The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 324: June Flowers Bloom

On the eighth day of the second month of the second year of the Tianqi reign, the Ming Emperor's plenipotentiary representative Qiao Yiqi and the Tokugawa Shogunate's representative Tsuchikawa Toshikatsu completed the exchange of the "Niuguan Treaty" in Port Arthur.

Two days later, the shogunate returned Kyushu Island and its affiliated islands to the Ming Dynasty in accordance with the treaty, and paid the first installment of military expenses of 20 million taels of silver.

Since then, the series of wars between the Ming Dynasty and Japan in Kyushu and Honshu in the second year of Tianqi were declared to be completely over. The Kaiyuan Army annihilated more than 30,000 shogunate coalition forces at the cost of 4,000 casualties, forcing the Tokugawa shogunate to sign a humiliating treaty.

Later generations called it the "Jia Zi Sino-Japanese War."

Long before the signing of the Niuguan Treaty, the Kaiyuan civil affairs system had dispatched a large number of personnel to Kyushu to prepare for the subsequent large-scale immigration, reclamation, trade and other matters.

Stimulated by policies such as salt permits and tax reductions, in order to make high profits, wealthy merchants from Shandong, Shanxi, Northern Zhili, Liaodong and other places heard the news and spontaneously transported their stockpiled grain and cloth to Weihai, Shandong, Kuandian, Liaodong, Yizhou, Korea and other places.

A steady stream of supplies entered Busan, Incheon and other places in North Korea from border ports, and were shipped by sea to Kyushu to provide food and fodder supplies to the army on the verge of collapse.

During the first month of the year, cargo ships were constantly traveling back and forth on both sides of the Tsushima Strait. Every day, thousands of stones of rice, wheat, and cotton were loaded and unloaded on Iki Island. Then, after being gathered by the Hizen Domain, they were quickly sent to various parts of Kyushu.

After the Battle of Kyushu, each domain suffered population losses, with Tsushima, Iki, Hizen, and Nabeshima domains being almost wiped out.

The vacant land needs to be rezoned.

New benefits need to be redistributed.

Except for a portion of the unowned land that will be awarded to guides from Satsuma and other domains, most of it will be distributed to the pioneer groups (young and strong settlers who cross the sea) for cultivation.

The first group of pioneers is expected to have more than 10,000 members.

On the fifth day after the signing of the Treaty of Niuguan, 8,000 refugees and more than 100 private school teachers had gathered in Liaodong and Shandong, waiting to land in Kyushu.

People are full of hope, hoping to open up a new world on Kyushu Island.

The refugees are between 15 and 45 years old, and are all young and strong laborers, including both men and women.

According to the standards set by the Civil Affairs Bureau, anyone who wants to come to Kyushu Island to build a new home must be honest, obey orders, be in good health, and not have committed any crimes.

The Kaiyuan instructors repeatedly told the refugees that farming in Japan would yield the lowest rent.

Specifically, only 50% of the rent is collected in the first year, 40% in the second year, and so on until the third year.

After three years of cultivation, the land rent will always be 30%.

Sen Ti and others took the trouble to explain to the refugees that in the future, the settlers would only have to pay 30% of the land rent each year, and apart from the rent, there would be no other levies or taxes.

Lured by the promise of land and money, Northern Zhili was in an uproar. In just a dozen days, the number of refugees gathering at Tianjin Port and Weihaiwei, waiting to "build a new home" in Japan, reached over 100,000, perhaps even more.

After a series of rounds of selection, the Civil Affairs Department finally selected 15,000 refugees. All those who passed the selection also underwent basic combat training, requiring them to master the use of long spears and be able to independently fire flintlock muskets.

Together with more than 100 private school teachers, more than 15,000 people boarded the Fukusen in batches and arrived in Kyushu. The first immigrant ship that docked at Hizen Port was named "June Flower".

Therefore, later generations called this immigration movement "June Flowers Blooming in the Border".

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Liu Zhaosun was not used to calling these people pioneers because the name reminded him of the Japanese civilians who immigrated from Japan to the Northeast during World War II.

Of course, it is impossible to completely control Kyushu Island by relying on these more than 10,000 refugees.

Liu Zhaosun ordered troops to be drawn from the Fourth and Fifth Guards Armies as well as Mongolia, Jianzhou, and Korea to make up a total of 20,000 troops, led by Qi Jin, commander of the Fourth Guards Army. They will be stationed at key locations in Kyushu.

