North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 241 The "Black Ships" Arrive!
"My lord, please allow us to kill this traitor...!"

A dozen gleaming samurai swords were pointed at Wu Qingfeng's vital points.

The blade was already pressed against his nose. If any warrior's hand had trembled even slightly, Wu Qingfeng would have been instantly killed!
But after following Ah Zu for several years, Wu Qingfeng has been thoroughly trained and has seen all kinds of situations.

Without even raising his head, he ignored the gleaming samurai swords around him, calmly picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip.

"Shogun Tokugawa!" Wu Qingfeng calmly said after putting down his teacup, "Outside Edo Castle, our fleet from Kashuu awaits your decision!"

"And in California, thousands of miles away, there is a fleet ten or even a hundred times larger, ready to march on Japan and storm Edo at any time!"

A meaningful smile slowly appeared on Wu Qingfeng's face: "And our hundreds of thousands of army troops are also eager to witness the graceful dance of Japanese geisha firsthand...!"

The more calm and collected Wu Qingfeng remained, the less likely Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Abe Masahiro were to make a move.

At times like these, only those with strong backing and solid financial resources dare to remain calm and composed, chatting and laughing as they do.

"Insolence...!" Tokugawa Ieyoshi shouted sharply at the opportune moment, "Don't be rude! Get out of here!"

"My lord, this thief...!" a samurai protested unwillingly.

"Baka...!" Tokugawa Ieyoshi slammed his hand on the table. "Mr. Wu is the envoy from California. How dare you be so rude? Get out!"

"Hey……!"

The dozen or so warriors reluctantly sheathed their swords and slowly retreated.

Even so, their angry gazes never left Wu Qingfeng's face for a moment.

Abe Masahiro said in a deep voice, "Mr. Wu, what exactly do you mean by 'opening up the country'? Could you explain it to us in detail?"

Wu Qingfeng smiled faintly: "The current trend of the world is towards universal harmony!"

"Even our great nation of China opened five ports to trade with countries like England and leased Hong Kong to England."

"As a subordinate nation, Japan should naturally follow suit and open its ports and markets to California, grant California most-favored-nation status, and lease a piece of land to California to facilitate trade and ship resupply."

"This is the general trend of the world. If Japan goes against this trend, it will surely be crushed into pieces by the rolling wheels of history!"

As he spoke, Wu Qingfeng pulled a folded document from his pocket, placed it on the table, and continued, "This is the detailed agreement drafted by our California regarding Japan's 'opening up' to the world...!"

Immediately, a samurai stepped forward, picked up the commemorative document, and presented it to Tokugawa Ieyoshi with both hands.

Tokugawa Ieyoshi picked up the memorial and read it carefully, his expression growing increasingly grim with each reading.

"Boom...!"

After reading it, Tokugawa Ieyoshi slammed the memorial on the table: "Mr. Wu... this... this is really too much!"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi's chest heaved violently with anger, and his face turned pale and then red.

The old Chinese man, Abe Masahiro, also picked up the document and read it carefully. After he finished reading it, he was just as angry.

"Open the ports of Shimoda, Mutsu, and Ryoko!"

"Lease Hakodate...and grant California most-favored-nation status to all goods and people...!"

……

The memorial was written in great detail, but the most important points were these three.

Abe Masahiro's face flushed red with anger: "Mr. Wu, these demands you've made are simply outrageous! Japan absolutely cannot meet such harsh conditions...!"

"Oh...?" Wu Qingfeng's smile remained unchanged: "Shogun Tokugawa, Vice Minister Abe, if our conditions can be met peacefully, it would undoubtedly be good for both of us."

"If peaceful means cannot meet our demands, then we will have no choice but to resort to force and take it ourselves...!"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi turned pale with anger, and even his breathing became labored: "Mr. Wu, are you threatening Japan?"

“That’s right!” Wu Qingfeng nodded calmly: “I did indeed use force to threaten him!”

"No one wants to start a war and cause widespread death. But sometimes, in order to achieve our goals and demands, we have no choice but to use force."

Wu Qingfeng continued, "Just now, my California fleet only fired one round of cannon fire, and I saw that Edo Castle was already engulfed in flames."

"If our California fleet were to unleash a barrage of fire without restraint, then... in less than half a day, the entire Edo Castle would cease to exist!"

"You...!" Tokugawa Ieyoshi's chest heaved violently; he was furious to the extreme.

Wu Qingfeng continued, "Edo Castle is just the beginning! Almost all of Japan's major cities are located on the coast. Our California fleet doesn't even need to land; we can simply bombard them all the way and turn the entire country into ruins!"

Masahiro Abe couldn't help but say coldly, "Mr. Wu, don't forget, our Japan also has a navy...!"

Wu Qingfeng calmly smiled and said, "If the Japanese Navy wants to clash with our California Fleet, we would be more than happy to oblige!"

"If a naval battle breaks out today, I think that when you gentlemen wake up tomorrow morning, Japan will no longer have any navy!"

"If you don't believe me, General Tokugawa and Vice Minister Abe, you are welcome to send the Japanese navy to try it out...!"

"this……!"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Abe Masahiro exchanged a glance before saying, "Mr. Wu, this is a matter of great importance and cannot be decided in a short time!"

