The sun never sets in America

Chapter 445 Japan and Soldier Sources

The Northern Whale is a typical Chinese-style ship, with a thick bow, strong power, and constantly emitting black smoke.

The Han national flag hanging high on the mast is constantly fluttering and whirring when the wind blows.

"Xiao Liu, slow down the speed, we are about to enter the harbor!!"

Zhou Yannian, who was wearing a small hat, looked at the port filled with ships and the huge crane in the telescope, and turned around and shouted to the deputy in the cabin with an accent with a distinct southern accent.

"Slow down, slow down..."

"Click", slowing down is very simple, there are only two methods, one is mechanical braking, the other is to reduce the coal supply.

The former is suitable for the current short-term deceleration, and the latter is suitable for long-term slow deceleration and downshifting.

In terms of reliability and durability, the latter is obviously higher than the former. After all, mechanical braking is essentially a brake driven by gears, which is also a kind of damage to the ship itself.

When the gears were turning and forced to slow down, Zhou Yannian, who was standing in the cabin, was thinking about what he would do after entering the port:

"Yes, I still want to find a girl." As soon as he said these words, Zhou Yannian's expression changed, and then he saw Xiaoliu leaning against the door, with an extremely ambiguous expression, and his eyes were constantly scanning. I no longer have "looking for girls" written all over my face.

Girls, this is so good! !

Following the direction of Xiaoliu's finger, Zhou Yannian saw some women holding children. Compared with those women who wore revealing clothes, these women looked more conservative and were constantly looking for people at the dock. .

But when he was now in his twenties, he suddenly understood the meaning of the phrase "you will understand when you grow up".

"If you don't want to plant flowers and willows, don't touch them!!"

Xiao Liu didn't know exactly what "developed" in Zhou Yannian's words meant, but he did know that where the economy was better, the women were more beautiful.

(Japan followed the example of Han in controlling ships entering and leaving the port, and adopted the method of registering offshore.)
After paying the registration fee of five Chinese yuan, Xiao Liu couldn't help but ask: "Captain, why are those women so miserable?"

This was what his damn sailor father said. At that time, he was bragging to him about how wonderful Amsterdam, the Netherlands was, and even mentioned that Japanese women could be ranked among the top three.

"Nani, isn't it crazy to recruit at least 200,000 soldiers?"

"Your Highness, these are the current demands of the Han people. They even hope that we will complete the recruitment within a month and send them to America..."

"Brother Zhou, there's more, there's more..."

Zhou Yannian said several things intermittently, constantly thinking about what else to do.

Tokugawa Iedada looked at the telegram in his hand, and he was in a "shock" that he had never experienced before, especially the sentence "quickly", which even made him feel that Japanese lives were really worthless.

Zhou Yannian didn't wait for Xiao Liu to ask, and directly pulled him towards the city. On the way, Xiao Liu's mind even showed the scene of him abandoning his wife and son.

After talking about "Japanese girls" for a while, the oil tanker code-named Northern Whale officially sailed into Nagasaki Port.

"That's fine, isn't it miserable to be without a man??"

Xiaoliu was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes widened. His whole body was filled with "unbelievable". It was obvious that complex visualization was going on in his brain.

Zhou Yannian's casual words made Xiao Liu increasingly confused. Before he could react, he heard Zhou Yannian say:

Zhou Yannian's words made Xiaoliu fall into memories, and finally shook his head. Obviously, after thinking for a long time, he didn't see any men related to them, but there were quite a few sailors who came to dance.

"You brat, what are you talking about? How old are you, you still want to find girls..."

Edo Royal Palace...

When they officially docked at the port, Xiao Liu pointed to some little women in twos and threes wearing scantily clad clothes on the pier, and asked in a low voice:

"Yes, there is also fruit. Although the Japanese fruit is not very good, it is still a fruit. As long as you can eat it..."

While Xiao Liu was still thinking about what a "hard life" was, Zhou Yannian had already packed his things and was about to board the plane.

"Let's go, don't think about it. Don't you want to play? I'll take you to take a bath first. The Japanese baths are much better than those of girls!!"

"Captain, this..."

But that one was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and he didn't understand anything about men and women. He even thought that it was his father's gangster story that he had the nerve to tell.

Looking at the densely packed steamships in Nagasaki Port and the dock machinery that looked okay, Zhou Yannian said with emotion:
"Let me tell you, Japan is developing really fast. The last time we came here was only a few years ago. Now it has reached this point. I think Japan may be the most developed in the entire Far East in the future..."

"Alas", as if he thought of something, Zhou Yannian sighed heavily, and then said:
"These are all miserable people!!"

"I'm telling you, this is the time for you to work hard at your age. Girls can only make you lose your fighting spirit. In the end..."

"You must register before entering Hong Kong. Registration requires five Chinese dollars..."

.............................................

"We have already recruited one million soldiers, why do we need 200,000 more??"

“Don’t forget to find a Japanese pussy!!”

“Have you seen their men??”

Zhou Yannian, who was beside him, didn't have that much on his mind. Although he was restless in his heart as he had already married and established a career, it was obvious that he no longer had the desire he had when he was young. Stability was the goal pursued by a middle-aged man like him.

