Mohou, the enemy is at hand, what do you mean by this?"

"My intention is self-evident. It is best for such characters not to be enemies."

Shigeho Shimadzu thought very far, in case that person named Zhao Xin won the world of the Qing Dynasty and restored the country of the Han people.When the time comes to turn around and deal with the island nation, the first to bear the brunt is the Satsuma clan.

Since the 14th year of Qingcho—that is, the 37th year of Wanli in the former Ming Dynasty, the Satsuma Domain has been trying to annex the Ryukyu Kingdom.Although Tokugawa Hidetada, the second generation of the Tokugawa family, completely cut off the idea of ​​the Satsuma clan annexing Ryukyu, but after nearly 200 years of continuous encroachment, the Ryukyu Kingdom has completely become a vassal of the Satsuma clan.

If one day, what would happen to the Satsuma domain without Ryukyu. Shigeho Shimadzu didn't dare to think about it.

(End of this chapter)