Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 296 Zong's Response

While the shogunate envoys were stepping up their investigation into the Tsushima clan's tampering with official letters and violating the isolation order, the head of the So clan, So Yoshiinari, was pacing anxiously in the clan office, thinking about how to respond.

Ever since the shogunate's envoy arrived at Tsushima Island's Tsushima Castle, he has never been calm.

Once the crime of tampering with the state letter is confirmed, the Zong family may face a devastating disaster.

However, he repeatedly claimed that he was unaware of the revision of the letters between Korea and the shogunate.

These things were done by the previous lord and retainers of the domain, because when he inherited the position of head of the family in 1615, he was only eleven years old (Mune Yoshishige was born in 1604), and he was young and inexperienced, so how could he know about these "rebellious things".

Even in 1624, when the third group of Korean envoys went to Japan, he was not in charge of receiving and replying to the relevant letters. Instead, his retainer Yanagawa Tiaoxing handled the entire process.

Well, I have no idea about these things and have never done them. They were all done by my subordinates.

Although he could blame Yanagawa for the tampering of the official letter and use the excuse of being "young and ignorant" to get away with it, he was afraid that the Shogun would take the opportunity to punish him.

You should know that Tokugawa Iemitsu was the same age as him. He became the third shogun in 1623 and only began to rule personally after the death of the former shogun Tokugawa Hidetada who had lived in seclusion in 1632.

What if, due to his youthful vigor and the fact that he had just taken power, the general wanted to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys and establish his own authority? He might accuse the Zong family of deliberately deceiving and disobeying his superiors and punish them severely? I am afraid that he would not be able to get away with it.

In minor cases, their territory would be reduced and fines would be confiscated; in serious cases, they would be transferred to a more barren territory, or even their clan's vassal status would be directly deprived and they would be demoted to "commoners."

What's worse is that according to the report of the samurai who were monitoring the shogunate envoys, Yanagawa also revealed the smuggling between Taishima Domain and the new Chinese.

Moreover, in the morning, he led several shogunate envoys to inspect the secret trading station set up by the Xinhua people in Tsushima Castle, in order to confirm that the Tsushima domain had indeed violated the shogun's order to close the country.

"What's the situation outside?" So Yoshishinari sighed slightly and looked at the retainer beside him, with a hint of fatigue in his tone.

"Go back to the governor, the shogunate's envoy has returned to the guild hall after inspecting the New Chinese trading post." The middle-ranking official, Oshima Hei'emon, whispered, "However, Yanagawa is with them..."

"In other words, the shogunate's envoys should all know about our affairs." So Yoshiinari smiled bitterly and sat down on the chair with a dejected look.

He knew that Tsushima Domain was currently in an extremely dangerous situation.

Once the shogunate envoy returns to Edo, it will probably not be long before he receives a summons from the shogun.

It’s all because of that damn Yanagawa!
As a retainer of the So clan, he actually betrayed his lord. He is truly a rebellious person!
"Head of the family, should we..." A fierce look flashed across Oshima Hei'emon's face.

"You're crazy!" Zong Yicheng was so shocked that he stood up again after hearing this, and subconsciously glanced outside the provincial government office. "If we dare to do such a dangerous thing, won't there be any room for maneuver?"

"Three years ago, two shogunate envoys were captured by pirates aboard our tribute ship, and the Shogun questioned them. If it weren't for the numerous people who witnessed the attack on the pirate ship, we wouldn't have been able to explain the incident to the Ma clan."

"If the shogun's envoy dies again within the domain, we will surely face the wrath of the Shogun. Our entire Tsushima domain will be annihilated like the Toyotomi clan, and the So clan's shrine and the tombs of our ancestors will be destroyed. If that happens, we will become the sinners of the So clan!"

"But if we just sit there and wait for death, the final result will be unpredictable!" Oshima Heiiemon sighed heavily.

After hearing this, Zong Yicheng stood there for a moment, and suddenly felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on his chest, and for a moment he was almost unable to breathe.

"Head of the Household, there's no need to worry too much." The family elder, Yuzuya Genban, who had remained silent nearby, said softly, "I believe we're not at the end of our rope yet. There's still a glimmer of hope."

"Ah, what do you mean?" Souji looked at Yutani Genban hopefully, "Please, Yutani, explain this to me."

"North Korea!" Yutani Genban's voice was as calm and steady as an ancient well. "North Korea is our amulet."

"North Korea?"

"Head of the family, whether the Shogun will impose appropriate punishment on us for tampering with the official letter does not actually depend on the many evidences of the whole incident and the final investigation results." Yuzuya Genban said slowly.

