I'm really not doing business

Chapter 671: The Earthly Bond Has Been Broken, the Sea of ​​Gold Has Dried Up

"Okay, closing the country to the outside world is not on the agenda. Let's all stop talking about this topic and get back to the land inspection law proposed by the Chancellor." As the host of the negotiations, Xu Wei's goal was to resolve the food crisis and not interfere with the mining and outflow of silver, the outflow of Japanese slaves and prostitutes. This was the purpose of the existence of the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office.

Destroying the Japanese is important, and the influx of silver is also important.

"The governor is from the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty began to survey and clarify the land register in the third year of Wanli. Even with the power of the Celestial Empire, it still took nearly ten years to complete the survey. With the current situation in Japan, how long will it take? And how long will it take?" Mori Terumoto was the first to express his attitude.

The Land Inspection Law is very good. It is a very fundamental way to solve the problem of Japan. What reforms, what innovations, what overhauls, aren't they all about working on the redistribution of the means of production?

How can the world become better? In fact, history has already given the answer.

The Japanese daimyos are not all good-for-nothings and are well aware of these things. If Mori Terumoto did not have some vision, he would not have been able to fight with Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu for so many years.

Everyone understands the principle, especially when the results of the Ming Dynasty's great thinking have begun to radiate outward, but when it comes to really doing it, you will find that it is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

"Let me correct you. The Ming Dynasty has not yet completed the land survey. In Guizhou, Yunnan, Suiyuan, Liaodong, and parts of Guangxi, the land survey has not been completed. The overseas governor's office has not yet completed the land survey except in Luzon." Xu Wei corrected Maori Terumoto's statement that the Ming Dynasty had only completed the land survey in the hinterland.

This is the emperor and the prime minister's characterization of the land survey. The new land survey policy was not completely successful and the struggle continued.

"So the Mori family agrees to the land survey?" Oda Nobunaga asked solemnly. After he proposed the land survey law, Mori Terumoto never expressed any clear opposition.

"The Ming Dynasty has not yet completed the land survey and has not returned the land." Maori Terumoto shook his head and said, "Oda Nobunaga, your idea is good, but you want to do things too much, and your ambition is too strong. Do you really think that you, Oda Nobunaga, can make Japan prosperous? Not to mention one person, even if there are ten or eight people, it is impossible."

"The Ming Dynasty can survey the land, but Japan cannot."

Oda Nobunaga's face flushed, and he said sternly: "Why not! If the Ming Dynasty can do it, why can't we?"

Maori Terumoto was silent for a long time before he spoke: "Let me ask you, regarding the land survey law, what standard do you use to determine fertile land, medium-sized land, and poor land? How many fields are there in one cho?"

The land unit of Japan is the machi, but the exact size of a machi has always been an approximate number. Some are 3600 steps (60 steps x 60 steps), some are 3000 steps, and some are 1200 steps. The reason why they are different is related to the different taxes collected by the daimyo.

Make the town smaller and collect taxes based on the town. It may not seem like much in name, but it is actually a heavy tax that sucks the blood out of the people.

"The Ming Dynasty has ready-made standards! Although the hydrology and geography are slightly different, the land is classified based on output. The Ming Dynasty has been doing this for more than two hundred years, so why can't we do it?" Oda Nobunaga said immediately.

"Okay, we'll copy the Ming Dynasty's. Then where do the surveying tools come from? The Ming Dynasty has the measuring cart invented by Cheng Dawei and improved by the Royal Academy of Gewu. The Ming Dynasty court made hundreds of thousands of measuring carts and sent them to various places. We can't make them." Mori Terumoto did not refute Oda Nobunaga, but agreed, and then raised his own doubts.

To oppose a person's political views, you need to first agree with him, praise him highly, and then throw him to death.

Xu Wei glanced at Mao Li Terumoto. This man was particularly interested in the Ming Dynasty and knew a lot about the measuring chariot and the Royal Academy of Sciences.

In fact, Mori Terumoto just liked to read the "Gewu News" of the Royal Academy of Gewu. He was fascinated by the technological progress of the Ming Dynasty, but he did not have enough craftsmen to promote technological progress, so he could only envy others.

