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Chapter 637: Cultivating Internal Strength
Hong Tao neither paid attention nor bothered to inquire about the attitude of the people towards the imperial court's clean-up and rectification of temples. How to do it and to what extent it should be done have been explained clearly to the staff officers in the General Staff Headquarters. They will meticulously urge Jinyiwei and Dongchang to implement it, and then strictly monitor it.

Now Hong Tao has withdrawn his attention from the country and the Luzon Special Administrative Region, and began to look at the peninsula and islands to the east. Driving away the Spaniards and occupying Luzon Island will not directly promote the export volume of Ming Dynasty goods, and will decline in a short period of time.

This is also the key reason why expulsion by force was not the first option but to cooperate with the Spanish government. When the plan went wrong and the Spaniards were unable to become the European spokesperson for Ming products, and the Portuguese were powerless, it was the emperor's best job to find a way out for Ming products.

The Dutch are an option, but you cannot put all your eggs in one basket. You must plan ahead and further enrich export channels. So Hong Tao once again set his sights on the eastern islands, and at the same time summoned Otani Mitsuichi and Hatano Shinji, who had enjoyed three years of happiness in Seikan, into the palace to start a new layout.

"He Donghai, are you two willing to return to Japan?" In order to avoid being recognized, Otani Mitsuru and Hatano Shinji changed their Chinese names when entering the Seikan. One was named He Donghai and the other was named He Dong. He came and lied that he was an uncle and nephew from Tsushima Domain.

"...Your Majesty the Emperor, I no longer have a place in Japan." Otani Mitsuichi and Hatano Shinji secretly glanced at each other before answering in a low voice.

If he had to tell the truth, Otani Mitsuru would definitely say no. He has been very comfortable staying in the Seiyi Pavilion for the past three years. He has read endless books and met endless interpreters from various countries. He would like to live like this for the rest of his life.

"I say yes. Not only do you have it, but I also want you to inherit the family title. But it's not easy to do it, and it takes time. I can't make the decision for you, and I want to hear your opinion."

It is absolutely not allowed to eat and wait for death under one's own nose. Hong Tao's greatest happiness is to see others busier, more tired, and more unlucky than himself. He really can't bear to feel more comfortable than himself.

"...It's all up to Your Majesty!" Otani Mitsuru and Hatano Shinji looked at each other again. After receiving the affirmative look, even if they were very reluctant in their hearts, they had to nod in agreement.

"Well, that's good. You go back and pack up. When you are ready, someone will come to contact you with my decree. The first step is to go to Tsushima. How to operate specifically, just listen to the arrangements."

Do you really want to help Otani Mitsuchi regain his identity and become the abbot of Honganji Temple? You can’t say there isn’t, and you can’t say there is. Hong Tao still doesn't expect to rely on these two people to stir up trouble in Japan. They are not that capable, and the shogunate is not that fragile.

But everything has a beginning. With Otani Mitsudao's identity, Bao Buqi will be able to play a role soon. But right now, the two of them have only one use: to serve as brokers for the Ming Dynasty maritime merchants in Tsushima, and to cooperate with the general staff to establish local trading houses and conduct commercial penetration.

Japan was the second dumping ground Hong Tao found for Ming products. The maritime ban policy implemented by the Tokugawa shogunate mainly targeted Spanish and Portuguese missionaries and did not prohibit Ming merchant ships. Dutch merchant ships can also dock at Hirado Port for trade as long as they obtain a charter.

There is a saying in China that states that if there are policies from above, there will be countermeasures from below. The Tokugawa shogunate did not have the ruling power of the Ming Dynasty at this time, and several daimyo on the west side were unwilling to give up the sea trade with objective income, and continued to lobby the shogunate, so a compromise was found.

In the ports of Nagasaki and Hirado, Ming and Dutch merchants were allowed to live ashore, but they were not allowed to run around and were restricted to a small limited area. Except for prostitutes and monks, they were not allowed to come or go at will. But there is one exception, and that is Tsushima, also known as Tsushima Island. This island is located between Kyushu and the Tsushima Strait at the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. It has always been a transit point for maritime trade between Korea and Japan. It also received many smuggling ships from the Ming Dynasty.

Most of Tsushima's daimyo's income comes from maritime trade. If the Tokugawa shogunate's maritime ban policy is implemented, his territory will all starve to death.

In this case, there was no such thing as a maritime ban in Tsushima, and the Tokugawa shogunate pretended not to see it. Anyway, Japan has a huge demand for raw silk and tea from the Ming Dynasty. Without Tsuima Fan, other ports would have to be used instead.

Hong Tao planned to use this hole as a crack in the eggshell, break through the Tokugawa shogunate's maritime ban policy and lay some eggs in Japan. When the time is right, they will immediately hatch into maggots and desperately absorb nutrients. By the way, he will also establish a set of intelligence collection system targeting Japan in case of emergency.

With Japan and North Korea in the east, Gubeikou, Panjiakou, and Jinzhou in the north, plus the Port of Manila in the south, there will be trade imports and exports from the northeast to the south, which should be enough for domestic factories to digest within a few years.

What to do next? It's easy to handle. We have a navy at sea and an army on land. As far as they can go, the trade routes will extend. After winning the war, everyone in the country, from the army to the court to merchants and farmers, made money together. If you lose the fight... let's take a shower and sleep together.

But this development method requires not only strong force value, but also a strong body, that is, hematopoietic function. No matter how big your fists are or how thick your arms are, you will not be able to fight with high intensity without the strong support of your internal organs.

So after all is said and done, you still need to be strong in order to strike iron. Without improving domestic agriculture, industry, and economy, everything will be empty talk.

Now the industrial system is gradually taking shape with the rollout of the New Deal, and the future is bright. However, agriculture has not made much progress. This does not mean that growing cash crops is not effective, but that there has been no qualitative improvement in food production.

In ancient times, food was stronger than gold. If there was no gold, it could be replaced by precious metals such as copper and silver. However, insufficient food could not be substituted, which would seriously hinder population growth and result in a lack of labor.

How to do it? Hong Tao almost dug out the data of several major grain-producing areas in the country, but he couldn't find an immediate solution. To sum up, it seems that apart from open source, there is only one way to increase unit output.

Kaiyuan is currently doing something like encouraging farmers to open up wasteland to grow corn, sweet potatoes and potatoes. However, it took several years for a piece of land to become mature land, and the yield and taste of corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes at this time were not as good as those of later generations.

In a short period of time, apart from being used as feed for livestock, it can only have the effect of improved breeding, but it cannot fundamentally solve the food problem. Increasing unit output is easy to talk about but difficult to implement.

(End of this chapter)