Five days later, when the Thor returned to the sea outside Ishinomaki Port of the Sendai Domain, Zhao Xin took out a thousand taels of fine and asked Katsuyama Denzo and Murata Jiroemon to buy two Senseki Benzai ships in Ishinomaki. At the same time, they were told that they did not need to buy new boats, but could just buy two that were 80% new.
This was the gift he was going to give to Shen Jingdan and Huang Maocai. These two Qing businessmen were able to follow him northward at all costs, so they were worthy of this great gift. As for the sailors, they should be able to find some among the refugees in Beihai now, enough for Shen and Huang to sail the ship back to Shanghai County. Zhao Xin planned to use the Thor to tow the wooden boat to the outer sea of southern Shandong when the two returned to China, and then let them sail back by themselves.
Taking into account the current situation of soldier training in Beihai and the large-scale purchases he wanted to make when he returned, Zhao Xin proposed to Katsuyama and Murata that the delivery of sugar and silk fabrics and the operation in Ezo would be best delayed for one month, because he still had There are important things that need to be dealt with back home, and I really can’t get away.
The two island businessmen didn't dare to say no, so they quickly agreed.
Since the defeat of the Saga clan and the successful blackmail of Nagasaki, Shibata Kakuzo and the two businessmen have become more and more respectful to Zhao Xin and others. They even bowed very respectfully when they saw Heita and others.
In the eyes of Kakuzo Shibata, who is the head of the Sendai Domain, the strength of this group of Tang Yi is terrifying. Especially the two giant cannons on the ship and the huge continuous iron cannon, their power is simply devastating and horrifying.
He planned to report what he saw and heard to his elders in detail when he returned, and suggested that he must make good friends with this group of people. As for what the feudal clan would consider, it was not up to him to decide.
Shibata Kakuzo even planned to go back to report to the feudal clan this time, and then go to the North Sea with the Thor to see it next time.
Zhao Xin readily agreed and said to Shibata Kakuzo: "If other businessmen from the Sendai clan also want to take a look, we welcome it."
Zhao Xin's current plan is to suppress the four Sacho Doi clans that will be close to the West in the future, and support conservative forces like the Sendai clan. In the "Aizu War" in future history, the "Ou Yue Domain Alliance", including the Sendai Domain, was a faction that supported the shogunate and opposed the return of the great government.
Zhao Xin's specific support strategy was to do business and attract funds from all over the island country to Sendai Domain through a large number of commodities. At the same time, let the merchants who cooperate with you use part of their profits to help the samurai of Sendai Domain reduce their debts.
Businessmen can make money, market activity increases, taxes within the domain will increase, samurai debts can be reduced, and the main social conflicts within the Sendai domain can be alleviated.
And if the Sendai clan can open its door, other clans will follow suit.
Zhao Xin, who is familiar with the history of the island country, is very clear that the biggest crisis within the island country now is not the famine caused by the "dawn famine", but the conflict between warriors and merchants.
During the Edo period, the samurai class, as the main consumer group, had their salaries calculated in terms of rice. Therefore, every time it was time to receive their salary, the samurai needed to take out rice from the domain or shogunate's warehouse, and then carry it to the "rice house" to resell it for money. Because the exchange procedures were very complicated, the agency business later emerged.
In the ninth year of Kyōho (1723), the shogunate agreed to jointly establish the "Zhachazhu" by merchants from the rice shop and the water tea house (the samurai had to wait in the water tea house to rest when lining up to sell rice). "Zhongjian". So most of the warriors let "Zhacha Zhu Zhongjian" receive their salary on their behalf, while they themselves received money from Zhachai regularly.
Over time, "Zhachazhuzhongjian" began to have functions similar to those of modern banks, and the lending business naturally emerged. The lending interest rate for merchants in the Edo period was generally between 15% and 18%, even if the daimyo came to borrow money.
The samurai's salary was not enough, so it became inevitable to borrow money from Zhacha merchants. This overdraft spending behavior continued for decades, and many samurai were burdened with debts that reached the point of bankruptcy.
The "dawn famine" that lasted for six years would continue to burden these warriors with higher debts. Once the samurai class, the main force of consumption, could no longer continue to consume, Zhao Xin would not be able to sell them no matter how much goods he brought.
In fact, the shogunate will issue the "Donation Order" five years later (1789), which will eliminate all loan accounts of the samurai before the fourth year of Tenmei (1784), and will increase the interest rate on loans after the fourth year of Tenmei from 15% ~18% is uniformly changed to 6%.
This decree caused the merchants of Zhacha to suffer huge losses. After the "Donation and Abandonment Order" was promulgated, a large number of Zhachazhuzhongjian immediately stopped lending business to the samurai, and immediately the entire consumer market in the island country came to a halt.
When the New Year came to an end in 1790, the samurai needed money to spend the New Year. So the shogunate threatened the Zhacha merchants to lend money to the samurai, and seventeen Zhacha merchants went bankrupt and closed down that month. The then-old Nakamatsudaira Sadanobu simply did not have the financial resources to solve this problem, thus laying a time bomb for the shogunate's future economic crisis.
After dark, Ding Guofeng and Zhao Liang drove the three islanders back to the uninhabited beach near Ishinomaki Port in an assault speedboat. It is only a few miles away from Ishinomaki Town, and Shibata Kakuzo and the other three can walk back by themselves.
