The Sun Never Sets In Spain

On November 4, Alfonso officially summoned a Japanese delegation headed by Iwakura in the Royal Palace of Madrid.

For this investigation, Japan invested 2% of its annual income and sent about half of its senior officials, which is rare in the world.

However, the Meiji government was really poor. The members of the inspection group were all heads of Japan, and they all knew the domestic situation.

Even if all the consumption is reimbursed, they are still deducted and searched when they give gifts.

In total, a golden fan, a Japanese samurai sword, three strings of crystal bracelets, two Chinese ponies, and a Japanese cook were presented.

...Actually, it is not cheap to say that it is cheap. After all, there is not much exchange of interests between the two countries, nor is it a tributary relationship.

For two countries with equal status, it is okay to give so many gifts to meet each other.

The two ponies can be given to my sister to ride, and the Japanese chef can help cook the noodles.

Seeing that Alfonso was quite satisfied with the performance of these gifts, Iwakura was also relieved.

They were only going to give away a knife and a cook.

It was the communication between Edward and Alfonso that made them mistakenly believe that the relationship between Britain and Spain is very good, which temporarily added some gifts.

It’s true that Japan’s funding is very high, but they plan to spend a year on a field trip, and they may not be able to sustain it with big-handed words.

"Mr. Iwakura, after staying in Spain for three days, is there any gain?" Alfonso talked about the purpose of the delegation's visit, with much hope in his words.

If you want to grab meat from other countries, you must show unique characteristics that are enough to attract Japanese people.

The Iwakura delegation is such a pair of Japanese eyes. Their attitudes and ideas will determine Japan's policies in the next few years or even decades.

As long as Iwakura's visibility can be fixed, the problem of Spanish currency reform will be half resolved.

"Very good." Speaking of this Iwakura Jushi, he was a little excited. He is a legendary figure in the country, who has fallen behind the scenes and seized power, and no one disrespects him.

But when he arrived in Europe, he was just a countryman who had never been abroad.

"I have seen a fast-growing industrial country where farmers continue to enter the city without causing any riots."

Having said that, he paused and sighed: "The most rare thing is that the society is very stable. Everyone is subdued by the kingship. It is not easy for you to do this at such a young age!"

"Really?" Alfonso asked knowingly: "Is Japanese politics more chaotic? I thought that countries that had just finished the civil war would welcome a strong government."

"Not chaotic, but not harmonious."

Iwakura said honestly:

"If the enemy is defeated by the power of one family alone, there will naturally be people who say the same thing as you.

However, the shogunate was so powerful that the fallen shogunate could only unite against the enemy.

Even among allies, everything is not one-to-one. "

"To tell the truth, the current political situation in Japan is controlled by Satsuma, Nagasu, Tosa, Hizen, and public (nobles).

Many people in Europe know that it is not a secret. "

Alfonso nodded, and Iwakura looked at him and confessed, just because he wanted to exchange politics with him.

This is exactly one of the main goals of the delegation-to determine the political system of Japan in the future.

In history, they have visited Britain and France and other countries. The British monarchy is very good, but unfortunately they feel that the quality of the people is too far apart and it is not suitable for Japan.

The French republic is very good, but France changes governments more frequently than socks, and it is even less convincing.

When Bismarck came to power, his ideas of power were brought back to the country by the Iwakura delegation, prompting Japan to make great strides towards mushroomism, and had a profound impact on the future of the entire world.

But Alfonso doesn't care about Japan's future, and he doesn't think his words can make any difference.

After all, it is up to the Japanese to see how to choose.

After thinking about it, Alfonso said: "A feudal clan is equivalent to a political party... a political party linked by blood and region!

This is a fairly advanced democratic system, so Mr. Iwakura, don't worry too much. "

"?"

Iwakura was shocked, and he opened his mouth, unable to say a word.

Unexpectedly, the vassal politics can be interpreted as multi-party democracy.

Although he didn't agree with him, he also saw that Alfonso didn't want to talk more about this matter, and he was not entangled in this topic at the moment.

In fact, his main purpose in saying these words is not to discuss the state system with Alfonso, but to use similar experiences to arouse the sympathy of the other party.

The likes and dislikes of the monarch can very much influence the country's politics. If the other party does not take the bait, then forget it.

Just when he was going to continue to chat with the other party to see if he could get some benefits, Alfonso didn't intend to talk nonsense with him, but asked directly:

"How do you feel about Spain's strength?"

"Yeah..." As soon as I heard this, Iwakura knew that the other person wanted to discuss business. After careful consideration, he decided to tell the truth:

"Naturally, it is a big country in the world, and its overall strength is far ahead of Japan, but it is still slightly behind the United Kingdom and the United States."

"Heh." Alfonso chuckled lightly: "It's not a slight gap, but a far difference.

Mr. Iwakura, you should rarely hear the roar of steam engines in Madrid-I must tell you that the railway mileage in Britain is more than 10 times that of our country.

Not only that, but the education level and military strength far exceed ours.

The economic strength of the United States is second only to the United Kingdom, and their cotton and wheat feed half of Europe. "

Iwakura was stunned. In the past, he had only heard people talking about his own country. How could he have heard such bad things about him?

Especially when Alfonso was a teenage boy, he was a monarch when his vanity was strong.

It's really rare to be able to recognize one's strength objectively!

Without leaving too much time for Iwakura to think, Alfonso continued:

"Spain's current strength is indeed a lot behind. This is an objective fact.

But we are developing rapidly, you should be aware of this.

Defeating Italy with a few strikes is a clear proof.

Moreover, tell me bluntly... Countries such as Britain, America and Russia can't talk about Japan, okay? "

Hearing that, Iwakura looked at the same expression, but his heart was stinging. During the Shogunate, Britain, the United States and other countries forced Japan to sign many unequal treaties.

Including opening trade ports, delimiting concessions, negotiating tariffs, extra-legal governance, unilateral most-favored-nation treatment...

In short, Japan can basically enjoy what Taiqing enjoys, and it differs in degree at most.

These unequal treaties are regarded as a shame and shame by every Japanese. Although Iwakura is a careerist, it is no exception.

"So, you want to say...?"

Alfonso nodded: "We Spain is a truly friendly country. We are willing to treat Japan on an equal footing and be a guide for Japan... or a partner, what do you think?"