Xinshun 1730

Chapter 364 Tribute is considered a violation of monopoly rights
Among the three things, the easiest thing to do is actually the most difficult thing for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The remaining two are extremely troublesome, involving new interpretations of the world and etiquette under the circumstances that have not changed for thousands of years.

New interpretations of old scriptures require some skills.

On the contrary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not have so many political correctness to consider, and it does not have too many curses on its head, so it is simple to do.

All the ministers took orders, and they couldn't help thinking that these things seemed simple, but in fact they still needed the great Confucianists to explain their propriety, which might even shake the Confucianism's "view of the world".

How far this Dashun will go in the future is really unpredictable, maybe this is the beginning of the collapse of ritual and music.

Li Gan didn't think too much about it. Instead, he was thinking about how much he would open his mouth, how much meat he would bite in future negotiations with Japan, and what to do to avoid future troubles.

So before the war started, he was already thinking about the post-war negotiations. This was the first time since Li Gan came to the throne that he fought such a battle with complete confidence.

The last time he conquered the Zhunbu, Li Gan didn't know exactly how powerful the new army that Liu Yu was training was.In the battle to the north of the Altai Mountains, Li Gan was also nervous and not [-]% confident.

This time, with the confidence brought by the last conquest and Liu Yu's arrangement, the army was changed to rely on it, and it was really fun.

Secretly thinking about the secret book that Liu Yu handed over, he calculated the date in his mind, thinking that the man named Du Feng should be doing his work in Ezo soon.

This move is for Tokugawa Yoshimune, just to see if Tokugawa Yoshimune can understand it.

If one is smart, he can take advantage of this opportunity and more legitimately ignore the southwestern feudal clans, lest Dashun land everywhere, and take advantage of the sense of crisis of the foreign daimyos in the north to contain the southwestern feudal clans.

If the Japanese Fukuyama Castle in Ezo can be successfully captured, the Japanese Tohoku daimyo will support Liu Yu's idea of ​​"dividing troops and mobile defense" proposed by Tokugawa Yoshimune, and it will also make the southwestern feudal clans have nothing to say—only you in the southwest Are the feudal clans in danger?Fukuyama Castle has been captured, what if Dashun crosses the Tsugaru Strait?
If he is smart, he can understand the steps that Dashun gave him, and follow the trend to do it. The two sides cooperate tacitly, take a formality, follow the steps of Dashun, sign the contract, and the matter is over.

If you are stupid and don't understand the steps given here, then you have to consider the name of General Zhengyi, and you must gather troops to go north to Ezo.The Ezos are gone, so the General Zhengyi still needs a hammer?
Thinking about it, he should be a smart one. After all, Li Gan knew that he was succeeded by a side branch, so he worked hard.I heard what he did, put myself in the shoes of the Japanese government and think about it, and I can be regarded as a hero, but it is a pity that times have changed.

Thinking of Tokugawa Yoshimune at this time, Li Gan couldn't help but think of Liu Yu's words about "the three caves of the cunning rabbit" when he fooled Tokugawa Yoshimune back then.

He was favored and trusted, and he felt that good fighters have no great reputation. Even though this time the Japanese navy has no chance of a naval battle, the commander of the army is not Liu Yu, but he must be the first to conquer the Japanese.If it can be done, it is inevitable for Bo Yi to enter the Marquis.

In such a state of mind, thinking about Liu Yu's dialogue of "the three caves of the cunning rabbit" is of course different from thinking about it when you are old or when major events have been decided.

Li Gan thought to himself: If something really goes wrong one day, even if there is such a day, I will turn a blind eye. If you really want to go outside and become a rich man, why not?

Thinking about this, he couldn't help subconsciously saying to the ministers: "I think Ying Sobo will soon arrive in Weihai, right?"

…………

Weihai, with banners and flags flying, is very lively.

Two new cruise ships are being launched, and in the dry dock, craftsmen from France are hurrying to build Dashun's first French 74-gun battleship.

The craftsman who worked on it had the experience of Liu Yu spending 10,000+ taels of silver to build a useless 64-gun battleship. At this time, it was very smooth and there was no difficulty in making it.

On Liugong Island, a new type of short and thick copper cannon that was bored through the inner wall with a boring machine is being tested, and it makes a booming sound from time to time.

Everything is alive and well.

Liu Yu had just returned, and Lin Yunwen and others from Songjiang were waiting anxiously in the post house in Weihai.

Liu Yu had been to Songjiang once in March and April, and he had already told them the members of the board of directors of these trading companies, strictly guarded against the news of possible war, and carried out a series of news blockades.

Before Liu Yu came back, Lin Yunwen and the others couldn't wait any longer and came to Weihai in a hurry.

Kang Bushao received them. Although as Liu Yu's staff and guest, Kang Bushao can decide many things, but this matter is not within the scope of step-by-step procedures, and can only be discussed when Liu Yu comes back.

Liu Yu had already returned yesterday, and Lin Yunwen also knew that the battle was imminent, and Liu Yu was busy with business, so he might not be able to receive them at this time.

But each of them felt as if there were ants crawling in their hearts, and they were really itchy.

The temptation to monopolize trade with Japan under the switch of the country of Japan is too great. These people have not slept well for several days.

At night, Lin Yunwen finally got the news of Liu Yu's banquet, and the seven people who came to Weihai felt a big stone in their hearts fall to the ground.

After rushing away, the wine and dishes have been set up.Except for Liu Yu and Kang Bushao who accompanied him, there was no one else present.

