Kangxi, your Qing Dynasty is dead

Chapter 510: Kangxi’s Rebirth—Little Japan, how much is it worth?Li Zhongtang, meet Kangxi!

Nagasaki, Japan, autumn 1802.

More than 100 years after it became the first free city in China, this commercial port and city, located at the westernmost tip of the Japanese archipelago facing China, is somewhat narrow and cramped due to natural terrain restrictions. It has long been no longer the center of Sino-Japanese exchanges. , but the intersection of Eastern and Western civilizations.

Looking from the deck of the clipper ship, there are sailing boats and motor sailing boats from all over the world parked everywhere on the sea.There are all kinds of models, including clipper ships that can cross the ocean at extremely fast speeds when the wind direction is right, old steam lock ships with very low manufacturing and operating costs, Ming Dynasty naval battleships with towering masts and numerous naval guns, There are small gunboats from various naval forces in Japan, small and medium-sized old lock boats without steam engines and water wheels that Japanese businessmen like to use most, and some small and flexible Japanese-style fishing boats that can be used on the not-so-open sea. Shuttle back and forth.

From the coast to the hilly areas around the city, Japanese-style houses, Chinese-style courtyards, European-style buildings, and high-rise buildings that mix Chinese, Japanese, and European styles are densely arrayed together, forming crisscrossing streets. Narrow streets.From a distance, you can tell that the population density of this port city is extremely high. Three religions and nine streams are mixed together, and commercial activities are of course extremely prosperous.

In the port area, there is a mixture of old and new that is unique to a prosperous big city that has passed the threshold of industrialization.There are densely packed manpower or steam cranes next to the pier. Not far from the pier, there are warehouses where goods are stored and full of early industrial style warehouses.The short Japanese dock workers are busy moving back and forth carrying large and small goods.

The slipway and dock for ship repair and shipbuilding stood majestically in a corner of the port area. Next to it was a factory powered by a steam engine with a tall chimney. The entire area was filled with black smoke and dust and soot flying everywhere.All slipways, shipyards, and factories are busy, and the sound of hammering can be heard from far away.

Sailors of all colors and nationalities crowded on the deck, looking expectantly at this free city that has been known for freedom, chaos, prosperity and a paradise for adventurers for more than 100 years.

Although the country of Japan has been in troubled times with feudal lords fighting each other for more than 100 years, the chaos caused by the lords' attacks on each other, instead of destroying Nagasaki's prosperity, has actually promoted Nagasaki to become what it is today. a ladder of extreme prosperity.

And Nagasaki, a free city, has also become a driving force for all forces in Japan to continue to advance in troubled times!

Because of the existence of this free city under the protection of the Ming Dynasty, business capital and scholars in Japan who were disgusted with the warlords' melee found a safe haven.

It also gives players in this "post-Warring States period" of Japan a way out of this "game of power" - no matter which daimyo they are, as long as conditions permit, they must buy good properties in the Nagasaki Free City, and at the same time Deposit a large amount of money in the Ming Bank in Nagasaki so that if they fail, they don't have to take a knife to cut their belly!
At the same time, the free city of Nagasaki also gave the various forces in the Ming Dynasty who wanted to make a fortune in the chaos of Japan's troubled times a stage to exert themselves.

Military experts from the Ministry of War and the General Staff of the Ming Dynasty, because of the existence of Nagasaki, have a platform to study the progress of military technology and tactics at close range - various new weapons and tactics still need to be tested in actual combat, or directly obtained from Produced in actual combat!

Ming Dynasty does not need to fight a war, but it must have a platform where it can observe the war and even test the waters personally.Only in this way can Ming Dynasty not fall behind in terms of military technology and military tactics.

Capitalists in the Ming Dynasty who wanted to take a share of the booming military industry market also had a large market where they could assemble, sell, and test various new and old weapons because of the existence of Nagasaki.

The royal ministers of the Ming Dynasty also used Nagasaki as a platform to recruit mercenaries for their nephews and brothers who "went abroad to seek titles" - the current Ming Dynasty is really not full of internal resources!If you want to recruit an army in the Ming Dynasty that can fight and be deployed overseas for a long time, the price is a little high!
If you have to use high-priced Ming mercenaries, it will be difficult for feudal colonization to be affordable!
Therefore, since decades ago, Japanese mercenaries have become the special thugs of the Ming Dynasty for overseas enfeoffment.

