1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 707 The Tortuous Relationship With Japan

June 1654, 6, Edo, Japan (now Tokyo, Japan).

There is a crazy song among the Japanese folks: "Oda pound (rice), Yuchai and (noodles), the cake under the sky, Tokugawa will eat it as soon as he opens his mouth." This song combines Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi (Hashiba) Hideyoshi, The process of the three Tokugawa Ieyasu unifying the world is compared to making rice cakes.Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi made great contributions in the process of unifying Japan, but Tokugawa Ieyasu enjoyed the fruits of it.

The Battle of Sekigahara in the fifth year of Qingchang (1600) established the Tokugawa clan in one fell swoop.Since then, other daimyos in Japan no longer have the idea of ​​the emperor taking turns.In the eighth year of Qingcho (1603), Tokugawa Ieyasu was appointed by the emperor as the general who conquered barbarians and established the shogunate in Edo.

When the Tokugawa clan was still a daimyo, Edo was just a castle town.However, with the establishment of the shogunate, the city of Edo began to implement large-scale expansion. From 1606 to 1607, in order to weaken the strength of the daimyos in various places and make the most of them, the shogunate ordered the daimyos to use the title of "assistant service" In the form of free participation in the large-scale reconstruction of Edo Castle.

After decades of development, Edo has become one of the largest cities in Japan, with a population of more than [-]. In addition, the city is the seat of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and it has become the political, economic and cultural center of Japan.

Ji Changrong, Shaoqing of Honglu Temple of the Great Qi Kingdom, walked slowly on the streets of Edo City with more than ten entourages and guards.The huge and magnificent castle tower in the city and the many daimyo houses densely surrounding it are not among the targets of their investigation.The daily life of ordinary samurai, merchants, and craftsmen in the large-scale castle town, as well as the prosperous commercial activities and handicraft development in the city, these phenomena that can truly show the appearance of Japan's domestic economy are the most concerned by the diplomatic and commercial representatives of Qi State matters.

Although, through the cooperation between the Ryukyu Trading Company and the Satsuma Domain, the Qi State used the Ryukyu tribute trade as a cover to make the smuggling business between the two parties flourish, and imported a large amount of Qi State’s industrial products into the Japanese domestic market. , expanding the sales channels of local industrial products.However, many insightful people pointed out that this kind of smuggling must not be sustainable for a long time. If the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate blamed it, it would definitely prohibit the Satsuma domain from continuing to conduct this kind of informal trade.

That being the case, why don’t our country of Qi take the Mughal Empire of India as an example and send diplomatic and business representatives to Japan to establish formal diplomatic relations with this island country and obtain the same treatment as Ming Dynasty and the East India Company, thus obtaining the “Zhu Yin Certificate” Trade license for normal trade.

Although the number of new immigrants in Hanzhou has reached more than 60 each year, and the total domestic population is [-], compared with Japan, a country with a population of tens of millions, Qi is still a very small consumer market.Facing the gradual expansion of the domestic production industry and the slow growth of the types and quantities of goods produced, the industrial and commercial departments of Qi State must plan ahead and carry out commercial layout in Japan in advance.

The diplomatic and trade delegation headed by Ji Changrong, the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, has been in Edo Castle for more than a month, and has not yet been received by the shogunate Tokugawa Ietsuna.Although the Japanese general who conquered barbarians was only 13 years old and still underage, as the holder of the highest power in Japan, he personally received the official reception of the Qi State's diplomatic and business delegation, which has extremely great political significance.

Hoshina Masaoyuki (Uncle Tokugawa Iezuna) of the shogunate, the eldest brother Sakai Tadakatsu, the old Nakamatsudaira Nobuzuna, Abe Tadaaki and others were very indifferent to the arrival of the Qi State diplomatic and commercial delegation from thousands of miles away.After accepting the gifts presented by the Qi delegation, they just gave back some Kyushu Hakata silk products, Mino paper products and some Edo exquisite folding fans in return.

As for the conditions proposed by the Qi State diplomatic and commercial delegation to establish a diplomatic representative office and a business hall, and to carry out formal trade exchanges between the two sides, the several shogunate assistants either responded indifferently, or smiled contemptuously, and then waved their hands. Then he sent the representative of Qi State away.

"What's the situation?" Ji Changrong and others were in a restaurant, tasting the unique Japanese sake in a boring way, when a delegation attendant hurried into the private room from the outside.

"My lord, in the past few days, I have been in contact with several samurai and handymen from the assistant government elders and the old middle family, and I have roughly ascertained the situation." Tian Xiuhong bowed respectfully and bowed his head.

"Well, sit down and talk about it." Ji Changrong immediately ordered after hearing the words.

"Thank you, my lord!" Tian Xiuhong nodded again, seemingly flattered.

