Date Masamune, an important minister of the shogunate who was sent by Tokugawa Hidetada to take charge of the negotiations, breathed a sigh of relief after listening to the interpreter relaying the words of Wei Guangwei and other Ming Dynasty officials.
Because Date Masamune knew that based on his understanding of the Tokugawa shogunate, what the shogunate really cared about was whether the powerful Ming Dynasty would destroy the shogunate and not allow the shogunate to continue to rule the Japanese country.
As for the cession of land, compensation, and trade, they are nothing at all.
Wouldn't it be nice to measure Japan's material resources and win the favor of China?
Especially when Date Masamune heard that Ming officials still called his Japanese country your country in diplomatic terms, he became even more satisfied.
After all, the legitimacy of the Tokugawa Shogunate's rule over Japan came from the emperor.
Therefore, Date Masamune was most worried that the Ming Congress would require his shogunate to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty and declare himself a vassal. This would undoubtedly cause his shogunate to betray the emperor and surrender to a foreign emperor as his son.
And Tokugawa Hidetada himself was actually most worried about this.
Because based on their understanding of the Ming Dynasty, after the Ming Dynasty conquered a country, it required that country to pay tribute to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
What's more, they themselves followed the same pattern of conquest. After conquering other countries, they also required that country to pay tribute to their Japanese country.
Therefore, Japanese rulers such as Date Masamune and Tokugawa Hidetada were worried about the Ming Dynasty, and regarded not paying tribute as the bottom line of their negotiations.
After all, the Japanese people are different from the Koreans and do not have the wishes of the Chinese brothers.
They also have the ambition to become a powerful country in the world.
You know, their intention to annex the Ming Dynasty has only been a few decades.
Therefore, the Japanese country was naturally unwilling to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, more importantly, once the shogunate pays tribute and becomes a minister, it means that the foundation of their rule will be lost. After all, the shogunate is nominally a minister of the emperor.
However, now the Ming Dynasty has begun to capitalize the empire, and is more concerned about actual interests rather than superficial surrender. Therefore, the Ming Emperor has no intention of asking the Japanese country to pay tribute and become a vassal, and is also willing to recognize the fact that the Tokugawa Shogunate rules the Japanese country.
And for this reason, Date Masamune then said with a smile: "Please rest assured, your envoy, I will do my best to help your envoy achieve what you want, so as to avoid another war between the two countries!"
After hearing what the interpreter said, Wei Guangwei glanced at Shen Yourong quite unexpectedly, because he did not expect that the important minister of the Japanese shogunate would say this, and actually said that he would take the initiative to help them achieve their wishes without any intention of resisting.
This made Wei Guangwei, who was ready for a verbal battle, have to be polite for a moment, and said with cupped hands: "Thank you! In addition, my emperor suggested that formal negotiations be held on board the Ming Dynasty's Zhongshan King battleship. Please inform the general, if If you agree to this, we will treat it as if your country has no sincerity in negotiating."
Zhu Youxiao suggested that the negotiation venue should be on the Ming Dynasty's ships, which naturally meant to promote force.
Otherwise, Zhu Youxiao would not have let the navy bring the first-class sailing battleship "Zhongshan King".
The King of Zhongshan refers to Xu Da.
Xu Da's name is naturally qualified to become the code name of the Ming Dynasty's largest battleship.
After listening to what the interpreter said, Date Masamune only smiled slightly and said: "I will definitely convey it to you next time!"
Although he felt uncomfortable with the threat in Wei Guangwei's words, and was even a little angry, he still chose to endure it. After all, he was not very opposed to this negotiation now, and he also hoped that through this negotiation, he could achieve the goal of not having to pay taxes. Professing tribute can also allow Ming to let go of his shogunate's purpose.
Tokugawa Hidetada also meant the same. After listening to Date Masamune's report, he said: "Since they asked to negotiate on their warship, then go to their warship and pay compensation. As long as it is not much, it is nothing. Anyway, Try to negotiate as little compensation as possible. They haven't paid back the seven million stone grain they borrowed last time! Although the shogunate still has a lot of savings in the treasury, the money and grain are not in vain. Naturally, they cannot be taken away by the Ming Dynasty. ! If you want to cede land, you can cede it as long as it is not Edo or an area that can be reached by land. Try not to cede too much. If you want to trade, you can’t trade if you can’t trade. The punishment and prison of overseas merchants must be controlled by our shogunate, otherwise It would not be a good thing if a wealthy businessman from the Ming Dynasty colluded with the famous coastal people! As for an apology, the shogunate could issue an edict to apologize to the Ming Dynasty, but only to the Ming Dynasty and not to North Korea. We, the Japanese country, will only succumb to the strong! "
Date Masamune nodded after hearing this: "Yes!"
