Capítulo 2: Russia in Tsushima and Japonism (1861)
Birilev sighed on the high seas accompanied by the boats of his companions "This is going to bite our ass" The captain mentions pessimistic.
"I think we have a chance of success" Grand Duke Alexander insists.
"Then you better be right" Captain Birilev sentences as he orders the boats to head towards the Russian port built in Tsushima.
It was April 12, before this Grand Duke Alexander (with his early knowledge of Japanese) and Captain Birilev had met with 2 Japanese farmers.
This duo had brought together some other farmers and the samurai Matsumura Yasugorō. The two farmers were working for the Russians in exchange for a sum of money, having tricked Matsumura Yasugorō into going against the Russians.
When the "fleet" of Russian ships approached the port Matsumura Yasugorō tried to stop them, of course the Grand Duke and Birilev were ahead, pretending that they did not understand anything of what the samurai said (and in truth they did not understand much of it but there were words simple that they could understand).
Then the situation was quickly precipitated when one of the two hired farmers attacked the Russians, more specifically Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov.
Soon the retinue of the Grand Duke and the rest of the soldiers pounced on the group of Japanese, who mostly fled.
In the middle of the incident, Matsumura Yasugorō committed suicide before being captured by the Russians, but two farmers were captured (Alexander and Birilev's "friends") while a few farmers were slightly injured.
At the time with Grand Duke Alexander wounded, the Russians were quick to send news of an attack on a member of the royal family to the city of Nagasaki (one of three ports open to foreign ships, such as Hakodate and Yokohama).
The Russian consulate wasted no time in sending many complaints to the Japanese government, surprised by the presence of the third in line to the Russian throne on the island of Tsushima.
The Japanese government was obliged to respond more quickly when there was no news about Grand Duke Alexander from Tsushima, a special envoy and a British "diplomat" were sent as soon as possible to Tsushima with the intention of inspecting the Russians and the situation of the Grand Duke. .
*******
The Grand Duke was in his bed, he was receiving a few more blows from his companions, a robust young man who was being covered with bandages.
There were also the two farmers allied with the Grand Duke and Birilev.
"The head of the Sō clan and the elders of the island want to talk to us" Captain Birilev exclaims trying to keep his calm, but he can't help but worry a bit, mainly about diplomatic consequences but there was also concern for the Grand Duke.
"Of course they want to talk to us, I just got brutally attacked" The Grand Duke mentions apparently calm "Now the next part of the plan. We need people to talk, we need rumors, the outrage of the Russian public and perhaps some Japanese" The Grand Duke insists.
"... We will put the men to act" Captain Birilev sentences to the farmers, some of his subordinates are bringing sums of money (donated mainly by Grand Duke Alexander and Birilev himself) and some objects from Nagasaki.
*******
The Grand Duke's companions on the Russian Tsushima expedition were in a rage, and the Japanese farmers (and their purchased friends) were also reacting with annoyance against the "dishonorable behavior" of Matsumura Yasugorō, held responsible as the main responsible for the attack on the Russians.
Meanwhile Sō Yoshiyori and elders from the island of Tsushima were watching the beaten Grand Duke, supposedly by an annoying Japanese mob.
Birilev as captain did not need much effort to fake a clear annoyance, against the actions he did nothing more and nothing less than a son of the Tsar of All Russia.
It didn't take long for the Japanese to understand this, and the officers had to respond quickly, away from the capital. They had already tacitly allowed Russia to build some things ...
Negotiations were short and simple, Birilev offered some Russian weaponry and a Tsushima youth military school, respecting Japanese Shinto-Buddhist traditions (as requested by the elders).
In exchange for this, Birilev and the expedition would gain exclusive rights to Asō Bay, hence a naval post on the east of Tsushima Island. If the Japanese government agreed to these terms, it would be ratified.
The next 4 days were a diplomatic chaos, with Captain Ivan Fedorovich Likhachev going to the bay while Foreign Minister Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov and Admiral Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov were arguing with the Japanese in Nagasaki and Tokyo. Andō Nobumasa (administrator) and his cabinet were talking to the rest of the Shogunate led by Tokugawa Iemochi.
Finally Sir James Hope of the British Royal Navy and the Japanese special envoy had arrived to check on Grand Duke Alexander's health.
It did not remove all the Russian outrage of course, a Grand Duke attacked by Asians was in bed unable to communicate with home. Japanese peasants were also raising some media problems on the Tsushima coast.
The Bafuku was now receiving international complaints as well, after all the Dutch-American Hendrick Conrad Joannes Heusken who aided the Prussian expedition Eulenburg (for Friedrich Albrecht zu Eulenburg) had been assassinated in January, and now Grand Duke Alexander was attacked in April.
Isolationist Japan faced one scandal very close to another, after British and French diplomats had moved to Yokohama, diminishing trade in the process.
The British did not have many options having received news of the state of the Grand Duke, having to maintain neutrality while many Europeans (and Americans, although to a lesser extent in comparison) demonstrated classic racism towards Asians at the time.
The news of the treaty that Birilev and Sō Yoshiyori negotiated reached, the British tried to oppose it but now Russia was demanding compensation for the violence (which some called an attack) against the Grand Duke.
The Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi finally sent news that the conditions of the treaty were accepted, also sending financial compensation to the Russian consulate in Japan while the Grand Duke was invited to go to the main archipelago.
Grand Duke Alexander kept up his performance, accepting the invitation but having to delay it for a few days off for "health reasons".
*******
Nagasaki, Japan, Edo Period.
The Grand Duke took some biscuits from the climbing point, in general the Grand Duke seemed to enjoy the trip to Edo, but while he was heading with Birilev his behavior changed between public and private.