Along with the settlers and soldiers came hundreds of shopkeepers and clerks from Liaodong trading companies.

These people have been engaged in trade in various parts of Liaodong for many years, and in the past few years they have expanded the operating model of Liaodong Trading Company to various provinces of the Ming Dynasty. For these business talents, there is no essential difference between Jiuzhou and Yangzhou.

Doing business in Japan is the same except for the language. You should do it the same way.

According to Article 4 of the Treaty of Niuguan, the Liaodong Trading Company enjoyed the lowest tariff treatment when trading at the four trading ports of Honshu, Shikoku and Shikoku. In fact, the tariff system established by the shogunate in Nagasaki would soon be controlled by the Kaihara Army.

It can be expected that the vast majority of Japan's foreign trade will be monopolized by the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, in return, Ping Liaohou would give up some of his share to his ally Portugal. After this battle, Honshu and Shikoku were severely damaged.

With fields barren and civilians displaced, coupled with the impact of the Little Ice Age, a widespread famine would inevitably occur across the feudal domains. According to Article 1 of the Treaty of Niuguan, the Ming Dynasty, as a friendly neighbor of Japan and a close nephew, would offer assistance to its eastern neighbor.

Whether it is low-value credit or mineral mortgage, the time travelers have ten thousand ways to control the shogunate's precarious economic lifeline.

At that time, Ming Dynasty's silk, porcelain, tea and rice will be further dumped in Honshu and Shikoku.

Because the island nation is small and poor, there is basically no equivalent goods to trade with the Ming Dynasty except for broken samurai swords and copper ore.

The shogunate's closed-door policy had been broken. Therefore, even though they were bleeding, they had no choice but to continue their trade with Ming.

Considering that the sense of smell of capital and market is a hundred times more sensitive than that of the best hunting dog, without resources and agricultural products, how can Japan rely on to trade with Ming Dynasty?
The answer is obvious. Just like Ukraine and Southeast Asia in Liu Zhaosun's previous life, the only country that could trade with its rivals for a long time was...

Although Ping Liaohou had a tough stance on human trafficking and had always firmly resisted it, the power of capital and the market was ultimately beyond human control, and Liu Zhaosun was also human.

With the signing and implementation of the Niuguan Treaty, many more terrifying things will happen.

Perhaps, in the time traveler's lifetime, the shogunate will have completed the optimization and upgrade of the island nation's customs industry three hundred years ahead of schedule. The only variable is the merchant caravans from Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands. However, Ping Liaohou judged that the Europeans would not dare to engage in a full-scale conflict with the Kaiyuan army over trade with Japan. Of course, this was just his judgment. Liu Zhaosun was not a god, and in fact, his judgments were often wrong.

In accordance with Article 7 of the Treaty of Niuguan, Qi Jin sent two thousand soldiers to garrison Iwami Ginzan and assist local miners in mining silver.

The Iwamigin-zan (いわみぎんざん) is located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It was the largest silver mine in Japan during the late Warring States period and early Edo period. According to Mr. Shimazu's description, the mine's annual output was about one million taels at its peak.

The main source of funds for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea came from here.

After the Battle of Sekigahara, Iwami Ginzan was taken over by the Edo Shogunate as a direct territory, and Tokugawa Ieyasu sent a Ginzan magistrate to manage the Ginzan.

In the early Edo period, the silver mines began to gradually dry up, but they still provided the shogunate with a financial source to promote overseas trade with red seal ships with an annual output value of 400,000 taels.

In addition to military control, commercial exploitation, and resource plunder, various cultural means are also indispensable.

According to Ping Liaohou's plan, once the private school teacher arrives in Kyushu, he will begin to vigorously promote the Ming Dynasty official language in the various fiefs of Kyushu.

These private school teachers, hired at high salaries, will be responsible for teaching the Japanese children the Ming Dynasty official language, and at the same time teaching the Japanese the Chinese etiquette system.

The Japanese people in Kyushu must wear Ming Dynasty clothes, speak Ming Dynasty official language, and take Ming Dynasty imperial examinations, just like the people of Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the shocking topknot hairstyle of the samurai of each domain should also be changed.

If you don’t change it, then you can either keep your head but not your hair, or keep your hair but not your head.

