Matsudaira Sadanobu responded so resolutely, which not only offended Emperor Kokaku, but also the father and son of Seago Kokata. The father and son began to think about replacing Matsudaira Sadanobu.
This "honored title" incident, which is very famous in the history of later generations, is actually far from over. Neither Seigou Gongfang nor Emperor Kokoku will be reconciled. A larger political conflict was already brewing, but that was a story for another day.
The "Tianmei Famine" in the island country has entered the end of its sixth year. In addition to promoting the "lenient reform" based on small farmer ideas and vigorously restoring agricultural production, Matsudaira Sadanobu also turned his attention to the debt problem of the Hatamoto samurai.
Starting from the eighth year of Kyōho (1723), the Hatamoto Samurai of the shogunate handed over Lumi to the "Zhachazhu Nakama" formed by the Miwanya and Mizuya merchants. The specific operation was that Zhacha and Zhuzhongjian collected salaries on behalf of the warriors, and the samurai received money from Zhacha on a regular basis. Over time, it evolved into a model in which later generations of banks issued wages on their behalf.
So "Zhachazhu Nakajian" began to provide loan business to samurai to make profits. Those samurai who thought they had a stable salary and lacked the concept of financial management began to overdraft for consumption, and the interest rate of the loan was as high as 15 per year. %~18%.
It is said that if there was no Beihai Town, the samurai's overdraft consumption would be some daily necessities, Dutch and Daiqing goods. But ever since Sendai Clan embraced Hokkai Town, a massive amount of Hokkaido goods have poured into the island country through the "Hokkai Trading Company".
Matches that light up instantly cost five cents per box, which is much less troublesome than carrying a pack of flints and flints; "Tianxiang" cigarettes produced in Beihai Town are now smoked by even the female actresses in Yoshiwara. A pot with a pipe and a pot is simply the epitome of tastelessness; a lantern made of iron and curved glass, paired with lamp oil produced in Beihai Town, hanging one on a horseback when you go out will give you face; in addition, there are also high-quality Cheap enamel products, sugar, silk, cotton, furs, Sinology books, etc.
Thanks to the efforts of Denzo Katsuyama, the boss of Murataya, Heita and others, Hokkaido goods are now very popular from Mutsu to Kyushu, and from Edo to Osaka. As soon as the goods arrive at Ishinomaki Port, they are immediately snapped up by various merchants. A large number of novel and cheap goods appeared on the market, causing the samurai's overdraft consumption behavior to unknowingly get deeper and deeper, intensifying Beihai Town's economic plunder of the island country.
In mid-September of the eighth year of Tenmei, the four senior officials of the Tokugawa shogunate, headed by Matsudaira Sadanobu, gathered at the Honmaru Palace in Edo Castle to discuss how to resolve the "Zashi debt"; The second generation Tadakamoto Honda also attended the meeting.
"Everyone, this report in my hand is the debt data collected by the two towns of North and South over two months from 88 merchants in the city. As of July this year, the total debt owed is 2.8937 million taels of gold. "
The first person to speak was Nobuaki Matsudaira, the third-generation lord of the Yoshida Clan in Mikawa Province. This 25-year-old man was promoted from a side servant to Laozhong in March. He is a staunch supporter of Shirakawa Hou Matsudaira Nobuaki. Considering that the two municipal offices of the Northern and Southern Towns are on duty on a monthly basis, it is not surprising that it took two months to produce the final investigation report.
"What? There are so many!" Makino Sadaga, who was the second among the elders, and Tadayoshi Torii, who was the third among the elders, were shocked when they heard this, and they shouted in unison. Not to mention the two of them, even Honda Tadashi, who was sent by Shogun to listen, was sweating on his forehead.
As of July of the eighth year of Tenmei, the number of flags directly under the Tokugawa shogunate was 5205, and the number of imperial families was 17395, a total of 22,600 people. In other words, the average debt owed by each family is close to 130 taels of gold. You must know that this number is equivalent to the fiscal expenditure of the shogunate for two years. Once Hatamoto's debts were repaid, the Tokugawa shogunate, as the master, became essentially the final debtor.
