New Shun 1730

Among the three things, the easiest thing to do is actually the foreign affairs matter that seems to be the most difficult.

The remaining two are extremely troublesome and involve new interpretations of the world and etiquette under a situation that has not changed for thousands of years.

New interpretation of old scriptures requires some skills.

On the contrary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not have so much political correctness to consider, and there are not many strictures on its head, making it easier to do.

The ministers took the order, and they couldn't help but think that these things seemed simple, but in fact they required a great scholar to explain their propriety, and might even shake the scholar's "view of the world."

It is really hard to predict where this Dashun will go in the future. Maybe this will be the beginning of the collapse of rituals and music.

Li Gan didn't think too much. Instead, he was thinking about how big his mouth would be in future negotiations with Japan, how much meat he would bite, and what he could do to avoid future troubles.

Even before the war started, he was already thinking about post-war negotiations. This was the first time that Li Gan had fought such a confident battle since he came to the throne.

During the last expedition against the Quanbu, Li Gan was not yet sure of the combat effectiveness of the new army compiled and trained by Liu Yu. During the battle north of the Altai Mountains, Li Gan was also nervous and not 100% confident.

This time, with the confidence brought by the last expedition and Liu Yu's arrangement, the army changed to relying on it, and it was really fun.

Secretly thinking about the secret document Liu Yu handed over, he calculated the date in his mind, thinking that the man named Du Feng would be about to take action in Ezo.

This move is considered to be for Tokugawa Yoshimune to see. It just depends on whether Tokugawa Yoshimune can understand it.

If you are smart, you can take advantage of this opportunity and justifiably ignore the southwestern vassals to prevent Dashun from landing everywhere, and use the sense of crisis of the daimyo outside the north to contain the southwestern vassals.

If the Japanese Fukuyama Castle in Ezo Territory can be successfully captured, the Japanese northeastern daimyo will support Liu Yu's idea of ​​"split troops and mobile defense" proposed to Tokugawa Yoshimune, and the southwestern vassals will have nothing to say - only you, the southwestern lord Are the vassals in danger? Fukuyama Castle has been captured. What if Dashun crosses the Tsugaru Strait?

If he is smart, he can understand the steps Dashun gave him and follow the trend. The two parties will cooperate with each other tacitly, follow the steps of Dashun, sign the contract, and it will be done.

If you are stupid and can't understand the steps here, then you have to consider the name of the general to conquer the barbarians and must gather troops to go north to Ezo land. All the Ezo are gone, how can the General conquer the barbarians with a hammer?

Thinking about it, he must be a smart one. After all, Li Gan knew that he succeeded to the throne from a side branch, and he could be regarded as a hard-working person. He was not the kind of father who died and his son succeeded without incident. After hearing about what he did, and putting himself in Japan's political situation and laws, he could be considered a hero, but it's a pity that times have changed.

Thinking of Tokugawa Yoshimune at this time, Li Gan couldn't help but think of Liu Yu's words about the "Three Caves of a Cunning Rabbit" when he deceived Tokugawa Yoshimune.

He was favored, and he felt that those who were good at fighting had no reputation. Even though there was no chance of a sea battle for the Japanese navy this time, the commander of the army was not Liu Yu, but he was the first to conquer the Japanese. If it can really be done, it is inevitable that Bo Yi will become a marquis.

In such a state of mind, thinking about Liu Yu's dialogue about "a cunning rabbit has three holes" is of course different from thinking about it when you are old or when big things have been decided.

Li Gan thought to himself: If something goes wrong one day, even if there is such a day, I will turn a blind eye. If you really want to go out and become a rich man, why not?

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but subconsciously said to the ministers: "I think Ying Suobo will soon arrive in Weihai, right?"

…………

Weihai is very lively with flags flying.

Two new cruisers are being launched, and in the dry dock, craftsmen from France are rushing to build Dashun's first French 74-gun battleship.

The craftsman who did this had the experience of Liu Yu spending hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to build a useless sixty-four-gun battleship, so the work was extremely smooth and there was no difficulty at all.

On Liugong Island, a new type of short thick copper cannon that has been bored through the inner wall with a boring machine is being tested, making roaring sounds from time to time.

Everything is in order and full of vitality.

Liu Yu had just returned. In the post house in Weihai, Lin Yunwen and others from Songjiang were waiting anxiously.

Liu Yu went to Songjiang once in March and April and told the members of the board of directors of these trading companies to strictly guard against the news of a possible war and also implemented a series of information blockades.

Before Liu Yu came back, Lin Yunwen and others couldn't wait and hurried to Weihai.

Kang Bu Zao received them. Although as Liu Yu's staff and disciple, Kang Bu Zao could make the decision on many matters, this matter was not within the scope of the order and could only be discussed after Liu Yu came back.

Liu Yu had returned yesterday, and Lin Yunwen also knew that the war was imminent and Liu Yu was busy with official duties, so he might not be able to receive them at this time.

But each of them felt like there were ants crawling in their hearts, and they were really itchy.

The temptation to monopolize Japanese trade under the Japanese switch was too great. These people had not slept well for several days.

In the evening, Lin Yunwen finally received the news of Liu Yu's banquet. The seven people who came to Weihai felt that a big stone fell in their hearts.

After we rushed there, the food and drinks were already set. Except for Liu Yu and Kang Busao who were accompanying him, no one else was present.

