I started with the Shinsengumi in Bakumatsu

Chapter 129 Heading to Alaska for Handover
Today, Hokkaido is divided into four prefectures: Matsumae Prefecture in the south, with Hakodate as the governor, Ishikari Prefecture in the west, with Sapporo as the governor, Kamikawa Prefecture in the north, Asahikawa as the governor, and Tokachi Prefecture in the east, with Obihiro as the governor.

The jurisdiction of Matsumae Prefecture is mainly the Matsumae Domain and the land near Goryokaku that was developed before the shogunate, mainly the southern peninsula extending to Ishikari Prefecture.

As for Ishikari Prefecture, it was mainly divided from Kamikawa Prefecture in the west, which was the place designated by Yagyu to build Sapporo.

There is a broad river where Sapporo is located, and the surrounding terrain is flat, which is very suitable for building a big city. In addition, there is a large coal mine in Ishikari Prefecture, and Yagyu will build an industrial zone in Sapporo.

Being close to raw materials can save a lot of transportation costs.

Now, Hijikata Shisan has just divided the four states, and the internal counties, villages, towns, etc. have also just been settled.

After all, the vast majority of the Ainu are fishing and hunting tribes, and it is not easy for them to settle down.

Fortunately, the first appearance of the Border Guard Corps was exciting enough. Its strong combat effectiveness made many Ainu people lose their thoughts of resistance and obediently obeyed the officials' arrangements.

Today's Hokkaido is a big construction site, and the Ainu people are building houses. All Hijikata Toizo paid was three meals a day.

When the three cities of Sapporo, Asahikawa, and Obihiro are built, the governance of Hokkaido will become formal.

After listening to Hijikata Toshizo's detailed report, Yagyu nodded and said: "Hijikata, you have done a perfect job, which is why I sent you here. Only when Hokkaido is completed will the imperial court have the confidence to deal with future events."

Hijikata Toshizo also understood this. He patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, Director, I will definitely manage Hokkaido well."

"Okay, I believe you can do it." Yagyu looked pleased, stood up and left the long table, patted Hijikata Tobizo's arm, "I don't care much about Hokkaido. I will leave for Alaska tomorrow. , met with officials from Tsarist Russia for handover."

Hijikata Toshizo was surprised: "Director, are you so anxious?"

Yagyu said with his hands behind his back: "We can't be anxious. The current situation in the country is not very good. Although the imperial court has more than 3 troops, we have to face the entire Japan.

If the imperial court does not take control of Hokkaido and Alaska as soon as possible, guys like Sacho will not give up.

Even though the Tokugawa Keiki and Sasana clans are working hard to survive, I am still worried that the imperial court will start to return the official titles, abolish the feudal clan and establish prefectures, and the two sides will cooperate again. "

Hijikata Toshizo asked: "But the conflict between the shogunate and the chief is so bad, will they cooperate?"

Yagyu sighed: "No matter how high-sounding these words are, in the face of interests, it doesn't matter who your friends are. What's important is that your friends have common interests with you. Otherwise, how could the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain become allies? "

Hijikata Toshizo smiled and said, "I forgot about that."

The two chatted for a while and then dispersed. Hijikata Toshizo was busy implementing Yagyu's development strategy, while Yagyu went to rest for a while. He would board the ship tomorrow and continue on his way.

Early the next morning, Yagyu left Hakodate with two infantry regiments and two artillery battalions under Hijikata Toshizo, boarded a ship at the port, and headed for Alaska.

In 1784, in order to expand into North America and to contain Britain and the United States, Russia established a large state-owned monopoly company in North America: the Russian-American Company.

However, Alaska is not suitable for arable land, lacks food, and has poor living conditions. In order to provide supplies, Russian and American companies established multiple immigration areas and supply bases on the North American continent and along the coast.

By the mid-19th century, Russia's territory in North America had reached 150 million square kilometers.

In 1821, Tsar Alexander I declared that Alaska was the territory of Tsarist Russia.

In 1824, Russia and Britain signed a treaty confirming the ownership of the land.

In 1825, Russia and the United States signed a treaty confirming the ownership of the land.

