Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 298 "Be Nicer to Our Partners"

The charcoal basin in the official hall of Jianchang Fort was burning red, and the crackling sound of burning pine wood was intertwined with the howling cold wind outside the house.

The map of Beiying Island hanging on the wall was slightly curled by the heat. Next to the Matsumae stronghold outlined by ink lines, there were densely packed red wooden wedges representing the Xinhua forces.

In the corners, several whale oil lamps flickered, casting the shadows of the participants on the rough pine walls, like dormant beasts.

Huo Xingyao looked at the people sitting there, and tapped the teaching stick in his hand hard on the position of Fushan City, causing fine dust to be shaken up on the pine table.

"Please note that as of December of last year, the Matsumae clan's influence was still limited to the area surrounding Matsumae Castle, the Shinwan Peninsula (now the Toshima Peninsula), and a small coastal strip on the west coast. Of course, the indigenous tribes more than ten kilometers inland may have established scattered trading posts, exerting considerable influence over the local natives..."

His voice suddenly paused, and he caught a glimpse of Wei Zhonglong sharpening a quill pen with a dagger, and the cold light reflected from the sharp blade just happened to hit his Adam's apple.

"Go on." Wei Zhonglong said without raising his head.

In the official hall of Jianchang Fort, more than a dozen middle and senior managers of the Beiying Island Colonization Team are discussing and planning this year's colonization plan.

Specifically, Fukuyama Castle served as the headquarters of the Matsumae clan and its largest population center. The castle and the surrounding castle town had a population of approximately 1,000 to 1,500, including samurai, merchants, artisans, and a large number of ordinary residents. It served as the political and military center of the Matsumae clan in this area, and also as a transit point for trade with the mainland (Honshu).

"However, due to their lack of manpower and low cultivation standards, the Matsumae clan did not engage in large-scale agricultural production in the area. They only had scattered arable land, where they planted a small amount of barley, vegetables, and fruit trees. Most of the food, livestock, and other supplies they needed had to be provided by the Hirosaki, Akita, and Morioka clans. The local economy was mainly based on fishing and trade with nearby indigenous tribes, and also trade with our North Island colonization team."

Another Matsumae stronghold, Esashi (present-day Esashi Town), was their most important trading port on the western coast. The Japanese called it the "First Port of Western Ezo." It had a population of approximately 400 to 500 people, primarily engaged in herring fishing and transporting seafood back to the mainland.

"In addition to the two important strongholds mentioned above, the Matsumae domain also had several small settlements in places such as Kumaishi (present-day Kumaishi Town), Otobe (present-day Otobe Town), and Okushiri Island. Each settlement had a population ranging from 60 to 70 to 200 people, and they mainly relied on seasonal fishing."

"Also, the Matsumae clan indirectly controlled nearly a hundred indigenous tribes, numbering approximately 10,000 people, through the site-sharing system (also known as the contracting system). However, this was primarily a form of vassalage, and their control was far weaker than that of our Hokuei Island colonization team."

"How strong is the military of the Matsumae clan?" someone asked from the audience.

"The Matsumae Domain earned around 10,000 koku through the Ezo trade. Well, if we add in the smuggling trade with our Hokuyo Island colonization team, their income would likely be even higher, estimated to be over 30,000 or 40,000 koku."

"According to the common samurai ratio in the Japanese domains, there would be 150 to 200 samurai for every 10,000 koku. In order to maintain a military advantage over the surrounding indigenous tribes, the Matsumae domain had a slightly higher ratio of samurai than the mainland."

"So, we estimate that there were approximately 250 samurai in Matsumae. They were primarily composed of approximately 20 high-ranking samurai, such as members of the Matsumae clan, family elders, and magistrates. There were approximately 50 mid-ranking samurai, such as foot soldiers, trade supervisors, and tax collectors. The remaining number of lower-ranking samurai, such as foot soldiers and security personnel, was approximately 170."

"Their primary equipment is swords, spears, and bows and arrows, with a small number of iron cannons—oh, arquebuses. As for armor, aside from a few high-ranking samurai who possess a few sets of domaru armor, most wear leather armor."

"They have no artillery?"

"No." Huo Xingyao answered affirmatively.

"What? Looking at you guys, are you thinking of destroying the Matsumae clan in one fell swoop?" Wei Zhonglong stood up and looked at his subordinates who were eager to try with a smile.

