Chapter 2781
"What can't be done?" Seeing Masato Masari's excitement, Bai Kesi deliberately pretended to be confused.
"You can't sell warships privately to the local daimyo of our country!" Masuyama Masato thought for a while and then added: "Neither can other weapons and equipment! All arms transactions between your country and our country should be completed through the shogunate!"< br>
Bai Kesi slowly shook his head disapprovingly and said: "But the condition mentioned by Master Zengshan was not included in the treaty of friendship and trade signed between our country and your country. Whoever we trade arms with is our country's freedom, and we should not and cannot do so." It will be restricted by your country.”
Masato Masuyama saw that Baikes' attitude was calm and did not deny his speculation about the target of his sale. This confirmed that Haihan's transaction target was really the Satsuma clan, and he felt even more angry at the moment.
If the Satsuma clan is really allowed to take the lead, it will be a small matter that it cannot complete the task, but it will be a real big trouble if the domestic stability is shaken.
Thinking of this, Masuyama Masato decided to open the skylight and speak frankly: "Master Bai, is the other buyer of warships from your country the Satsuma Domain of our country?"
Bai Kesi said noncommittally: "So what if it is? So what if it's not?"
Masuyama Masatoshi said: "If the buyer is really the Satsuma Domain, or other local vassal states affiliated with the country, then I will cancel their qualifications to purchase arms on behalf of the shogunate."
Bai Kesi smiled and said: "Master Masuyama, you should say this to the Satsuma clan, not to me. It's useless for you to tell me this. I am in the arms business, and I only care about gold and silver. Don't you think so? It’s okay to let us sell it, as long as we pay for the share that the Satsuma clan wants to buy, then it’s settled, isn’t it?”
"You...this..." After hearing Bai Kesi's reply, Masuyama Masato couldn't help but be so angry that he was speechless for a moment.
Although Masuyama Masato was not an experienced negotiator, he knew that Bai Kesi was setting a trap for himself. Even if the shogunate really spends money to package the share that the Satsuma clan wants to buy, it is unlikely that this matter will end. Kaihan will definitely build a new warship and sell it to the Satsuma clan. At best, it will only let the Satsuma clan The time for receiving the warship is just delayed.
But can negotiating with Satsuma Domain end this trouble? Masato Masuyama is not optimistic about this. If the Satsuma clan could be so obedient, why should he be so anxious?
Masato Masato took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down his anger. To organize the Satsuma Domain's actions, there were not many options before him. Since it was no longer feasible to let Haihan stop here, it seemed that the only way to do it was from the Satsuma Domain.
"Then can your country arrange for me to meet with the Satsuma Domain envoy?" Masato Masato tried to control his emotions so that his tone would not sound too angry.
Bai Kesi seemed to have expected that he would make such a request. He smiled and shook his head and said: "I think you may have some misunderstanding of our country's position. To our country, the shogunate and the Satsuma clan are just buyers. If we can help What is the difference between using one buyer to suppress another buyer and killing oneself? ”
Masuyama Masato suddenly realized that Bai Kesi looked at him as if he were a fool. Telling the profit-seeking Haihan people to voluntarily give up a lucrative arms deal is indeed the behavior of a fool who is ignorant of the world.
If you want to meet with the Satsuma Domain's envoy, you probably can't count on Haihan to be the matchmaker. Fortunately, Masuyama Masato roughly knew where the Satsuma clan envoy was staying in Hangzhou. Since Haihan refused to help, he had no choice but to find him himself.
Before the matter of the Satsuma Domain was understood, Masuyama Masato had no intention of continuing to negotiate with Baikes. He hastily ended the morning's negotiations and rushed to the residence of the Satsuma Domain envoy with his entourage.
In fact, the residence of the Satsuma Domain envoy is not far from Masato Masuyama's residence. It is said that this area is specially used to accommodate foreign envoys working in Hangzhou, which is equivalent to the official reception organization of Haihan. It was precisely because of this that Masato Masuyama learned of the Satsuma Domain's movements in time.
"Quick report, Master Masato Masato of the Tokugawa family is here!" As soon as they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, the entourage announced his identity loudly.
However, this identity did not seem to have the expected deterrent effect. Soon several samurai with Tsukiyo heads came out of the courtyard, indicating that the Satsuma Domain envoy refused to meet Masato Masuyama.
The other party obviously understood the purpose of Masuyama Masato's visit. In order to avoid trouble, he did not even intend to talk. He directly shut Masuyama Masato out and obviously did not accept his orders.
Masato Masuyama actually had no experience in this area at all on what to do when encountering such a difficult situation. He mainly relies on his official position to support his travels, but if someone ignores his status, it will be a no-brainer for him. However, his entourage didn't think so much, and they started shouting and shoving with the Satsuma clan people.
Masuyama Masato wanted to order a forced invasion, but looking at this posture, the opponent's force did not seem to be inferior to his own, and he might not be able to take advantage if he took action. Moreover, this is the territory of the Haihan people. A fight with the Satsuma Domain here may anger the Haihan people and be detrimental to subsequent negotiations.
While Masuyama Masato was still hesitating, a group of Haihan soldiers rushed to the scene to prevent a possible fight. Haihan officials attach great importance to the security work in this area and have specially deployed an armed force to be on duty here. They will be dispatched at the slightest sign of trouble.
After the officer leading the team asked Masuyama Masato and his party to stop causing trouble and leave immediately, they asked them what had happened.
Although this is a bit of a loss of face, it also gives Masuyama Masato a step down. Otherwise, if the trouble continues, regardless of whether he can see the Satsuma clan's envoy or not, it may be difficult to negotiate an acceptable result.
Masato Masuyama returned to his residence angrily and found the matter increasingly difficult to handle. If the Satsuma clan were allowed to buy weapons, equipment and warships from Kaihan, how would they explain themselves when they returned to Edo? At that time, not only will the prestige of his nephew Tokugawa Ietsuna be damaged, but his own career may also be affected.
At present, the only people who can influence the direction of this matter are the Haihan people. After thinking about it, Zengshan Zhengli felt that he still had to ask Haihan officials for a feasible plan. It is probably impossible to completely prevent Kaihan from selling, but perhaps we can try to reduce the impact of Satsuma Domain's arms purchase on Japan. As for whether to limit the purchase scale or the types of weapons, we need to patiently negotiate with Haihan officials slowly.
Masuyama Masato took advantage of his lunch time to think over and over again, drafting several negotiation plans in his mind, and went to see Bai Kesi in the afternoon.
But this time, Bai Kesi did not receive him immediately because he was meeting other guests. Masato Masuyama noticed that the Satsuma clan warriors who had clashed with him in the morning were all here, so he knew who the guest Baikes was receiving.
(End of chapter)