The guests and hosts sat down, and after a few words of politeness, Lin Yunwen said: "According to my lord's order, the boats for transporting grain and rice are all ready. Now we only need to wait for the news from the DPRK and China to increase the shares. Money is not a problem. Seeing that there is an adult as a guarantor, everyone has no doubts in their hearts. This matter is not only related to personal wealth, but also related to their lives and lives. If you know it, you will not say it or dare to say it. Don't worry, my lord."

The words were good, but Liu Yu sounded a little awkward. After all, what happened here depended on his own reputation and face, not the reputation of the imperial court.

It is also possible that the imperial court did not have much credibility with merchants, which is no wonder.

The matter of transporting rice this time is not difficult at all in terms of technology and capital.Not to mention the supply consumption of more than [-] new troops, even if it is increased by ten times, the trading company is enough to complete it.

Back then, all the expeditions to Junggar were transported by land, and the number of soldiers was several times that of the merchants.Sea transportation is convenient and fast, and there is no problem with the foundation of the previous decades of trade with Japan.

In fact, it is not that Dashun has never done similar actions, but the rewards for transporting grain in the past are usually salt.Under the salt industry monopoly system, in fact, it is similar to this time that the trading company monopolized trade with Japan in return. It is just a state rent-seeking monopoly.

But this time, the matter was a bit big after all. The business leaders including Lin Yunwen had been excited and hadn't slept well for a long time, but they were still full of worry in their hearts.

Liu Yu was regarded as an intermediary guarantor, connecting the merchant group and the court.In business on business, there are some things that businessmen must ask clearly.

Especially this monopoly.

"My lord, this time the monopoly power is fixed, of course there is no problem with paying. But there are two more things that we need to ask clearly."

"This is number one... that is... well, after the monopoly, what about Ryukyu, North Korea, and the Netherlands?"

With Liu Yu as the guarantor, the merchant group did not worry about the court's backlash, but instead worried about their own interests.

Ryukyu can pay tribute, and North Korea also has tribute trade.Ryukyu has trade with Japan, and North Korea has trade with Japan.

Coupled with a Dutchman who caused conflicts in Nagasaki in the early years, these three issues are not clear, and it is hard to say how much this monopoly is worth.

If there is no real monopoly in Ryukyu, North Korea, and the Netherlands, trading companies are willing to invest millions or more to buy this monopoly.

But if Ryukyu, North Korea, and the Netherlands can continue to trade, the price of this monopoly will be greatly reduced.

In Ryukyu and North Korea, there is always a tribute restriction, and the goods that can be obtained are neither too much nor timely.But what about the Dutch?
Dashun opened and closed trade, and the Dutch can buy goods from Dashun at will. If the Dutch are ignored, is this still a monopoly?
Didn't it cost a lot of money and fight a big battle, but it was helping the Dutch to let Japan switch?
Now the competition between the two sides is not so fierce. After all, Japan is locked up and under the trade credit card system, how much goods can be shipped depends not on capital and competition, but on the trade credit cards issued by Nagasaki.

Relying on this, the trading company has made money lying down for several years, and lives happily.But once the Japanese country is switched on and off, the trading company's base is in Songjiang, but the Dutch are also deeply entrenched in Guangdong. It's hard to say under the competition between the two sides.

The Dutch have a good reputation, unlike the British who sometimes have no cash and have to use woolen cloth as collateral.The Dutch have a monopoly on trade products such as spice sumac, and some merchants in Guangdong will find ways to meet the conditions of the Netherlands in order to obtain spices.

At that time, Songjiang's trading company will be in line with the Dutch East India Company and some spice merchants in Guangdong, which will inevitably increase costs.

Less than 20 years have passed since Ostend’s tea war in Fujian, Guangdong, and it spent money to create a monopoly. At least at this time, it seems that the Netherlands’ money is still very thick. Trading companies consciously spend money may not be as good as the Dutch, but this is also cost.

The trading company dared to do business with the Dutch, but the problem was that the imperial court was too likely to allow the trading company to buy warships. How could they do without warships?How could the imperial court allow merchants to have warships?
Either allow trading companies to buy warships and do it with the Dutch, or the court will come forward to protect the interests of its own people and use tariffs or warships to engage the Netherlands.

Coupled with the Ryukyu and North Korean tribute trade that bothered these businessmen, they really wanted to ask clearly.

Seeing that the merchant group represented by Lin Yunwen finally understood the key to commercial profit, Liu Yu obviously also understood what "monopoly" meant, and said with a smile: "It seems that you think that if the Japanese country completely shuts down trade, you are very optimistic about this prospect?"

Lin Yunwendui smiled and said: "My lord, the old sea merchants before Xinjing Shiraishi's new policy are still alive. At that time, business was easier than now, let alone after the real opening of free trade? Although we are not as capable as adults, but here A sense of smell like copper stinks, but the spirit is tight."

The rest of the businessmen along the way also nodded, thinking, do you need to think about it?As long as the Japanese dare to switch and allow gold and silver trade, we can get rich even if we buy gold with silver and sell the gold into silver, let alone these goods?

In the past few years, the copper mines in Yunnan have been mined more and more, and the copper business is not so easy to do. Although there are still profits, it is still worse than in previous years.

Fortunately, in the past few years, Dashun has expanded its army, the navy has built ships, and the demand for copper guns has driven up the price of copper. It has not yet fallen to the point where it is not worth trading.

But now the Japanese people's policy is very strict, less and less copper is coming back, more and more bait, and the sale of sulfur is banned, so bait is not easy to sell.

If you eat dried sea cucumber, dried abalone, and kelp, how much can you eat?The messy handicrafts of the Japanese people are just that, and they are really not easy to sell.

Once switched on, it's a big difference.

The worry is not that the business is not doing well, but that it is weighing how much this monopoly is worth.

Of course it's different for just their family and the four families of North Korea, Ryukyu, and the Netherlands.

(End of this chapter)