The sun never sets in America

Chapter 70 Traveling to Japan
"I disagree!!"

Just when Mishima Xingyi proposed to send a warship to intercept, retainer Yamamoto Ichiro stood up and retorted.

"Sir General..." After Ichiro Yamamoto finished speaking, he bowed to Tokugawa Ieki who was sitting on the stage, "According to our past experience in dealing with those Westerners, it is best to focus on etiquette and not be so arrogant. "The implication of Yamamoto Ichiro is that Japan, especially the shogunate's maritime strength, is simply unable to compete with those Westerners. In this case, it is better to show Japanese courtesy. After all, this is what they did to deal with those Westerners.

Be friendly first, and then learn the technology and culture of those foreigners. If you are really as arrogant as Mishima Xingyi, then there is no Lanxue.

It can be said that Japan has a good attitude towards the strong. Of course, the Japanese are also the most cruel towards the weak.

It seems that the word kindness does not exist in the bones of this nation!!
Only the weak eat the strong! !
"Yamamoto-kun is right. We should welcome each other first and not let the other side regard our Japan as those barbarian countries." The retainer Kuroki Yamakuma agreed with the opinion that Yamaki Ichiro just put forward.

After all, as Yamaki said, since you can't defeat the opponent, you might as well show Japanese courtesy and respect for the strong.

It can be said that Japan has always done this when facing strong enemies. When facing those who are stronger than itself, they learn from, worship, and even crawl at the feet of the opponent. When facing the weak, they abandon the so-called etiquette and Revealing the sharpest fangs and the most ferocious face.

Surrendering to the strong and wielding a sword against the weak is the character of the entire Japanese nation and it can never be changed! !
"In that case, send a welcome ship to welcome the other party." After there were no more voices in the field, Shogun Tokugawa Ieki agreed. It was just right. After all, he had to maintain his status as shogun at all times. majesty.

"Suzuki-kun, please leave." Tokugawa Ieki then turned to Suzuki Yamakita, who was sitting on his right, and told him, with an expression of trust on his face.

"Hey, I will definitely not disappoint the general." Suzuki Yamakita immediately said to Tokugawa Ieki on the stage, kneeling on the tatami, lowering his head and promised.

Suzuki Yamakita then left the Shogun's Mansion, led several sea ships bearing the Tokugawa family crest, departed from Edo Port and headed straight for the open sea.

On the open sea near Edo, more than a dozen huge ships with white sails were sailing towards Edo...

On the bow of the boat, Harlem and Hu Junding stood together. They held telescopes, looked ahead, and talked to each other from time to time.

"Look, there's a ship coming ahead." Hu Junding suddenly pointed ahead and said to Harin.

"What kind of flag is this ship flying? It looks like three leaves?" Haring held the telescope and looked at the three leaf-like flags hanging inside the telescope. He asked Hu Junding strangely. In his opinion, , this flag is too strange. He has seen the Union Jack flag, the American Stars and Stripes, even the French tricolor flag, and even the Russian double-headed eagle flag, but none of them are as strange as the three-leaf flag in front of him...

I really don't know what it means.

"Maybe it's Japanese culture!" Hu Junding also didn't understand what the three-leaf flag represented, so he simply attributed the flag to Japanese culture. "The other side seems to be raising a flag against us." Hu Junding looked at a man standing on the opposite boat. The warrior with the flag language immediately said to Harlin.

"Quick, see what the other party is saying?" Harlin immediately ordered the observing sailors on the mast.

"The other side is saying hello to us!" The sailor climbing on the mast, holding a telescope, replied to Harlem below. "They also said that we are welcome to Japan..." the sailor continued to reply to Harlem.

"Welcome to Japan?" Hu Junding was a little unbelievable after hearing this. After all, according to his earliest thoughts, so many people and so many big ships broke into Japan quietly, and even broke into the capital Edo. Outside the sea, the Japanese not only did not blame them, but even fought against them. Instead, they sent people to welcome them, which really confused Hu Junding.

"What a strange nation!!" Hu Junding sighed to Harin, "Mr. Harin, just say that we are businessmen from America and hope to rest in Japan for a while." Hu Junding then said to Harin, this sentence is the only suitable one A word for the Japanese people right now.

After all, is it really possible to tell the Japanese directly that they are here to immigrate and hope to transit in Japan? Maybe the Japanese will feel that they are uneasy and well-intentioned! !
"Quickly, reply to the other party quickly." Harin immediately said to the sailor on the mast.

As soon as he finished speaking, the sailor raised a semaphore towards the Japanese ship on the opposite side.