Although Tsarist Russia acquired Alaska, it did not establish effective management in this area. There were only a few thousand Tsarist Russians on this land, and they mainly engaged in fur trade with the native Aleuts and Eskimos.

It is precisely because of this that Tsarist Russia is willing to sell this land.

Even the United States in history did not realize the importance of Alaska. It was not until gold was discovered here that Alaska prospered.

However, Yagyu knew much more than both parties. Alaska is surrounded by sea on three sides. Its coastline stretching for more than 3 miles and the surrounding icy waters are one of the largest and richest fisheries in the world. Salmon is the main fish.

Alaska has some world-class fishing ports and is rich in seafood. It is one of the few places in the world that can supply a variety of deep-sea fish and wild salmon in large quantities.

Alaska accounts for more than 56% of the United States' seafood exports every year. If viewed as a single country, it can firmly rank among the top six in the world.

Most of the salmon, crab, flounder and herring in the United States come from Alaska.

It can be said that Yagyu’s vigorous development of fisheries in the early stage was enough to make Alaska prosperous.

Not only that, Alaska is also rich in mineral resources, with oil and natural gas as the bulk mineral resources, followed by coal, gold, copper, etc.

Even in Alaska now, mining is a pillar industry, providing the United States with a large amount of oil and natural gas.

You must know that Japan is the only country short of oil. If Yagyu leads Japan to take the lead in starting a new energy revolution, oil will become an important factor restricting the development of Japan's national power.

Now that Alaska's oil is supplied, Japan will not be as nervous as it was in history and then launch crazy foreign aggression.

In addition, Alaska also has other rich resources, that is, the forestry industry. Although Alaska is not suitable for farming, Alaska has a very high vegetation coverage, nearly 2000 million acres.

Yagyu had already made development plans before he came to take over. The first was fishery, and the second was forestry and rice industry.

Japan is a mountainous country with a very prosperous forestry industry. Although the trees in Alaska are very different from those in Japan, there are various economic trees such as spruce.

Even if you don't process it, you can still make a lot of money by selling it as raw materials.

Of course, Yagyu doesn't just sell raw materials. Several types of fir trees in Alaska are raw materials for furniture and other products. Yagyu can be processed and then sold to make more money.

Of course, these are all sold abroad, and Japan's domestic economy is currently in chaos. If Yagyu sells lumber in large quantities, it will impact the fragile domestic market and cause social problems.

However, Yagyu can process the wood into products and sell them to other countries.

……

The farther north the fleet went, the colder the climate became. Even Yagyu had already put on a woolen sweater underneath and a gray fur military coat on the outside.

Yagyu looked at the calm sea and saw ice floes as far as the eye could see.In front of the fleet was the Tsarist Russian warship that Sergei was riding on. Although there was only one ship, it was huge compared to the fleet in Yagyu's hands.

This is an ironclad ship of more than 6000 tons, made of wrought iron, with 32 190mm smoothbore cannons on board. Such a ferocious steel behemoth, the Koshi where Yagyu is located, cannot break through the defense at all.

With such a sea monster leading the way, their fleet does not need to worry about safety issues.

Although Yagyu and Sergey signed a contract to purchase land in Alaska, Sergey planned to hand over the contract the next year.

But Yagyu didn't want to wait until that time, so he had to increase the price by 20 pounds, and proposed that the Tsarist Russians could slowly evacuate, while Japan sent an advance team to conduct preliminary control without disturbing each other.

For the sake of money, Sergey stepped forward and readily agreed, and then brought Yagyu to hand over Alaska.

After several days of sailing, Yagyu's fleet followed Sergei's warship and arrived at Sansheng Bay, the permanent settlement of Tsarist Russia in Alaska.

After Yagyu landed ashore, he immediately joined Sergei.

Sergey looked at the soldiers of the Guards Division Infantry Regiment behind Yagyu and said: "Mr. Yagyu, your army has become our shadow. I admire your wisdom very much.

I know that your country originally valued swords as much as the Qing Dynasty, and you are also a master of swordsmanship. You are able to give up your most powerful swords and choose guns. This is a great wisdom.

As for the Qing Dynasty, it is really an ignorant and backward place. I heard that their national leader was a child and two women. It is really funny. Are there no men in this country?They actually let women and children govern the country. "

Yagyu echoed: "It does not make sense, but there are also regents in the Qing Dynasty. Now that the Westernization Movement has begun, I think there will be changes."

