"Since the princess of the Toyotomi family arrived in the capital five days ago, she has been arranged in a separate courtyard of the Marquis of Fengcheng in Baizhongfang. In order to prevent accidents, the Minister ordered the Social Investigation Bureau and the personnel of the Kinyi Guard to replace the personnel in the annex, and did not allow others to enter and leave the courtyard to contact Her Royal Highness Princess Toyotomi.

The Toyotomi princess did not show any dissatisfaction with our arrangement, and the daily activities were nothing more than flower arrangement, sencha, and reading. Except for the first day when she had asked the housekeeper of the other courtyard when she would be able to see His Majesty, she did not make any other requests. Lu Qi cautiously reported to Chongzhen.

Zhu Youzhen thought for a while before continuing to ask: "It is said that this Toyotomi Qianji has already cut her hair in Japanese currency and become a nun, did she wear plain clothes after she arrived in the capital?" ”

Lu Qi was stunned for a moment, and then replied with some uncertainty: "It shouldn't be, the few times the minister went to the other courtyard, I didn't see Her Royal Highness the princess wearing plain clothes." The minister had not explained the monitoring personnel in detail before, and the information on this piece was not reported, and he asked His Majesty to forgive him. ”

Zhu Youzhen glanced at him before he said gently: "I just ask casually, you don't have to be so nervous." In this case, you pick a few rouge gouaches from the palace, and the silk from the inner library, which are more colorful and bright, and send them to her, so that she can make a few clothes that fit. Some of the surveillance personnel in the annex can be withdrawn and allowed to move around the capital. So be it for now. ”

Lu Qi agreed, and then asked Chongzhen cautiously, "Then Your Majesty doesn't plan to see Her Royal Highness the Princess in the near future?" ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded, leaned back on the back of the chair, and said with a somewhat relaxed expression: "It's gone, it's not interesting to see her now." Wait a minute, let's see what news comes back from the Japanese side, and I'm thinking about how to use this orphan daughter of the Toyotomi family.

In addition, a nun who does not have ** is also difficult for us to use. Let her enjoy the fun of the red world first, and then she can understand that it is not Da Ming who needs her identity, but she needs Da Ming's help to have the opportunity to choose her own life.

It's up to you to handle this matter, and you can report to me regularly. Wang Chengen, tell me about the envoys sent by the local tribes in the middle and lower reaches of Heilongjiang, Vladivostok, Sakhalin Island, and Fusang Island, are they willing to accept the conditions we put forward and accept the canonization of the Ming Dynasty? ”

After Wang Chengen heard Chongzhen's question, he immediately walked to the side of the filing cabinet, rummaged on the shelf for a while, and then walked to Chongzhen with a document and opened it and said: "... The representatives of these tribes have approved the conditions we have put forward to them, and the amount of aid...

However, several representatives of the Ainu tribe in the Hidaka region of Ezo Prefecture on Fuso Island said that they were willing to accept the canonization of the Ming Dynasty and agree to trade with the Ming Dynasty, but refused to cede the coastal area to us as a local supply port for Ming merchants and fishing boats.

They believed that Fuso Island was a land given to the Ainu by the gods. Except for the land occupied by the Matsumae Domain of Japan, the rest of the land on the island is owned by the owner. Although some tribes did not agree with them, they could not sell the land of these tribes to the Ming Dynasty because of this.

Several officials of the East China Sea Patrol Office, who spoke with them on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, felt that the climate on Fuso Island was harsh, and the winter temperature was particularly cold, and that outsiders, except for the local natives, could only stay on the island for a few months in the summer. Therefore, it seems that there is no need to force the other party to cede the land, but it is possible to consider switching to a seasonal lease method. ”

Zhu Youzhen held his chin with his right hand, pondered for a moment and asked, "That Xiangku Xiangying, that is, Zhang Xiangku, what is his attitude towards what these deputies say?" ”

After turning a few pages, Wang Chengen pressed the document with his hand and said, "This young leader has another love letter, he said that there is a large plain to the west of the Hidaka region, called the Ishikari Plain.

Although the winters in this area are harsh, the summer temperatures are relatively mild, and if they could be used for grazing livestock like Jeju Island, it would probably be able to support many people.

The Ishikari Plain is surrounded by mountains on the north, east, and west, but only a small forest is connected to the Tsukifu Plain on the south side. The Murroran land on the edge of the Yongfu Plain was occupied by the Matsumae Domain, and an Etsu site was set up in the area.

Because of the existence of the Matsumae Domain, the tribes that originally lived in the Yongfu Plain and Ishikari Plains were forced to move to the northern mountainous regions. Therefore, he asked the Ming to send people to establish a city in the southern part of the Ishikari Plain to prevent the Matsumae Domain from expanding further to the north.

He also said that although the Pacific harbor leading to the Ishikari Plain was occupied by the Matsumae Domain, there was an estuary called Otaru in the bay area to the east of the Ishikari Plain, which could also dock ships and lead to the Ishikari Plain through the river.

