Although the plan for the operation against Japan has been decided, the date of the operation has not yet been set because it is necessary to wait for a batch of ordnance and grain to be shipped from Taiwan.

The former is less important, but the latter is very important.

The base camp has already formulated a strategy of "settling the problem on the spot" as the main strategy for the logistics of the Japanese operation, but in the early stage, the combined fleet and the Guards Division still need a large amount of food supplies.

Taiwan, which had not yet been completely occupied and reclaimed, was obviously unable to meet the supply needs of the emperor's pro-Japanese army, and Fujian, which was adjacent to Taiwan, could not provide so much food, so the current food supply of the imperial army mainly came from Annam.

To be precise, it came from an Anhai businessman named Pei Guangpao.

Three years ago, because a certain guard in Zhejiang couldn't open his eyes and received money from some people in Nanjing and went to the Special Administrative Region to pretend to be a Japanese and brutalize the people, Gonggong Wei was angry and personally led the soldiers of the imperial army to sweep away Nawei, and on the way he saved Pei Guangpao, who had fallen to the Phoenix Ocean due to a storm.

After that, the father-in-law allowed Na Pei Guangpao to specialize in Annam rice in a concessionary way, and the transaction method was to sell goods to goods.

That is, Gonggong Wei provided a large number of Ming goods to Pei Guangpao, who did not need to pay gold and silver, but only needed to hand over the rice produced by Annan.

This is a good deal without profit, the price of rice produced in Annam is extremely low, but the goods of the Ming Dynasty are very popular in Annam, and the price is not much higher than that of rice.

Once you come and go, you can make a lot of fun.

Coupled with all kinds of preferential treatment promised by the Duke of Wei himself, and the protection of the emperor's combined fleet along the way, Pei Guangpao immediately organized a group of partners to buy a large amount of rice and load it on the ship.

Originally, rice was sent directly to the Special Administrative Region, but last year, the imperial army invaded Taiwan and set up a grain transshipment center in Keelung, so that Annanhai ships did not have to go north.

In this way, the cost of shipping was reduced again, and the imperial army's exploration of Taiwan and the influx of a large number of immigrants greatly increased the demand for Annam's rice, which further stimulated Annam merchants to transport rice to China.

So far, Pei Guangpao has become the leading maritime businessman in Annan.

The latest order has been approved by Gonggong Wei, and this time the imperial army and the pro-army of the emperor of Taiwan have commanded the envoy to need as much as 6 million stones, which makes the rice sellers in Annam so happy that they can't close their teeth.

The local farmers in Annan also benefited from this, after all, Pei Guangpao's strength could not completely monopolize the rice market in Annan, and Gonggong Wei did not want this guy to become a monopolist, so he instructed the rest of the Annan merchants to support the rest of the Annan merchants.

The more the imperial army demanded rice, the more maritime merchants participated, and the price of Annam's rice would rise as soon as competition arose, which indirectly benefited Annamam farmers.

Pei Guangpao is quite far-sighted, and he has begun to send people to Siam, Burma and other countries to buy grain, the purpose of which is naturally not to hope that the price of rice in Annam will be too high.

As a businessman, the lower the purchase price, the more in line with the interest.

As everyone knows, Gonggong Wei's side has long regarded Annan's rice as a strategic material, and after taking Japan, the imperial army will turn to Southeast Asia in order to obtain a large number of strategic materials to cope with the emerging food shortage in China.

In mid-August, in the name of the Admiral Maritime Yamen, Gonggong Wei set up the "General Administration of Customs and Taxation of East Asia (Inside) of the Ming Emperor's Army" in the port of Naha, and after the establishment of the General Administration of Customs, all ships passing through Japan, Liangchen County, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia were required to pay customs duties equivalent to 10 percent of the value of their goods.

This is another city shipping agency after the Fujian City Ship Division and the Guangzhou City Ship Division, and it is also the only maritime customs agency established by the Ming Dynasty again after the opening of the sea in Longqing.

The word "Nei" on the plaque indicates that the institution is directly under the jurisdiction of the Inner Court, which is equal to the status of the Yamen of the local mine tax inspectors, so that the institution will not be controlled by foreign dynasties in the future.

In order to ensure that the East Asian Customs Administration would be able to do prosperous business after its opening, the Combined Fleet was ordered to carry out a "seizure" operation in the waters of Liangchen County.

Ships arriving and going from the sea, whether they are Japanese, Western, or Japanese, must stop at Naha Port for tax calculation and are only allowed to pass after the formalities have been completed.

The tariff quota of 10 percent is not too high, the customs tariff rate was 50 percent during the Yongle period of this dynasty, and the Zhengde period was reduced to 20 percent, and the actual tax amount of the point system implemented later was not less than 20 percent, so the 10 percent tariff set by Wei Gonggong completely took care of businessmen from all over the world, fully embodying the "people-oriented" management and governing concept that Wei Gonggong has always emphasized.