Sergey said indifferently: "Ha, Mr. Yagyu, don't think so well. If this country can be saved, then they should have learned the lessons of more than 20 years ago. Mr. Yagyu, I am very optimistic about the future of Japan with you. "

Sergey praised Yagyu and immediately took him to meet the person in charge of the residence.

The person in charge of the Sansheng Bay settlement is named Seriukov. His grandfather Serikov bought a piece of land in Sansheng Bay and built a commercial stronghold. Later, with official authorization, it became a settlement.

Their family naturally became the people in charge here.

Not only did they manage settlements, they also traded with the local Eskimos and Aleuts.

Seryukov was not very happy about Yagyu's arrival. After all, three generations of his family had relied on Alaska trade to make their fortune.

Even if the country compensates them, it is a one-time thing and cannot compare with the steady flow of wealth. However, this is a matter decided by the country, and Seryukov can only acquiesce.

Seryukov didn't have a good expression when he saw Yagyu. Only when he saw Sergei, he showed a flattering smile and said hello in Russian.

Sergey treated Seryukov very coldly, just saying a few polite words, and then immediately said to Yagyu: "Mr. Yagyu, this is Seryukov, the person in charge here.

This settlement will be left to you. Seryukov will arrange the evacuation of our people, and I will ask him to cooperate with you. "

Yagyu nodded and said: "Okay, thank you Mr. Sergey."

He looked at Seryukov and said hello: "Mr. Seryukov, please take good care of me in the future and have a pleasant time with him."

Seryukov smiled and said: "I hope so too."

Although Yagyu couldn't hear what Seryukov said and it was relayed by an interpreter, he knew from looking at Seryukov's micro-expression that things were not that simple.

The kid is difficult to deal with, and something will definitely happen during this period of time.

Sergey could tell, but he was not worried. After all, Seryukov was a businessman and would not do anything too extreme. Moreover, he felt that Yagyu was not an ordinary person and Seryukov could not get any benefits.

Anyway, Yagyu brought these things upon himself, and Sergey would not care much about them.

Under this delicate situation, a group of people came to the office. This place was different from other houses. Most of the houses were made of wood. Only this office was built with masonry.

There are more than 1000 Tsarist Russians living in this settlement. Most of them come to Alaska to do fur business, and the target of the transaction is Seryukov.

Seryukov bought it from locals at a low price and sold it to these distant Tsarist Russian businessmen at a higher price.

In addition to the merchants, there are also some helpers and the settlement's defense force, which is more than 200 people. The settlement has more than ten cannons with acceptable firepower.

When those Tsarist Russians saw a strange team entering the settlement, many of them looked with contempt. Those reckless men even laughed and said unscrupulously in Russian: "Look, they are a bunch of dwarfs."

"Hahaha, just like a monkey."

"These people had their bayonets fixed, and I don't know if the gun was higher than them."

Seryukov couldn't hold back the smile when he heard his people's discussion. Sergey didn't like trouble, so he immediately cursed: "Tell them to go back."

Seryukov immediately cursed, and then the big men shut up and left.

The group of people arrived at the office, where the fireplace had already been burning, and the room was still a little stuffy.

As soon as Sergey walked in, he took off his coat and said with a smile: "It's okay here, how about it? Mr. Yagyu lives here?"

Yagyu immediately refused: "No, my soldiers live in tents in the cold weather. How can I enjoy it alone. I brought them here, so I should sleep with my soldiers."

Sergey opened a bottle of strong liquor and handed it to Yagyu Sheng: "I would not believe it if someone else said this, but I believe what you said, my friend."

Sergey picked up another bottle of wine and toasted Yagyu, blowing directly on the bottle.

Yagyu was not polite and drank a bottle of strong liquor in a few gulps.

The two of them burped, and Sergey laughed loudly and said: "It's so cool. I don't usually admire other people's ability to drink, but you are the best among the people I know!"

When Seryukov saw that Yagyu was so good at drinking, he couldn't help but praise: "Mr. Yagyu, you are so awesome. I am willing to be your friend!"

(End of this chapter)