It is said that if this is just a debt owed by a few lower-level samurai, the shogunate will not care whether you die or not. The problem is that almost every family in Hatamoto is now living in debt and overdraft, and Tokugawa Ieashi just came to power last year, and bad things happen one after another. It is the time when people need to be won over.
Matsudaira Sadanobu said: "We must come up with a solution, otherwise the hole will get bigger and bigger. We must make a plan today."
He saw very clearly that if the samurai, who were the main consumers, were unable to consume due to debt, then many industries would not be able to maintain normal operation, and the shogunate's finances would also be in a dead end.
Makino Sadada asked: "What good idea does Marquis Baihe have?"
Matsudaira Sadanobu said: "Forgive all debts of the capital and modify the interest rates."
Okay, grab the whole thing!
In the history of another time and space, the Tokugawa shogunate resorted to this big move whenever it encountered a financial crisis from then on, becoming more shameless each time. When Mizuno Tadakuni became the head of the old school, he directly issued a "Tokusei Decree" to confiscate the wealth of the wealthy merchants of Edo and Osaka towns, forcibly forgive half of the debts of the daimyo and Hatamoto, and use the confiscated wealth to pay off the other half. .
After hearing this, Tadayoshi Torii was silent for a long time, and then suddenly said: "I heard that in Sendai Domain, businessmen use half of their profits to pay off the debts of samurai."
Matsudaira Nobuaki said: "There is no need to mention this matter again. The Sendai clan can do this, but the shogunate cannot. The Hokkai Trading Company now controls half of the financial power of the Sendai clan, and all the samurai in the clan have taken shares. Everyone is grateful for that. The palace of King Zhao."
Matsudaira Sadanobu said: "Haven't you seen it yet? Those idiots from the Date family are now a dog of Prince Zhao."
Makino Sadaga said with a worried look on his face: "What does Prince Zhao want to do? We didn't provoke him. Should we send someone to talk to them again?"
A few days ago, news came from the Kyoto Governor that the Sendai clan had given Emperor Kokaku five hundred thousand taels of gold, which almost made Matsudaira Sadanobu mad. I thought to myself, no wonder that person was dishonest. It turned out that the Sendai clan was causing trouble again.
And where did the Sendai Clan’s money come from? It wasn't Zhao Wangdian who borrowed it through Beihai Trading Company. It was said that it was an interest-free loan!
Having said this, Matsudaira Sadanobu said: "We have to have a serious talk. But that's not what we're talking about today."
Nowadays, what the Hokkai Trading Company did in the Sendai Domain is well known to the world, but the problem is that the Sendai Domain has only ten thousand warriors, while the shogunate alone has more than 20,000 Hatamoto and imperial family members, plus the military commanders. On behalf of the vassal, no one can catch this bad guy.
In fact, Zhao Xin is sucking the financial blood of the entire island country through Beihai Trading Company, and Sendai Domain is a comprador. It is said that raising a dog requires giving a bone as a reward from time to time, so it is really nothing to use part of the trading company's profits as dividends to help the samurai pay off their debts.
Matsudaira Sadanobu sent someone to communicate with Liu Zheng last year after he landed in Yokohama. He also wanted to set up a trading company with Beihai Town in an attempt to copy the Sendai Clan's model and monopolize the product agency rights of Edo and Osaka. However, Zhao Xin refused through Liu Zheng's mouth. .
If the Sendai clan dares to be disobedient, Beihai Town will destroy him in a matter of minutes. Just change the feudal lord and it will not affect Zhao Xin's overall strategy. If the Tokugawa shogunate is disobedient, will Beihai Town still want to defeat the island country? Isn't this just causing trouble for yourself?
The five people discussed until night, and finally decided that all Zhacha loans that were made five years before dawn would be exempted, and the loan interest rate would also be revised from 15% to 18% to 6%.
Such a big matter was related to the vital interests of each banner, so the news quickly flew out of Ou like a colander, and everyone related to it in Edo knew about it the next day.
