1635 Han style rises again

On January 1678, 1, Sendai Domain, Taga Castle.

As early as more than 60 years ago, Date Masamune, the lord of Sendai, Japan, presided over the first ocean voyage in Japanese history.

In 1613, with the support of the shogunate, Date Masamune mobilized more than 800 shipbuilders, 3000 blacksmiths and more than 45 carpenters. It took 500 days to build a Western-style Galen sailing ship with a displacement of up to 16 tons. It is also equipped with [-] special artillery pieces.

Date Masamune's retainer Hasekura Changcho presided over this great voyage and named the large sailing ship Date Village Maru.

该船于1613年10月28日出发前往西属墨西哥阿卡普尔科，随行的有180多人，包括了10名幕府武士、12名仙台武士、120名日本商人、船员和随从、以及大概40名西班牙人与葡萄牙人。

After three months of arduous sea voyage, the ship arrived in Acapulco on January 1614, 1, and the emissaries were given a grand reception.Afterwards, Changchang Hasekura and his team transferred to a Spanish merchant ship and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Spain. King Philip III of Spain welcomed him with the courtesy to foreign ambassadors.

In April 1614, Date Maru, who successfully completed the mission, returned to Japan first, and spent another four months crossing the vast Pacific Ocean.However, after returning to the country, the crew found that the foreign policy direction of the shogunate authorities had been deflected by 4 degrees, and they began to strictly prohibit exchanges with Catholic countries such as Spain and Portugal, entering a long period of national isolation.

As for the Datemura Maru, which crossed the Pacific Ocean, it was forcibly bought by the Spaniards in 1618 when it went to Acapulco, Mexico to pick up the mission of Mr. Hasekura Changchang to visit Europe and returned to Manila. A possible attack by the Dutch East India Company and renamed the San Juan-Baptiste.

With the opening of the long period of seclusion, the Date Maru, which was built completely in accordance with Western-style standards, will no longer have successors, and even the original red single boat system has been cancelled.When the third-generation general Tokugawa Iemitsu put down the Shimabara Rebellion in 1637, when he wanted to attack the Spanish Philippines, he found that his shipping strength was seriously insufficient.Even with the assistance of the Dutch warships, there is no certainty of victory.This first-generation Nanyang strategy plan in Japanese history was stillborn because of this.

When three Qiguoji sailboats with a displacement of more than 800 tons docked at Tagajo Wharf, Japanese residents who had never seen such a huge ship for many years were amazed and came to the wharf to stop and watch.

It stands to reason that Taga Castle is not a port city allowed by the Japanese shogunate, and merchant ships from the Qi State are not allowed to enter and conduct trade activities with it.

But three years ago, the shogunate suffered a disastrous defeat by the Qi State, and signed the "Edo Treaty" that humiliated the country, which not only damaged the strength of the shogunate, but also plummeted its prestige among the domestic vassals.

An army of more than 600 was no match for a mere [-] Qi troops. Osaka and Kyoto were lost, and Edo was bombarded. The Tokugawa shogunate with more than [-] million stones seems to be nothing more than that!
The first to challenge the authority of the shogunate was the Mori clan of Changzhou, one of the powerful vassals in the southwest. They dared not have the slightest resentment against the Qi State's cessation of Maguan, their territory, but vented their anger to the shogunate and its surrounding areas Several genealogies are on behalf of the daimyo.

Taking advantage of the moment when the shogunate was just defeated, the Mori family sent troops to attack the Tsuwano Fan Kamei clan and destroyed Tsuwano Castle, which can be regarded as restoring part of the territory deprived by the shogunate.

After the shogun Tokugawa Iezuna heard the news, he immediately sent envoys to warn the Mori family sternly, and mobilized more than ten vassal states in China, Shikoku, Kinki and other regions to punish the rebellious Changzhou vassal.

Under military pressure, Mori Tsunahiro, the feudal lord of Changzhou, withdrew from Tsuwano Castle, but directly rejected the shogunate's request to punish the parties involved and the compensation proposal made by Kamei.

In view of the fact that Nagato and Shufang, where the Changshu domain is located, are too remote, and that they have just experienced a major war and their finances have deteriorated, the shogunate can only hold back a sigh of relief and temporarily stop thinking about launching a punitive war against the Mori clan.

In this way, those weak and weak vassal states naturally still maintain due respect and obedience to the shogunate because they do not have much self-protection ability, but for some powerful vassals whose stone height is hundreds of thousands of stones, they inevitably have different thoughts in their hearts .