"Of course we can buy it from Ming Dynasty. We can't make it ourselves, but Ming Dynasty can. So we can buy it." Oda Nobunaga frowned. He suddenly realized what Mori Terumoto was talking about.

"Okay, let's not talk about whether the Ming Dynasty is willing to teach or sell. Let's just talk about one thing." Maori Terumoto looked at Oda Nobunaga and asked, "Who will do it? The question of who will do it needs to be broken down. You are in Kyoto, and first of all, there must be someone to supervise this matter. Who will supervise it?"

Shinichi Kanda, who advocated making his own notes, is now drinking tea in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. The standards are from the Ming Dynasty, the tools are from the Ming Dynasty, why should the Ming Dynasty teach you? Why should it sell to you? If the land inspection is really completed, who will own these land registers?
"Ishida Mitsunari is interested in taking charge of this matter." Oda Nobunaga answered Mori Terumoto's inquiry. He had already found the person to supervise the matter. Ishida Mitsunari was a very smart and capable person. According to the standards of the Ming Dynasty, he was an honest official.

"Ishida Mitsunari is Hashiba Hideyoshi's man, not yours. I hope you can understand what I am saying. Japan is not the Ming Dynasty." Mori Terumoto raised his eyebrows and immediately retorted.

What he meant was that the Ming Dynasty was a county-based empire, while Japan was a feudal empire. These were two completely different political structures. They both seemed to be feudal, but they were completely different in nature.

"This..." Oda Nobunaga was a little speechless. Of course, he understood what Mori Terumoto meant.

The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal. This is the fundamental reason why "the lower ranks rebelling against the upper ranks" is so common in Japan.

"Okay, let's not talk about who Ishida Mitsunari belongs to for now. This is a tricky issue. Let's assume that all of Oda Nobunaga's men are united. Although we all know that's impossible, we still have a more important problem to solve." Maori Terumoto continued, "The Ming Dynasty's Qingzhang was done by officials at all levels of government offices throughout the Ming Dynasty."

"Do you have so many clerks to send to various places? These clerks must at least be educated, know mathematics, and be able to calculate accounts clearly. The fields are not neat and tidy. In addition, these clerks have to make decisions, decide on land deeds, decide on ownership, and adjudicate cases. You have so many capable clerks, I surrender now without hesitation. Even if you kill me, I will praise you for your wisdom."

"Do you have it? Do we have it in Japan?"

Do you really think that Zhang Juzheng could have just patted his thigh and said he would do it, and then he would have done it?
Don’t always think that because the Ming Dynasty did it, I can do it too. If everything in the world were that simple, there wouldn’t be only one Celestial Empire in the world.

"The Ming Dynasty has it." Oda Nobunaga said quite honestly. From the day he first conceived of the system, he had already set his sights on the Ming Dynasty. He wanted to implement the land inspection law, and since he couldn't do it himself, he would ask the Nagasaki Governor's Office to do it.

"You rely on the Ming Dynasty for everything. If you want to rely on it, will the Ming Dynasty be willing to help you?!" Mori Terumoto stood up suddenly, flicked his sleeves and said with a sneer.

Why don't you, Oda Nobunaga, the Shogun of the Azuchi Shogunate, go to the capital to reunite with Ashikaga Yoshiaki! After all, they are all Shoguns.

"Even if you really invite the heavenly soldiers and generals from the Ming Dynasty, can you protect them? Those daimyos are holding knives in their hands! I can promise you that I will cooperate with your land inspection law, and I can even provide protection for the officials from the Ming Dynasty, but what about others?" Mori Terumoto slammed the table with both hands and asked loudly.

"So, you are just trying to realize your own ambitions, and you haven't even thought about how to achieve it!"

"You are the Elder Jinchi in Journey to the West. You don't want to become a Buddha at all. You just want to wear the brocade cassock. The announcement is just an announcement. Ambitions? It's just ambition."

