Chapter 345 Surrender Now
One o'clock in the afternoon, July 10th, 1821. Within the ornate walls of Edo Castle, Shogun Tokugawa Ienari sat at the head of a lacquered table, surrounded by his most trusted advisors.
A map of Edo Bay lay sprawled on the table, dotted with markers indicating the French fleet's positions and the remnants of the Japanese defenses. The Shogun's eyes were fixed on the bay, tracing the path of the invaders.
"We underestimated them," he began. "Their ships, their cannons, their tactics, their weapons…they are unlike anything we have ever faced. How could this happen during my reign?"
"We could still fight," one of the Daimyo tried uplifting the spirits of those around but failed to garner support.
"With all due respect, if you were on the battlefield, I don't think you can utter those words," Governor of Uruga, Takoyashi interjected with a somber look on his face. "Uraga was one of the cities the French attacked, and it is now in ruins. Our forts which we have deemed impenetrable were simply bombarded by a powerful cannon of the French warship. We have made a wrong decision, we should have accepted the proposal of the French to open our country for trade. A lot of lives would have been saved."
"Where are you leading with this, Governor Takoyashi?" Daimyo Sato looked at him sternly. "That we bow down to the barbarians?"
"In their perspective, they looked down on us as if we were the real barbarians," Takoyashi said. "Can you really call a nation barbarian if they defeated us on every front within hours?"
"This isn't the time to point fingers or dwell on past decisions. We need to assess the situation and decide our next steps. The French clearly have superior technology, but we still have the home advantage." Daimyo Hiroshi intervened.
"There's no such thing as home advantage. Everyone, come to your senses, we cannot defeat the French! Whatever offensive strategies you are coming up with, it'll lead to a loss of life. We can prevent it by negotiating a ceasefire—"
"Are you hearing yourself, Takoyashi?!" Daimyo Sato shouted. "We will not surrender to these invaders. Every piece of our land, every stone, and every tree is steeped in the blood and honor of our ancestors. We will not desecrate their memory by bowing to the enemy."
A silence fell over the room.
"I would rather die a thousand deaths than see our sacred lands under the yoke of foreign domination," Shogun Tokugawa Ienari proclaimed. "We are samurai," he continued, his gaze sweeping across the room, locking eyes with each of his advisors. "We are the descendants of warriors who have faced insurmountable odds, yet never yielded. We have a duty, not just to ourselves, but to the generations that will come after us. We will fig—"
The Edo Castle rocked as an explosion erupted nearby.
"What is it?!"
"Are we under attack?!"
Governor Takayoshi quickly got up to his feet and rushed towards the window. There he saw French troops standing along the moat of the castle, their cannons aiming directly at the structural foundation of the castle walls.
"What happened?" Tokugawa Ienari demanded.
"The French, they have arrived! They are aiming their cannons at the castle."
"What?!" Daimyo Sato rose to his feet, alerted. "What happened to the guards outside?"
"They were probably defeated," Governor Takoyashi responded grimly.
As Governor Takoyashi squinted his eyes to get a better look and sized up their forces, he noticed one familiar figure among the French forces.
"That—"
There's no mistaking it, that's Li Wei, a Chinese interpreter for the French. He was handed a letter by an officer standing next to him. He also noticed that he was holding a contraption on his left hand that had a conical shape. He brought it up to his mouth and spoke.
"This is the Army of the French Empire!" Li Wei's voice boomed through the megaphone, so clear and loud that it pierced through the thick walls of the Edo Castle.
"Is that a voice?"
"How come that it is loud?"
"We have surrounded your castle and occupied your capital city. We request your surrender. If you do not wave the white flag we have given to you, we will vanquish you. This is a threat that you should take seriously. If we don't hear from you at any minute, we will start firing our artillery."
Li Wei concluded the ultimatum, and the council was still in shock, grappling with the reality of the dire situation they found themselves in.
"If they are making that ultimatum, My Lord, that means that the city defenses have been neutralized. There is no army that would come to rescue us here. The only logical decision is to wave the flag that I have given to you."
"Surrendering to the French meant selling our country," Daimyo Sato said.
"Not necessarily," countered Governor Takoyashi. "It means preserving lives, both ours and our people's. We can negotiate terms. Remember, the French only came here to trade and open up the country. Abolish the Sakoku law, and there's a possibility we can reach a resolution."
Governor Takoyashi's pragmatic approach seemed at odds with the fervent nationalism of his peers, but the cold, hard facts lay bare before them. The French had them surrounded, and their firepower was beyond anything Japan had ever faced.
This is not them being patriotic, this is them being delusional.
"My Lord, where is the white flag? I will wave it for the French to see and save the castle. I'll handle this, I have spoken to the Imperial Prince of the French Empire. I can negotiate on your behalf. Consider this as a second chance. With our country opening to foreigners, we might be able to strengthen our country by acquiring those technologies. We have fallen behind because we isolated ourselves from the world."
***
On the IFNS Napoleon, admiral quarters.
Francis and Daphne were in the admiral's quarters on the IFNS Napoleon, eating freshly baked pastries.
There was a knock on the door and Francis simply signaled the person to enter.
Francis glanced at the person entering and it was Captain Waldeck. He approached Francis and handed him a folded paper.
"What is this?" Francis asked.
"It's a report from Edo," Captain Waldeck replied.
Francis unfolded the letter and read the contents.
"What is it?" Daphne curiously asked.
A smile spread across Francis's lips. "Japan has surrendered."
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m