Chapter 2725
Zhu Zian's life has been a little sad in the past few days. When the mission departed from Nagasaki Port, he was fine, but that night he suddenly felt unwell. At first, he thought it was the wind and waves that caused him to become seasick, but soon he developed symptoms of chills, fever, and sore limbs. He couldn't stand up anymore. The people in the same cabin with him had to report the situation quickly when they saw that the situation was not good.
After Shi Chengwu learned about it, he arranged for the accompanying doctor to diagnose and treat him. After careful examination, the doctor believed that Zhu Zian's condition was "severe aversion to cold and mild fever, combined with body pain, no sweating and wheezing, and a floating and tight pulse." This should be a symptom of wind-cold, which is more common after winter. disease.
At a mild level, this is a cold, but at a more serious level, it may be typhoid fever. The doctor did not dare to be careless and immediately prescribed medicine and asked Zhu Zian not to leave the cabin for the time being until he recovered. The food, water, and medicine he needed every day would be taken care of by dedicated personnel. This is actually because they are worried that Zhu Zian's condition will be contagious, so he is temporarily isolated for treatment.
Zhu Zian originally lived in a four-person cabin, but now it became a single cabin. Every morning and every night, someone would come to the cabin to feed him, give him medicine, and clean up the garbage.
The doctor's diagnosis was not a big problem, but the types of medicinal materials carried on the ship were limited. Two herbs were not available, so they had to use other medicinal materials instead, so the effect was a little bit worse. Zhu Zian took the medicine for two days, but his condition did not improve significantly. Because the fever persisted for a long time, he became even weaker.
During this period, the fleet had been marching to Osaka. The journey was bumpy and windy, and the ship was really not a conducive place for recuperation. After Zhu Zian took two large bowls of potion every morning and evening, he couldn't eat at all, and he didn't even have the strength to get out of bed and walk around. But of course the fleet cannot send a special ship to send Zhu Zian back to Nagasaki or Sasebo on the way. He can only rely on himself to survive.
Although Zhu Zian was seriously ill, he did not complain. After all, he was responsible for this overseas mission. Now the Haihan Mission has not left him alone. If he showed weakness, it would make people laugh. . So even though it was very uncomfortable, he still managed to hold on.
Fortunately, Zhu Zian's health was not bad. When the fleet arrived in Osaka a few days later, he had recovered a little and could start to get out of bed slowly. However, if he wants to go out with the mission to perform official duties, his physical condition is obviously not up to standard, so he can only continue to rest.
In order to help Zhu Zian recover as soon as possible, the mission specially asked a local Haihan businessman to rent a temporary residence near the dock where the fleet was anchored and arrange for him to live in it so that he could at least sleep more peacefully.
Regarding the situation in Osaka, the new destination, Zhu Zian was unable to attend several preparation meetings on the way due to illness, so he knew very little about it. But he could roughly predict that the Haihan delegation would not stay here for too long, because this was not a trading port in the traditional sense, and the scale of business operated by Haihan here was also very limited.
The reason for visiting here is probably because of the development prospects of this place. After all, Kyoto, the traditional political center of Japan, is nearby, and the population of this area is very large, making it a sales market with great potential. However, the mission has just signed a cooperation intention with the Nagasaki authorities, which also contains some exclusive terms, so it will definitely not seek cooperation in the same way in Osaka at the moment.
As he expected, the mission only stayed in Osaka for three days before setting off again. At this time, after a short recuperation, Zhu Zian's physical condition had improved significantly. He was finally released from isolation and could return to the team to continue working. At this time, Zhu Zian learned that the mission originally wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to visit Osaka and secretly arrange for him to go to Kyoto to visit Japanese royal figures in a private name. Unexpectedly, Zhu Zian suffered a serious illness on the way, and there were problems with the previously arranged meeting channel. In addition, it would take several days to go back and forth from Osaka to Kyoto, so the mission canceled the original plan after weighing the pros and cons.
Zhu Zian was shocked and couldn't help but exclaimed in his heart that it was a pity. The mission planned to let him complete the matter in a private name, obviously relying on his status as a descendant of the Ming Dynasty royal family. If you can use this status to meet the leader of another country, even if the other person is just a member of the royal family who is said to have been ignored by powerful ministers, it will be considered a worthwhile trip.
As for why the mission had such a plan, Zhu Zian was not surprised. He knew that the main reason why he was recruited was that Haihan wanted to make full use of his special status to exert influence on other countries. Although this identity may not be easy to use after going to a foreign country, a tool man must have the consciousness of a tool man. If he does not have a certain degree of effectiveness, he may not even get a job as a missionary.
However, there was still one thing that made Zhu Zian a little curious. How did the mission establish a relationship with the Japanese royal family and persuade them to meet with him.
"It's very simple. Some of the Haihan merchants who came to Osaka to do business came with a mission." Shi Chengwu revealed the secret to him calmly: "First get some good things to pay tribute to the royal family, and then establish an After the relationship, the rest is simple. Although the royal family has been sidelined for a long time, if there is an opportunity to turn around with the help of external forces, they will definitely want to try it, at least negotiate the conditions and confirm the feasibility. ”
The ousting of the Japanese royal family by the shogun is not a recent occurrence; in fact, it happened as early as the end of the twelfth century. Before the Tokugawa family currently in power came to power, Japan had experienced two periods, the Kamakura shogunate and the Muromachi shogunate, totaling more than 400 years. Although the royal family briefly turned around during this period, it was ultimately unable to defeat the warlords who held military power.
By the time Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo shogunate more than fifty years ago, this special power system was already very complete. The royal family had neither military power nor financial power, and was unable to fight against the shogunate. It could only become a puppet tool for the shogunate to rule the country.
Regardless of whether the imperial family is willing to be sidelined in this way, Haihan will try to contact it to see if it can provoke it to confront the shogunate. As for the purpose, it is naturally to use the royal family's appeal to support the pro-Hai Han forces in Japan. In this way, Haihan will have one more card to play when he comes into contact with the shogunate in the future.
In order to enhance the persuasiveness, Zhu Zian is obviously a very good candidate. He is a descendant of the Ming Dynasty royal family and is now cooperating with Haihan. This is enough to prove to the Japanese royal family that Haihan has the strength to support them. Although this plan was ultimately shelved for some reason, Zhu Zian still had to admire the planning abilities of these people. If this happens, I am afraid that Japan will fall into a state of divided power like North Korea in the next few years.
(End of chapter)