Edo Traveler

In the second year of Wanyan, Heli, in 1862 in the Western calendar, the first month.

The meeting of princes was held, and another major event occurred this year, a major event that changed the pattern of world trade. Not only foreign ministers attended, but even several big friends of the shogunate also attended this year's meeting of princes.

Because of the outbreak of the American Civil War, although the Confederate Army maintained its offensive in general last year, the Confederate Army also had a considerable weakness. That is to say, the number of navy (the quality is another matter) is far inferior to that of the Northern Army, and the number of merchant ships that can be transported abroad is naturally not as good as that of the Northern Army.

This has led to a very big problem. The southern United States, the world's main cotton producing area, is now blocked by the northern navy. Cotton could not be shipped from the southern states, and the British textile industry collapsed!

It literally collapsed. After the loss of raw cotton, the British textile industry experienced a serious recession. Now it's not that you can buy cotton if you have money, it's that there isn't much cotton on the market at all.

At the same time, the textile industry in the United States itself fell into recession because of the conflict between the North and the South. The New York Cotton Exchange has collapsed, as has the London Cotton Exchange.

The two major exporters of textiles, because of a civil war, were suddenly beaten back to their prototypes.

A few years ago, the shogunate shareholder Honichi Zen began to develop the textile industry and cotton planting industry because of Chuemon's support for the country's industry and commerce. Not only did he organize his own hands to plant cotton, but he also purchased general lint cotton in the Qing Dynasty, processed and produced it, and then provided the shogunate with quilts, tents and other logistical supplies.

Because the shogunate has been expanding its army in the past two years, and the staff of the railway company and the SHIPPING company also order a large number of uniforms from Konikesen every year, so on the whole, the textile factory of Konikeya is constantly expanding.

Britain and the United States opened up the Japanese market with cheap textiles, but now the market demand already exists, but the goods have disappeared. What does this mean?

Of course, the market hit the well-prepared Hong Chi Shan out of thin air!

Moreover, not only can Honchi-san go all out to enter the Japanese market, but the market in the Qing Kingdom next door is also empty. Britain and the United States have no textiles to sell to Japan, how could there be textiles to be sold to Qing.

The only thing that makes Hong Chishan feel a pity is that the cotton planting area is not large, and it is already very good to be able to eat half of the Japanese market. I really want to eat even the Qing market, and there is not so much cotton.

At this year's meeting of the shogunate, Hong Chi Shan was arranged to speak. It is said that the focus of the work of the shogunate in the next two or three years can be shifted to the cultivation of general cash crops. After all, the southern United States is still one of the important producing areas of tobacco, coffee and sugar, and the shogunate must prepare to be self-reliant.

You guys have been planting a kind of cotton and tobacco in the past two years, and the food problem, the shogunate has also started to solve it. I didn't see His Excellency Pasha Li, the British Minister, who was sitting on the side.

Well, that's right, the new year's Yin Shi, the British minister has changed.

After Chuemon put on eye drops, and then sent gifts and money to Earl Elgin, the London side finally responded. In addition, now that Lord Palmerston is the minister again, it is natural to implement his own strategy of containing the development of Tsarist Russia, supporting small peripheral countries, and blocking Tsarist Russia.

Therefore, A Liguo was ordered to return to London and have another appointment. To put it bluntly, he was deprived of all titles and went home to sit on the bench. Pashali, the younger brother of Earl Elgin, was replaced as the minister in Japan.

In order to reward him in the second Sino-British war, he ran back and forth, and even nearly lost his life for the credit and hard work. Give him a chance to make some money and save a little for retirement.

As for Earl Elgin, according to the news brought by Bashari, he has been promoted to Governor of India. He officially took over the baton of Earl Canning and began to manage the brightest pearl on the crown of the entire British Empire.

It is precisely because of Elgin's promotion to the governor-general of India that the original diplomatic dispute between the United Kingdom and the shogunate for the Indian Army was dealt with in a very proper manner. Earl Elgin said that he would pay the arrears of pensions and army salaries to the shogunate according to the amount promised by Earl Canning that year.

Of course, it's already a military salary that is worthless. With a big wave of Chuemon's hand, he only needed 400,000, and the remaining 100,000 pounds were all given to Elgin as a gift.

The price is that Elgin promises to collect a certain amount of rice in India every year and resell it to Japan to ensure that there will be no famine in Japan. You can rest assured and boldly plant cotton, I have enough rice here.

Even with natural disasters and droughts in India, I can guarantee a sufficient amount of rice to be resold from India to Japan, it's that simple.

Elgin even instructed Pasha Li to replace Japanese cotton with Indian grain. It would be fine if the cotton price was a little higher. Anyway, India's rice was cheap, and the British Empire would never lose.

Moreover, to go a little deeper, if cotton is grown all over Japan, rice will have to be imported from India. Was Japan being strangled by the British? For the British, it was a business that had all the benefits and no harm, so both Elgin and Bashari felt that they should do it.

It would be better if Japan completely relied on imported rice!

In addition, there is another major event. Before the Tokugawa family decided to ask the countries to recognize the "Kingdom is an edict", didn't the United Kingdom have approved to send a reply letter~www.readwn.com~ Later, Chuemon sent Taiichiro Tanabe to the United Kingdom to do so. The consul, continuing to push the British side, agreed with the shogunate to force Hawaii to become a protectorate, and to take New Guinea and Palau.

With the help of Elgin and Taichi Tanabe lobbying with currency, the British side has basically agreed to this matter. But there was a side request, the shogunate loaned a million pounds to Britain to buy British-made ironclads.

two!

Expensive!

For the sake of Hawaii and New Guinea, Chuemon also pinched his nose and recognized it. As usual, Binhaiguan was used as a guarantee, and the time for the British to control Binhaiguan would be extended again.

But this is also something that can't be helped. Although the UK is willing to spend two dollars for the younger brother, but there are so many mouths up and down, they also need to feed a little. Even if Lord Palmerston and Earl Elgin are willing to support Japan, the younger brothers will have to get two oil and water to support their families.

The only thing that satisfied Chuemon in the loan terms is that the British side said that the shogunate could send people directly to the UK to learn from the British from design to manufacture.

When the ironclad ships are built by the United Kingdom, the shogunate's own shipbuilding technology level will be able to rise a bit further.