Great name!

Chapter 298: Making Money on a Diplomatic Mission to Ming Dynasty
Now that the Oda clan's wars were going smoothly everywhere, Nobutora had not led a war since he took over Honganji.

This was mainly because Nobunaga, in accordance with the agreement, rewarded the two countries of Izumi and Kawachi to Nobutora, and Nobutora was busy governing his own fiefdom.

The other is Xinhu's trading fleet, which was formed last year and has now returned from Ming Dynasty for business.

A total of five Fukusen ships brought back a large amount of goods. After being sold in Sakaimachi, the 30,000 kan of goods were sold for nearly 200,000 kan. After deducting the capital and other expenses, the total profit was 150,000 kan.

Whether it was Tsuda Shintora or Tsuda Soki, both of them made a lot of money.

When Oda Nobunaga learned in Azuchi Castle that Nobutora personally organized the fleet trade and made several times the profit, he immediately summoned Tsuda Nobutora to Azuchi Castle for questioning.

Nobutora also knew that he could not hide this matter from Oda Nobunaga, so he told it in detail.

Oda Nobunaga exclaimed: "The things in Ming Dynasty are really good. This country is so rich."

Tsuda Shintora asked tentatively: "Does Nobunaga-dono also want to trade with Ming? In that case, we can send an envoy to Ming first."

When Oda Nobunaga heard this, he thought it was a good idea. He could arrange someone to check out the situation in the Ming Dynasty.

He said, "Your suggestion is good. Come with me to Kyoto and I will ask the emperor for a letter of credence."

Tsuda Nobutora then rushed to Kyoto with Oda Nobunaga and stayed at Honnoji Temple.

The next day, Oda Nobunaga went to visit the emperor and received a letter from the emperor. At the same time, Nobutora's official position was also changed.

Xin Hu was changed from the position of Jingzhao Yin to Zhibu Qing, which is the Minister of Rites.

The Ministry of Rinpoche mainly dealt with diplomatic affairs, household registration management of high-ranking officials, and supervision of etiquette of personnel in temples, shrines, Buddhist temples, etc. It could also adjudicate marriage lawsuits of common people.

The meaning of Oda Nobunaga appointing Tsuda Nobutora to the position of Jibu-kyo was very clear. Nobutora was the chief envoy to the Ming Dynasty this time.

Nobutora had already anticipated this matter. After all, he was staying in Settsu with nothing to do, so Oda Nobunaga would naturally assign him a task.

In fact, it can be seen that Oda Nobunaga attaches great importance to this matter.

The purpose of war is to gain money and food. Now the Oda clan is suppressing the Mori clan in Harima and Inaba, in Hokuriku, Shibata Katsuie is suppressing Koga, and in the east, Tokugawa Ieyasu and Takeda Katsuyori are fighting back and forth.

Oda Nobunaga had already planned to launch a full-scale attack on the Takeda clan, so he wanted to make money through trade to strengthen his strength.

Oda Nobunaga handed the letter to Nobutora and said, "You know, in the Oda family, other people don't care about business at all.

Although Monkey follows me and is very enthusiastic about business matters, he is not presentable, and he also has to look after the Maori family.

Now, I can only leave this matter to you."

Tsuda Nobutora nodded and said, "I understand, Lord Nobunaga, don't worry."

Oda Nobunaga patted Nobutora on the shoulder and then began to arrange the delegation. In order to ensure that the country would not lose face this time, a number of cultural figures were also included in the delegation.

For example, the court sent Kikutei Haruki and several others, and Sen no Rikyu also joined with several outstanding tea masters.

The delegation formed this time has hundreds of people.

Tsuda Nobutora had already returned to Arioka Castle, and he handed over all the affairs of the Tsuda family to Tsuda Naganobu.

In the dark room, Nobutora said to Tsuda Naganobu, "I am worried about any accidents that may happen when we cross the sea to Ming, so I will hand over the Tsuda family to you in advance.

There are some things I need to tell you. Although the Oda family is now thriving and has the prospect of unifying the world, there are dangers hidden under this splendor. "

Although Tsuda Naganobu was a little surprised, he was not as flustered as last time.

He quickly asked, "Father, do you mean that some people are dissatisfied with Lord Nobunaga?"

Nobutora nodded slightly and said, "Yes, you must be careful. Once there is trouble, you must immediately organize an army to support the Oda family. As for Nobunaga-dono, it is not important. What is important is to protect the head of the family, or the three magicians."

Nobutora did not mention the Honnoji Incident directly because he did not know whether there would be another Honnoji Incident after his accident, so he could only say this.

However, he took out a notebook with some important things written on it. He handed it to Tsuda Naganobu and said, "If something unexpected happens to me and I don't come back, you can open this notebook I gave you."

