Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The reason is that during the Nanboku-cho period in Japan, when two courts existed at the same time, although the Southern Court ultimately failed, the scattered individuals among them were all quite capable fighters.

The problem is, they just didn't work together as a cohesive unit.

Moreover, this issue of legitimacy is also very troublesome for the Emperor, but it's not a problem for now.

Starting with Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who spent his days joking around with Ikkyu-san, the Southern Court eventually presented the replica of the sacred artifacts, thus ending the period of division in Japan.

From Ashikaga Yoshimitsu onwards, the Muromachi Shogunate ruled Japan, and the Shogun and the Emperor were both in Kyoto, with the Shogun himself residing at the Nijō Palace.

What happened next was the Warring States period, the battles between village chiefs, the old monkey farmer becoming the Kanpaku (regent), and finally the tanuki (raccoon dog) becoming the shogun, which led to the Edo Shogunate.

The shogunate officials had no objections and remained silent on the matter, so let things continue as they are.

Solovyov had a housekeeper who was actually his concubine. This was all thanks to his wife's kindness in giving him a young, beautiful, and docile woman, so that he wouldn't be able to have affairs outside the marriage.

Moreover, he himself doesn't really have any feelings for Japanese girls, especially 1.35-meter-tall Japanese girls.

At least Solovyov's orientation was quite normal, unlike some generals whose personal lives were somewhat perverse.

As for Matsudaira Sadanobu, after talking with him, he also discovered the other party's attitude: he just wanted an explanation.

Upon returning, he and Toshihiro Doi went up to the castle and let the delegation rest in Edo to delay them for a while so that they could report to the shogun.

When Tokugawa Ienari heard about it, he was completely dumbfounded.

"In that case, the Chinese should go to the meeting. However, I'm afraid these demands will be difficult to agree to."

It wasn't due to any other factor; Tokugawa Ienari's father-in-law was none other than the reclusive Shimazu Shigehiro.

The most severe punishment, reassignment, was generally aimed at those daimyo who had no family ties, no powerful backing, and were not from the imperial lineage.

The Shimazu clan itself possessed 77 koku of grain. If this was an underreporting, and considering past trade and overseas smuggling, it wouldn't be surprising to say they had a powerful clan with a million koku.

When it comes to matters of marriage, the shogunate must be even more cautious in handling these matters.

If the shogunate's relatives had to be sidelined when facing a powerful enemy, the shogunate's prestige would be affected.

Delinquents like the Choshu Domain might be about to stir up trouble.

Although the Mori family members have always behaved strangely and are somewhat cowardly, they are capable of delivering a fatal blow at a crucial moment.

During the Meiji Restoration, the Choshu Domain was actually the one that came ashore to cause the most trouble.

Despite their impressive boasting, many Satsuma samurai ended up fighting alongside rebels and sword-wielding groups during the Satsuma Rebellion.

The Tosa and Saga families were relatively more lively, while the Choshu Baka family had always been rather disliked since the Meiji Restoration.

Ito Hirobumi, a bit of a scoundrel but still with a brain, was killed by a hand cannon; Yamagata Aritomo even earned the honorary title of "Why is the old man here again?" when Emperor Taisho was in his right mind; and there's more to come. As for a few years ago, there was also the famous arquebusier XX-Cut.

The era names have gone from Meiji to Reiwa, but the unpleasantness hasn't changed.

However, the shogunate at this time had not yet realized which of the tozama daimyo below it was capable of causing trouble.

As for summoning the lord of the Satsuma Domain, or the former lord who had retired, there were actually problems in the process.

"In that case, why don't you, General, pass the buck to His Majesty?"

Among the Chinese, some people have raised this opinion.

However, Doi Toshihisa frowned after hearing Abe's opinion.

"If we use this to fool the southern barbarians, it will be fine. Although Qing is not familiar with the shogunate, it is still a neighboring country, especially regarding the matter of Ryukyu."

But Toshihiro Doi's discovery was a lucky accident; it was actually Solovyov who gained knowledge of Japan.

As for Akira, although he knew a little, he only knew that in Japan, the shogunate was the one in actual power.

In his view, this was no different from Cao Cao, Erzhu Rong, Yuwen Tai, and Gao Huan, except that the shogunate system seemed very stable.

He even mentioned in his notes that this trip to Japan was quite an eye-opener; these people were still really dividing up fiefdoms, and sometimes they would even transfer fiefdoms.

For example, the Matsumae Domain, which was originally in Hokkaido, is now stationed in Mutsu Province because it cannot take on the task of guarding against Russia. The security of Hokkaido is handled by people sent by the shogunate.

On the other hand, the shogunate's discussion at this time did not satisfy either side.