Zhou Yannian looked at the anxious Xiao Liu and retorted with a straight face. It was obvious that as someone who had experienced this, he knew what kind of women he could touch and what kinds of women he couldn't touch.

Zhou Yannian talked a lot about women, but in the eyes of Xiaoliu opposite, these were all nonsense, and only one sentence was said: "You are still young, leave it to brother."

"Remember, if you don't want to harm anyone, it's best to have safety measures in place, otherwise, your wife will be looking for you there with the baby in her arms!!"

"We need to add more coal. Yesterday Xiao Liu said that there is not enough coal. By the way, we also need to add some fresh water. This thing is indispensable!!"

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, why are they bringing children with them??"

Takeda Nobuya is an aristocratic official from a big family, and he is considered one of the people whom the Tokugawa family trusts more. Therefore, regarding what Takeda Nobuya said, the naturally suspicious Takeda Nobuya was not suspicious, but spoke angrily. :
"We only have a small population in total. If we recruit another 200,000 people, then our own labor capacity will not be enough!!"

"Some time ago, the county magistrate of a subordinate county reported that due to the loss of men, a large number of fields could only be worked by women, and the efficiency dropped by more than half..."

When Tokugawa Iesada said this, he was obviously very unhappy. After all, in his plan, agriculture is equally important, no worse than industry. And precisely because Japan lacks resources, it is very important to be self-sufficient in food. At least We can’t rely too much on Han, otherwise it will be like Japan’s current diet, which will be covered by Han cuisine.

(Tokugawa Kato proposed the so-called Inter Rice Plan and shouted the slogan of eating Japanese rice. Essentially, he wanted to obtain food autonomy, and then gradually obtain the same rights in other places, and finally complete what his father requested before his death. , independent Japan.)
On the opposite side, Takeda Nobuya had a strange look on his face when he heard these words about agriculture, and the corners of his mouth kept pulling. It was obvious that he knew the real reason.

The root cause is actually not the so-called, because of recruitment by the Han Dynasty, there are no more men. In fact, in today's Japan, it is the real main reason for the desolation of farmland.

One is the impact of the Han Dynasty's Lanfang grain on Japan's local agriculture, which resulted in a large number of Japanese farmers not making money. In the early days, farmers even committed collective self-immolation in local county offices.

The essence is still the cheap agricultural products from Han, which completely destroyed the entire Japanese grain market, even if these Japanese people put forward the so-called "international rice" and even the so-called brainwashing slogan of "the body and the soil are inseparable".

But the market is the market. If you are good, it is good, and if you are not good, you are bad. You cannot do anything fake.

Obviously, Japan's agriculture is a typical industry that will be eliminated. Unless the "agricultural products export agreement" with Han is torn up, there is a high probability that it will be finished. Of course, it is possible that the whole country will be destroyed. In some areas, those who grow cash crops will not be destroyed. However, the existence of this group of people does not prove anything. It will only prove Japan's fundamental flaws.

The second situation is even more complicated. It can basically be regarded as the Japanese version of "raising sheep and eating people", or the voluntary version of "going to the city".

When it comes to what is the greatest influence of the Han Dynasty on Japan, many people say it is culture. The writer Shun Takeuchi, Japan's most trolling writer, is the first person to advocate brainwashing by Han Dynasty culture.

It has indeed affected a large number of people with interests who are dissatisfied with South Korea.

But when it comes to the real reason, there is only one reason, and that is money! !
Money is the fundamental reason for the collapse of Japanese agriculture, and behind this, there is an issue involved, that is, labor prices and agricultural product prices.

Japan's agriculture is similar to China's small-landlord agriculture. Most landowners have at most a hundred acres of land, and most of it is divided very finely, and many of them are mountainous. Such a meticulous land is destined to be different from the mechanized agriculture currently popular in Han Dynasty. If you don't get the chance, you may even go bankrupt because of the high cost.

This is true for landlords, and even more so for small farmers and small tenants. They will naturally be attracted by the increasingly developed industrial construction in the city and the continuously rising labor prices.

As the main force in industrial construction and urban construction, young and strong men are naturally attracted to industrialized cities. This is the fate of history. It cannot be solved by the Tokugawa servants issuing a few orders now, or even if he really does it. Yes, it will offend a large number of people, including ordinary people.

It can be said that industry in Japan has reached the point where both prosper and lose.

And this is also the specific reason why Takeda Nobuya didn't talk to Tokugawa Kaidei for a long time after he finished speaking. After all, conscription not only hurt the Kingdom of Japan itself, but also hurt the economic interests of a big family like his.

After all, they all went to be soldiers, so who would work for Mr. Takeda’s family? ?

He can't do it by himself, can he? ?
On the opposite side, Tokugawa Iesada calmed down for a while and then spoke:
"Can we still recruit 200,000 people now??"

After saying that, Tokugawa Iesada looked at Takeda Nobuya opposite with anxious but expectant eyes, wanting to know the current specific situation from his mouth.

Takeda Shinite took a peek at the "king" and understood what he meant, and immediately replied:

"Your Highness, there are 200,000 people. In fact, if we squeeze out, we can still get out. But if we squeeze out, the harm to Japan will be considerable, and it will even cause greater economic losses..."