After Maori Terumoto finished speaking, he sat down. He finished his words. He agreed with the Land Inspection Law, but was not optimistic about its success. He would not undermine it and would even support its implementation, but he believed that the Land Inspection Law would ultimately be nothing more than a piece of paper.

In the eyes of Mori Terumoto, Oda Nobunaga was only doing it for his own fame.

Monks emphasize that one’s worldly ties have been severed and one’s golden sea has dried up, but for Elder Jin Chi, if he does not wear the brocade robes, how will sentient beings know that one’s worldly ties have been severed and one’s golden sea has dried up.

Oda Nobunaga was silent for a long time before he said, "You are good at talking, but if you have the ability, you can beat me, humph."

Mori Terumoto was severely choked. Oda Nobunaga's domestic affairs might not be very good. Many of his policies were implemented on a whim. Sometimes they seemed to be incoherent and ended up not being accomplished. But he was really good at fighting, and no one denied that.

"What's the use of fighting?" Mao Li Terumoto said stubbornly without any further rebuttal.

"The Ming Dynasty will not provide too much help. We can help you improve the system and sell you measuring carts. As for more, it's better not to be too greedy." Xu Wei made his statement.

Improving the system can be taught, and the Ming Dynasty will not care whether those who learn it or not. Measuring vehicles can also be sold, but Japan will have to work hard on everything else on its own.

Japan is not a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. Even if it is a vassal state, the Ming Dynasty has no obligation to help them complete the land survey.

"Do this in some areas, such as Iwami Silver Mine, Ikuno Silver Mine, Sado Gold Mine, etc., to fully guarantee the local food supply and prevent the people from revolting and interfering with silver mining." Xu Wei gave his own opinion. For the Japanese, silver mining is also an extremely important matter.

Without silver, it would be impossible to obtain various goods from the Ming Dynasty.

It was not that the Ming Dynasty was unwilling to help with the comprehensive inspection of Japan, but that it was unable to do so. Let alone coming to a place like Japan, even to Suiyuan, where the Ming Emperor offered some generous conditions, few scholars were willing to go.

In the eyes of scholars, those barbarians in those poor and barbaric places where no one lives are not even human beings, and they would never be willing to work in these places.

Therefore, the final consensus reached in this negotiation is to conduct land inspections in some special areas. Before the inspections are completed, food supply must be ensured to prevent the occurrence of uprisings by the people that led to the suspension of silver mines.

"Now let's talk about the issue of compensation." Xu Wei began the second topic of the negotiations, which was some compensation that Japan should pay to the Ming Dynasty.

Because Mori Terumoto was caught red-handed by the Ming Dynasty for plotting to steal water and fertilizer from the Ming Dynasty, he was promised compensation, and Oda Nobunaga had to pay 15 million silver in military expenses, 3 million silver in the first year, and then an extension of 40 years.

The 4-year annual interest rate of % invented by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was like cutting flesh with a blunt knife, hollowing out all of Japan's assets bit by bit.

Portugal also had a so-called low-interest extension of 30 years, but the Ming Dynasty did not exploit Portugal by all means and even shared some of the benefits.

To deal with a country that has completed the construction of a dynasty, this method must be used, and all its flesh and blood must be drained away bit by bit before it can be completely destroyed. This is a long process. Japan is an island country with a population of 8 million and a natural barrier of the ocean. To completely destroy it, all means must be used at all costs.

Mori Terumoto did not have enough silver to compensate the Ming Dynasty, and neither did Oda Nobunaga.

Mori Terumoto, Oda Nobunaga and their men did not have enough silver to pay compensation, and the Ming Dynasty was well aware of this. The total amount of silver that Japan could mine in a year was no more than 500 million silver (about 200 tons). These million silver were not all controlled by Mori Terumoto and Oda Nobunaga, and they also had to distribute them to their subordinates. How much silver could they use to compensate the Ming Dynasty while maintaining their own survival?

