Xinshun 1730

Chapter 476 Malthus of Japan

However, this impact is not necessarily a bad thing.

Gold can be exchanged for more silver, and Dashun continued Zhang Juzheng's reforms, and it can basically be regarded as silver as the benchmark currency. The finances of the shogunate may really improve a lot in the past few years.

Maybe the shogunate still thinks that the switch is pretty good. You see, the gold in your hand is getting more and more valuable. Silk that used to be bought for one or two gold can now be bought for only eight dollars.

Yoshimune Tokugawa considered Liu Yu's secret request for a while, except for drawing the map, everything else was actually easy to agree to.

Originally, he had the idea of ​​being a comprador for a few years to save money, and he was also afraid that Liu Yu would really wait to beat him because of the thrift order.

The only thing is to draw a map.

It is not only that the future safety is in the hands of Dashun, but also a sign of complete surrender.Even if Dashun hasn't oppressed enough to allow Japan to hand over its registration and save some face, but I'm afraid that when the whole map of Dashun is drawn in the future, it will definitely include Japan in the map just like the situation in North Korea.

But at this time, there was really no way to resist. Matsudaira Huizhen, who was in charge of the negotiation, had already talked about the secret agreement.If you don't agree to this point, it is impossible for Dashun to sell guns and warships to the shogunate.

Two million taels of silver was not a small amount for the shogunate; it was not a small matter for Dashun to stand on the land to draw a map.

But people are swords and I am fish, and now each feudal clan has its own ideas, eager to compete to be fish, Tokugawa Yoshimune is also considered to be the first to get the moon, so he can only agree.

He can still trust Liu Yu's promise and guarantee.If he really didn't have such thoughts, then there is really no need to sell the guns to the shogunate, but he still hasn't figured out where Liu Yu dug the hole.

There must be pits.Tokugawa Yoshimune is very sure of this.Only after ten years did he fall into the trap?Whether it will be a hundred years before they fall into the trap is really unknown.

Knowing that it is a pit, the temptation to jump into it is still great.

"There is no need to sign a treaty for these conditions. One is that it is not good to hear about it, and the Celestial Dynasty is afraid that some ignorant people in Japan will use Zhao Gou to insinuate; the other is that the ancients said that their beliefs are insincere, and the quality is useless."

"No matter what, since the general has agreed, we can be regarded as ministers of the same dynasty. The general can be named a county king. If I see the general at that time, I will have to salute."

"Since they are all honorable clans, they should rest with the country. The shogunate will not perish if the Celestial Dynasty survives. The general can rest assured about this."

Tokugawa Yoshimune had no choice but to nod. Indeed, it would not be very good if this stuff was clearly written in the treaty.

Fortunately, Dashun's guarantee is very sincere to the Tokugawa family.Especially on the issue of canonizing the heir, it is much more tolerant than that of the North Korean side. To change the heir, the North Korean side has to fight with the Li government for several years, and has to give gifts after the end.For the Tokugawa clan, it was just a formality, similar to the Tokugawa clan's previous "playing invitation" to the emperor to continue the position of general. The difference is not big, just change the invitation.

The two discussed the time for the delivery of the weapons, and decided that when the first batch of indemnities were paid, they would pay with one hand and deliver the goods with the other.

Dashun can first lease a group of sailors and officers from the Tokugawa clan to serve as instructors to teach the subordinates of the Tokugawa clan how to sail and fire guns.

It is full of sincerity.

Behind this kind of sincerity, Tokugawa Yoshimune's despair was exacerbated. It can be seen that Liu Yu is really not worried about Japan's future backlash.

Judging from previous experience, Tokugawa Yoshimune believed that Liu Yu was very accurate in seeing things. Now that he is selling guns and cannons with such sincerity, he originally thought that he was just showing despair, but after the meeting, he was really desperate.

