Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The magistrate of the shogunate received the iron-hat prince from the Celestial Empire, who also carried an edict from the Qing emperor, so naturally they dared not be negligent.

After all, the other side had deployed such a large warship to block the outside of Nagasaki Harbor, but instead of starting a fight like the British had done before, they were prepared to resolve the issue peacefully. This also exempted the two governors and the elders of the Saga Domain who came this time from the punishment of seppuku.

If something goes wrong, we'll have to see what the Satsuma Domain does.

At this time, the Satsuma Domain's debt had exceeded 200 million yen, which was the amount mentioned by the Nabeshima family's chief retainer when he communicated with the two commissioners.

The actual number is probably only known to the Satsuma Domain itself.

The luxurious lifestyle of the Satsuma Domain was nothing more than some extra income for them. As a daimyo with 77 koku of rice, they still had a considerable amount of capital.

In addition to brown sugar, Ryukyu gold, and local minerals, the Shimazu family also accumulated considerable wealth.

The construction of a few water conservancy projects for the shogunate would not have caused the domain government to be so stressed, not only incurring foreign debts but also having to borrow money from loan sharks at one point.

But the shogunate's system was what it was; if these retainers were to rebel against their superiors, they would be reported for disloyalty, and even if their master changed, they would probably still end up as ronin.

Even if their master's family hadn't met with misfortune, their fate would have been to leave their domain, and they would have lost their samurai status and become ronin.

For many samurai whose entire families relied on the shogunate's stipend for survival, this was unacceptable.

This could also be described as a situation where there are always some people in Japan who are born with the "sacred body of leeks" (a metaphor for being exploited).

As for those who act as accomplices to evil, they are even more typical.

If the Satsuma Domain only undertakes cultural projects, given its size, compiling ten sets of books to record some technologies, as well as the history of the domain and its family, would cost a considerable amount of money.

The problem is that they put on a grand show and spent a lot of money.

This also reflects the conflict between the reclusive Shimazu Shigehiro and his descendants, which forced his son to also go into seclusion, while his grandson was placed in the forefront and remotely controlled by him.

The financial problems within the domain, especially the enormous expenditures, remained unchanged at this time.

Moreover, the Shimazu family began falsifying their repayments at this time, and it wasn't until at least thirty years later, when it was exposed, that the scandal broke.

As for the way to profit from Ryukyu, that's probably no longer an option.

When they went to the banquet in Nagasaki, the magistrate on the shogunate side also treated them with great hospitality.

What Solovyov saw here was the food that Russian nobles both feared and loved most—fresh seafood.

In Russia, there are quite a few people suffering from gout, especially among the wealthy nobles who live in luxury.

Although Solovyov himself has also joined this group, he has been in the military for many years and his diet is no different from that of ordinary people. Moreover, he is still young and it is unlikely that he will trigger these diseases caused by purines.

Moreover, apart from the time he fainted in Breslau, he had never had any health problems.

Of course, that time I gave him a chance to seduce Queen Louise, and the soft, fragrant white grapefruit.
However, at Japanese banquets, because meat is scarce, seafood is the main dish served.

Fortunately, the sea was not yet heavily polluted at this time, which allowed Solovyov to taste whale meat.

Although it's marinated, it's still meat, so it's much better than other kinds.

The Japanese themselves have done some bizarre things, such as the Emperor's decree banning the consumption of meat, and later, the absurd laws enacted by the Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in his quest for children. These are as abstract as they come.

But where do the furs provided in some places actually come from?

We can't just leave all that meat uneaten and waste it, can we?

Therefore, not all of them can be counted.

But today, to entertain our guests, we still set up a banquet like this, with singing and dancing to add to the festivities.

Fortunately, it wasn't Nen, otherwise Solovyov would have collapsed.

It was still some Tang and Bohai style dance and music that the Japanese had modified, but the Japanese style, like the Lanling King's Battle Song, was only barely listenable.

Of course, the performers on stage were not girls, and the Qing Dynasty princes, ministers, and Russian nobles present could only watch, not appreciate.

In fact, when it comes to appreciation, Zhaolian was relatively restrained compared to some close relatives of the imperial family because the Qing Dynasty strictly controlled the imperial clan. Even the hereditary princes were not so free.

He simply lamented that while the structure of much of the culture transmitted from the Tang and Song dynasties was preserved in Japan, the content itself was truly difficult to evaluate.

As they were talking, Nabeshima Natsunao, the lord of the Saga Domain, also stood up and offered a toast to Prince Reishi.

"I am Nabeshima Natsunao, the lord of the Saga Domain near Nagasaki. The two magistrates are local officials, and I am a local. I have come to offer a cup of sake to His Highness Prince Qing."