Although the Date family of the Sendai Domain has a public salary of 62 koku, it is lower than that of the Kaga Domain and Satsuma Domain, and comparable to that of the Owari Domain.However, the actual salary of the Sendai clan is as high as 100 million shi. In addition to the rich mineral resources, smelting and animal husbandry, the income from the fishing grounds in Sanlu Bay, and the port revenue, the actual financial scale of the Sendai clan is said to have exceeded 200 million shi. That's right, Japan's largest vassal.

In addition, during the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu promised to the first feudal lord Date Masamune that if the Eastern Army wins, he will increase the salary of Sendai Fan to 100 million shi.However, when the victory of the Eastern Army in the Sekigahara War came to an end, Tokugawa Ieyasu made a mistake. The actual increase in salary for the Sendai Fan was far less than 100 million shi, only increased from 57 to 62.

Even after the war, Tokugawa Ieyasu used various reasons to detain Date Masamune in Edo for two years under the pretext of the construction of Edo Castle, and finally returned to his territory with the help of various vassals. .

You must know that Masamune Date, together with Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa, had the same ambition to unify Japan and establish a foundation for all generations.It's just bad luck, and it's a pity that I didn't get the favor of God.

Now, the shogunate is fighting a battle with the Qi State, and its strength has been severely hit, and its prestige has also begun to shake. Many powerful feudal clans in the country are ready to move. As the Sendai clan with some "ideas", it is natural to plan for the future .

Therefore, the Date family not only secretly traded with the Qi State, but also actively engaged with the Ming State in the north to increase trade opportunities within the domain and obtain necessary commercial benefits.

However, the three Qi ships that sailed into Taga this time did not come to trade, but just passed by the place to make the last supply for the next long journey in the Pacific Ocean.

A large amount of rice, poultry, and livestock were hoisted onto the ship one by one, and dozens of recruited wandering warriors were also stuffed into the crowded cabin.

After a short stay of two days, three ocean-going ships sailed out of the harbor one by one. Several thick chimneys spit out billowing smoke, and under the watchful eyes of many local residents, they meandered away towards the north.

These three motor sailboats belong to the Ryukyu Fleet of the State of Qi, and they are mainly responsible for the round-trip transportation tasks on the Pacific route that has only been opened up in recent years.Because it is a steam sailing ship, it naturally needs to load a large amount of coal in the cabin. Therefore, compared with a pure sailing ship, its transportation volume is greatly limited.

In addition, the environment of the bilge of the motor sailing ship is relatively harsh. The deafening roar of the machine, the smoky steam, the pungent and choking soot smell, and the hot and dry space will make the passengers in the adjacent cabin feel extremely poor.

However, all these problems are secondary to the ship's most incomparable advantages--speed beyond ordinary sailboats and maneuverability in calm conditions.Motor sailboats have been around for more than ten years. With the advancement and improvement of technology, they are becoming more and more popular in the field of navigation.

All kinds of restrictive conditions at sea, such as windless belt, headwind, countercurrent, speed, etc., can be overcome one by one in front of the steamship. Except for extremely bad sea conditions, it can be used all-weather and in all directions without any restrictions , Sailing in the endless ocean.

Of course, there must be an important prerequisite here, that is, to reserve enough coal.

For this reason, Qi State began to build coal supply stations at various route nodes or important ports as early as ten years ago, creating necessary conditions for the large-scale application of sailboats in the future.

Among the three sailing ships that went deep into the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii Island (Hawaii Islands) and the west coast of America this time, there was a supply ship loaded with nearly [-] tons of coal. Part of the coal was unloaded on the island of Hawaii and used as a reserve.

On January 1, the fleet sailed northward to about 25 degrees north latitude, then adjusted its course, and with the help of the North Pacific Kuroshio Current (North Pacific Warm Current), fully sailed with all sails, and headed eastward at a high speed.

The route traveled by the fleet is the most mature route opened up during the Spanish galleon trade.At that time, the Spaniards set sail from Manila to the north latitude of 6°-45° in June every June, and then traveled eastward along the "Kuroshio" in the North Pacific Ocean to reach the port of Acapulco, traveling more than 42 nautical miles. , which lasted several months.

The return journey is a direct flight along the ocean current, which only takes more than 3 months.The load capacity of the galleon is generally 300-500 tons. On the way out, silk, porcelain, lacquerware, cotton cloth, ivory, carpets, tea and other commodities from Daming, India, Persia, Japan and other countries, as well as embroidery, pearls, and wood carvings from the Philippines, Shipped from Manila to the port of Acapulco, Mexico, sold throughout Mexico and Spanish America, and re-sold in mainland Spain.The return journey mainly carried Spanish silver dollars, copper, cocoa, etc.