The semaphores used by both parties are currently internationally accepted semaphore, and there is no abnormal communication. Japan learned its semaphore from the Dutch... and this kind of situation will never happen.

"There is a message from the other side, Mr. Suzuki." After receiving the signal from the other side, the Japanese flagman immediately reported to Suzuki Yamabeihui on the side.

"What did they say?" Suzuki Shanbei looked at the flag bearer and asked, with a look of urgency on his face.

"Sir Suzuki, the other party said that they came to America and hoped to repair in Japan for a period of time." The flag bearer immediately replied to Suzuki Yamakita.

"America?" Suzuki Yamakita was a little surprised when he heard about America. He still knew about America, but most of the Western merchant ships coming to Japan came from the South Ocean and the Indian Ocean. There were really very few from the Americas.

Even the original Spanish silver ships took the route of the Philippines, not Japan.

This also resulted in the fact that although Japan is separated from the Americas by the vast Pacific Ocean, the Japanese know very little about the Americas. They only know that it is a continent colonized by foreigners. Other than that, they have no other choice. Got it.

"Reply to the other party and allow them to dock at the port." Although Suzuki Yamakita was thinking about things in America, he did not hesitate at all. He immediately ordered the flag bearer to let the other party dock first according to the original method of dealing with foreigners.

"Hi!!" The flag bearer heard the words and immediately agreed. Then he waved the command flag and replied to the other party the order just given by Suzuki Yamakita...

"Boss, there's a message from the other side." The sailor on the mast greeted Harlin below, "The other side allows us to dock at the port." The sailor looked at Harlin who raised his head and continued.

"Okay, tell the other party that we are following and ask them to lead the way." Harin and Hu Junding looked at each other, and then ordered the sailors on the mast.

"Yes!!" The sailor immediately waved the command flag to reply to the other party.

"Sir Suzuki, the other party asked us to pilot the ship for them." The flagman on the Japanese ship on the opposite side immediately said to Suzuki Yamakita after receiving the flag message just sent from the opposite side.

"Okay, tell the other party that we can lead the way." The other party's actions did not exceed Suzuki Shanbei's expectations, and he immediately issued the final order.

As the flagman sent out the final flag message, a strange scene appeared on the sea. A small ship was piloting a dozen ships that were much larger than it behind it.

More than a dozen large ships, like a pack of wolves following the alpha wolf, followed in an orderly manner.

In Edo Port, dozens of local fishing boats were rushed to other places to make way for the Western ships arriving next.

In the port, more than a dozen shogunate officials and hundreds of samurai wearing Japanese armor and holding muskets were standing at the port waiting for the arrival of the Western ships.

If you look carefully at these muskets, you can still see the letters of Latin characters. These muskets were given to Japan by the Dutch as a national gift. Although Japan can also produce muskets, which are what the Japanese call muskets, after all, the accuracy of processing is limited. On the other hand, hand-made Japanese muskets are not as good as Western muskets made by machines...

Therefore, these muskets sent by the Dutch became the weapons held by the most elite troops of the shogunate.

Of course, the shogunate also planned to purchase a series of Western weapons, including artillery, from the Dutch, and even planned to imitate the West and build a firearms army of tens of thousands of people.

It can be said that the shogunate is definitely not as incompetent as imagined. In fact, the shogunate has always been very interested in the outside world, but because it is worried that its rule over Japan will be subverted, it has always been in a state of isolation.

Of course, it is said that the country is locked down, but general trade can still be carried out, but the movement and freedom of foreigners in Japan are restricted.

Of course, when rulers encounter difficulties, they are still very willing to learn and improve. However, due to internal constraints and deep-seated internal interest groups, even larger reforms cannot be passed.

This point is the same for the Manchu and Japanese shogunates, but because Japan is located in the ocean, it is born to be in contact with the outside world. Therefore, compared with the self-sufficient Manchu and Qing Dynasties, the degree of acceptance of foreign things is also higher.

And I also like it very much. After all, there is no so-called local culture in Japan as a whole. Either they learn from China and then bring it back and improve it. This is the case with so-called sashimi and kimonos.

Just like Chinese characters, if you add a katakana, you can say it is Japanese. This is something only Japan can do.

Of course, the Japanese in this period still learned Chinese characters. As for katakana, no dog would learn it! !
On the pier, the fishing boats and fishermen have been driven away, and even Edo City has been ordered to wipe it clean and use clean water to clean the streets. After all, those Westerners who came all the way from the Americas saw a dirty Japan, and in their hearts What would you think?
I don’t want the General’s face any more! !
This is the first thing that the shogunate officials have to consider. As for the Japanese people, they are nothing. In traditional Japanese culture, the people are worthless. Only samurai are the most trusted objects of the shogunate.When the first big ship docked, Yamamoto Ichiro, who came to greet it, immediately tidied up his collar and then looked towards the other side with a serious look on his face.