"You know? I worry about the Japanese" The Grand Duke mentioned once.
"The farmers? Are you worried they'll give us away?" Birilev asked.
"No, they are unlikely to believe them, and we can always silence him, I mean ... Japan in general" Grand Duke Alexander replies "Tell me Birilev, do you think Russia has an ally?"
Silence was the answer.
"Russia has only three allies, the army, the navy and God. The French and British turn their backs on us when we need them, the Austrians betrayed us before, we have no allies in Asia or America" The Grand Duke sentenced.
"I think some of my pessimism got to you" Captain Birilev says nonchalantly, making the Grand Duke laugh even a little.
"Maybe, maybe ... But I really hope we can keep Tsushima" The Grand Duke mentions with a hint of optimism.
"Why risk getting beaten up if you are afraid we will lose the bay?" Captain Birilev questions this time.
"... My father reigns by command of God, my brother will reign by command of God but I believe that Russia is not only the Romanovs and Orthodoxy, Russia is a vast land that has survived winters, plagues and the most brutal invasions. .. "The Grand Duke paused for a few moments, Birilev could be thinking about Napoleon or even the Mongols, but the Grand Duke's mind was on a much more distant enemy, an enemy from the future" What is a little of my blood if can I serve Russia back? "
"... You're a strange guy. Have I told you before?" Birilev exclaims.
"Yes" The Grand Duke laughs again.
The two men actually became friends in Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich's mild sojourn in Nagasaki and Edo, but as quickly as Alexander Alexandrovich was in contact with the Russian consulate and the royal family (plus the Shogun) he was called back to the European Russia by the Romanov family.
Alexdander Alexandrovich and Captain Birilev would not see each other again until 1863, but throughout 1861 and 1862 they would exchange occasional letters and gifts in December (for Birilev's birthday).
Captain Ivan Fedorovich Likhachev was left in charge of the Russian base at Tsushima, in turn guarded by Admiral General, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich.
From here soon, Russian ships would come and go from the Far East, Tsushima being a port that does not freeze in winter, unlike most Russian ports.
Also as Birilev promised there was a naval academy, where some Japanese children were learning Russian and the military education of the Russian navy, although it would take a few years to show results (probably).
*******
Crimea, Russian Empire, 1861 (OS).
Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich moved to a seemingly common little estate that the Romanovs owned on the Crimean peninsula on the Black Sea. His mother was concerned for his health, but doctors said the climate in the region could do him good.
Emperor Alexander II on the other hand, while worried about his son, was also upset about how he ended his first trip abroad on duty.
Yes, Russia won part of Tsushima, exclusively, but Alexander Alexandrovich had been injured and caused a commotion.
Now the Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich was visiting his younger brother, who was using his personal funds to expand the estate on personal projects, but he could always take a break for his older brother.
"What was Japan like?" The Tsesarevich asked excitedly.
"... Difficult to describe if you don't see it with your own eyes, they are different ... I buy some pieces of art in case you are interested in seeing" The Grand Duke mentioned while moving some books, among them the most recent one by Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev "Organic Chemistry".
The Tsesarevich was impressed by what appeared to be stamps and some bigger pieces of art "In general I bought pieces of the artist called Hokusai, but he used several names. I could begin to replicate and sell them in Western Europe."
"Isn't it a waste to buy and sell art that way?" The Tsesarevich asks with a certain air of romanticism.
"In my opinion it would be a waste not to make money from art, think if we nationalize some of our private collections or the collections of nobles, we could make money from tourism" Grand Duke Alexander mentions.
After seeing the things that the Grand Duke brought from Japan, the two brothers started talking about the recent news as they passed by the outskirts of the estate "Isn't that amazing? Now almost all the serfs of Russia are free ... well, not those who work for us or in Georgia and some others, but there are still more than 20 million liberated souls "The Tsesarevich Nicholas exclaimed.
"... Hmm, I'm still worried about that" Grand Duke Alexander insists "I mean, I don't object but I think loose ends were left."
"What is more important than the freedom and rights that ex-serfs now have?" Tsesarevich Nicholas asks in confusion "Think about where Russia will be in the future, we will catch up with Western Europe in civil rights and technology."
The Grand Duke was silent for a few moments. "How many former serfs will starve next winter? The next ten winters? How many are now debt slaves or cannot leave? How many will remain impoverished for generations? I think. Before freedom, people are more concerned about their safety, food on the table, money in their pockets ..."
"Have you always been so grumpy?" The Tsesarevich mentions Nicholas laughing at his brother.
"Maybe the navy has affected me a little" The Grand Duke laughs.
There were other worrisome, but "peripheral" issues regarding the Russian Empire, in the American continent the United States faced a civil war, between the northern and southern states, due to the issue of slavery.
The European powers of the United Kingdom and France were neutral, but there was some support for the Confederacy in the south, on the other hand the Russian Empire saw this as a revolt and was supporting the Union (something that Switzerland was also doing, for example).
******
Paris, France (Second French Empire).
At the end of October and in November, new works by Hokusai began to appear in Paris, when the first copies of this artist appeared only in 1856 thanks to the French artist Félix Bracquemond.
Naturally, the explosion of new copies were sold quickly, especially among members of the Impressionist movement and collectors.
The specimens came from the east, more specifically from the Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich of Russia, who was collecting money through the "Japonism" movement within French art.
For the Grand Duke, his movements in the art world were just escalation, raising more money for future goals (recruiting staff, recruiting technicians, getting technology, and potentially traveling to learn more about technological advancements).
The greatest effect the Grand Duke had at this time was to speed up European interests in Japanese art a bit, for monetary interests of course.
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