"Don't be so formal." Ji Changrong said with a smile, "It's been five years since you immigrated to Qi, why do you still have such an obvious sense of superiority and inferiority? Sit down and share with me, the shogunate Why is the general so indifferent to my delegation?"

Tian Xiuhong, formerly known as Kitada Xiuhong, was born as a Japanese wandering samurai. After retiring from the Zhongyi Army (composed of Japanese wandering samurai) five years ago, he immigrated to Hanzhou.He first served as the captain of the local township army, and was later recruited by the Black Guards. After more than half a year of training, he was sent to Hanxing Island (today's Miyako Island) to be responsible for collecting and sorting out Japanese information.

When the State of Qi sent a diplomatic and commercial delegation to Hanxing Island, it requested the Ryukyu District to provide several Japanese guards who were familiar with the situation and environment in Japan as the delegation's entourage, and they went to Japan to participate in the negotiations with the shogunate.Therefore, Tian Xiuhong was assigned to the delegation as an accompanying officer of the Black Clothes Guards (Second Lieutenant).

"My lord!" Tian Xiuhong ate half of the fish, drank a few sips of sake, and then put down the bowls and chopsticks, "Several auxiliary lords of the shogunate really have contempt and disdain for us Qi. Among them, except me Qi The country is located in the extreme southern continent, its name is not well-known, and the reason for its sparse population is that it treats it as an ordinary small overseas country, which appears to be extremely indifferent, and more factors are mixed with the Ming country."

"Hehe, what does the establishment of diplomatic and commercial relations between China and Japan have to do with Daming?" Ji Changrong wondered.

"My lord, Japan was defeated by the Ming Dynasty in two battles of attacking the DPRK decades ago, which led to the defeat of Lord Kanbai Lord Toyotomi (Toyotomi Hideyoshi), and indirectly contributed to the death of Tokugawa The rise of the family." Tian Xiuhong said, looking at the several members of the delegation present, and seeing that everyone was listening to him very attentively, he couldn't help but feel agitated. A samurai, serving his country, why should he despise his body.

"However, this great war also made Japan arouse respect and awe towards the Ming country. Since then, it has accepted the idea of ​​attacking North Korea and invading the Ming country from the west. At the same time, it also regards the Ming country as a... a A country as great and bright as Japan. They do not agree with the fact that the pioneers of our Qi State came from the Ming Dynasty, but they fled overseas to establish a country. They think that this move is a complete betrayal of the mother country. Therefore, the shogunate has some opinions on our Qi State. ...a different perspective."

"Ten years ago, the Qing captives from the Northeast invaded the Ming country, and quickly defeated the various resistance forces of the Ming country, almost destroying the entire Ming country. All this shocked the shogunate, and at the same time, it was a little unacceptable. My lords You may not know it, but a few years ago, the shogunate generals were limited by Huayi prejudices, and they were inclined to the remnants of the Ming Dynasty, and even once thought about sending troops to the mainland to help the Ming country resist the invasion of the Qing captives."

"Hmph, is the Japanese shogunate so kind?" A representative sneered and said, "I'm afraid they want to take advantage of the fire and loot it."

"..." Tian Xiuhong heard the words, and wanted to distinguish, but he was afraid of offending the lord, and rubbed his hands with some embarrassment, "Maybe..., presumably..., the shogun also has such a plan."

"Since the shogunate is leaning toward Ming, our Qi country has helped Ming to resist the Qing captives several times in the past ten years. If so, the shogunate should change its prejudiced view of our Qi country and show due enthusiasm and respect." ’” said another representative, puzzled.

"My lords, please listen to me to explain the reason here." Tian Xiuhong said: "The shogunate originally helped Qi to save Ming several times, but gradually changed its attitude and repaid it with special favor. However, in recent years, in Japan A few relatively big things happened, several local daimyos and ministers reported to the shogunate, saying that Qi State had secretly committed several actions against Japan, which was obviously provoking the highest authority of the shogunate."

"What did our country of Qi do to dissatisfy the shogunate and local daimyo?" Ji Changrong asked curiously.

"A few years ago, the Matsumae Domain in northern Japan appealed to the shogunate and asked for help, saying that our Qi State ships helped the Ming Kingdom to transport countless immigrants to Ezo, seriously infringing on the territory of the Matsumae Domain. Moreover, in recent years, they have also There have been several incidents in which our Qi Navy warships shelled the fishing boats of the Matsumae clan."

"Ezoland? Is it the Yunzhou controlled by the original Denglaiyongchu court?"

"It's here."

"go on."

