Chapter 339 The urbanization rate of Edo is too high! (Please order, please vote)
February 2, 1854, Edo Bay, Japan.
Japan's largest plain and largest city are now displayed almost undefended under the cannons of the combined fleet composed of British, Qing, American, and French warships!
This is a combined fleet composed of nineteen warships including three steam wooden-hulled sail cruisers, ten steam wooden-hulled sail frigates, six steam paddle-wheel gunboats, and more than ten other merchant ships. This fleet is not even in East Asia, even if
A trip to the Black Sea would be enough for the Russian Empire to drink a bottle.
Three of the paddle-wheel gunboats, "Dinghai", "Pinghai" and "Zhenhai", were all provided by the Nanyang Naval Association of the Qing Dynasty.
Although these three gunboats were all made up of armed merchant ships with a displacement of several hundred tons that had been transferred many times, the three captains were all foreigners. Even the vice-admiral of the Nanyang Naval Association was originally from the British Hong Kong Fleet.
Captain Fei Xibang served as the captain of the gunboat.
But China’s first modern navy is considered a success no matter what!
In addition, the British Minister Bonham, the French Minister Bourblon, and the American Minister Marsali have all agreed to lease a number of warships to the Nanyang Navy of the Qing Dynasty.
Now we just need to wait for the approval of the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, and France, and the Nanyang Navy can embark on the fast track of development of "buying is worse than renting". No, it should be the slow track. Because it can't go fast at all...\n.\n: .\n. Mathematics, physics and chemistry education has not even started yet, and the English versions of Prussian primary school and middle school textbooks have not yet been delivered!
The great cause of building self-made warships has also entered the "slow lane". At the end of last year, Luo Xueyan spent 3,000 taels of silver to buy a US-owned ship repair yard located on the Bund, north of the Suzhou River in Shanghai, and made a lot of changes.
The name Jiangnan Shipbuilding Bureau still let Hu Guangyong, the manager of the Shanghai Silk Factory, serve as the concurrent manager. As for the original foreign managers, craftsmen and Chinese apprentices, they were all retained.
According to Luo Xueyan's plan, Jiangnan Shipbuilding Bureau can slowly develop by following the path of repairing first and then building, putting the people first and the army first. We don't expect it to make a lot of money, let alone build any steam-armored ships soon.
Jiangnan Shipbuilding Bureau's current positioning is to serve as the cradle of China's modern shipbuilding industry, accumulating experience and talents for future development.
As for the Jiangnan Shipbuilding School... we should wait until the first generation of "accelerated middle school students" graduate to open it. We can't let a group of scholars who can only "recite scriptures" learn to build steam ironclads in one step, right?
Since China's modernization cannot be on the fast track for the time being, then...\n.\nJapan's modernization process must at least remain on the same track,
It would be better if we could take a big step back.
As far as Luo Xueyan knows, the degree of Westernization in Japan is really too high now!
Although Japan is more closed-door to the country than China - the closed-door China has merchant ships crossing the ocean to trade in Nagasaki, Japan every year, but no Japanese merchant ships will ever come to China. However, Japan's understanding of Western science is far behind
More than China!
Because becoming an official in Japan requires reincarnation and there is no way to take the imperial examination, what the samurai learned depends entirely on themselves, as well as the interests of the generals and feudal lords above. Japan had a "Lanxue" during the Warring States Period.
That is the knowledge of the Dutch. The Tokugawa shogunate was known as the Three Hundred Domains, and among them there were always some feudal lords known as "orchid addicts" who promoted orchid education in their domains.
Therefore, when Japan was blocked by the Americans with black ships, their understanding of Western learning was ahead of China's.
In addition, the urbanization rate in Edo seems to be a bit high!
This is not a good sign either!
Standing on the bridge of the USS Powhatan, the flagship of the Four Nations Combined Fleet, with a displacement of more than 2,000 tons, Luo Xueyan held up a pair of binoculars to look at the Edo Castle Town in the distance, while observing the excessive urbanization of Edo.
A little dissatisfied with the rate.
This is a big city with a population of hundreds of thousands or even over a million!
As far as the eye can see, there are all densely packed low-rise houses, and there is also a majestic Edo Castle, which stands proudly on the vast plains and is very conspicuous.
In addition, the quality of Edo residents is also a bit high!
Because the middle- and upper-class residents of this city are samurai who were stationed in Edo from various feudal dynasties. They are all well-organized and well-educated, and many of them are proficient in orchidology. Even if they do not understand orchidology, they are at least very knowledgeable.
Good soldiers are educated and brainwashed by bushido, and are less afraid of death.
If the shogunate can fully mobilize them and equip them with Western-style guns and artillery, tens of thousands of new-style army troops should be able to pull them out quickly.