Tsuda Naganobu accepted the book, thought for a moment, bowed and said, "Father, why don't you let me go in your place? Anyway, I have Taro. Even if something unexpected happens, Taro will be fine with you here."

Xinhu shook his head: "This matter is actually a test from Nobunaga-dono. He wants to see what kind of relationship I will have with Daming."

Oda Nobunaga had previously revealed his ambitions towards the Ming Dynasty, but Nobutora had tried to stop him many times. In addition, Nobutora recruited Ming people as retainers and personally sent a fleet to the Ming Dynasty to trade, which made Oda Nobunaga somewhat suspicious.

I'll take this opportunity to test it out.

This move can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

It is possible to open up trade and strengthen the Oda family's strength by sending Nobutora to the Ming Dynasty, or it is possible to use this incident to test Nobutora.

Therefore, Xinhu could not shirk responsibility for this matter.

After informing Tsuda Naganobu, Nobutora took Tsuda Nobukatsu, Zheng Jun, Tsurusaki Naoshige and others to meet up with the delegation in Sakaimachi, and then sailed out to the peninsula on his several Fukusen ships.

Since it was not maritime trade but a diplomatic mission to the Ming Dynasty, it naturally had to go to the peninsula.

After the fleet arrived in southern Kyushu, it had to turn north and head to the peninsula. When it arrived near the peninsula, Nobutora sent a ship to the peninsula to notify the people in the peninsula court.

Although the Peninsula looks down on Japan and treats it as a barbaric land, there is nothing wrong with etiquette.

The king of the peninsula sent ministers to meet with Tsuda Nobutora, and the navy also sent ships to escort the delegation all the way into the Bohai Bay.

The Bohai Bay is the sea area patrolled by the Dengzhou Navy.

After discovering the fleets from Japan and the peninsula, the Dengzhou Navy immediately sent people to inquire and learned that it was an ambassador sent by the Japanese court. The admiral of the Dengzhou Navy did not dare to slack off and immediately reported to the governor, who then reported to the court.

This news was sent all the way to the cabinet and read by the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng.

When Zhang Juzheng saw the report from the governor of Dengzhou, he was also somewhat surprised that Japan actually sent an envoy.

Japan was an unconquered country set up by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, and the connection between the two sides was mainly through trade. However, later on, trade was cut off and Japanese pirates wreaked havoc along the southeastern coast.

In recent years, there has been no threat from Japanese pirates on the southeastern coast, and some news has come from the Jinyiwei in Kyushu, Japan.

In Japan, there was a hero named Oda Nobunaga who had the tendency to unify Japan.

Zhang Juzheng thought about it and thought that the envoy sent by Japan this time might be related to the trade many years ago.

He reviewed it and ordered someone to send the Japanese delegation to the capital.

After receiving the reply, the governor of Dengzhou immediately ordered the navy to escort Tsuda Shinto's fleet to Tianjin, while the navy on the peninsula returned to the peninsula. Tsuda Shinto looked at the Ming navy escorting him. Although the ship looked a little shabby, the navy's military quality was still good. At least the current Japanese navy was no match for the Ming navy.

Soon, Nobutora Tsuda and others arrived at Tianjin Wei, where officials from the Ministry of Rites were already waiting.

Tsuda Shintora got off the boat wearing a purple official uniform, and an official in a green robe came up to him. This person was the head of the Ministry of Rites' Department of Guests and Guests, and was a sixth-rank official.

The head of the Ministry of Guests and Guests saw that Xinhu was a high-ranking official wearing a purple official robe, and his attitude became a little more friendly.

Even though he was only a sixth-rank official, he was a sixth-rank official in the Heavenly Kingdom. No matter how noble Xin Hu was, he was just an official of a remote small country.

The head of the Guest Affairs Office already felt that he had given a lot of face to Tsuda Nobutora.

There was no trouble during the welcoming ceremony, either on the Ming side or on Xinhu's side.

The Ming Dynasty claimed to be the Heavenly Kingdom. If something went wrong when welcoming envoys from other countries, the emperor and the dynasty would lose face, and countless people would suffer.

As for Nobutora, his main purpose this time was to facilitate official trade between Ming and Japan and promote private trade. He came here to make money and naturally did not want to cause any trouble.

So before coming, he repeatedly reminded the members of the delegation.

Afterwards, Xinhu followed the officials from the Ministry of Rites in a carriage to the capital.

Tsuda Nobukatsu was sitting in the carriage, and said excitedly: "Father, the Ming Dynasty is different. The Tianjin city just now is really huge, and the city wall is endless.

I have only seen such large cities as Kyoto, Azuchi Castle, and Gifu Castle."

"This is just the tip of the iceberg of Ming Dynasty. Calm down."

Nobutora's indifferent expression made Tsuda Nobukatsu feel ashamed. He felt that his previous behavior had brought shame to the Tsuda family.