After the two agreed on some important follow-up issues, the meeting ended.However, Liu Yu can't leave immediately for the time being. The opening of Osaka port is the first time a big girl gets on the sedan chair. This matter has to be handed over to Abe Masaoku who is capable and loyal in Tokugawa Yoshimune's eyes.

For some details in the follow-up, Abe Masaoku and Liu Yu need to communicate with each other to make both parties satisfied as much as possible.

After the meeting, Tokugawa Yoshimune summoned Abe Masaoku.

Before formally appointing him as Osaka Castle representative and general manager of port opening customs affairs, Tokugawa Yoshimune had an in-depth exchange with Abe Masaoku about the laws and regulations after the opening of the port.

Abe Masaoku believed that at the beginning of the opening of the port, there was no experience and lack of time, so it was not possible to organize a monopoly system for the time being.

Merchants should be allowed to trade spontaneously first, and then the shogunate will select suitable large merchants and organize Zhuzhongjian after they are familiar with opening port trade.

The so-called Zhuzhongjian is similar to a joint-stock monopoly. A family calls it a plant, and Zhongjian means a partner.That is, several partnerships buy out the monopoly rights of a certain trade product, so that the shogunate can collect benefits.

Abe Masaoku's idea is to let businessmen compete extensively first, the winner takes all, and the shogunate grants privileges to the winner to strengthen the franchise.

In the competition stage in the early stage, it is also easy to summarize the laws of the market, and the shogunate can also end the game in person to see what makes money to invest in it and make a fortune.

In view of the problem of gold and silver prices, Abe Masaoku suggested that this time the compensation should be paid to silver as much as possible, and the shogunate is going to hoard gold.Wait until the price of gold rises before selling it, so as to arbitrage.

Previous maritime merchants also used gold and silver price differences to arbitrage more than once, and Japan has experience in this regard.It could be controlled before, but now that it can't be controlled at all, it's better for the shogunate to end the money and earn it by itself.

Since the shogunate is determined to use tariffs to fill the fiscal deficit, and it is true that there is no better way to fill the fiscal gap, Abe Masaoku can only implement the will of the shogun.

On the one hand, Masaoku Abe looked at it from a business perspective, opening a port may not be a bad thing for Japan. He has his own experience in the reform of the Fukuyama Domain and his own understanding of the economy.

On the other hand, from the perspective of the family and selfishness, I, the Osaka Castle Generation, must be only temporarily taking care of the opening of the port.If I can do well, do it perfectly, and make the shogunate have money to spend, the Abe clan will definitely increase their fiefs in the future, and they will be one step closer to the center of the shogunate.

Now is a good time to blend with Liu Yu, to make the shogunate satisfied and Dashun satisfied. This is the first test of whether he can continue to work as the representative of Osaka Castle.

Tokugawa Yoshimune did not tell Abe Masaoku about the content of the secret agreement with Dajun, but only talked about his thoughts on future financial revenue. As long as he, the representative of Osaka Castle, can collect the money as soon as possible, it will be fine.

Everything is positive and negative.

The more money from import tariffs, the more gold and silver outflow from Japan.

But the outflow of gold and silver in Japan is something that politicians have to consider, such as the late Arai Shiraishi.But now, the shogunate, which has decided to rely on tariffs and monopoly to supplement its finances, is no longer able to find a politician to make decisions.

A few days later, Liu Yu was about to leave by boat. The day before going to Shimonoseki to renew the contract, Abe Masaoford came to see him and discussed some details such as tariffs, management, and judicial power after the opening of the port.

As for the general direction, it is necessary to negotiate with Tokugawa Yoshimune first.

For small details, it needs a special knife and pen official to discuss.

These problems, not big and not small, are more suitable as the guiding direction for future port opening.

After the two sides met, Abe Masaoku introduced himself first.

Liu Yu habitually asked Masaoku Abe how he reformed the financial problems of the domain when he was the feudal lord.

From a person's governance policies, one can roughly judge a person's economic trend.Under the Japanese feudal system, many feudal clans were constantly trying and making mistakes, and all kinds of strange policies emerged one after another. This kind of details can make the negotiation and communication more reasonable.

