Li Yi said this is definitely not untargeted, in fact, he already has a comprehensive plan in his heart. The so-called Shandan trade, which originally referred to the ethnic minorities living in the middle and lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River, the Shandan people, and the Ainu people who crossed the sea to Sakhalin, as well as the indigenous people of the northern part of the island, such as the Oroqen and Fiyaka, and later added to the Japanese of the Matsumae domain.

Although the scale of this trade was not very large at this time, it was extremely important and influential in the region (the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River, Sakhalin Island, the vicinity of the Sea of Okhotsk, Ezo Land, and the Matsumae Domain of Japan). The Shandan people from the mainland brought various consumer goods such as clothes, the Ainu carried goods such as dried fish, the Japanese carried goods such as silk, and the local aborigines provided a large number of scarce goods such as precious furs and pengyu, and the two sides bartered together on Sakhalin.

"What do you call the Manchurians on the mainland who come to trade as Shandan people?" Standing on the foredeck of the "Breaking Waves" expedition ship that set off for Dabo Port, Second Lieutenant An asked Li Yi with some doubts.

"That's what the Japanese call it." Li Yi said simply, "The Japanese originally learned the name Shandan people from the rumors of the Ainu. And the so-called Shandan is actually likely to be a transliteration of Mountain Tatar. Because at that time, the nearby residents called those ethnic groups in the middle and lower reaches of Heilongjiang as Tatars, and the mountain Tatars actually meant the Tatars who lived in the mountains, and over time they were falsely rumored to be the Shandan people. Anyway, you just need to know what it means. In my opinion, these Shandan people are actually the birth Jurchens that Jianzhou Jurchens have been capturing. These people live in bitter cold all year round. Fishing and hunting for a living. They are still at the level of primitive society, but they are indeed very qualified cannon fodder force. If we have the opportunity, we had better recruit and win over some, which will also weaken the Manchu Qing Dynasty's stamina in disguise. ”

"I wonder if I'll meet the Japanese of the Matsumae Domain this time, and if we have the chance, we can exchange our goods for some of the Ainu slaves they have. They have been at war with the Ainu for a long time in Ezo, and they still have the upper hand, so I think we can buy some slaves from them. This should be very inexpensive. And the coal mine we are currently looking for will definitely require a lot of manpower once it is developed in the future. Anji rubbed his chin with his right hand and said thoughtfully.

"You still want to spend money on slaves? You've got a bad brain, right? Li Yi patted the back of An's head dissatisfied, and said, "It's enough to go ashore to rob the Koreans, why spend money to buy them?" Forget it, I won't talk to you about this, Da Bo Port is almost here, pay attention to maneuvering the ships, the water depth of this port is very average, try to take the center of the channel. ”

Omaari Port was one of the largest ports in the South Sakhalin region at this time. A large part of the Shandan trade took place here. The name of Dabo Port was also the name of the Japanese when they occupied Sakhalin Island in later generations, and Li Yi directly took it and used it. As for what it was called at this time. It is about the appearance of the mother and child berth, which means that there are two anchorages here, one large and one small, one inside and one outside. In later generations, this port was a Russian naval base, and the name of it was Korsakov, and it was also a large port in Sakhalin.

Today is already June 24th, and according to the plan, Li Yi and the others will not stay here for too long, so he is eager to catch up with the aborigines here and even the Japanese across the strait before leaving, so as to open up the situation here as soon as possible. There are several large and small ships moored in the harbor, ranging from rudimentary canoes to large ships with tall buildings. The civilization level of all ethnic groups in the Heilongjiang River basin is very low, not to mention shipbuilding skills, maybe building a canoe is high-tech for them, so this small sailing ship moored in the middle of many canoes is a bit eye-catching.

The "Breaking Waves" puffed white smoke and carefully anchored in the deep-water channel of the outer harbor of Dabo Port. With a shout from the boatswain, a large number of dinghys were lowered on both sides of the ship almost simultaneously, and Sergeant Johnson rowed ashore in the dinghy under the escort of a group of East Shore sailors.

There are dozens of simple wooden houses on the shore, as well as a large area of flat grass. On the grass, the aborigines dressed in various clothes and speaking in various accents were trading, but the movement of the "Breaking Waves" entering the port was too great, and at this moment, both buyers and sellers invariably stopped trading with each other and looked towards the port. In their opinion, the ship that was slowly coming to a halt on the pier was much taller and more beautiful than the Japanese ship. It's just that the chimney that keeps spitting smoke makes people feel a little strange and a little frightened, especially the huge posture of the paddle paddle after the boat approaches, which deeply shocked the buns in front of them, and some unknown Oroqen people even had weak legs and fell directly to the grass.