"So I think it's okay to give 200,000 people, but it can't be given in vain. At the very least, we should get more benefits, such as financial benefits!!"

Although Takeda Shinite always talks about thinking about Japan, if you listen to the last sentence, you will find that this guy is using this conscription to bring in private goods for his own family, and even for others who rely on Sino-Japanese trade to survive. The family makes a profit.

Tokugawa Iesada, who was opposite, obviously did not see the situation inside, but continued:

"Economy, why not land??"

Looking up and looking at Tokugawa Iesada, Takeda Nobuya's mouth twitched a few times, and then he answered:
"Your Highness, except for Australia and New Zealand, the South Pacific area currently promised by the Han people is a barren land, and most of it is even tropical rainforest. You can imagine how difficult it will be to develop here!!"

"If we really want land, the Han people will definitely agree, because for them, left and right are just spitting out a little bit of the meat they eat in their mouths to us, and the spitting may not even be meat, but bones!!"

A few words from Takeda Shinite completely confused the mood of Tokugawa Issei. After all, he had always had great expectations to expand the territory. Now someone told him that the land was not even meat, but just bones gnawed by dogs. , it would be weird if he wasn't in a hurry.

But after thinking about it carefully, aren't they Japanese dogs? ?
And judging from the current situation, he is still a good dog! !

Thinking of this, Tokugawa Iesada suppressed the sadness in his heart and continued:

“Since we want to be economical, what is most suitable??”

Takeda Shinting answered without hesitation:
"Tariffs, tariffs on imports and exports!!"

When Tokugawa Kaisada heard this, he was stunned. Then he seemed to think of something and looked at the so-called "loyal minister" in front of him with suspicious eyes.

When Takeda Shinite met Tokugawa Isada's suspicious eyes, his heart skipped a beat, and he immediately understood the meaning, and followed up with an explanation:

"Your Highness, our Takeda family has absolutely no selfish motives. Everything we have is given by the head of the family. What I just said was entirely for Japan and Your Highness!!"

Takeda Shinba's pitiful words made Tokugawa Issada even more confused, and then asked:

"Then you tell me, why do we need to impose tariffs instead of other places, such as asking Han to give us a sum of money??"

Obviously, in the eyes of Tokugawa Iedada, money is more important than anything. After all, in the past few years, he was frightened by the constant financial deficit and debt. Later, whether it was developing the economy or providing soldiers to the Han Dynasty, he Search for "money for selling one's body" and "pension" from soldiers.

Essentially, it’s all caused by the word “poor”! !

"Your Highness, if we want money, how much can we ask for, 100 million, 200 million, or 300 million? The maximum will not exceed 400 million, but for us, what is really important is long-term income."

"If we are just satisfied with the status quo and the products on the market will always be Han products, then our industry will not be able to truly lead to independence, and it will even die out step by step..."

Although it is said that Japanese industry is a vassal of Han industry, the real situation is not like that.

After all, Japan's industrial development has actually reached the ceiling of what it can reach.

And this ceiling is actually a huge bottleneck for Japan's current upward growth.

This bottleneck can actually be seen from the products and wages on the Japanese market in recent years.

It is basically at the level where Japanese people are cheap and industrial products are expensive.

Essentially, Japanese companies have not made any money and cannot invest in reproduction and further improve productivity.

There is a huge problem behind this, and that is the tariffs of Han and Japan.

According to the trade tariffs that were first signed and signed as vassal countries, Japan and Han have actually maintained a near-zero tariff level.

This tariff is basically equivalent to blocking the advancement of Japan's industrial economy, and can even be said to "strangle" Japan's future! !

And if tariffs are raised, even by 10%, some industries in Japan can take the opportunity to develop. The better the economy is, the faster it will return to its early growth state, instead of being stagnant as it has been for several years now. Move forward quickly.

Japan is so eager to expand overseas. The essence is that the local country can't develop anymore and wants to go overseas to obtain resources.

And all of this was seen by the Han State, so the so-called South Pacific territory was exchanged for a million troops.

After listening to what Takeda Shinite said, Tokugawa Iesada opened his mouth with a complicated expression:
"Takeda, do you really think the Han people will agree? You know, tariffs are unified for all vassals..."

"But this time is an excellent opportunity for us. The populations of those vassal states are too small. It is impossible for them to support such a huge conscription..."

"At this time, only we, only we in Japan, can meet the empire's need for soldiers. In order to win, even the noble nobles of the empire will make certain concessions for us!!"

Takeda Shinba answered Tokugawa Iesada's question very confidently, as if he had already seen the future.

The Tokugawa family looked at Takeda Shinting below, took a deep breath, and then spoke:
“What if they don’t agree??”

Takeda Shinting bit his lip, thought for a long time, and finally raised his head and answered:

“We can ask for industry, even if it’s part of the industry they don’t need, it’s still a very important asset for us!!”

"Your Highness, this is much more cost-effective than the tropical rainforest in South Pacific!!"

Takeda Shinba's last words completely moved the Tokugawa family.

(End of this chapter)