Chapter 3619
Chapter 3619
Chapter 3619
While Tokugawa Ietsugu was gathering his men to discuss countermeasures, another group of people were also holding a meeting in a trading house just a few streets away from Nijo Castle to discuss the current situation in Kyoto.
The owner of this trading company was not a local businessman. On the door hung a signboard with the words "Donghaihang" and a red and blue flag indicating the trading company's affiliation.
The East China Sea Company is not very famous in Hai Han, but it has a very mature business network in Japan, Korea, Ryukyu and other countries. It has branches in various major cities and trading ports. Its business scope covers multiple fields such as commerce, shipping, and finance. It is a very powerful large trading company.
The background of Donghai Bank is no secret. Anyone who has dealt with it will know that the big boss behind Donghai Bank is actually the Haihan Donghai Regional Management Committee. It can be said to be an official institution under the name of a trading company. Its business scope mainly covers several East Asian countries adjacent to the Donghai Region.
Donghai Bank has all the goods that other companies sell, and can also provide goods that other companies don't have. It is even said that special goods such as arms that are not available on the market can be purchased through Donghai Bank's channels.
Precisely because of such strong strength, Donghai Bank often has close contacts with dignitaries in the countries where it is located. Many of its major clients have official backgrounds, which of course also facilitates some of Donghai Bank's special missions.
In addition to operating normal projects, the Tokai Trading House opened in Kyoto has also been fulfilling the duties of an intelligence department, collating and collecting various local information in Kyoto and reporting it to the military intelligence department of the Sasebo base.
The manager of the Kyoto branch of the Donghaixing Bank is Lin Qiu, a native of Huizhou. His father, Lin Zhong, is a loyal soldier recruited by the Dai family, a salt merchant from Yangzhou. He had made great contributions in the struggle between the Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants and the Huizhou salt merchants in the early years, and thus got the opportunity to send Lin Qiu to study abroad in Hai Han.
After graduation, Lin Qiu returned to Yangzhou and successfully joined the Salt Industry Group run by a Hui salt merchant. Later, due to his outstanding abilities, he was recruited by the Hai Han government into the East China Sea Bank and sent to Japan to be in charge of the Kyoto branch.
Although Lin Qiu's family background is not prominent and he has been able to get to where he is today thanks to the support of his old employer, the special nature of the semi-official East China Sea Bank means that he is also regarded by the locals as a diplomatic figure representing Hai Han, and his status and position far exceeds that of ordinary businessmen.
When the local celebrities and gentry in Kyoto saw Lin Qiu, most of them would respectfully address him as "Manager Lin". There were countless people who came to Lin Qiu to ask him to do things for them.
However, in the meeting held at the Donghai Branch today, Manager Lin, who was usually very famous in Kyoto, could only sit at the bottom and could only speak when asked questions.
The meeting was chaired by Yang Tianlei, the shipping and trade director of Sasebo Port, and Amakusa Hayabusa, who was in charge of political work and propaganda at Sasebo Port. The participants were representatives sent by the five major domains of Kyushu.
Yang Tianlei's father, Yang Yun, had followed Shi Diwen for many years and was a trusted capable general. He was now the chief executive of Hangzhou, the capital of the Hai Han Kingdom. Yang Tianlei's current position could be considered Lin Qiu's immediate superior.
Amakusa Hayabusa's father, Amakusa Shiro, is the current commander of the Sasebo base. Amakusa Hayabusa appeared in Kyoto, and every word he said represented his father's attitude.
The representatives sent by the five feudal domains of Kyushu were all civil and military officials who held important positions in their respective domains. They were able to sneak into Kyoto secretly during this period, all thanks to the cover provided by the Tokai Line.
The recent chaos in Kyoto was of course caused by the people present. The previous contact with the Japanese royal family was made by Lin Qiu, and the ronin warriors who spread various rumors in Kyoto were all from the Kyushu domains. At this time, Lin Qiu was explaining the information he had collected recently to the people present.
"According to the previous agreement with the imperial family, they provided me with the results of their recent contacts with various parties. Among the 29 daimyo who visited the emperor, nine clearly expressed their willingness to support the imperial family and would even send troops to participate in the overthrow of the shogunate organized by the imperial family if necessary."
"Although other daimyo have not mentioned sending troops, they have also expressed their willingness to join the imperial family when the imperial family and the shogunate split. However, if they can get more external support, such as weapons and equipment provided by our country, then their willingness to send troops may be stronger."
"But the royal family believes that the support they have gained so far is far from enough, and they are still taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the situation and are unwilling to step forward to guide public opinion."
The situations described by Lin Qiu were basically consistent with the intelligence held by the shogunate. However, Lin Qiu obtained first-hand information from the royal family. The shogunate did not have such a precise source of information about the actual attitudes of the daimyo who visited the royal family.
Yang Tianlei said: "The mentality of the royal family is not difficult to understand. If they stand up and express their stance at this time, and the shogunate wins the war to conquer Kyushu, they will definitely settle accounts with the royal family. They will at least wait for a clear signal before taking action, such as a major defeat of the shogunate army, or more local daimyo expressing their support for the royal family."
Amakusa Hayabusa said: "It seems that we still have to continue to increase our propaganda efforts to help the royal family make up their minds!"
Yang Tianlei said: "We need to be careful recently. Today, we received a call from Kyushu saying that Tokugawa Ietsugu has already rushed to Kyoto and is expected to arrive in one or two days. Since he came here in person, he will definitely take some measures to stop the rumors that are unfavorable to the shogunate. He may organize a large-scale arrest operation locally."
Amakusa Hayabusa shook his head and said, "We can't stop now. Brother Yang, don't forget that the purpose of our propaganda in Kyoto is to lure the tiger away from the mountain and force Tokugawa Ietsugu to leave the front line. The longer we keep him in Kyoto, the more buffer time Kyushu can get, and there will be a chance to change the situation."
Yang Tianlei asked, "Do you mean to add fuel to the fire and continue to escalate the situation?"
Amakusa Hayabusa said, "There are over 100,000 refugees in Kyoto right now. I think we can take advantage of their dissatisfaction with the shogunate. Since Tokugawa Ietsugu is coming to Kyoto, what do you think will happen if the refugees know his itinerary?"
Yang Tianlei said: "Even if the refugees knew that he was in Kyoto, they probably wouldn't have the courage to rebel."
Amakusa Hayabusa shook his head and said, "Brother Yang is wrong. What we need to do is not to incite the refugees to rebel, but to tell them that Tokugawa Ietsugu has come to Kyoto to distribute relief. The number of places is limited, and it is first come first served."
Yang Tianlei understood immediately and said, "Tokugawa Ietsugu rushed to Kyoto, so of course he wouldn't bring much supplies. If the refugees believed the news and really surrounded his base, and he couldn't provide relief money and food, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to defend himself!"
Amakusa Hayabusa continued, "There will be tens of thousands of disappointed people at the scene. If someone provokes them, it could become a powder keg!"