Although these shogunate officials are still calm on the surface, deep down they are already turbulent. After all, although they have seen many large Western ships, such as Dutch and Spanish merchant ships, they have also seen them from time to time, but like now, more than a dozen In fact, even officials of the shogunate and the upper echelons of Japan have never seen a caravan of two large ships...

After all, although Japan in this period had a deeper understanding of the outside world than the Manchus because of its proximity to the sea, it only scratched the surface. After all, although Japan was located between East Asia and the Pacific, it had a small land, poor people, and Various places were divided by various daimyo.

Therefore, Westerners are actually not optimistic about Japan's trade. This is also true in history. When Westerners come to Japan, they actually regard Japan as a stepping stone to China...

Its intention is not in Japan, but in China! !
Like today, it is the first time in history that a fleet of more than a dozen large merchant ships has come to Japan. Usually, those Dutch and Spanish merchant ships usually only have one or two ships, and they are not large in size.

And when the huge figure of the Harlem appeared in the port, even the mature Ichiro Yamamoto had to look slightly complicated. After all, even if he was a close official of the shogunate, he was in charge of all aspects of the shogunate. He knew a lot about the world's major events, but this was his first time seeing such a huge ship.

Harlem's ship is huge, almost as big as a second-class sailing battleship. This is the main reason why Harlem named the ship after himself.

In Harlin's words, he hoped that this ship would have the same future as him. No matter how big the storm was, it would be able to move forward bravely and eventually overcome all difficulties! !

When the Harlem docked, the dock workers who had been assigned to the port immediately got busy, tying several long and thick ropes to the ship's anchor. Fortunately, Edo Port was large enough, and there were not too many Wind and waves, otherwise once such a large Harlem sways slightly in the harbor, it will trigger a chain reaction in the harbor and eventually damage the facilities in the harbor...

squeak……

The hatch of the Harlem was opened, and the first people to step out were the guardsmen. Guardsmen wearing bright breastplates stood on both sides of the port holding exquisite muskets.

As soon as they got off the port, the faces of the Japanese on the pier changed.

There was a burst of nervous chatter in the shogunate's welcoming team, but it was quickly suppressed by Yamamoto Ichiro, who was leading the team.

I saw that Yamamoto Ichiro still maintained his dignity as a shogunate minister, and there was no emotion or sorrow on his expression, only endless indifference.

But in his heart, he has already turned upside down, constantly guessing the true origin of the group of people in front of him.

“Definitely not an ordinary businessman!!”

This is Yamaki Ichiro's truest thought at this moment.

When Hu Junding and Wan Fang, who were dressed in improved Confucian uniforms, disembarked from the ship, the expressions of all the shogunate officials present, including Ichiro Yamamoto, changed.

"Korean, or Chinese??"

This sentence popped up in everyone's mind.

When the two parties came into contact, the fluent Chinese of Hu Junding and Wan Fang shocked Yamamoto and others again.

"Are you really from that America?" Ichiro Yamaki asked Hu Junding and Wan Fang in slightly broken Chinese. Don't think that the Japanese don't know Chinese. In fact, Japan during this period, especially the upper class of Japan, In society, learning Chinese, learning Chinese characters, and even learning Chinese classics has been a long-term trend. This is not a one or two hundred year period, but caused by the influence of Chinese culture for thousands of years...

"Master Yamamoto, we are indeed from America, but we are both Americans and Chinese..." Hu Junding said something ambiguous to Ichiro Yamamoto, which made Ichiro Yamamoto somewhat confused.

What does it mean to be an American and a Chinese at the same time? What does this mean? ?
"Everyone has come a long way, it's better to rest at the post house first." Just when Yamamoto Ichiro was still doubting the identity of the other party, a shogunate official named Koizumi Liu in the crowd suddenly greeted him.

"Yes, yes, it's better to rest first..." Yamamoto Ichiro looked at Koizumi's suggestive expression and immediately spoke to lead Hu Junding, Wan Fang and others to the inn that had been prepared in Edo City.

"I'm sorry for bothering you!" Hu Junding and Wan Fang looked at each other and thanked each other. Then they followed the escorts prepared by the shogunate, sat on the sedan chair, and entered the historic Edo Castle. .