"Three years ago, Ming officials on Tamna Island sent representatives to Nagasaki because three immigrant ships were attacked by Japanese pirates in the waters of Tsushima Island. The document may have been a little fierce in words, and was repelled by the shogun. Under such circumstances, the Ming army on Tamna Island, under the cover of several warships from Qi State, brazenly invaded Tsushima Island, killing and wounding More than one hundred, more than 300 officials and samurai of the Tsushima Fan were also captured. Although many officials below the Tsushima Fan clan were released in the end, they still killed more than [-] Tsushima Fan warriors in the name of pirates and civilians."

"Unexpectedly, the Ming army on Tamna Island is kind!" An accompanying officer said with a smile.

"Sir, the Ming army's move is...pretentious, but this military action also angered the shogunate." Tian Xiuhong said with a wry smile: "The shogunate specially ordered Nagasaki to implement it, and directly reduced the number of chartered trading ships in the Ming Dynasty. Half of them, and the civilized government, demanded an apology and compensation for the Tsushima incident.”

"Who did the shogunate send the document to? Could it be Zheng Zhilong from Fujian? ... Then he suffered a disaster!" Ji Changrong laughed dumbfounded.

"My lord expected it to be true. It was indeed Zheng Zhilong from Fujian who sent the letter." Tian Xiuhong said respectfully: "Last year, Zheng Zhilong sent a representative to Nagasaki, saying that the incident on Tsushima Island was caused by our Qi State colluding with the stragglers on Tanna Island. What I have done has nothing to do with Fujian, and I request the shogunate to restore the number of chartered trading ships."

"This Zheng Zhilong doesn't care about anyone, and he directly dumped the blame on our country of Qi." Ji Changrong shook his head and smiled wryly.

"That's true." Tian Xiuhong nodded and said: "Several adults in the shogunate government thought that our delegation from the State of Qi came to Japan this time to make an official explanation to the shogunate for the sake of Ezo and Tsushima Island. , and offered an apology and compensation. But I did not expect..."

"But I didn't expect that when we met with those elders and senior middlemen, we didn't mention these two things. Instead, we wanted to establish formal diplomatic relations with them and carry out friendly trade." Ji Changrong couldn't help frowning "It seems that our actions, in the eyes of the shogunate, may make them mistaken for an arrogant and arrogant attitude."

"My lord, the shogunate lords and many officials have actually heard about our smuggling trade in Ryukyu and Shimadzu." Tian Xiuhong said: "However, because the various smuggling trades imported from our country Qi Commodities such as hardware tools, iron agricultural tools, sugar, wood, steel bars, whale oil, soap, etc. are highly practical and in high demand, and can effectively fill the Japanese domestic market, so they have adopted a tacit attitude. However, this move is after all Some of them couldn't get on the stage, making the whole shogunate think that we are acting in Qi State... a bit biased."

"Being biased?" Hearing this, Ji Changrong was speechless. It is estimated that in the eyes of the shogunate, the trade and smuggling behavior of our Qi country is not only "biased", but most of them will think that this is an improper act of speculation.

"If we want to complete the goal of establishing formal diplomatic and commercial relations with the shogunate, we must explain to the shogunate the Ezo and Tsushima incidents, as well as Ryukyu's trade smuggling, and even apologize and compensate. This kind of behavior is not within the scope of authorization of the cabinet!" said an official from the Pedestrian Department of Honglu Temple.

"Easily bowing your head to Japan and admitting your mistakes, this action is an insult to the dignity of our Daqi Kingdom, absolutely not!"

"Since they are despised and despised by the shogunate, it doesn't matter if this formal diplomatic and commercial relationship is not established. When you find an opportunity in the future, teach them a lesson!" An accompanying guard officer shouted.

Ji Changrong sighed slightly. He thought that by virtue of his close relationship with Japan, which was bathed in oriental culture, he could easily establish formal diplomatic relations with Japan and carry out friendly business exchanges.Unexpectedly, there are so many business disputes mixed in it.

Two years ago, Huang Zijia, the former Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, successfully completed the important task of establishing formal diplomatic and commercial relations between the Qi State and the Mughal Empire of India through some mediation, and also caused the Indian trading company of the Qi State to be banned. He was allowed to independently establish a business office in the northwestern coastal area of ​​India. With this credit, he was also promoted to the right minister of Honglu Temple, occupying the second position in the foreign affairs department of Qi State.

I heard that most of the government with Pan Qifeng as prime minister will withdraw from the cabinet after the end of the year, and Jiang Ruliang, the left minister of Honglu Temple, will also be transferred to a local or overseas territory, so all government departments including Honglu Temple will There will be a lot of vacancies.Let me ask, how come any officials who are a bit pursuing don't have any thoughts on this?
When Ji Changrong set out from the mainland and came to Japan, he was full of ambitions. He once thought that by virtue of his achievements in establishing diplomatic and commercial relations with Japan, a country with a population of tens of millions, he could be smoothly promoted to Youqing of Honglu Temple.

Now it seems that this goal may be difficult to achieve in the short term.

(End of this chapter)