North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 240 Japan's "Opening of the Nation"

Of course, we should do business in arms dealing, but we must choose the right time.

The real opportunity to sell arms will come when the American Civil War begins.

Even though Lincoln took office nearly a decade earlier than expected, the Civil War still needs to wait patiently for some time to break out.

Even Ah Zu couldn't say for sure how long this would take.

Perhaps this year, or maybe next year or the year after.

If we sell weapons to the U.S. Army ahead of time, how is that different from aiding the enemy?

So, Azu neither said he wouldn't sell nor that he would sell; instead, he stalled for time.

Moreover, the Huamei Armory's current production capacity is really limited. Even if it works overtime all year round, it can only produce at most 20 to 30 million US dollars worth of weapons.

Currently, this production capacity is basically sufficient.

After all, there hasn't been a major war in the world.

However, once the Civil War begins, and the Crimean War, the Austro-Prussian War, the Franco-Prussian War, and so on unfold, the advanced weapons produced by the China American Arsenal will become increasingly scarce.

To further expand production capacity, it is necessary to possess a large amount of high-quality iron ore, coal, and copper ore.

At yesterday's meeting, there was one more thing that Azu didn't mention, and that was the copper mines in Chile.

In the present-day Republic of Chile, the conservative party has been in power for a long time and has been heavily involved in copper mining.

Like California, Chile is also located on the Pacific Ocean, so there is no problem in purchasing large quantities of copper ore from Chile.

Even now, Chilean copper mines have gradually become California's main source, with a stable and sufficient supply that requires no special arrangements.
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The fleet led by Wu Qingfeng, with the fast armored cruiser "Guangzhou" as its flagship, sailed southwest after finalizing the port lease for the Aleutian Islands in early April, and soon arrived at the Kanagawa Bay off the coast of Tokyo, Japan.

A fleet of seven ships—one armored cruiser, two armored frigates, and four fast steam merchant ships—suddenly appeared in Tokyo Bay, immediately causing great tension for the Tokugawa Shogunate.

These seven black ships, their surfaces gleaming with the menacing color of steel, had their massive, dark cannons pointed directly at Edo Castle, the seat of the Tokugawa Shogunate!

Upon receiving the news, the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi, surrounded by his staff and samurai, hurriedly appeared on the castle wall and used a bronze monocular telescope to gaze at the seven black ships on the sea.

"Where did these black ships come from? What country are they from? What are they trying to do by barging in?"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi, who was nearly sixty years old, fired off a barrage of questions.

Faced with the shogun's question, none of the retainers and samurai could answer it.

"Boom boom boom...!"

Just then, blinding flames suddenly burst forth from several huge black ships, accompanied by deafening cannon fire!

"Baka...!"

In his panic, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, being short in stature, almost fell to the ground.

The senior councilor Abe Masahiro, who was behind him, quickly grabbed the shogun's back to prevent Tokugawa Ieyoshi from being disrespectful.

“Swish, swish, swish, swish…!”

The whistling cannonballs flew over the sea and over the city walls, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, and crashed into Edo Castle.

"Boom, boom, boom...!"

The powerful high-explosive shells exploded in Edo Castle, destroying countless wooden buildings in the surrounding area.

The flying shrapnel relentlessly reaped the lives of the Japanese!
The cannonballs were so powerful that they caused several large fires in Edo Castle...!
The vast Edo Castle was instantly thrown into chaos!
"Baka... Baka... Why did they fire without saying a word... How dare they...?"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi looked back at the devastation of Edo Castle after the bombing, and he was so angry that he jumped up and down!

"Fire! Fire back!"

A considerable number of bronze cannons were placed on the walls of Edo Castle.

These old cannons, whose production date is unclear, were the strongest firepower that Edo Castle relied on.

The old Chinese man, Abe Masahiro, quickly spoke up: "My lord, our cannons can't reach these black ships...!"

"What……?"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi was stunned when he heard this.

"My lord, in my opinion, we should find out as soon as possible which country's warship it is and what its purpose is...!"

"What else could their intentions be?" Tokugawa Ieyoshi said angrily, "These black ships have openly opened fire...!"

"Firing the cannons doesn't mean war has broken out; perhaps... it's just to establish authority and issue a warning...!"

Upon hearing this, Tokugawa Ieyoshi frowned deeply: "Sosuke-suru...!"

"My lord, perhaps we should wait and see. If the enemy stops firing, it means they are merely establishing their authority and issuing a warning..."

……

Just as Masahiro Abe had predicted, the black ships on the sea only fired one round of cannon fire before ceasing to fire.

A moment later, an armored corvette, belching black smoke, emerged from the fleet and gradually approached Edo Castle.

As they drew closer, Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Abe Masahiro, through their binoculars, clearly saw two large Chinese characters painted on the bow of the black warship.