Instead of paying silver as compensation, other things could be paid as compensation, such as castrated Japanese slaves, prostitutes, sulfur, fish oil, etc., which were all goods needed by the Ming Dynasty. "Can we borrow some treasure notes?" Oda Nobunaga proposed a solution, which was to borrow treasure notes from the Nagasaki Governor's Office, and then use the treasure notes to extort money from the lower classes to complete the compensation to the Ming Dynasty.

"You can borrow the treasure notes, but you have to pay it back in silver." Xu Wei mercifully did not charge any interest. He was kind-hearted and did not add any interest on top of the face value of the treasure notes.

If you borrow one string of Baochao, you only need to pay back one ounce of silver. You can get as much Baochao as you want.

"This is the only way." Mori Terumoto thought for a moment and finally agreed. This was the only way he could do. If he didn't try every means to extort the three million taels of silver, or goods of equivalent value, the Nagasaki Governor's Office would stand on the side of Oda Nobunaga from the perspective of strength.

Semi-colonial and semi-feudal is the cruelest system, because the feudal lords no longer need the support of their own people to survive, but only need to look at the faces of outsiders. This is its cruelty. In order to survive, anyone below themselves can be the object of exploitation. There is no need to distribute interests and unite. Retainers, samurai, foot soldiers, and common people can all be exploited.

The kind-hearted Nagasaki Governor's Office never issued treasure notes indiscriminately. It issued notes based on the amount of silver flowing into the Ming Dynasty each year, with a fluctuation of less than 3%. In terms of face value, most of them were small denominations of less than wen, rather than large bills. This kind behavior was for the purpose of sustainable fishing and obtaining a steady stream of silver from Japan, which objectively promoted the development of Japan's commerce.

Even for the Baochao used to compensate for loans, the total amount was still kept within the floating range to prevent the Baochao from depreciating too quickly.

"Can the Japanese treasure notes be exchanged for the Ming Dynasty's overseas treasure notes? Even newly issued treasure notes?" Oda Nobunaga asked about another possibility. The reason why he considered the isolation order was actually out of helplessness and he was forced to isolate the country.

The Ming Dynasty built high walls, physically against Tsushima Island, Jeju Island, Nagasaki Governor-General's Office, and Ryukyu Governor-General's Office, and economically against the treasure banknotes. These two reins were tied around Japan's neck and could suffocate it at any time.

The Japanese banknotes are special. They are not made of abaca and are just a pile of waste paper. They cannot be directly traded for goods in the overseas market. Oda Nobunaga hopes to be allowed to use the Ming Dynasty's overseas banknotes. In this way, the impact of the military blockade on the economy will be very small.

In addition to military and economic blockades, the Ming Dynasty also essentially completed a diplomatic blockade of Japan.

The red-haired foreigners established a diocese in Nagasaki, and even the daimyo of Kyushu Island wanted to send envoys to the West. In addition, Oda Nobunaga also kept missionaries, and he even had a Western-style king's cloak. However, the Nagasaki diocese was conquered by Xu Wei and Li Chengli, and merchant ships from the West had not arrived for several years. At most, they arrived in Nagasaki, and the missionaries also left one after another.

It would have been fine if Japan's politics, military, diplomacy, and culture were all controlled by the Ming Dynasty, but the treasure banknotes also turned Japan into an isolated island in the world, leaving Oda Nobunaga helpless.

"This is an extra generous treatment. They all use those common banknotes, but Japan's is very special. Scarcity makes things valuable. Japan's banknotes are more stable and are not affected by the Ming Dynasty's decrees." Xu Wei's ability to lie with his eyes open is at the same level as the Ming Emperor, both are at the level of scholars.

The Nagasaki negotiations lasted a total of three days, and eventually consensus was reached on a number of specific issues, and a peace treaty with a total of twelve articles was signed.

At the Nagasaki negotiations, the Mori family and the Azuchi shogunate reached a peace agreement.

The simplest way to solve Japan's food crisis is to stop the war. As long as the war stops, someone will cultivate the land. War and chaos are the most serious damage to land production, and the prosperity of commerce comes second.

Therefore, the main content of the Treaty of Nagasaki is about war.

