Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 899 Saigon
"Tang goods came from the west, prospered Nagasaki, and took away the gold of the whole of Japan."

"In the long run, it will be extremely detrimental to the imperial court."

The huge castle tower cost more than one million taels of gold and exhausted the princes of the world. It can be said to be the number one building in Japan.

Although it does not have the splendor and splendor of Chinese characteristics, the white and blue structure, coupled with a little cherry blossom red embellishment, makes it full of luxury with Japanese characteristics.

Honmaru, in the not-so-large pavilion, General Tokugawa Ietsuna sat on it, with elders and clan relatives kneeling on both sides, the atmosphere was serious and grand.

As soon as this remark came out, the atmosphere in the pavilion became a little subtle.

Because he knew that he signed the vassal regulations with the Ming Dynasty, and the dignified general who conquered barbarians became the king of Japan. This is regarded as a shame in Japan.

It is precisely because of this that the outflow of silver and gold began to accelerate.

General Tokugawa Iezuna looked at the faces of his retainers, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Marquis Aizu, what can you do?"

Hoshina Masa was in charge of the Aizu Domain, so he was called Marquis of Aizu. Of course, because Japan is different from China, his honorific title could even be His Highness.

"General!" Bao Kezhengzhi sighed: "Back then, the general closed the door to the country. In addition to suppressing the invasion of the southern barbarians and closing the country, the main purpose was to reduce the outflow of gold and silver."

"Now that the gate of the country is wide open, there are no southern barbarians, but Ming people are pouring in. If you want to curb the outflow, in my humble opinion, you can only restore the closed door."

slam-la-

When these words came out, everyone was shocked.

If the country is closed to the outside world, then the regulations will be violated, and the Ming army will attack if it is not done well.

"It is really not advisable to put the imperial court in danger for a little gold and silver."

Nakamatsudaira Nobutsuna shook his head hastily to stop this thought.

The other pro-vassal ministers present also nodded in agreement.

The peaceful and prosperous age has been too long, who wants to experience the chaos of war?

"What can I do?" Tokugawa Ietsuna sighed, his face extremely helpless.

Sakai Tadakatsu said helplessly: "Tang products are rare, but domestic products are very cheap. From the point of view of the old minister, the current plan can only advocate domestic products—"

These words made everyone nod their heads, showing that he is seasoned in plotting the country.

As long as there is no war, anything will do.

Tokugawa Ietsuna shook his head slightly, giving up hope on this idea.

Let him use Japanese inferior silk instead of brocade silk, and he will never get used to it.

At the same time, do you want to eat sugar?Do you need porcelain?What about books?You should always read!
As for the export, there are only a few items such as screens, paper fans, Japanese knives, etc., and there are not as many imports as porcelain.

At this time, Hoshina smiled and said: "However, unexpectedly, Nagasaki's taxes have continued to increase over the years. After the Ming Dynasty fire, it will be of great benefit to the imperial court's finances."

"It is estimated that Nagasaki will get 40 taels this year, and the deficit of the imperial court will be improved a lot."

The so-called Great Fire of the Ming Dynasty refers to an extremely large fire that broke out in Edo Castle in 1657, which is extremely exaggerated in the whole world.

The house of the daimyo, the town prefectural office, and even the Honmaru palace and castle tower of Edo Castle were engulfed by fire one after another. The Ninomaru and Sannomaru in Miyagi were almost completely destroyed, and only the Nishinomaru remained intact. They can only evacuate to Nishinomaru.

The fire burned from the afternoon of the 8th of the first lunar month to around [-]:[-] on the [-]th. The fire caused [-]% of the buildings in Edo to be damaged.

It burned to death as high as 10 people.

Innumerable people were injured and disabled by burns.

According to statistics, only the main pill used 93 taels of silver, and [-] guan of gold (always [-] jin) was used to build houses for the warriors, leaving the treasury empty.

And you must know that the fiscal revenue of the Tokugawa shogunate can be roughly divided into annual tribute, mouth rice, Sanyong, Yunshang and Xiaopu request gold.

幕府每年的征税约为米50-80万石，金30-60万两，银2万贯（一贯七点五斤）。

The total is almost 400 million taels of silver.

And Nagasaki's 40 taels a year is enough to match the annual tribute of the shogunate, which is really amazing.

Such a huge number and contribution made everyone nod and smile.

The days of the shogunate are better, and their vassals are naturally comfortable.

At this time, no one mentioned the Tang goods anymore.