In his love letter, he also objected to the conditions under which the Ainu deputies wanted to preserve their own customs, believing that since they had submitted to the Ming Dynasty, they should follow the living customs of the Ming people, change their clothes, learn Chinese, and go out of the cave dwelling to build houses instead. ”

Zhu Youzhen's face softened, and he instructed Lu Qi: "Didn't this Zhang Xiangku study in our military academy?" Find a few students who have a good relationship with him and get in touch with him to see what his true attitude towards Da Ming and his own clan is.

As for the development of Fuso Island, you can first follow this statement to investigate the local geography, vegetation, minerals, and climate, and then make a plan. As for the objections of the representatives of those tribes, they will be ignored for the time being. There are not only these tribes on Fuso Island, there are always people who are willing to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty.

Also, you can show me the map of the Whale Sea and the distribution map of the tribes sent back by the East China Sea Patrol Office. ”

Under Zhu Youzhen's instructions, Lu Qi found the map and spread it out on the long case in front of Chongzhen, while Wang Chengen took the document in his hand and checked the location of these representative tribes with Chongzhen, so that Chongzhen could understand the population and relationship between these tribes, as well as their attitude towards the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youzhen compared the map with a pencil and added some notes in the blank space of the map. This topographic map of the Whale Sea mainly depicts the sea area north of Jeju Island and Ryukyu Island, and west of Fuso Island and Sakhalin Island.

On the map, the topography of the Korean Peninsula and Sakhalin Island is the most detailed, but the topography of the Japanese archipelago and the mainland of Tohoku can only be roughly seen. The sea north of Sakhalin and Fuso is still blank, and the easternmost continent of Eastern Siberia has not yet been explored.

The topography of the northeastern continental coast, the area below Vladivostok and the estuary of the Heilongjiang River is the most detailed, but further inland, it is a large blank area.

Zhu Youzhen looked at the map for a long time, and finally stretched out his hand to mark it on the map, and instructed Wang Chengen: "Under the Donghai Patrol Mansion, there were originally two town guard mansions, one in Vladivostok and the other in Dabo Township in the south of Sakhalin Island, and now there is another Yongning Town Guard Mansion in Temple Street.

The continent north of the mouth of the Heilongjiang River will continue to be inland to the so-called West Sea Freshwater Lake, which will henceforth be called East Siberia, and the West Sea will be renamed Lake Baikal.

The newly established Yongning Town has three tasks: first, based on the center of Miaojie City, to control the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River and the population, and to resist the attack of the Houjin; The second is to use Temple Street City and North Sakhalin Island as a base to explore the northern area of the Whale Sea, including the easternmost part of the entire Eastern Siberia. The third is to explore the passage to Lake Baikal along the Heilongjiang River, as well as the geography and population distribution of the upper and middle reaches of the Heilongjiang River, and finally to include the entire East Siberian region.

Didn't you say that there were a few people from the middle reaches of the Heilongjiang tribe who came to Daming this time? What is their attitude towards Da Ming?"

Wang Chengen replied: "The envoys sent by these tribes, the ministers have sent people to contact them separately, but their answers are similar, expressing their hope to trade with the Ming Dynasty, but they are unwilling to participate in the dispute between the Ming Dynasty and the Houjin. Moreover, some people have repeatedly inquired from our officials about how to buy * and cannons from our Daming. ”

Zhu Youzhen asked with some surprise: "They want * and cannons?" ”

Wang Chengen hadn't answered yet, and Lu Qi, who was standing opposite him, had already replied first: "Not only that, but there is one of them who quietly holds an arquebus and asks in the blacksmith shop in Jingshi whether it can be imitated. ”

Zhu Youzhen motioned for Wang Chengen to put away the map, and asked Lu Qi, "What kind of arquebus?" Who is the one with the arquebus who is looking for someone to imitate? ”

Lu Qi immediately replied: "That person is from a tribe in the upper reaches of Heilongjiang, and the minister asked people to find an excuse to keep the arquebus, and also carried out comparative shooting. The minister recorded all the comparative data, and found that this arquebus was about as powerful as our light arquebus, but it weighed more than 50%. The minister also took the gun back, can Your Majesty take a look? ”

Zhu Youzhen beckoned to him and motioned for him to bring the arquebus. Lu Qi agreed, then exited the upper study, and after a while, he walked in with a rectangular brocade box.

Zhu Youzhen took out the arquebus from the brocade box, weighed the weight, about 10 catties, the barrel was round inside, and the outside was octagonal, and at a glance, he knew that it was made by hand, so this person would go to the blacksmith shop to ask.

The wooden handle of the gun was polished and shiny, it seemed that this arquebus had been used for a long time, looking at the rough workmanship at the end of the barrel and the solid shape, Zhu Youzhen subconsciously remembered Mao Zixiang.

After playing with it for a while, he asked Lu Qi, "Did that person say where did this gun come from?" ”

Lu Qi immediately said: "The minister's people have inquired, and they say that they are fur merchants from further west, and they call themselves Rus. ”

Zhu Youzhen put down the gun in his hand, and suddenly became a little cautious in his heart, he really didn't expect that the Russians were already so close to the east coast.