Chapter 2083
Regardless of whether these Chinese-style warships belong to the Shiba Shiba Party, the Tagawa family, or the Matsuura family that rules the Hirado Domain, their owners obviously have considerable ambitions. Not to mention mature shipbuilding technology and construction plans, just the time and money required to build these warships, and the large number of professionals required to put them into use after completion, these problems are enough to dissuade most careerists.
Amakusa Shiro believed that the ships discovered in Tasuke Bay were not all of the opponent's armed forces, and that there might be shipyards similar to this one in other places in Hirado. Moreover, if a fleet composed of such warships is to form a combat effectiveness, it must be gathered together for coordinated training. Presumably the owners of these ships are not so big-hearted as to train maritime operations next to Hirado Port, so these warships are really assembled The place should be somewhere else - for example, only two miles away from here, Hoshika Bay and Furue Bay on the west coast of Hirado Island. The area of the bays is more than twenty times that of Tasuke Bay.
Although it is very close by land, by sea you have to go north from Tasuke Bay and bypass the northern end of Hirado Island, and then along the west coastline to reach the two bays. However, if we need to rely on two legs to complete the inspection of those two bays, it may not be a task that can be completed in a day or two.
Of course, some information does not have to be obtained by going to the field. If there are other shipyards nearby, you can find out here at Tasuke Bay. In places like ports and terminals, as long as you spend a little money, you can basically get information about the local area easily. Tiansuke Bay was no exception. Amakusa Shiro only spent a small amount of silver to get the information he wanted.
Just as he suspected, there is another shipyard in Boxiang Bay on the west coast of Hirado Island, which is even larger than this one. However, the location of this shipyard is not close to Tasuke Bay, but closer to Hirado Port. It is said that you can see it by climbing over a moderately high mountain ridge to the west from Hirado Port and walking about four or five miles on the mountain road. Where the shipyard is located.
Amakusa Shiro noticed that although there were no shelter measures around the docks of the shipyard, there were some cold-eyed ronin with swords walking around in groups. He thought that these people should be the guards deployed here and beware of them. There are people waiting close to these warships under construction. Amakusa Shiro had no curiosity about the shipbuilding technology of these Chinese warships, so he did not intend to risk getting close to the dock.
After confirming the situation of the dock, Shiro Amakusa set off for Hirado Port. The land distance from Tasuke Bay to Hirado Port is only a few miles. After walking for about an hour, you can see the harbor of Hirado Port. This concave harbor is even smaller than Tasuke Bay, but it has been one of the busiest trading ports in Japan for a long time.
Compared with the seaport town in Tasuke Bay, Hirado Port is indeed much more prosperous. Standing on the high hillside, Amakusa Shiro can see at a glance the well-planned urban area near the port. The bustling flow of people on the pier is indeed... What a trading port should look like.
The ships that come to Hirado for trade are not just from foreign countries. There are also many merchants from all over Japan who come here to trade. Therefore, the market in Hirado not only has goods from foreign countries, but also brings together people from all regions in Japan. Plant local products. Over time, Hirado became not only a foreign trade port, but also became a distribution center for various high-end goods in Japan.
The prosperous trade not only brought a lot of business opportunities and funds to the Hirado Domain, but also brought together all kinds of people from all over the place. Amakusa Shiro wandered around the streets for a while, and saw quite a few foreign people. In addition to Europeans with tall noses and deep eyes, there were even Arab businessmen wearing turbans. God knows how these people came to Hirado.
Although the Tokugawa shogunate had strict regulations on the nationality of foreign merchants allowed to enter Hirado, this was undoubtedly a way to cut off the financial path for the rulers of the Hirado clan, and was inconsistent with Hirado Port's long-standing position as a free trade port. Not very consistent either. Therefore, in the specific implementation process, the Matsuura clan of the Hirado clan would be somewhat overt and overt, deliberately leaving some room for foreign businessmen to operate, and only symbolically checking and registering people entering and leaving the port. Even the Portuguese, who had moved their business headquarters to Nagasaki, still occasionally came to Hirado quietly to purchase some Japanese products.
