Misfortune and Fortune Depend on Each Other (Part 1)

Soon, the budding capitalism in Japan was strangled to death by the joint efforts of the domestic government, foreign capital, and Franz, the mastermind behind the scenes.

For a time, the bodies of merchants floated throughout Osaka Bay and Edo Bay. At this moment, even the most enlightened daimyo would never betray their own class to stand with the merchants.

Setting aside the fact that these merchants were already in an adversarial relationship with the feudal lords, the daimyo could never help the domestic merchants simply because the death of their creditors meant they could be absolved of massive debts.

Furthermore, even if someone truly possessed a vision that transcended the era and chose to help those merchants, they would become an enemy of the "realm" in the eyes of the entire country.

"Enemy of the Court" was a special term in Japan for political opponents; in most cases, the party labeled as such would become the target of a punitive expedition.

If one could obtain an imperial decree or authorization from the Shogun, the enemy of the court would be considered the "evil" side, while those who suppressed them would be the "imperial army" and the side of "justice."

Historically, the Choshu Domain had experienced this treatment.

With the decline of the Japanese merchant groups, the Shogunate once again consolidated its rule. Abe Masahiro was hailed as a "minister of the Shogunate's restoration," but news of Austria knocking on Japan's door spread rapidly.

The first to visit were the British, but upon learning of the Japanese attitude and the guarantees from the Austrian side, they relayed this information to the French.

Cecille, commander of the French Far East Fleet, was furious upon hearing this and immediately led his fleet toward Ryukyu.

After receiving full stipends of rice and extra