Abe Masaoku gave a general account of his thinking on presiding over the reform.

Control the population, limit the age of marriage, strictly implement the eldest son inheritance system, and the younger brother serves as the elder brother's servant, etc., so as to ensure that the land will not be completely fragmented, so that the people have a certain ability to resist famine.

At the same time, for the already fragmented farmers' land, if the eldest son inherits the conditions to ensure that the land is not too fragmented, the merger of wealthy merchants and wealthy farmers is acquiesced.

Although in view of the line dispute between Tokugawa Yoshimune and Tokugawa Muneharu, Abe Masaoku had verbally supported Tokugawa Yoshimune's frugal order and opposed Tokugawa Muneharu's statement that "encouraging the food class to consume can promote the economy".But in fact, Abe Masaoku supported Tokugawa Muneharu's line in his heart.

The Abe family has been committed to entering the center of the shogunate, and has produced many characters.Masahiro Abe, the Abe clan, was the one who signed the Japan-U.S. treaty after the Shimabara Rebellion.

If you want to enter the center, you will inevitably need to seek business, make connections, and give gifts. The financial situation has always been difficult.Farmers can’t squeeze much oil and water, so they can only think about getting some from wealthy merchants and wealthy farmers. Therefore, the economic policy also tends to support industry and commerce. The consumption power of the food and salary class like the samurai activates the economy.

Abe Masaoku gave a general introduction, and Liu Yu determined the sex of Abe Masaoku in his heart.

On Dashun’s side, because of the cultural genes inherited from Confucianism, it is naturally close to the petty bourgeoisie fantasy represented by Simmons Day, and future generations will continue to be culturally close to the petty bourgeoisie. Most people don’t like the cold and rational scientific society. Also hate capitalism.

In this era, from He Xinyin to Huang Zongxi to Yan Yuan and Li Wei, etc., they all tried to go back to the past, forced the existing productive forces back into the old production relations, and returned to the perfect agricultural patriarchal system pastoral, well field system under benevolent government, and manual workshops. The patriarchalization of the guild is covered up with warmth.

On the Japanese side, they may be very close to Malthus.

Japan's land is small, and the eldest son inherits it. As in "Narayama Festival Kao", people are thrown into the mountains when they get old.

Perhaps if there is no external force intruding and it develops on its own, Malthusism will probably prevail during the alternation period between feudalism and capitalism.

Abe Masaoku's population policy is a manifestation of one aspect.

Another is Malthus's famous "necessary third party theory", which will definitely be propagated in Japan, a country where Shilu samurai occupy the dominant power.

The so-called third-party necessity theory means that the price of all the goods sold by the factory owner must be higher than the wages paid to the workers and the cost of equipment loss and raw materials. After all, it is necessary to make money.

This will lead to overproduction, because the total price of goods must be higher than wages, what if they cannot be sold?This requires a third class.

This class does not produce, only consumes.For example, samurai, nobles, servants of samurai...their existence can avoid the economic crisis caused by overproduction.

Therefore, the existence of the feudal aristocrats and the feudal rentier class must be guaranteed in order to develop industry...

It's almost like tailor-made for Japan.

If there is no invasion of Western forces, each evolves, and Japan is locked here by the Dashun, unable to expand, and unable to abandon the samurai, it will probably evolve into this appearance, and derive such theories.

As far as Abe Masaoku mentioned his reforms in the Fukuyama domain at this time, the symptoms are already very serious, but there is a lack of systematic theory.

Liu Yu thought, this is a perfect theory that can fool Japan.Merchants like it, warriors like it, as for the peasants, the inspection all the way from Xiaguan to here has already happened once or twice.

Of course, Dashun likes it too.Japan's "third-party class" is really important to Dashun at this time, so we just point to them to buy goods.Indeed, it can promote the development of industry and commerce, but it only promotes the industry and commerce of Dashun, not necessarily Japan.

(End of this chapter)