The Hatamoto warriors burst into cheers, but the merchants in Zhachazhuzhongjian were all anxious, and they hurriedly got together to discuss countermeasures.
In the back room of a brothel in Yoshihara, several Zhacha merchants gathered together.
"Did you hear that?"
"heard."
"Then what should we do?"
"The knife is on your neck, what can you do? Oh~ just admit it!"
"You can't do this!" The speaker was Asanoya Heiji, the largest businessman in Edo 88 Zashizhu Nakama. He continued: "If Marquis Shirakawa does this, we will stop lending business to Hatamoto."
"How about we transfer our business to Sendai? The samurai there are not short of money."
"You're stupid! How dare you go to Sendai with that monster from Beihai Trading Co.? You can't beat them with just the interest. Do you know how much interest they charge on borrowing money?"
"How many?"
"Five points! It's still annual interest!"
I go! Other Zhacha merchants suddenly took a breath of air-conditioning, 5% annual profit can make a profit!
Just listen to Asanoya Heiji continue: "I saw this clearly last year. The Hokkai Trading Company held all kinds of in-demand goods with its left hand, and helped the samurai pay off their debts with the right hand. Now all the gold and silver in the world are flowing to Ishinomaki Port. There is that With Zhao Wangdian as your backer, the Ida family wouldn’t even dare to let out a fart. If it were you, who would dare?”
A group of businessmen discussed for a long time but came up with nothing, and finally had to disperse hastily and go back to their homes.
After Asanoya Heiji and everyone else left, they quietly went to another theater. He was led up to a Japanese-style room on the second floor. As soon as he entered the door, he knelt down in the tunnel respectfully and said, "Heiji Asanoya, pay my respects to Boss Katsuyama!"
Sitting in the middle of the room was a middle-aged man with plain and elegant clothes and a fair complexion. Next to him sat an extremely attractive courtesan, who was pouring wine for him.
This person is none other than Denzo Katsuyama, the major shareholder of the Beihai Company, Zhao Xin's white glove in the Sendai Domain, and the original owner of the Katsuyamaya Winery.
Today's Denzo Katsuyama is no longer the humble winery owner. He has a arrogant look on his face. He doesn't even look at Asanoya Heiji and says in a deep voice: "Boss Asanoya, why are you so late?"
"I was delayed in discussing something with my colleagues. Please don't take offense to Boss Shengshan."
After Asanoya tried to please him and drank three drinks as a penalty, the two of them got down to business. Just listen to Shengshan Chuansan: "I won't talk nonsense. Do you understand the conditions before?"
"It's clear, it's clear." Asanoya nodded hastily.
"Well, you send the five hundred households to Ishinomaki Port, and someone will sign an agreement with you there." After finishing speaking, Denzo Katsuyama handed a thick booklet to the other party, and said with a smile: "Pick one Bar."
With trembling hands, Asanoya Heiji took this book, which countless businessmen had been coveting, and opened it. The first few pages were a catalog, and the back was a detailed introduction to each product. He flipped through it, and he wanted the agency rights for every product on it, but today he could only choose one.
Asanoya looked at it hesitantly for a long time, and finally pointed at the sugar item and said, "I choose this one."
"Haha, Asanoya has really good vision! That's it then!"
In July, Zhao Xin asked Liu Zheng to tell Katsuyama Denzo not to take all the goods into his own hands and sell them. Instead of working hard to sell goods, it is better to sell agency rights. Divide the entire island country into two core business districts, Edo and Osaka, and charge annual agency fees. However, the prerequisite for obtaining agency rights is to attract people to Beihai Town.
Listening to Shengshan Chuan Sanyi, it is natural to follow the instructions. This guy has already made a lot of money just by being the exclusive agent of Ezo Island's coal, timber and fur business; Zhao Xin also promised that he can participate in the trade of Ryukyu, Taiwan and even Southeast Asia under the name of Beihai Trading Company in the future.
The reason why Zhao Xin requires that those who want to obtain product agency rights must recruit people from Beihai Town is actually to fill the occupied areas with population.