"If, during a routine visit to Japan by a Korean envoy, he were to pay his respects to the Shogun, he would express his deep reliance on the Tsushima clan and find it irreplaceable. Would the Shogun, in order to maintain normal relations between Korea and Japan, punish the Tsushima clan severely?"

"What Yutani meant..." Zong Yicheng's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood what Yutani Genban said.

"Yes, head of the family." Yuzuya Genban bowed slightly to him and smiled. "We must convince the Shogun that without the Usushima clan, Korea and Japan will not be able to communicate normally. There is even the danger of canceling the dispatch of envoys to Edo."

“Will the North Koreans cooperate with us?”

"Yes," Yutani Genban nodded affirmatively. "Although Korea is a vassal state of the Ming Empire, it has always called itself the Little China of the East, and internally harbors a sense of arrogance and presumption. And our Ma clan paying tribute to them satisfies their extreme vanity and arrogance."

"Let me ask you, if the Shogun were to destroy Tsushima Domain or transfer it to another place, who would respect Korea as a great power? Which domain would pay tribute to it?"

"Yougu-dono is absolutely right!" Upon hearing this, So Yoshishinari immediately clapped his hands in praise. "Besides our So clan, where else can the Koreans find a vassal state that respects them as their suzerain?"

Without the Anti-Ma clan, who can satisfy the emotional values ​​that you, Korea, are striving for?
"Without delay, we should immediately secretly send people to North Korea to explain the situation to them and provide them with support."

After Senior Minister Yutani Genban's analysis, Zong Yicheng suddenly understood. The huge rock pressing on his heart seemed to be lifted off in an instant, and he felt refreshed.

"Head of the family, how should we deal with the smuggling issue with the new Chinese?" Oshima Heiiemon suddenly asked, glancing at Yuzutani Genbo as he spoke.

"Ah?..." Zong Yicheng's facial expression froze immediately upon hearing this. The corners of his mouth twitched, and then he looked at his old Chinese minister.

"That's easy!" Yutani Genban smiled faintly and said confidently, "Compared to tampering with the letter, violating the Shogun's order to close the country isn't that serious."

"You must know that the Shogun originally granted us, the vassal state, exclusive rights to trade with the court, excluding the other vassal states in the country. Why is that?"

"With the exception of Korea, a 'communication nation' (the only country permitted to engage in diplomatic relations), Tsushima indirectly managed relations with Korea, allowing the shogunate to maintain its closed-door policy without completely severing ties with the outside world." "More importantly, it was for the benefit of commerce and to protect against the powerful Kyushu vassal states (Satsuma and Hizen had attempted to intervene in Korean trade, but were strictly prohibited by the shogunate). Tsushima paid the shogunate nearly 3000 kan (approximately taels of silver) in trade duties each year, nearly equivalent to the income of a koku daimyo, making it one of the shogunate's most important sources of revenue."

"If the head of the family sincerely admits his mistake regarding the smuggling trade with Xinhua to the Shogun and surrenders some of the proceeds from the trade to the shogunate, I believe the Shogun will surely forgive him."

"As far as I know, not all of the people the Satsuma Shimazu clan traded with in the Ryukyu Islands were native to the Ryukyu Islands. They included Ming people, the Nanman (Portuguese), the Red-haired people, the Morie (Malay), and the Jiaozhi people. Could it be that the General was completely unaware of this?"

"Yutani, do you mean that the shogunate may not care much about our smuggling?" So Yoshishinari still had a trace of doubt in his heart.

"Why did General close the country?" Yuzuya Genban did not answer, but asked a question instead.

"Ban religion? ...Or reduce the outflow of gold and silver?"

"The family head is right," Yuzuya Genban nodded and said, "But I believe the main reason the Shogun has closed the country and gradually tightened the foreign trade rights of various regions is to maintain the long-term military fortune of the Tokugawa clan and the unification of the world."

"Without the right and channels to engage in foreign trade, could powerful clans like the Date clan (Sendai), the Shimazu clan (Satsuma), and the Mori clan (Choshu) still have access to overseas wealth and weapons?"

The real purpose of the seclusion order was never to completely cut off trade, but to ensure that trade profits flowed into the shogunate rather than the hands of the outer daimyo!

"Then we..." Zong Yicheng seemed to understand.

"Housekeeper, even if the Touma Domain could generate 300,000 or 500,000 koku of revenue annually, how could it pose a threat to the Shogun?"

"Yes, no matter how rich my clan is, we are just a small clan and pose no threat to the shogunate!"

Zong Yicheng suddenly understood the point as if he had been enlightened.

No matter how much I mess with Mahan Souji, as long as I don't pose any threat to the shogunate and give full respect to the shogun, even if I do something inappropriate, it will be tolerated by the shogunate.

