I

Han merchants really came, and even brought some cement, and recruited local people to vigorously build the castle town...well, the community outside the city.

At the same time, many goods were shipped, such as cotton cloth and rice.

This made Zong Yizhen and his retainers feel that it would not be a bad idea to join the Celestial Empire. They have copper and silver mines in their hands. The silver cannot be consumed in North Korea. Copper ingots are often subject to North Korean economic sanctions. Now they can be sold to Chinese businessmen.

In the past 100 years, Tsushima's copper ingots have been sold out twice. The warehouses are full but cannot be sold. The reason is simple: they angered the King of Korea and ordered a ban on the purchase of Tsushima copper ingots.

The island is awkward.

When the population was less than 10,000, there was a lack of labor for mining and a lack of troops to protect security.

After the population exceeded 10,000, they were worried about insufficient food.

If the population exceeds fifteen thousand, some will have to be forcibly evicted, otherwise famine is likely to occur. Because North Korea strictly controls food exports and Japan has a sworn enemy, Tsushima has silver and copper mines but cannot buy food.

After the Chinese merchants arrived, Zong Yizhen immediately made a fortune and exchanged all the copper ingots in his hands for grain and cloth.

The retainers who own the mines are now county officials, town mayors, and village chiefs. Whenever there are mines on their territory, they immediately organize people to mine them, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune.

Actually, there aren't many mines in a place like Tsushima.

I used to think that the reason for the abundance of mines was poor sales. Now that Chinese merchants have arrived, the little silver and copper mines on the island will probably be dug out in ten to twenty years.

Zong Yi Zhen could speak Japanese and Korean since he was a child, and knew how to write Chinese characters. Now that he has become a county magistrate, he has begun to learn Chinese again. When he sold copper ingots to Han merchants, he hired a clerk from the merchants and practiced speaking Chinese all day long.

But the one who is truly awesome is Mitsutomo Oura, now changed to Mitsutomo Ura.

Pu Guangyou said to Zong Yizhen in private: "Your Majesty, in the past we were teachers and students, as well as kings and ministers. Now we are superiors and subordinates. Your Majesty asked me what I will do in the future. Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"What is the truth? What is the lie?" Zong Yizhen asked.

Ura Guangyou said: "Lies are lying dormant in secret, gathering strength to rebel."

Zong Yizhen shook his head: "How is this possible? The island can only accommodate more than 10,000 people. If there are more than 12,000 people, there will be food shortages. If there are more than 15,000 people, there will be famine. How can we have an army to fight against the Celestial Empire? Let alone the Celestial Empire. Even if the King of Korea sends troops, we will not be able to stop him."

Pu Guangyou said: "Since you can't rebel, then just be a Chinese minister with peace of mind."

Zong Yizhen asked: "What should the Chinese ministers do?"

Pu Guangyou said: "The county minister is the master of an island, but the emperor will not allow you to occupy this island for a long time. Maybe in two or three years, maybe in five or six years, the county minister will be promoted and transferred. The emperor will promote you, and the county minister will never leave. leave?"

"There is no other way if we don't leave." Zong Yizhen said.

Pu Guangyou said: "The county magistrate will be transferred to another place, and the magistrate of Duima County will be replaced by Han people, and the county officials will also be replaced by Han people. Will you still be able to control this island by then?"

"No." Zong Yizhen shook his head.

Pu Guangyou said: "The county magistrate is on the island and can regard the island property as family property. Once you are transferred to the Han Dynasty as an official, you must be honest and selfless, because your superiors and subordinates are watching you. You must not be corrupt. You must not make any mistakes, otherwise you will be severely punished, and the imperial court will take the opportunity to attack Tsushima."

Zong Yizhen thought about it and said, "It seems like this."

Pu Guangyou said: "The county magistrate should learn to speak Chinese and consider himself a Han from now on. Then, be honest, selfless and upright, and it is best to make political achievements. The more you are like this, the more chances you have to be promoted. The emperor also hopes that you will be like this .”

"Then what?" Zong Yizhen asked.

