He was a good man with iron gunners, and he was also good at learning about the improvement of muskets. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

It's just that before the Battle of the Ryukyus, the mainstream of the world was still a mix of hot and cold weapons. Qi Jiguang's reforms, the Spanish phalanx, and the Dutch Morris system can be regarded as the pinnacle of tactics and several typical examples of the arquebus era at this time.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was also a battle-hardened person, and after seeing the military formations of the Battle of the Ryukyus drawn by Chen Jian, he also saw a little bit of it.

Aside from the rate of fire of flintlock pistols and the unification of hot and cold weapons and projectile hand-to-hand combat caused by bayonets, the use of field artillery in the Battle of the Ryukyus was far ahead of its time. The small-caliber field artillery followed the Swedish model of the next thirty years of war, and these applications were basically formed after the advent of artillery a long time ago, and the officers and artillerymen who participated in the war were more sophisticated with the help of geometry.

These tactics Tokugawa Ieyasu understands that they cannot be understood by looking at them, and they require professional instructors. What he was most worried about was that the governor behind these people knew more about the situation in Japan than anyone outside, and he was most afraid that this group of people would smuggle a large number of guns and cannons to Toyotomi's Osaka at sea, which would be the real big trouble.

As for the bigger threat, he doesn't see it yet. But these threats were enough to get his attention.

After considering the gains and losses, it was decided to receive these messengers.

The envoys were a little surprised that Tokugawa Ieyasu did not ask the Ryukyus directly but whether it was possible to trade across the Pacific, but it was a good thing to think that Japan had more gold and silver.

At home, the idea that labor creates wealth, and that the wealth of the nation lies in the products produced, has just begun to spread. These emissaries were still more inclined to the accumulation of precious metals, and their knowledge of Japan these days allowed them to be sure that Japan's trade with their own country would not cost them anything at home, but would on the contrary gain enough gold and silver.

Moreover, once there is a problem in trade, a tariff adjustment can solve many problems. There is no need to worry about the large handicraft class and the growing large workshops and factories in the country, which can block the proposals of the maritime merchants and smugglers on trade issues.

As for the interests of these envoys themselves, that is, the profits of the trade route centered on the Ming Dynasty promised by Chen Jian, they were not worried.

Even if the port of Hirado and Nagasaki were blockaded and only trade in Edo was allowed, you could still get your ships there, and that would have helped a lot: if the Ryukyus were in hand, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands would have to go around to the opposite side of Edo if they could not trade in Nagasaki, and the location of the Ryukyus would be even more important.

And Ming's raw silk and other best-selling items, after all, are still closer than in China, and the profits are higher. As for Spain, for the sake of the royal family's monopoly trade, silkworm breeding is strictly prohibited in the Viceroyalty, and it is strictly forbidden to damage the royal family's monopoly trade, which is nothing to worry about.

While Tokugawa Ieyasu was considering the gains and losses, the envoys were also quickly pondering the possible gains and losses, because they had sniffed out the possibility that Tokugawa might agree to open a trading hall in Edo.

Japan has silver, and if it can really crowd out the rest of the merchants, it is really promising and profitable. The profit of guns has always been more than 200 percent, and the nitrate pond culture technology that has been handed down from ancient times and has formed a professional system has been extremely proficient after hundreds of years of development, plus some natural saltpeter mines, which is an inevitable commodity.

The envoy sent by Chen Jian was not a member of the party, and he was not interested in many things that Chen Jian was going to do, or even opposed. They are thinking about personal interests, corporate interests, and the interests of the country behind them. As for the lives and deaths of people from other countries, in their opinion, it has nothing to do at all.

In their view, the sale of guns to the Japanese did not need much consideration, and if they were to Spain, they would have objected in the interests of the state and the company, because the two viceroyalties and the rich tropical island group were too close to the mainland.

It can be sold to Japan, and it will not pose any threat to the country: the great desert city where immigrants can relieve domestic pressure is in the west, and Japanese ships cannot reach it at all; It was impossible for Japan to cross the sea to attack the mainland; If there is a lot of civil strife in Japan, goods such as guns, saltpeter, medicines, and cotton cloth will be sold; If it is to instigate the Japanese-Ming War, it is the best choice to make a lot of war money from it.

After such an exchange that had nothing to do with the Ryukyus, but was related to future diplomacy and trade, the two sides finally talked about the Ryukyu issue, which should have been the most important issue for the envoy to be sent this time.

The issue that should have been the focus of attention has finally become a scrap under the choice of interests. Ryukyu is too close to the Shimazu family and too far from Edo.

Today's reality is that the news brought by the envoy is that the Ming Dynasty learned the news of the Satsuma Domain's attack on the Ryukyus and hired Chen Jian and others, which also made the original opportunity to open trade with the Ming through the Ryukyus as an intermediary come to naught, and it is absolutely impossible.

Tokugawa Ieyasu also understood that Chen Jian and others were clearly deliberately obstructing themselves and blocking any possible trade between themselves and the Ming Dynasty, thus monopolizing trade. But this fact is irretrievable, and with some military and political considerations, it can only be left untouched.

The dream of a tributary Celestial Empire system centered on Japan in the Toyotomi period was shattered in Korea, and now the only possible Ryukyu has also been blocked by someone, and the mentality can be regarded as shrinking.

