Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 337 The Great Voyage ([-])

The Japanese have long coveted Sakhalin Island.

Don't say far, just say near.As early as the 12th year of Kanei (1635), the second-generation lord of the Matsumae Domain, Matsumae Kohiro, sent his retainer Murakami Sabezaemon to inspect Sakhalin Island. The main area of ​​his investigation was Odomari and its surrounding areas in the south.In the next few years, the Matsumae Domain also sent small-scale expeditions into the southern part of Sakhalin Island to draw maps and search for special products; Fishing grounds have been set up in Aniva Bay.In 1644, two years later, the Matsumae Domain included Sakhalin and Ezo for the first time in the national map drawn for the shogunate——"Masahogoku Mapping".

It can be seen from this that the Matsumae clan has always coveted the rich Sakhalin Island, and has a vigilant and repulsive attitude towards any powerful outsiders.However, these outsiders are coming here with huge, sturdy and well-armed ships, and it seems that they can provide sharp iron cannons, so it is not impossible to discuss some business matters with them.The feudal clan has mined some placer gold on the land of Ezo, plus some income from the Shandan trade in the Sakhalin Island area. The financial situation of the Matsumae clan is actually relatively ample, so it is only natural to buy some urgently needed war materials on the front line. I believe that Gong Guangdian will also readily agree to this matter.

"The conditions for the sale of this kind of iron cannon are very high." Kojiro said with a sloppy eye, "This requires the approval of our higher-ranking chiefs to be possible, and he will obviously consider various opinions before making a decision." Final decision. Now I can only say that there is a possibility, but that's all, it needs us to further 'understand', you know."

Yoshinosuke Imamura nodded and said nothing.It's the first time for everyone to meet, and it's best to stop talking, and he also needs to go back to the domain to report to his lord.

Kojiro is negotiating here, and the men of Sergeant Johnson have already brought a considerable amount of goods to the shore.There are metal knives that look good, fine and strong fishing nets, heavy and durable cloth, warm coats, spirits that can drive the cold, snow-white salt, and even sharpness that is difficult for ordinary people to see. Sabers and armor, each of these deeply attracted the attention of the Oroqen, Feiyaka, and Ainu people in the market.

The sailors smiled and beckoned them to choose by themselves, and these people immediately rushed forward, picked up the items they liked and looked at them carefully.Some of them caressed the thick and durable denim, some tried on duck down coats and cotton coats, some tried those sharp skinning knives and boning knives, and some focused on those white salt and refreshing stomach warming spirits.The goods brought by the people from the east coast are very representative, basically all consumer goods, which is undoubtedly the most attractive to the aborigines of Sakhalin who are still in the primitive society.

The only ones who were upset were probably those Shandan people who came across the sea with clothes and salt, because this meant that a large amount of goods in their hands would be backlogged and could not be sold.The consequence of not being able to sell them is that they cannot exchange for the commodities they urgently need, which makes their faces ugly, but they dare not speak out because of the might of the people on the east coast.

Captain Li Yi, who landed afterwards, quickly noticed the situation.In line with the principle of not letting go of every trade partner, Li Yi decided to take a look at the goods brought by the other party.After making comparisons with each other, these Shandan people finally understood Li Yi's intentions, and they quickly moved their goods happily.Li Yi flipped through it casually, and found that they were mostly mountain goods, including prey such as roe deer, pheasant, and hare, as well as the fur of foxes, martens, and even blind bears; besides these, there were a lot of ethnic costumes— —These were originally the goods that the aborigines of Sakhalin Island would buy, but now it is obviously impacted by the goods provided by the people on the east coast.

After a little consideration, Li Yi decided to eat all the goods that these Shandan people could not sell.The purchased game, fungus, and mountain bamboo shoots are just used as food reserves for the return journey, and those precious furs are even more easy to sell. Not only in Europe, but also in the East Coast, some people who have become rich have these luxury goods Strong consumption desire.Moreover, these furs are almost hard to find in the southern hemisphere. If they are shipped back to China, they will probably fetch sky-high prices.In fact, if these Shandan people find a way to get some wild ginseng, Li Yi and others will definitely buy it at a high price immediately.Once these wild ginseng are transported back to the east coast of China, Li Yi can imagine with his toes how strong the desire to buy them will be burst out from the aging cross-travelers.As for the clothes brought by the Shandan people, they are a bit tasteless, but they can be stored first and rewarded to slaves who work quickly. This is also a way.