The guests and hosts sat down, and after a few polite words, Lin Yunwen said: "According to your Lord's instructions, the ships transporting grain and rice are ready. Now we only need to wait for the news from the DPRK to raise shares, and money is not a problem. Seeing that you have an adult as a guarantee, everyone has no doubts in their minds. This matter is not only related to personal wealth, but also to their lives. If you know something, you won’t say it, so don’t worry. "

The words were good, but Liu Yu sounded a little awkward. After all, what happened here relied on his own credibility and face, not the credibility of the court.

It is also possible that the imperial court does not have much credibility for businessmen, and it is no wonder.

The matter of transporting rice this time was not difficult at all in terms of technology and capital. Not to mention the supply consumption of more than 10,000 new troops, even if it were expanded ten times, the trading company would be enough to complete it.

The expedition to Junggar back then was all carried out by land transportation, and the number of soldiers was several times higher, and the merchants could afford it. Maritime transportation is convenient and fast, and with the foundation laid by trade with Japan in previous decades, there is no problem.

In fact, it is not that Dashun has never done similar actions, but the reward for transporting grain in the past was usually salt. Under the salt industry monopoly system, it is actually similar to this time when trading companies monopolized trade with Japan in return, it was just a rent-seeking monopoly by the state.

But this time, the matter was a bit big after all. The business leaders, including Lin Yunwen, had been so excited that they hadn't slept well for a long time, but they were still full of worries in their hearts.

Liu Yu served as an intermediary, connecting business groups and the court. In business, there are some things that businessmen must ask clearly.

Especially this monopoly.

"Sir, this time the monopoly is fixed, there is no problem in paying for it. But there are still two things we need to ask clearly."

"The number one thing... is... well, after the monopoly, what will happen to Ryukyu, North Korea, and the Netherlands?"

With Liu Yu as a guarantee, the business group did not worry about the court going back on its promise, but instead worried about their own interests.

Ryukyu can pay tribute, and North Korea also has tribute trade. Ryukyu has trade with Japan, and Korea also has trade with Japan.

Coupled with the fact that there was a Dutchman who caused many conflicts in Nagasaki in the early years, these three issues are unclear. It is difficult to say how much this monopoly is worth.

If there is no real monopoly in Ryukyu, North Korea, or the Netherlands, trading companies are willing to invest millions or more to buy this monopoly.

But if Ryukyu, North Korea, and the Netherlands can continue trading, the price of this monopoly will be greatly reduced.

Ryukyu and North Korea still have tribute restrictions, so the goods they can get are neither large nor timely. But what about the Dutch?

Dashun switch trade, the Dutch can buy goods in Dashun at will. If the Dutch are ignored, what the hell is this a monopoly?

Isn't it true that they spent a lot of money and fought a big war, but they were helping the Dutch to turn Japan on and off?

The competition between the two sides is not so fierce now. After all, Japan is locked in the country and under the trade letter system, how much goods can be shipped depends not on capital and competition, but on the trade letter issued by Nagasaki.

Relying on this, the trading company made money for several years and lived a happy life. But if the Japanese country is closed, the trading company's foundation will be in Songjiang, but the Dutch are also deeply rooted in Guangdong. It will be difficult to say under the competition between the two sides.

The Dutch have good credit, unlike the British who sometimes have no cash and have to use cloth or the like as collateral. The Dutch have a monopoly on trading goods such as spices and sumac, and some businessmen in Guangdong will find ways to meet the Dutch conditions in order to get the spices.

By then, Songjiang's trading company would be in line with the Dutch East India Company and some spice merchants in Guangdong, which would inevitably increase costs.

The Ostend Company's tea war in Guangdong and Fujian was less than 20 years ago. It spent money to create a monopoly. At least at this time, it seemed that the Dutch money was still very rich. The trading company knew that it might not be able to defeat the Dutch by spending money, but this It’s also a cost.

The trading company dares to work with the Dutch. The problem is that the court is very likely to allow the trading company to buy warships. How can they do it without warships? How could the imperial court allow merchants to own warships?

Either the trading company is allowed to buy warships to fight against the Dutch, or the imperial court steps in to protect its own interests and uses tariffs or warships to fight against the Dutch.

Coupled with the Ryukyu and Korean tribute trade that troubled these merchants, they really wanted to ask questions.

Seeing that the businessman group represented by Lin Yunwen finally understood the key to commercial profit, Liu Yu also understood what "monopoly" meant. He smiled and said, "It seems that you think that if Japan completely shuts down trade, you will be extremely optimistic about the prospect?"

Lin Yunwen smiled and said: "Sir, the old maritime merchants before Araishi Shiraishi's New Deal are still alive. Business was easier than it is now. How about after free trade was truly opened? Although we are not as capable as you are, here we are. The sense of smell on this copper-smelling thing is very good.”

The other businessmen along the way also nodded, thinking, is there any need to think about it? As long as the Japanese dare to switch and allow gold and silver trade, we can make a fortune just by buying gold with silver and selling gold for silver, not to mention these goods?

In recent years, there have been more copper mines in Yunnan, and the copper business has become less easy to do. Although there is still profit, it is still worse than in previous years.

Fortunately, in recent years, Dashun has expanded its army, the navy has built ships, and the demand for copper cannons has driven up the price of copper, and it has not yet fallen to the point where it is not worth trading.

But now the Japanese policy is very strict. There is less and less copper going back, and there are more and more figurines. The sale of sulfur is banned, and it is not easy to sell the figurines.

If you eat dried sea cucumbers, dried abalone, and kelp, how much can you eat? The messy handicrafts of the Japanese are just that, and they are really not easy to sell.

Once it's switched on and off, it's completely different.

The worry is not that business will be difficult to do, but the weighing of how much this monopoly is worth.

Of course it is different if they are just one family and if they are working together with North Korea, Ryukyu, and the Netherlands.