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Chapter 1042 Planning Asia
With the end of the two battles at the Cape of Good Hope and the expedition to Mobei, peace returned to Asia. The Japanese archipelago lived its own life behind closed doors. The shogunate banned all overseas trade in name, but in reality it never stopped due to internal demand and external pressure.

The only difference was that the target was changed from European merchants to Ming merchants. White sugar, sugarcane wine, medicine, cotton cloth, ironware, glassware, farm tools, clocks, fertilizers, and timber produced in the Ming Empire were shipped over in shiploads. Raw silk, sulfur, silver, and gold produced in Japan were then returned.

Judging from the types and quantities alone, Japan has become a country with a trade deficit. The number of imported goods is far greater than its exports, and the domestic production of precious metals is not that large. It will not be long before it will be unable to come up with the money and corresponding goods to purchase goods from the Ming Empire.

The shogunate did not turn a blind eye to this situation. At the beginning, it secretly sent people disguised as pirates to rob merchant ships from the Ming Dynasty. On the one hand, it could gain money without any effort, and on the other hand, it could curb the trade deficit.

But the turmoil died down within less than a year. The navy of the Ming Empire was too powerful and too unreasonable. When they heard that pirates were robbing Ming merchant ships, they rushed over with more than ten warships without saying a word. They cruised near the shipping routes and checked the passing ships. If they did not obey, they would kill them immediately.

The shogunate wanted to send people to the Ming capital to protest to the emperor, but the envoys were captured by the Ming navy and sent back intact.

By the way, I'll tell the shogun that they don't need to bother, the navy was sent by the emperor of the Ming Empire. But don't be afraid, it has nothing to do with Japan, the navy only operates in pirate waters, and will withdraw when all the pirates are wiped out. And the shogun doesn't have to pay a penny, everything from food and drink to ammunition is provided by themselves.

It is hard to find such a righteous neighbor, who is willing to sweep the snow in front of the neighbor's house, and you can't stop him. He doesn't ask for payment, brings his own tools, doesn't drink water or smoke, and leaves after sweeping.

You don't allow me to sweep the road? That's too hurtful. The road in front of your house is not yours. It's not right to not sweep the snow and make passers-by slip. If you insist on stopping me from going out, come and try if you have the ability. Why is it so difficult to do good things?

The shogunate was troubled by the fact that they were not good at either civil or military affairs. What was even more difficult was that the Tsushima, Hizen, Satsuma, Okuma, Tosa and other domains were secretly flirting with the Ming Empire Navy and pretending to obey the shogunate's orders.

More than half of the goods from the Ming Empire were spread from these daimyo territories to the Kansai and Kanto regions by land. When the shogunate's policies were relaxed, they would openly engage in maritime trade, and when the policies were tightened, they would switch to smuggling secretly. Anyway, a shipload of goods was not lost, and a tael of silver was not lost.

If you want to fight against foreign enemies, you must first stabilize the country. Times have changed and strength does not allow it. Without paying attention, the daimyo on Kyushu Island quickly became rich by sea trade. In addition to the obvious increase in population, the military strength has also increased accordingly.

Each family could gather a thousand elite troops, using muskets and cannons made in the Ming Dynasty. If a fight really broke out, the shogunate army might have to pay a huge price, assuming that the Ming Empire did not intervene, otherwise the outcome would be unpredictable.

At this time, So Yoshinari, the lord of Tsushima Domain, who came to the sankin-kotsu, gave Tokugawa Iemitsu an idea: it is better to open up than to block. Instead of risking a war with the Ming Empire, which was at its peak, it would be better to change the idea and ride on the Ming Empire's coattails and develop together.

Specifically, it was to exchange markets for technology, introduce investment from the Ming Empire to build factories in Japan, and produce some products locally. In this way, not only would Japanese citizens have job opportunities and the shogunate would have more tax items, but the products could also be sold back to the Ming Empire in the end, offsetting some of the trade deficit and perhaps even making a profit.

In addition, as long as the production technology of the Ming Empire is mastered, with the hard-working spirit of the Japanese, it will definitely surpass the master in a few years and become bigger and stronger! Such a good idea that can make a lot of money, Tokugawa Iemitsu felt very comfortable. As a ruler, whether there is a trade deficit or not is actually not important, how to maintain the ruling position is the top priority.

Why was the maritime ban imposed? In the final analysis, it was because they were afraid that the daimyo on Kyushu Island would become richer, have a larger population, and have more advanced weapons, and eventually stop listening to them. Now, we have built factories in the Kanto region, and there are good ports here. If one side gains, the other side loses, then there will be a balance.

Just do it... No, wait a minute, all the talk is in vain if there is one problem that is not solved. Is the Ming Empire willing to build factories in Japan, and does it agree to pass on the technology?

At this time, So Yoshishinari said that he knew two Ming Dynasty merchants in Tsushima Domain, both of whom were very powerful and courageous. They would definitely not be allowed to openly ask the Ming Empire for permission, but smuggling had never stopped. As long as the profit was high enough, Ming Dynasty merchants dared to tear down the walls of the imperial palace and sell the bricks.

Therefore, this matter could not be done openly, but secretly. He negotiated with the Ming Dynasty merchants to let them smuggle machinery and equipment from the Ming Empire to Tsushima Domain, and then transported them to Kanto to build factories.

As for the technology... they stole it. They hired skilled craftsmen from the Ming Empire at a high price to teach their apprentices while operating the equipment. The Japanese were not stupid and could learn it quickly.

This touched the heart of Tokugawa Iemitsu. He would have been very unsure if he had openly discussed investment with the Ming Empire. But when he heard about stealing, he felt relieved and immediately assigned So Yoshishinari a secret mission to take full charge of the factory introduction.

A list was drawn up, with spinning mills and silk reeling mills at the top. In recent years, a large number of Japanese family workshops have closed down. There is no other way. The raw silk produced by the Ming Empire is of high quality and low price, which crushes Japanese raw silk in all aspects.

The root cause was not that the Japanese were bad at raising silkworms or their silk reeling skills were poor, but that the Ming Empire used animal-powered and water-powered silk reeling machines, as well as special powder for cooking silk cocoons. If they could learn this equipment and technology, Japanese silk farmers would be able to keep their jobs.

The same is true for cotton cloth. Machine-spun cotton cloth and linen cloth are fast, good and cheap, but no one wants hand-spun ones. A large number of Japanese housewives are unemployed again, and they have to import a large amount of cotton cloth every year. They lose money both internally and externally.

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The final result made the entire shogunate very happy. The Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants were indeed very powerful and bold. They paid ten times the price and not only brought the machinery and equipment, but also the matching technical craftsmen.

With the successful production of the first silk reeling factory in the Kanto region, Japan began to introduce foreign capital and develop the country through industry. Between 1628 and 1635, more than factories were established in the Kanto and Kinki regions.

(End of this chapter)