Xinshun 1730

Chapter 461 Comprador is the road of no return
Tokugawa Yoshimune wanted to test his second son, so he called his second son Tokugawa Sotake, who had accompanied the army to Nijo Castle, to him.

He dismissed the rest of the people and talked about Dashun's request, but he didn't ask a broad question such as the future of the shogunate, but asked a seemingly strange question.

"The matter of paying tribute and proclaiming ministers is a foregone conclusion. Humans are swords and I am fish and meat. The only ones who are invincible are the first ministers."

"It's just that some people say that even if you pay tribute, you can find another way to save face."

"The two characters of Tianhuang are all in Chinese, which was first used by Tang Gaozong. However, if the pronunciation of Xun is converted into Chinese and then translated, it may still be called Tianhuang, but it is written as 'Wang Ming Le Mei Yu De'. In this way, the ignorance of the Tang people is deceived, but still Keep the title of emperor."

"Everyone in Edo praises my son's intelligence. In your opinion, is this feasible?"

When Tokugawa Munetake heard the phrase "My son is smart", his heart almost stopped.His eldest brother has been established as the heir. Although he looks down on his elder brother who dared not speak and peed his pants, he can understand his father's consideration.

His eldest brother gave birth to a son the year before last, and Sotake Tokugawa knew that he was completely useless.His father hoped that he and his younger brother would be the new "Yu San Family" to ensure the power of the family, instead of fighting and grabbing the position of general and finally falling into the hands of others.

"Fortunately," Dashun's war against Japan seems to have turned everything around.

Especially when the war was extremely unfavorable and Japan was beaten with no power to fight back, Tokugawa Munetake, who had already given up before, rekindled hope.

Originally in history, after Tokugawa Yoshimune lived in seclusion and passed on the throne, Tokugawa Sotake also seized the opportunity to fight back, because after his brother became a general, he overturned some of Tokugawa Yoshimune's established policies.

As a result, Tokugawa Yoshimune, who lived in seclusion, directly reprimanded him and imprisoned him for three years.

But now, Tokugawa Munetake, who was already agitated by the turning point brought about by the Sino-Japanese War, felt his heart beating wildly when he heard his father praise him for his intelligence at this juncture.

Now Yoshimune Tokugawa asked him about this matter, Sotake Tokugawa thought for a moment, then said: "My son thinks this is not possible."

"In the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Jiuling wrote a reply, thinking that Emperor Shengmu's name and surname were 'Wang Ming Le Mei Yu De', but he didn't know that this was a method of transliterating the pronunciation. The people of the country were secretly delighted, and they all thought it was a great contribution to send Tang envoys."

"However, Dashun is not what it used to be today. I read Liu Yu's book of brief examinations of Western countries and said something interesting."

""Old Tang Book" said: In the 17th year of Zhenguan, Bodoli, the king of Fufu, sent an envoy to offer red glass. The person who Fufu, Arai Junmei's "Western Chronicles" Middle Eastern Roman country; according to Liu Yu, Bodoli, for The transliteration of Barcelius is not a person's name. He also said a lot in the book that "the difference between transliteration and free translation should be the first priority in translating the literature and history of various countries."

"Nowadays, the Emperor and Wang Ming Le Mei Yude; it is also like the difference between Bodoli and Basileus. Since Liu Yu is in charge of the negotiation, how can he hide it from him?"

"Furthermore, at this moment of defeat and invincibility, doing such a clever thing is no different from being beaten, and thinking silently: how strange is it for a son to beat his father?"

"The ancients said: Admiring false fame and dealing with real disasters is what a gentleman would not do. If this matter is exposed, wouldn't the Tang people have the reputation of being a teacher? At that time, wouldn't it be you, father, who will be in danger?"

Tokugawa Yoshimune nodded slightly. In fact, he felt that this idea was pure nonsense. The person who proposed this idea was only clever but not very clever.

Tokugawa Zongwu is quite clever, and everyone in Edo city knows it.Of course, it may also be that the eldest son sets off well, and many people hope that Tokugawa Sotake will succeed to the throne.

At this time, taking this matter as a test, Tokugawa Munetake has passed the first test, at least he is not the kind of person who seeks a false name but deals with real disasters.

In the past, it is indeed possible to fool around.

But now, it might be extremely difficult to fool around.

Tokugawa Yoshimune said again: "The people of the Tang Dynasty asked for a change of year name. Is there a precedent for this?"

"Returning to my father, there is a precedent. In the past, the great general Ashikaga Yoshimasa who conquered the barbarians made a statement, and he also called himself 'Chenyuan Yizheng is sincere and frightened, and he bows his head and speaks sincerely'. The 11th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty was also used, and it was not Use the country's year name for seven years of civilization."

This is not prepared in advance, but he is already well-read and knowledgeable, and he is quite familiar with ancient studies and Confucian studies, and he has read a lot of books.

As the saying goes, one hates less books when they are in use. If you read more on weekdays, you will be able to use them one day, and the benefits are also great.

Just like the current situation, once the answer is answered, it will definitely add a lot of points to my father.

In the current situation, Tokugawa Munetake also has some concerns in his heart, so don't think about the image of "brothers and brothers respectful" at this time.

It's all come to this point. What the shogunate needs in the future is not a cowardly, brotherly and respectful old man;

The shogunate will face a lot of mess in the future, which is a change unseen in a thousand years.

At least, this is what Tokugawa Munetake thinks, otherwise he would have no chance after all.

He already knew the content of the treaty, and he also knew that when the treaty was signed, the Chinese and Japanese sides used their own year names, and said: "The former general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu wrote to Ming for the first time, saying that 'Tong Good'. Therefore, in the future, the year name of Yingyong of the country is still used. After the canonization is obtained, the year name of Ming Dynasty will be used."