He was talking non-stop when a Japanese scholar well-versed in Chinese classics came to translate for him.

Solovyov thought about it and realized that he could understand some of it. Although the Japanese used kana at this time, they still used Chinese characters a lot. In fact, a whole letter was written entirely in Chinese characters.

It was quite convenient to communicate by writing. Later, when Liang Qichao and Lin Xiantang met in Japan, they actually started by communicating by writing because of their dialect differences.

As for the specific content, we'll need to ask a Japanese scholar to translate it.

Sinology is still quite popular in Japan. In fact, according to the regulations of the shogunate, Zhu Xi's philosophy was the official academic school, with versions ranging from the Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, some books that were not available in the Qing Dynasty may appear in Japan, such as the "Dayi Juemi Lu" which Emperor Yongzheng personally refuted.

But they were all useless books. Even with the creation of the Tiangong Kaiwu, the shogunate and the early Meiji period still suffered beatings and intimidation.

As for this stuff, it has very little alcohol content. As long as you don't drink too much while talking, you probably won't get a headache.

Nabeshima Natsunao was a very frank person. Not long after he became the lord of the domain, he was imprisoned for 100 days because of an incident caused by the British searching Dutch ships at the Hirado trading post.

As he spoke, he reiterated the prestige of the Qing Dynasty as the "Celestial Empire," something the General was already aware of. Furthermore, the past silk trade between the two countries had contributed to the economic prosperity of both Qing and Japan. Speaking of which, the Nabeshima family was actually quite adept at economics; the lord who later went to Ryukyu was a member of their family.

Otherwise, this small business, which wasn't particularly large—it only went public after the Tokugawa shogunate was about to open—has now grown quite a bit and might even become a powerful domain in the future. Although they were just one of the four powerful domains, the idea of ​​moving the capital to Saga was proposed by the Saga Domain samurai. Ōkuma Shigenobu, who was the first to engage in political parties, was from the Saga Domain. Eto Shinpei, who actively rebelled, was also a Saga Domain samurai and a key figure in judicial reform, the civil rights movement, and the proposal to conquer Korea.

Looking at it this way, it's not like they were just filling in the numbers, and the feudal lords were quite enlightened, and Nabeshima Natsunao's attitude was also quite respectful.

He also mentioned his hope that the two countries could continue to exchange goods and resources and prosper together.

Of course, within the shogunate system, there was a natural inclination to stay at home. Apart from the prestigious title of Shogun, there was little external conquest, especially for the Edo shogunate, which was largely confined to its home base.

"However, the Satsuma Domain has humiliated Ryukyu, an outer domain of the Celestial Empire, for two hundred years. Does the Shogun know this?"

"General, you know about this matter. That's why when Zheng Jing bullied Ryukyu in the past, it was inconvenient for the Celestial Empire to go out to sea. It was Jia Gang Gong who took it upon himself to collect money for Ryukyu. General, you have never accepted any benefits from us."

There's nothing wrong with what they said, since the Zheng family controlled Taiwan at that time and had a certain maritime advantage. The Qing Dynasty didn't really have much of a navy at the beginning.

That statement, however, manages to absolve the shogun of the shogunate.

As for the matter of oppressing the Ryukyu Kingdom and collecting tribute, Nabeshima Natsunao only mentioned that the Shogun had opposed the Satsuma Domain's extravagant and wasteful practices in the past, and that the eighth Shogun, Yoshimune, had also demanded that expenses be reduced, rice prices be stabilized, and taxes be reduced accordingly.

Solovyov found that finding fault wasn't so easy. While Nabeshima Saisao's words were valid for finding fault, they also had loopholes. However, his words clearly provided the shogunate with some room for maneuver.

Akira even confirmed some of his claims, but what followed was smuggling, a business that the shogunate had repeatedly prohibited.

Strictly speaking, it was illegal for the various domains of the shogunate to have contact with foreigners, but the visitors were a Qing Dynasty prince and a Russian count, whose status was too high, and two officials were clearly not enough.

So they asked Nabeshima Natsunao for help, and he handled the situation with ease; the previous incidents didn't even pose a major problem.

However, Satsuma violated the shogunate's ban on smuggling.

The Saga Domain itself was behind Nagasaki, and the magistrate of the shogunate also controlled them.

"This matter is beyond my knowledge. The Shogun has repeatedly ordered a ban on smuggling, so the Saga Domain has never sent ships to the capital without authorization. We can only take action when the Shogun issues an edict. As for the affairs of other domains, I am not aware of the details."