Both sides agreed to maintain the basic status quo of the battle line, stop the war, set a truce period of three years, and resume production; both sides called on all daimyo to stop attacking each other and rest and recuperate; both sides sent messengers to communicate what they had and what they had not, to prevent misunderstandings and misjudgments from causing a larger scale of war; jointly wiped out pirates and pirates, ensured the smooth passage of sea routes and merchant ships; both sides agreed to restrict their samurai from entering towns and not going to the countryside at will;
These five points are about the military aspect. A ceasefire does not mean that small-scale conflicts will not continue. It is important to maintain necessary communication channels and prevent strategic misjudgments. Clearing out pirates and restraining samurai are also aimed at alleviating the food crisis.

As for the economy:
The Mori clan piloted the land survey law at the Iwami Silver Mine, while Oda Nobunaga piloted it at the Ikuno Silver Mine.

Both sides will strive to ensure that silver mining is carried out in an orderly manner, while at the same time imposing stricter restrictions on entry and exit from the mines;

Allocate a portion of the emergency food and fodder to supply mining;
The Ming Dynasty provided a loan of up to 2 million guan of treasure notes, interest-free, to provide part of the funds for the An Ding mine.

The Mori clan opened Hiroshima Castle (Carp Castle), and the Oda clan opened Osaka Port and Yokohama Port to merchant ships.
Provide necessary food, water and firewood to passing ships in open ports.

There are twelve points in total, and the last one is the most interesting, which is the negotiation decision: to fully implement the ban on religion, completely expel missionaries from the West who come to Japan, and prohibit the spread of Western churches in Japan.

This was not in the plan and was an unexpected decision.

When Oda Nobunaga and Mori Terumoto met, they checked the accounts and found that many things were not done by themselves, but in the end all the blame was put on themselves, thinking that someone was causing trouble. After a careful investigation, they found that it was the missionaries from the West who were behind it!
Among them, those people, led by the missionary Alkazowa, have done many bad things and even secretly instigated the people to revolt. The conflict has not yet escalated to the point of revolt, but once these missionaries instigate, people's hearts will be disturbed and panic.

Those who do bad things first exclude the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has its own high moral disadvantages. The Ming Dynasty's malice towards Japan is all open, the means are swift and resolute, and retaliation is also done openly. It simply disdains to play these devilish tricks. These missionaries, on the other hand, use the characteristic of religion to unite people's hearts to carry out their activities.

Under such circumstances, Oda Nobunaga and Mori Terumoto decided to ban religion, expel missionaries, and not allow any missionaries to preach.

"I have to say that the Ming Dynasty was really far-sighted. Since the first year of the Wanli reign, all forms of missionary work have been banned. Any missionaries arriving in the Ming Dynasty will be strictly controlled to prevent disasters." Oda Nobunaga stood on the dock and said sincerely to Xu Wei.

Many of the decisions made by the Ming Dynasty seem extremely conservative, but they will definitely stand the test of time.

"Your Majesty is naturally wise. Before the ministers realized the danger, Your Majesty had already asked Luo Gongchen, the co-governor of coastal defense, to ban missionaries from preaching."

"You two have signed your names on the peace treaty and used your seals. If you start fighting on the sea of ​​Nagasaki as soon as you leave the door, it won't be a matter of breaking the agreement on either side, but a matter of not giving face to the Ming Dynasty. You must pay attention to the implementation of the peace treaty." Xu Wei once again reminded these Japanese people who like to go back on their words that if they start fighting on the sea of ​​Nagasaki as soon as they leave the door, it won't be a matter of breaking the agreement on both sides.

Behind closed doors, Ming Dynasty will not control how you break your promises and go back on your words. But since the Treaty of Nagasaki was signed with Ming Dynasty as the intermediary, guarantor and witness, Ming Dynasty will supervise and monitor the implementation of the treaty.

I don't know how Chen Sheng believed Mao Li's promise, three million silver? If Chen Sheng really brought the technology of water fertilizer to Japan, Mao Li would kill all the people who knew about it and leave no future trouble.

It is better to believe that a sow can climb a tree than to believe that the Japanese will keep their promise. The barbarians who fear power but not morality have no idea what a promise is.