This must be the work of the gods! More indigenous peoples, such as the Fiyaka, Ulchi, and Ainu, also knelt down, bowing reverently in the direction of the ship, muttering to themselves as if they were praying for something. Only some of the Yatars, the Japanese of the Matsumae Domain, and the few Ezo Ainu who had crossed the sea still stood there, looking at the mighty ship on the dock with complicated expressions.

Sergeant Johnson stood cautiously on the beach of Omarari Harbor, surrounded by dozens of gun-wielding sailors loaded with ammunition, and beside him, Inspector Kojiro Kojiro from the National Intelligence Agency. Kojiro was originally a descendant of the first Japanese samurai to move to the East Coast, and had served for a long time in the Bordeaux intelligence station on the East Coast, but his superior, Xu Xin, suggested that he change his surname to Xu because he did not have a surname and did not like it. I thought that he might be reluctant, but I didn't expect Kojiro to be overjoyed when he heard it, and promised to change his surname to Xu on the spot, and consider himself Xu Xin's retainer.

This time, Kojiro set off with the expedition team to the Far East, originally in preparation for the convenience of him in case he encountered a Japanese. At this moment, I saw him nod to Sergeant Johnson, and then he strode forward with his saber in hand. He wore a black tweed coat issued by the General Directorate of National Intelligence, shiny cooked cowhide military boots on his feet, and a winter fur hat on his head; A belt was tied around his waist, and on the left side of the belt hook hung a 32-year-old mechanical non-commissioned officer knife of the East Coast standard; On the right is a cowhide holster with a Type 1633 flintlock pistol inserted in the holster.

Such a simple and smooth outfit looks like a group of aborigines dressed like Hanako in the market in front of them, and this visual impact is very unusual. While these costumes don't necessarily match their aesthetic, they make the person wearing it look spirited anyway.

"I'm Imamura Yoshinosuke of the Matsumae Domain of Japan, may I ask who Your Excellency is......" Before Kojiro could speak, a few Japanese people standing on the side spoke first. Most of them were dressed as merchants, especially the leader one, who didn't even have a weapon on him, but he was flanked by four or five samurai with swords at their waists, who seemed to be his bodyguards.

"The contemptible person is Xu Kojiro, from the East Coast Republic of China, and he came to Dabo this time to prepare to trade with you." Kojiro said unhurriedly, and several tall Polish sailors stood behind him with rifles, staring at the diminutive Japanese samurai in front of him. And those Japanese samurai from the Matsumae Domain also glared back at them without showing weakness, these samurai fought with the Ainu people in Ezo all the year round, and lived a life of licking blood with knives, so they naturally did not show their timidity on such occasions.

"Deal? What are you trading for? Where is the East Coast Republic of China? You're not from Shandan, so where are you from? Imamura Yoshinosuke didn't seem to see that the samurai behind him was playing luck with the other party's red-haired yi, but asked suspiciously. He was not an uninformed man, as he had been to the bustling trading ports of the south as a young man, and had seen the Portuguese and Dutch who had come to Nagasaki to trade, so he suspected that the men standing before him were also from Tessie. It's just that the guy talking to him in front of him is an authentic Japanese, and he is very sure of this, but he doesn't know why he became the leader of these red-haired people, and let's observe their words and deeds first.

"We have a very wide range of goods. Sharp katana, sturdy armor, fine cloth, fine leather goods, durable ironwork, spicy spirits and even... A well-made iron cannon. Speaking of this, Kojiro lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Your clan had conflicts with the Ainu people in Ezo from time to time, and they fought endlessly, so they must be quite hungry for sophisticated weapons, right?" ”

"This iron cannon in your hand is also provided?" Yoshinosuke Imamura was a little tempted, he had seen the Dutch demonstrate the iron cannons from Tessie, which were much better than those made in the country. If these people were able to sell them this kind of iron cannon that looked quite good, it would be of great benefit to the Matsumae Domain's great cause of conquering Ezo. In the face of these practical benefits, it is insignificant for them to ask for a small commercial benefit.

In fact, Yoshinosuke Imamura was quite wary of these outsiders before. Although the Matsumae Domain still only occupies a part of the Ezo land, it is still far from the Ainu people on the island of Takudaira. However, in keeping with the greedy character tradition of the Japanese, the Matsumae clan has always had an eye on the Omari region far north of Ezo. (To be continued......)