Chapter 2728
Compared with normal sales, arms business is undoubtedly more profitable, and it is easier for Haihan to exert influence on buyers through such channels. Although Zhu Zian is not familiar with military affairs, he also knows that in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, he spent huge sums of money to buy a lot of weapons and equipment made by Haihan through some secret channels. However, due to the lack of corresponding training methods and tactical command system, these weapons and equipment were transformed into combat effectiveness. The effect is not particularly ideal.
Of course, the weapons and equipment sold by Haihan to external parties are often not models for personal use, and there is a clear gap in combat performance compared to the Haihan Army's own equipment. Therefore, purchasing Haihan arms does not mean that it will soon reach the same combat power as the Haihan Army. Even the servant armies of North Korea, Annan and other countries that are officially recognized by Haihan have the same system and equipment as Haihan, but there is still a clear gap between their combat power and Haihan's army.
Although the servant army is the main customer of Haihan arms, there is also a drawback, that is, the speed of equipment updating and elimination is very slow. If there is no large-scale war, it is normal to buy a batch of weapons and use them for twenty or thirty years. For example, the matchlock guns exported by Haihan in the early years were still in large numbers in the armies of many countries in East Asia, although their performance was lagging behind, because there was no objective need for updating and upgrading. Therefore, actively looking for new customers and creating market demand has become an important development direction of Haihan arms trade at this stage.
Japan's political system, which is similar to feudal lords, currently seems to have maintained a peaceful situation for decades after the Tokugawa shogunate came to power. However, due to the unstable foundation of its rule, most areas in the country are still autonomous by separatist forces. The situation may return to the Warring States Period before the Tokugawa Shogunate at any time.
Zhu Zian even has reason to suspect that one of Haihan's purposes in trying to stir up civil strife in Japan is to turn this place into a huge arms market. In addition to making profits, he can also take the opportunity to increase his influence on various domestic forces in Japan. force.
Of course, while making these plans, Haihan will continue to maintain diplomatic relations with the Tokugawa Shogunate to ensure that the existing business and trade system can operate smoothly. The main mission of this mission to Edo was to discuss trade-related issues with the Tokugawa Shogunate.
But perhaps the fleet visiting Edo Bay was too large, and the shogunate was obviously wary of it. It arranged a guide ship to take the fleet to the mouth of the Tama River, thirty miles south of Edo Castle, and let the fleet dock here. temporary anchorage.
This approach is similar to the treatment the fleet received when it visited Nagasaki, but because Edo Bay is large enough, the anchorage is farther from the city, and the precautions against the fleet are fully demonstrated.
However, the mission did not raise any objection to this arrangement. The mission of the combined fleet was not to attack Edo Castle. It could make the shogunate feel the pressure and take certain preventive measures, which would have achieved the purpose of showing off force. There is no need to really force the opponent to send troops to Edo Bay and make the atmosphere too tense.
The only person who clearly expressed dissatisfaction with this was the North Korean general Andoseok who came to Edo with the Haihan delegation. From the perspective of his own country, he wished that the relationship between Haihan and Japan would be as tense as possible. It would be best to have a fight, so that even if North Korea couldn't eat meat, it could at least drink some soup.
Of course, Andoshi also knew that the possibility of this happening was very slim, so it was necessary to show the close relationship between North Korea and Haihan to the Japanese in order to deter the Japanese. But now they are arranged thirty miles away from Edo Castle, which makes it difficult for the few Korean warships in the combined fleet to have a sense of presence.
He could only hope that before leaving Edo, Haihan could arrange an event similar to a joint military exercise and bring the team to the vicinity of Edo Castle to show off their force, so that the trip of thousands of miles would not be in vain. Although the shogunate was wary of the arrival of the combined fleet, it actually showed that it attached great importance to it. Therefore, the official who came to the anchorage to greet the Kaihan delegation also had a high status. He was Tadaki Sakai who served as the "old man" in the shogunate. . This official position is almost at the top of the shogunate system, almost equivalent to the status of the Six Ministers, but the responsibilities and authority are broader.
Sakai Tadakiyoshi conveyed the current shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna's welcome to the Kaihan mission, and said that he would try his best to provide convenience for the mission's needs during their visit to Edo. As for the specific arrangements for the meeting between the two parties, communication will also be maintained with the mission.
On behalf of the mission, Shi Chengwu presented a batch of gifts to Sakai Tadakiyo, as well as documents written by the Executive Committee, and asked him to deliver them to Tokugawa Ietsuna.
There is nothing important in the documents of the Executive Committee. They are basically empty diplomatic rhetoric. Because when this document was prepared, it was only confirmed that the Donghai Region would send a mission to Japan, but the tasks to be completed were not yet clear, so it was only a courtesy diplomatic document and did not involve the mission's visit to Japan. specific mission.
After the two sides held a brief meeting in accordance with diplomatic etiquette, Sakai Tadaki took the initiative to leave, leaving two officials behind to coordinate the various needs of the mission. But until he left, he did not agree with Shi Chengwu on a specific time to meet with the shogun.
"It seems that his boss plans to hang us out first?" Tao Hongfang asked Shi Chengwu after watching Sakai Tadaki and his party leave.
Shi Chengwu said: "That's not necessarily true... The current general is not in charge yet. The people around the general should really make the decision. It's hard to say what the other party's considerations are."
The current shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, was born in 1640 and is only fifteen years old this year. Although he succeeded the shogunate at the age of ten, he was still very immature in terms of governance, so he still had to rely on the team of courtiers left to him by his late father, Tokugawa Iemitsu, to handle many political affairs. This includes his uncle Masayuki Hoshina, Lao Naka Sakai Tadaki, Abe Tadaki, Matsudaira Nobutsuna and others.
Although these officials directly appointed by the shogunate were loyal to the Tokugawa family, they also had their own interests and their attitudes towards handling various affairs were not necessarily consistent. The mission's plan to visit Edo had been notified to the shogunate at least two months ago. When it arrived in Osaka Prefecture, the local area had also sent a courier to rush to deliver the mission's visit schedule to Edo. Logically speaking, it should have been early We have already made arrangements for the meeting and should not delay it like this.
All Shi Chengwu could think of was that the shogunate's internal opinions had not yet been unified, and it was not clear how to treat the Haihan mission's visit.
(End of chapter)