However, there were many people who were as surprised as Nobukatsu Tsuda, such as Haruki Kikutei and others.

As for Xinhu, he had seen too many magnificent buildings, and Tianjin was not enough to excite him.

The distance from Tianjin to the capital was more than 300 kilometers, and it took the delegation four or five days to reach the capital.

Nobukatsu Tsuda and others were greatly shocked when they saw the tall outer city of Beijing. After entering the inner city, their three views were refreshed again.

Among the group, only Xinhu remained calm and composed.

The head of the Ministry of Guests and Guests looked at the other members of the Japanese delegation who were amazed at the grandeur of Beijing, while the chief envoy, Tsuda Shingen, was calm and composed. He was a little surprised. No wonder this man could be the chief envoy. It seemed that he was well prepared.

He led the delegation all the way to live in the Siyi Pavilion. After settling the delegation, he immediately returned to the Ministry of Rites to report the situation.

The Minister of Rites immediately wrote a memorial and submitted it to the cabinet.

Zhang Juzheng read it and took a close look at the envoy Tsuda Shingen mentioned by the Ministry of Rites.

"Oh? The envoys from other feudal states were all surprised when they entered Beijing. The rest of the Japanese delegation was also surprised. This Tsuda Nobutora doesn't look like an ordinary person.

Send someone to ask the Imperial Guard if they have any information on this Tsuda Shintora."

Soon, Tsuda Nobutora's information appeared on Zhang Juzheng's desk.

Zhang Juzheng picked up the family scroll and began to read it: "Hmm? He is a close confidant of Oda Nobunaga. He has fought for many years without being defeated, and has only been tied once so far.

It seems that he is just a veteran general, how can he be the chief envoy of the delegation? Tsk, there is still too little information. "

"Let's treat it as normal for now, and have the Royal Guard pay more attention to the envoy, Tsuda Nobutora."

As Zhang Juzheng gave personal orders, many more people gathered around the Siyi Hall.

In the Shiyi Pavilion, the courtyard where Nobutora and others lived had more than 200 rooms, more than enough to accommodate the entire delegation.

Xinhu called more than a dozen key persons in charge to a meeting in the hall.

The style here is that of the Ming Dynasty, so Xinhu is sitting on a chair, and he hasn't kneeled much in the past few years.

Sen no Rikyu and his companions followed suit and sat on the chairs.

Xinhu said to everyone: "This time we came to Ming Dynasty to establish diplomatic relations between Ming Dynasty and Japan. This matter is of great importance. I hope you can keep an eye on your men and don't cause any trouble."

This statement made the accompanying deputy envoy Niwa Nagahide somewhat confused. He asked, "Master Jibu, isn't this a bit too much?"

Xinhu explained: "Twenty years ago, the defeated samurai families in Kyushu formed a pirate navy and came to the coast of Daming to plunder.

Moreover, more than a hundred years ago, because both the Northern and Southern Dynasties sent envoys and boldly took action on the territory of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Emperor was angered and trade between the two countries was severed.

Under such circumstances, I need you to cooperate with me and get things done. I will make it clear that whoever delays my work will be killed first. "

Nobutora showed the authority of a frontier governor and glared at all the members of the delegation. Niwa Nagahide could not withstand the pressure from Nobutora and quickly lowered his head. No one else had any other objections.

Xinhu then eased the tone and atmosphere and said, "I support some normal exchanges. Lord Niwa has made a lot of achievements in Chinese studies. Lord Neifu, you can tell me about the exchanges with the Ming Confucian scholars and I will arrange these things.

Anyway, if anyone else has any needs, please tell me first, understand?"

Kikutei Haruki smiled and said, "As it should be, as it should be."

When Xinhu saw that everyone agreed, he announced the end of the meeting.

After everyone left, Xinhu sat on the armchair and looked outside quietly. He didn't expect that he would set foot here again one day, but this Beijing city was not the same as the city in his memory.

Seeing his father's appearance, Tsuda Nobukatsu asked with some concern, "What is father worried about?"

Xinhu couldn't say some things in his mind, so he said casually: "I was wondering whether the person who received me was the Emperor of Ming or the Prime Minister of Ming."

Tsuda Nobukatsu asked, "Is this Ming Dynasty's chief minister like a general?"

Nobutora shook his head: "This is different. In the future, the world controlled by the Oda family may also have a prime minister."

Xinhu is still optimistic about the cabinet system. After all, even when Emperor Wanli was in a state of disarray, the cabinet continued to operate as usual and maintained the country's internal affairs.

Xin Hu was somewhat looking forward to meeting Zhang Juzheng soon.

However, what is somewhat surprising is that Zhang Juzheng and Oda Nobunaga died in the same year, one in the tenth year of Wanli and the other in the tenth year of Tensho.

(End of this chapter)