Moreover, our clan also plays an important role in communicating with Korea and maintaining the dignity of the shogunate's diplomacy.

Smuggling is not a big deal!

At worst, I can pay a little more gold and silver as tribute to the general, which I believe will surely earn him limited acquiescence and recognition.

"Then how do we treat the new Chinese?" Zong Yicheng breathed a sigh of relief and then asked in a relaxed tone.

"For now, we can only tolerate their inconvenience," Yuzuya Genban said. "Until the Shogun receives the envoy's investigation report, we can close the Xinhua Trading Post and temporarily escort them out of the country. This will show their sincere acknowledgment of their mistakes and their efforts to rectify them, and prevent the shogunate from retaliating."

"Of course, the most important thing is that the gold and silver we pay as tribute to the Shogun must be delivered before the envoy returns to Edo."

"Will our actions cause misunderstanding among the Xinhua people, leading to the severance of trade with us?" Zong Yicheng asked worriedly.

This is a business worth more than 100,000 taels of silver every year, and we can't let it be ruined!

"After the sea opens in March, I will go to Ezo myself." Yuzuya Genban sighed and said softly.

"..." After hearing this, So Yoshishinari bowed solemnly to him and said, "In that case, thank you for your hard work, Yougu-dono!"

"Head of the family, I will not refuse even if it means death!" Yuzuya Genban hurriedly bent down and bowed deeply to him.
-
A Tsushima clan ship, Atakusen, slowly sailed into a bay near the northern end of the island, with several sails lowered and an anchor thrown into the water.

In a moment, the boat came to a steady stop.

This bay is horseshoe-shaped and surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only a narrow entrance and exit on the southeast side, making it a natural harbor (the later known as Tsushima Island's Hidakatsu Port).

The coast is mostly steep cliffs, with only a few flat mudflats for landing.

The waters in the bay are wide and, after a simple measurement, the water depth is moderate, sufficient for large trading ships of less than 1,000 tons to enter and exit.

It was winter at that time, and the northwest wind was strong. Huge waves hit the rock walls at the mouth of the bay violently. The entire bay was semi-closed, making the waters relatively calm, making it an ideal place for merchant ships to avoid wind and waves.

"How is this place?" Yutani Genban turned around and looked at Zhao Asheng with a smile.

"It's indeed an ideal harbor." Zhao Asheng nodded and retracted his gaze, but then he changed the subject, "However, the current near the bay mouth is very fast, with undercurrents surging. If the sailor wasn't so experienced, the ship could easily have lost control."

"Haha..." Yuzuya Genban said with a smile, "How can a small problem stump you New Chinese? In the past, the Kanpaku Shogun (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) led hundreds of thousands of troops to invade Korea, and this was where the army's ships stopped to rest. There are still some remains of camps on the shore. If you set up a trading post here, you only need to do some simple repairs and construction, and it will be put into use quickly."

"Master Lao Zhong, although I haven't yet landed to inspect it, I can get a glimpse of the situation on shore just from the boat. It's mostly rugged mountainous terrain, with very little flat land, and almost no farmland suitable for growing fruits and vegetables. If we set up a trading post here, logistical supplies will be a huge problem!"

"That's all right," Yutani Genban said, waving his hand. "All the fruits, vegetables, and food you need can be provided by our Zhanyuan City. It's not very far from here, and you can travel between the two places in a day. So, you don't have to worry about supplies."

If this place can achieve self-sufficiency, how can we control you, the Ma clan, in the future?

Considering that the Xinhua trading station was too conspicuous and could easily give the other party a handle, the Tsushima clan decided after a brief discussion to use this more remote port to accommodate the other party after closing the Xinhua trading station.

Of course, although this was once a temporary resting place for the invading army, after decades of baptism, the original camp has long been abandoned and cannot be put into use immediately through simple repairs.

The survey of port hydrology, the excavation of shore mudflats, the felling and clearing of jungle weeds, and the construction of each brick and wood are definitely not things that can be completed in a short period of time.

If the Xinhua people want to complete this project, they will definitely hire the people of the Duima clan, purchase materials and supplies from the Duima clan, and have our Zhanyuan City continuously provide food, fruits and vegetables. In this way, our Duima clan can earn extra gold and silver from the Xinhua people.

Oh, by the way, this trading post is located in a remote area. For safety reasons, should we consider having Tsushima Domain provide dozens of samurai to guard against pirate attacks?
Once you New Chinese complete the construction of this place, we can get a castle town for free, which will to some extent enhance our overall strength against the Ma clan.

This is called borrowing a hen to lay eggs!
(End of this chapter)