Chapter 606 Special Requirements

The head of the Japanese mission was Sakai Tadashi, a guy who knelt down in front of Chen Xie, and knelt undisciplined in front of Hong Chengchou. A cabinet boss held a banquet to entertain them, and the members of the Japanese mission knelt very simply. Don't say it, this trick is really easy to use, the cabinet bigwigs of the Ming Dynasty, with a smile on their faces, all say that today's saint is famous far and wide, and the four are coming to the court.

They all said good things, but they didn't mention Chen Xie's murder and arson in Japan. These people are not stupid, and it can be seen that if Chen Xie did not go on this trip, Japan would not be obedient. As for Zhu Youzhen, that was another matter, when he received a gift from the Japanese mission, boxes of gold bars were carried into the inner treasury, and his face naturally smiled. This is the essence of war, and to fight a war is to make a fortune, not to fight a war at a loss. What is belligerent will perish, that is based on fighting a war of attrition. If you fight, you have to have benefits, this is the concept that Chen Xie instilled in Zhu Youzhen, bullshit belligerence will die, and the country that has not fought for a long time is in danger. It's only been a few decades since Daming had no external troubles? A Jianzhou Jurchen made it impossible for Daming to deal with it.

The tributary gifts sent by the Japanese mission, in addition to some local products, were mainly gold bars worth 200,000 taels of silver. said that 500,000 taels of compensation would be paid, and the rest would be settled with the population. These people must be young men over 18 years old and under 25 years old, and they must be healthy to be valuable. Carefully calculate an account, it is not difficult to find Chen Xie's sinister intentions. What was Japan's total military strength during World War II? What was the population of Japan at that time? There are more than 100 million, and now the population of Japan is only more than 10 million. If Japan is able to muster together 500,000 or 600,000 young and strong people as a qualified source of soldiers, it will be a great thing.

Now, in order to pay off the debt, Tokugawa Ieyasu plans to get 100,000 young men to pay off the debt, and these people are not yet a samurai class. It is conceivable how much impact these young laborers will have on Japan's economy after they leave. Once these people settle down in Nanyang and come back to pick up their families, how many people will be? On the other hand, the samurai class in Japan did not produce anything. It adds up to more than a million. At that time, the entire Japanese economy will definitely have a crisis due to the population problem. and then can only rely more on Chen Xie to survive.

The Japanese are not a good thing, Chen Xie doesn't care, but when he goes to Nanyang, he is willing to exchange his life for a family's food and clothing, and the Japanese who work hard for Chen Xie must be a good thing. That's why Chen Xie didn't want samurai, these people are nationally conscious, and they may be very strong. These people got Nanyang, who knows what kind of moth will be made.

Of course. The gate of Nanyang is not closed to the samurai, some samurai who can't get along in Japan, Chen Xie still welcomes them to Nanyang. These people were educated, or Wang Yangming's version of Confucianism. A group of educated samurai who can play with swords in their hands are the biggest difference between the Japanese elite and the Ming elite. Among the literati of the Ming Dynasty, very few of them can dance with knives and guns. Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting, masters who can rush forward with knives, are really rare. But Japan is different. If you are a samurai, you have culture, and you can carry a knife to cut people.

It is precisely because of the long-standing existence of such a class in Japan. Around the time of the Meiji Restoration, before and after the overthrow of the old shogunate, a large number of the top elites of the era emerged. What Ito Hirobumi, what Yama Prefecture Aritomo, Togo Heihachiro and the like, in fact, are all samurai backgrounds. The transformation of Japanese society led by such people. Naturally, it is mainly to use force and take the road of external expansion.

Such a group of people do not produce in society and have no future. They desperately crave a developed opportunity.

What Chen Xie needed was some samurai who couldn't get along in Japan, and these people went to Nanyang. As long as they change their nationality, their loyalty is definitely above the three surnames. Therefore, Chen Xie left a crack in the door to let the news out, and when he returned to Japan for a while, he would open the door to the samurai in the South Seas.

On the question of how to deal with the Japanese mission, Zhu Youzhen discussed with the cabinet ministers, and Hong Chengchou advocated "treating the Japanese mission well," and all the auxiliary ministers, including the first assistant Zhou Yanru, did not have any objections. It was within such an atmosphere that Zhu Youzhen coughed and said, "Sihua talked to me a few years ago about his going to the East. There is one sentence that left a deep impression on me. Japan is a country that seems far away from us, but it is actually not as far away as we think. The events of the Wanli period illustrate the wolf ambition of the country of Japan. Treat Japan like a dog, kick it if you don't obey, and let him bite whoever it wants. It's a bit vulgar, but I think it makes sense. The country's finances are difficult, even if it is rich, the tax revenue is taken from the people, and it should be used for the people, not for such a face-saving project. Losing face and losing the inside, Daming has done a lot before, and he can't do it in the future. ”

This remark was the tone, and the cabinet members were dumb on the spot. Zhu Youzhen is stingy, and all cabinet ministers know that they are stingy with others and even more stingy with themselves. But there is one thing, once the country has trouble, he will not be stingy with Neku.

