Chapter 158
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Sowing Discord
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Killian Gore's delightful culinary diplomacy began on his very first day in the country!
The shogun and the daimyos were naturally thrilled to see the British Empire's emissary heartily tucking sushi into his stomach, and the drinking party that followed was exceptionally cordial.
Having firmly captured their hearts on the first day, I was guided to the residence the shogun had personally prepared.
If there had been an embassy, I would have gone there, but it was impossible for the British Empire to have an embassy in Japan, a country that had yet to establish formal diplomatic relations with any foreign nation.
It seemed their promise to prioritize safety was not just empty words, as fully armed soldiers stood guard before the mansion assigned to me, their eyes sharp and vigilant.
“It is an honor to serve you, Your Grace! Not even an ant will be able to enter while you are staying here, so please rest assured and enjoy a comfortable stay.”
“The shogun has certainly gone to great lengths. Thank you.”
With the shogun's soldiers and samurai guarding the outside of the mansion and Admiral Parker's British troops standing watch inside, I had no concerns about security within the residence.
However, assassinations and attempts on one's life usually happen during external events.
Admiral Parker did not let his guard down, meticulously checking my movements and the routes of my escorts for the events scheduled to begin the next day.
“By the way, Your Grace. You seem to get along with the people here far better than I expected.”
“Did it seem that way?”
“Yes. I don't know their language, so I couldn't understand the specifics of your conversations, but I could tell how favorably they view you just by looking at their expressions.”
“Since their shogun himself referred to me as a Tokugawa, I’ve become someone who can no longer be called a foreigner here. Besides, they can’t help but look kindly upon me when I show such enjoyment of their culture.”
“Ah, so that was all a calculated performance?”
Parker, who had spent his entire life as a soldier, let his jaw drop before nodding as if he finally understood.
“I thought it was strange how well you ate the fish. The sake was at least drinkable, but I couldn't bring myself to eat that 'sushi' at all. To think that you ate it all as part of a plan... I am once again amazed by your abilities, Your Grace.”
“Everything is for the good of the British Empire.”
Hmm, was it that bad? It had been a while since I'd last had sushi, so I found it quite palatable.
To be honest, I hadn't had high expectations, thinking that the sushi back then would be completely different from what modern people knew, something like pressed sushi.
But what a surprise. Perhaps because it was the mid-19th century, the sushi was of a surprisingly decent quality, and I suppose I did get a bit carried away and ate a lot in the heat of the moment.
Of course, to other British people, my behavior must have seemed like that of someone enjoying bizarre food, something incomprehensible unless it was an act.
Then again, if the Japanese people knew the British were finding fault with their food, their pride would surely be wounded.
“To think you would eat such food with a smile for the sake of a treaty... I feel I must steel myself once more after grumbling about the hassle of guard duty. Thank you, Your Grace. Thanks to you, my spirit as a soldier, which had grown lax, feels reawakened.”
“Ah... yes. Hahaha, I’m glad I could be of help.”
“Now that not only the shogun but also the other high-ranking officials view you favorably, all we need to do is secure a great deal of profit and return, correct?”
“No, that's not it. There will be plenty of people who view the shogun with displeasure, even if they don't see me that way. Such people will not like the very idea of the shogun bringing in the British Empire to do something.”
“But even so, would anyone dare to openly oppose the will of this country’s supreme ruler?”
No. It would be a problem for me if they *didn't* emerge.
I'd embarked on this six-month round trip, prepared to face Victoria's wrath, so it would be utterly unfair if all I got out of it was a single trade treaty, wouldn't it?
In fact, I had been a little worried before arriving at the banquet hall yesterday.
What if the shogun's power had solidified again after my previous visit so thoroughly changed the political landscape of Asia?
If that were the case, I would have no choice but to conclude a treaty on the most favorable terms possible and leave it at that, which was something I couldn't accept.
Of course, the official reason for my coming to Japan was to sign an agreement written as a "trade treaty" but read as an "unequal treaty," so that the British Empire could establish a foothold here.
But I had another, true purpose that I had told no one.
“By the way, Admiral Parker, you were observing Japan’s ships closely on our way here. What did you think of them?”
“At first, I wondered if they were hiding their proper ships to deliberately conceal their military strength, but after entering the harbor, I was certain. They are on a level not much different from the Qing Dynasty.”
“Did you happen to observe the state of their coastal defenses?”
“Yes. That, too, was no better than the Qing's. It's proof that the Qing Dynasty isn't the only one lagging behind; the overall standard in Asia is not high at this time.”
Of course it would be. The Qing Dynasty gets a lot of flak for its ridiculous actions, but in terms of technology, other nations were in no better a situation, and were often worse.
Japan, thanks to its early diplomatic ties with the Netherlands, had supposedly been studying modern tactics for over a decade, but they were still at a nascent stage.
The problem was that such reforms, if done half-heartedly, could yield results worse than doing nothing at all, and Japan's early reforms were no different.
Many overlook it because the Meiji Restoration produced such positive results, but it was preceded by the shogunate's long history of blunders and trial and error.
“So you’re saying that if, by some chance, a situation were to arise, the Asian Fleet alone would be sufficient to handle it, without needing to bring in the fleet from the homeland. I understand.”
“...Do you perhaps think the British Empire might go to war with the shogunate, Your Grace?”
“Of course not. The British Empire that Her Majesty the Queen seeks is a nation that loves peace. Unless they provoke us first, there is no reason for us to start a war. And unless the shogunate is insane, would they want a war with us?”
“Then why...?”
“I was simply curious. We need to know how large the gap is between us to negotiate more effectively.”
“Ah, I see. Indeed, you would need to know for certain to effectively pressure them.”
Admiral Parker began to explain in detail the current strength of the fleet he had brought.