Doi Toshihiro and Matsudaira Sadanobu argued that a statement was needed on this matter, that relations between Ryukyu, the shogunate, and Satsuma could be severed, and that Qing China would not object to the shogunate's ships entering Ningbo.

After all, this time it was a prince, and a hereditary prince at that, so his words always carried some assurance.

The Jiaqing Emperor's intention was merely to rescue Ryukyu and continue trade with Japan according to the old practice.

However, the arrival of the Russians also posed a significant challenge to the shogunate.

Fortunately, Solovyov was different from other Russians. Although he left the warships there to intimidate people, he did not delay doing what he needed to do.

He even gave the pair of teacups that Emperor Jiaqing had privately bestowed upon him as a gift to the Shogun.

Emperor Jiaqing lamented that he had no such ministers under his command, and so Solovyov would receive some rewards every time he attended an event.

At this moment, Tokugawa Ienari was also deep in thought, holding a pair of blue-glazed Jiaqing imperial kiln porcelains. It was Mizuno, whom he had promoted, who, in order to establish the authority of the shogunate, stood on the side of Doi, who did not agree with him.

They even came up with several plans, including reducing Shimazu's record and then compensating him later based on his performance.

This approach can be considered a way to gloss over the matter and easily resolve the problem. In the future, the Satsuma Domain, which has close ties with the shogunate at the time, will be treated as an honored guest and given some more benefits.

In reality, what Satsuma lost was merely the entrepot trade with Ryukyu, so its losses were not significant.

In a less severe case, the shogunate would acknowledge the problem and punish some of the chief retainers of the Satsuma Domain.

As for the most serious alterations, those would be too horrifying.

The seven senior Chinese officials and Matsudaira Sadayobu, who had returned temporarily, all disagreed with this approach.

Therefore, Tokugawa Ienari was somewhat displeased, after all, he was his real father-in-law.

Now he has returned to the citadel, sitting there sullenly.

As for his wife, the principal wife, Midai-do, she still had to side with her biological father, and Midai-do also had a certain influence over the Satsuma Domain.

Tokugawa Ienari looked at the two teacups, and he also had a headache.

"What troubles you, General?"

"Let it go. This is an external matter. The Honmaru Palace and the Ooku should not know too much about it."

That being said, even Kasuga no Tsubone, as a wet nurse, could interfere in politics. Odai-dokoro was from the Satsuma Domain, and although she was an adopted daughter of the Konoe family, it was quite clear that this matter was not beyond her control.

"If that's the case, then the Qing Dynasty is rather unreasonable."

"That's precisely why I have some concerns."

Tokugawa Ienari was enthusiastic about having children throughout his life, but the infant mortality rate was alarmingly high.

After talking with the Imperial Palace Attendant, he went to the inner palace.

Yes, sometimes some things just can't be delayed.

Solovyov was also waiting for news in the guesthouse.

He never imagined that Edo in this era would appear to be so prosperous.

The market is quite active, and although it is closed to the outside world, the internal circulation is relatively active.

Japan has 66 provinces in total, and the various circuits on the long and narrow Japanese archipelago follow the Tang Dynasty system, but it still looks somewhat chaotic. After waiting for a while, Matsudaira Sadanobu finally arrived.

Since he was temporarily summoned from the Shirakawa Domain and did not hold any actual position, it was appropriate for him to act as an intermediary.

The seven elders still asked him to communicate with the Qing prince and the count of the Lu Kingdom, which was considered an informal negotiation.

"Are you settling in comfortably here?"

“When I was eighteen, I followed my mentor on an expedition to Italy. We fought for more than ten years and sometimes slept in the open. This kind of house is not bad.”

"I didn't expect you to learn Japanese so quickly; your progress is truly rapid."

His accent was a bit strange, like that of an Osaka merchant, which suited his family's shady business background.

“Learning from others naturally leads to rapid progress; otherwise, it would be troublesome if Matsudaira-dono came to me and we had to communicate in writing.”

"That is indeed the case, but what is your opinion?"

"What is it that Lord Matsudaira is referring to?"

"Regarding the Satsuma Domain, the Shogunate is currently discussing the matter. I have come on behalf of the Shogun and seven senior councilors to inquire about the arrangements for Qing and Lu countries."

"Didn't Your Highness explain this to the General?"

"Prince Li merely mentioned the matter of Ryukyu and the need to punish the perpetrators, the Satsuma Domain."

Solovyov could see that the Celestial Empire and a tiny Samoa were on equal footing. If it had been kept secret, it wouldn't have been so bad, but now that they'd been caught, it was a serious matter.

For a great nation like China, this is a matter of face.

Solovyov's only request was trade.

However, he had not yet decided whether the shogunate would invest in an outer domain in the future.

On the outer borders, even if they overturn the table in the future, they will find it difficult to gain any benefits.