"You will be promoted very quickly, but when you reach a certain position, you may be transferred to the Qingxian Yamen. The Han people will not let you have real power," Pu Guangyou said. "At that time, you should train your children and grandchildren and let them go to school. Be an official. It is best to move your family away from Tsushima Island, and the court will be completely at ease with you. And the Zong clan will also have the opportunity to become a big family in Han Dynasty in the future. Being a big family in China is no more important than being the owner of Tsushima Island. powerful?"

Zong Yizhen thought carefully and said nothing.

Ura Mitsutomo added: "I guess the outcome of those retainers on the island will not be very good. It is estimated that half of them will be beheaded or exiled. Only then can the Chinese emperor truly take possession of Tsushima Island. If the county magistrate is not careful, he will I’m afraid I won’t be able to escape the fate of genocide.”

Zong Yizhen was so frightened that he quickly asked, "How can I be promoted quickly?"

"Political achievements!"

Ura Mitsutomo said: "Mobilize the people to dig the canal on the east and west sides of Tsushima Island. It doesn't matter how many people die from exhaustion. The more people on the island die, the happier the Han emperor will be. And the county magistrate can also rely on the people who can dig the canal. Political achievements, quickly leave Tsushima, a place of right and wrong!"

Zong Yizhen asked: "What about your Excellency?"

Pu Guangyou smiled and said: "I have already communicated with the angel. The Pu family moved to Hebei Province, gave up the land on Tsushima Island, and went to Hebei to redistribute the fields. I can work at Honglu Temple and teach Honglu specially. Temple officials speak Japanese and Korean.”

"I understand." Zong Yizhen nodded.

The two guys who created the golden age of Tsushima each decided their own retreat and sold off all the other retainers.

Especially Pu Guangyou, who has been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child, and knows very well what is going on in China. He could go to China to become an official, so why should he stay on a remote island?

There was another thing he didn't say. His second son was very smart and had already qualified for a place recommended to Tianjin University. In the future, both their father and son will serve as officials in China, and the family will be able to allocate land in Hebei Province. It is very likely that they will become an official family in a hundred years.

Moreover, Ura Guangyou is familiar with the situation in Japan. Although he teaches foreign languages ​​at Honglu Temple, he may not be able to become a real diplomat.

Maybe before retiring, I can achieve the position of Shaoqing of Honglu Temple!

Pu Guangyou said: "Remember, you are Han Chinese."

Zong Yizhen looked at his seventh-grade official uniform, nodded and said, "I am a Han!"

Zong Yizhen already knew what he should do. He worked hard to learn to speak Chinese, dug canals, exhausted the common people, and made as much money as possible. Turn all the silver and copper mines in Tsushima Island into your own property. Then relying on his political achievements, he took his family and property with him and moved to Han Dynasty to become an official.

By then, he will be an official of the imperial court, and he will be extremely wealthy. The rights and wrongs of Tsushima Island will be none of his business.

To be honest, the Zong clan has been very aggrieved for hundreds of years.

When the North Korean army came to kill them, they had to surrender as a sign of surrender, and they only got the official position of Tsushima Governor. North Korea allocates 200 stone beans every year, not to him, but to the entire Tsushima Island.

The Japanese army came to fight. As mentioned above, all the men on the island helped fight, and finally all of them died on the Korean battlefield.

In the past, it could still monopolize trade between Japan and Japan, but with the rise of Han merchants, there was little trade profit left. Why don't you just make money and run away, go to the flowery world of China and be free and happy.

Before the residential areas outside the city were completed, Zong Yizhen, in the name of the county magistrate, ordered the men from all over the island to dig the canal.

The broken canal was not long, and he dug it in history.

This time we are in a hurry, so there is no need to be considerate of the people's strength. As Pu Guangyou said, it would be better to exhaust more people to death, and the imperial court will naturally move the Han people over.

Anyway, he will just slap his ass and leave. The court will come back to punish those retainers, and those retainers will bear the responsibility for harming the people!