However, such a good platform can sometimes become useless!
The chaotic times of the Warring States Period were, in the final analysis, a process of annexation.After more than 100 years of fighting, those daimyo who were not very good at fighting and had poor martial arts either perished or became rich in Nagasaki. Some simply went to overseas fiefdoms with the descendants of the Ming Dynasty royal family's honorable ministers, while remaining in the overseas fiefdoms. The forces on the Japanese power game table are stronger than each other, and one family is stronger than the other.

By around 1800, Japan, which originally had many great names, had evolved into the Kyushu Shogunate of the Yang family, the Shikoku Shogunate of the Shimazu family (also in charge of Satsuma and Osumi on Kyushu Island), the Jinsai Shogunate of the Mori family, The Maeda family's Koshinobu governor's mansion, the Uesugi family's Zhenhoku shogunate, the Date family's Tohoku governor's mansion, the Tokugawa family's subjugated general's mansion, and the Japanese imperial court controlled by the Imperial family, the Hota family, and the Yamauchi family, A total of eight separatist forces!
This Japan has now developed to the stage of the "Eight Heroes of the Warring States Period"!
Anyone with a discerning eye knows whether it will be divided into eight countries or the eight countries will be reunited, which is what will happen in the next 20 years!
And because the Eight Heroes of the Warring States Period in Japan were all fought with real swords and guns, each family has [-] elite infantry. Once the final major merger begins, it will be extremely difficult for even the Ming Dynasty to interfere.

Once Japan is completely unified by one of the Eight Heroes, then this new Japan will undoubtedly be an emerging military power!

And if Ming Dynasty forcibly intervenes in Japan, it may be dragged into the quagmire of war!
Looking at the vitality of the Nagasaki Free City in front of him that far exceeded that of Constantinople, Kangxi, who had been drifting on the sea for more than a month and had begun to adapt to this bumpy life, finally saw the anti-Ming and Qing Dynasties. hope.

Qingping of the Diao Suo was already very familiar with Zhu Xuanye, and now he was standing on the deck of the clipper ship with Zhu Xuanye.Seeing the prosperity of Nagasaki, I couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect Nagasaki to be so prosperous. There are so many people here!"

Kangxi nodded silently: "If I remember correctly, Japan today has a population of 2500 million. Although it cannot compare with the Ming Dynasty's 3 million population, it is still a country with a large population. If it is placed in Europe, it is second only to France and Rakshasa. In the New World, it is probably the country with the largest population, right? Even in China, it is only smaller than the Ming Dynasty and India! This country has been divided for more than 100 years, so it has become a mercenary recruiting ground in the East. If Japan can be unified, its future will be I’m afraid it’s limitless!”

Tiaosho Qinghei's eyes moved: "Third Prince, do you think Japan can be unified?"

"Of course!" Kangxi said, "The general trend of the world is to unite and divide for a long time, and divide for a long time to unite. Now that Japan has been divided for more than 100 years, it is almost time to unite!"

Tiaosuo Qingping slowly shook his head: "It is also possible that it will become eight countries forever."

"Divided into eight kingdoms?" Kangxi looked back at Tiaosuo and found that the sharp-edged face of this mixed-race man was suddenly filled with worry. "Mr. Tiaosuo, do you know the inside story?"

On the way across the Pacific Ocean, Kangxi had already figured out the situation of the Tiaosuo family.This transfer house was originally the home of a high-ranking samurai in the Satsuma Domain, and the head of the family was qualified to serve as the family elder.Later, because the master followed Geng Jingzhong to found the Aztec Republic, the mediators in Japan were weakened for a time.But later, because the Chosho family became the founding father of the Aztec Republic, the relationship between the Satsuma Domain and the Aztec Chosho family became closer again, and even the Chosho family in Japan followed suit. He made a comeback and became a loyal minister of the Shimazu family.

The Shimazu family is now one of the Eight Heroes of Japan, and has been canonized as a general of the four countries by the Japanese court. Although there are "Eight Heroes" in Japan now, they are generally divided into Eastern and Western armies. The Western Army includes the Japanese Imperial Court and Kyushu. There are a total of five families: General, Zhenxi General, Shikoku General, and Zhenbei General. The Eastern Army has three families: Zhengyi General, Jiaxin Guanling, and Northeast Guanling.

Five to three, it seems that the Western Army is stronger, but there is no unity within the Western Army.The Kyushu Yang family was bent on unifying Kyushu and wanted to establish an independent country in Kyushu to get rid of the nominal rule of the Japanese emperor.

The Shimadzu family cannot lose Satsuma and Osumi under any circumstances!
As for the Mori and Uesugi families, they all want to go to Luo.
On the other hand, the Tokugawa family is so skinny that a camel is bigger than a horse. They still control the entire Kanba Province. They seem to be able to overpower Maeda and Date, so the Eastern Army is relatively united.However, for Japan, the biggest problem is not the division of the Western Army and the unity of the Eastern Army, but that the Great Tomorrow Dynasty is exerting its efforts to "mediate" all parties in Japan in order to maintain the current status quo.

