The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 340 You are right, the great powers are here to divide Japan! (Please subscribe, please vote)

"What? What kind of treaty is this? Why is it so different from the conditions proposed by Admiral Perry last year?
What does it mean that the four countries of Britain, the United States, France, and Qing Dynasty designated foreign settlements at open ports in Japan, and that the consuls of the four countries of Britain, the United States, France, and Qing Dynasty would be in charge of the foreign settlements?

In the officers' lounge of the Powhatan, a draft of a treaty jointly drafted by British Minister Bonham, French East India Fleet Commander Charles Rheagh, American East India Fleet Commander Matthew Perry, Qing Dynasty Nanyang Minister and Shanghai Governor Luo Xueyan was placed in front of Lin Fuzhai. Lin Fuzhai took it and exclaimed as soon as he read the first item.

It was no wonder that he exclaimed, because with Luo Xueyan's "help", Bonham, Raymond, Matthew Perry and others felt that the draft of the "unequal treaty" proposed by Matthew Perry last year was a bit too equal.

That Matthew Perry is a complete disgrace to imperialism!

They brought a fleet of black ships from far away to knock on the door, which looked so scary, but what conditions did they put forward in the end?
First, American ships can pay to purchase supplies in Shimoda and Hakodate, Japan; second, rescue and extradition of castaways; third, Americans can reside in Shimoda Port; fourth, unilateral most-favored-nation treatment.

Isn’t such a treaty a shame in the world of unequal treaties?

How could Lord Luo Xueyan allow the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan to sign a treaty that surrendered too little power and humiliated the country enough?

So he first planned the Battle of Ryukyu, using a great victory of "killing 3,000 Japanese" to tell the three imperialists of Britain, the United States and France that Japan was simply vulnerable!
Therefore, a more unequal and more humiliating treaty must be imposed on them! The unequal treaty imposed on Japan by the great powers must be even more unequal than this!
Moreover, the Qing Dynasty must also join the great powers in bullying the little Japan!

Luo Xueyan's request, of course, received unanimous support from Bonham, Bourboulen, Marsali, Perry, and Laer.

Because the Ryukyu War had already shown that Japan's military power was weaker than that of the Qing Dynasty. Since the more powerful Qing Dynasty had signed a humiliating treaty like the Treaty of Nanjing, what qualifications did Japan have not to sign it?
Moreover, Luo Xueyan also sent 1,500 new Nanyang troops to participate in the operation to put pressure on Japan.

"Mr. Lin!" Luo Xueyan said solemnly to Lin Fuzhai who raised an objection, "This article means that Britain, the United States, France, and the Qing Dynasty will occupy concessions at Japan's open ports! Do you understand what a concession is? It is a country within a country! Although the land still belongs to Japan in name, it is protected by foreign troops. The people living in the concession, whether they are Japanese or foreigners, will be managed by the consulate occupying the concession. In other words, the administration, judiciary, and legislation of the concession will be managed by the consulate occupying the concession.

In addition, taxes within the concessions are collected by the consulates occupying the concessions or by the concession authorities authorized by the consulates, and have nothing to do with the Japanese government! "

What Luo Xueyan is talking about now is the disasters that China has suffered in history!
At that time, all the cities with the most prosperous industry and commerce in China had concessions, and the concessions were often the most prosperous areas in these cities. The taxes generated by industry, commerce and real estate in these areas had nothing to do with the Chinese government!

In addition, since these concessions were owned by different countries, they often had ports and docks that led directly to the sea, so merchants from different countries could smuggle goods into China through the concessions and evade customs duties.

Not only was the Chinese government helpless in this regard, even the customs jointly managed by China and Britain were often at a loss - the British masters in charge of the customs had no problem controlling Chinese businessmen, but what strong measures could they use against businessmen and consulate officials from France, Russia, Germany, and Japan, which were also great powers?
It is no exaggeration to say that the concessions were wounds that allowed the great powers to suck blood from China's tired and weak body!
The prosperity and development of the concessions definitely did more harm than good to China as a whole.

This is also the reason why Luo Xueyan was determined to take back the Shanghai Concession!
"Do the great powers want to divide up Japan?"

Lin Fuzhai was not stupid. He immediately thought of the consequences of the great powers occupying concessions in Japan!
There are so many feudal domains in Japan. If the concessions were enclosed on the territories of the feudal domains, would the great powers and the feudal domains collude with each other?
The Tokugawa shogunate had already been in a state of disgrace over whether to accept the four demands put forward by the United States! Even the general Tokugawa Ieharu died of anger.