In this relatively relaxed environment, it would not be difficult for Shiro Amakusa to enter Hirado Port. But he still didn't dare to be careless. There were probably many people who had escaped from Shibazhi here, and it was impossible to say that some of them had met him. If his identity was discovered, there would be no one in Hirado. People can help him escape.
Compared to Tasuke Bay, where he stayed for one night yesterday, there are obviously many more sources of news here in Hirado Port. Every restaurant, tavern, inn, and shop is a place where Amakusa Shiro can play.
But Amakusa Shiro also has a big problem, that is, he is not from the intelligence system. Before joining the army, he was a down-and-out samurai. After joining the army, he learned to lead troops in war. However, investigating clues and collecting intelligence is not his specialty. It is mainly for him to perform this task. Or because of his Japanese identity, it feels like he's rushing to the top. Although Amakusa Shiro was very positive about this, it could not cover up his professional shortcomings.
There are indeed many news sources in Hirado Port, but how to filter out valuable information from the numerous news is actually a technical job. Based on the information he had previously obtained, Amakusa Shiro believed that if he wanted to find traces of the Shiba Shiba Party in the local area, he would probably have to land in the Tagawa family. This is currently the most obvious clue.
So Amakusa Shiro first tried to find a small shop that was engaged in intermediary trading. He claimed to be a businessman who had just come from Kumamoto and Hirado to do business. He wanted to understand the local market conditions, especially the merchants who were relatively powerful in shipping.
His idea is very straightforward. Since the Tagawa family has the ability to build Chinese-style warships near Hirado Port, it must also have the corresponding ability and technology to mass-build commercial sailing ships. Its shipping strength must not be inferior. From this perspective, let’s inquire about the situation of the Tagawa family. , it should not easily arouse suspicion.
Amakusa Shiro actually thinks a little too much. Local brokers are not too wary of foreign merchants. They simply don’t think that foreign merchants would dare to cause trouble in the local area. They only regard Amakusa Shiro as someone who has the opportunity to make a fortune. object. Since the other party wants to know about local shipping merchants, then try your best to introduce them to them. Maybe they will be able to match up and facilitate a deal in the future. Not only can you earn the current consulting fee, but you can also get a commission from the successful introduction of the deal.
Amakusa Shiro finally got more detailed information about the Tagawa family here. The Tagawa clan was actually a retainer of the Matsuura clan, the ruler of the Hirado clan, and was deeply trusted by the feudal lord. The Tagawa family had close contacts with the Ming Dynasty in the early years and received shipbuilding and navigation technology from the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, its maritime transportation capabilities are not only the best in the Hirado Domain, but even if the comparison scope is expanded to the entire Japan, its strength is also ranked high. No. The broker didn't know where the technology Ming provided to the Tagawa family came from, but Amakusa Shiro had vaguely thought of it. He has also read the relevant information sent to the Datongjiang base from Sanya. The intelligence department suspects that the Japanese woman Zheng Zhilong married Tagawa Song in Hirado is a member of the Tagawa family. If this speculation is true, then there is no doubt that the Tagawa family has obtained The technology comes from Zheng Zhilong.
As for how much inheritance Zheng Zhilong finally left to his widow in Japan, that is probably only known to the parties involved. But judging from the current investigation, the benefits the Tagawa family received from Shibazhi may far exceed Haihan's imagination. Personnel, technology, wealth, trade channels, organizational structure... almost all are ready-made goods that can be put into use. After receiving these gifts, the Tagawa family will naturally become stronger in some aspects.
If you look at it from Haihan's perspective, some of the small moves made by the Tagawa family overseas have many targeted arrangements for Haihan and the Fujian Xu family, and their motivation should be revenge. However, it is hard to say whether these methods have other purposes. Perhaps these Japanese think that as long as they recruit a few more like-minded partners, they can start a confrontation with Haihan.
