Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 397 The shogunate came to borrow money
Being able to meet Zhao Xin's parents was the biggest surprise for Shen Xuan.

However, when she heard Zhao Xin's parents speak extremely fluent Beijing mandarin, her heart began to murmur again.

These two old people really came back from overseas?Why does it feel like an old resident of Beijing who has lived for decades?

Fortunately, the ancients talked about the rules and regulations. Before marriage, women only obey the orders of their parents, and after marriage, only their husbands and in-laws follow.Therefore, even though she had doubts in her heart, Shen Xuan was still respectful and did not dare to have any doubts.

The two paid homage to Zhao Xin's parents, and Zhao's mother, who was so happy from ear to ear, took out two large golden bracelets and put them on her daughter-in-law's wrists, which made Zhao Xin dumbfounded.We don't need this if we don't need anything!

Afterwards, Zhao Xin told Shen Xuan that Zhao's parents and Zhao's mother's visit must never be told to outsiders, even Shen Jingdan and his wife.Shen Xuan saw her husband telling her instructions with a serious face, and then thought of what happened to Fan Tong a while ago, so she nodded in agreement.

On the second day after the wedding, a refreshed Zhao Xin wrapped a few big red envelopes and gave them to the former eunuchs of the Qing Palace who helped out. Inside were a hundred yuan Beihai town gold coin.This thing is a rare item, since its release, few people have seen it.

The old eunuchs were very grateful, and then they had to climb up and down, and knelt down together to beg Zhao Xin, saying that we wanted to serve in Zhao Wang's mansion.Of course Zhao Xin would not agree.Even if his family needs to hire cooks and helpers, eunuchs must not be used. This is a matter of principle.So the old eunuchs had no choice but to leave disappointed with the red envelopes.

Zhao Xin was very satisfied with the whole wedding, the only regret was that Wu Siyu, Liu Sheng and his wife, and Fan Tong could not attend because they were too far away.Of course, Zhao Xin can pick them up. The question is, who knows if the general is gone, will there be troubles in places like Yaksa and Chakta?After Fan Tong was kidnapped, no one dared to take the risk again.

After Zhao Xin got married, in addition to Zhao Xin's parents who stayed for a short time, there were Xu brothers and A Miao who moved in.Chef Hu Fugui was also hired by Zhao Xin with a high salary to be the cook, and there were four other island women who were hired as helpers.If it weren't for Wan Zao's wife who is now taking care of civil affairs, she would also like to resign from her position as a "female director" and come to help.

Keep up with the leader, this logic can't be wrong no matter what time and space it is in.

As the No. [-] in Beihai Town, it is absolutely impossible for her to take wedding leave.Although Zhao Xin and Shen Xuan were obsessed with being turned red and Wushan Yunyu, but on the third day after the wedding, Zhao Xin resisted the impulse of "from now on the king will not go to court early" and received the envoy of the shogunate.

"Kasama-hou, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"The public ordered me to come and discuss with Zhao Wangdian about the cessation of troops, please stop supporting the rebels of the Sendai Domain. The shogunate can also agree to the conditions that the Sendai Domain can agree to, and there will be more."

The one who spoke to Zhao Xin was Makino Sadacho, the senior vice-chairman of the shogunate who led the mission.All the feudal vassals in the island country know that Zhao Wangdian speaks thieves in the island country, so there is no translation.In addition to the two of them, there was also a personal entourage of Makino Sadacho, a guard of Zhao Xin, and an official from Beihai Town who was in charge of recording the conversation.

The reason why the shogunate sent this person was because, as the lord of the Hitachi Kasama domain and the fifth generation of the Makino family of the Narita family, Makino Sadaga had a rich resume, which was much better than the young Matsudaira Sadanobu.

This person succeeded to the family governor at the age of 16. At the age of 26, he began to serve as the shogunate. He successively served as the temple secretary, the Osaka city representative, and the Kyoto governor. He understands the way of economy and has a high level of governance. trust.

In addition, Makino Sadacho is the only one who has fought against the Beihai Navy on the battlefield.In the battle of Ma Niu Marsh last year, the [-] pioneers he sent were defeated by the Northern Navy and the Qingye Battalion, and almost the entire army was wiped out.But even so, he is the only one among the veterans in the shogunate who is "familiar" with the tactics and weapons of the Northern Navy.

The place where the two parties met was still the office next to the square in Beihai Town, which surprised the shogunate. They did not expect that the official office of Zhao Wangdian, which was notorious all over the island country, was so simple, without any gorgeous and exquisite furnishings and appliances. Not even the poorest daimyos in the island nation.

In fact, Zhao Xin is not interested in turning his new house into a small imperial court, regardless of public and private interests.Just like Yongzheng, there is a curtain between the home of the Hall of Mental Cultivation and the front hall, only 1.8 meters away.

