do that?”
“Send the fleet against Yedo,” the Russian said at once. “Demand an immediate audience or else you’ll destroy the place. If I had such a beautiful fleet as yours, I’d first flatten half the city and then demand the audience … better, I would order this Tycoon-Shōgun native to report aboard my flagship at dawn the next day, and hang him.” Many shouts of approval.
Sir William said, “That is certainly one way, but Her Majesty’s Government would prefer a slightly more diplomatic solution. Next: we’ve almost no real intelligence about what’s going on in the country. I’d appreciate it if all traders would help to get us information that could prove useful. Mr. McFay, of all the traders, you should be the best informed. Can you help?”
McFay said cautiously, “Well, a few days ago one of our Jappo silk suppliers told our Chinese compradore that some of the kingdoms—he used the word ‘fiefs’ and called the kings ‘daimyos’—were in revolt against the Bakufu, particularly Satsuma, and some parts called Tosa, and Choshu …”
Sir William noticed the immediate interest of the other diplomats and wondered if he was wise to have asked the question in public. “Where are they?”
“Satsuma’s near Nagasaki in the South Island, Kyūshū,” Adamson said, “but what about Choshu and Tosa?”
“Well, now, yor Honor,” an American seaman called out, his Irish accent pleasing. “Tosa’s a part of Shikoku, that’s the big island on the inland sea. Choshu’s far to the west on the main island, Mr. Adamson, sir, athwart the Straits. We been through the Straits there, many a time, they’re not more than a mile across at the narrowest part. As I was saying now, Choshu’s the kingdom’s athwart the narrows, bare a mile across. It’s the best, and closest way from Hong Kong or Shanghai to here. Shimonoseki Straits, the locals call it, and once we traded for fish and water at the town there but we weren’t welcome.” Many others called out their agreement and that they too had used the Straits but had never known that the kingdom was called Choshu.
Sir William said, “Your name, if you please?”
“Paddy O’Flaherty, Bosun of the American whaler
Albatross
out of Seattle, yor Honor.”
“Thank you,” Sir William said, and made a mental note to send for O’Flaherty, to find out more and if there were charts of the area, and if not to instantly order the Navy to make them. “Go on, Mr. McFay,” he said. “In revolt, you say.”
“Yes, sir. This silk trader—how reliable he is I don’t know—but he said there was some kind of power struggle going on against the Tycoon that he always called ‘Shōgun,’ the Bakufu and some king or daimyo called Toranaga.”
Sir William saw the Russian’s eyes slit even more in his almost Asian features. “Yes, my dear Count?”
“Nothing, Sir William. But isn’t that the name of the ruler mentioned by Kaempfer?”
“Indeed it is, indeed it is.” I wonder why you never mentioned to me before that you also had read those very rare but illuminating journals that were written in German, which you do not know, therefore they must have been translated into Russian? “Perhaps ‘Toranaga’ means ‘ruler’ in their language. Please continue, Mr. McFay.”
“That’s all the fellow told my compradore, but I’ll make it my business to find out more. Now,” McFay said politely but firmly, “do we settle King Satsuma at Hodogaya tonight or not?”
The smoke stirred the silence.
“Has anyone anything to add—about this revolt?”
Norbert Greyforth, chief of Brock and Sons, Struan’s main rival, said, “We’ve heard rumors of this revolt too. But I thought it was something to do with their chief priest, this ‘Mikado,’ who supposedly lives in Kyōto, a city near Osaka. I’ll make enquiries as well. In the meantime, about tonight,my vote goes with McFay: the sooner we belt these buggers the sooner we’ll have peace.”
“Send the fleet against Yedo,” the Russian said at once. “Demand an immediate audience or else you’ll destroy the place. If I had such a beautiful fleet as yours, I’d first flatten half the city and then demand the audience … better, I would order this Tycoon-Shōgun native to report aboard my flagship at dawn the next day, and hang him.” Many shouts of approval.
Sir William said, “That is certainly one way, but Her Majesty’s Government would prefer a slightly more diplomatic solution. Next: we’ve almost no real intelligence about what’s going on in the country. I’d appreciate it if all traders would help to get us information that could prove useful. Mr. McFay, of all the traders, you should be the best informed. Can you help?”
McFay said cautiously, “Well, a few days ago one of our Jappo silk suppliers told our Chinese compradore that some of the kingdoms—he used the word ‘fiefs’ and called the kings ‘daimyos’—were in revolt against the Bakufu, particularly Satsuma, and some parts called Tosa, and Choshu …”
Sir William noticed the immediate interest of the other diplomats and wondered if he was wise to have asked the question in public. “Where are they?”
“Satsuma’s near Nagasaki in the South Island, Kyūshū,” Adamson said, “but what about Choshu and Tosa?”
“Well, now, yor Honor,” an American seaman called out, his Irish accent pleasing. “Tosa’s a part of Shikoku, that’s the big island on the inland sea. Choshu’s far to the west on the main island, Mr. Adamson, sir, athwart the Straits. We been through the Straits there, many a time, they’re not more than a mile across at the narrowest part. As I was saying now, Choshu’s the kingdom’s athwart the narrows, bare a mile across. It’s the best, and closest way from Hong Kong or Shanghai to here. Shimonoseki Straits, the locals call it, and once we traded for fish and water at the town there but we weren’t welcome.” Many others called out their agreement and that they too had used the Straits but had never known that the kingdom was called Choshu.
Sir William said, “Your name, if you please?”
“Paddy O’Flaherty, Bosun of the American whaler
Albatross
out of Seattle, yor Honor.”
“Thank you,” Sir William said, and made a mental note to send for O’Flaherty, to find out more and if there were charts of the area, and if not to instantly order the Navy to make them. “Go on, Mr. McFay,” he said. “In revolt, you say.”
“Yes, sir. This silk trader—how reliable he is I don’t know—but he said there was some kind of power struggle going on against the Tycoon that he always called ‘Shōgun,’ the Bakufu and some king or daimyo called Toranaga.”
Sir William saw the Russian’s eyes slit even more in his almost Asian features. “Yes, my dear Count?”
“Nothing, Sir William. But isn’t that the name of the ruler mentioned by Kaempfer?”
“Indeed it is, indeed it is.” I wonder why you never mentioned to me before that you also had read those very rare but illuminating journals that were written in German, which you do not know, therefore they must have been translated into Russian? “Perhaps ‘Toranaga’ means ‘ruler’ in their language. Please continue, Mr. McFay.”
“That’s all the fellow told my compradore, but I’ll make it my business to find out more. Now,” McFay said politely but firmly, “do we settle King Satsuma at Hodogaya tonight or not?”
The smoke stirred the silence.
“Has anyone anything to add—about this revolt?”
Norbert Greyforth, chief of Brock and Sons, Struan’s main rival, said, “We’ve heard rumors of this revolt too. But I thought it was something to do with their chief priest, this ‘Mikado,’ who supposedly lives in Kyōto, a city near Osaka. I’ll make enquiries as well. In the meantime, about tonight,my vote goes with McFay: the sooner we belt these buggers the sooner we’ll have peace.”
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