Chapter 283: My Patience Is Limited
"We owe Prince Gong a huge favor this time. Before returning to Guangzhou, we should pay a visit to Prince Gong to express our gratitude." Pan Shicheng said.
"Compared to the other kings, Prince Gong seems to be less repulsive to foreign things." Wu Yuanhua said.
Meanwhile, Edo, Japan.
After Perry's visit to Edo, he returned to the temporary military camp in Kanagawa with a disappointed mood.
As Liang Yao expected, Perry's trip didn't make much progress.
As the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, Perry hoped that the expedition could be successfully completed under his own leadership instead of being reduced to Liang Yao's foil. This was his motivation for visiting Edo. He did not want to become a transparent person in this operation.
The attitude of the Tokugawa shogunate made Perry realize that it would be difficult to achieve the goal of getting Japan to sign the "Japan-US Goodwill Treaty" as soon as possible by relying on Perry alone and the navy.
"Why are there two Japanese kneeling at the entrance of the military camp?"
Perry, who had just returned to the Kanagawa military camp, went straight to Liang Yao's military tent.
"Two studious Japanese ronin." Liang Yao looked at Perry with a bitter look on his face, knowing that Perry didn't make much progress during his trip to Edo.
This was also within Liang Yao's expectation. His "Japan-US Goodwill Treaty" was much harsher than the historical treaty of the same name. It could even be said to be two complete treaties.
The Tokugawa shogunate would not easily sign the "Japan-US Goodwill Treaty" unless it was absolutely necessary.
Not to mention other terms, the huge compensation of 11 million taels of silver was enough to bankrupt the Japanese shogunate.
"The Japanese were particularly interested in the gifts I brought them. We also played a train riding game together. General Tokugawa also asked two fat men to perform wrestling for me. But when we talked about the treaty, their attitude was still evasive. "Perry said.
"You are right, these Japanese do not have the sincerity to negotiate, they just want to delay time."
"Since the shogunate authorities can't make up their minds, let us help them make up their minds."
Liang Yao stood up and looked at the large-scale map of the Edo area behind him.
Since the upper echelons of the shogunate insisted on stalling for time, he would let the upper echelons of the shogunate know that he, Liang Yao, was not a very patient person.
"Do you want to put pressure on Japan through war?" Perry asked.
"Is there a better way? General Perry." Liang Yao asked Perry.
Perry fell into silence. After a brief silence, Perry said: "Before I left, Lord Fillmore told me to try to resolve the dispute with Japan in a peaceful way."
As the top officer of the Navy, Perry knew that the current financial situation of the U.S. federal government was not enough to break out a high-intensity war with a medium-sized country.
Perry's impression of Japan on the military was not bad. Perry even believed that if Japan could get old British military assistance like Mexico, it would definitely be more difficult to deal with than the Mexican army.
"It is easy to start a war, but it is more difficult to end a war than to start one. The shogunate is not a small Hizen Saga domain." Perry added, "Our military strength is not very sufficient."
"It is necessary to avoid bloodshed and the Tokugawa shogunate should surrender and sign the contract as soon as possible. General Perry, don't you think your thoughts are contradictory?"
Liang Yao knew what Perry was worried about, and he said in a very firm tone.
"Fillmore's instructions to me were that the Japanese problem could be solved by force if necessary, and now is when it was necessary.
Forcing Japan to open a country, opening up the Far East market, and projecting American influence to the Far East is a strategic idea you have been brewing for many years. Now the success of your strategic vision is all in your mind. "
Perry stood up and paced back and forth. The expedition to Japan was the most important thing in his life.
The expedition to Japan was even more important to Perry than improving the steam rate of the navy. It is indeed a pity that it has been abandoned halfway.
Perry is not sure whether the politicians in Washington and Fillmore will be satisfied with the current results in Japan.
After thinking for a long time, Perry finally made up his mind, and his erratic eyes became determined: "Since the Tokugawa Shogunate refuses to sign the contract, let these barbaric Japanese monkeys see the power of civilization!"
"This is the General Perry I remember!"
Seeing Perry's attitude expressed, Liang Yao showed his face.
Even without Perry's support, he still has the ability to force the Tokugawa Shogunate to bow its head and sign a contract. But with Perry's support, the process will undoubtedly be easier, which is better than fighting alone.
"What support does the Army need? The Navy will do its best to give the Army strong support." Perry returned to his seat and sat down.
"The Army needs our Navy brothers to take some of the pressure off of us."
Liang Yao never gave up his plan to use force against the Tokugawa shogunate, he pointed at the map and said.
"As long as the navy's warships can blockade Edo Port and put pressure on the Tokugawa shogunate, the rest will be left to our army to solve."
Liang Yao only needed Perry to help him contain part of the shogunate's troops and reduce his pressure on land. He believed that the officers and men of the California Infantry Regiment and the Arizona Infantry Regiment could handle the rest.
The more than ten thousand shogunate soldiers stationed around the Kanagawa military camp are undoubtedly the first targets that Liang Yao must eliminate.
Only by removing these shogunate soldiers can Liang Yao's goal of marching into Edo be achieved.
As for tactics, there is no need for complicated tactics to deal with these medieval armies that are completely different from ours.
Everything was normal in the Kanagawa military camp. The U.S. military was still doing the same thing as usual, except for training and resting. The shogunate troops stationed in Kanagawa did not realize that these American troops would soon become their nightmare.
The navy and the army simultaneously attacked the shogunate troops near Kanagawa.
Due to the disparity in the maritime strength between the two sides, the Tokugawa shogunate had actually given up the right to control the sea, and only arranged some fire ships around the Kanagawa coastline, hoping that these fire ships could burn the huge black ships around Kanagawa with a suicide charge.
But this was just wishful thinking of the Tokugawa shogunate.
At the beginning of the war, a considerable number of simple fire ships were torn to pieces by naval guns.
The shogunate sailors' plan of fire attack was even more a fantasy. These shogunate fire ships did not even have the opportunity to get close to the black ships, and could only watch these black ships getting farther and farther away from them.
The black ships were sailing against the wind, and the huge paddle wheels on both sides of the black ships could easily sail against the wind driven by steam engines.
The fire ships of the shogunate sailors were basically fishing boats filled with firewood, and they were completely powered by wind and manpower.
Even if the shogunate sailors on the boats tried their best, it was difficult to approach the black ships.
In the waters near Kanagawa, the burning Japanese fire ships were like fireflies floating on the sea.