Although Solovyov was a shrewd businessman, he preferred to invest in the Shogunate.

If the shogunate can remain stable, there will be no need for major military actions.

In this way, his idea was to weaken the outer vassal states.

"What methods does the shogunate employ against the various domains that have committed offenses?"

"Be cautious, change your ways, reduce your fiefdom, commit seppuku, and live in seclusion."

There's no reason to behead such a powerful vassal lord.

As for the seppuku, he would simply take out a fan.

Large vassal states are rarely dealt with in this way; reducing their fiefdoms at this time seems to be the most appropriate solution.

"In my opinion, the Satsuma Domain will eventually be punished. It will just be a matter of deliberation between the Shogun and the various courts before a final decision is made."

"You seem to understand the shogunate system quite well; I am quite surprised."

"We always have to study this carefully, and we always have to leave the matter to the shogunate. As for the trade, I wonder if it would be possible to open Hakodate and Osaka?"

"This is the shogunate system. Twenty-five years ago, it was I who discussed with your country's envoy that trade was permissible in Nagasaki but not in Hakodate. This is the law of the shogunate, and I hope you will understand."

"If that's the case, then it's fine. When I met His Majesty the Emperor in Qing, it was only because the border between the two countries was extremely long that an additional port was added in the north and the port of Guangzhou was opened in the south for trade. Since the Shogunate only allows trade in Nagasaki, it's fine. The Netherlands and our country are related by marriage, and I will be the one to escort our princess when she gets married."

He was the one who escorted Catherine to France when she married into the French royal family.

In some respects, he could be considered a professional team.

"In that case, since we are related by marriage, you could do me a favor."

"I know that the General must have his difficulties. Why don't you go back and tell the General what I just said?"

Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded in agreement. After he relayed the message back, the shogunate was also somewhat surprised.

Since the other party has already proposed reducing the fief, we must also take into account the current situation in Ōsumi Province. In the past, the land survey was 17 koku, and with the underreported areas, it should be 20 koku.

If all restrictions are lifted, it seems too severe.

So Tokugawa Ienari continued his discussions.

The Chinese themselves have started internally discussing how much the lockdown should be reduced.

Some advocated reducing the fiefdom of Shimazu by half of Osumi, while others even wanted to strip him of an entire province, leaving only the 60 koku of Satsuma to the Shimazu.

This punishment is already relatively lenient.

Like the Uesugi family, they reduce their holdings by a lot each time, leaving them with very little in the end.

The situation was much better for the various vassal states in the southwest.

Their land is unlike the Hokuriku and Tohoku regions of Japan, which are frequently plagued by heavy snow.

In comparison, it is warm and can be cultivated continuously, resulting in multiple harvests per year.

However, the Satsuma Domain treated its subjects rather inhumanely.

They produce brown sugar here, but don't grow much grain, resulting in a very poor food supply for this domain.

What's slightly better than Ryukyu is that in Ryukyu, when there were no sweet potatoes, eating cycad seeds could kill people.

Meanwhile, life in Samoa was like hell, and the fact that they were still alive was a blessing in disguise.

If Solovyov had known more details, he probably would have chosen to demolish Samo altogether.

But that can't be done now, and he doesn't have the time. If he wants to demolish Satsuma, he'll have to bring at least 20,000 to 30,000 troops to forcibly demolish it.

The main reason is that once the shogunate gathers the hatamoto (military commanders) and various domain troops, the number is still quite large, and it is not easy to deal with them in a short period of time.

As for these insects in Satsuma, that is, the shogunate system and the various countries were too far away to do anything to them, and in the end they did nothing to them.

Surprisingly, he did quite well afterward; sometimes it just feels like there's no justice in the world.

When the shogunate finally made its decision, it sent Toshihisa Doi to the residence to announce the shogunate's final decision.

The Satsuma Domain's fief was reduced to 10 koku in Ōsumi. In addition, Shimazu Shigehiro, as the former lord who had retired, was held responsible and was confined for six months.

In addition, the shogunate agreed to allow Russia to trade in Nagasaki and stipulated that it was Japan's only port for foreign trade.

Solovyov didn't have any objections when he heard this.

In addition, the Shogun will meet with the Prince of Qing Dynasty at the Honmaru after this.

The issue that the two sides will continue to argue about is etiquette.

The final result was that the Shogun and the Qing Dynasty prince were of equal rank, and they could simply exchange ordinary courtesies when they went up to the castle to meet.

On Solovyov's side, after climbing onto the city wall, they had to bow.

That's alright. He just wants to get things done, and according to Japanese etiquette, they should indeed meet separately.

The matter was roughly settled; in the end, the shogunate sent an envoy to the castle for a banquet in the citadel, and once the envoy departed, the matter was considered closed. (End of Chapter)