"Your Majesty, this matter is about etiquette and the face of the Ming Dynasty, is it better to think about it carefully." As the first assistant, Zhou Yanru still stubbornly mentioned it, after all, everyone had discussed it before, and this matter was mentioned here by the emperor, and he would vote for it when he turned around, and the quantity of silk and other valuables produced by the Ming Dynasty given to the Japanese mission should not be too low in price.

Zhu Youzhen said very resolutely: "It's not proper, I think that within the value range of 5,000 silver yuan, you can't give out a penny of silver." Let's just decide, the cabinet ticket is going to be sent to the celebrant of ceremonies. "Final word!

The helpless cabinet bosses had to go back and recalculate. In order to see the reaction of the Japanese mission, the Ministry of Rites redrafted the gift list according to Zhu Youzhen's intentions, and Hong Chengchou was embarrassed to go in person. What's going on? The Japanese mission came and gave him a generous gift, worth no less than two thousand taels, and the same is true for the elders, and the first assistant is a generous gift worth five thousand taels. Everyone accepted the gifts, even Lu Xiangsheng, there was no exception.

Hong Chengchou personally came to visit, and all the Japanese missions came out to greet him and knelt on the ground to salute. Hong Chengchou, who was extremely satisfied on his face, was complaining in his heart about Chen Xie, and he didn't spend your money, what did he say to His Majesty? It's hard for him to step down.

Helping Sakai Tadakatsu, Hong Chengchou sat down after entering, and after some greetings, he asked with a smile: "What are the special requirements of your country's mission?" Now there is no one else, just speak out. "The implication is that in private, you say, I'll help you talk when you go back, it's hard to say if it succeeds, but you must help.

Sakai Tadashi naturally knew the meaning of this, and immediately said: "The foreign ministers dare not have too high requirements. It's just that I have been waiting for a long time to admire the face of the Ming Dynasty, but I beg to bow down in person and see the face of the sky. "This matter is polite, I hope to see the emperor, otherwise wouldn't it be in vain? Whether this emperor received or not, for the mission, there was still a big difference.

Hong Chengchou said with a smile: "I can promise you this thing now, and say something else, it's not a difficult thing." "He has a score in his heart about this matter, Zhu Youzhen has already explained to the Ministry of Rites and is preparing to receive him, how could the Ministry of Rites not know?

The big thing in Sakai's mind is actually to meet the emperor, and then go back to have an explanation and political capital. After this matter was done, he had to make other requests, but he didn't expect Hong Chengchou to agree, and he felt that the next thing would naturally be easier to handle, and immediately said: "Tokugawa Iemitsu, the general of the Imperial Expedition, hopes to be canonized by the kingdom." In addition, we also hope to set up a pavilion in Huating to facilitate the handling of commercial and trade affairs between the two countries. ”

Sakai Tadashi thinks that things that are not difficult, but here in Hong Chengchou, it is not easy to do. The Ming Dynasty attaches great importance to etiquette, and the six departments take the ritual department as the first. Canonizing a general of another country is not a joke, it is related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries. It is said that Japan's general Zhengyi, that is the person and thing that the Japanese emperor should be in charge of, how can it be the turn of the Ming Dynasty to point fingers, and isn't that interference in the internal affairs of other countries? Hong Chengchou didn't dare to be careless about this matter, what if there was a dispute?

Of course, the shelf of the boss of the Celestial Empire cannot be lost, it has to be held. Hong Chengchou groaned slightly, pretending to be indifferent: "This matter is serious, you can't specialize in it, after the official goes back, I will discuss with the ministers and give you an answer." As for the opening of the pavilion, in that place in Huating, you have to talk to Chen Ge Lao. ”

Hong Chengchou really doesn't want to offend Chen Xie anymore, this thing is not a normal Ming civil official, and there is no reason to talk to him. You put your hand on his territory, and he really dares to cut your hand with a knife. If you offend anyone in the Ming Dynasty, no bad thing will happen immediately, and if you offend Chen Xie, you will be punished immediately, without overnight. "Broad-minded Chen Ge Lao", this saying is very popular in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty.

Hong Chengchou didn't stay long, and immediately went back to discuss with everyone, and when everyone heard these demands, they felt that these Japanese were very on the road, and the demands they put forward were very correct. As for the matter of the Huating Pavilion Station, Zhou Yanru said: "The matter of opening the museum can be decided by His Majesty." Let's not take a stand first, and if you ask if it's okay, you can understate it. ”

This tone was also set, and a group of pavilion elders went to the emperor to discuss matters. The reception regulations of the Ministry of Rites came out, and the tickets were intended to be sent to the celebrant supervisor, which was all a trivial matter. Hong Chengchou mentioned the request of the Japanese mission, and Zhu Youzhen really said with a long face: "It seems that these barbarians still know the etiquette, at least they are committed to the virtue of the Ming Dynasty." ”

Hong Chengchou took the opportunity to mention the matter of the pavilion, and Zhu Youzhen really asked everyone's opinions, and they all said that this was a trivial matter, and it didn't hurt, just agree. This is also over, and in the end, Hong Chengchou said the most difficult thing. Zhu Youzhen was quite happy at first, but after thinking about it carefully, it was wrong, this is an internal problem of Japan, how to let the emperor of the Ming Dynasty canonize a general? If you want to canonize it, it will also be canonized as the emperor of Japan, which is not the right procedure. (To be continued......)