I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

He traveled with the fleet to all parts of the world and even witnessed the scenery of Antarctica.

During this period, he became Captain John's adopted son and officially changed his name to "John Manjiro".

More than a year later, in 1843, Manjiro finally arrived in the United States, which he had longed for.

Manjiro arrived in America and lived with Captain John's family. With his hardworking and cheerful personality, he quickly won the favor of the captain's wife and truly became a member of John's family.

Soon after, Captain John arranged for Manjiro to enroll in a nautical-related major and sent him to study.

Manjiro studied at Oxford School and Barrett College.

Born into a fishing family, he cherished the opportunity to study and studied diligently. With his years of experience at sea, he achieved exceptionally good grades at school.

After graduating, Manjiro returned to the ship and, through his own efforts, gained the recognition of all the crew members, showing great promise for the future.

However, he never forgot Japan and often missed his hometown, wanting to return to his motherland.

For this reason, Manjiro had been waiting for an opportunity. During this time, he even traveled around the world, fulfilling a wish he had made when he chose to go to the United States.

Having lost all attachment to seafaring, Manjiro began to wholeheartedly seek an opportunity to return to Japan.

At that time, news of the development of gold mines in California came at the same time. Upon hearing this, Manjiro resolutely bid farewell to Captain John, who had taken care of him for many years, and thus began his gold rush career.

He bought a ticket directly from the East Coast of the United States, bypassed South America, and arrived in California in the west. In just one month, he saved $600, which was an enormous sum of money in the mid-19th century.

Having saved enough money, Manjiro immediately went to Hawaii, intending to use it as a stopover to return home.

The locals who learned of this kindly told him that some Japanese people had tried to return to Japan before, but most of them did not have a smooth experience.

Especially for someone like him who had spent several years abroad, the shogunate almost regarded him as a half-enemy.

There was even a possibility that someone might be suspected of having a Christian faith or being too heavily influenced by foreign influences, and would be executed on the spot.

Despite knowing that his journey home would be fraught with peril, he resolutely embarked on his journey back home.

In December 1850, Manjiro left a letter for Captain John and then boarded a merchant ship bound for Shanghai, China, with two other Japanese compatriots who also wanted to return home.

After arriving in waters near Japan, they transferred to a small boat and sailed towards Japan.

However, as they approached the land, the wind changed direction and the tide went out. Despite Manjiro and the others rowing desperately, they were getting further and further away from the land.

In despair, Manjiro and the others simply gave up and went to sleep.

When they awoke, they discovered land—they had arrived in Ryukyu.

A few days later, Manjiro and the others were sent to Kagoshima in the Satsuma Domain, where they were taken to the city for questioning that same day.

Due to the regulations at the time, these foreign returnees had to be gathered in Nagasaki for interrogation, so not long after, Manjiro was sent to Nagasaki again.

In Nagasaki, Manjiro was summoned 18 times.

Although the shogunate had not yet encountered the "Black Ships Incident" at that time, it had gradually realized that it was no longer feasible to continue to close the country off from the world as before.

The shogunate leadership recognized the value of talents like Manjiro and therefore did not punish him.

In July of the following year, Manjiro returned to his hometown of Tosa Domain. He was 26 years old at the time, 12 years after he left home. He also met his mother, who was still alive.

In October of that year, he obtained the status of a samurai, was freed from civilian status, and was allowed to use his hometown, "Nakahama," as his surname.

In 1852, he was hired by Shimazu Nariakira to be an English teacher at Kaisei-sho.

The following year, the "Black Ships Incident" broke out, and the shogunate urgently needed personnel who understood American affairs.

And so, Manjiro was summoned to Edo, where he worked as a translator and taught Western studies.

Shortly thereafter, he joined the ranks of Katsura Rintaro.

To this day, he remains Katsura Rintaro's right-hand man.

Incidentally, Manjiro and Captain John have a fairytale ending.

In 1860, the shogunate dispatched a mission to the United States, and Manjiro, who was well-versed in American affairs, was allowed to accompany them.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he returned to America and met Captain John, and the father and son were reunited in a touching moment.

Manjiro also gave Captain John a samurai sword, which was later exhibited in a museum, but unfortunately it was later stolen.

The father and son met again in 1870.

Finally, Manjiro taught at Kaisei Institute (the predecessor of the University of Tokyo), and although he was occasionally implicated in political turmoil, he lived out the rest of his life peacefully.