After some exchanges, Tokugawa Ieyasu finally expressed his position when he talked about the Ryukyu issue.

"Ryukyu is originally a country with its own society, and it is the choice of Ryukyu to pay tribute to whomever it wants."

This is said beautifully, in fact, there is no control of Ryukyu now, and the Ming Dynasty just sent people to Ryukyu three years ago to canonize it, and Chen Jian brought the Shimazu family back, so to speak, these are just scenes.

But these words also revealed an attitude towards Chen Jian's letter.

Chen Jian said that one of the main reasons why the Shimazu family attacked Ryukyu was that when Toyotomi invaded the dynasty, the Satsuma clan helped to send half of the Ryukyu troops and food, and the Ryukyu never returned.

Tokugawa Ieyasu said this, which is equivalent to acquiescing in Chen Jian's words, and this request is unreasonable. Because Ryukyu was an independent country, it was Ryukyu's own choice whether to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty or to Japan, so the grain owed was invalid, and this excuse was not valid.

If the Ryukyus and Japan had tributary documents or diplomatic documents at this time, it would be different, and there are good reasons for Chen Jian's interference, even if he was a republic, he interfered in the Asian system and the country's internal and foreign affairs.

When the envoys heard this, they were relieved, and said in their hearts that they didn't need to say anything like the wok, which was excellent, and no one wanted to die.

Tokugawa added, "However, four years ago, the merchants of the Ryukyus drifted to Edo, and I sent someone to help them and send them back, but the king of the Ryukyus did not send an envoy to thank them, which is an act of impropriety. Such a request was courteous, but the Ryukyuan people shouted insults at the envoys, which was the reason why the Satsuma clan sent troops to the Ryukyus. ”

"It was originally for the sake of punishment, and there was no idea of taking away its social responsibility. In addition, the Ryukyuan people were cunning and borrowed money but did not pay it back, which is why the soldiers of the Satsuma clan were angry and burned, they just wanted to get back the debts owed by the Ryukyu people. ”

There are photographs to prove it, and there are many third-party witnesses, and it is not easy to deny the fact that the Satsuma clan burned and killed all the way in the Ryukyus.

Although it is normal to kill people and set fires at this time, the excuse for sending troops is courtesy, and there is no way to bypass this tone when justifying. If you put down your body and say that you are just burning and looting, this problem does not need to be explained, but at this time, you are still thinking about the new tributary system with a bright face, and you have to say such nonsense.

The envoys said in their hearts that the life and death of those people are none of our business, and the purpose of our coming is not to cut off trade, and now not only will we not cut it off, but we will start a new trade, then it is easy to say.

Following Tokugawa Ieyasu's words, the envoys did not talk about this question anymore, but found a step and said: "The Great Imperial Palace, the governor has sorted out the debts owed by private individuals, and it is natural to repay debts, and private loans naturally need to be repaid. The governor of the borrowed IOUs will send someone to the Satsuma Domain. ”

Since the other party has acquiesced in the unreasonable public debt, the attitude of the private person to this money still has to be expressed, in fact, no one looks down on this money.

The envoy added: "The governor will find a way to explain the misunderstanding to the governor of the Ming Kingdom, and if the Great Emperor intends to start trading with the Ming Kingdom, the governor will also convey it on his behalf." ”

Tokugawa Ieyasu cursed in his heart, he understood that these hypocritical words were meaningless. If there is really such a good intention, then what are these people doing so much?

Mo said that it was meaningless to write it, and I was afraid that if I wrote it, I would be secretly used by these people. Ming Guo has always been slow to react to the affairs of the Ryukyus, but this time he reacted so quickly, if these people did not do anything in the middle, he would never believe it.

was slapped in the face in Korea and pumped again in the Ryukyus, and it can be said that the dream of a new Asian tributary Celestial Dynasty that has been held back for so many years has been completely shattered.

Although the Ryukyus are small, if they can pay tribute, they can also get great psychological satisfaction, and Japan alone without vassal states is not qualified to dream of the Celestial Empire. Just like the Celestial Empire, which does not pay tribute, is no longer the Celestial Empire, but just a country, and is no longer the system of the world.

When I woke up from the dream, I thought about it more practically, and the Ryukyus, the leftover material for the Tokugawa family, were brushed aside. In his letter, Jian said that the Ryukyus were an independent country, and that the loss of the Ryukyu state should be discussed with the Satsuma clan alone as a state, and he would not participate, which meant that it was impossible for the Ryukyus to negotiate.

Neither side took it seriously, and it was very clear at this point. Even if any treaty is signed, the Republic will only be a third-party witness and observer until the Ryukyus recognize the new tributary state.

After this was brought over, the two sides talked very happily about the future of merchants, trade, envoys, exchanges, and so on.

These are all important things now, and they are not important in the Ryukyus now.

As for the future?

Turning the Celestial Empire system into a country is the ability of the Celestial Empire; It was the rise of the Celestial Empire to keep the tributary system as an Asian order, independent of the Westphalian sovereign state system, and to maintain it as a separate model of state relations; At the same time that the system collapsed, most of the vassal states were independent and not even a single alliance was formed, and the Westphalian system became the only option, which was the tragedy of the Celestial Empire.

Tianxingjian, a gentleman strives for self-improvement, after all, it still depends on the weight of a system's discourse, relying on self-struggle.