This time the other three major feudal towns also participated in the Battle of Kagoshima.
But Dong Shuheng did not study them in detail. With the strength of Huaihai Navy, it would not be a big problem to push these three vassal towns equally.
But Dong Shuheng did not do this. First of all, time did not allow it. The Americans were about to arrive, and he had no time to bully those old haters now.
Secondly, eliminating these three powerful vassals would not be of great benefit to him. On the contrary, it would make the shogunate lose its constraints. If there is no threat to the shogunate, will the shogunate still be so obedient to him?
The Japanese are not that easy to mature.
Finally, Dong Shuheng also used this to set a trap for the shogunate. Dong Shuheng rebuked the shogunate for being unfavorable in the management and control of the other three vassals.
I asked you to punish the Satsuma clan, but you said you couldn't do it. Now you can't even control the other three clans, so your shogunate is too useless.
So he asked the shogunate to come forward and reprimand the three feudal clans, and the shogunate asked each clan to pay a huge amount of compensation to Huai Haijun.
If it were just the shogunate, no one would agree to such a request, but the three families were threatened by the Huai Navy and finally agreed to this harsh condition.
The three vassal towns did not dare to be resentful towards Huai Haijun, but they became increasingly dissatisfied with the shogunate.
As mentioned before, Dong Shuheng wanted a fragmented Japan, not a united and unified Japan.
The next day, Perry's U.S. East India Fleet arrived outside Edo Bay. There were seven warships in total, a mighty force.
The fleet arrived outside Edo Bay and did not continue to advance inside. Instead, they stopped outside Uraga just like the last time they came.
"Your Excellency, Commander, the fort in Uraga seems to have been rebuilt. When we came here last time, the fort here was not of such a scale, nor did it have such a strong bunker." A naval officer reported to Perry.
Perry took the telescope from the adjutant's hand and looked at it solemnly.
"Let the fleet retreat one kilometer!" Perry ordered.
Perry had just made a brief visual inspection and found that there were more than a hundred large-caliber artillery pieces on the fort, which was almost as many as the total number of naval guns that his fleet could fire in one salvo.
Perry was sure that if he attacked forcefully, he would be sure to win. But he would inevitably suffer huge losses.
He can look down on the Japanese, but even if it's a cannon controlled by a monkey, it's still a cannon!
And according to Perry's observation, these cannons are relatively new. This shows that these cannons were just purchased by the Japanese.
So who in the East has the ability to sell so many cannons to the Japanese?
The answer is ready to come out...
So will the artillery sellers send people to train the Japanese to operate artillery? Or directly hire gunners to the Japanese.
To be on the safe side, Perry ordered the fleet to retreat.
"A fleet is coming from the west!" the lookout on the mast shouted loudly, his tone full of tension and uneasiness.
He couldn't help but feel nervous, because he had already judged from experience that the size of this fleet was much larger than his own.
"The fleet retreated to the open sea in battle formation." Perry shouted loudly.
Now that the situation was unclear, Perry could only order the fleet to retreat first to find a better fighting position.
Mai Lian also had a thoughtful look on her face, this must be the legendary Nanyang Navy Master.
The fact that the wealthy Chinese bought a fleet from the British is basically no secret among the foreign circles in China.
"General Perry, don't panic, I think this is the Chinese fleet and they won't attack us," Mai Lian said.
Perry looked at Mai Lian, with an angry expression on his face.
He felt that Mai Lian was humiliating him.
"A civilian officer actually came to tell me not to panic. Why did I panic? I was just giving normal battle orders. The fleets met each other on the sea, who knows whether the other party is an enemy? This is called caution!" Perry thought in his heart.
Make complaints.
With this thought in his mind, he said: "Mr. Minister, no matter whether the other party will attack us or not, I will follow the battle plan."
When it comes to battles, Mai Lian has no say. As a minister, he can at most express his own opinions on major matters such as whether to go to war.
Only then did Mai Lian realize that her suggestion just now was somewhat inappropriate. But the words had been spoken, and now it was too late to take them back.
Contradictions between civil servants and military officers abound in ancient and modern times at home and abroad. There seems to be a natural contradictory relationship between civil servants and military generals.
Fortunately, the Huai Navy fleet slowly slowed down its speed beyond the range of the naval guns. This meant that it was not preparing to start a war.
At this time, Perry and others saw that the opponent actually had fourteen battleships, eight of which were large cruisers.
These cruisers are the unique standard cruisers of the British Navy. Look at the flag above. Yes, they are the fleet of the Huai Navy.
"Hey, didn't the Huai Navy only buy four cruisers and six light cruisers? Why did four more cruisers appear?" Perry asked the officer next to him.
Only then did he see clearly that four of the cruisers were older and had some differences in style.
"Commander, I haven't heard of any warship transactions recently." An intelligence officer replied.
However, this is not the time to pursue this issue. The first thing to figure out now is what kind of medicine Huai Haijun sells in his gourd.
At this time, a small boat was dispatched from the Huai Navy warship.
An officer from the Huai Navy rowed over in a small boat.
