Chapter 2741
After some conversation, the mission quickly discovered that Masato Masuyama didn’t know much about Haihan and had no military experience. It can be seen that the shogunate chose to make him responsible for subsequent inspections and negotiations, obviously only based on his special identity and background. . Moreover, it was his first time to leave Japan for an overseas trip, and he lacked corresponding experience in diplomacy, and was not even as good as these young officials in the Haihan mission.
However, Masuyama Masato was very confident about this mission, because he was not alone, but would be accompanied by a team of more than ten people. In addition to several personal servants and attendants, it is said that there are also military and accounting professionals who can make up for his shortcomings.
The shogunate also allocated a sailing ship "Edo Maru" said to be exclusive to the Tokugawa shoguns as a means of transportation for Masuyama Masato and his party during their visits. This also shows how seriously the shogunate took this matter.
"It seems that the shogunate has realized that it is not just the military that lags behind North Korea."
After Masuyama Masato left, Tao Hongconveniently commented: "I think this visit arranged by the shogunate, in addition to arms trade, also has the intention of repairing diplomatic relations with our country."
Tao Hongfang's view was echoed by Bai Letong: "The special envoy arranged by the shogunate did not even serve in the shogunate, so I think he did not completely represent the interests of the shogunate. The young general was very important in diplomatic relations. His ideas may be different from those of his subordinates. Maybe we should put more effort into him.”
Ma Boran smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, I have had similar ideas for a long time, but it is not that easy to realize. The shogunate is now in a situation where the master is weak and the servant is strong. Many decisions, including the lock-down order, were not made by Tokugawa Ietsuna himself. , and his will may not be well implemented. The main people the embassy deals with on a daily basis are still the important ministers around Tokugawa Ietsuna. He himself is not something we can see at any time, and there is no relatively safe one for the time being. Private communication channels ”
What Ma Boran said is not surprising. In any era where such a young ruler appears, his status will inevitably be threatened by the powerful ministers around him. Tokugawa Ietsuna came to the throne at a young age, both his parents died, and he was frail and sick. Most of the important ministers around him were subordinates of his father, Tokugawa Iemitsu. Even if he respected him as the master now, how could he give up the power in his hands? To obey such a young man's words.
Fortunately, in addition to the main family clan to which Tokugawa Ietsuna belongs, the Tokugawa clan also has three branch families, the Owari Tokugawa family, the Kishu Tokugawa family, and the Mito Tokugawa family, who also have candidate succession rights. Even if there are ambitions in the shogunate If I want to kill the young general and replace him, it is difficult to get the approval of the three imperial families, so Tokugawa Ietsuna's status is still stable for the time being.
It's just that the various decrees issued and implemented by the shogunate have been basically decided by the ministers around Tokugawa Ietsuna in recent years, and the title shogun inevitably has a bit of a puppet flavor. In this situation where powerful ministers controlled Chaosuna, it was naturally not easy for Haihan to take the initiative to improve diplomatic relations with the Tokugawa shogunate, starting from Tokugawa Ietsuna.
Seoksung Takedo: "There is no need to rush this matter. The relationship between North Korea and our country is obvious. If Japan does not want to lag behind this old rival in everything, it can only try to improve its diplomatic relations with our country. If the current general really has such an intention, Then he will definitely try to express his attitude to us. We can wait and see. If Zengshan Masari has other missions, he should show his attitude after arriving in Zhoushan."
Shi Chengwu was not optimistic about the prospect of improving diplomatic relations between the two countries. Even if Tokugawa Ietsuna had such a wish, he lacked subordinates to firmly support him at this time. If Haihan wanted to intervene in the internal affairs of the shogunate and forcefully support such a young and frail ruler, not only would he have to invest a lot of resources, but it would also easily arouse confrontation within the shogunate. This is indeed not an ideal approach for Haihan, who is currently planning to return his strategic focus to the mainland. From a personal point of view, Shi Chengwu actually hopes that this contradiction between the weak and the strong will intensify further, so that Japan will probably fall into civil strife without Haihan taking more measures.
However, he did not want to pour cold water on Tao Hongfang and others. After all, these people were dealing with the shogunate for the first time, and their understanding of Japan was not deep enough. It was inevitable that they would have some wrong views on its strategies. After the Executive Committee reads the mission report submitted by the mission, it will make a correct decision on the situation.
In mid-January, after a three-month visit, the delegation finally left Edo and returned home.
The departure of the combined fleet with many armed warships from Edo Bay undoubtedly gave the shogunate a great sigh of relief. However, an episode also occurred at this time. Adoshi, who was leading the North Korean Navy in the rear, reluctantly led the team for a circle in Edo Bay, only five or six miles away from the mouth of the Edo River. He turned back and showed off forcefully.
This move will probably be remembered in the hearts of both Korea and Japan for a long time. Showing off force in Edo Bay was enough to make Adoshi and his men proud for several years after returning home. The shogunate will definitely regard this as a shame, and will definitely attach greater importance to the armed fleet in the future.
The combined fleet sailed westward and when it reached the west side of Shikoku Island, the Korean fleet said goodbye to the mission. Adoshi had long planned to try a new route on his return trip, going north from the channel between Shikoku Island and Kyushu Island, and returning to Korean waters through the Shimonoseki Strait.
The mission continued westward in the opposite direction along the route it came from, passing through the southern tip of Kyushu Island, then crossing the East China Sea and returning to Zhejiang waters. However, due to the addition of a slower Japanese ship in the fleet, the overall traveling speed also slowed down a lot. When we returned to Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, it was already the end of the month.
As the Lunar New Year approaches, the docks of Dinghai Port also have a festive atmosphere, and scenes of lights and colorful decorations can be seen everywhere. For these young people who have been wandering overseas for several months, the moment they set foot on the country again is inevitably a little emotional.
It was still Yang Yun who welcomed them back at the dock. After meeting, he teased everyone: "After three months at sea, everyone has turned a lot darker!"
Everyone, you look at me and I look at you. Only then did you realize that when we met every day, we didn't notice the change in each other's skin color at all. But at this time, compared with Yang Yunyi standing in front of him, his skin color was several degrees darker. . Even Zhu Zian, who looked like a white-faced scholar when he set off, now looks much more capable after dozens of days at sea.
(End of chapter)