Before the Spring Festival, the U.S. Minister to China, Martha Ali, will return to the United States.
Dong Shuheng specially took a fast boat to Shanghai to see him off.
During Marsali's tenure, the cooperation between the two was very pleasant. Before leaving, he revealed to Dong Shuheng that the new minister sent from China to China was Mai Lian.
Mailan is a hawkish politician who advocates massacre and expulsion of Indians at home.
In terms of China policy, he has always advocated joining forces with Britain and France to proactively intervene in the Chinese civil war and gain more power in China.
In fact, Marsali has done quite well in China over the past year, attracting a large number of orders for the United States. I don’t know why the domestic government suddenly changed its attitude towards China and sent such a person to China.
It's useless to think too much now. Anyway, during the four years of Xianfeng's reign, it was destined to have conflicts of interest with the United States.
Because Dong Shuheng was ready to intervene in Japan's black ship incident.
In the third year of Xianfeng's reign, the United States made an agreement with Japan. In the fourth year of Xianfeng's reign, the United States would go to Japan to discuss signing a contract.
Dong Shuheng felt that the time of the signing was probably the time when Mai Lian arrived in Asia from the United States.
So it would be around March of the fourth year of Xianfeng, so my deployment in Japan must start now.
The first thing to do is to make the shogunate willing to believe his words. How to do this?
Of course, he showed off his muscles directly to the shogunate. Four American warships scared the shogunate like this. So what would happen if he pulled the Nanyang Navy over?
Let’s take a look at what kind of warships these four U.S. warships are. According to the information obtained by the Huai Navy from Hong Kong (these four warships belonging to the U.S. East India Fleet are currently resting in Hong Kong under the leadership of Perry). They are respectively
It is: USS Saskatchewan, a steam-powered paddle wheel wooden hull frigate, 2,450 tons.
USS Mississippi, steam-powered paddlewheel wooden-hulled frigate, 1,692 tons.
HMS Plymouth, sail-powered wooden hull frigate, 989 tons.
USS Saratoga, sail-powered wooden hull frigate, 882 tons.
The four warships are equipped with a total of more than 60 artillery pieces.
To be honest, the fleet composed of these four warships cannot compare with the strength of the Nanyang Navy. It is no wonder that the United States is just a junior brother now, and its naval strength is not even top-notch.
…
Bao Youzhi's childhood is now very happy. Due to insufficient construction time, the port facilities in Vladivostok do not yet have the conditions for winter docking. So he took the squadron to Busan, North Korea, to spend the winter.
North Korea was a vassal state of the Qing dynasty, and there was no problem at all if the suzerain fleet came to visit and dock.
Not only can the fleet dock for free, but the local government in Busan also has to entertain them with delicious food and drinks. This is the privilege of the sovereign state.
So Bao Youzhi's little life was very comfortable. This time Bao Youzhi led two cruisers and four light cruisers south. As for the gunboats, they were left at the port on Temple Street. After freezing in winter, they simply used them as fixed forts.
use.
These six warships are already great ships in the eyes of the Koreans. Especially the number of cannons on this old-fashioned sailing warship is very large, and the black muzzles leak out from the cannon holes in the ship's string, which is impressive.
There were no tasks recently, so Bao Youzhi asked the sailors to take turns to go ashore to rest. These sailors must have been at sea for a long time. A large number of them went to the brothel to visit prostitutes, and even had a fight with the local young man.
No, Bao Youzhi was tying several of the troublemakers to the mast and whipping them.
Fortunately, the local officials in North Korea downplayed the big issue and made it a trivial matter and did not pursue any further investigation.
Bao Youzhi was not afraid of being held accountable by the North Koreans. In the face of absolute strength, how could the North Koreans dare to beep? He was mainly worried that this matter would damage the image of Huai Haijun.
We can only blame the Huai Navy soldiers for this incident because they were too hot-blooded. Several Korean princes were beating a 13 or 14-year-old geisha. A navy soldier named Luo Hao couldn't stand it any longer, so he went over to stop him.
This kind of thing is very common in North Korea. The status of women in North Korea is very low, and North Korean men have always had a habit of beating women. Although men are superior to women in China, the Chinese do not like to bully the weak, especially women.
After being interrupted, the North Korean young men became rude when they saw that they were some big-headed soldiers. So the two sides started fighting. Although these North Korean young men were not their rivals as soldiers, they were knocked down in a few strokes.
Although these people acted reasonably, they violated military law. In order to avoid similar situations in the future, Bao Youzhi could only hang a few of them up and beat them.
At this time, a fast communication ship docked at the Busan Pier.
"Captain Bao, an order from the Naval Command." A naval communications officer stepped forward and said.
"Bao Youzhi, take the order!" Bao Youzhi put down his whip, stood at attention and saluted.
"Northern Detachment, after receiving the order, your unit will repair and replenish as soon as possible. Five days later, you will join the main force of the navy and go to Japan for a visit..."
After reading the order, the communications officer smiled and asked: "Captain Bao, what made you so angry?"
"Hey, it's not a big deal. There are just a few soldiers who are a little energetic. I have to help them vent their anger."
"Hey... Lao Liang, why did you suddenly go to Japan? Is there a combat mission?" Bao Youzhi stepped forward to inquire. He and Lao Liang had known each other since the navy was established, and they had a good relationship.