If Tang goods are banned, Nagasaki's fiscal revenue will plummet, who can bear it?
At this time, Japan is like the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the [-]th century. The agricultural tax was at its peak and the indemnity was immeasurable. However, because of the customs controlled by the British, the income from the customs increased sharply, and they even had the leisure to prepare for the reorganization of the navy.

It is precisely because of the financial prosperity that all localities rely on its appropriations, and even the central power has been able to gather a little bit, which is no longer the southeast mutual protection in the Xin Chou years.

Fortune and misfortune depend on each other, which is really wonderful.

……

And here, King Qin drove away from Tianjin, all the way south, and finally arrived in Saigon.

After nearly two months of ups and downs, he boarded Annan.

At this time, as the general leading the army, Zhu Jing greeted him with a smile on his face, and directly announced the good news:
"Your Highness, take Champa down."

"Really?" King Qin was overjoyed, feeling unbelievable.

I only went to the grassland once, and then went to Beijing to spend the new year. In half a year, I took Champa, which is really shocking.

You must know that although the Kingdom of Champa at this time has become a vassal of Annan, the number of people under its jurisdiction exceeds 50, and the army is tens of thousands.

And the Ming army?There are only [-] people, and they have to be stationed in Saigon, so the force is even more meager.

"Of course." Zhu Jing helped him off the boat, and told the story calmly and confidently.

Just relying on five thousand musketeers, they defeated the main force of Champa in one fell swoop, and then the cavalry took advantage of the cover and went straight in, taking Champa in half a day.

"The area of ​​Champa is several times that of Saigon. Although the palace city is a bit narrow, it can be used as a palace as long as it is expanded."

"General Zhu—" King Qin was quite moved, "I never imagined that you would achieve such a great achievement just by relying on a single dry season."

"It's just that I won't go to Zhancheng." King Qin smiled slightly, pointed to Saigon in front of him and said, "It's still the most convenient place."

Hearing this, Zhu Jing smiled slightly, feeling satisfied in her heart.

With such probing, it seems that King Qin remained rational as always.

That's right, although the population at this time is larger, the city is more luxurious, and there are royal palaces built over hundreds of years, but don't forget that it is a newly occupied land.

More importantly, it is adjacent to Annan.

Although the Ming army was strong at this time, no one should be afraid, but Annan was in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and being low-key and cautious was the kingly way.

King Qin said seriously:
"I will definitely report to His Majesty and boast of your achievements."

"This is the duty that a humble official should do."

Zhu Jing smiled modestly.

Soon the two walked into Saigon City.

Saigon is only a short two hundred miles away from Champa. It used to belong to the Khmer Kingdom, but it gradually left because of its location.

Now that it is occupied by King Qin, it is naturally extraordinary.

The entire city wall is made of rammed earth, instead of using any bricks and stones, it can be said to be extremely simple.

But it is precisely because of this that the manufacturing is convenient and fast, and the expansion is completed in just two months.

After half a year of construction, Saigon has changed a lot.

The whole street is square, horizontal and vertical, displaying a well-shaped structure, and in the center is a palace city built with bricks and stones.

It is about three feet high, and the characteristic red door is covered with copper nails, which shows the carefulness of the owner.

In front of Miyagi, there is a bottomless trench with a width of more than five feet. At this time, it is already full of water, which makes people feel frightened.

"Your Highness, during your absence, apart from occupying the city with troops, I am also urging the locals to build the palace—"

"It's just a little palace, don't need to be too focused."

"Your Highness, although this is only your palace, it is our base camp."

Zhu Jing explained softly: "With the expansion of the region, the population controlled by Saigon alone has exceeded [-], and a large number of businessmen have poured into the city."

"In this case, if the army is scattered among the crowd, it is like ink falling into a stream and disappearing."

"So the general feels that all the main forces should be placed in your palace at this time. This will not only ensure your safety, but also maintain the leadership of the army."

"You still think carefully." Qin Wang sighed, and had to admire Zhu Jing's ability.

"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness." Zhu Jing raised her head slightly, straightened her chest, and continued: "Besides, the barbarians are afraid of power but not virtue. Only the magnificent palace city can make them look up."

"you're right."

The suspension bridge was lowered, and King Qin entered Miyagi.

It looks gorgeous on the outside, but the inside is quite simple.

The houses one after another are arranged like gossip, densely packed, but orderly.

In the middle, a towering building came into view.

"I'm afraid it's the palace, right?"

Qin Wang praised.

"Your Highness, that is the Confucian Temple—"

Zhu Jing said with some embarrassment: "Your palace is in the row nearby. The buildings that are too tall are very dangerous and obstructive for you."

