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Chapter 402 Don’t talk about feelings between countries

A large number of foreign daimyo supported the maritime ban, and a large number of clan daimyo and pro-vassal daimyo opposed the maritime ban. This made Tokugawa Ieyasu a bit difficult to handle. No matter how recklessly the sea ban is implemented, it will definitely disappoint many close friends, and the gain will not be worth the loss.

In the end, he, the plagiarist, turned his attention to Daming to see if he could find a solution that had the best of both worlds. This sight really triggered inspiration, such as the Portuguese living in Hao Jing O.

As a predecessor of isolation, Ming Dynasty dealt with maritime trade issues more skillfully. There was no one-size-fits-all approach, nor was it a comprehensive liberalization, but a compromise was made by setting up a small island for the Portuguese to live in, and only allowing goods to enter and exit the Guangzhou Port.

In Tokugawa Ieyasu's opinion, this method was not a peaceful solution, but a perfect solution to internal disputes. Not only did he take care of the interests and face of his trusted daimyo, but he also mostly realized his intentions.

So he followed suit and planned to set up a foreign trade port in Nagasaki Port in Kyushu, allowing foreign businessmen to live together, and strictly control their contact with the Japanese people, so they could basically rest assured.

When Otani Mitsuichi and Hatano Shinji left the Xiyuan campus, the winter sun had already revealed most of their faces from the horizon. They were temporarily placed in the Siyi Pavilion and enjoyed the salary issued by the emperor, but they were not counted as court officials.

When will the Navy send people back from Hirado to inquire about the information, and when it will correspond to the scene they described, when will it be decided what position they should be placed in.

"Remember to remind me tomorrow to ask the Ministry of Rites to send someone to Edo to meet Tokugawa Ieyasu to talk about the trade between the Ming Dynasty and Japan." But after this long conversation all night long, Hong Tao gained a lot. Not only did he understand that Japan current situation and policy orientation, and plans for the next step.

"Long live my Lord, the year before last you said that Ming Dynasty maritime merchants were not allowed to interact with the Japanese?" Wang Chengen did not immediately implement this order, but asked one more question.

The emperor repeatedly emphasized to the Cuju team members that any unclear or questionable orders received must be confirmed before they can be executed. They should not just cater to the other party because of their high status, including the emperor himself.

This is not to deliberately show that everyone is equal, but to avoid making mistakes due to negligence and forgetfulness. The emperor is a human being, and so are the time-travelers. Hong Tao believes that he cannot memorize every detail of everything, and can only rely on the strength of the group to minimize mistakes.

Majesty and face have never been valued by him, and he does not consider these things to be effective means of ruling others. He only believes in one thing, profit. If you can bring benefits to everyone, no one will betray you even if you are your grandson every day; if you cannot bring benefits, if you sit on the lotus throne all the time, you will still be overthrown.

"This is the same as the other. When they sent ninjas to assassinate me, they naturally had to be punished. Now they want to isolate themselves. They have unintentionally done me a big favor, so they should be rewarded."

Hong Tao gave a reasonable explanation for the order just issued, but it was all lies. But this is a white lie. It is not a deliberate concealment of true thoughts, but Wang Chengen does not need to know.

Regarding the various forces surrounding the Ming Dynasty, Hong Tao gave different threat levels according to his own understanding and actual situation, and divided them into five levels.

Jurchen and Mongolia are considered the most dangerous A-levels, and they belong to the category that urgently needs to be completely solved. Always be prepared to use war as the only solution, without any illusions of peaceful coexistence. European colonists such as Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands are in Class B. If there is a way to coexist, they can remain peaceful for the time being, but they cannot tolerate too much, and they should always be prepared to completely fall out and fight.

Annam, Siam, Laos and Burma, as well as the various ministries in the Western Regions, are classified as C-level. These areas not only have the resources and population that Ming Dynasty needs, but they are also the future development direction and must be considered from a long-term perspective.

North Korea and Japan have been classified as D-level. They can be appeased if they can, and they can be given some benefits. It is best not to cause trouble. Although they are close, they are all in the east, which is not a strategic direction. It is more hoped to bring them into the scope of rule through peaceful means.

At present, North Korea has basically been temporarily settled. Since the iron smelting plant provided by the Ming Dynasty and sufficient weapons supply, the Li Dynasty has begun to focus on regaining the mountains and rivers to the north, fighting the Jurchens happily. In the short term, There is no time to think about anything else, and it is unlikely to fall out with Daming.

If Japan can be appeased at this time, Ming Dynasty will not have to worry about threats from the east and can save a lot of trouble. At present, Tokugawa Ieyasu wants to seclusion, which is in the interests of Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention the previous assassination attempt, even if the assassination was successful, as long as he was not dead, Hong Tao was still willing to send warmth at the critical moment to encourage the Tokugawa shogunate to make an early decision and quickly implement specific policies. Retreat one day earlier and get down to business one day earlier, so as to free up all your energy to deal with threats from the north and south.

Could it be said that the Tokugawa shogunate could not survive without the maritime trade from the Ming Dynasty, and could not close the country? If you have to say so, the possibility is indeed very high.

As an island country that is not rich in products, Japan cannot do without overseas trade. Many things must be obtained through trade from the Ming Dynasty and North Korea. If you can't get it directly, you have to think of various ways, such as buying second-hand goods from European merchants.

But don’t forget, Hong Tao is waiting for a reply from the King of Spain. If both parties can work together to control maritime trade rights in Southeast Asia, the Dutch will have to be kicked out, and the vacated shares will be divided between the Ming Dynasty and Spanish merchants.

In this way, the Tokugawa shogunate's wishful thinking would come to nothing. They originally planned to support Dutch merchants and drive away Portuguese and Spanish merchants. If Dutch businessmen can't come, then it's useless to close the country.

If they are pushed into a hurry, they will have to follow the old path of Japanese pirates wreaking havoc on the southeastern coast. No matter how powerful the navy is, it cannot stop a group of hungry smugglers and pirates. Moreover, the navy cannot allocate too much force to anti-smuggling.

If you want to ask why the Tokugawa shogunate supported the Dutch and expelled other European merchants, you have to look at what the Portuguese and Spanish maritime merchants have done over the years. In addition to buying and selling goods and acting as temporary pirates, they carried a strong religious overtone wherever they went, always wanting to spread the gospel of God to every corner of the world.

The Dutch merchants were much more pure. They were Protestants who only wanted to make money by buying and selling goods and had no intention of proselytizing. This was very much in line with the taste of the Tokugawa shogunate, so it naturally had to be strongly supported.

Therefore, Hong Tao had to take precautions and proactively communicate with the Tokugawa shogunate to strive to restore normal maritime trade between the two parties. In this way, regardless of whether there are Dutch people or not, it will not affect Japan's closed-door policy.

(End of this chapter)