The several forces currently involved in this matter are actually not weak in strength. The Spanish have mastered military industry and navigation technology, the salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have endless wealth, and the Qing army in Liaodong has powerful force. Even in the The Jinyiwei who caused trouble in Zhangzhou, Fujian, although they were alone, were also a privileged class of the Ming Dynasty. The Tagawa family, or the Shiba Shiyu Party that works with them, is able to connect forces from all over the world these days, which is quite an astonishing move in this era.
But limited by their capabilities, it is basically impossible for these independent forces to launch at the same time, and the result of acting separately can only be defeated one by one by Haihan. Although opponents like the Qing army or Spanish colonists will not be eliminated by Haihan for the time being, their ability to threaten Haihan has been greatly weakened. The opponents within the Ming Dynasty have even less hope. The lack of organized armed forces means that it is difficult to confront Haihan head-on. Therefore, whether it is the Jin Yiwei or the private armed forces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang salt merchants, they are almost collapsed at the first touch. Haihan does not need to dispatch large troops at all. You can defeat these opponents with limited strength.
At this stage, all the forces involved in this series of events have been attacked by Haihan. The Tagawa family's overseas deployment has also been turned upside down by Haihan.
Amakusa Shiro could not confirm how much news of these battles and confrontations taking place overseas had been transmitted back to Hirado, but what is certain is that if the Tagawa family knew about the losses overseas at this time, they would definitely be furious—— No one can remain calm after suffering such huge losses.
So the next question Amakusa Shiro raised was whether the Tagawa family introduced by the broker was reliable, whether there had been any big deals recently for reference, or whether he could find someone who could speak to him to interview him so that he could discuss the business face to face. content.
The broker wanted to facilitate the sale, so he naturally swore that the Tagawa family had both strength and credibility, and that he could trust them to complete the shipping business. As for interviewing people from the Tagawa family, the broker immediately expressed embarrassment. After all, with his connections, he was not able to get the more influential figures in the Tagawa family.
Amakusa Shiro knew that money could make things go round, so he immediately offered another piece of silver to let the other party think of another solution. The broker quickly put the money into his hand, then said that he needed some time to contact the other party, and asked Amakusa Shiro to come back tomorrow to listen.
"I will leave Hirado in two days. It is best if you can arrange a meeting before then. If the negotiation is successful, I will pay you separately." Before getting up and leaving, Amakusa Shiro gave a time limit. The only condition he can offer now is remuneration. It doesn't matter how much money he spends during the mission, as long as he can achieve his goal.
In the next time, Amakusa Shiro wants to visit Hirado Castle. Although Hirado Castle is just a conspicuous ruin standing high above Hirado Port, in fact it is just a symbol of allegiance to the shogunate. The area around it is all the property of the Matsura family. It is said that including the Tagawa family A group of retainers also lived there, so Amakusa Shiro planned to take a look around there, maybe he would be lucky enough to get something.
Amakusa Shiro slowly walked along the coastline from north to south through the Hirado Port area. During the period, he had a bowl of ramen at a street shop. This long-lost taste made him feel a little emotional.
When they arrived near Hirado Castle, Amakusa Shiro discovered that although the Hirado Castle was in ruins, the fortress built here far exceeded the size of a Hirado Castle. The Matsuura family's residence was in the middle, and the perimeter was the residence of various retainers. There are separate fortifications in each place, and they can support each other. This reminded Shiro Amakusa of the fortifications he had learned when he was studying at the Sanya Army Academy.
He then thought that the Dutch had been coming to Hirado for some years. Could it be that the construction plan for this bastion-like layout was instigated by the Dutch? Although they all look like low-rise buildings and are not as majestic as Japanese castles, Amakusa Shiro knows that the defensive power of this kind of bastion is far greater than that of Japanese castles. It can be seen that the Matsuura clan still put a lot of thought into this aspect.
Amakusa Shiro took some time to find the Tagawa clan's residence, but the door to the place was closed, and there were two samurai standing guard at the door. In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he gave up the idea of going forward to find out. When he was about to leave here, he suddenly saw a motorcade approaching in the distance, and stopped again to see who was coming.
(End of chapter)