Persian Empire 1845

Chapter 528 Night Visit
Murad had just awakened from the sights of the Far East. Shanghai and Beijing, the convergence of East and West, had greatly impacted his thinking. Especially the vacant stares of the people on the street—it seemed that when a person loses everything, they become like this, neither human nor ghost.

Arriving in Edo, the scenery, so different from the Far East, once again broadened his horizons. The situation here was slightly better than in Shanghai, except he found the local men's hairstyles quite distasteful. Of course, the Far East's were even more annoying—why did they have to keep part of their hair long and tie it back?
However, the locals seemed to have a very poor impression of them, and after settling in Edo, they could hear their shouts every day.

"Your Highness, please do not worry. These are just the shouts of some disgruntled Japanese."

Abdullah reassured Murad that even the Shogun was somewhat opposed to the idea. Their close ties with the French and their default on loans also made them unsuitable allies of Iran.

He had to send a message to the Shah, then went to Kyoto and left. This shogunate isn't very good either; unless things stabilize or he does business in Nagasaki, nowhere else is viable.

That's not quite right. The only place where they can make a profit is Hokkaido. The local fishing and forestry industries are quite abundant, and Hakodate Port is an important port in the north. Some Iranian capital has invested in processing plants there, and they're doing quite well.

The head of Orient Bank in Japan complained that most people in Japan have no creditworthiness whatsoever, and the most important thing now is to dispose of and sell off the local assets and transfer them to Nagasaki.

Disappointed after failing to reach an agreement with Tokugawa Yoshinobu, Abdullah boarded a ship and left Edo. They planned to go to Osaka first, and then head to Kyoto. Foreign envoys were not normally allowed to meet the Emperor, but given the current situation, even if the shogunate wanted to stop them, it would be futile.

Murad slept for two nights at his lodgings, and with everything settled, the fleet headed for Osaka. Merchant ships came and went in the harbor, seemingly dragging Japan toward civilization, but there seemed to be some internal problems among them.

Two days later, the fleet arrived at Osaka Port. The local prosperity quickly returned, showing no signs of having suffered from war.

Local official Honjo Munehide, the Osaka Castle Resident, welcomed the delegation and prepared accommodations for them.

In the stillness of the night, a gentle knock came at the paper door of the Osaka Castle magistrate's residence. Abdullah instinctively gripped the Persian scimitar at his waist, only to see, in the candlelight, a young samurai with short hair kneeling respectfully outside the door.

“My name is Ito Shunsuke (Hakubun),” the man said in a low voice in broken Persian, “I am willing to resolve Your Highness’s doubts about Edo.”

Abdullah squinted, noticing the English newspaper peeking out from under the young man's haori; the front page prominently featured news of the British Parliament's debate on Far East policy.

"Your Excellency's visit so late at night must be more than just a pleasantry, right?" Abdullah calmly poured a cup of Persian black tea, the aroma filling the small Japanese-style room.

He had heard of Ito Shunsuke once from a student studying in England. It was said that the Choshu Domain of Japan sent five people to study in England in order to learn from the West, and Ito Shunsuke was one of them. But he also seemed to have another name… Ito Hirobumi.

Ito Hirobumi didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took out a hand-drawn map from his pocket, marking the Choshu Domain's secret arms transport routes in the Seto Inland Sea. "The Shogunate is colluding with the French, selling off Japan's interests cheaply," he lowered his voice, pointing to the location of the Shimonoseki Strait marked on the map, "and your country's trading post in Nagasaki was recently searched without cause, and your goods were seized."

A sharp glint flashed in Abdullah's eyes: "So, the Choshu Domain wants to cooperate with us?"

Ito Hirobumi nodded slightly: "We are willing to ensure the safety of your merchants' trade within the Choshu Domain's control, and even offer more favorable tariffs than the Shogunate—provided that your country is willing to demonstrate to England, at the appropriate time,... the unreliability of certain forces." The sound of a night watchman's clapper came from outside the window. Abdullah pondered for a moment, then suddenly chuckled: "Interesting. But you can't even obtain an imperial edict now, so what guarantees can you give us?"

Everyone knows that the emperor is a puppet, and although the local daimyo are capable, they are still suppressed by the shogunate.

Ito took out a secret letter from his sleeve, bearing the private seal of Mori Takachika, the lord of the Choshu Domain: "Within three months, the winds in Kyoto will shift. At that time, I hope your country will support His Majesty the Emperor as Britain has!"

The anti-foreign faction, centered on the powerful southwestern domains, not only possessed formidable military strength but also shifted its stance from blind xenophobia to "overthrowing the shogunate." At this time, the Western powers began exploring ways to replace the shogunate with a coalition of powerful domains and started close contact and cooperation with the southwestern domains. In June 1866, British Minister Sir John A. Schaffner began visiting the southwestern domains, and the anti-shogunate faction assured that the new government would continue to uphold the treaties signed between the shogunate and the Western powers. This completely won the anti-shogunate faction Western support.

"Of course, if your country supports us, then the debts owed by the shogunate and local daimyo will be borne by our country, and the treaty with the shogunate will remain unchanged."

Hirobumi Ito played his final card: Iran's only desire was economic gain. Since that was the case, he decided to grant their request. After all, he needed to industrialize anyway, and having Iran help was better than doing it himself.

Abdullah clapped his hands, "I never expected that your country would have such trustworthy people. My previous view was wrong."

If you can truly assume the debt, then our country is willing to provide debt relief and some loans. Of course, this depends on your performance.

Everyone says investing is risky, but Abdullah wants to take another gamble. He wants to recoup all the money he lost in Japan!
"Thank you so much..."

"That's not all. Iran also needs to obtain trade and investment privileges in Hakodate!"

Ito Hirobumi also anticipated this, Russia, right? Japan indeed doesn't yet have the ability to retaliate against Russia, and it's also uneasy about Iran.

“This matter…” Ito took a deep breath, “requires discussion. However…” He suddenly pulled a Russian map of Karafuto from his belt pocket, “if your country can provide intelligence on Russian military presence in the Far East, the fishing rights issue might be negotiable.”

"Ha! You're much more pragmatic than most people."

Ito left satisfied; he had gotten what he wanted. He needed to hurry back to report to His Majesty the Emperor!
After he left, Murad emerged from the next room: "Uncle, are you really going to help them? This is going to change everything."

"This is an unprecedented situation, but Iran's interests in the Far East are too deep to ignore, and we must try to win them over. Moreover, to prevent Russia from moving south, if this government is ineffective, then it must be replaced!"

Abdullah stared at the swirling tea leaves in his cup, vaguely hearing the songs of ronin chanting in the distance—but beneath the melody, he seemed to hear the rumble of the shogunate collapsing.

(End of this chapter)