When the people of Tsushima Island were conscripted to dig the canal, the Koreans also attacked Japanese merchants.

Nipura, Busan, and Yeompo, these three ports are collectively called Miura and are the legal trading ports for trade between Japan and Japan. Since China has occupied Tsushima Island, trade between North Korea and Japan will also be cut off. Why not take the opportunity to attack the Japanese pavilion in Sankang?

The Japanese trading houses in those ports were uprooted by the Korean government, all Japanese merchants were killed, and the looted goods were naturally divided among the gentry.

The Japanese business building was also occupied by North Korean businessmen and would be used to do business with the Chinese in the future.

The news of the occupation of Tsushima Island could not be concealed at all, and the Japanese shogunate soon learned about it. Although the Lord of Tsuima Domain actually only had ten thousand koku, it was no small thing to enjoy the treatment of a daimyo worth one hundred thousand koku.

Shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna was nineteen years old and had been in charge for two or three years.

Although his uncle Masayuki Hoshina handed over power generously, this return of power was only symbolic.

Moreover, Tokugawa Ietsuna was frail and sickly, and would be bedridden from time to time, so government affairs had to be left to the elders. Lao Zhong, headed by Sakai Tadayoshi, and Hoshina Masayuki, who was surrounded by cronies, joined forces to separate the power of the shogunate.

Now, the two are fighting for power!

Sakai Tadaki's fiefdom was in Ueno. That poor place was not close to the sea, so he couldn't engage in smuggling with China. He united with the inland old Chinese and daimyo to demand a ban on smuggling trade.

Baoke Zhengzhi, on the other hand, roped in a group of big names close to the sea to defy the order of seclusion.

"Tsuma Island has always been our territory and will never be occupied by China," Tadayoshi Sakai said sternly, "We must mobilize the nation's troops to take back Tsushima Island!"

Matsudaira Nobutsuna, who is already very old, said with half-squinted eyes: "I am not opposed to war with China, but a strong navy must be built first. The ships of each domain should be unified and assigned to the shogunate for deployment."

Abe Tadaki also said: "It must be so!"

These three veterans are all firm supporters of seclusion. Their fiefdom is not close to the sea and is close to Edo. To maintain the rule of the shogunate is to protect themselves. Smuggling must be prohibited to prevent local lords from becoming stronger through sea trade.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna is the oldest, and if it weren't for his poor health, he should be the talker.

Faced with the pressing pressure of the three men, Hoshina Masayuki could only retreat: "I am willing to dedicate all the ships to the shogunate. After returning to the territory, I will let the ships form a naval force and immediately sail to Edo to obey the shogunate's dispatch."

Such a neat concession left the three veterans at a loss as to what to do.

The shogunate was in financial difficulty, and local lords sent ships. How could they use the money to support the naval force?

This thing can only be left alone!

The main issues are financial and administrative issues. In the previous decades, when the shogunate was established, Japanese politics was still relatively clear.

With the shogun losing power, corruption has become increasingly common.

Especially after Sakai Tadakiyoshi came to power, this man was a big corrupt official. He openly sold his official position and later became a boss. He even invented the "bribery reservation schedule" and "designated bribes" and other forms, which led to a bribery industry chain centered on luxury goods, imported products, and local specialties.

The whole country is already rotten, and the military across the country has also become corrupt.

Smuggling was serious along the seaside, but retainers in the interior were also smuggling, and even instructing serving samurai to be responsible for guaranteeing the goods.

This kind of troops may be able to compete with North Korea, and they are no longer the powerful Japanese army in the Warring States Period.

Tadaki Sakai only kicked off the corruption. Tanuma Yiji, who later came to power, even openly declared: "Gold and silver are more valuable than human life. Those who give gold and silver to ask for an opportunity to serve in public must be loyal in their hearts. The amount of gold and silver given, It's enough to reflect on people's hearts." He also said, "I go to the city every day to work for the country, and I never feel at ease for a moment. When I returned home from the court, I saw the piles of gifts in the corridor. I forgot the fatigue of the day and felt refreshed."