What’s worse is that after Ieharu’s death, he left behind only a “brain-dead child”, Tokugawa Iesada, so the general who rules Japan now is a brain-dead general in the physiological sense!
In addition, because the shogunate was in a state of dispute over whether to open the country and it was difficult to make a decision, the senior councilor Abe Masahiro actually passed the buck to Emperor Tōnin and requested a "holy judgment"!
How many years has it been since the Emperor of Japan took care of business? Now he is being asked to make a ruling on whether to establish a country. This is simply a reminder to those samurai and ronin who are dissatisfied with the Tokugawa Empire that Japan still has a legitimate reason to overthrow the Shogun.

If the shogunate now agrees to the foreign powers' occupation of concessions, its prestige will be severely compromised again. By then, it will be difficult for Japan to avoid chaos!

Maybe it’s the Warring States period again!
"Divide?" Luo Xueyan really wanted to say to the Japanese in front of him: You are right, the great powers are here to divide Japan!

But at this moment, Bonham, Perry, and Laer were all sitting on the side with their respective interpreters!
Although these translators could not speak Japanese, Luo Xueyan and Lin Fuzhai were now speaking Chinese, so they could understand! "Mr. Lin, please don't get excited," Luo Xueyan said to Lin Fuzhai gently, "Now our East Asian countries are far behind the Western powers, so we must endure humiliation and avoid conflicts. If we rashly provoke a confrontation, the dozen or so warships of the powers anchored in Edo Bay will bombard Edo!"

"What? Artillery. Bombardment?" Lin Fuzhai's forehead was covered with cold sweat.

"Mr. Lin, Japan must learn from the Qing Dynasty's lesson thirteen or fourteen years ago!" Luo Xueyan said earnestly, "Now it has only lost its sovereignty and humiliated its country, but has not yet ceded territory or paid compensation!"

“Cede territory and pay compensation.”

Lin Fuzhai took a deep breath, lowered his head and continued to read the draft treaty, and then uttered a painful voice: "Ah, we must open five ports for trade: Nagasaki, Osaka, Kanagawaguchi, Shimoda, and Hakodate."

Luo Xueyan added coldly: "The great powers will also set up consulates in these five ports and occupy concessions!"

"There are also agreed tariffs, with import taxes not exceeding 5% and export taxes not exceeding 20%."

"It's the same as the Qing Dynasty!" Luo Xueyan said with a little pain.

He now had no way to raise the import tariff by 5%, as several envoys from the great powers refused to agree. Fortunately, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom could ignore the Treaty of Nanjing, so as soon as the goods of the great powers left Shanghai and entered the Heavenly Kingdom's territory, the tariff would immediately rise by 10% to 15%!

"And freedom of preaching, this, this."

When Lin Fuzhai saw the last clause of the treaty regarding missionary work, he almost jumped up: "This is impossible!"

There was also a Christian uprising in Japan! It was called the Shimabara Rebellion. It was in the early days of the Tokugawa shogunate, when the shogunate was still powerful, so it was suppressed.

If it were the current shogunate.
"Don't be impatient!"

Luo Xueyan said softly: "Mr. Lin, I know these few points are hard to accept, but it is definitely better for you to accept them now than to accept them after the foreigners bombard Edo with cannons. Because by then, the foreigners will become more aggressive and will definitely ask for ceding territory and paying compensation!"

"But." Lin Fuzhai shook his head vigorously, "But I can't agree to it!"

"I know that Lin Sang is just a university graduate." Luo Xueyan said, "Only the general can agree to the treaty proposed by the great powers. Do you remember what I said to you when we just met? Please introduce me to the general and the elders of the shogunate. I will persuade them to make a difficult but correct decision!
Lin Sang, the great powers today are not something that our Qing Dynasty and you Japan can fight against! "

Lin Fuzhai thought about it and realized that he, a university graduate, could not directly reject the demands of the great powers on behalf of the general. Whether to resist or kneel was something that only the general or the emperor could decide.

"Okay!" Lin Fuzhai nodded, "Lord Luo, I will report the demands made by the great powers and your request to go ashore and meet with the generals and elders."

Luo Xueyan nodded and said, "I hope that when I land, Master Qingxi of the Ichibashi family can come aboard the Qing Dynasty's Dinghai gunboat as a guest."

(End of this chapter)