Kamiya Hisashige discovered the Iwami Silver Mine, and Sotan and Keishu obtained the soot blowing method to smelt silver from Fujian, Ming Dynasty. However, in the end, the Iwami Silver Mine did not belong to Kamiya Hisashige but to the daimyo.

These Japanese bugs were really too much. Even Xu Wei, Sun Keyi, Li Chengli and Luo Yinghe, who had gone to Japan to destroy it, couldn't stand it anymore.

The Ming Emperor stayed in Mizhou for about three days and then started to head south again. Without the imperial road, there was only the official road. The road became bumpy and even the speed of travel slowed down a lot, from seventy or eighty miles a day to less than fifty miles a day.

After much trouble, it was not until the end of February that Zhu Yijun finally reached Yizhou City (now Linyi) at the foot of the Yimeng Mountains. He took this route because he was going to Xuzhou.

Yizhou belonged to Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province, and Yizhou had two counties under its jurisdiction: Tancheng and Feixian.

"I heard that there's been some trouble with the old Mao-hounds in Yizhou recently?" Zhu Yijun stayed at the temporary palace in Yizhou, Yancheng Tower which belonged to the imperial manor.

During the nearly one month of his southern tour, the Ming Emperor did not encounter a single fire.

Laomaohuzi is a Shandong dialect. It does not refer to a monster with green face and fangs that likes to carry away crying children. Instead, it refers to a wild wolf. It is particularly creepy because of its messy hair and its eyes that glow yellow-green at night. Therefore, when local people try to coax children to sleep, they always wake them up and let the laomaohuzi carry away the crying children.

There was a wolf plague at the foot of Yimeng Mountain.

Wang Yi'e quickly bowed his head and said, "I am guilty."

"No need for formalities. If this happens, we can set up an inspection office in Taierzhuang on the canal. We already have a need for this, and it's just the right solution to the wolf problem." Zhu Yijun talked about his own approach.

Taierzhuang is one of the two most important docks on the Shandong section of the canal, the other one being Linqing.

Taierzhuang itself is a place of strategic importance. If Xuzhou is the gateway to the Southern Court, then Taierzhuang is the gateway to Xuzhou. It is very prosperous here, and it is necessary to set up a patrol inspection office. In addition to arresting thieves, the archers of the patrol inspection office also have to hunt wild animals and stabilize the place.

Zhu Yijun had already received the memorial sent by the Nagasaki Governor's Office through the coastal defense inspector. After a brief reading, he could only shake his head. Xu Wei was not a good fighter, but only good at resolving conflicts. The situation in Japan reached a state of balance because of Nagasaki's intervention.

This seems to be a good thing for Japan, but it is more of a bad thing. Oda Nobunaga is still there, and the Mori family is still there. This is the biggest bad thing for the Japanese.

When Pang Xian was treating He Liu, he said to the emperor: "The quack doctor is harmful to people. The medicine he prescribed is fine, but if the rotten flesh is not removed and new flesh is not grown, how can he recover? That's why he has been delayed for so long and has not been able to recover."

The principles of curing illness are sometimes also applicable to governing a country.

Japan needs a major overhaul before it can find a solution acceptable to everyone in the fierce conflicts, achieve peace and maintain long-term stability. Now, under the strong intervention of the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office, the two sides have reached a settlement and seemingly ushered in a brief peace, but after the food crisis, a more brutal war will surely break out.

The same was true in history. Toyotomi Hideyoshi attacked Korea twice, but was beaten back by the Ming Dynasty each time. He paid a huge price for the war but did not gain any benefits. Eventually, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's shogunate fell and was replaced by Tokugawa Ieyasu, which marked the end of the Warring States Period and brought stability.

Two ferocious jackals were fighting, and after a short rest when they were tired and regained their strength, they would only bite even more fiercely.

"Feng Daban, what has Liu'er been busy with recently?" Zhu Yijun was a little confused. He had not heard any news about Zhu Yiliu's mischief.

If a child is quiet, he must be up to something.

(End of this chapter)