Chapter 2724
Building an international trade port may take years or even decades to operate slowly, but it does not take that much to destroy the trade environment it has finally built.
In the early years, Haihan used military means to directly destroy Hirado, Japan's most important foreign trade port at the time. As a result, Nagasaki lost one of its biggest competitors and got an excellent development opportunity. But more than ten years later, Nagasaki's trade status is also facing pressure from Haihan. This time Haihan does not even need to use military means. As long as he uses trade sanctions, it is enough to destroy Nagasaki's business that took many years to achieve. results.
But the situation in Nagasaki is much better than that of Hirado. At least the purpose of Haihan's pressure is to promote cooperation, rather than really intending to destroy this place. There is no irreconcilable conflict of interest between the Nagasaki authorities and Haihan. Yuta Kozaki can choose to cooperate to avoid the situation that Haihan warned about.
Although the Kaihan mission claimed that cooperation would be beneficial to the development of Nagasaki, Yuta Ozaki understood that the cooperation plan proposed by Kaihan would inevitably reduce the influence of the shogunate on the region, and in the long run may not be in Japan's interests. This is also One of the main reasons for his hesitation.
In the end, it was Tao Hongfang who sorted out the pros and cons for Yuta Kosaki: "Master Kosaki, please let me explain the current situation to you. If you cooperate with us, Nagasaki's trade volume will increase significantly in the next few years. , the taxes paid to the shogunate will also increase, you will gain prestige, political achievements and wealth, become a trusted partner of our country, and your future will be bright.”
"But if you reject the plan we proposed, the good situation of Nagasaki may be adversely affected. Merchants will leave, trade volume will decline, and the government's credibility will be damaged. Due to poor management, you will be held accountable by the shogunate, even very soon It is possible that the job of Nagasaki was lost because of this.”
"I think it shouldn't be difficult to tell which of these two options is better or worse. Mr. Ozaki is a smart man. He must have already made a decision on which path to choose."
Yuta Kozaki took a deep breath and said slowly: "It seems that there are two options, but in fact there is no choice at all... You Haihan people are really overbearing in doing things!"
Ishige Takedo: "Everything we do is to ensure the stable development of trade between the two countries. Operating ports is what our country is good at, and we are happy to bring our successful experience to Nagasaki to assist your country and Kosaki Sir, improve the trading environment here.”
The more high-sounding Official Haihan spoke, the more flustered Yuta Kozaki became. He has been dealing with the Haihan people for a long time, so he naturally knows that both officials and businessmen in this country pay great attention to practical interests. This time they are working so hard to promote these cooperation projects in Nagasaki, and they even go to the extent of breaking their skin. It can be seen that The interests involved are so huge that they probably go beyond the scope of commercial projects.
All Yuta Ozaki can think of is that Haihan will gradually increase its influence in Nagasaki through these cooperation projects, and may even slowly sideline the local government at some point in the future and use non-military means to achieve control of Nagasaki. Actual control.
If you want to fight, you will have to face the various sanctions imposed by Haihan and the chaos that will result in the local area. I am afraid that before Haihan gives up, he will do what the other party said because of the local chaos. The chaos in the country was punished by the shogunate. If the official position is not guaranteed, then everything will be in vain. Only by stabilizing the situation and keeping the official position can Xu Tu deal with it.
Yuta Ozaki suggested adjourning the meeting temporarily because he needed to think carefully with his staff about whether he should accept the Haihan people's conditions or continue to fight. When the two parties met again the next day, Yuta Kozaki relented and stopped rejecting several cooperation projects proposed by Haihan, and instead began to discuss details related to the implementation process.
At this point, it actually means that the situation has been opened and there is no need for the mission to keep an eye on it. On the third day of the talks, at the initiative of the Haihan mission, the two sides quickly signed a cooperation intention.
However, this intention was only an agreement between the Kaihan official and the Nagasaki authorities. Yuta Kosaki's signature only represented the attitude of the Nagasaki Office, not the Tokugawa Shogunate. Therefore, there are still certain variables to what extent subsequent implementation can be achieved.
But Shi Chengwu was very optimistic about this. As long as Yuta Kozaki is relieved, Haihan will promote the implementation as soon as possible and bind these cooperation projects to the Nagasaki government, so that everyone will be prosperous and everyone will suffer. Once Yuta Kosaki's career is tied up with it, even if the shogunate believes that these cooperation projects have certain risks in the future, it will be difficult to stop them through administrative orders.
As long as Yuta Kozaki is willing to cooperate, Haihan will not hesitate to use various resources to maintain his position as a leader of Nagasaki. Unfortunately, there is also the Sasebo base nearby, which is enough to give him a safe escape route. In the early years, when Haihan was conquering the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty, there were countless cooperative relationships like this. He had already accumulated enough practical experience, and he could apply it in Nagasaki with only slight modifications based on the actual situation in Japan. .
Of course, it is too early to talk about these conditions at the moment. The mission is still aiming for implementation first. At least the framework must be finalized first, and an agreement must be negotiated with the local government. There will be dedicated personnel to follow up later.
The negotiation process went more smoothly than expected, so the mission only stayed in Nagasaki for four days before setting off again. The fleet first headed south, bypassing the southern tip of Kyushu Island, and then turned northeast to head to the next stop, Osaka.
At this time, Osaka, together with Edo and Kyoto, is known as the "Three Capitals". It is one of the largest cities in Japan, with a population of about 200,000, which is roughly the same as the population of Hainan Island when Haihan unified it. Because it is close to the Seto Inland Sea, it has served as the gateway to the neighboring cities of Kyoto and Nara since ancient times. If these two cities are added together, the population of this area has reached about 500,000, which is considered one of the most densely populated areas in Japan.
In comparison, Nagasaki's population is still a long way from 100,000. It is conceivable that the gap in the size of the two cities is huge.
However, although Osaka is a coastal city that carries shipping functions, unlike Nagasaki, it does not carry out international trade. It was only after Kaihan signed a trade treaty with the shogunate that year that Kaihan merchants were allowed to enter Osaka to engage in trading activities. As for foreign merchants, the Portuguese and Dutch from the West have so far been turned away by Osaka.
(End of chapter)