"I, Hengshan Tuoye, pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince of Ming Dynasty, and wish His Highness a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand years!"
Hearing that the Ming Dynasty would adjust the import of bird guns from Japan, Hengshan Takuya, as the head of Japan's commerce in the capital, was very concerned about this, because this business involved tens of thousands of taels of silver, which was definitely not a small amount.
"Mr. Hengshan, there is no need to be polite, please give me a seat!"
When Yaoji heard this guy speak fluent Mandarin, he understood that he must have been living in the Ming Dynasty for a long time. Without looking at his clothes and just listening to his voice, others would easily regard him as a Ming person without careful identification.
In this era, all Japanese people with a surname and a name were either rich or noble. Ordinary people did not have a surname, and they may not even have a given name. For example, Li Erdan and Zhang Gouzi from the Ming Dynasty were many times stronger than their counterparts in Japan.
It seemed that this guy had dressed up carefully before the audience. He specially chose a more gorgeous sky blue embroidered kimono, but his hairstyle was a bit embarrassing. It was still the unique samurai style of the Japanese country with a bald front and a bun at the back.
"Thank you, Your Highness. This is a specialty I brought from Japan. I hope Your Highness will accept it!"
The waiter brought in two boxes, one large and one small. After opening them, the large box was filled with pieces of colorful coral, while the small box was filled with pure white pearls.
"Then it's Lao Hengshan. Come to the court and accept it!"
This guy is very polite and knows that in order to do business, you need to have a stepping stone to impress the other party. The gifts are also very valuable, but for the foodie prince, pearl coral is not as affordable as a few bluefin tuna...
"Your Highness is very polite. It is a great honor for me to be summoned by His Highness. As long as His Highness likes it, I will definitely send someone to deliver these specialties again!"
Hengshan Takuya was stationed at the trading port Tianjin. He was invited to the capital for a few days by the factory guard and had been waiting for the summons from the prince of the Ming Empire.
However, during my stay there, I also read that day's "Jingshi Daily" every day, and sent people around to inquire, so I already understood most of what happened in the capital.
In the early days of the prince's supervision of the country, many new policies were promulgated, but none of them dealt with the Japanese country, especially the trade between the two countries. This made Yokoyama Takuya very worried, so he came with a generous gift.
This gift did not belong to him, but to all the Japanese merchants who were stationed in Tianjin on his behalf. The pearls and corals were all collected from their own possessions.
Fortunately, the appearance of these two kinds of seafood is beautiful, and they were carefully screened before leaving, so it is difficult to tell that they are pieced together.
"Mr. Hengshan, you don't have to be like this. Japan has always been Ming's largest trading partner in the surrounding areas. Ming Dynasty also attaches great importance to bilateral relations with Japan. It has unique strategic significance in the current context, and looks forward to in-depth cooperation with Japan in various fields. This will lead to steady and orderly development. As long as Japanese merchants conduct legal trade permitted by the imperial court in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has always had a welcoming attitude and can play a positive role in promoting the healthy development of relations between the two countries."
For these high-sounding diplomatic rhetoric, a certain prince was very familiar with it. He relied on deception to deal with internal affairs, and the same was true at the diplomatic level. At present, if he wanted to make requests to others, of course he should boast the Ming-Japanese relations like a flower.
"I am truly flattered that Your Highness attaches so much importance to Japan. On behalf of all Japanese merchants in the Ming Dynasty, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince. I wish that the relationship between the two countries will be long and prosperous in the Ming Dynasty. I will definitely try my best to maintain trade exchanges."
Although the prince spoke in vernacular, given his young age, these words also surprised Yokoyama Takuya. There were rumors in the market that the prince had returned from the fairy world, and the "Jingshi Daily" also confirmed this. He was still a little unconvinced before, but now You can actually hear it and see it.
"There is a proverb in the Ming Dynasty, which says that those who understand current affairs are heroes. Mr. Hengshan is such an honest and trustworthy man. I believe that if Japanese businessmen are as friendly as Mr. Hengshan, the total trade volume between Japan and Japan will definitely increase year after year. To the extent that both parties are satisfied.”
What is business?
It is an intellectual game where each takes advantage of each other on the premise of getting what they need.
If it involves buying with coins, it's a money game; if it's barter, it's a pure goods game.
A certain prince can cooperate with a businessman no matter which country he comes from, as long as he can help his plan.
"I am a businessman, and I am really ashamed to receive your highness's false praise. I and my family are willing to work hard for the Ming-Japanese trade from generation to generation, and to relieve the worries of your highness, your highness. If your highness has any instructions, I will do my best to complete it."
