Chapter 2732
However, while the Satsuma Domain controlled the Ryukyu Kingdom, it did not force Ryukyu to sever its relationship with the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, in theory, Ryukyu has always been a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, but it has paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty less frequently in the past thirty or forty years.
The Ryukyu Kingdom's national border is just a string of small islands between Taiwan Island and Japan's Kyushu Island. It has neither minerals nor land. It is still more than a thousand miles away from the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and it cannot be said to have much strategic value. Perhaps it is a piece of fat for the Satsuma Domain located in the southern part of Kyushu Island, Japan, but neither the Ming Dynasty nor Haihan have paid much attention to the existence of this small country. It was not until the Ming Dynasty asked for surrender last year that the Ryukyu Kingdom saw that the Ming Dynasty was over, so it sent an envoy to Sanya to ask for an audience, hoping to get Haihan's canonization and protection.
Logically speaking, it is a little late to change the gate at this time, but Ryukyu officials have always been deferential to Haihan, and they have maintained trade relations with Taipei Jilong Port and Zhejiang coastal areas over the years, so the executive committee was very happy to accept Ryukyu's surrender. .
But at this time, a new problem arose, that is, the royal family of Ryukyu was just a puppet. The real power was actually in the hands of the Satsuma clan of Japan. One of the reasons why Ryukyu came to the door was that he hoped that Haihan could help. Restore the country by himself and drive out the forces of the Satsuma clan.
In the opinion of the Executive Committee, Ryukyu does not have the value to allow Haihan to use military means. However, the attitude of the ruling traversers towards Japan has always been very clear, and they will never allow it the opportunity to expand its sphere of influence. If Ryukyu is assisted in its restoration, in addition to having a certain positive effect on Haihan's international reputation, it can also further weaken Japan's strength. This is a goal that the Executive Committee is happy to achieve.
Of course, since we have to stand on the stage to uphold justice, the correct procedure is to be polite first and then attack. What's more, the executive committee does not want to use force for this matter. One of the mission's missions this time was to express to the Tokugawa shogunate Haihan's attitude towards the ownership of Ryukyu and try to resolve the issue at the negotiation table.
The mission had discussed this before and believed that the shogunate would not compromise so easily. After all, to the shogunate, mosquitoes were still meat no matter how small they were. What's more, the meat had been in the mouth for decades, so how could it be spit out easily again. If we can't reach an agreement in the end, we may have to resort to the threat of force.
But after Tokugawa Ietsuna had a low-pitched conversation with his officials, the answer he gave was beyond the mission's expectations.
Tokugawa Ietsuna stated that it was inconvenient for the shogunate to intervene in this matter, and Kaihan could negotiate with the Satsuma clan on his own. If the Satsuma Domain is willing to let go and allow the Ryukyu Kingdom to regain its autonomy, the shogunate will not interfere again.
This was like kicking the ball back to Haihan's side, which caught everyone off guard. It seemed that they had not done enough research on the relationship between the shogunate and the Satsuma clan beforehand.
The two families are nominally affiliated, but judging from Tokugawa Ietsuna's attitude, it may not be very harmonious. So much so that the shogunate didn't even intend to do anything superficial to protect the Satsuma Domain. Instead, it seemed to be watching the fire from the other side.
For the current plan, I can only put this issue aside and make plans after I go back and reorganize the information. The shogunate also needed some time to discuss other trade-related issues, and the two sides agreed to hold talks again in three days. After the first meeting, Tokugawa Ietsuna followed diplomatic etiquette and hosted a banquet in honor of the delegation. However, before the banquet began, the young general complained that he was feeling unwell, leaving Sakai Tadaki and others to greet the envoys while he withdrew first.
The real owner is not present, but he has less scruples to speak. At the banquet, the mission was able to obtain some valuable information. After returning to the embassy, Ma Boran looked through relevant information overnight and added some information that had been ignored before, and finally roughly clarified the ins and outs.
Just like the attitude shown in the negotiations, the relationship between the shogunate and the Satsuma Domain really had some problems. In this era, the daimyo vassals who were close to the shogunate were often located in areas near Edo. The farther away from Edo, the more distant the relationship with the shogunate.
Satsuma Domain and Hirado Domain are located in the south and north, located on the westernmost coast of the Japanese archipelago, separated by Sasebo and Nagasaki. The Hirado clan relied on its own money and soldiers to disobey the rule of the shogunate and become independent from the shogunate's system. Even when it was later attacked by Kaihan, the shogunate did not intervene to rescue it. The situation of the Satsuma Domain is actually similar to that of the Hirado Domain, and its relationship with the shogunate can naturally be imagined.
The Satsuma Domain has a poor relationship with the shogunate and has a close relationship with the current feudal lord Shimazu Mitsuhisa. This man was sent to Edo as a hostage when he was young, and was imprisoned here for many years, so he naturally harbored resentment against the shogunate.
Later, after he returned to his hometown and succeeded to the throne, he organized gold mining in Satsuma Domain, but due to the interference of the shogunate, this road to making money had to be terminated. Before and after he succeeded to the throne, the shogunate issued multiple lock-down orders one after another, prohibiting each domain from engaging in foreign trade activities on its own, and forcibly concentrated foreign businessmen in the Nagasaki Port under the control of the shogunate, which completely eliminated the geographical advantage of the Satsuma Domain. Opportunity to play.
As the saying goes, cutting off a person's wealth is like killing his parents. Mitsuhisa Shimazu was targeted by the shogunate again and again, and his resentment naturally grew. However, there are policies and countermeasures, and he also has other ways to make money that can bypass the government, and that is the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Although the Ryukyu Kingdom itself has few resources, the Satsuma Domain can use the name of the Ryukyu Kingdom to carry out trade activities with countries such as the Ming Dynasty. The shogunate's national lock-up order could control the Satsuma clan, but it could not control other countries. Even if it was known that the Satsuma clan was using Ryukyu to make small moves, there was nothing good to do about it. Because of this, the Satsuma clan has controlled Ryukyu for decades, but has never annexed the area. It just wants to keep the name of Ryukyu country as a shield.
The Satsuma clan has been doing smuggling business for decades through the Ryukyu shell. This channel is an extremely important source of wealth for the Satsuma clan. Whether Ryukyu is restored or not has no direct impact on the shogunate. However, if Kaihan frees Ryukyu from the control of the Satsuma clan, it will actually weaken the strength of the Satsuma clan. This is a result that the shogunate is happy to see. . Precisely because of this, the shogunate did not reject the request made by the Kaihan mission, but it did not want to wade into this muddy water, so it asked the mission to negotiate with the Satsuma clan on their own.
As for the conditions previously proposed by the mission, if the Satsuma clan cooperated, it could retain its trading rights and industries in Ryukyu, which became superfluous. From the perspective of the shogunate, I am afraid that they would like to use Kaihan's hand to destroy the Satsuma clan, just like they destroyed the disobedient thorn of the Hirado clan.
(End of chapter)