1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2696
The official institution established by the Tsushima Clan in Busan is called "Woguan". Since the two countries resumed trade in 1609, Waguan has become a symbol of Japanese interests in Busan.The various trade activities that Japanese merchants engaged in in Busan were all under the supervision of Waguan, which in fact meant that these trade activities were placed under the control of the Tsushima domain.

Most of the goods exported by North Korea and Japan to each other also need to be transported to Aso Bay on Tsushima Island first. After inspection and tax payment and other procedures are completed, they are then shipped to the next destination.

Such a wonderful trade method is of course not suitable for the increasing scale of cross-border trade at Busan Port, and it also greatly reduces the benefits that North Korea deserves.However, if the Joseon court puts pressure on the Tsuima clan, it is obvious that the levels of the two parties are not equal. However, if it is necessary to conduct trade negotiations with the equivalent Tokugawa shogunate, it will face a situation that is too long and difficult to operate, so doing this kind of dirty work The tiring errands must be completed by the local government in the end.

But the problem is that the weight of the local government in Busan is slightly insufficient. Although Wen Zhihong initiated several trade negotiations on his own initiative, the Japanese's response was relatively cold, and they all dealt with it, and finally failed to achieve a decent result.This is of course easy to understand. After all, Wen Zhihong's purpose is very clear, which is to ask the Japanese to make concessions, but Wen Zhihong can't come up with any valuable exchange terms, so the Japanese will naturally not agree to his request.

Wen Zhihong is also very helpless about this, the negotiating space given by the imperial court is very limited, and he is also a clever woman who cannot cook without rice.Fortunately, the imperial court also knew that it would not be easy to change the trade rules that had lasted for more than 200 years, so they did not set a time limit for this task, and Wen Zhihong could have enough time to slowly figure out a solution.

Until the arrival of the Haihan Mission, Wen Zhihong finally saw the hope of changing the status quo.Haihan is currently the most important trade partner of Busan Port, and Haihan merchants have a large-scale industrial layout in Busan, which is large enough to affect the trade pattern of Busan Port.If this giant Buddha can be moved out of the town, it will undoubtedly be much easier to put pressure on the Japanese.

It just so happened that after the arrival of the Haihan Mission, they requested the delineation of an autonomous zone. After some bargaining, Wen Zhihong finally added the holding of the tripartite trade talks to the terms of exchange, and thus this hard-won temporary meeting.

Although it was a temporary arrangement, the level of the attendees was not low. Wen Zhihong represented North Korea as the governor, and the Haihan Mission was attended by Tao Hongfang, Ning Zijing, Bai Letong and Zhu Zian. .As for the Japanese Wakan, the owner of the museum, Muneota, is said to be the half-brother of the current lord of the Tsushima Domain, Soyoshi, and he can undoubtedly represent the interests of the Tsushima Domain.

Japanese Wakan has been relocated several times in history, and it is currently located on Yeongdo Island in the harbor of Busan.After more than 40 years of continuous renovation and expansion, Waguan has become the largest building complex on the island.

When they first arrived at Busan Port, Tao Hongfang and others saw the main building of Wakan from a distance on the boat, a towering Japanese-style castle.Rather than calling it a Waguan, it is more appropriate to call it a Wacheng.Outside the castle are ordinary commercial institutions and civilian residential areas.

However, because it was built on an island with limited fresh water resources, the castle did not dig a moat or other fortifications around the outside, but it was still built according to the layout of a standard Japanese castle. commercial organizations to use.

"Now I finally understand why the Busan government said that it would be more troublesome to catch Japanese criminals on Yeongdo Island. This place is not a business house, it is clearly a fortress! If there are thousands of people stationed here Army, then I wouldn't be surprised at all."

After boarding the island by boat, Bai Letong saw the real body of the castle and couldn't help expressing his emotions.

It is self-evident who the Japanese are building such a fortress on Yeongdo.The local government had to face a lot of pressure when they came here to arrest criminals. Later, they bit the bullet and came here to arrest several Japanese ronin who were on business. It was not easy.

Tao Hongfang said: "North Korea and Japan have fought several times in history, and the Wakan has also been switched on and off. Every time the situation becomes tense, the Wakan will be the first to be unlucky. It is no wonder that the Japanese are prepared to take precautions."

Bai Letong argued: "But this is the territory of North Korea after all, so it's a bit too crazy to build a fort so blatantly."

Tao Hongfang said: "It is estimated that the North Koreans have disliked this place for a long time, but there is no way to deal with it... Zijing, what do you think?"

Ning Zijing said: "I don't think the existence of this castle is a bad thing."

Bai Letong wondered, "What's the point?"

Ning Zijing explained: "Think about it, the existence of this castle will make the North Koreans feel pressure, and they have no way to solve the problem, so they will rely on us more. Just like this time they invited us to attend the three-party talks, the purpose is also To put pressure on the Japanese. Without such pressure, the North Koreans might not have compromised with us so quickly."

Since this was a very formal official meeting, the Waguan side did not hold back, and sent a motorcade to meet them in advance.To the surprise of Tao Hongfang and others, the carriages used by the Waguan were all made in Haihan, and they even found the sign of "Zhoushan Carriage Factory" in the carriage without any difficulty.

Although the manufacturing process and riding comfort of this popular carriage are not as good as the custom-made carriages produced in Sanya, they are relatively cheap in price, the order cycle is short, and the shape design with glass windows is also quite high-end, so in recent years A lot of them were exported to North Korea, but I didn't expect even the Japanese to take a fancy to this kind of carriage.

Zhu Zi'an sighed: "When I was in Zhoushan, I was curious to inquire about the price of this kind of carriage. They were all above three hundred yuan. If all the facilities on the carriage are complete, it can even be around five hundred yuan. It must be across the sea. The selling price here is much higher, but the Japanese are willing to spend money, and bought so many cars in this place alone."

Tao Hongfang said: "Zian, you don't know how profitable it is to do cross-border trade. The Japanese are not willing to spend it, but they don't care about this expense at all. The income of this Japanese hall in a year must be higher than that of the Japanese. The Busan government still has a lot more. Spending some money to decorate the facade should not be a big expense for them."

Zhu Zi'an said: "There are so many? I looked through the information before going down, but it is rare to mention what kind of business they are doing."

Tao Hongfang said: "What Japan exported to Korea was mainly copper, gold, silver, sulfur, and dyes and spices obtained through the southern Ryukyu. North Korea sold silk fabrics, books, ginseng, Mainly fur and other commodities. If you choose any of these transactions, the income will be extremely impressive."

(End of this chapter)