The most conspicuous one is always the first target.

King Qin nodded again at this time, and repeated: "It's better for you to think carefully."

In a sense, the group of them came to Saigon to expand their rule based on the army.

In Western terms, it is armed colonization.

Of course, in the eyes of the people headed by the King of Qin, they are like the princes who were entrusted to all parts of the world in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, like Duke Zhou's Lu State.

Educate the barbarians and submit to China.

This is their slogan.

In this case, what is more admirable than Confucius?
Walking in the palace city, the soldiers patrolling along the way saluted respectfully. When they arrived at the palace, the King of Qin understood this a little bit.

An ordinary five-entry courtyard.

In Daming, even ordinary wealthy businessmen are inferior.

Although some of the maids and servants who served were brought over from Daming, most of them were locals, and their appearance was hard to describe.

"Let's go to worship the Confucian Temple first!"

King Qin turned his head, his face full of seriousness.

The grandeur of the Confucian Temple is beyond words, and the most surprising thing is the statue of Confucius.

He turned his head and looked at Zhu Jing.

"Your Highness, this is what I found out about Champa and Saigon, and I specially asked people to carve it to shape the people's righteous view."

Zhu Jing explained in detail.

It turned out that, unlike Annan, the vicinity of Saigon and Champa, and closer to the sea, was influenced by the Peace Sect and Hinduism, and their beliefs were quite chaotic.

For example, the Kingdom of Champa is a rare Hindu country, and the state religion is the belief in Shiva.

Under such circumstances, other handicraft industries in this area are relatively backward, but the carving technology is one of the best, especially the appearance, which can be described as superb.

In this way, it will be a matter of course if we follow the tradition and erect a statue of Confucius.

"I decided to patrol Saigon and Champa."

Although she had a lot of trust in Zhu Jing, she couldn't help feeling annoyed, even fearful, of such an overreaching behavior.

So all King Qin could think of was to establish prestige.

The first step in establishing your own prestige is to let most of the people and the army know yourself.

"Your Highness is wise." Zhu Jing quickly understood the purpose, but he still agreed without the slightest hesitation.

His ambition is not in Qin, but as a stepping stone to climb to a higher peak in Ming Dynasty.

So those little prestige, power, he didn't take it to heart.

The next day, the king of Qin sat in the royal carriage that had been transported earlier, or it should be called an elephant.

But the emperor only had big 辂, jade 辂, big horse chariot, small horse chariot, bucui, etc., but no gold 辂.

Because Jin Ren is the crown prince's first minister.

Compared with the crown prince's carriage, the height of King Qin's carriage was reduced by six inches, the width was reduced by one foot, and the length of the carriage was reduced by one foot.

Of course, the cushion is the same height as the emperor, and the decoration inside is also the same,

The pavilion-like long carriage is hung with curtains on all sides.

There is also a screen behind the seats in the pavilion, and gilt bronze ornaments are inlaid on the wheel teeth, spokes, fenders and railings.

On the curtains, hanging belts and seat cushions, there are embroidered patterns such as cloud dragons and cloud phoenixes, and the decoration is extremely gorgeous.

In the chair, the red woven golden Qi rests on a cushion, surrounded by red curtains. Sitting on it, the King of Qin feels that this is the real prince.

There are about a thousand people around Lubo, guards of honor, etc. They are the guards of Prince Qin's mansion and are responsible for protecting him.

Of course, this was also brought by King Qin from Chahar and Daming.

The huge guard of honor was driving on the road, and the people on both sides had to kneel and kowtow, not daring to raise their heads.

Through the window screen, King Qin glanced at the group of dark natives, and felt mixed feelings for a moment:

I actually have some regrets?

Saigon is not far away, and the radius is only a few hundred miles, which is equivalent to a mansion in the Ming Dynasty.

The village is extremely barren, and most of them are bamboo houses with thatched roofs and bamboo joints. Pigs are raised below, and people live on top, which is very convenient.

But at the same time, their faces are sallow, their bodies are short, and the key point is that they are very thin.

After careful questioning, it turned out that in Saigon, Zhu Jing spent most of the time fighting, at most controlling Saigon City, and the order was still maintained as before.

In other words, the vast rural areas are still paying heavy taxes, which are exploited by the village head, that is, the big landlords.

At the same time, a large number of Shiva temples are also widely distributed.

Farmers not only need to pay money to the land and the court, but also have to support the monks in the temple. Even in Saigon, where there are three crops a year, their life is extremely difficult.

(End of this chapter)