Maritime taxation is the core of the great maritime industry, and it is also the foundation that supports the great cause of Wei Gonggong, so Wei Gonggong clearly proposed to the United Fleet to ensure that every ship going to and from the East Asian shipping lanes must pass through the port, every cargo must be weighed, and every penny must be passed.

The newly established Liangchen County should also fully cooperate with the General Administration of Customs in investigating smuggling. To this end, Gonggong Wei also rebuilt some soldiers who originally belonged to the Shang regime in the Ryukyus into an anti-smuggling team of the General Administration of Customs, with some wounded veterans as the backbone, so as to ensure that the General Administration of Customs had a trustworthy and useful armed force.

The Combined Fleet regarded the investigation operation as a rehearsal for operations against Japan, and dispatched a large number of troops to control the waters of the Ryukyus in the form of detachments.

In the past, there were pirates in the waters and shipping lanes of the Ryukyus, which posed a threat to the merchant ships of various countries, but after all, the scale was small, and some fleets could solve it with their own escort forces, and if they could not solve the problem, they could just pay some tolls.

However, the advent of the Combined Fleet made "tax evasion" a thing of the past, and in the face of the powerful Imperial Navy, merchants from all over the world bowed their heads and obediently paid their taxes to the General Customs Office of the Port of Naha.

In the middle, there was also an incident of Western merchant ships firing, which was finally resolved with a fine of 500 for Western merchant ships.

All merchant ships that stop in Naha will be issued a certificate by the General Administration of Customs, which is called a "Good Ship Certificate".

Those who hold the "Good Ship Certificate" will be fully protected by the Ming Imperial Army, and those who do not will be treated as pirates and will be exterminated, the goods will be confiscated, and the personnel will be distributed, regardless of nationality.

Behind the seizure operation to ensure customs revenue was the strategic intention of the blockade against Japan, which also forced the powerful local factions of the Japanese daimyo who had maritime trade to take the initiative to contact the Imperial Army.

At the same time, it is also to cooperate with the base camp to carry out the political work of "Jiabidan" Li Dan, which is to say that both grace and power are applied together, and both hands must be hard.

On 27 August, a detachment of the Combined Fleet 200 miles northwest of Liangchen County and a flotilla departing from the Satsuma Domain of Japan exchanged fire.

As a result of the firefight, four of the Japanese Satsuma Domain's ships were seized, and the remaining three fled back to Kagoshima.

According to the confessions of the captured Japanese sailors, the Satsuma clan already knew the news that the Ryukyus were captured by the Ming army, but the Satsuma clan did not mobilize again to attack the Ryukyus.

Soon after, the mission received definite news that Shimazu Tadatsune, the governor of the Satsuma Domain, did not want the situation to expand, let alone give up maritime trade, so he intended to sign a secret agreement with the Seryū Imperial Army to maintain maritime trade.

After all, Satsuma, a powerful feudal clan in the southwest, was able to have today, relying entirely on sea trade. If maritime trade was interrupted by the Ming Dynasty's armed forces, the blow to Satsuma would have been very fatal.

If there is no wealth, there will be no soldiers, and if there are no soldiers, there will be no power, let alone land.

Gonggong Wei attached great importance to this information, and instructed Hu Guang of the Propaganda Mission to immediately negotiate with Shimazu Tadaheng, and under the condition of not violating the general principle, he could sign a secret agreement with the other side, so that the Satsuma Domain, a powerful feudal domain in the southwest of Kyushu, Japan, could maintain neutrality in the imperial army's war against Japan.

"If Shimazu Tadashi is willing to be loyal to the emperor, the base camp can grant him the establishment of the first mixed brigade of the imperial alliance army, and he himself will also be awarded the title of general of the Ming Dynasty."

Father-in-law Wei opened his mouth, and wealth drifted to Kagoshima with the wind.

At the same time, Gonggong Wei also ordered Ge Saburo of the Confidential Office to release the wind to the outside world, and the imperial army captured Ryukyu for the restoration of the Shang clan, and had no ambition to conquer Japan. It is also said that the imperial court is very dissatisfied with this pro-army battle in the Ryukyus, and it will be recalled at any time.

At the end of September, Gonggong Wei held a mobilization meeting in Naha Port attended by the emperor's pro-army officers and soldiers and the people of Liangchen County.

Before the start of the conference, Gonggong Wei personally sounded the soul drum on the high platform, using this ancient form of Han and Tang Dynasty to summon the souls of the fallen soldiers of the imperial army in the Battle of the Ryukyus.

After the convention, the Combined Fleet hoisted its sails and sailed towards the north.

......

In order to support her family, Mrs. responded to the call of the country to set up a stall to sell clothes, and accompanied her to Hangzhou tomorrow to pick up the goods.