Furthermore, Beihai Town relies on strength, and Zhao Xin feels that this office is sufficient.In terms of grandeur, no one can compare with Qianlong in the south; he is the best in the world with the blood of all people and the world to serve one person.

Makino Sadacho's posture is very low, if there are tatami mats in this office, he would like to bend over and kneel down.Sitting on a Chinese-style chair with backrests and armrests feels very uncomfortable right now, so I can only bow to signal.

It wasn't just the chair that made him uncomfortable. In the past few days when the shogunate delegation came to Beihai Town, they were dumbfounded and dazzled by everything in front of them from the moment they got off the boat.

From the two famous big iron ships moored at the pier of Whale Bay, to the tall chimneys on the east bank of the Sila River that spew white smoke day and night, to the monsters with wheels that often whizzed by on the road; The weapons at the waists of the security police, and the gleaming "continuous iron cannon" in the hands of the North Navy's ceremonial soldiers at Zhao Xin's wedding; not to mention the streets in Beihai Town that are brightly lit at night as if they were daytime, and the food and clothing of every household. rich.

Those shogunate officials who were used to being kowtowed by the common people in Edo were all very surprised to see the residents of Beihai Town not worshiping the officials.Some local residents knew that they were refugees who migrated here from the island country just by looking at their body and appearance. However, when the shogunate officials found that these residents saw themselves, they almost gave them big eyes; what's more, after they passed by, There was a "bah" sound.

Such a situation almost made the shogunate lords vomit blood with anger.It's really against the sky, the former filthy and inhuman dare to look down on the samurai!What kind of world is this? !

Makino Sadacho proposed to the civil affairs cadre in charge of the reception that he wanted to visit the steel factory in Beihai Town, but was rejected; he wanted to visit the Beihai Navy camp, but was rejected; It is not enough to visit a few families of ex-island refugees.

"Well. The shogunate wants peace." Zhao Xin nodded, and then asked with doubts: "Then why did you kill Date Chongmura in the first place? If you knew this, why did you do it?"

Makino Sadacho said sincerely: "Uh, what Gong Fangyang means is that after the peace treaty between the two parties is signed, the shogunate will return Shikisaburo and Mrs. Dunji."

Zhao Xinxin said that you want to let go, but I don't think Ishikawa Cunwen may be willing. It's so cool that he has all the power now. I wish the mother and son would stay in Edo forever and never come back.

It is said that Ishikawa Cunwen visited everywhere these days accompanied by officials from Beihai Town. The group not only visited the production line of the Type 84 revolver, but also visited the production workshop of the Type 1787 12-pound front-loading smoothbore gun and watched the artillery fire. demo.

Ishikawa Murakami was quite satisfied with the power of the Type 87 12-pound gun, and immediately placed an order for 5 guns, with a total price of 84 taels of gold.In addition, this man suspected that the [-] revolver was not powerful enough at long range, so he once again proposed to buy the standard weapon of the North Navy.

Of course, Zhao Liang, the head of the military-industrial complex, would not agree. The alternative he proposed was a "combat revolver" copied from another time and space.Anyway, Beihai Town's general principle is to strictly control the output of primers and choke the necks of its partners-dog legs.

"The public agrees that among the three kingdoms of Southern Kyushu, Satsuma and Osumi will be given to Sendai, and Hyuga will return the shogunate to Tianling. The three counties of Izumi, Isa, and Lingkari will be managed by King Zhao." After Makino Sadacho finished speaking, My heart is bleeding.

In fact, this condition was the final decision made by Matsudaira Sadanobu after repeated weighing, and was agreed by Tokugawa Jiaqi and his father Tokugawa Jisu.

In the past few months, the shogunate has seen people from the Sendai feudal clan jumping up and down in the capital, colluding with ministers, throwing a lot of money and inviting people's hearts.Today's Tokugawa family has already lost their majesty. If this continues, no one in the world will listen to Edo's words in a few years.

The brutal natural disasters and the resistance of domestic samurai and intellectuals have made Matsudaira's cabinet in a state of distress.The frequent beatings in Beihai Town and the confrontation between the Sendai Fan made Matsudaira Sadanobu even more tormented.Such a life of waiting for others to decide one's own destiny is really unbearable!

Zhao Xin didn't want to occupy the island country, or change a general, but wanted to take advantage of the situation of division to fish in troubled waters.He pretended to think for a while, then nodded and said: "Yes."

Makino Sadacho was overjoyed when he heard that, and took advantage of the opportunity to propose that he wanted to learn from the Sendai Clan and obtained a low-interest loan from Beihai Town.In line with the principle of "If you have money, don't make a bastard", Zhao Xin immediately asked the other party the amount.Makino Sadacho extended a slap and said 500 million taels hesitantly.

Zhao Xin calculated the gold in stock. Right now, the gold stock in Beihai Town is top-secret. Now the mint is under the direct management of Zhao Xin, and even the civil affairs side does not know the exact figure.

