Although Xu Xinsu did not show doubts about the importance of the status of Ryukyu and Taiwan, Zhu Youzhen had already observed the disapproving expression on his face.

Chongzhen just thought about it, and he already understood that his words were still too advanced for Xu Xinsu. Even though this is the maritime merchant group who has the most understanding of the overseas situation in the Ming Dynasty, he still does not regard the sea as a transportation artery that can be used at will.

Because, at this moment, the navigation technology has not really entered the point of free navigation, and any route across the ocean can be regarded as the heirloom of maritime merchants. Under such circumstances, the Ryukyus and Taiwan, which are backed by the vast Pacific Ocean, are not threatened by the Pacific Ocean, but from the Japanese archipelago in the north.

Even if the Spanish occupied the Philippine Islands and the Dutch East India Company grew in influence on the islands, for the Chinese maritime merchants, these European merchants or part-time pirates could only bully the natives on the islands in the South Seas, and they still did not have the strength to make any waves in the coastal areas of China.

Especially now, when the imperial court brought the island of Taiwan under its rule and vigorously developed the Tainan Plain, most of the maritime merchants, including Xu Xinsu, felt that even if the European merchants in the South Seas were united to attack the island of Taiwan, they might not be able to take it, let alone attack the mainland directly. What's more, these European merchants are not monolithic, and they themselves are regarded as enemies.

Although Japan's strength is good, Japan is only separated from North Korea by a strait, and does not have to use Ryukyu and Taiwan as a springboard. With Japan's seafaring technology, occupying the Ryukyus is almost the limit, and if you want to attack Taiwan, I am afraid that you will not be able to do so.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Ming merchants of this era, the importance of Ryukyu and Taiwan was about less than that of Xiamen and Macao. However, with the discovery of gold deposits in the northern part of Taiwan, the reclamation and colonization of the southern plains, and the development of whaling and fishing grounds near the Ryukyus, these two places really fell into the field of vision of maritime merchants.

After Chongzhen understood Xu Xinsu's psychology, he immediately changed the topic and said: "In short, the development of northern Taiwan must be accelerated, and this is not only related to my control over the Ryukyus and Japan in the future. At present, Taipei Jilong Port is also an important base for the route of our Ming merchant ships to the Americas.

However, if you want to speed up the development of northern Taiwan, you can't do it without enough immigrants. Now the immigrants of the Ming Dynasty are worried about the living conditions in northern Taiwan and are reluctant to go. I think we can use policies to lure us. ”

Xu Xinsu opened his mouth with some curiosity and asked, "Seduction?" Your Majesty, what do you mean..."

Zhu Youzhen was silent for a moment before he said: "Isn't it money that is more powerful than life in this world?" The ratio of gold to silver in the market is now almost more than 1:15, and those who used to sell gold are now constantly snapping up gold in the market.

Even the ordinary people on the streets are talking about the possibility of buying gold, so as long as you use Taipei's gold to lure them, I think that someone will naturally take this risk. In addition to those gold mining areas that have now been developed, other areas that have not yet been developed but have the potential to reserve gold can be rented out to civilians. As long as they sold the mined gold to the imperial court.

Considering that many people may not be able to travel due to lack of travel expenses, you can discuss with the Ministry of Internal Affairs to set up a golden immigration company to borrow money from those who want to try their luck in Taiwan to finance their travel..."

Regarding Chongzhen's proposal, Xu Xinsu was quite moved. Gold mining in northern Taiwan has always been a ban on the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and neither he nor Zheng Zhilong can touch it. And he is slightly luckier than Zheng Zhilong is that he has the right to manage the two ports of chicken coop and freshwater, and he can still share some of the benefits from gold mining.

And the better the development of Jilong Port, the higher the degree of development in northern Taiwan, the higher his income. Moreover, it is extremely profitable to give loans to these immigrants, even if they go to Taipei and do not find gold, just building the port and cultivating other jobs in Taipei will be enough for these people to earn enough money to repay the loans. Not to mention, the lion's share of the loan will be returned to him in the form of boat fares.

For such a profitable business, Xu Xinsu was naturally very willing, but before he wanted to agree, his mind moved, and he remembered an idea that had lingered in his mind these days, which made him want to take this opportunity to make a request to the emperor.

In fact, the idea had been vaguely in his mind for a long time. It's just that he was worried that the emperor felt that he was not greedy enough, so he couldn't show it for a long time. However, with the convening of the regular meeting of the Maritime Association, the emperor's handling of Liu Peng's loss of Saigon and his attitude towards the overseas vassal states made his innermost thoughts active again.

When the emperor talked to him about the issue of immigration in Taipei, Xu Xinsu finally couldn't help but tentatively mention to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty thinks that the solution to the Taiwan immigration problem is very feasible. However, the minister would like to take this opportunity to report to His Majesty on the issue of Ryukyu and Japan, and ask His Majesty's permission. ”

Zhu Youzhen asked with some surprise: "Is there any problem between Ryukyu and Japan?" Tell me about it first. ”

Xu Xinsu immediately replied: "The Japanese shogunate restricted the free docking and trade of our merchant ships in Japan last year, and strengthened the control policy on the export of gold, silver and copper and the import of raw silk. ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded and said, "You are right, I have already heard about these things." So didn't I ask you to recruit men in Japan, support the younger brother of the third generation of shoguns, and prepare to rescue the descendants of Toyotomi in the worst case? ”

Xu Xinsu immediately nodded and said: "Your Majesty is right, but the minister thinks that we can't let the Japanese shogunate act arbitrarily and arbitrarily manipulate the trade policy between the Ming Dynasty and Japan, thus bringing us serious losses."