Later, after the three families of Zheng, Wei, and Qi divided up the entire Luzon Islands, the Spaniards' trans-Pacific galleon trade was temporarily suspended.

The reason why it is said to be interrupted, not terminated, is that Gein and the Zheng family used a large number of captive Spaniards to try to reopen the trans-Pacific trade ten years ago.With the assistance and guidance of Spanish sailors, the two merchant ships sailed to the port of Acapulco, Mexico, where they received an enthusiastic response from the local Spaniards and exchanged a large amount of gold and silver.

Since then, Zheng has attached great importance to this trade route, and has worked closely with the merchants in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (that is, Spanish Mexico). Each year, each organizes one or two merchant ships to travel to each other's territory to exchange the goods they need. , the trade volume was as high as more than 100 million pesos (1 tael of silver is approximately equal to 1.3-1.4 pesos).

For the trans-Pacific trade led by the Zheng family, businessmen from the Qi State and the Wei State on the Luzon Islands were jealous and tried to get involved.However, in view of the excellent relationship between the family and the Spanish merchants in Mexico, and the fact that the other party kept this precious trade route strictly confidential, as well as the restrictions and controls of the Spanish royal family and the Spanish local colonial authorities, they have not succeeded. .

As for whether the Spaniards will hate each other because Luzon was taken away by the Zheng family, and thus refuse to trade with the Zheng family, that does not exist at all.If the distant Philippines is lost, it will be lost. In the end, it is the Spanish royal family that loses face and dignity.

The merchants in Spanish America can easily obtain a large amount of rare oriental goods from the trans-Pacific trade, and then sell them to the vast American territories, and even sell them to the mainland of Spain, earning a lot of money. Said, is the most important, and most worthy of attention.

Three years ago, on the way back from the west coast of America, an exploration fleet of Qi State discovered an archipelago located in the center of the ocean.It is said that His Majesty the Emperor attached great importance to this, and ordered the cabinet and the Ministry of the Navy to occupy and control it at any cost, as the core strategic point of the Pacific Ocean.

Some businessmen with a keen sense of smell immediately realized that this archipelago is simply an excellent springboard to the Spanish American territory. If a trade transfer station is established here, with its convenient geographical It is not impossible to grab a bite of meat from trade.

Therefore, last year, several trading companies including Luzon Trading Company, Wei Royal Trading Company, Ryukyu Trading Company, and Yunzhou Trading Company jointly established a North American trading company. They raised 50 shares and prepared to operate trans-Pacific trade routes.

In the fleet composed of three motor sailing ships, in addition to bringing more than 500 immigrants and some daily necessities to Hawaii Island, there are also a large number of commodities organized by the North American Trading Company, and they plan to establish a trading station on the island in advance. , try to carry out limited transactions with the local natives.

After sailing along the sea area between 42° and 45° north latitude for more than [-] days, the fleet adjusted its course again and headed southeast.

During this journey, in order to cope with the resistance of the ocean current, the three motor sailboats lowered a few mainsails, turned on the steam engines, and sailed to the Hawaiian Island with all their strength at a speed of ten knots.

On March 3, the lookout reported that land was found and that he was about to reach the island of Hawaii.

On March 3rd, there was a strong wind, heavy rain, and rough sea. The fleet lowered all sails, turned off the machines, followed the ups and downs of the sea, and drifted with the current, waiting for the weather to improve, looking for an opportunity to land.

On March 3, the weather gradually improved, and the fleet slowly sailed around the winding coastline, carefully avoiding numerous coral reefs, and in the afternoon, sailed to the southwest of the island, approaching a semi-enclosed bay.

At this time, there were already local aborigines paddling canoes on both sides of the fleet. They brought chickens, ducks and a dozen bunches of plantains, eager to barter with the fleet.

The sailors hoisted the indigenous "commodities" onto the deck with ropes, then took out several iron nails and glass beads and threw them into the canoe.Seeing a nail falling into the sea, some aborigines jumped into the water without hesitation, trying to salvage it.

These natives should have been in contact with the merchant ships of Qi State who arrived here before, and the Qi State people were undefended, and let the Qi State sailors take the items they brought with them carelessly.

Just as more canoes came up and wanted to trade with the people of Qi, a streamlined multi-paddle boat quickly rowed from the coast, and after squeezing out several canoes blocking the way, affixed A Qi Guoji sailing ship.

"Damn, you're finally here!" A thick, tanned man said loudly after being pulled aboard by sailors, "If we had come later, we might have been conquered by the natives on the next island. Become their slave!"