Thinking of this, Qingming, the mediator, sighed and said: "To be honest, the Ming court has been trying to mediate Japan's domestic disputes since last year. The Nagasaki Peace Conference has been held for several rounds. It even proposed an eight-nation alliance. plan!"

"Eight-Nation Plan." Kangxi said in his heart: Li Zhongshan's disciples and grandsons are really ruthless!Such a small Japan has to be divided into eight parts, and the small one is almost impossible to find!
In addition, the purpose of transferring Qingping to Japan all the way across the ocean is probably not really to get a wife, right?
If you want a Japanese wife, you can just ask the nurse in Japan to help you choose one. Why bother coming all the way here yourself?With the financial resources of the Tiaosuo family, even a young lady from the Shimazu family wouldn't be a problem, right?

Then why did he come here by himself?

I'm afraid the Japanese descendants in the Aztec Republic have also heard some news... They probably don't want their mother country to be divided into eight parts by the Ming Dynasty, right?

While Kangxi was thinking about these things, the scissor sailboat he and Tiao were riding on had already stopped at a pier in Nagasaki Port.

The spiral staircase was lowered, and then several men dressed as warriors were seen running up like flying.When they saw the family pattern on Tiao Suo Qingping's clothes, they came together to salute him.

Tiaosho Qinghei returned the bow and asked in Chinese: "How is the situation?"

"Reporting to the young master of the Dong family," a short-built warrior with a dark face and a big beard also replied in Chinese: "The situation is not very good... Li Zhongtang of the Ming Dynasty visited Nagasaki the day before yesterday and is currently living in Nagasaki. In the Yang family villa in Qiji."

"Li Zhongtang?" Kangxi interrupted, "Which Li Zhongtang?"

The bearded man glanced at Tiao Suo Qingping, who said: "This is the third prince of Prince Pingxi of the Ming Dynasty! He is also a good friend of mine."

"Disrespect, disrespect." The bearded man quickly bowed again, "His Royal Highness the Third Prince, Li Zhongtang who came to Nagasaki is His Highness the Ming Dynasty King Ying!"

"The King of England..." Kangxi was shocked. Isn't the King of England Li Zhongshan's prince?

This Li Zhongtang is actually a descendant of Li Zhongshan!

"King Li Ying became the prime minister?" Diao Suo Qingping frowned, "The Heaven and Earth Society is in power again?"

The bearded man nodded: "That's right... I was just selected this summer. Not even two months after he took office, he came to Japan to preside over the damn Nagasaki Peace Conference!"

"Master Tiaosuo," Kangxi asked, "this Li Zhongtang must support the Yang family, right?"

"That's natural..." Tiao Suo Qingping gritted his teeth, "He and the Yang family of Jiuzhou are related by marriage!"

Kangxi said in his heart: I and the Yang family of Jiuzhou can be considered relatives, right?So am I considered close to this Li Zhongtang?
Thinking of this, Kangxi said to Tiaosuo Qingping: "I came to Ming Dynasty on the order of the first consul of France to meet the governor of Ming Dynasty...that is, this Li Zhongtang!

Since he can be in Nagasaki, I will go and see him first.By the way, let’s test his bottom line on the division of Japan.
Maybe his idea is just to make Kyushu independent... Is this acceptable? "

"Of course not!" The bearded Japanese samurai almost jumped up to object, "Satsuma and Osumi have been owned by the Shimazu family for generations, and they must not be ceded to the Yang family!"

Just for this?Kangxi also didn't expect that this seemingly fierce warrior would have such ridiculous ideas.

Is it possible that after the Yang family secured the Shimazu family's territory in Kyushu, the Shimazu family agreed to the Yang family becoming the king of Kyushu?
Thinking about this, he looked at Tiaosho Kiyohei again.

Tiaoshuo Qinghei just smiled bitterly: "I'm not very clear about Shaman Shimazu's thoughts. Third Prince, please ask Li Zhongtang... Can the Yang family and the Shimazu family go to Luo together, and then host the meeting together? Japan’s great political affairs? The position of General to Conquer the Barbarians can also be held by the head of the Yang family!"

"This is..." Kangxi asked, "Who means this?"

Tiaosuo Qingping stretched out a slap and said seriously: "Third Prince, don't ask me about this... However, I won't let you work in vain. I will give you this number, 5000 taels!"

(End of this chapter)