Chapter 2730

The members of the mission gathered in Hangzhou this summer, and it has been several months since then. During this period, they have spent time together day and night, and the friendship they have forged by working hand in hand made everyone feel a little sad when they said goodbye.

But the education they received since childhood is different from ordinary people. They know that the mission they shoulder is to make the country strong, and everyone is just a small part of the national machine. If they were assigned to go to the ocean

The task of opening up new territories on the other side also requires putting aside personal emotions and focusing on completing the task as the primary goal.

Among the people present, only Ma Boran was probably the calmest, because when the North American advance team traveled to and from both sides of the ocean, they would pass by Edo, an important supply station, and it was normal for him to receive and deliver them.

However, as Haihan's colony on the west coast of North America gradually develops and takes shape, this transoceanic route passing through Edo may gradually become more popular in the future. This is for Ma Boran, who has been living overseas all year round and has few opportunities to communicate with his compatriots.

, is indeed an excellent development trend.

It is worth mentioning that Wang Anguo took away more than 20 ships at once, and the size of the entire combined fleet was immediately reduced by half. Such a large move naturally attracted the attention of the Edo authorities

, and even specially sent people to inquire about the reason and whereabouts of this fleet leaving the anchorage.

Such changes may have eased the shogunate's resistance to the mission. The day after Wang Anguo left, the shogunate notified the mission that they would be arranged to meet the general in Edo Castle.

After receiving official permission, the mission headed to Edo Castle one day in advance. After all, the anchorage arranged by the shogunate was quite far from Edo Castle. If they had set off on the day of the meeting, they would probably not have time to arrive on time.

On the way to Edo Castle, Ma Boran also took the time to briefly introduce the general situation of the city to everyone.

From a certain point of view, Edo City has many similarities with Sanya. They are both seaport cities built from scratch in this century. They are also the political and economic centers of a country. The construction speed of Edo City is faster than that of Sanya.

It is much slower, but thanks to the geographical environment, the urban area here is larger than that of Sanya.

The core area of ​​Edo Castle is about eight miles wide from north to south and about eleven miles long from east to west. It has two inner and outer city walls, both with complete moats. The perimeter of the outer wall is more than 30 miles long, with city walls, watchtowers and gates.

Waiting for a complete set of city fortifications. The inner wall is the private residence of the shogun, and the outer wall is mainly the various government offices, residences of officials and nobles, as well as the offices of daimyo from all over the country in Edo.

Beyond the outer moat is the urban area where ordinary civilians live, extending southward to the coast of Edo Bay.

Whether it is palaces or city fortifications, the architectural scale of Edo Castle cannot be compared with the traditional ancient cities of China. However, in Japan, it is already the largest city, and it is not even considered the country's greatest construction achievement in this century.

Pass.

The delegation arrived at the harbor dock outside Edo Castle by boat, and then transferred to a carriage to enter the city. Although there was an armed checkpoint guarding the city gate, after Ma Boran came forward, the soldiers guarding the city did not inspect the carriage on which the mission was riding.

, and let them enter the city directly.

The Haihan Embassy is located in the southern part of the city. It was a house bought from a down-and-out nobleman in the early years. It covers an area of ​​about ten acres. The house was only ten years old when it was purchased. In this

It can be regarded as a quasi-new house in this era. After buying it, I only made simple decoration and internal modifications, and then put it into daily use. It still basically maintains the original appearance of the Japanese-style architecture.

However, a set of special facilities in the inner courtyard caught the attention of the mission. This is a metal pillar standing on the ground. The exposed part is about seven feet high and seven inches thick. There is a tripod deployed outside to stabilize it.

It is firmly fixed. There is a device similar to a hand crank outside the column, and there are wires leading out of the column foot, extending to the house not far away.

"Is this a radio antenna?" Tao Hongfang was also well-informed and immediately recognized the true identity of this thing.

Ma Boran nodded and said: "This is a telescopic antenna pole produced in Sanya. When used, an antenna is installed on the top. After being extended with a crank handle, the height can reach six feet. However, because this thing is too eye-catching, it is generally

It will only be used at night. At present, I am the only one here who can use the radio to send and receive telegrams, so I have always been doing the errands of the signal corps."

Given the location of Edo, if you want to send messages by physical letters, there is basically no timeliness at all, and it will definitely not be able to meet the needs of intelligence work. Therefore, we still tried our best to install a set of radio equipment at the Edo Embassy. If we look at the actual value

According to calculations, this set of equipment should be worth several times more than the embassy property.

In addition to Ma Boran, the embassy also has four permanent staff: four civilian staff, four military personnel responsible for security and intelligence work, one of Ma Boran's personal servants, two handymen and a cook. Due to the special nature of the embassy's work, Ma Boran

No locals were hired, and all the people in the embassy were from Hainan and Han nationalities.

Although Japan was forced to open Edo's trade rights to Haihan under pressure, the social atmosphere here is obviously not as open as that in Nagasaki, and people from all walks of life rarely take the initiative to contact foreigners. Except for the occasional Haihan merchants who come here

Apart from doing business, few people usually come to visit. The arrival of the mission added a lot of vitality to the embassy. Ma Boran said with a smile that it had never been so lively even during the Chinese New Year.

"I only have thirty or forty visitors here in a year. The last time there were so many people in the embassy, ​​it was probably time for the embassy to move in. But don't worry, I have already vacated the room and prepared the accommodation in advance.

If you have any other needs, you can ask me."

It was rare for Ma Boran to receive visitors from China here, not to mention that these young officials were all his old acquaintances. He also wanted to take this opportunity to show everyone the results of his work in Edo.

With the officials of the mission and their entourage, there are nearly twenty people staying in the embassy. This is quite a test for the embassy, ​​which does not usually receive visitors. However, the mission is not satisfied with the accommodation conditions.

I'm not too picky. After all, I have lived on the ship for half of my time since I went on my mission. The conditions here are much better than those on the ship.

The next day, Ma Boran and everyone in the embassy went to the shogun's residence in Naikou to visit the current shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna.

The delegation entered the inner city through the gate called Sakurada Gate, and the city defense inspection here was much stricter than that of the outer city. Although it did not go as far as a body search, the soldiers guarding the card not only checked the identity of the mission personnel one by one.

He also carefully checked the inside and outside of the carriage, and even leaned over to check under the carriage to confirm that no one would take the opportunity to sneak in.
Chapter completed!