He also pointed out the deep, unbridgeable chasm between the navies operating in Asia and Japan's own.
As I listened to his explanation, the official in charge of the mansion cautiously knocked on the door and announced that a visitor had arrived.
I had mentioned beforehand that I would meet anyone whose identity could be clearly verified, so it seemed they were now confirming if I truly intended to see someone.
Even so, for someone to come for an immediate audience with a figure whom the shogun himself had greeted with such eagerness, this visitor was likely no ordinary person.
If it had been someone insignificant, they would not have been allowed in in the first place.
Though I had said I would meet anyone, Japan would surely understand better than anyone else in the world that this didn't mean literally "anyone."
“I am Mori Takachika, daimyo of the Choshu Domain. Thank you for granting me the honor of an audience, Your Grace, Emissary of Great Britain.”
“A pleasure to meet you. Forgive me, but my knowledge is limited, so I am not familiar with the exact location of the Choshu Domain.”
“Not at all! It is my own oversight for not considering that Your Grace has come from across the sea! The Choshu Domain is located at the western tip of Honshu, the largest island of our archipelago. I am the daimyo there. Hearing that a distinguished guest was arriving from your great nation, I have been eagerly awaiting this day here in Edo since last week.”
“Is that so? To think you waited with such devotion, it makes me feel I should have arrived sooner.”
Mori Takachika, the daimyo of the Choshu Domain, was a young man who appeared to be around my age.
Although I feigned ignorance about his domain's location, he was, in fact, one of the daimyos I was watching most closely on this visit.
Choshu and Satsuma. In the original history, these were the core regions that produced a great number of the restoration patriots who led Japan's reforms, chanting "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians" and "Overthrow the Shogunate."
Choshu would later become the heartland of the Japanese Army, while Satsuma would become the symbol of the Navy, and the two would remain at odds like cats and dogs until Japan's defeat.
How could I not know of this place, when not only Yoshida Shōin, who advocated for the *Seikanron*, but also Ito Hirobumi, a man particularly infamous to Koreans, hailed from Choshu?
However, separate from my favorable view of Japanese culture, revealing that I was too well-versed in their political situation could make them wary of me.
In matters like this, pretending to be ignorant is a two-birds-one-stone method; it can put them at ease and also make them think they can use me for their own ends.
“Perhaps I have come too early, while you needed to rest. I was so eager when I heard you would meet anyone who wished it that I rushed here at once...”
“Not at all. This is my first time in Edo, and I was hoping to speak with someone. I am pleased that a man of your stature, a daimyo, has come to visit.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
“Still, I do have a schedule tomorrow, so I don't think we can talk for too long. An hour should be fine, however. What do you think?”
“That is more than enough.”
Although I could speak Japanese, I wasn't yet accustomed to the conversational style of this era. It was far easier to grasp their intentions by setting a time limit and letting them get straight to the point.
Considering how displeased they looked whenever the shogun acted familiar with me at the banquet, I could roughly guess their position.
Moreover, they had no idea that I knew that National Learning was in vogue in Satsuma and Choshu, and that the "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians" ideology was steadily taking root.
Shall I sit back and listen to what they have to say to sound me out?
“To be honest, although I was born in Asia, this feels somehow different from my time in the Qing Dynasty. How should I put it... it feels more peaceful to my mind.”
“I heard you had a rather unpleasant experience in the Qing Dynasty.”
“I did. As you may know, I tried to concede a great deal to the Qing. Though I am a man of the British Empire, half the blood in my veins is Asian, is it not? Frankly, I wanted to avoid a war with the Qing. I knew that if a war broke out, the British Empire would crush them overwhelmingly.”
“What? In that case, wouldn't one normally think it wouldn't matter if a war happened?”
“From the perspective of the British Empire's interests alone, going to war was actually the better option. But what about for Asia as a whole? If the other European powers saw the Qing Dynasty defeated so helplessly by the British Empire, they would all come running to Asia, drooling. If the Qing could be brought down so easily, what would happen to other Asian nations? Joseon? The shogunate? To France or Russia, they would look like succulent cuts of meat, dripping with juice.”
It was, of course, a barefaced lie, but the fact that I had pursued a policy of appeasement toward the Qing was an objective fact proven by records.
By adding a little embellishment and creating some anecdotes, the life of Killian Tokugawa, a man of Tokugawa blood who cared for Asia, could be perfected.
“Your Grace, you were concerned for Joseon and Japan, then...?”
“That is correct. If not for that, why would I, the Royal Emissary of the British Empire, have undertaken this long journey that takes many months? To be frank, there were many in Parliament who believed we should reject Japan's invitation immediately.”
“Yes. In fact, I too did not believe Your Grace would actually accept the shogun's invitation.”
“So, to persuade Parliament, I argued that I had to go in person to sign a trade treaty, but that was not the important part. I am sure you, my lord daimyo, do not wish to see this country torn to shreds in a struggle for influence among the great powers, do you? I feel the same way. It is my sincere hope that this kind and beautiful nation does not become a victim of the great powers' scramble for interests.”
A highly advanced lie is indistinguishable from the truth.
Drawing upon my old professional skills for the first time in a while, I slipped into the role, and my words dripped with such sincerity that even I, the one speaking, felt no sense of artificiality.
Especially since this entire conversation was taking place in Japanese, it would have been even more difficult for Mori to doubt my true intentions.
“Then, Your Grace, you believe it is not necessary for Great Britain and Japan to establish diplomatic relations.”
“No, that's not it.”
“...Pardon? But you just said...”
“For Japan's own sake, Japan must establish relations with the British Empire, and no other country.”
He might suspect me of speaking out of both sides of my mouth, but his thoughts would change once he heard me out.
Please, go and convey my words today to your like-minded comrades, without changing a single syllable.