Chapter 2729
The Japanese shogunate's attitude towards Kaihan has always been quite contradictory. On the one hand, because of the lessons learned from the Hirado Domain, the shogunate has always been very wary of Kaihan's armed forces, lest Kaihan would find another excuse to invade; on the other hand, Kaihan took the lead in establishing The established trade system has indeed brought considerable benefits to the shogunate, and the transaction volume has been increasing year by year. Considering the actual benefits, it is unlikely that the shogunate will voluntarily give up this benefit.
However, there must be advantages and disadvantages. After Haihan forcibly opened Japan's door, it brought not only benefits, but also many changes that were beyond the control of the shogunate. For the Tokugawa shogunate, which has been strengthening its rule with a seclusion policy in recent decades, the existence of Kaihan is a huge hidden danger. Although it cannot cut off contacts, it has always been extremely wary of Kaihan.
The mission has no way of guessing where the shogunate's current lukewarm attitude stems from. Fortunately, Haihan is not without intelligence sources in Edo. In addition to Haihan merchants, there is also the station of Haihan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Like the embassies established by Haihan in other countries, in addition to completing basic diplomatic tasks, the Edo embassy also has the function of collecting various types of intelligence. The person sitting here is also a young official, and he is an old acquaintance with Tao Hongfang and others from Sanya.
Among the hundreds of second-generation people born on Hainan Island, most of them stayed on the island to develop like Tao Hongfang and others. After completing their studies, their parents would arrange a local job and enter various core departments early. . It is rare to see second-generation people working in other places at this age, and even rarer ones to work in foreign countries. Ma Boran is one of them.
Ma Boran was arranged to work in a "remote" area like Edo, not because his family had little influence and could only choose to work in such an unpopular area. On the contrary, his father Malik was also considered an influential figure in Haihan's senior management. In his early years, he served as the head of the Guangdong Office and the chief executive of Haikou District. In 1650, he was appointed as the head of the two major districts. His power is no less powerful than that of Shi Chengwu, Chen Yixin and others.
Ma Boran is Malike's eldest son. He was sent to Sanya to receive high-end education since he was a child. He grew up in the same circle as Tao Hongfang and others, so he is considered acquaintance. However, Maliko chose an unusual development path for his son and arranged for him to enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Within two years, he was assigned as a diplomat to the Edo embassy as the head of the embassy.
Compared with staying in Sanya, it is still unclear whether Ma Boran's path is better. But one thing is certain, that is, the independent working environment abroad will definitely better train his work ability.
As soon as Sakai Tadaqiu left, Mabo came with his second leg. Apparently he had planned the timing and deliberately missed Sakai Tadaqiyo. As a diplomat sent by Haihan to Edo, this approach was obviously somewhat unusual.
However, before everyone in the mission could ask questions, Ma Boran took the initiative to explain the reason after greeting them: "The shogunate was a little dissatisfied with your previous actions in Nagasaki and Osaka. It has summoned me twice and asked our country to stop relevant actions. . Sakai Tadaki is one of the hardliners. I actively avoided meeting him to avoid any unpleasantness with him.”
Shi Chengwu suddenly said: "No wonder the other party's attitude was a little weird when we met just now, but he didn't mention what you said in person."
The mission proposed the establishment of a dedicated Haihan port area in Nagasaki, and tried to contact the imperial family while in Osaka. These actions were obviously not friendly to the shogunate, and it was not surprising that there was dissatisfaction.
Tao Hongfang smiled bitterly and said: "It seems that our next mission in Edo will not go too smoothly."
Ma Boran's expression was very relaxed: "This meeting involves actual interests, and the opinions within the shogunate are not one-sided. In my opinion, it can only be delayed for a few days at most. Quan should give the envoy some face, and wait until they feel that they have earned their face." I will still return to the negotiation table." Wang Anguo frowned and said: "Then I may not be able to participate in the subsequent work... I will stay in Edo for at most four or five days, and I will finish the supplies. Let’s go. If we continue to delay, I’m worried that the immigrants will start to feel unstable.”
There are a large number of immigrants in the fleet led by Wang Anguo. The longer the journey is delayed, the greater the possibility of changes. Wang Anguo knew very well that the transoceanic voyage was arduous and dangerous, and was a great test for professional sailors and the navy, not to mention these immigrants who were traveling to a foreign country for the first time.
As for obtaining supplies from the local area, they can probably only be coordinated and arranged through Ma Boran.
The Haihan Embassy is located in Edo Castle, which is too far away. In addition, the meeting time with the shogun has yet to be determined, so Ma Boran did not rush to invite everyone to the embassy, but took the initiative to stay at the temporary anchorage for convenience. Discuss next steps with them.
Although they were somewhat dissatisfied with the mission's behavior during their visit, the Japanese did not deliberately make things difficult when it came to supplies. Starting from the next day, various materials purchased through the embassy and Haihan merchants were continuously transported to the temporary anchorage.
The Guandong Plain has a flat and open terrain with superior water conservancy conditions. In addition, the past ten years have been peaceful, so the grain output is quite high, and the price of grain has always been relatively cheap. However, Haihan's sudden large-scale purchase still put the supply of rice, noodles, vegetables and fruits on the market in a tight situation, and the price suddenly increased by 20%.
In addition, a batch of live poultry and livestock were added to the ship, but the local varieties in Edo were obviously not as good as those specially bred in Haihan. Wang Anguo also looked down upon them and could only be used as food on the way across the ocean.
After spending three days to complete the supplies, Wang Anguo bid farewell to everyone in the mission. Everyone knew that it had been more than half a year since he returned to China, and he had long since returned home, so they no longer tried to persuade him to stay. They arranged a banquet for him the night before departure, and finally had a drink together.
Early the next morning, the immigration fleet led by Wang Anguo had been assembled. Although everyone drank a lot the night before, they still came early to see them off.
"I am able to go on an envoy with you all this time, and I will take care of you. I will benefit a lot! I say goodbye today. I don't know when I will see you again. Please take care of yourself!" On the occasion of parting, Wang Anguo could not hide his reluctance to leave.
Friends like this who are similar in age, status, and growth experience can only be met when they return to China. On the other side of the ocean, there are not so many friends with whom they can talk. The North American colonies were too far away, and the next time he returned home would be in a few years. He might not be able to meet this group of people again by then, which really made him a little sad.
Everyone waved their arms goodbye on the shore and watched Wang Anguo's immigration fleet slowly sailing south out of Edo Bay.
(End of chapter)