"Please give us some time to carefully consider and discuss this..."

“Fine!” Wu Qingfeng interrupted them before they could finish speaking, “I can give you three days to consider! If we don’t get the results we want after three days, our California fleet will open fire on Edo Castle!”

"When the time comes, don't say I didn't warn you!"

“Three days…!” Masahiro Abe exclaimed hastily, “Three days is too short! How can such an important matter be decided in a mere three days?”

Wu Qingfeng countered, "So, according to Abe-sama, how long would it take?"

Abe Masahiro hesitated and said, "This is a matter of great importance. The shogunate needs to report to the Emperor and summon the lords and daimyo of various regions to discuss this matter. We cannot rush it!"

"In my opinion, it will take at least... a year for this matter to be resolved!"

Historically, when Brigadier General Matthew Perry led the American Black Ships fleet into Tokyo Bay for the first time, the Tokugawa Shogunate also employed delaying tactics.

It wasn't until the spring of the following year, when Commodore Perry led an even more powerful Black Ships fleet into Tokyo Bay for the second time, that the Tokugawa Shogunate was finally subdued by force, and Japan was forced to "open its doors to the world."

This time, the California fleet got the first shot, but the Tokugawa shogunate still wanted to use delaying tactics.

Commodore Matthew Perry, this American, probably doesn't know the true nature of the Japanese.

But Wu Qingfeng came from a merchant family and had dealt with the Japanese quite a bit, so he knew all too well what kind of people these Japanese were.

If you're soft, he'll be hard; if you're hard, he'll be soft!
They're complete bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong!

If we want to subdue these Japanese, we have to teach them a lesson.

Therefore, Wu Qingfeng led his fleet up and, without saying a word, fired a round of cannon fire first.

Only after the Japanese have witnessed the firepower of the California Fleet firsthand can everything else be discussed.

Upon hearing Abe Masahiro's words, Wu Qingfeng knew exactly what these guys were up to.

"Heh...!" Wu Qingfeng sneered, "It's just a matter to discuss something, and it actually takes a year?"

"I don't have a year, I can only give you seven days at most!"

"If I don't get the result I want in seven days, then the California fleet will let the guns do the talking!"

After saying this, Wu Qingfeng stood up from the tatami mat without waiting for a reply from Tokugawa Ieyoshi and Abe Masahiro.

"Qiang...!"

Several samurai couldn't hold back any longer and were about to draw their swords again!

"Step back...!"

Tokugawa Ieyoshi rebuked, "You must not be disrespectful to the envoy!"

Wu Qingfeng remained calm and composed, gave Tokugawa Ieyoshi a slight bow, and then led several coast guard soldiers away from the Shogun's residence without looking back.

……

After Wu Qingfeng and his men left, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, Abe Masahiro, and all the retainers looked extremely grim.

After a long silence, Tokugawa Ieyoshi finally managed to suppress his anger and said, "Let's discuss how to deal with this matter."

Abe Masahiro said, "My lord, I observe that the firepower, range, and speed of the California fleet far surpass those of my Japanese fleet!"

"If we easily start a naval battle, our fleet will likely be completely annihilated."

Even without Abe Masahiro's explanation, Tokugawa Ieyoshi, having personally witnessed the California Fleet's formidable firepower and astonishing speed, clearly understood that Japan's weak and outdated fleet was no match for the California Fleet.

If a naval war breaks out, it will only result in a one-sided massacre.

Tokugawa Ieyoshi coldly replied, "Then what should we do? Just give in to all their demands so easily?"

"If this happens, where will Japan's dignity be? Where will the Tokugawa Shogunate's authority be?"

None of the retainers dared to open their mouths.

Tokugawa Ieyoshi waved his hand dejectedly, "Summon your relatives and hereditary daimyo as soon as possible and come here to discuss this!"

Among the feudal lords of Japan, they were divided into three categories: kinhan, hereditary lords, and tozama daimyo.

The daimyo of the Shinhan were all feudal lords related to the Tokugawa shogunate by blood, and their fiefdoms were located near the capital. For example, the Owari, Kii, and Mito domains were known as the "Gosanke" (three great families of the Tokugawa shogunate).

Hereditary daimyo were retainers and generals who served Tokugawa Ieyasu for generations before the Battle of Sekigahara. Examples include Honda Masanobu and Okubo Tadachika.

On the other hand, the tozama daimyo were those who were forced to submit to Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara, and their fiefdoms were mostly located in remote areas. Examples include the Satsuma Domain, Choshu Domain, Kaga Domain, and Sendai Domain.

During the Tokugawa Shogunate, only the daimyo of the first domain and the hereditary daimyo were qualified to participate in politics.

Although the daimyo of the outer domain possessed relatively large fiefdoms and wealth, they were not qualified to participate in politics.

Therefore, in the subsequent "anti-shogunate movement," the Tozama Daimyo became the main force and core.

Upon receiving Tokugawa Ieyoshi's order, the kin domains and hereditary daimyo around the capital region rushed to the shogun's residence as quickly as possible.

Upon learning of the arrival of the "Black Ships" and their forced "opening of the country," these vassal states and hereditary daimyo were immediately enraged and clamored to wage war against the California fleet.

(End of this chapter)