"Zhiyuan...!"

The ship's name is clearly painted on the bow in both Chinese and English.

Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Abe Masahiro didn't know English, but Chinese was very familiar to them. Upon seeing the two characters "致远" (Zhiyuan), both Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Abe Masahiro were utterly shocked.

"This...this black ship, it's actually...a Chinese ship?"

Why would the superior nation possess such powerful and formidable black ships?

"Why...why would the warships of the superior nation fire on Edo Castle for no reason?"

Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi was filled with questions and frantically tried to recall if he had offended the Celestial Empire recently!

At least in this era, Japan, which had closed itself off from the world, still regarded China as the Celestial Empire.

The only two countries that traded with Japan were China and the Netherlands.

It wasn't until the Meiji Restoration, when Japan opened its eyes to the world, that the status of "Celestial Empire" began to collapse rapidly.

From looking up to China with utmost respect to looking down with utter contempt, from "learning from China" to "surpassing China".

……

The armored frigate "Zhiyuan" slowly came to a stop at two or three thousand yards, and then launched a small boat, which rowed towards Edo Castle.

Upon seeing this, Tokugawa Ieyoshi immediately ordered, "Quickly, quickly, send envoys to welcome the angels from the superior nation with the highest honors...!"

"My lord, this is ridiculous...!" Abe Masahiro tugged at Tokugawa Ieyoshi's sleeve and said, "Something seems off... There are Chinese people on the small boat, and also some white-skinned foreigners... It seems, it seems, that it's not a Chinese boat!"

"Not a Chinese black ship?" Tokugawa Ieyoshi exclaimed in surprise, "The ship's name is clearly written in Chinese characters, and there are Chinese people on the small boat...!"

Abe Masahiro lowered his binoculars: "My lord, send someone to welcome the envoy first, and then the truth will naturally come to light..."

"Dose-Sler...!"

……

A moment later, at the Shogun's residence, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi personally received the envoy of unknown origin.

Wu Qingfeng personally led several coast guard soldiers, striding confidently into the Shogun's mansion.

Despite facing a backward country like Japan, Wu Qingfeng, being Chinese, still possesses strong self-confidence.

Moreover, behind him is a powerful fleet, and an even more powerful California!

"Wu Qingfeng, California Representative Office in the Far East, greets General Tokugawa...!"

Even when he met the legendary Shogun, Wu Qingfeng simply clasped his hands in greeting, without even bending his waist.

California...?

"Far East Representative Office...?"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi blinked, his face full of confusion.

"Ahem...!" Masahiro Abe quickly coughed lightly and said, "Mr. Wu, please sit down... and have some tea...!"

Immediately, a beautiful Japanese woman dressed in a kimono, with small, quick steps, respectfully stepped forward to serve tea to Wu Qingfeng.

Unlike traditional Chinese etiquette, this tea lady knelt behind Wu Qingfeng, performing a tea ceremony with fluid grace and captivating beauty.

Moreover, this beautiful tea maid knelt behind Wu Qingfeng the whole time, serving him properly and attentively.

"Slurp...!" Wu Qingfeng took a sip of tea and exclaimed, "This tea is quite good...!"

Masahiro Abe asked cautiously in fairly standard Chinese, "Mr. Wu, what do you mean by this California...Far East Representative Office...?"

Wu Qingfeng put down his teacup and replied calmly, "The California I represent is a state of the United States...!"

"I see……!"

Wu Qingfeng continued, "Following the orders of my governor, I have been ordered to go to the Far East to establish a representative office and fully represent all of California's interests in the Far East!"

Masahiro Abe certainly knew about America.

But Abe Masahiro and Tokugawa Ieyoshi knew very little about California!

"The fleet anchored on the sea is none other than the California Coast Guard's fleet!"

"By order of the Governor, we are here to formally request that Japan officially 'open its borders' to California!"

"Open the country...!" Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Abe Masahiro both swallowed hard.

While Abe Masahiro was greatly shocked, he cautiously asked, "Mr. Wu, what does this 'founding of the nation' mean?"

"The so-called 'opening up of the country'...!" Wu Qingfeng continued without even glancing at the Japanese men opposite him, "It means opening the ports and markets to California, granting California most-favored-nation status, and designating a permanent leasehold exclusively for California...!"

"What……?"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Abe Masahiro could no longer sit still!

Almost simultaneously, all the Japanese present were enraged and stood up.

"Clang... clang... clang...!"

Even more unrestrained shogunate samurai, in a fit of rage, drew their gleaming samurai swords from their waists...!
"Outrageous...!" A samurai brandishing his katana rushed up to Wu Qingfeng, pointing the gleaming tip of his blade at the noses of Wu Qingfeng and several coast guard soldiers.

"This is outrageous... This is outrageous... My lord, please allow me to execute this traitor...!"

(End of this chapter)