He knew that Xu Dayong went to Nanba Laolin where Sichuan and Shaanxi were connected, but that place belonged to the south. But if tens of thousands of southerners were sent to a place like Nerchinsk, the climate alone would be unbearable, and many people might die in the winter.
For Beihai Town, not only Nerchinsk and Chita, but also places from Boli and Trinshiji north of Xingkai Lake to Sanxing City on the Songhua River and even Heilongjiang City on the Heilongjiang River are sparsely populated. , in urgent need of a large number of people, hundreds of thousands of people are just a splash.
Just one Boli had a population of one million in another time and space, but if you want to develop in this time and space, you can't do it without 200,000 people! Not to mention that Zhao Xin also wanted to build a railway to connect the land route from Yaksa to Khabarovsk.
On September 13, 1788 in the Gregorian calendar, Zhao Xin, who had arrived early, led a battalion to quickly capture Verkhnodinsk, the largest town in Transbaikal Russia, while Liu Sheng drove back to Chita with Fan Tong and several agricultural machinery drivers. , in order to bring over another battalion of troops.
During the attack on Verkhnokhnudinsk, which had a population of only 2,500, the Northern Navy actually captured Ivan Jacobi, the governor of Tsarist Russia's Irkutsk who had just returned from Chita in a carriage.
"You were the one who suggested attacking Heilongjiang? I also heard that you once named all the mountains and rivers north of Heilongjiang City?"
There was no trace of anger on Zhao Xin's face, and he asked with a smile. Chen Jishan, who was standing on one side, saw Zhao Xin showing this expression again, and knew in his heart that the governor's fate was probably hanging in the balance. This boss would look like this every time he was extremely angry. If he was really angry and cursed, he would be fine.
Sitting opposite Zhao Xin, Ivan Jacques, who was wearing a gorgeous fur and a wig, had an earthy complexion. He did not expect that the Chinese's revenge would come so quickly. A thousand miles away, how did they do it? Didn’t you see these people riding horses when you were defending the city before?
What made him most incredible was that Suvorov was defeated by this man! Counting Major General Alexandrov, who was previously defeated in Heilongjiang City, Russia has no troops to send in the entire Eastern Siberia. Even if we want to regain the occupied territory, we have to wait until next year.
He had previously vowed that he could cooperate with them to carve up the Northeast, but now it seems really ridiculous!
But one thing is strange about Ivan Jacobi. These people didn't even defeat the Qing Empire, so why did they help them instead?
"Tell me about it. Didn't you use the name of your wife's dog? What's that dog's name?"
Ivan Jacobi raised his head, looked at Zhao Xin and said: "I am the governor of the Irkutsk Governor-General appointed by the Tsarist Russian Empire. I am an imperial count. I demand to be treated in a manner consistent with my status."
Zhao Xin swept the table with the back of his hand, as if there was something dirty on it that he had swept off. I just heard him say calmly: "It's ridiculous. A group of barbarians are telling me etiquette? Although the Manchus are bastards, I think you are even more bastards than them!"
"Mr. Zhao, I have heard of you. It is said that you are a descendant of a certain royal family of the previous dynasty, and that you have defeated the encirclement and suppression armies of the Qing Empire several times. But what I want to tell you is that Tsarist Russia is not the Qing Empire. Have you considered Are there any consequences? You will face hundreds of thousands of elite troops! I advise you to retreat to the east bank of the Ergun River."
Zhao Xin stretched out his thumb and gestured, and said with a smile: "What a cooked duck. Count Jacobi, please don't worry, I won't kill you. After we put the red flag on the Irkutsk Castle, we will let you go." Go back and give the old lady a message. I very much welcome you to send more people over. I am currently short of labor on the construction site."
"Then I have to thank you!"
Zhao Xin suddenly stood up, and everyone present thought he was going to end the conversation. Just listen to his deep voice: "Yin Bingwei!"
"arrive!"
"Cut off one of his hands, don't let him die." Zhao Xin's tone was very calm, as if he was talking about what he planned to eat tonight, and then he quickly opened the door without looking back.
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