The prince's compliments to him made Yokoyama Takuya very happy. At any rate, this was a good start, and he was sent away without any gifts from his subordinates. Therefore, no matter whether the prince opens his mouth or not, he must let the big words out first before speaking.
"Mr. Yokoyama is being too modest. I heard that Mr. Yokoyama's family runs a cannon factory that produces thousands of cannons every year. He also has a close personal relationship with His Excellency the Tokugawa Shogun. Therefore, I intend to give you a piece of business. I wonder if you can do it? Intentional?"
What Yao Ji is interested in is not the gun trade, but the personal relationship between this guy and the Tokugawa general.
Throughout the ages and in all places, arms dealers have had an extraordinary relationship with the king.
To be precise, the existence of some countries depends entirely on the help of arms dealers and big tycoons.
For example, in 1519, Maximilian I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, died, and his successor needed to be chosen from Carlos I of Spain or Francois I of France.
The former spent 850,000 Gulden to succeed, and the real driving force behind it was the Austrian tycoon Jacob Gulden.
At that time, a gulden gold coin was enough for a poor family of three to eat for a year, and its purchasing power was equivalent to the equivalent of ten taels of silver from the dynasty, or even higher.
The purchasing power of 850,000 gulden gold coins is at least equivalent to 8.5 million silver, so the throne of the Mud Empire is extremely valuable.
If the Great Dynasty bid for the throne like this, without the support of local tycoons, the vassal kings would lose their fortune and not be able to get the position they dream of.
The same is true for the current actual ruler of Japan, Tokugawa Iemitsu. As the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the second son of Tokugawa Tadahide, after he became the third-generation shogun, it was best to monopolize the foreign trade of Nagasaki Port. proof.
As the West continued to infiltrate the Japanese mainland through sorcerers, more and more Japanese became believers, which made Tokugawa Iemitsu very angry and ordered to break off diplomatic relations with Spain in the 10th year of Yuanhe.
Later, the United Kingdom also withdrew from trade with Japan, and the Japanese country subsequently maintained a closed country system for more than two hundred years. This was the formation of the country. Only the Dutch and Ming merchant ships were allowed to engage in bilateral trade, and the port was limited to Nagasaki.
The sixteenth year of Kanei's arrival in Japan was also the twelfth year that Zakimei passed away the blame. This year, the lock-down system was officially completed. Tokugawa Iemitsu started the era of shogunate rule over Japan, fulfilling Tokugawa Ieyasu's wish.
However, Tokugawa Iemitsu's direct control area was only half of Honshu Island, and the remaining vast areas were all privately owned by many daimyo.
In order to control the daimyo and avoid counterattacks, Tokugawa Iemitsu stipulated that all daimyo must live in Edo for one year, and then they can return to their respective vassals to live for one year, and then return to Edo again, and so on.
The daimyo living in their respective territories is called "zaiguo", and the daimyo going to live in Edo is called "zaifu". The "participation system" parallel to the "seclusion system" allowed Tokugawa Iemitsu to effectively control the entire Japanese country. The land suppressed the great names of various places.
If it hadn't been for the sudden intrusion of Perry's fleet, this handcuffed management method would have continued for a long time...
"Just give me your Highness's orders. I will definitely comply with them!"
As long as he can make a lot of money, Yokoyama Takuya doesn't mind treating himself as a slave of the Ming Prince.
However, the prince already knew about the relationship between the family and the Tokugawa shoguns, so the errand entrusted to him must be a bit tricky.
"Sir, you may be aware of the current situation of the Ming Dynasty. I intend to borrow 50,000 troops from His Excellency General Tokugawa to land on the Liaodong Peninsula and launch an attack on the areas occupied by the Donglu."
If 50,000 doesn't work, then 30,000. In short, it can't be less than 10,000. If it's too little, it really won't make a big splash, it won't touch Huang Taiji's nerves, and it won't be able to attract its attention.
"...Your Highness, are you serious?"
Yokoyama Takuya was almost dumbfounded when he heard this. This idea was too bold, and how to convince General Tokugawa was definitely a super difficult task.
"You have no joke!"
This has all been discussed at the court meeting, so I’m asking you to give me a message. If you don’t agree, then change the person immediately. You know, the benefits of this are huge!
"Your Highness, I really don't know how to persuade General Tokugawa of my country to agree to send troops."
If it were other things, it would be easy to say, but he really couldn't take on this job. In desperation, Yokoyama Takuya could only tell the truth.
"Come here, give me some tea!"
A certain prince did not tell the truth directly, but first asked the servant to serve tea to this guy. It was not ordinary tea, but jujube tea made from ground red dates and added sugar.
"Good tea, extremely sweet and endless aftertaste. Thank you very much, Your Highness!"
It was also the first time for Yokoyama Takuya to drink this kind of tea. Although the taste was very different from ordinary tea, he liked the sweetness inside it very much.
