Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 1662 Cut Yuan ([-]) Within Range
At the end of the meeting, Cao Ke dawdled and refused to leave. Gao Yushi saw it and knew that he must not understand what he said just now, and hoped to get an answer.

Cao Ke's father, Cao Gan, has been in charge of the Jinghua Trading Company for 20 years. It is equivalent to in charge of almost all the land trade exports of the Jinghua Department and the circulation trade between many provinces in China. He even manages a large number of Jinghua Department's armed forces. Qi Ding can be regarded as the core figure in Jinghua, second only to Gao Mo besides Gao's blood relatives.

And Cao Ke himself has a special status in Jinghua. He is the first student of Gao Yushi, and he also obtained the status of Juren a few years ago. It is enough to prove his level of knowledge.

Of course, what is really powerful is the status of "first student".The so-called "people around the leader should be regarded as leaders", which means that as long as he does not kill himself, very few people in Jinghua dare not take him seriously.And his performance is also worthy of this status. As early as when Gao Yushi was still a patrol officer in Guangxi, he had the merit of commanding the battle to quell the civil strife of the Cen family in Sicheng.

Gao Yushi also placed high hopes on him. He first trained him to study, and later, after he made it clear that he was not in the officialdom, he put him in several positions to exercise in turn.After the establishment of the secretariat, he was placed above the extremely important post of business secretary—you must know that he, the business secretary, was in charge of both land and sea.

Perhaps it is precisely because the business secretary's work involves a lot of work, Gao Yushi just mentioned that he would increase rice exports to Japan, and Cao Ke immediately found that this matter was very suspicious.Even though Gao Yushi just "refuted" his reminder with a sentence of "just do it", he still wanted to stay and ask.

This is not arrogance, but a duty.The teacher entrusted me with such an important responsibility, how can I act in a daze?

But what surprised Cao Ke was that Gao Wushi not only kept him, but also Ruan Fuyuan.Ruan Fuyuan seemed to have guessed something, his face was relatively calm, and he didn't show any surprise at all.

When the crowd left, Gao Wushi waved his hand, beckoning them to sit down, and then said to Cao Ke: "If you have any questions, you can ask them now."

Cao Ke knew that the teacher was busy with military affairs and spoke very directly, so he didn't talk nonsense, leaned slightly, and asked, "The students just don't understand how to increase the export of southern Xinjiang rice to Japan."

Gao Wushi nodded and said: "The report from the Southern Xinjiang side shows that with the increase of Han immigration and the increasing proportion of naturalized Han, the newly reclaimed fields alone have reached nearly one million acres. The harvest was bumper, and the rice production increased significantly, so that the report said that the original storage system was very tight, and it is imperative to increase exports."

This is of course a reason, but Cao Ke already knew the news, and he didn't think it should be the main reason.Besides, although the addition of one million mu of land sounds impressive, in comparison, this figure is normal and not an exaggeration.

Why?Daming has more than 8 million mu of arable land!Although Southern Xinjiang cannot compare with Daming in terms of territory, it has five major rivers: the Red River, the Mekong River, the Chao Phraya River, the Salween River, and the Irrawaddy River. Almost all of them, especially the downstream areas, are high-quality plains, which are extremely suitable for growing food.

In the past, the local people's cultivation level was not good, and due to other reasons, not only was there a lot of uncultivated land, but even the land that had been reclaimed did not perform as well as it should.

Under such conditions, it is only a matter of course that with the influx of Han people, it will lead to a substantial increase in food production.The reason why the area of ​​arable land "only" increased by one million mu is because the newly influx of Han people all have different years of land tax holidays.

In essence, the one million mu of arable land added last year was actually opened up three years ago, and the grain tax has just started to be collected this year.Over time, the annual increase in the future is likely to be even greater.

As for the issue of grain storage in southern Xinjiang, in fact, it has been considered before. For example, large-scale granaries have been built everywhere in major garrison locations, such as Jingang, and the construction has been maintained, and it has not stopped until now.

Even if last year's bumper harvest far exceeded expectations and there was pressure on grain collection and storage, it wouldn't be so big that it had to be exported to Japan—not to mention, wouldn't it be okay to sell it directly to Daming?What's the matter, are you afraid that Daming won't be able to consume it?Therefore, Cao Ke believes that the bumper harvest in southern Xinjiang may be one of the reasons, but it will definitely not be the main reason.

He expressed his meaning in euphemistic words, and Gao Wushi smiled: "It seems that you still do your work very seriously, and I am very pleased."

Cao Ke bowed slightly, but didn't say much.As expected, Gao Wushi took over the conversation on his own, and said to Ruan Fuyuan: "Shouzhong, tell Shouxin briefly about the recent trends in Japan." Naturally, it is Ruan Fuyuan's character, and it is also chosen by Gao Pragmatic as a teacher.

"Yes, teacher." Ruan Fuyuan bowed, then turned to Cao Ke and said, "Senior brother, the Japanese side has been acting quite secretly recently. Generally speaking, there are three things that are worthy of vigilance."

