In the summer of 1646, it was Shi Diwen who led a huge armed fleet into Edo Bay and used force to force the Tokugawa shogunate to sign the Maritime-Japanese Commerce Treaty, thereby breaking the shogunate's long-standing policy of seclusion.
Although the trade content agreed between the two countries in the treaty is two-way, for Japan, which has poor natural resources, there are not many products that can be exported to Haihan. On the contrary, after the country opened, cheap industrial products from Haihan began to pour in in large quantities. Japanese market - of course this was one of Haihan's main purposes in forcing Japan to sign a trade treaty.
In fact, the Tokugawa shogunate quickly realized the harm caused by the huge trade deficit, but did not dare to risk war with Haihan and forcibly interrupt the implementation of the trade treaty.
What's more, Haihan secretly colluded with the southwestern vassals and even provided them with a certain degree of military support. In order to stabilize their dominance, the Tokugawa shogunate also needed to purchase weapons and equipment from Haihan to deter those in the country who were already ready to take action. local power.
While ensuring its own military superiority, the Tokugawa shogunate also had to find ways to prevent Haihan from providing more military support to the southwestern vassals.
In addition to regularly protesting against Heihan through diplomatic channels every year, the Tokugawa shogunate also worked hard to expand its upper-level contacts, hoping to influence Heihan's resolution on Japan by lobbying the Executive Committee.
However, due to some unknown reasons, the shogunate has made extremely limited progress on this road. No matter what favorable conditions it offers, no one in the executive committee is willing to cooperate with the shogunate.
Although Shi Diwen only officially entered the executive committee this year, Masuri Masuyama had already put a lot of effort into him before that. However, he and other senior figures in Haihan had the same attitude - they could talk about anything. , but will not agree to anything.
Especially regarding the provision of military support to the vassals in southwestern Japan, Shi Diwen, who was in charge of the Sasebo base, never let go to the shogunate. Until now, the local area is still semi-openly training military personnel for several surrounding vassal states.
Now Shi Diwen arranges a trip to Japan without even telling the shogunate, but instead targets the southwestern vassals. This is already a very dangerous signal in the eyes of Masuyama Masato. If it is not stopped, the situation may quickly deteriorate in a direction that is not conducive to the shogunate.
It must be said that Masuyama Masato's sense of smell is very sensitive, but he has no strong confidence in front of Shi Diwen. Even if he wants to dissuade Shi Diwen, he can only offer generous terms in a low voice, hoping to make the other party change his mind.
But this trick was obviously not easy to use with Shi Diwen as always. Shi Diwen blocked Zengshan Masari's request with a few words of understatement.
Seeing that Shi Diwen refused to give in, Zengshan Masari sighed inwardly and changed his words: "Master Shi, in fact, my general has always admired you and has been hoping to have the opportunity to meet you in the past few years. We Some of the current problems between the two countries may be solved through face-to-face talks.”
Shi Diwen said: "What problem does General Tokugawa think?"
Masato Masuyama hesitated for a moment, but then said bravely: "For example, the trade treaty signed by our two countries more than ten years ago. The general believes that some of its provisions are no longer suitable for today's conditions, and the two countries should revise it."
Shi Diwen smiled and said: "It seems that General Tokugawa has gradually matured in recent years. If I guess correctly, he should want to do something to change the status quo."
The current shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna is the fourth generation shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. He was only ten years old when he took office in 1651. At that time, he did not know how to govern the country at all. He only accepted the deceased who died of illness as the heir. This special legacy was left to him by the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu.
Now, after several years of experience, the young shogun has probably gradually realized that the "Trade Treaty" that his father was forced to sign back then is a big hole that will never be filled for the shogunate. If Japan wants to get rid of its weak position in front of Haihan, it must first modify the unequal treaty signed that year.
But the problem is that the person who drafted the treaty and signed the contract on behalf of Haihan was Shi Diwen. How could he allow the Japanese to play the trick of "I signed the contract and then regretted it" here. Shi Diwen continued: "It is a good thing for young people to be optimistic, but they must also correctly understand their own abilities. General Tokugawa wants to modify the content of the trade treaty, but has he considered how this will affect the relationship between the two countries? kind of influence?”
Masato Masuyama responded: "Maintaining normal exchanges with your country is one of the top priorities for the shogunate. The general is just looking for an opportunity to explain to you in person to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."
Masato Masuyama didn't know that these few words of his made Shi Diwen even more determined to instigate a civil war in Japan.
Obviously, the Tokugawa shogunate has realized that the relationship between the two countries based on the trade treaty is not normal, and is beginning to try to change the status quo, trying to get rid of the various shackles imposed on Japan by Kaihan.
These thoughts may not necessarily be the thoughts of the young general in Edo. The important shogunate ministers around him like Masuyama Masatoshi are probably the real force driving this undercurrent.
If you want these people to give up their dissatisfaction and turn their attention to other places, there is probably nothing that can achieve this goal more easily than a war.
The war would not only allow the Tokugawa shogunate to re-understand its position, but would also consume the wealth, equipment, and troops they prepared to use against Kaihan.
Shi Diwen said: "In this case, I will consider adding arrangements to meet with General Tokugawa during this trip. As for the time and place, I will notify you later."
After Shi Diwen said this, he served tea to see the guests off. For a visitor of Masato Masuri's level, once everything has been said, there is no need to waste any more time.
In Masato Masuyama's view, although Shi Diwen's attitude was arrogant, he finally showed signs of relenting, and his trip was not in vain.
After Shi Chengxin sent Zengshan Zhengli away, he returned to the study. Shi Diwen wanted to test him and asked him what he thought of Zengshan's visit.
When the two met just now, Shi Chengxin was standing at the door, so he heard the conversation clearly and knew Zengshan's purpose.
Shi Chengxin said: "I am afraid that the shogunate takes its own weight too seriously and feels that now it has the confidence to bargain with the country. It is indeed necessary to teach them a lesson so that they know their own weight."
"The only thing I'm worried about is whether the military strength of the southwest vassals can really influence the shogunate. Don't let the shogunate find an opportunity after the fight starts and send troops to destroy these families."
Shi Diwen said: "Your worries are not unreasonable. Even if these vassal states have the support of our country, there is still a big gap between them and the shogunate in terms of military strength. But what I want is It’s not about overthrowing the shogunate, but letting them consume each other in the fight.”
"It can be said that it is very difficult for them to defeat the shogunate and seize the world. But it is much easier for them to keep their family wealth and continue to consume the shogunate."