…
Therefore, not long after, Date Masamune came to Wei Guangwei's stay again and conveyed Tokugawa Hidetada's proposal to conduct formal negotiations on the Ming Dynasty battleship "Zhongshan King", and agreed to start at three quarters on the day after tomorrow.
Therefore, on this day, Ming officials such as Wei Guangwei and Shen Yourong, as well as North Korean officials such as Li Gui who came to Edo with the Ming navy, also came to the berth of the "Zhongshan King" to greet them.
When Date Masamune and other shogunate officials came here, they were really shocked by the towering Ming warships.
For a moment, Date Masamune didn't know how to evaluate it, but he knew that the Ming Dynasty, which could build such ships and had so many large ships, undoubtedly had extraordinary national power.
Date Masamune had no choice but to become even more humble in front of Wei Guangwei, bowing and saying: "Please lead the way, please!"
"please!"
Wei Guangwei replied, and together with Shen Yourong and others, he first brought Date Masamune and other shogunate officials to the gun cabin.
When Date Masamune saw the scene of more than seventy cannons placed in the gun cabin of the Ming Dynasty's first-class sailing battleship "Zhongshan King", his whole body felt a little weak. He couldn't help but think to himself, what if such a huge cannon If the cannon fired directly at Edo City, how would they resist it.
Date Masamune had to worry more about whether his Japanese nation would be destroyed by the Ming Dynasty. He now wanted to help the Ming Dynasty help them build such a large ship and cannon during negotiations.
Date Masamune naturally understood that if the Ming army could build such battleships and cannons, it must have superior shipbuilding and cannon casting techniques.
The Japanese have always been very active in learning from the strong.
Therefore, Date Masamune had begun to have the idea that his own Japanese country should also have such giant ships and cannons.
"Cede the Nagasaki Domain to the Ming Dynasty to serve as a garrison and cargo transshipment place for the Ming Dynasty, as well as a residence for the Ming Dynasty businessmen and overseas Chinese;"
"According to the statistics of the Japanese Rebellion in the Shimiao Dynasty and the Japanese Rebellion in the Wanli Dynasty, our Ming Dynasty Bureau of Measurement showed that the total military and civilian losses caused by your country to our Ming Dynasty were worth 20 million yuan in silver coins. In addition, your country's atrocities in Nagasaki this time The total losses caused to our Ming Dynasty overseas Chinese merchants, official goods and military expenditures were about 10 million yuan in silver coins. Therefore, your country needs to compensate our Ming Dynasty 30 million yuan in silver coins. Also, your country has caused heavy losses to our Ming Dynasty vassal state North Korea. The loss was estimated by the Bureau of Weights and Measures to be worth more than five million yuan in silver coins."
As Wei Guangwei spoke, he turned to ask Li Gui, a North Korean official who was invited to attend the negotiation meeting: "Does Li Tongzhi have any objections to this?"
Li Gui said "Ah" in confusion. Ever since he led the Korean navy and followed the Ming navy to Edo, he has been very honest. Basically, he would do whatever the Ming officials asked him to do. Therefore, when Wei Guangwei said When the Ming Emperor asked him, a North Korean official, to participate in the negotiations, he came to the negotiating table, but he did not expect that the Chinese Ming Dynasty would also ask North Korea to claim compensation for him.
"Can my country also claim compensation?"
Li Gui couldn't help but ask.
"Of course! My Majesty the Ming Emperor has a decree saying that your Kingdom of Korea is also the victor, so you can naturally claim compensation!"
Wei Guangwei replied.
Date Masamune looked down at Li Gui and said: "It is okay to pay compensation to the Ming Dynasty, but it is impossible for our shogunate to pay compensation to North Korea! Because we, the Yamato samurai, never compensate the weak!"
7017k