Afterwards, the Thor stayed outside Ishinomaki Port for two more days. After receiving the third batch of 5,000 refugees, it turned and sailed north. The next stop was Sagawa in Ezochi.
Due to the previous shelling of Matsumae Castle by the Thor, the lord of Matsumae Domain, Matsumae Michhiro, and several important officials were killed. At this time, the Matsumae clan was leaderless and could only wait for the young master and family elders from Edo to return to deal with the funeral affairs, so there was no time to care about the disastrous defeat in the Sagawa battle. The Matsumae clan samurai who were defeated and returned to the plain (Sapporo) tax office suffered heavy losses and were unable to attack again.
The Shachuan people were very happy to see Zhao Xin and others returning again, bringing with them the food and many iron weapons and weapons promised last time.
The more than 30 southern horses and a large number of swords and weapons that Zhao Xin left behind before he left last time are already a huge fortune for the Shachuan people.
At this time, the injuries of Tuka and a dozen other tribesmen had greatly improved. When they knew that the "Thunder God" was coming, they all came out of the village to greet him.
Shen Jingdan and Lao Huang who were traveling together were also very surprised when they saw these short Ainu people with hairy beards and gorgeous bark clothes.
In the evening of that day, Tuka and a group of tribesmen held a banquet in the village to entertain Zhao Xin and others. The local indigenous diet mainly consists of venison and salmon, which are usually boiled or grilled; as for the staple food, they are beans and grains.
For modern people like Zhao Xin, they can still eat some barbecue; as for the messy cooked food, they only taste it lightly.
As soon as Tuka came up, he offered Zhao Xin three bowls of wine and thanked Zhao Xin for his life-saving grace.
Fortunately, Zhao Xin had expected it and brought a box of "Neptune Gold Bottles" before setting off. He also risked his life for the development of coal mines in Ezo and the gold mines on the northern islands.
After a heavy drinking session, Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng and others took turns attacking, and finally got Tuka and others drunk. He hugged Zhao Xin's neck and said everything was fine.
As expected, the thing that Zhao Xin was most worried about also came true. The drunk Tuka pointed at his sister and said that he would give her to Zhao Xin.
Tuka's sister is called "Rimans", which translates to "Dancing Snow". The last time Zhao Xin treated Tuka's injuries, he didn't even bother to ask his name. This girl is only thirteen years old.
Zhao Xin looked at this little girl with dark skin, delicate facial features, and typical European features... He really didn't want her!
Not to mention anything else, just looking at the big blood-red lips painted on the faces of the Ainu married women at the banquet, Zhao Xin thought of the villain "The Joker" in the movie "Batman".
Zhao Xin has a big head at the moment, and it will be troublesome whether he accepts it or not.
Finally, I thought about it, in order to work closely with the Ainu people and control the Ezo land... let's do this!
Tuka's sister is still young, and there are a group of half-grown children over there in Beihai. Raising one child is raising a child, and raising a group of children is raising a group of children. Forget it, take it back and keep A Miao company. Maybe in a few years, when the little girl grows up, her thoughts will turn to someone else.
So Zhao Xin explained to Tuka. He said that his family's rule was that a woman could not marry before she was eighteen years old. Xue Wu is still young now, so even if he takes her back, he can't marry her right away.
Tuka waved his hand indifferently and said: "Since she has followed you, everything is up to you. But I am only a sister, and I have not even agreed to the marriage proposals from other tribes..."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xin quickly said: "Brother, don't worry, I will definitely treat her well."
At this time, the merchant Lao Huang who was accompanying him saw the barbarian leader pointing at a woman and talking to Zhao Xin, so he turned to Shen Jingdan who was sitting next to him and said, "Brother Shen, I see this Ainu The leader of the human clan wants to give Mr. Zhao a woman."
Liu Sheng, who was on the side, had drank a little too much. He also heard what Huang said, so he casually said, "It just so happens that he is a bachelor."
After hearing this, the businessman Lao Huang rolled his eyes, stood up and toasted Liu Sheng with a glass of wine, and then asked with a smile: "Dare you ask Mr. Zhao about Geng?"
Liu Sheng said vaguely: "Thirty. This guy is three years younger than me."
It is said that Zhao Xin entered elementary school one year earlier than the average person, and he skipped two grades between elementary school and junior high school, otherwise he would not have become high school classmates with Liu Sheng.
"May I ask Mr. Liu if you can start a family?"
"……separated."
"Leaving?" Lao Huang and Shen Jingdan looked at each other, not understanding what they meant. However, seeing the painful look on Liu Sheng's face, the two of them couldn't ask any more questions.
In feudal society, the initiative in marriage has always been firmly held by men. According to the "Qing Law", if the woman wants to initiate a divorce and the husband does not agree, there is basically no chance. If a woman dares to run away from home privately, she will be found and arrested by the government and given "a hundred sticks, and she will be sold to her husband in marriage"; if she dares to remarry someone else privately, she will be sentenced to "hanging in prison".
Shen Jingdan was twirling his beard at this time, looking at Zhao Xin not far away, and his heart moved slightly. However, he decided to take another look and wait until Beihai had seen it.
