Chapter 108: Living Up to the Mission

Ashikaga Yoshimasa secretly weighed the pros and cons in his heart, and then asked, "I don't know how Mr. is going to solve Lone's problem?" ”

Li Shi said: "In fact, maritime merchants are also merchants, and the imperial court has nothing to do with them. But the problem of His Highness can be dealt with with by my story. ”

Ashikaga Yoshimasa said, "I would like to hear about it." ”

Li Shi said: "Your Highness thinks that our country is open to the sea, but in fact, most of our country is forbidden to the sea, only each province has a port to open the sea, so the goods of a province gather here, and it is most convenient for merchants to go to sea here." ”

"The imperial court will set up cards to collect taxes, and each port will be more than hundreds of thousands of taels, and as little as hundreds of thousands of taels, which will be the May Day of the national treasury."

When Ashikaga Yoshimasa heard the number Li Shi said, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "This is true. ”

Li Shi said: "How dare you lie about it? ”

Ashikaga Yoshimasa couldn't help but think about it in his heart.

Although the proportion of gold and silver in Japan is very different from that of the Ming Dynasty, there is not much difference in these large gold mines and large silver mines in Japan when the large silver mines have not yet been excavated.

Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are already quite a lot of money for Ashikaga Yoshimasa.

It occurred to him for a moment that if Japan also had such a port, it would be a considerable benefit to the shogunate.

He almost blurted out, "Okay." But he thought that he had to convince Hosokawa Katsumoto, and he and Hosokawa Katsumoto would be able to suppress the other daimyos, but in the face of Hosokawa Katsumoto, Ashikaga Yoshimasa still didn't have much confidence. He immediately said: "After I go back, I will definitely discuss this matter with the ministers." ”

Immediately Ashikaga Yoshimasa got up and left.

Li Shi looked up at the withered cherry blossoms, and said secretly in his heart: "I hope everything goes well." ”

After Ashikaga Yoshimasa returned, he first consulted with the present Senate. After hearing this, she was also moved, she seemed to suddenly think of something, and said: "General, the concubine heard that someone dug up the golden sand on Sado Island, did the Ming people come for this." ”

The legend of the gold mines on Sado Island was first spread more than ten years ago. Legend has it that a man found a bag of sand gold on Sado Island and became a rich man.

Of course, this is also a folk tale, and it is difficult to say whether it is true or not, and whether there is a prototype or not.

Ashikaga Yoshimasa was slightly stunned. Then he smiled and said: "How many of these rumors are true and how many are false, and even if there is a little gold and silver on the island, what about it?" ”

"What the Akito gave me was a living gold mine."

Ashikaga Yoshimasa was now carried away by the figure of hundreds of thousands of taels per year. He completely forgot that what the Ming Dynasty could do may not be possible for Japan.

Japan under the jurisdiction of the Ashikaga shogunate cannot be regarded as a whole at all. Daming actually has a lot of private ports, but due to the cost

problems, and pressure from the government.

After all, although the Daming Naval Division is much worse than that of the Yongle period, this fleet is still the largest fleet in East Asia and even Southeast Asia today.

No matter how big the pirate leader is, he will not dare to slack off when he sees this ship.

They're honest.

I really thought that the balance between the government and pirates was just a name.

The strength of the Japanese sailor is not as good as a finger of the Daming sailor. In addition, Japan's long coastline, the local daimyo are in their own ways, and under the collusion between the inside and outside, where can the Ashikaga shogunate complete the feat of closing the country.

Since it is not possible to gather most of the maritime trade in one port. Then there is a lot of tax evasion. It is difficult to say how much benefit this living gold mine will bring to Japan at that time.

As for Sado Island.

If it is just an ordinary gold mine, Ashikaga Yoshimasa's decision is not wrong, if you really want to say it, a gold mine like Jiajingou will only bring tens of thousands of taels of silver to Zhu Qizhen every year.

For Zhu Qizhen, it is a drop in the bucket, and it is not comparable to the income of the customs at all.

But is Sado Island another gold mine?

Sado Island has been mined for more than 300 years, and a total of 78 tons of gold and more than 2,300 tons of silver have been produced.

You must know that the annual tax income of the Ming Dynasty is two.

It was Ashikaga Yoshimasa who happily made a decision he regretted for the rest of his life.