Cao Ke nodded, and said politely: "If you are loyal, please tell me."

"Don't dare, it should." Ruan Fuyuan organized his language a little bit, and said: "The first thing, Toyotomi Hideyoshi has obviously increased his emphasis on Japan's 'naval army'. This matter is divided into three aspects, One is that he may have entered into some sort of closer secret alliance with the Maori family.

Especially in terms of naval forces, the two naval forces were concentrated in Hyogotsu, and the local area began to be tightly sealed, and our people could not get in... But according to our insider report at Toyotomi's house, Toyotomi, The Maori navy has started rigorous training there, and they are even remodeling their ships. "

"Where is Hyogotsu?" Cao Ke frowned and asked, this was the first time he had heard of this name.

"Oh, that place is also called Hanakuma Castle, which is about fifty miles west of Osaka, but the locals are generally used to calling it Hyogotsu." Ruan Fuyuan explained.

In fact, although the name Hyogotsu is not well-known, its later name is famous: Kobe.Kobe in later generations is not only one of the five major ports in Japan, but also an important base for Japan's steel, machinery and heavy industries, and of course the famous Kobe beef.As for now, Toyotomi Hideyoshi seems to be planning to use this place as a naval base, or even a shipbuilding base.

Ruan Fuyuan introduced a few more words, Cao Ke nodded to express his understanding, and said: "You mean that I understand, that is, Toyotomi Hideyoshi is considering improving the naval combat power."

In this regard, Ruan Fuyuan agreed, and then said: "Second, Toyotomi Hideyoshi has stepped up his efforts to win over the Maritime Trade Alliance, which may also be accompanied by infiltration. We found that the people of Toyotomi's family are obviously more proactive than in the past. The Maritime Trade Alliance 'connects with feelings', but it is more about communicating with the fleet of Zhu's nobles.

We have observed and analyzed this through various channels, and believe that the Toyotomi family is likely to be inquiring about the armament, organization, and combat methods of the ships of the Maritime Trade Alliance.Perhaps in their view, it is more difficult to directly reach out to Jinghua, so they turned their attention to the fleets of the noble families to infer the true strength of Jinghua and even the Maritime Trade Alliance. "

Cao Ke narrowed his eyes slightly: "Want to know yourself and the enemy? It seems that Toyotomi Hideyoshi is not a reckless person."

Ruan Fuyuan nodded, and continued: "Third, the Toyotomi family is trying every means to obtain more artillery, and at the same time, it is also lobbying Jinghua and other nobles, hoping that we will open up the saltpeter trade-of course, these lobbying are all It was done in secret. It is said that the Narita family has received a lot of benefits from the Toyotomi family, and proposed an interesting transaction proposal to the Kanto Fleet."

The Narita family?Cao Ke took a careful look at the teacher Gao Yushi, and seeing the teacher's calm face, he asked, "What deal?"

Ruan Fuyuan smiled and said: "The Toyotomi family is willing to 'lease' Sado Island to us in exchange for the Maritime Trade Alliance's cancellation of the ban on saltpeter—on the premise that saltpeter sales are open."

Cao Ke was greatly surprised: "Sado Island? He doesn't even want the cranes and silver mountains, what a courage!" He quickly looked at Gao Yushi and asked, "This condition..."

Gao Wushi smiled: "Of course I agreed. But there is one thing you may not know. There is not only the Crane Silver Mountain on Sado Island, but also an even more remarkable Aichuan Gold and Silver Mountain - both gold mines and silver mines. And the reserves are huge, but the Japanese don’t know that’s all.”

Good guy!Cao Ke was stunned for a moment, and then laughed loudly: "Toyotomi Hideyoshi prides himself on being smart, but this time I'm afraid he picked sesame seeds and lost watermelon, and it's a big loss!"

Isn't that right?The Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine in later generations is usually called "Sado Gold Mine". It was discovered in 1601 AD, but in the early 17th century, compared with gold, the amount of silver mined here was more, second only to the largest gold mine in the world at that time. A silver mountain in the Potosí silver mine, Bolivia.

It is said that in its heyday, Sado Gold Mountain not only produced 400 kilograms of gold per year, but also produced 40 tons of silver—equivalent to 80 taels.Moreover, this amount was mined based on the productivity of Japan at that time. If it were Jinghua at this time, it is estimated that there must be a lot of improvement.

However, even if the Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine has not been discovered by Japan, a lot of silver has been produced from the Tsuruko Silver Mine that has been discovered on Sado Island alone, plus the Nishisanchuan Gold Mine that may be close to depletion now (also in Sado, which is close to depletion but There are still some output), Toyotomi Hideyoshi is willing to give up such a big benefit, just in exchange for the sea trade alliance to open up the sale of saltpeter, the reason is simply obvious.

Cao Ke pondered and said: "The three aspects point to the same goal. Toyotomi Hideyoshi is preparing to fight, and it is preparing to fight a big battle that consumes a lot of gunpowder."

