In the distant East, the Shogunate's domains had suffered severe losses of gold and silver currency through their long trade with the Austrian Empire, yet the domestic economy had flourished remarkably.
In fact, Austrian Empire banknotes had inadvertently shattered the old shackles binding the Shogunate's domains, providing them with a stable currency backed by sound credit.
After eliminating those great merchants, the Shogunate and the domains regained control over their financial power. Cheap grain and sugar became their finest tools. No more peasants could gather in revolt; the wealthy farmers and rich merchants of history were all cast down into the dust, and the rule of the Shogunate and the domains stood as firm as a rock.
The export of vast quantities of raw silk and tea brought in enormous foreign exchange, followed by a flood of Austrian goods. Naturally, the foreign exchange earned by exporting Japanese laborers remained considerable, and the domains showed not the slightest intention of stopping.
After all, one could tell from the names eta and hinin alone what status they held in the eyes of the Daimyo. Then there were those masterless samurai, who were nothing but calamities and destabilizing factors to the Shogunate's system.
Being able to export such people in exchange for foreign currency, the domains not only felt no guilt—they even counted themselves fortunate.
The Shogunate and the domains had also tried to imitate Austrian Empire goods and technologies, but the technological gap between the two sides was simply too great, and they had yet to succeed.
The Shogunate and the domains had also attempted to emulate the envoys to Tang China from the Asuka and Nara periods, dispatching overseas students to the Austrian Empire to study advanced technology.
But the Austrian Empire government explicitly stated that it accepted only female students.