Before the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and Japan deteriorates completely, we should adjust our trade strategy with Japan. Use the power of Japanese local daimyo and Japanese merchants to bypass the Japanese shogunate's import restriction policy on our Ming goods. Then we no longer have to worry about the situation when the Ming merchant ships shipped goods to Japan but could not sell them, or were forced to sell them to Japanese merchants designated by the shogunate at a low price. ”

Zhu Youzhen was very interested in what Xu Xinsu said, and he couldn't help but nod and said, "What you said is quite interesting, you might as well tell me what you said." ”

Xu Xinsu looked at a draft in his heart, and then slowly said to the emperor: "Your Majesty just said that if the Taiwan chicken coop is built, it will be the key to controlling Ryukyu and Japan.

And the whole island of Taiwan, except for the southernmost city of Geranza, which is in the hands of the Dutch, the rest of the city is now in the hands of my Ming Dynasty. Then the next thing that the East China Sea Patrol Office should pay attention to is the belonging of the Ryukyus.

However, unlike the Spaniards, who occupied chicken coops and freshwater, it is the Satsuma people, a powerful feudal clan in southwestern Japan, who actually control Ryukyu now, although Ryukyu is still nominally a vassal state of our Ming Dynasty and pays tribute to our Ming Dynasty. However, the current lord of the Ryukyus is supported by the Japanese, and the Satsuma Domain of Japan not only cut off the large island in the north of the Ryukyu Kingdom, but also has a lot of influence in the Ryukyu court.

When my Ming maritime merchants and fishing boats had just arrived in the Ryukyus, the attitude of the Satsuma people on the island towards my Ming people was. Be wary and want to trade. However, with the increase in the number of Ming merchants and fishing boats going to Ryukyu Island, the strength of the people close to our Ming people in the Ryukyu Kingdom increased, and now the Satsuma people on the island have begun to become increasingly hostile to our people who go to Ryukyu Island.

Since last summer, the Satsuma people on the island have been engaged in constant friction with our personnel in the Ryukyus, and they seem to want to prove that although the Ryukyus are nominally a subject of our Ming Dynasty, they are in fact under their control.

Therefore, the minister thought that if the Ryukyus and Taiwan were to be brought under the rule of our Ming Dynasty, it would be imperative to eliminate the Japanese power in the Ryukyus. Although the ships and navigation skills of the Satsuma clan were better than those of ordinary Japanese feudal states, for us in the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese ships were still among the worst ships at sea, and they were only suitable for sailing in the calm inland seas of Japan.

Therefore, if the minister wants to apply to His Majesty, we don't even need to invest too many troops in the Satsuma Domain of the Ryukyus, as long as the shipping route from the Satsuma Domain to the Ryukyus is blocked, these Japanese who have lost their domestic support will be wiped out by the Ryukyu people.

Without the income of the Ryukyus and the overseas islands, the Satsuma Domain, which was already unable to make ends meet, would soon go bankrupt. As long as the Shimazu clan, the lord of the Satsuma domain, does not want to be taken advantage of by the shogunate, he will inevitably bow to me.

As a daimyo in the southwestern region of Japan, the Satsuma Domain has a long coastline, and there are many places that are suitable for importing and exporting goods as ports. If the Shimazu clan is willing to be a transit merchant for the smuggling of our Ming goods to Japan, then the shogunate's prohibition on our Ming merchant ships will be abolished. ”

Zhu Youzhen was very interested in Xu Xinsu's proposal, he just thought for a moment and then decided: "The current Japan is the No. 1 overseas sales market for my Ming Dynasty's goods, so the Ming Dynasty will not consider falling out with the Japanese shogunate for the time being."

However, since the Japanese shogunate did not openly challenge the suzerainty of the Ming Dynasty over the Ryukyu Kingdom, the East China Sea Patrol Office could conduct a campaign against the pirates who had entered the Ryukyu Kingdom, of course, it would be better if there was a document from the Ryukyu Kingdom requesting the Ming Dynasty to send troops to help suppress the bandits.

I will not interfere with how you clean up the Japanese power of the Ryukyu Kingdom, but I hope you can remember a few bottom lines: first, once you decide to do it, you must not fail, and don't let the overseas vassal countries think that I am a country with a strong foreign power and a strong middle;

Second, the area of operation should not exceed the north of Tanegashima, and it is strictly forbidden to land on the main island of Japan to fight. I want you to remember that this was a war between the Tokai Patrol and the Satsuma Domain for control of the Ryukyus, not a war between the Tokai Patrol and the Satsuma Domain, and even less a full-scale war between the Ming Dynasty and Japan;

Third, the operation in the Ryukyus should be arranged after the liberation of Toyotomi's descendants, and the cart should not be reversed..."