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Chapter 1222 Metamorphosis 2
It was well known that Emperor Jingyang valued Taoism and suppressed Buddhism. Even the royal temples could not escape his clutches. It was precisely because Otani Mitsumichi could not stand Emperor Jingyang's suppression of Buddhism that he resolutely gave up his generous treatment and returned to Japan to spread Buddhism.

But Emperor Jingyang liked him more and often played chess with him, so before he left, he issued an imperial decree allowing him to raise money through maritime trade to rebuild the temple in Japan and named it Guangming Temple.

With this imperial edict, Otani Mitsumichi could trade with the Ming Dynasty legitimately, at least it was recognized by the Ming Dynasty Customs.

As for whether the Japanese shogunate recognized it or not, they did not want to recognize it at first, but after sending envoys to pay tribute, they privately recognized it. Few people know what happened.

Whatever the reason, it was certain that Guangming Temple could engage in maritime trade. Before the temple was even built, two large ships docked there, fully loaded with various goods and building materials.

Before leaving, he purchased a large number of Japanese specialties from nearby. The goods of local merchants who were close to Komyoji Temple or recommended by Otani Mitsumichi would naturally be included in the purchase list.

For Japanese merchants who were in a state of isolation, Otani Mitsumichi was simply a living god of wealth. It was not known whether Emperor Jingyang forgot or did not think much about it, but he did not specify the amount of sea trade in the imperial edict, which meant that there was no limit on the amount each year and it could be bought and sold at will.

Hyogozu and Osaka, oh yes, Hyogozu is the predecessor of Kobe, the Japanese merchants in these two places are famous for their pursuit of pure business. What country and nation are nothing in their eyes, even if they can make a little more money, they will immediately deny that they are Japanese.

With such a God of Wealth around, how can we not make good use of him? Go? Pah! Don't even think about going anywhere. If anyone disagrees, let's unite and either throw money at him or destroy him, we have to keep him here. After the temple is built, expand the dock and wait for the Ming merchant ships to dock, and we can make money together!
It has been almost fifteen years since Otani Mitsumichi returned to Japan. He has a large number of followers in Osaka and Kobe, and his influence is quite large. But then again, many of his followers are businessmen, and they can help with minor matters, but they must be ready to help at critical moments, and cannot be completely relied upon.

This is when another maggot comes in handy, Tsushima Domain!

Compared with Otani Mitsumichi, the Souji clan of Tsushima Domain is less famous but more powerful. In the past twenty years, the policy of isolation implemented by the Tokugawa shogunate has been almost ineffective for this small island.

Not only did it not affect their share of maritime trade, but because other daimyo could not engage in maritime trade on a large scale, but had a strong demand for Ming Dynasty products, a large amount of re-export trade increased.

This money was too easy to make. To put it bluntly, he was a middleman who bought scarce goods from the Ming Dynasty and then sold them to other forces in Japan at a higher price. Moreover, before Otani Mitsumichi returned to Japan, he was the only one who could do it. Even the shogunate and the emperor in Edo had to purchase from Tsushima.

Why could the Tokugawa shogunate tolerate a daimyo who openly violated established policies for such a long time? Tsushima Domain, with no high-ranking daimyo and ranking last among more than 200 daimyo, did not have the confidence and economic strength to support its own army.

But it survived and is getting better and better. Although it is still not famous, its actual economic strength and living standards are already among the best. The reason can be summed up in four words: narrow-minded and self-respecting.

The "yang" here refers to the Ming Empire across the sea. Tsushima Domain has been a trade transit point between Japan and the Korean Peninsula since ancient times. Although the Tokugawa Shogunate shouted about closing the country to the outside world, it did not really intend to cut off all foreign trade. Its purpose was to maintain its rule. It was mainly frightened by the invasion and spread of Christianity, and was afraid that once the country was opened, foreign religions would flood in and affect the Japanese people's blind worship of the emperor.

The quantity of products in the Japanese archipelago does not allow for complete self-sufficiency, and many things must be imported. And there are only two largest trading countries, Ming and Korea. At present, the Joseon Dynasty of Korea is completely controlled by Ming. Even farting has to be reported to Beijing for approval. In fact, only Ming is left.

So Yoshishige, the feudal lord who succeeded So Yoshitoshi, saw this and was very clear-headed. He knew that if he wanted to keep his family going, he could not offend either the Tokugawa shogunate or the Ming Empire. So, under the deliberate guidance of the Ming merchants, he began a plan to dominate the world.

To put it simply, they openly supported the policies of the Tokugawa shogunate, but secretly allowed Ming merchant ships to dock and trade. At the same time, they borrowed money from Ming merchants to purchase many small sailboats, specializing in smuggling trade.

By secretly transporting the goods to the daimyo who needed them, he gradually established a huge network of relationships, whose members were spread across dozens of daimyo in Kyushu and Kansai.

These daimyo participated in the smuggling trade, which meant they were accomplices. They would more or less speak in favor of the Tsushima domain, which in turn slightly affected the implementation of some policies of the Tokugawa shogunate.

In addition, So Yoshishinari was also a smart man. He asked the Ming merchant ships to take down the sun and moon flags and hang the flags of the Joseon Dynasty, and claimed to be trading with Korea. Not only did he not violate the regulations of the shogunate, but he was also actively cooperating and should be rewarded.

Another thing is that he was willing to take out part of his income to go to Edo to make arrangements. No matter what festival it was, as long as the name could be mentioned, many powerful officials in the shogunate would receive a heavy gift.

As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person, don't scold a gift-giver. As long as they take the gift, they must speak for the Tsushima domain, because even if they get rid of the Tsushima domain, they won't get more benefits, and keeping So Yoshinari is a long-term meal ticket. The officials grasped the principle of one meal full and one meal full.

Finally, there is the influence of the Ming Empire, or deterrence. Most officials in the Tokugawa shogunate knew where the goods of Tsushima Domain came from, and they also knew that the Ming court turned a blind eye.

When the gap in power between the two sides is too great, some things are better not to be put on the table to make people lose face. If the Ming merchants are really expelled, the Ming emperor who is said to treat merchants as his godsons may really send a fleet to circle around Japan. By then, not only will the city become a ruin, but the shogunate may also be overthrown.

However, the Tokugawa shogunate's forbearance did not bring about true peace. In Hong Tao's eyes, there would be no true peace between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, and the Tsushima Domain was just a chess move he made.

When it is useless, it can be regarded as a place for merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to dump their goods. When it is useful, it will work immediately. The longer the time drags on, the deeper the Zongyi family will be trapped, and they will not even have the ability to say no.

(End of this chapter)