Shinsaku Takasugi and Gabriel were indeed discussing a big business deal tonight.
While the daimyos were still debating whether they should order Tokugawa Yoshinobu to take responsibility for the shogunate's previous mistakes, Shinsaku Takasugi had already decided to overthrow the shogunate by force in Kyoto. His main purpose in coming to Kyoto was to meet with Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori to decide on a plan to overthrow the shogunate by force.
They decided to lure Tokugawa Yoshinobu from Edo to Kyoto first, and then use force to detain him. However, Tokugawa Yoshinobu was very cautious and suspicious, so he might be able to guess their plan. If he came to Kyoto, he would definitely be protected by troops at all times. Besides, the shogunate was also very powerful. Other than the Mizo and Kiyoshi families, there were also the Shinsengumi, Kihiki-gumi, and other ronin groups.
If the Choshu or Satsuma Domain's troops were transferred to Kyoto, Tokugawa Yoshinobu would definitely notice it, and it would most likely evolve into a nationwide war.
This was not what Shinsaku Takasugi and Okubo Toshimichi wanted to see. The two of them still hoped to complete the change of power through a small-scale palace coup to preserve the vitality of Japan to the greatest extent. This would require more manpower, and these people had to be sent to Kyoto without the shogunate's knowledge.
In the end, they pinned their hopes on Gabriel, a French businessman.
Shinsaku Takasugi had already worked with Gabriel when the Choshu Domain was reforming its military. He knew that the latter had a wide range of connections. Not only was he involved in the cotton yarn business, but he was also involved in the business of iron cannons and matchlock guns. Even Shinsaku Takasugi's purchase of the new warship Bingchen Maru was led by Gabriel. Coupled with his French identity, few dared to check his cargo ships.
Shinsaku Takasugi hoped to quietly order a batch of weapons from Gabriel and ship them to Kyoto under the cover of the cotton yarn cargo ships. At the same time, a team of 300 samurai would be sent to Kyoto as a secret force to deal with Tokugawa Yoshinobu. For this, the Satsuma and Choshu Domains were willing to pay a high price of 10,000 taels of gold.
However, Gabriel didn't agree immediately after hearing that.
It was the nature of businessmen to pursue profits, no matter which country it was. Not to mention that Gabriel was the greediest businessman. His business in Japan had made him a lot of money over the years, but it was precisely because of this that he had to carefully consider the deal proposed by Shinsaku Takasugi.
Like other Western businessmen, Gabriel was also quietly paying attention to the civil war in Nippon. But except for the fact that the joint fleet of Britain, the United States, France, and the Netherlands attacked Shimonoseki for their own safety, foreigners still tried not to get involved in the civil war in Nippon.
For example, when the shogunate was defeated by Shinsaku Takasugi in the second Nagasaki War, the Western countries watched from the beginning to the end. From the looks of it, both the shogunate and the Tobaku were likely to win the final victory. The Tobaku had a history of assassinating the Westerners, but now they advocated for the establishment of a new country. On the other hand, the shogunate led by Tokugawa Yoshinobu was the exact opposite. They had cooperated with the Westerners before, but now they were inclined to continue locking up the country. Hence, the Western countries did not have a clear position to support either side.
Political investment was very risky. If it failed, the next ruler would be hostile to them. On the other hand, political investment was also the most profitable investment. Although Gabriel did not agree to Shinsaku Takasugi's request, he did not explicitly reject it either.
In fact, it was a clear request for Shinsaku Takasugi to increase the price.
All the samurai present cursed Gabriel for being greedy in their hearts. However, the initiative was in the hands of the French businessman. If he did not agree, Choshu and Satsuma would not be able to send in troops, and the plan to overthrow the Tobaku could not be carried out.
…
Zhang Heng was actually a little surprised.
Historically, Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori were indeed the main forces that brought down the Tobaku by force. However, they did not do it so early. In fact, if the Tobaku's side had dragged on for a while longer, Tokugawa Yoshinobu would have taken the initiative to return the power of the shogunate to Emperor Meiji in exchange for status and power in the new government. His desperate move was indeed impressive.
Not only did it prevent Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori from carrying out a palace coup, but it also successfully divided the forces of the Tobaku. After the return of the Tobaku, Tokugawa Yoshinobu's reputation began to change. More and more people spoke up for him, hoping that he would join the new government. On the other hand, Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori became more and more isolated.
In the end, the Tobaku were forced to send troops to Kyoto to bring down the Tobaku by force. At that time, the Satsuma Domain had no advantage over the shogunate. However, in the end, Saigo Takamori still won the Battle of Toba Fushimi against the shogunate's army, which was three times his size. Of course, all of this happened later.
Compared to history, the fact that Shinsaku Takasugi was still alive and kicking was undoubtedly a big variable. Although he forced himself to come to Kyoto and talked in front of everyone, he might be able to deceive the samurai of the two countries in the tea house. However, Zhang Heng's observation skills, honed through the Deductive Reasoning quest, allowed him to see that Shinsaku Takasugi did not have much time left. His face was filled with death.
Perhaps this was also the reason why he couldn't wait to start something big. He wanted to see the new era he created with his own eyes before he breathed his last.
But before that, he needed to discuss the current business deal with Gabriel.
The French businessman had a huge appetite, and he wasn't satisfied with just ten thousand taels of gold. However, Shinsaku Takasugi had his own bottom line. Although some of the Tobaku supporters also advocated learning from the West, at the same time, many people were also wary of those Westerners interfering in their country's affairs, such as Saigo Takamori.
The Treaty of Kanagawa had greatly damaged the shogunate's reputation among the people. Such a lesson was still fresh in people's minds, and the new regime obviously couldn't repeat the same mistake. Therefore, according to the consensus reached by Shinsaku Takasugi and his group, Gabriel could negotiate with them if he wanted money, but only money. If he wanted something else, the Tobaku supporters would have to find another way, even if they had to postpone the operation.
The negotiation entered a tug-of-war. In order to prevent communication barriers due to language differences, both sides brought their own translators to convey each other's meaning as much as possible. At the same time, they could also correct the other party's translation mistakes to ensure that their true intentions were understood by the other party.
However, Zhang Heng's mind wasn't on this business meeting. He had been thinking about how to get his hands on the Juzumaru on Kirino Toshiaki's waist. At the same time, the most important thing was how to get out of this red-light district alive.
Since the person who came here tonight was Shinsaku Takasugi, the Tobaku supporters obviously wouldn't let him, a temporary translator who was hired halfway through, walk out of this tea house alive.
Once the two parties reached a consensus and negotiated a deal, he would no longer be of any value to them.
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