Loaned Sado Island to the Ming Dynasty in exchange for the Ming Dynasty's support for the opening of the Port of Hakata, that is, the Ming Dynasty officially ordered that trade with Japan could only go to the Port of Hakata.

The reason why it is not Nagasaki is that this era is not the era of Nagasaki's prosperity, and the port of Hakata on the west coast of Japan is more valued by Japan.

Ashikaga Yoshimasa also knows that his sailor is not strong enough, but what he wants to do is not to strengthen his sailor, which is too expensive and useless.

The main enemy of the Ashikaga shogunate was none other than the daimyo on the Japanese islands. To deal with these daimyos, the shogunate did not need too many ships.

Ashikaga Yoshimasa was naturally reluctant to spend more effort on the sailor.

Subsequently, Ashikaga Yoshimasa persuaded Hosokawa Katsumoto. Of course, the distribution of interests between monarchs and ministers should not be put on the table

With the support of Ashikaga Yoshimasa and Hosokawa Katsumoto. This one thing was passed.

So on the auspicious day of the zodiac in May of the twenty-first year of orthodoxy, Li Shi canonized the king of Japan again on behalf of the great emperor.

As a result, Ashikaga Yoshimasa became the second Japanese general to be canonized by the Ming Dynasty after Ashikaga Yoshimasa

As for some of the following.

For example, Japan lent Sado Island to the Ming Dynasty, Japan and the Ming Dynasty jointly cracked down on pirates around Japan, and Japan and the Ming Dynasty had a series of regulations on trade.

Japanese merchants can go to Daming to do business, but only in Ningbo, and Daming

Merchants went to Japan only at the port of Hakata. Do not go to other parts of Japan.

Otherwise, it is illegal, and if you are caught by Japan, you can dispose of it yourself.

Li Shi spent two or three months in Japan and finally returned with a full load.

He returned to North Korea from Japan and first met Xu Youzhen.

Xu Youzhen talked carefully with Li Shi, smiled and said, "Brother Li did a good job this time. After going back, he will definitely be rewarded by His Majesty. ”

Li Shi smiled bitterly and said: "I don't want a reward or something, I'm just worried that Your Majesty will be angry with us instead." ”

Xu Youzhen smiled slightly and said, "Please rest assured Brother Li, I already have a way to deal with it." ”

Li Shi said: "What does Brother Xu mean? ”

Xu Youzhen said: "I don't believe that the huge North Korea can't find a little gold mine." ”

Although Xu Youzhen didn't say it explicitly, how could Li Shi not hear it. Li Shi wants Li Dai to be stiff, as long as there is gold coming out, can this gold still jump out by itself and say where he dug it up.

But Li Shi was also a little unbearable in his heart, and said: "North Korea is newly determined, in this way, I am afraid of chaos, your majesty is wise and martial today, and he should not be angry, Brother Xu thought twice, and I inquired in Japan, it seems that there is gold on Sado Island, and it is not groundless, as long as you carefully find a few masters, you should have some gains." ”

Xu Youzhen sighed and said, "I hope so." ”

But in his heart, he was unwilling to gamble on the emperor's mood with his future.

After all, Xu Youzhen also understands that in fact, in the imperial court, there are many people who ignore Xu Youzhen. The reason why Xu Youzhen rose step by step, and then Jane was in the emperor's heart, was not because of his Xu Youzhen's character, but because he Xu Youzhen could do things, and there was never a mistake in his hands.

Now, if this one thing can't be done.

Perhaps the emperor would not have been angry at that time.

But what do you think about the future?

Xu Youzhen was very worried about whether it would be an unfavorable introduction in the emperor's heart.

This is what he never wants to see.

So, since the emperor thought that there were gold mines on Sado Island, there must have been gold mines on Sado Island, even if these gold mines were excavated from other places and then buried on Sado Island and excavated again.

Xu Youzhen thought so in her heart, but she wouldn't say it in her mouth. He immediately changed the topic and said: "The master craftsmen of the Shaofu have arrived, it is said that these masters are very powerful, and they still have official bodies on their bodies, so I think they will gain something on Sado Island in the future." ”

After Xu Youzhen talked with Li Shi, he felt that it was not too late, and immediately sent a sailor with thousands of Korean laborers, as well as the master craftsmen sent by Shaofu, to Sado Island by boat.

Regardless of whether there is a harvest on Sado Island or not, someone must be sent to investigate it carefully.