To be honest, after reading about Manjiro's life, I'm so envious (crying).

To make a simple analogy, Manjiro's life is equivalent to—

One day, while out working, they encountered aliens and ended up boarding an alien spaceship.

Having witnessed an alien civilization completely different from Earth's, they decided to travel around with the alien spaceship.

We traveled through various galaxies and witnessed all sorts of wonders, such as black holes and asteroid explosions.

Next, they arrived at the aliens' home planet, learned space travel techniques, and after graduating, became the first mate of a spaceship, traveling around the Milky Way for a week.

Finally, he returned home in glory, back to Earth.

He became the only person on Earth who understood space travel, received a formal position, and lived a life free from worries about food and clothing.

Honestly, to have a life like this, it's truly been a worthwhile journey through this world. (Crying leopard head.jpg)

Chapter 693 The Full Release of "Power"! Overwhelming the British Army! [5000]

Thick black smoke billowed from the chimney, and the air was filled with the acrid smell of burning coal, making one's tongue taste bitter.

The "giant beast" built of wood and steel repeatedly emitted a "whooshing" roar.

The deck, which was originally quite stable, gradually became shaky and difficult to stand on.

Before long, with the departure of the Kanrin Maru, Edo was left far behind.

At this moment, Qingdeng belatedly realized that this was the first time in his life that he had ever been on a boat.

In his previous life, he had only ever ridden in those small speedboats.

Needless to say, in the present world, he has never been to a port since he transmigrated, and today is the first time.

Under normal circumstances, he might have enjoyed the sea view and taken a look around the cabins of the Hamrin Maru.

However, at this moment, he stood straight on the ship's side, holding onto the railing, gazing at the nine small dots on the distant sea.

At that moment, Katsura Rintaro suddenly appeared, walked to his side, and looked solemn.

"...Qingdeng, although it seems I'm asking this question late, I'll still ask it anyway—how confident are you about this increasingly tense 'Muying Negotiation'?"

Qing Deng smiled calmly.

He didn't look at Katsura Rintarou, but continued to gaze into the distance:

“Rintaro, you’re not the first person to ask me this question.”

"Then I'll say it again, even if it's too much trouble."

"Don't worry."

"I will never fight a battle that I cannot win."

"Since I dare to stand here, I am naturally confident of victory."

"However, there are very few battles in this world that are 'inevitable'."

All I can do is give it my all and then leave the rest to fate.

Katsura Rintaro then asked:

"Specifically, how do you plan to act?"

A meaningful look appeared on Qingdeng's face, followed by a low, languid tone:

"All the Western countries are robber nations."

"Relying on their powerful ships and cannons, they burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities, accumulating enormous wealth."

"Finally, they package themselves up, calling themselves civilized, and then turn around to criticize and belittle those countries and places that have been invaded."

"It's utterly hypocritical and disgusting."

"They have been acting arrogantly and domineeringly for many years, so they are used to being unreasonable."

"Even if they were to reason with you, they were definitely forced into it by circumstances."

"Therefore, we must never show weakness in front of them."

“Once we show weakness, they will only take advantage of us and become more and more arrogant.”

"Only by showing a tough stance of 'not afraid to fight' can we intimidate them and force them to the negotiating table."

This is one of them.

"England is the most powerful country in the world today."

"They possess territories spanning the four seas and an unparalleled navy, truly deserving the title of 'the empire on which the sun never sets'."

"However, they are not invincible."

"France, Prussia, and Russia are all powerful nations that England deeply fears."

"In order to suppress the European countries, England has been carefully playing the game of checks and balances, and has been extremely cautious in preserving its own strength."

"Europe is its core interest, but the Far East is not."

"They would never do something so unprofitable as to lose a large number of troops for the Far East, which is not a core interest."

"If they discover that a full-scale war with the shogunate would result in far greater casualties than they anticipated, they will inevitably be hesitant to act rashly."

This is the second point.

Finally, there are the commonalities of humankind.

"In a pitch-black room, if you say you want to open the window, no one will agree. But if you say you want to tear the roof off, everyone will agree to open the window."

"In conclusion, as long as these three points are grasped, there is a considerable chance of winning the negotiations."

Katsu Rintarou listened intently, his breathing unconsciously slowing down.

As a result... he only understood the gist of it.

Of these, the second point is the one that puzzles Katsura Rintaro the most.