"First borrow a five-year period of 200 million taels. If you can repay the loan on time, you can continue later."

When the two sides talked about this, it was basically the same, and the rest of the things like buying food and weapons should be discussed by the people below.

At this time, Makino Sadachang made a request to visit various places in Beihai Town, and Zhao Xin immediately agreed.But this matter, where to go or not, the person in charge of the civil affairs reception will naturally understand.

Before Makino Sadachang offered to leave, Zhao Xin thought of another thing.

"Marquis Kasama, there is something that needs to be brought to your attention."

"Please tell Zhao Wangdian."

"The English and the Dutch are at war, do you know that?"

Makino Sadachang recalled it for a while, and his subordinates came up to whisper a few more words before saying: "This matter was mentioned in a letter by Deputy Nagasaki two years ago. It is also because of this that there have been few Dutch ships these years. And there is no Dutch ship arriving in Hong Kong in four years. I wonder what Zhao Wangdian means by this?"

What Zhao Xin said was the fourth Anglo-Dutch war in history.Britain and the Netherlands fought from 1780 to 1784, and finally France came forward to mediate and the Netherlands surrendered.The cause of the war was that Britain used the Netherlands to support the American War of Independence, and in 1780 unilaterally abolished the various treaties of the Anglo-Dutch alliance led by William III.

Britain made huge profits from this battle. The huge national debt originally borrowed from the Dutch within 100 years was exempted from paying interest on the pretext of war, and it purchased national debt from Dutch businessmen at a low price after the war.The most important thing is that the financial center of Europe has since moved southward, and London has replaced Amsterdam, which eventually led to the bankruptcy and dissolution of the Dutch East India Company.

However, Zhao Xin's next words startled Makino Sadacho.

"As far as I know, the British warship is coming to Nagasaki."

"Why is this so?! Does Zhao Dian have any conclusive news?" Makino Zhenchang stared at Zhao Xin, trying to find the answer from the other's expression.

Zhao Xin lied without batting an eye. He explained: "The Dutch were defeated. I think the British will use the attack on the Dutch in Nagasaki as an excuse to allow the shogunate to open the port."

In fact, this is impossible. In the history of another time and space, the British invaded Nagasaki and had to wait until the "Napoleonic War" period 20 years later.At present, the British are still digesting and absorbing the benefits after the end of the war, and the East India Company has no time to take care of the island country.

Looking at the back of the preoccupied Makino Sadacho, Zhao Xin was a little proud. His purpose was actually to let the shogunate buy some 87-type 12-pound guns with the loan, so as to consolidate the coastal defense and be prepared.Besides, the effective range of these 12-pound guns is only 600 meters, and no one can defend against the cannons of the Beihai Navy.

A few days later, after a lot of back and forth, Beihai Town, the Shogunate Mission, and the Sendai Domain finally reached a draft armistice agreement on the negotiating table.The reason why it is a draft is because Makino Sadacho has no right to make decisions, and he has to bring the draft back to Edo for discussion at the Laozhong meeting, and the final decision will be made by the seal official.

But in addition, the shogunate mission also signed a loan agreement with Beihai Town in private: first, Beihai Town lent 99 million taels of gold with a gold content of 200% to the shogunate, with a five-year loan period and an annual interest rate of 5%; Second, the shogunate bought 100 million tons of rice from Beihai Town and delivered them within one year; third, the shogunate bought 87 Type 12 84-pound guns and [-] Type [-] revolvers from Beihai Town and delivered them in two installments.

In fact, nothing else, Makino Sadacho thought he had made a big deal just by borrowing this time.

As mentioned before, the gold content of the Yuanwen Xiaoping issued in 1736 is 65%.However, from the third year of Tianming, due to financial distress, the gold content of the gold coins issued by the shogunate became lower and lower.Historically, when the civil and political small judgment gold appeared in 1819, the gold content was only 56%.

If the 200 million taels of 99 red gold are used to make small penal gold, nearly 400 million taels of gold coins can be issued, which will greatly alleviate the financial difficulties caused by the "Donation Order".

The reason why Zhao Xin wanted to do this was because Matsudaira Sadanobu, the current head of the Laozhong, was a firm believer in Zhu Zixue.

This person's ruling goal is to establish a closed-door self-defense system based on agriculture, and establish a two-level examination system, Sudu Yinwei and Learning Yinwei.

This system related the examination results of Zhu Zixue to the priority of vacancies and new positions, and even linked the examination results to the vassals' inheritance rights to the family business.

Regarding the ocean expansion theory of the people of the island country, "Since you can't afford food, why not build cannons and buy warships", Sadanobu Matsudaira formulated and implemented the "Prohibition of Lean Politics and Different Studies", which is specifically aimed at propagating naval theories and those other than Zhu Zi's school of thought. other schools of thought.

In this case, let the island country continue to close its doors and cultivate the land well!
(End of this chapter)