"Koizumi-kun, why did you interrupt me just now?" Yamamoto Ichiro looked at Hu Junding, Wan Fang and others who were walking away in a sedan chair. He turned to ask Koizumi Liu who had just greeted him to rest. There was a trace of confusion on his face. After all, in It is really inappropriate to put these people in without knowing the details of the other party...

"Master Yamaki, these Chinese people from America are not easy-going people at first glance..." Koizumi looked at the confused Yamaki Ichiro and replied meaningfully.

"You mean...those samurai?" After listening, Yamamoto Ichiro roughly understood what Koizumi was talking about. They were the samurai who were on the dock just now wearing exquisite armor and holding fire guns! !
"Yes, Mr. Yamamoto!!" Koizumi nodded in agreement, "According to those Dutch businessmen, America is a continent tens of thousands of miles away from Japan, separated by an endless ocean tens of thousands of miles away, and these People from China can come to Japan from such a distant place, and there are so many big ships, I'm afraid..." Koizumi looked at the huge ships that were still docking one by one, with a hint of envy in his eyes. After all, for For the Japanese, being strong has been a goal they have pursued for thousands of years.

And these giant ships represent power! !
"But these Chinese people are so strange. They don't have those ugly braids??" Yamamoto Ichiro thought of the other party's dress as an ancient Chinese literati, and said to Koizumi in disbelief, "And the clothes are also similar to Those Qing people wearing long robes and mandarin jackets are different!!" Ichiro Yamaki compared the Qing businessmen he had seen. Without exception, they were all dressed in long robes and mandarin jackets, similar to the way orthodox Han people like Hu Junding and Wan Fang were dressed. Not seen.

"Maybe they came from Qianming..." Koizumi suddenly replied meaningfully to Yamaki Ichiro.

"You mean, the survivors of the Ming Dynasty?" Hearing Koizumiru's words, Yamaki Ichiro suddenly thought of the Ming Dynasty literati and businessmen who fled to Japan for refuge when the Ming Dynasty fell.

After these people came to Japan, because of their status as Chinese people, literati, and wealthy people, they were welcomed by the shogun of the time in Japan.

These people even married local Japanese nobles and later took Japanese names.

As Ichiro Yamamoto knows, in Edo, there are several descendants of the former Akito, and they are all doing well. Some of them are serving in the shogunate, and Ichiro Yamamoto has met him a few times...

"Maybe they are Ming Dynasty immigrants who fled to America." Koizumi nodded and agreed, "Of course, even if they are not Ming Dynasty immigrants, we have nothing to lose. What's more, as long as they are Chinese and Han people, it will be fine. , after all, they are all from the East, and it is easier to deal with them..." Koizumi smiled and continued to Yamamoto Ichiro. In his opinion, no matter who the other party is or where they come from, as long as they are from China, they You will be sure to contact the other party and even learn the other party's secrets from America.

After all, no one knows the Han people and China better than Japan.

After all, they have been dealing with each other and studying for thousands of years! !

It is precisely because of this that Koizumi Liu dared to say such firm words.

"Yoshi..." After hearing this, Yamamoto Ichiro said to Koizumi with satisfaction, and then he watched the big ships docking one after another, his eyes flashing.

.............................................

Edo official post house...

Row it... row it...

"These Japanese people are so polite. They provide meals and hot springs, which makes me a little embarrassed." Wan Fang, who was soaking in the hot springs, wiped his body with a towel and said to those who were also soaking in the hot springs. Hu Junding inside said with a smile.

"When you are polite to others, you must ask for something." Hu Junding murmured this while soaking in the hot spring with his eyes closed.

"If you have anything to ask for, Mr. Hu, we are just passing by." Wan Fang replied with some disapproval, "In my opinion, this is a courtesy from these Japanese people. I heard about the Japanese on the way , very polite, bowing at every turn, I have seen it today." Wan Fang said with some emotion. At first, he was a little surprised and even scared when faced with the Japanese who bowed to him at every turn, but as time passed, As you grow older and bow a few more times, you'll get used to it, and you'll even think it's part of Japanese culture.

"Not necessarily." Hu Junding shook his head and said to Wan Fang, "I heard that the shogun of Edo City is planning to build a Western-style army of tens of thousands of people. I'm afraid it's just for this." Hu Junding turned around and said, He explained to Wan Fang that he got this news from the words of a shogunate official.

"Then why don't you buy a ship from us? It seems to me that they don't have any big ships." Wan Fang asked with some confusion. After all, Japan is an island country, and the navy should be the first.

"It's true that Japan is an island country, but don't forget that it has no real unity." Hu Junding looked at Wan Fang aggressively and said.

(End of this chapter)