Chapter 2716
Japan's foreign policy at this historical stage was very subtle. On the one hand, it issued five consecutive lock-down orders from 1631 to 1639, which imposed extremely strict restrictions on foreign merchant ships engaging in trading activities in Japan, and even banned all overseas merchant ships at one time. The Japanese return home. On the other hand, under the dual effects of domestic demand and external pressure, Haihan had to be granted trade privileges and allowed Haihan merchants to engage in trading activities in several designated port cities.
To put it simply, the country is locked down, but not completely locked down. At this stage, the Port of Nagasaki, directly under the control of the shogunate, became Japan's main foreign trade port.
For the local government in Nagasaki, how to properly handle the relationship with Haihan has always been a very thorny issue. Haihan merchants already occupy a considerable share of the trading activities in Nagasaki Port, and even have the pricing power of some commodities, which can affect the local market operation to a certain extent. If Haihan merchants withdraw from the Nagasaki market, it will also cause huge economic losses to Nagasaki.
But at the same time, the existence of the Sasebo base also makes the Nagasaki authorities feel like a thorn in the back. They are always worried about being attacked by the Kaihan army. After all, there has been a precedent of Hirado before this. If Kaihan really takes action, , it will definitely be difficult for the local armed forces in Nagasaki to protect themselves.
Afraid that you won't come, but also afraid that you will mess up, this is the current mentality of the Nagasaki authorities when dealing with relations with Haihan. So when the size of the Kaihan garrison in Sasebo Bay suddenly increased significantly, the Nagasaki authorities immediately became nervous and quickly sent official representatives to test their words.
However, the answer given by Shi Chengwu was obviously not within the expected range of the Nagasaki authorities. Kosaki Seijiro was also dubious about this: "Why was it that the visit application submitted by your country before this did not mention that there would be an armed fleet accompanying it? There are no such trade items as you mentioned?”
Shi Chengwu patiently explained: "Part of the fleet that arrived at the Sasebo base the day before yesterday is the troops and immigration fleet led by General Wang Anguo who will go to the other side of the ocean, and some are North Korean sailors who are following us for sea training. Division fleet. The few remaining naval ships are the accompanying fleet responsible for protecting the mission during their trip. This time it just happened to be that several fleets were merged together to facilitate operations."
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Of course, the "few" mentioned by Shi Chengwu is only compared to the large East China Sea Fleet. For the Nagasaki authorities, it is nothing more than a deterrent armed force.
Seeing that the other party still seemed unwilling to believe his words, Shi Chengwu had no choice but to push Tao Hongfang to the front: "This is Mr. Tao Hongfang from the Ministry of Commerce of our country. The trade projects to be negotiated during this visit to Japan are all made by Mr. Tao is in charge.”
Knowing Shi Chengwu's intentions, Tao Hongfang took the initiative to explain: "Our country's trade exchanges with Nagasaki Port have become more frequent in recent years. In order to provide more convenience for these cross-border trade activities, our country has specially prepared some new cooperation projects. However, because the review procedures of our executive committee take some time, these items were not mentioned in the official documents sent to your country before. ”
After Tao Hongfang finished speaking, he ordered someone to fetch an official document book, opened the first page, put it in front of Kosaki Seijiro and said: "Your Excellency, you can take a look."
Seijiro Kosaki took a closer look and saw that the content on this page was a directory, and each entry was indeed a trade item related to Nagasaki. In particular, the cross-border trade ships that Shi Chengwu mentioned earlier include Zhifu Port in Shandong, Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, and Jilong Port in Taiwan Island.
When he was about to reach out to read the contents at the back, Tao Hongfang had already pulled the book back in time: "The detailed contents will not be revealed until the mission arrives in Nagasaki to meet with your family." Tao Hongfang There is nothing wrong with this approach. These are confidential information involving major commercial interests. Naturally, they cannot be disclosed to the outside world at will before the meeting between the leading figures of both parties.
However, before Tao Hong could produce the official document in black and white, Kozaki Seijiro was 80% convinced. Leaving aside other projects, if the few ships that reach many important ports on the mainland can be fixed, it will be enough to bring the scale of Nagasaki's trade to a higher level. This is a great thing that we can only hope for.
As for whether the size of the garrison in Sasebo will change due to the arrival of this huge fleet, that is no longer a matter of concern to Seijiro Ozaki at the moment. The significance of the existence of Nagasaki Port lies in trade. As long as this cornucopia can continuously generate economic benefits, other issues can be put aside.
Kosaki Seijiro was nervous when he came, but he was happy when he left. He even chose to take a boat back to Nagasaki overnight despite the fact that it was getting late.
"I thought this was someone who came here to investigate, but I didn't expect him to be sent away so easily." Tao Hongfang was a little dissatisfied with this change of attitude. He was impressed by Ma Fan first. Looking at the performance of the Nagasaki envoy, he I don’t think it’s difficult to deal with Japanese people.
Shi Chengwu smiled and said: "The Japanese are afraid of power but not moral. They value short-term benefits rather than long-term harm. As long as they put pressure on them and induce them to gain benefits, it will basically work. Of course, the prerequisite is that you have to be better than them. You have to be strong. If you can't beat him, then he will look like a different person!"
Tao Hongfang was worried that this statement would make Amakusa Shiro unhappy, so he winked at Shi Chengwu to signal him not to go too far. But I didn't expect Amakusa Shiro to be completely unfazed by this, and nodded in agreement: "That's right. There are many short-sighted people in Japan, and they are willing to gamble their wealth for temporary gains. I was like this when I was young, otherwise I wouldn't Cause a huge disaster.”
The "catastrophic disaster" mentioned by Amakusa Shiro naturally refers to the fact that when he was young, he was taken to the South China Sea by pirates, accidentally went to Yulin Bay to rob, but was captured by the time-travelers. At that time, he took risks in order to make a living, but in retrospect, it was indeed a bold move. If it weren't for the kindness of the people who traveled through time, he and Takahashi Minami would have been dead at that time.
However, at this time, Amakusa Shiro had long since let go of that experience and his former identity. He had long regarded himself as a member of the Haihan, and did not feel that there was anything inappropriate in Shi Chengwu's description.
The mission stayed in Sasebo Bay for seven full days. If Wang Anguo hadn't been urging them, it would probably have been delayed for a few more days before setting off.
The day before the combined fleet set off, the latest issue of the "Haihan Times" was delivered to Sasebo Bay, and reports related to the mission also occupied a corner position on the front page. However, due to timeliness, the content of the report is still during their visit to Seoul, North Korea. But it was the first time for the young officials to see their names on the front page of the Haihan Times, so they were very excited.
(End of chapter)