1850 American Gold Tycoon

As U.S. troops approached Edo Castle, the top leaders of the Tokugawa shogunate had mixed feelings.

Although the top officials of the Tokugawa shogunate strictly blocked the news of Kanagawa's defeat, there were too many defeated soldiers who had no choice but to flee from Kanagawa and return to Edo Castle.

This is no longer something that the Tokugawa shogunate can block if they want.

News of Kanagawa's defeat still spread like wildfire, and the entire Edo Castle was lifeless and shrouded in gloom.

The news of the defeat of Nagasaki more than a month ago and the capture of the feudal lord had just reached Edo. The ministers of the Tokugawa shogunate and even the traders and lackeys in the wine shops and tea shops were skeptical about the matter.

It was believed that the rumors were exaggerated and overstated the strength of the American military.

Now, the bloody and cruel reality is laid bare before all Edo people. Edo people have no reason to insist on the combat effectiveness of the American army.

"Everyone laughed at Naoshima Naoshima for being a coward and a disgrace. Now it seems that Nabeshima-kun is the most sober person."

After Tokugawa Ieki's death, Masahiro Abe regretted not listening to Naomasa Nabeshima's advice.

If he had listened to Nabeshima Naomasa's advice, the situation would not have gotten so bad. It's a pity that there is no regret medicine in the world.

A gust of cool breeze came to face him. Tokugawa Ieki stood at the top of the city, staring blankly at the American troops waiting for him under the city. The rumbling sound of artillery outside Edo Port was endless.

Thinking of the "U.S.-Japan Friendship Treaty" that made him furious, and then thinking of the recent defeat of Kanagawa, Tokugawa Ieki's head went blank, and his eyes were in darkness.

Suddenly, Tokugawa Ieki faintly felt an overwhelming heat wave extending from his abdomen to his chest, and finally spewed out of his mouth uncontrollably.

The despairing Tokugawa Ieki collapsed on the ground and soon lost consciousness.

When Tokugawa Ieki regained consciousness, he found that he was already lying on Oou's bed.

"Lao Zhong Abe."

The first thing he did when he regained consciousness was to call Masahiro Abe.

"General!"

Masahiro Abe stood before Tokugawa Ieki's bed and listened to Tokugawa Ieki's instructions.

"You go to the American military camp on your behalf and negotiate peace with the Americans. The Americans are so eager to attack Edo because of the treaty." Tokugawa Ieki said to Abe Masahiro, "In addition to the first article of compensation, Except that we really can’t afford the compensation, the rest of the treaty is negotiable.”

"Yes." Masahiro Abe said with a bitter look on his face.

This is not a good thing. Even if the peace negotiation is successful, Abe Masahiro will have to bear the eternal infamy.

His reputation, Abe Masahiro, might be even worse than that of Nabeshima Naomasa, and he would be regarded as a national traitor.

What Namasa Nabeshima lost was just one Nagasaki, but what Abe Masahiro lost was the entire shogunate.

However, some things always have to be done by someone, so Abe Masahiro took on this hard job without hesitation.

Liang Yao and Perry were both people who could negotiate peace. Between the two, Masahiro Abe played some clever tricks and chose to negotiate with Perry.

Masahiro Abe has dealt with both Liang Yao and Perry.

Among the two, Masahiro Abe believed that Perry’s understanding of Japan was far inferior to that of Liang Yaoshen, and that talking to Perry might be able to reduce losses.

Furthermore, as far as he knew, Perry was the top general sent to Japan by the United States, and it was reasonable to talk to Perry.

Even if the negotiation fails in the end, this trip can create a rift between Perry and Liang Yao, which will also be good for the shogunate.

The Tokugawa shogunate sent envoys to negotiate peace, and Perry was very happy. This was exactly the result he wanted.

However, Masahiro Abe still underestimated the weight of national interests in Perry's heart.

Of course Perry could use his leadership to sign the "U.S.-Japan Friendship Treaty" with Japan, but at the same time Perry also knew that Liang Yao understood the Japanese shogunate and the Japanese better than he did.

Only by letting Liang Yao come and talk together can we win the best interests for the United States in Japan.

In the face of national interests and personal interests, Perry chose the latter without hesitation.

Of course, there are practical reasons why Perry made such a choice. He did not have a translator who was proficient in Japanese.

After learning that Masahiro Abe had boarded the Mississippi to try to negotiate peace with Perry, Liang Yao was furious and couldn't help but cursed: "Masahiro Abe, this old fox, is so damn cunning."

After scolding, Liang Yao handed over the command of the army to Deng Yan, and immediately took Liang Sen to Edo Port and boarded the Mississippi.

Seeing Liang Yao's arrival, Abe Masahiro's mood fell to the bottom.

"Is Mr. Abe okay?" Liang Yao smiled and greeted Abe Masahiro.

"Your Excellency, Colonel, you are well." Masahiro Abe bowed deeply to Liang Yao and said with a dull expression.

After sitting down, Liang Yao stopped talking nonsense with Abe Masahiro and went straight to the main point: "When we first met, I told Mr. Abe that when we meet again, we will sign more than just these terms. .”

"As long as your country can make some concessions on the compensation, Abe will be regarded as this eternal sinner and sign this treaty on behalf of His Excellency General Tokugawa. We really cannot afford to pay for so much silver." Masahiro Abe said.

"Although our army has just experienced a defeat at Kanagawa, our shogunate still has a hundred thousand troops in Edo. If your country attacks Edo by force, it may be difficult to get any benefits."

Obviously, Masahiro Abe is talking too much.

According to the intelligence he collected, the total number of troops the shogunate could control was only 60,000 to 80,000.

This is the data before the defeat of Kanagawa, and now the data will be even less.

At this time, there might not even be 50,000 shogunate troops in Edo Castle.

"It is not unacceptable to reduce some compensation." Perry whispered to Liang Yao. This treaty fully met Perry's psychological expectations, and Perry decided to accept it as soon as it was good.

Even if this "U.S.-Japan Friendship Treaty" does not include an indemnity clause, as long as the Tokugawa shogunate signs it, after Perry returns home, whether it is the president, Congress, or the Navy Department, it can be explained.

When it comes to the expedition to Japan, Fillmore and Congress have a relatively pragmatic attitude, and their requirements for Perry and Liang Yao are only to open Japan's door.

It was clear that they had overachieved with negligible losses.

"The compensation cannot be less," Liang Yao said to Perry.

After saying that, Liang Yao turned his head away. Liang Yao looked up at Masahiro Abe and laughed as if he had heard a big joke.

"Hahahaha, don't talk about a hundred thousand troops. Even if your Tokugawa shogunate has a million troops, they are just dead souls under the gunfire of our American army. What a waste.

If you are still so stubborn, please come back and we can fight again. The United States has millions of troops, thousands of warships, and countless guns. It only takes ten days for our reinforcements to arrive in Edo from America.

By then, hundreds of warships and hundreds of thousands of American soldiers will be deployed in Edo. What we want is not just a mere 10,100,000 taels of silver compensation and the establishment of trade and mutual markets. "