Li Yi's all-inclusive approach made these Shandan people ecstatic. They exchanged their goods with the people on the east coast, and then took the exchanged things to barter with the aborigines.Li Yi and the others were delighted with this kind of deal with them. A piece of expensive fur from the East Coast usually only needs to pay for a sharp knife and two bottles of Hezhong Daqu, and a large bag of fungus only needs a skinning knife. , unimaginably lucrative.What's even better is that in this "unequal" transaction, everyone still thinks they have made a profit, which is simply speechless.

Li Yi cheerfully watched these Shandan people make transactions with his subordinates, while secretly thinking about his own affairs.It is of course important to trade with these barbarians, but it is not Li Yi's most concerned thing.His main concern is how to use trade to win over these barbarians, and then use them for the people on the east coast.These savages living in bitter cold places live by fishing and hunting. They are strong in individual strength and extremely tenacious in will, but they are also very simple and honest.Once they are successfully recruited and assimilated, these people will definitely become an excellent help for the East Coast people to rule this place.Even, when the people on the east bank use their troops elsewhere, they can be transferred to fight, just like the tsar's Cossacks, playing a huge role in the expansion of the east bank republic.

The transaction came to an end in the evening of the same day. The goods brought by the people from the east coast were snapped up, and the harvest was as many as [-] pieces of valuable furs. These goods were worth thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan in the east coast and Europe.In addition to fur, they also harvested a pile of game, dried fish, fungus, winter bamboo shoots and other food, which were stored in the food compartment on the ship.In the end, Li Yi also privately purchased two unknown raptors, which were sold to him by a local hunter, at the cost of his saber and a very well-made alpaca woolen coat.

From the next day (June 6th), Li Yi and others began to recruit indigenous residents who were willing to follow them to sea while selling the remaining goods, and gave generous rewards.Maybe these natives are not familiar with the people from the east coast, and they still have doubts in their hearts. In short, only a few three or five people came to apply in a day.

Li Yi is not in a hurry, he just does it anyway.As a result, he waited until June 6, which was the last day he expected to stay in Dabo, before he recruited a total of about 30 people.Many of these barbarians are still in the clan society, and everything in the family is decided by the patriarch.Some families have a heavy burden due to the large number of people, and they are also greedy for goods provided by the people on the east coast, so some young people in the family are encouraged to apply for recruitment from the people on the east coast.Most of these applicants are young people alone, and of course there are middle-aged people with families. Under Li Yi's care, all of these people are accepted.

People from the east coast also set up several large pots to boil water on the beach, and also set up several wooden sheds.Everyone who came to apply was led to take a hot bath, and then the barber shaved their heads bald.The applicants who had their hair cut were given a khaki cloth military uniform and a pair of cooked cowhide military boots according to their height and body type. Of course, there was also a field gray woolen overcoat.These applicants wearing new clothes looked at each other one by one, and some were still walking and jumping on the ground, the novelty was mixed with a little excitement.

Li Yi looked at them with a pipe in his mouth and smiled. These are all great guys, and they are all willing to apply. Unlike the North Koreans who were taken captive, they can be regarded as less loyal than the Eight Banners warriors. Some security forces to use.The development of Jinshan Port and Gushan Port in Australia is a good stage for these people to display their strengths.

Seeing that more manpower could not be recruited for a while, and it was not too early, Li Yi finally ordered "Break the Waves" to pull anchor and set sail, leaving Dabo Port where he had stayed for a week, towards the central area of ​​the island. Heishui Port sailed away.

Now that everything is ready, my mission can basically be said to have been successfully completed.Next, they will return to the mainland and submit a written report on the situation to the Ministry of the Navy and the Executive Committee, and then the superiors will decide what to do next.

Perhaps the only regret of this trip was not being able to establish direct trade links with those Japanese.After Kojiro proposed to the other party to start trade between the two sides that day, Yoshinosuke Imamura and others left Odomari Port by boat that night and headed for Fukuyama Castle (the residence of the Matsumae Domain daimyo, also known as Matsumae Castle).However, until June 6th, there was no news from these Japanese. Li Yi and others who could no longer drag on had no choice but to leave. water port.

(End of this chapter)