If the tragedy caused by hair did not happen in Jiangnan, Ming Dynasty, it would happen in Kyushu, Japan.

History is always strikingly similar.

Liu Zhaosun needed to let these descendants of Xu Fu, who had forgotten their ancestors, be taught the kingly way and let them know who their ancestors were.

Of course, even though the island culture is naturally strong, even though there are good citizens like the Satsuma Domain, and even though there are iron-blooded policies being implemented, Kyushu Island has a population of more than three million after all.

I'm afraid this combination of punches may not be effective.

Culture is the root. Ping Liaohou urgently summoned Kang Yingqian and asked him to rush to Jiuzhou as soon as possible.

In the Tangbao, Liu Zhaosun emphasized that this time he would entrust Lao Kang with an important task.

Kang Yingqian: This kid has a guilty conscience. I'm going to be the King of Japan!

Liu Zhaosun remembered that he had promised Kang Yingqian the title of King of the Southwest. Unfortunately, the Shean Rebellion had not yet been quelled, and that title was impossible. He thought that if this old subordinate, who was so focused on conspiracy and political schemes, could establish himself in the Northeast and continue his schemes and machinations, he would not object.

Ping Liaohou asked Kang Yinggan not to think about the abdication of Emperor Tianqi for the time being, but to concentrate on solving a few major cases in Kyushu and taming the samurai of various feudal domains (in Japan, only samurai and monks could read).

For specific methods, you can refer to the literary inquisitions created by the Qing Dynasty in Jiangnan.

Considering that Japan has a history of thousands of years, it has been secretly competing with China since the Tang Dynasty, always waiting for the opportunity to take a bite.

Therefore, dealing with them is not as simple as using threats or inducements.

Burning books and burying scholars is essential...
At present, the maximum number of troops that Kaiyuan can deploy is only 20,000. If there are more, Kaiyuan’s defense in Liaodong and northern Zhili will be stretched to the limit.

Therefore, the Satsuma and Higo clans that surrendered to Kaiyuan formed the Imperial Army (full name: Satsuma and Higo clans assisting the Ming emperor in governing local armies), which was responsible for assisting the Kaiyuan army in maintaining public order in various places.

According to the requirements of Ping Liaohou, all soldiers stationed on the island must learn Japanese. This is to facilitate their future dealings with the local Japanese people.

Of course, these soldiers are not required to be proficient in this foreign language, but they are only required to be able to say the following sentences:

1. "Stand to stop! (Stop)!"

Two, "こんにちは! (Hello)!"

Three, "The gun will kill the gun! (Hand in the gun but not kill)!"

Four, "All the pork meat in the previous case is out! (Lead the way, hand over the chicken, duck and pork)!"
Finally, Liu Zhaosun decided to rename Jiuzhou and incorporate it into the Ming Dynasty, making it the fourteenth province of the Ming Dynasty. The name of the province is not yet determined.

Sun Chuanting and Yuan Chonghuan strongly advised against listing Kyushu as a separate province.

"At least it should be divided into three parts, or divided into three prefectures, and placed under the jurisdiction of Liaodong."

Yuan Chonghuan quoted classics and analyzed the original intention of the Yuan Dynasty to implement the provincial system:
"The Kyushu region is geographically diverse, making it easy to establish a separate state. Since the Yuan Dynasty, provinces have been established for the purpose of military control, without regard for mountains and rivers, and without regard for the livelihoods of the people. This is why there is a jagged pattern of interlocking states, with the north controlling the south."

Ping Liaohou nodded slightly, and Sun Chuanting took over the conversation and added:
"For example, Henan Province governed the areas south of the Yellow River and north of the Yangtze River. However, in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, it bordered the central government's direct jurisdiction, the southern foothills of the Yimeng Mountains, and was adjacent to the "heartland" of the Central Secretariat, with no strategic location to defend."

"Hanzhong was incorporated into Shaanxi, leaving the northern gateway of Bashu wide open and without strategic locations to defend. This is how we control the south with the north."

Qiao Yiqi concluded:
"Only by eliminating the dangers and defending the country, and establishing a separatist regime, can Kaiyuan better control the nine provinces."

Ping Liaohou synthesized opinions from all parties and finally decided to divide Kyushu Island into three prefectures and fifteen counties, with Kang Yingqian, Shimazu Tadatsune, and Yuan Chonghuan serving as prefects of the three places respectively.

(End of this chapter)