"Excuse me, who is Minister Mailian? Our Governor of Liangjiang and Minister of Nanyang Mr. Dong invited Mr. Mailian to meet on the warship." The officer from the Huai Navy said after being brought to the warship.
"I am the new U.S. Minister to China, Malian." Malian stood up and said.
If someone else asked him to meet on the other side's warship, Mai Lian would definitely not agree.
But this person is different. It is impossible for Mai Lian to be a minister in China without doing her homework. The current Governor of Liangjiang in the Qing Dynasty, Mr. Dong, is also the Minister of Nanyang!
This official position was newly established by the Chinese imperial court and was specifically responsible for diplomatic negotiations and commercial exchanges with foreign people.
In other words, all foreign envoys who want to go to China have to deal with this governor-general named Dong.
At the same time, Mr. Dong also controls a huge armed force - the Huaihai Navy. These are the Chinese troops that Mailian encountered along the way.
"This damn Governor of China has stretched his hands too far. He only needs to take charge of Ryukyu. After all, it is relatively close to the jurisdiction of the Governor of Liangjiang. But he has extended his hands to Japan. Isn't that a bit too much?"
Mai Lian thought to herself.
However, he really couldn't refuse Mr. Dong's invitation. After all, the other party's status was higher than his own. Inviting him to meet over was completely in line with diplomatic etiquette.
"Mr. Perry, it's not for me to get involved in the fleet matters, but I want to remind you to exercise restraint and not to create misunderstandings with the Chinese." After thinking about it, Mai Lian reminded Perry.
Ever since Mai Lian went to Ryukyu and met the Huai Navy, she no longer had any hawkish temperament. Instead, she looked like a peace-loving messenger.
"Hello, please take me to see your governor." Mailian said to the officer of the Huai Navy.
After a while, Mai Lian arrived on the cruiser Suzhou in a small boat.
Dong Shuheng was waiting for him on the deck of the warship.
"Hello, Mr. Mai Lian, it's nice to meet you. I didn't expect that the place we met was not at Nanyang Yamen in Shanghai, but at Edo Bay in Japan." Dong Shuheng said and extended his right hand to Mai Lian.
"Yes, to use a Chinese saying, we are destined to meet each other thousands of miles away." Mai Lian also stretched out her hand and shook it with Dong Shuheng.
This Mai Lian obviously hasn't learned Chinese well enough, and this quote is not appropriate at all. But there is no need for Dong Shuheng to point out this trivial matter for him.
"Yes, Mr. Minister, it is obviously a bit rude to meet you on a warship, but I think we must have a common topic today." Dong Shuheng said.
"Yes, since we met in Japan, let's talk about Japan." Mai Lian said.
"Mr. Governor, you may have heard that we have agreed to sign a goodwill treaty with the Japanese government." Mai Lian continued, obviously wanting to preemptively strike.
Dong Shuheng also said without any politeness: "I'm sorry, Mr. Minister, I just met the Japanese Japanese Abu Masahiro a few days ago, and he told me some bad news. The shogunate reported to the emperor the news that they wanted to sign a contract with you.
However, the emperor did not approve it and severely criticized the shogunate's move as it was against national policy."
"I think you should know that currently only Nagasaki in Japan can dock foreign merchant ships, and no other places can contact foreign merchants. Your trip may be in vain." Dong Shuheng conveyed the Japanese's intention to Mai.
Lotus.
As for the emperor's objection, it is just an excuse. It will make everyone's face easier.
"Oh, do these Japanese want to break the contract?"
"I'm sorry Governor, please forgive me for being unreasonable, but you know that we Americans are very particular about the spirit of contract. Anyone who breaks the contract in the United States will be severely punished, no matter who he is. Even the president must not violate the contract."
What Lian meant was that she was not ready to let the Japanese go.
The so-called punishment is nothing more than the use of force to force someone.
"I don't know what your opinion is, Governor-General. I believe that the Governor-General will not protect a person who breaks the contract, right?" Mai Lian asked in return.
"Of course, Mr. Minister, we in China are not judges or parties, and we cannot decide what is right or wrong between you and the Japanese."
"But if possible, I want to be a mediator. When neither party can solve the problem, listening to other people's opinions can sometimes help solve the problem." Dong Shuheng said it first,
He believed that Mai Lian would definitely come to him later.
"Okay, Mr. Governor, thank you for your kindness. Now can we go back and solve our own problems?"
"No problem, please help yourself, Minister Mailian, my fleet and I will stay in Edo Bay for a few days. By the way, there are many Chinese expatriates in Edo City, and we must protect the safety of the bridge residents, so we will
Blockade Edo Bay. But we will not intervene between you and the Japanese to solve the problem."
"Okay, I understand, Lord Governor." Mai Lian suppressed the anger in her heart. The fleet she brought out this time was still too small, otherwise she would never compromise in front of a yellow man with braids.
Mai Lian understood every word of Dong Shuheng's words. The Chinese would not interfere with their own war against the Japanese, but they would not allow themselves to enter Edo Bay and directly bombard Edo City.
No matter what their reasons are, at least the Chinese are not fully involved in this matter.
And he just doesn't want to go to war with the Chinese. As for forcing the Japanese to submit, I believe Commander Perry can do it.