Ruan Fuyuan nodded in approval.Cao Ke said again: "These three aspects make up one of the three major events you mentioned that deserve attention, so what are the remaining two issues?"

Ruan Fuyuan said: "Shortly after the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's son, Toyotomi Hesong, he called himself Taige and gave up the position of Kanbai to his nephew and adopted son Toyotomi Hideji."

Cao Ke didn't think there was any problem with this matter, he frowned and said, "At his age, it may not be easy to think about getting old, so it seems normal to do so?"

"That's right, but our insider found out something." Ruan Fuyuan paused every word: "Toyotomi Hideyoshi's concubine Mrs. Yodo is pregnant again."

Cao Ke gasped in his heart, hissed, touched his chin subconsciously, and said, "It's fine if you have a daughter, but if it's a boy again, then Toyotomi Hideji's position will be embarrassing... ...How old is this Toyotomi Hideji?"

"25 years old (empty age)." Ruan Fuyuan replied, and then added: "It is said that Xiuci is quite knowledgeable and has a deep research on waka, tea ceremony, calligraphy, and shogi. He also had some pretty good records before. Therefore, he has a lot of support among Toyotomi's retainers."

This time Cao Ke didn't make any further comments, but thought about it carefully, then changed the topic, and said, "What about the third thing?"

"The third thing is that after Kyushu Ichikui was pacified, although Sasa Chengzheng was executed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the northern part of Kyushu was quickly re-entrusted by him, and now it has generally settled down. After that, Toyotomi Hideyoshi first After pacifying the Satsuma Shimadzu family, they began major repairs and constructions in Nagoya, and established some large-scale warehouses. Among them, there are everything that one expects to find, such as Bingjiaku, gunpowder depot, and grain depot.”

"Nagoya? Where is this place?" It was another not-so-famous place, so Cao Ke couldn't help asking.

Nagoya is not Nagoya. It is located in Matsuura County of Hizen Country, which is the northernmost tip of Kyushu Island, facing the Tsushima Strait and the Korean Peninsula on the other side.At this time, the local lord was Terasawa Hirodaka, the lord of Karatsu Castle of the Hizen Kingdom and the leader of [-] stones-this person was loyal to Hideyoshi.

When Ruan Fuyuan mentioned the location, what else did Cao Ke not understand?But he was even more puzzled, and immediately asked Gao Wushi, "Teacher, the above three points are enough to prove that Toyotomi Hideyoshi has coveted North Korea and is likely to cross the sea to launch a war. At this time, we will openly supply saltpeter to him." , Increase the export of rice, wouldn't that open the door for him to attack the vassal state of Ming Dynasty?"

"I can't control the fact that he is going to attack North Korea, so I have to find another way." Gao Wushi didn't try to cover it up, and said very directly: "Shouzhong will give you another more detailed information later, There is also a very important thing in it, that is, as the war in Japan subsides, the problem of too many samurai in Japan has reached the point where Toyotomi Hideyoshi cannot solve it.”

Gao Wushi took a deep breath and said: "This contradiction cannot be resolved by Toyotomi Hideyoshi relying on the original political and economic means. If a big war is not launched to consume it, then those warriors will rise up against him. Here In this case, he can only divert the contradiction, and the spearhead of the war can only go to North Korea at present.

He is now building a navy while trying his best to win over the Sea Trade Alliance. The former is preparing for the attack on North Korea, and the latter is hoping to use the Sea Trade Alliance and his interests to speak for him in my Ming court... Humph, he might not have been able to He still wanted to fight with Daming, but now he might be overwhelmed by the maritime power of the Maritime Trade Alliance, so he lowered his expectations. "

However, Cao Ke still frowned, and even said in a persuasive tone: "But the court can't tolerate North Korea, right? If North Korea is taken down by him, it will border Liaodong. There are 50 people in Japan. Warrior, this is too much of a threat to Liaodong!"

Gao Wushi glanced at him and said, "Of course I know this, that's why I want to control all the sources of saltpeter in Japan, and use the low-priced rice in southern Xinjiang to overwhelm Japan's local rice production and sales system. Do you think I just want to make money? How can it be so simple."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, and said: "I control Japan's saltpeter, and I can control how much combat power he can have on the battlefield; Japan's rice production and sales system is overwhelmed by the low-priced rice in southern Xinjiang, and it will form dependence.

In this way, when I am about to move him, I only need to cut off his saltpetre, and his army in North Korea will lose its ability to attack fortifications; I only need to cut off his rice supply, and the 50 samurai in Japan will be in chaos (Ordinary people ate everything, while samurai usually only ate rice).As for the chaos at the front or the rear, it doesn't matter to me..."

"But didn't he build a large warehouse in Nagoya?" Cao Ke was still a little worried.

Gao Wushi smiled unconsciously when he heard the words, Shi Shiran said: "But Nagoya is a city by the sea, within the range of our naval guns."
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(End of this chapter)