"There is no battle to fight this time. The commander is taking you to Japan to show off and prevent little Japan from falling to the Yankees. Look at the world map. The United States and we control both sides of the Pacific. From now on, the two families will be on the same side.
Stirring the water in the bathtub, there are many opportunities to interact with each other, so when you have nothing to do, study more Americans." Lao Liang said.
Lao Liang's words caught Bao Youzhi's attention, and he found that his vision was still too narrow.
If you want to become the commander of an ocean-going fleet, you must not just focus on your own fleet, but you must look at the world and have political awareness.
Bao Youzhi still remembers that at a meeting, Dong Shuheng said that "war is a continuation of politics." He felt that the navy should be the fist extended by the country.
I really didn't think about my opponents before.
"Thank you, Lao Liang." Bao Youzhi sincerely thanked Lao Liang. Lao Liang's few words just now awakened the man in his dream and made him discover his own shortcomings.
"Hey, what are you thanking me for? I, Old Liang, will probably only follow the commander in my life, but you are on your own at such a young age, and your future is boundless." Old Liang said, handing a piece of information to Bao Youzhi.
"Here... here you go, this is information about the U.S. East India Fleet. Take it back and take a look."
Bao Youzhi took it, turned it over, and said: "Such a few warships have scared the shogunate to this extent. The Tokugawa family is really getting worse and worse."
"It's no wonder. I didn't know much about the situation in Japan before, but recently the Intelligence Department has forwarded a lot of information to us. The situation in Japan is very similar to that of the Qing Dynasty, that is, peace has lasted for a long time, and the military equipment has not been repaired. It is even worse in Japan.
There are many famous names in the world, and the Tokugawa family doesn't even have a decent army." Lao Liang said.
"This is in line with the saying that if you forget to fight, you will be in danger." Bao Youzhi said.
"Who says it's not the case? The reason we go to Japan this time is to show Japan our strength and not to give in in front of the Americans."
"So the commander is going to pull all the main battleships over, and there are also two newly added steam-powered supply ships."
The current main battleships of the Huaihai Navy's Nanyang Navy include eight cruisers, six light cruisers, and two supply ships converted from steamships.
The last time they went north, the Nanyang Navy discovered that with only combat ships, the fleet's supplies were prone to shortages.
Although there are many ports in northern China, the Nanyang Navy may not all be able to use them. Some ports are likely to attract the attention of the Qing court and must be avoided.
"Our fleet also has a supply ship! This solves the problem of our short legs." Bao Youzhi was deeply touched by the supply problem of the fleet. If a person cannot eat fruits and vegetables for many days, his body will feel uncomfortable, and the taste is really uncomfortable.
…
Soon the main force of the fleet arrived in Busan, and after joining Bao Youzhi's squadron, the Nanyang Navy changed course and aimed directly at Edo Bay, Japan.
Returning to the main fleet, Bao Youzhi finally met Liu Dahai again.
"Commander, why does the president want to help the shogunate? I have studied the current Tokugawa shogunate in Japan these days and found that they are just mud that cannot be lifted up. Under the shogunate's system, Japan has no hope of development."
In the flagship conference room, Bao Youzhi, Liu Dahai and the Foreign Minister Liu Qingbei who came with the ship were chatting. Bao Youzhi asked doubtfully.
"Haha, Captain Bao, the question you just asked is the answer you want. A Japan that cannot develop is the Japan we need. In the president's plan, Japan will be our source of raw materials and cheap labor in the future.
Provide land." Liu Qingbei said with a smile.
"The president uses the world as a chessboard. Aren't we the sharpest rook in the hands of the president?" Liu Dahai added. Except for Liu Qingbei, he knew more about Dong Shuheng's plan than anyone else sitting here.
.
"Minister Liu, after arriving in Japan this time, the fleet will fully serve your diplomatic negotiations." Liu Dahai said to Liu Qingbei. They are not going to Japan this time to fight.
"Thank you very much, Commander Liu. I think with the strength of our fleet, we will be able to make the big guys in the shogunate relent this time. The current shogunate is the same as the Qing court. As long as it does not threaten their rule, everything is negotiable.
"
The fleet passed through the narrow Uraga Channel and finally entered Edo Bay.
Now on the warship, Liu Dahai and the others could clearly see the Japanese forts on both sides of the Uraga Water Channel.
But it is obvious that the Japanese artillery is very old and not many in number. No wonder they were frightened like that by four American warships last time.
Because, as long as the forts cannot hit other people's warships, the warships can directly bombard Edo. This will greatly damage the ruling foundation and prestige of the Tokugawa family.
The shogunate has been notified in advance of the fleet's visit to Japan this time. Because the Huai Navy's merchant ships can go directly to Edo for trade, the news has been brought here in advance.
Japan is not closed to all countries. Japan is allowed to trade with China. But in the past, the Qing Dynasty was also closed to the country and did not allow Japan to trade directly. For example, the Satsuma clan traded with China through the tribute trade of Ryukyu. Therefore, Satsuma
It gradually grew bigger.
Now that the Huaihai Navy directly trades with Japan, the greatest impact is on the Satsuma Domain of the Shimadzu family. This is equivalent to directly cutting off Satsuma's financial resources.
Many established families of the Tokugawa shogunate emerged as a result. They had the power to directly trade with the Huaihai Company and became intermediaries for Japan's foreign transactions.