"Sir, with the military strength of the Matsumae clan, we don't need to dispatch the guards from Rinkai (now Kushiro City) and Okawa. We can drive the Matsumae clan into the sea with just the armed militia from Jianchang Fort and Xiying Fort (now Ishikari City)." A guard captain said confidently.

"If we drive away the Matsumae clan, who will join us in the smuggling trade?"

"We can sail directly to Japan and trade directly. This will eliminate a transaction link and maximize trade profits." "The Japanese shogunate only allows trade with a few countries and regions such as Ming Dynasty, Korea, Ryukyu, the Netherlands, and Portugal. How can we go directly to them?"

"If they won't trade with us, then we'll beat them up! You know, back then, the Japanese pirates did a lot of harm to us... oh, no, they harmed the people of the Ming Dynasty."

"Haha..." Wei Zhonglong was immediately amused upon hearing this. "You all are so arrogant! Japan is a huge country with a population of tens of millions, and we in Xinhua can't afford to offend them right now! Any of their vassal states can mobilize thousands of samurai. How can we possibly fight them?"

"We have artillery and muskets, so why should we be afraid of them?"

"Arrogant!" Wei Zhonglong scolded. "In terms of overall strength, the Ming Dynasty's 'Sea Dragon King,' Zheng Zhilong, surpasses us by many times, yet he still conducts business with the Japanese shogunate in an orderly manner. Even the Dutch, who came all the way from the European continent and possessed a number of powerful sailing ships, honestly followed the shogunate's instructions and entered designated ports to conduct trade."

"Why do you think that our Beiying Island Colonization Team has the strength to provoke such a regional power?"

"..." After hearing this, everyone was speechless.

However, a doubt arose in everyone's mind.

Isn't this detailed introduction to the strength of the Matsumae clan intended for the purpose of fighting a battle, driving them out, and then completely occupying this large island?
"Right now, we haven't reached the point where we're going to turn against the Matsumae clan." Wei Zhonglong pointed at the Matsumae clan's sphere of influence on the map, took a deep breath, and said, "Although we've expanded our sphere of influence to almost all of the island's coastal areas in less than five years, and our population has grown to over 24,000, compared to the entirety of Japan, we're still not strong enough to compete with them."

"It would be easy to annihilate the Matsumae clan and monopolize the Hokuyo Islands. However, this would also expose us to extremely dangerous regional conflicts. Of course, we can use artillery and musketry to repel the Japanese attacks and thwart their attempts to land on the island. We could even use a few armed gunboats to harass the Japanese coast and plunder Japanese port towns as a military deterrent."

"However, if this happens, the development and expansion of our Beiying Island colonization team will inevitably stagnate, and we will be caught in endless military conflicts with the Japanese."

"You know, hiring Ming merchant ships to transport immigrants and supplies every year costs a considerable amount of money. Blindly getting involved in regional disputes is not what Xinzhou and our colonization team want."

"Sir, then our next colonization plan..."

"After the weather gets warmer, we will set up a few more immigrant settlements in the coastal areas south of Jianchang to squeeze the Matsumae clan's sphere of influence onto the Xinwan Peninsula as much as possible, and prevent it from continuing to expand northward, so that we can completely control Xinchuan (that is, the Ishikari River Plain) in our hands." Wei Zhonglong took the teaching stick from Huo Xingyao and pointed it heavily in the direction of Uchiura Bay.

"Sir, do we need to put some obstacles in the way of the Matsumae clan?" Clerk Chen Yu asked in a low voice.

"Tripping us up?" Wei Zhonglong smiled, shook his head, and said, "Isn't it unfair for you to treat our close partners like this?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter.

"Huo Xingyao!" Wei Zhonglong suddenly called out, "Tell me, what is the most valuable thing about the Matsumae clan?"

"I guess it's... their trade license?"

"Wrong!" Wei Zhonglong pointed his teaching staff at the Japanese island of Oshima, south of the Tsugaru Strait. "The greatest value of the Matsumae clan to us is that they stand in front of the shogunate. As long as the Matsumae clan is still around, the Tokugawa clan in Edo Castle won't even look at our Beiying Island!"

"And we can also use the 'Black Seal' held by the Matsumae Clan to indirectly extend our trade tentacles into Japan, thereby providing a steady supply of gold, silver, and materials for our immigration and colonization activities."

"Therefore, we should avoid putting too many obstacles in the way of our close partner. We should also provide appropriate protection and support to prevent their sphere of influence from penetrating too far into the bitter cold north, thereby avoiding unnecessary losses."
-
(End of this chapter)