"Okay, sir, I have tasted the gift I gave to His Excellency General Tokugawa. If Your Excellency the General is moved, he will definitely agree to send troops!"
Yaoji felt that as long as Tokugawa was not a fool, he would be stunned by this gift package. No one would refuse a business worth thousands of dollars.
"...Your Highness, please forgive me for being stupid. I really don't know His Highness's holy will!"
Yokoyama Takuya was confused by a certain prince, so he drank half a cup of tea, and was told that the tasting was over. If he just sent such sweet tea, the Ming prince would be a little too whimsical.
"Sir, how much does this kind of candy cost in your country?"
Yaoji asked Duan, the chamberlain, to pass over a tael of sugar to give him some ideas.
"...No less than three hundred cents per catty!"
Yokoyama Takuya only conservatively estimated that the actual selling price will be higher than this number.
"I will ask merchant ships to provide large quantities of this white sugar to Your Excellency the General. The CIF price, that is, the price when shipped to Nagasaki, is two hundred and fifty copper coins per catty. How much the general will resell in your country, I will not care about. Except that In addition, a sufficient amount of ordinary white sugar will be provided, and the price will be 30% lower than the market price. I doubt that Your Majesty the General will refuse this gift from me, right?"
From 1648 to 1683, the Zheng Group shipped at least 18,000 tons of white sugar to Japan every year. According to the standard of earning two taels of silver per kilogram of sugar, it could earn 320 taels of silver per ton. It could earn 320 taels of silver from Japan every year. Obtained nearly 6 million taels worth of copper coins.
This was also the main source of income for Zheng Chenggong to lead his army against the Qing court for a long time. The only object of his transaction was the Tokugawa shogun who succeeded him.
After defeating the Zheng Group, Braid immediately lifted the sea ban and organized merchant ships to transport large amounts of sugar to the Japanese country to cash out copper coins.
From 1661 to 1708, the Japanese lost more than 50 million kilograms of copper coins in the sugar trade with the Dynasty alone.
For such a huge good thing, a certain prince would of course have to do it on a first-come, first-served basis.
The CIF price offered to General Tokugawa was 250 copper coins per catty, and the departure price offered to Zheng Laofi was 150 copper coins per catty. The reason why he made a big profit was that sea transportation was extremely risky. Zheng Laofi needs to bear the relevant losses on his own.
Excluding the planting and subsequent purification of sugarcane farmers, a certain prince can earn forty cash per kilogram after tax and sixty-four taels of silver per ton. Exporting 20,000 tons of high-quality cane sugar every year can earn more than one million taels of silver. of copper coins.
Considering that the level of consumption power in the Japanese market is uneven, if you add some coarse sugar and finally neutralize it, you can have an income of no less than 700,000 to 800,000 taels, which is not a small amount of income for yourself.
"No, of course not. His Excellency General Tokugawa will definitely appreciate His Highness!"
Yokoyama Takuya knew that there was huge profit hidden in this, and it was a business involving millions of taels of silver. Tokugawa Iemitsu would definitely participate in the cane sugar business, because it would be of great help to him in allocating military pay.
"That's good. I have a handwritten letter addressed to His Excellency the General here. Mr. Lao will return to your country as soon as possible and present it to Your Excellency the General."
Yaoji asked Yang Jinchao to send an envelope sealed with cowhide, which contained not only a handwritten letter, but also a complete set of business plans and combat plans, which was guaranteed to convince the general who was a slut.
"When Your Highness speaks, I will definitely do as you are told!"
Yokoyama Takuya was too embarrassed to directly ask what kind of benefits he could get, but he was itching not to ask.
"Sir, you don't have to worry about the sugar business. It's unwise to get involved in your general's business. I bother you to go back and forth between the Ming Dynasty and your country, and I will naturally have enough benefits for you. If you can facilitate the dispatch of troops, you will get everything under my command. I am the sole general agent of the products in Japan. I will send people to transport the novel products to the warehouse near Tianjin Port, and Mr. will transport them back to your country for sale. The pricing and distribution will be determined by Mr., and the profits will be transferred to Mr. all."
How much profit there is will only be known when this guy takes charge, but it will not be less than five hundred thousand taels of silver every year.
In order to eat this piece of oily fat, this guy will go all out and try his best to persuade the second-rate Tokugawa general.
"I am deeply grateful to His Highness for your kindness, and I will definitely facilitate this matter!"
Yokoyama Takuya didn't know what kind of products he could be an agent for, but the title of general agent was very dazzling, which made him quite excited.
"Sir, you will soon see the products you represent, and you will definitely not regret it!"
It seems that I am going to open a beef ramen restaurant in Japan...