Even if there were not so many foreign guns and cannons, the shogunate's arsenal would probably not lack matchlock guns called "iron", and the quality of Japanese iron was definitely better than the shotguns that the Qing Dynasty had to deal with for the green camp soldiers.
Therefore, the Tokugawa shogunate could only resist with determination, and could even repel the invading Four Nations Allied Forces with the force of Edo Castle itself.
After all, there were only 2,000 coalition troops who arrived in Edo Bay along with 19 warships and could land for operations, of which 1,500 were still the "model regiment" of Luo Xueyan's Nanyang New Army, which was Luo Xueyan's hometown.
They were all Hunan soldiers recruited from the areas bordering Hunan and Jiangxi. They only knew about Luo Xueshuai and did not know about the direct lineage of Xueshuai from the Qing Dynasty....
"Lord Luo, look quickly...a Japanese boat has arrived, and there are a few samurai on it. They should be here to receive us!"
The speaker was a short, dark, big-eyed and bushy-browed young man. He was from the same family as Luo Xueyan. His surname was also Luo, and his single name was Yisen. He was from Jiaying Prefecture, Guangdong. His family had been doing business for generations and had businesses in the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Straits Settlements. Therefore,
Speaks English and a little Japanese.
Luo Xueyan met him when he went to play Ryukyu with Matthew Perry last time. He was Perry's translator at the time. But now this man has joined Luo Xueyan's shogunate, and Qian Zhenlun was learning Japanese with him a while ago.
.
When Luo Xueyan heard this, he moved his telescope towards a slowly approaching small wooden boat. He only saw a man in his fifties standing on the deck of the wooden boat.
A warrior of medium build, followed by a few young warriors, I don’t know what kind of person they are?
The small boat carrying Japanese people docked at the Powhatan, and soon the Japanese man in his fifties and several young samurai boarded the flagship of the four-nation coalition fleet.
Rear Admiral Perry of the United States Navy, Bonham, the British Minister to China, Russell, Commander of the French East India Fleet, and Luo Xueyan, Minister of Nanyang of the Qing Dynasty, stood on the deck to greet the Japanese guest.
"Ah...are you a Qing official?"
The Japanese man in his fifties could actually speak fluent Chinese. When he saw Luo Xueyan appearing on the American warship, he looked extremely surprised and even a little embarrassed.
Luo Xueyan smiled brightly, cupped his fists, and introduced himself: "I am Luo Xueyan, the Governor of Shanghai in the Qing Dynasty and the Minister of Nanyang Commerce. What is your name?"
"Ah, you are Mr. Luo Xueyan, the number one person in charge of foreign affairs in the Qing Dynasty. Sorry, sorry." When the Japanese heard that the Qing official in front of him was Luo Xueyan, he immediately bowed to him respectfully, "I am the shogunate."
Lin Fuzhai, the head of the university."
Lin Fuzhai...\n...Yes, he is the Japanese who signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, and is a descendant of the Japanese Confucian Lin Luoshan - to be a Confucian in Japan, you have to be reincarnated!
His family has been the royal Confucian scholar of the shogunate for generations. No wonder his Chinese is so good!
"Oh, you must be the descendant of Monkey Linluo...I have admired you for a long time, I have admired you for a long time!"
Hearing the Chinese official in front of him mention his ancestor Lin Luoshan, Lin Fuzhai also felt proud. He smiled and asked Luo Xueyan: "I wonder why Mr. Luo came to Japan?"
"Of course I'm here to help Japan!" Luo Xueyan said seriously.
Help Japan betray its country!
This is very important!
If Japan sells less than the Qing Dynasty, and Japan's agreement tariffs are set higher, then Japan's industry will be able to receive more protection in the future!
For another example, if Japan does not have a concession but China has a concession, then Japan's independence will be higher than that of China, and it will be difficult for China to interfere with Japan, while Japan can cause trouble for China.
In short... on the issue of betrayal, the Qing Dynasty must not lose to Japan!
"Help Japan? Thank you so much!"
Of course Lin Fuzhai would not try to figure out Luo Xueyan's thoughts with the greatest malice.:
"That's right!" Luo Xueyan said with a smile, "Today, East Asia is experiencing changes unprecedented in three thousand years. China and Japan have been separated by a narrow strip of water for thousands of years. They have different mountains and rivers, and the same sky. Now they are lagging behind the West together. They should support each other.
Let's tide over the difficulties together. So when Luo heard that Japan was trying to get through to Britain and the United States, he had no choice but to sign a treaty to establish the country, so he came all the way just to help Japan and the Tokugawa shogunate.
Chapter completed!