"The actions of the people of Tang just felt that this treaty was a bit harsh and should not be used against the tributary country. Therefore, before the tribute, the people of Tang actually recognized the independence of Japan and forced the signing of the treaty, not to be harsh on the tributary country, but to Harsh to the enemy country; but after paying tribute, you have to say something else."

"Nowadays, the army of the Tang Dynasty is strong and strong, and it is beyond Japan's ability to defeat it. It will also open ports in the future. In the past, Fujiwara is not compared to the "Dabao Order". It says: Emperor, called by the imperial edict; , It is impossible for each to claim China, and Tang people are most concerned about this matter, so don't get entangled in the matter of the emperor and the reign."

"Such a false name actually relies on armaments."

Tokugawa Yoshimune nodded again.

The two slight nods, in Tokugawa Zongwu's view, were really like rain after a long drought, and the fire in his heart was even more intense.

Kneeling is kneeling, and it's not bad to kowtow.If you have already knelt down and are still debating whether to kowtow three times or four, you are smart in the small but stupid in the big.

Tokugawa Zongwu's answer was in line with Tokugawa Yoshimune's appetite.There is really no need to play this kind of cleverness for such a false name and courtesy, otherwise it is very likely that he will be beaten again in the future because of this incident.

Songping Huizhen's secret letter made it very clear. Liu Yu told him that a lot of generals in the court were looking forward to continuing the fight.

There is a battle where there is victory but no defeat, who would not want to come and make meritorious deeds?
It's just that the imperial court is suppressing, and it doesn't mean to occupy all of Japan.But if it is really shameless, Dashun may not be able to continue fighting, and just change his strategy a little bit.

In the entire Kyushu Island, there is only a handful of daimyos, and the rest are a group of people with their own ideas. Dashun may not necessarily have to send many soldiers, and he still has the ability to fight one faction.

Go to the Kanto, and the generals will take turns.The person who contributes the most will be crowned King of Japan.The old land is replaced by new fields, and the stone height is doubled.Dashun wanted Kyushu, and the fiefdoms of Kyushu feudal vassals were changed to Honshu, so what's the difficulty?

Originally, it was Liu Yu's cooperation that allowed the shogunate to regain the initiative from the dangerous situation in this battle. Now, if they don't show some attitude and instead provoke Liu Yu and play tricks, they may lose their wits.

After these two tests of fame passed, Tokugawa Yoshimune talked about the opening of Japan's port again.

There are not many things made in Japan.

Even during the Nagasaki trade, those sea merchants in Dashun didn't like copper, but copper.

Dried abalone, dried sea cucumber, dried kelp, how much can you eat this shit?Besides, Dashun is not without production, it is really hard to sell.

In addition to these things, what Japan can sell is gold, silver, copper, and sulfur.

Conversely, raw silk, soybeans, oil, ironware, medicinal materials, silk cloth, cotton cloth, sucrose, porcelain in Dashun... these are all sought-after goods.

Tokugawa Yoshimune certainly knows that restricting transactions is useless.Before Arai Shiraishi launched the New Deal, trade was also restricted, but the local Japanese businessmen in Nagasaki could link up with the Dutch and the Chinese to engage in smuggling, so that they even sailed to the sea for secret trade.

It is conceivable that five commercial ports have been opened at once.

Japan is indeed based on a small-scale peasant economy, but there is one biggest difference between Japan and Dashun.

Japan has a group of samurai class who do not produce, do not save money, and do not hide silver in cellars.The spending power of this group of people was much stronger than those landlords in Dashun who hoarded silver.

Moreover, these samurai all lived together, either in the castle towns of the feudal clans, or all squatted in Edo.

Edo is completely a consumption-oriented city. Once the restrictions on this level of consumption are lifted, one can imagine.

Tokugawa Yoshimune already had a certain countermeasure in his mind, so he tested his second son and asked: "Kimi Arai has long talked about the importance of retreat. Gold and silver are like bones, and rice cloth is like hair. Hair can grow again, but bones can't regenerate. "

"The people of the Tang Dynasty forced the Wa Kingdom to open ports, and the outflow of gold and silver will become more and more serious. The production of gold and silver mountains is decreasing day by day. Even if there are frugal orders, the samurai will follow the yin and yin, and pursue sweet food and delicious food. Ezo brocade in Kyoto is worth a hundred gold; Jiangxi Porcelain is like a treasure in every feudal clan."

"What can I do?"

Tokugawa Zongwu looked around subconsciously, making sure that there were no outsiders, and then said: "Moral words: misfortune is where blessings rest, and blessings are where misfortune lies. Be kind and turn into a demon."

"The opening of the port cannot be changed. A wise person should not consider how good it would be if the port was not opened at this time, but should consider how to turn the bad thing into a good thing now that the port has been opened. Between good and bad, right It's a surprise."

"Hasn't Liu Yu set a tariff worth six out of one hundred? This kind of income, my father can take it into his pocket and use it for the shogunate's finances."

"The more goods purchased, the higher the tariff revenue."

"The finances of the feudal clans are not handed over to the shogunate. In previous years, there was a system of paying homage to the shogunate. Those who seek to weaken the treasury of the feudal clans will make them unable to compete for supremacy."

"Why don't you take advantage of the trend now, import goods widely, sell them in various vassals, and collect tariffs for one; set up a franchise Zhu Zhongjian, and take the profit of selling goods for two."

"After so many years, the vassals are getting poorer and the shogunate has more money. The vassals are powerless to fight, and they dare not have the heart of disobedience; the gold and silver in the government are piled up, and it is time to buy guns and cannons. You can suppress the vassals internally, and you can defend yourself externally. invasion."

"Don't let Yuanwen's shame stop you, money is the only thing."

(End of this chapter)