Chapter 3510
Chapter 3510
Chapter 3510
Yue Shizong watched and watched for a long time, but finally signed up.
Like applicants from other countries, Yue Shizong was not very interested in the life and death of the Japanese. After all, whether the Japanese civil war broke out and to what extent it could be fought, it seemed that it would not have much direct impact on the Ming Dynasty.
But he knew that putting on airs at this time and deliberately pretending not to be in the same camp with Hai Han would do no good for the Ming Dynasty.
That would only make other countries further alienated from the Ming Dynasty and close the few channels of communication with the outside world.
Signing up for this inspection trip was actually the same purpose as his coming to Zhoushan to attend this forum event, which was to maintain the Ming Dynasty's presence and at the same time use this occasion to understand the development and changes of the external international situation.
Fortunately, Hai Han has promised to cover all expenses, otherwise Yue Shizong would probably have to reconsider - crossing the sea to Japan, the round-trip boat ride alone would be a considerable expense.
After the defeat last year, the Ming Dynasty once again ceded territory and paid compensation in the armistice agreement. The financial situation was already very bad, and the funding for overseas institutions was also greatly reduced. The embassy in Hangzhou has also been forced to cut most of its staff due to financial pressure.
When Yue Shizong signed up, the Hai Han official asked about the number of people traveling. He hesitated for a long time and finally only reported four people.
This is not to save money for Hai Han, but the embassy’s current staffing has been simplified to the extreme and can only maintain the most basic daily operations.
He was going to bring three people with him. One was an old servant who had followed him for many years and was responsible for taking care of his daily life; one was his trusted think tank, who was both his advisor and clerk; and the other was a military officer. After all, this trip was to observe the war, so there had to be someone in the team who understood military affairs.
As for the guards of honor, the embassy no longer has this staff due to funding issues, so he can't just hire a group of people to do this temporarily. And the guards of honor need to be professionally trained. If the people hired temporarily don't do a good job, it won't be Yue Shizong's face that will be lost, but the face of the Ming Dynasty.
Rather than spending money and making a fool of himself, it would be better to travel light and avoid unnecessary trouble. He knew very well that the international reputation of the Ming Dynasty could not withstand any more messing around.
Compared to the somewhat shabby Ming Dynasty delegation, former vassal states such as Annan and Korea did not have such troubles. They did not even need to rely on Hai Han, and they brought their large fleet to Zhoushan. It would not be difficult for them to go to Japan, as they only needed to make good supplies at Dinghai Port.
Li Yi and Zheng Zao both longed for such an opportunity. After all, a fleet staying in the port would not be a sight to behold. Only after setting out to sea would they have the opportunity to let other small countries see their strength.
Although Yan Chujie has not given any clear instructions, Li Yi judged based on his experience that once Hai Han started to take action against Japan, it would mean that North Korea would most likely also benefit from it.
Li Yi had even begun to consider whether he should send a message back to his country first to allow the naval fleet to assemble in advance. In case a civil war broke out in Japan and Japan had no time to take care of the outside world, Korea could take advantage of the situation and gain some benefits there.
The Dutch and Portuguese chose to sign up at the same time, which is closely related to their vital interests in Japan.
If the Kyushu forces could really overthrow the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate, then the policy of isolation that has long restricted local cross-border trade might be abolished. This would definitely be major good news for Western countries such as the Netherlands and Portugal that rely on maritime trade.
However, they were not optimistic about the prospects of Kyushu forces being able to successfully defeat the shogunate.
Historically, Kyushu forces have tried to break away from the rule of the shogunate, but due to the huge disparity in strength, once the dispute is put into war, the result is no suspense. Nagasaki Port in Kyushu is a foreign trade port designated by the shogunate. Such a piece of fat meat has been under the direct jurisdiction of the shogunate for many years. The local forces can only watch with drooling, which shows the deterrent power of the shogunate.
Whether the Kyushu feudal lords can cope with the shogunate's expedition will probably depend on Hai Han's support. If Hai Han is willing to give its full support, then the local forces will naturally be invincible.
But if Hai Han's support remains only verbal or is not strong enough, then the good days of the Kyushu vassal states will probably be over.
No matter which direction the situation in Japan will develop, they don't want to miss this opportunity to witness it. Regardless of who wins or loses, the stance they take at a critical moment is likely to have an impact on their country's future trade position in the region.
At the end of the second day of the forum, the registration statistics compiled by the Hai Han Ministry of Foreign Affairs were submitted to the Executive Committee. Ninety percent of the countries attending the forum had already registered, and the remaining two or three countries were only struggling with the itinerary arrangements, not the issue of whether to go or not.
Shi Diwen said with emotion: "The registration situation is much better than we expected. Even Daming has signed up. There are really many people who want to watch this excitement!"
Schneider asked curiously, "But why did the Ming Dynasty only report four people? Are they planning to go to Japan to learn from the scriptures?"
Shi Diwen explained: "Yue Shizong didn't bring many people with him when he came to Zhoushan... Given the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, it is probably too late to put on a show."
Tao Donglai said: "No matter how many people there are, we will still arrange a separate ship for Daming, and we will give them the due treatment."
Shi Diwen understood and agreed. It was just a matter of arranging one more boat. It was not a big deal for him. He just needed to give the order.
At the same time, he could fully understand why Tao Donglai gave such instructions. Although the Ming Dynasty had lost power, this was a dynastic change for the Han dynasty, and the only one who could bear the brunt of the Ming Dynasty was Hai Han. If others wanted to take this opportunity to humiliate the Ming Dynasty, that was absolutely unacceptable.
When the Qing Dynasty invaded the Ming Dynasty, Hai Han took the initiative to send troops to help the Ming Dynasty repel the enemy. The same principle actually applied.
Before the meeting ended, Tao Donglai mentioned another thing to Shi Diwen: "We have already announced the arrangements for the inspection in Japan. I guess the Japanese will get the news soon. You should keep a close eye on it and make sure nothing goes wrong at this critical juncture."
Shi Diwen responded: "Don't worry, the places where the Japanese have settled have been controlled, and there will be basically no chance for them to meet on the island."
The Japanese investment in intelligence was not in vain. Later that day, news about Hai Han organizing various countries to visit Japan had reached their ears through certain special channels.
However, the reactions of the shogunate and the Kyushu feudal domains were very different.
Shimazu Hisamichi and others celebrated, believing that this was Hai Han fulfilling its promise to provide international status to the Kyushu domains that broke away from the shogunate. As long as Hai Han recognized the validity of their independent nation-building, these countries that followed Hai Han would naturally follow Hai Han's example.
Masuyama Masatoshi felt deeply frightened. He seemed to see a large dark cloud slowly moving towards the top of the shogunate.