That was the only answer he could give, effectively absolving himself and the Nagasaki magistrate from the issue.

As for the Satsuma Domain, they couldn't handle it either. Even Toyotomi Hideyoshi couldn't completely destroy them, and Tokugawa Ieyasu even granted them the title of Governor of Ōsumi Province.

They almost devoured the entire Kyushu back then, and nearly ruined Otomo's bald head.

Unfortunately, bad luck struck, and a monkey appeared, or rather, the bald rat that Nobunaga actually described.

For the Saga Domain, they are also someone they cannot afford to offend.

Seeing this situation, Zhaolian and Solovyov decided not to continue looking for a breakthrough from here.

After the banquet, they will rest for a day or two before setting off for Edo.

Meanwhile, in Kagoshima, the Satsuma Domain was nervously watching several Russian warships and armed merchant ships circling around Sakurajima volcano.

Neither side fired, but the situation was already tense enough to warrant a fight.

Meanwhile, on the shogunate side, Tokugawa Ienari received the report very quickly. The shogunate's shogunate's flying knight caught up with the small boat that had set off from Kyushu at top speed and delivered it in five days.

Solovyov's journey, from visiting Nagasaki and receiving hospitality to resupplying and negotiating, to finally setting sail, all takes time.

Before Tokugawa Ienari ascended the castle walls, he had to pass through the Goryo-ro area, where the Shogun would make a brief appearance.

As for the senior Chinese, they are already on standby.

Doi Toshihiro, Aoyama Tadahiro, Abe Masasei, Matsudaira Noriyasu, Sakai Tadatsunori, Mizuno Tadashige, and Matsudaira Nobuaki were the seven daimyo who ascended the castle. There were no other daimyo present. None of the daimyo in the residence were summoned. Instead, the former chief senior councilor who had retired was urgently summoned, Matsudaira Sadanobu, the former lord of the Shirakawa Domain, who came from the Shirakawa Domain.

But Matsudaira Sadanobu was still on his way, visiting the seven senior councilors in Edo.

Upon seeing the letter, Tokugawa Ienari's expression turned grim.

The matter in Satsuma is not easy to handle because his wife is the daughter of Shimazu Shigehiro, the former lord of the Satsuma Domain who is now living in seclusion, and the current lord is his wife's nephew.

"General, it seems that the Qing Dynasty has come to demand an explanation, and the Nagasaki magistrate can only offer polite words of advice, which can buy some time. However, according to the letter and the reports from the Kanazawa and Tsutsui magistrates, the Qing prince has actually come aboard a large Russian warship, intending to travel to the southern barbarian lands to offer condolences. The journey is thousands of miles long, and there must be some reason for this."

"Lord Doi, what does this mean?"

Although Mizuno Tadashige was a newcomer, he was highly trusted by the general, and thus interrupted Doi Toshihisa's speech.

The Doi family often had members serving as senior councilors. In contrast, the more famous Honda family only had one descendant serving as a senior councilor. The Honda Masanobu lineage declined afterward, while the Doi and Mizuno families, which had more members serving as senior councilors, had more opportunities to do so.

Of course, the Sakai family has always had members serving as elders in the generation of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Sakai Tadashi wanted to mediate, so he spoke up in front of the general.

"Now, the response is likely to be overwhelming. I believe we should heed Lord Doi's words."

"Doi, continue."

"Drink!" Doi Toshihisa continued, "The shogunate is now facing some disputes with the Qing Dynasty. Although the Qing Dynasty has not launched any military operations across the sea since eliminating the Zheng family, it still harasses the coastal defenses with the assistance of Ryukyu warships. Although their letter is stern in wording, it is only seeking an explanation for Ryukyu, which is a matter of righteousness and justification. Shogun, you can only wait and see. When Prince Rei of the Qing Dynasty arrives in Edo, we will know the answer."

"With the Nagasaki magistrate handling the situation, why wait for the Qing Dynasty to arrive in Edo?"

"Lord Mizuno, you may not know this, but when ships from Russia and England came to Nagasaki in the past, the Russian ships merely stopped here on their way to Qing China. The British claimed to be searching Dutch merchant ships. I have served as a senior officer under the Shogun for many years and have witnessed the behavior of the southern barbarian countries. They rely on their seafaring advantage to travel between towns and ports, which is very difficult to deal with. If the Magistrate and the Saga Domain cannot stop them, and the Satsuma Domain takes a hard line, Russian warships will inevitably head towards Edo. With Qing China backing them, this matter is bound to cause trouble."

Since Toshihiro Doi said so, Tadanari Mizuno naturally couldn't refute it. (End of Chapter)