Chapter 2727
When Tom Wang led his troops to North America, he had already stationed a small number of troops in Honolulu to provide local supplies for the Haihan fleet that traveled to and from both sides of the ocean. However, although Honolulu has a natural harbor where the fleet can dock and rest, the environment is still relatively primitive. The supplies required by the garrison even have to be provided by external sources, and only fresh water is relatively sufficient.
Therefore, Wang Anguo attached great importance to the supply work in Edo. He not only had to ensure that the immigration fleet needed it during its migration, but also sent some living supplies to the garrison in Honolulu. But this sudden heavy snow may cause trouble to the supply work, which makes him a little worried. However, the weather conditions could not be changed by manpower, and he could only pray that he could successfully complete the work after arriving in Edo.
The bay where Edo is located is sandwiched from the east and west by Cape Futtsu on the Boso Peninsula and Kannonzaki on the Miura Peninsula. It covers an area of nearly a thousand square kilometers and has many small harbors in between. Adjacent to it is the Kanto Plain, the largest of the three major plains in the Japanese archipelago, which later became the seat of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Edo Bay is surrounded by the Kanto Plain, and Edo Castle is located on the northern coast of the bay.
There are many rivers on the Kanto Plain, and the water conservancy and shipping conditions are extremely superior. Whether it is agricultural development or urban construction, it has superior geographical conditions that are rare in the Japanese archipelago.
However, because Kyoto, Japan is located in the Osaka Plain in Kansai, which is the traditional political, economic and cultural center, the Kanto Plain has not received enough attention. It was not too long ago that large-scale development of the Edo area actually began.
Edo was named after the Edo family, a wealthy family who lived here in the 12th century. However, it was not until the Battle of Odawara in 1590, when Tokugawa Ieyasu entered Kanto and took over the Edo area that the area began to truly prosper. . Edo Castle began to be renovated and expanded in 1590, and was not completed until the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, took office in 1636. The entire expansion project lasted more than 40 years. After the completion, Edo Castle became the largest in Japan. City.
Although Zhu Zian was born inland, he had visited many ports in the past few months and had some knowledge of the port environment. However, when he saw the map of the Edo Bay area, he couldn't help but express his concern for the natural conditions here. Liao sighed: "This place has both a natural harbor and a sea-facing plain, with huge development potential. It's no wonder that the Tokugawa family chose this place as their seat of governance."
Ishige Takedo: "Although the environment of Edo is good, it actually has shortcomings. To the east of the Japanese archipelago is the boundless ocean, and the only way to connect with the outside world is the mainland to the west. However, as the center of a country, Edo is far from the mainland. It is actually far away, and it is very inconvenient for the rulers to communicate with the outside world. Japan has adopted a national isolation policy in recent decades, which may also be affected by this factor. ”
Zhu Zian nodded silently, thinking that Shi Chengwu was indeed right. Judging from the map, Edo's location is already very remote. Whether it is with China or North Korea, there are thousands of miles of sea voyage. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is far away from the civilized world. In such a lonely environment, it may be difficult for those in power to have an open and inclusive mentality.
Shi Chengwu continued: "The Japanese archipelago is prone to earthquakes and has few products. It is not a livable place. Although the environment near Edo is slightly better, it cannot change the country's situation. Therefore, this country has always coveted the mainland. , we must be on guard against this. The Japanese pirates that harmed China’s coast and invaded the Korean Peninsula are examples.”
Zhu Zian was even more convinced now, and nodded in response: "Japanese pirate rebellion has been a major trouble in coastal areas for hundreds of years. Even if force is used, it is difficult to completely eradicate it. It is really a stubborn disease. But these two recent incidents In the past thirty years, it seems that there has been little news about Japanese pirates.”
Tao Hongfang wanted to test Zhu Zian, so he interjected: "Zian, do you know why the Japanese pirates were so inexhaustible in the early years?" Zhu Zian responded: "I think that the Japanese pirates were rampant back then, mainly because they were driven by profit. Goods produced in China can often be sold at high prices in Japan, which leads some people to take risks and use force to plunder coastal areas for profit. Not all Japanese pirates are Japanese, but there are also many Han people who work in collusion with others. , especially hateful.”
Tao Hongfang nodded and said: "What you said is correct, but it is not comprehensive enough. To solve the Japanese pirate rebellion, we must both suppress and disperse the Japanese pirates. The two-pronged approach will be effective. In the early years, our country also spent a lot of effort on Fujian and The suppression of pirates and Japanese pirates along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and later the dispatch of troops to the East China Sea to attack the Hirado Domain, were also related to this. However, to fundamentally solve the problem, we still have to establish safe and stable trade channels. The purpose of the trade treaty signed between my country and Japan is also the purpose. Here it is.”
Zhu Zian responded: "As more people rely on normal trade for a living, there will naturally be fewer and fewer people taking desperate risks."
Tao Hongfang praised: "That's right. When the most powerful daimyo from all over Japan become the beneficiaries of this business system, they will also regard the Japanese pirates as a stumbling block and take the initiative to send troops to eliminate them. Of course, if there are problems that they cannot solve by themselves situation, General Amakusa at Nasasebo Base will also be happy to help.”
Zhu Zianxin thought that this latter factor might be the main reason why daimyo from various places took the initiative to eliminate Japanese pirates. Are you afraid that Japanese pirates will affect your own interests? He was obviously afraid that the Haihan Army would come to his door. After all, no one would want to give the Haihan Army an excuse to send troops to their own territory, so it would be safer to take the initiative to solve the problem themselves.
But in any case, Haihan's strategy has indeed achieved very good results. As far as Zhu Zian knew, Japanese pirates had indeed disappeared in the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty for many years. At least as long as he could remember, there seemed to be no news of Japanese pirates appearing anywhere.
But while talking about this, Zhu Zian still had something unclear: "If this is the case, then why do we need to support forces in Japan to fight against the shogunate? If this happens, won't wars arise again and affect trade?"
Shi Chengwu smiled and said: "This is two different things from eradicating Japanese pirates. Japanese pirates are Japan's means of causing chaos externally, and what we have to do is to cause internal chaos and let them consume domestically, so that they have no time to harm other places. When normal business is hard to do, we can do other business and maybe make more money!”
Zhu Zian was secretly shocked when he heard this, but at the same time he felt that what Shi Chengwu said was reasonable. For both Haihan and North Korea, they probably do not want to see a unified and politically stable Japan. Returning it to the disintegrated Warring States Period may be the best outcome. If such a situation really occurs, Haihan will probably become the object of flattery of various vassal states without any suspense. After all, Haihan can sell not only a wide variety of daily commodities, but also advanced weapons and equipment.
(End of chapter)