Now this old middle school actually said that the ban will be lifted next month, which really surprised him. He also knew that with the identity of the other party, he would never joke with himself easily, since he said so, it should be that some kind of decision has been made within the shogunate, has there been any change in the situation?

"If that's the case, that's great!" Soon, he showed full surprise, "If exports can resume next month, there should not be so many complaints in the country, and I can also have an explanation with the imperial court in the future!" Thank you, sir! ”

"You don't have to thank me, it's also a decision within the shogunate." Naito Chung shook his head, "We attach great importance to the relationship with Dahan, and it is definitely not our intention to make such a big fuss this time, so if we can calm down as soon as possible, let's calm down as soon as possible." But ......"

He suddenly dragged out his voice, Liu Jing, who was familiar with the rules of officialdom in the two countries, knew that after the turning point here, the next thing would be very important, so he cheered up and listened.

"In the final analysis, the reason why there was such a big dispute this time is that the communication between the two countries is not particularly smooth, and there are many small problems that are magnified because of communication, and finally become a problem that shakes the relationship between the two countries. Our representative stationed in Dahan has said similar things several times......" Naito Tadashige also became more solemn, and continued to say word by word, "Moreover, the trade system of the two countries is not clear enough, and the rules have not been established, which is why there are so many unexpected situations." ”

"The problem that the adults said does exist, but our country is willing to solve this problem as soon as possible." Liu Jing calmly replied, "China has always aimed at expanding trade by building a country based on industry and commerce, and if your country is willing to solve these problems, it is actually very easy to discuss." However, if similar emergencies occur frequently, I am afraid it is not so easy to talk about. ”

There was still a hint of accusation in his words, the shogunate had always implemented a policy of closing the country to the outside world, which caused many artificial restrictions and difficulties to the normal trade between the two countries, and this time he even took unilateral and sudden actions, which would be abnormal if he did not accuse.

"Yes, if you want to talk, the key is to talk, our two countries have their own interests, and they also have their own difficulties, and it is not possible not to talk, and we must talk as soon as possible, so that all disputes disappear before they happen." Naito nodded again, agreeing with him, but dismissing his sarcasm, "And these issues are very important, and I am afraid that it will not be easy to let Yanagi talk intermittently in your country alone." ”

"What do you mean, sir?" Liu Jing was a little puzzled.

"I'll tell you the truth, Envoy. This time, our Shogun also made up his mind to make an effective framework for trade between the two countries in one fell swoop, and then act according to this framework in the future, so as to avoid similar disputes between the two countries. Naito Tadashige looked at Liu Jing unhurriedly and said his request, "In order to meet the Shogun's request, we, the ministers, have carefully studied it, and finally decided to simply send a special mission to your country, and then negotiate with the imperial court of your country to solve all these problems. ”

"Send a mission to our country ......?" Liu Jing was taken aback again, and then immediately thought of something, "Could it be ......"

"Yes, if I could, I would like to personally lead an embassy to visit your country, and then negotiate with your court a trading system that can be truly sustained, and we think that this is the most appropriate approach." Naito Tadashige said calmly, "At the same time, with my status, I am more able to express the will of the shogun, so that we can also reduce unnecessary time consumption when negotiating." Envoy, what do you think? ”

Amazing things happened one after another, and Liu Jing was not surprised now. However, he also knew that the other party was not actually asking for his own opinion, but stating the decision of the shogunate's top brass.

"I can convey my request to the country, and in my personal opinion, I also hope that the adult can make the trip as soon as possible, so that the trade between the two countries can develop smoothly and orderly in the future, and there will be no more troubles like this." Liu Jing smiled slightly, "However, can you tell us more about the purpose of this trip?" If I can't explain things clearly, I'm afraid that China will have doubts. ”

"In fact, it is very simple to make it clear, our country should avoid the serious imbalance between exports and imports from persisting, and let your country also get the trade profits it deserves, so that both countries can take what they need." Naito Tadashige still looked unhurried, but in fact he was much more dignified, "Specific things can be discussed." ”

"Please explain this in more detail...... What exactly does it mean to take what you need? Liu Jing was still asking, "I'm sorry, my lord, I have to ask about some things." ”

He's really a persistent and serious person. Seeing this official looking so intoward, Naito Tadashige smiled bitterly in his heart.

However, since he has already asked here, he should just explain it to him, anyway, he will tell him clearly when the time comes, so it is better for them to prepare first.

"It is an indisputable fact that our country needs to import your country's goods, but although these goods are good, they cause a large outflow of gold and silver every year." Naito Tadashige was already very solemn unconsciously, and his knees and waist straightened, as if he had come to the negotiation place of the Han capital, "Although my country is rich in gold and silver deposits, the quantity is limited after all, and these are non-renewable, and if you send them out, you will never come back...... Therefore, when we negotiate trade, we also want to make a certain degree of regulation on the amount and method of trade each year, so as to make trade more orderly. ”

"Do you mean to restrict trade between the two countries?" From Naito Tadashige's dodging words, Liu Jing finally understood the other party's true intentions, "In order to limit the continuous outflow of gold and silver deposits, it is necessary to limit the transaction amount to an acceptable range, is this what my lord means?" ”

"Although this summary is a bit blunt, it is not wrong in essence, and it can be seen as our original intention." Now that he has said this, Naito Tadashige doesn't want to hide it, "Envoy, I won't tell you anything, in fact, as early as two or three years ago, someone asked for restrictions on trade between the two countries, because the outflow of gold and silver is getting faster and faster. Before the founding of the Han Dynasty, we had established trade ties with the commercial houses of your country, and the volume of trade at that time was already very high, not to mention those, just in the almost eight years since the founding of the Han Dynasty and the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries, the growth rate of gold and silver outflow has been very amazing. Eight years ago, we flowed out 530 taels of gold and 2,300 taels of silver (kan was a common unit for calculating the weight of silver in ancient Japan, which is the same in Japan, equivalent to about 16 taels of silver), and last year, we flowed out 4,700 taels of gold and nearly 21,000 taels of silver, a figure that has increased almost tenfold! As for copper, it's even more, in eight years we have exported more than 15 million catties to your country! Of course, this figure is still within the acceptable range, but if it is not restricted, I am afraid that in another ten years, the outflow of gold and silver will be unbearable for our country......"

"Your Excellency...... If we want to take the initiative to restrict trade between the two countries, I am afraid that it will ...... I'm afraid it's not easy for my court to accept. After a moment of silence, Liu Jing said with some embarrassment.

In fact, in his heart, he admitted that what the other party said was reasonable, and he was in charge of trade with Japan over the years, and he naturally always knew the problem that the shogunate imported from China, and the goods that could be exported were far from filling the import needs, so there would inevitably be a large amount of gold and silver currency flowing out every year. Gold and silver were the financial lifeblood of the country, and from the shogunate's standpoint, it was understandable that it would want to control this bleeding trade to a certain extent.

However, he is not Japanese, he is an official of the Great Han, and he should look at the problem according to the position of the Great Han. From the Han Dynasty's point of view, this unbalanced trade was extremely beneficial, and the Han Dynasty was now in a state of flux, and in order to expand production, it needed to fill the market with precious metals such as gold and silver. At the same time, the currency system is also being reformed in China, and of course we hope that the more gold and silver will flow in, the better.

"I also know that our request will make your country a little difficult, but our original intention and bitterness believe that your court can understand it." Naito Tadashige knew that it was not so easy for the other party to accept, so he still had a pleasant face, "The continuous outflow of gold and silver is not just a simple matter of reducing mineral deposits in our country - gold and silver are also used as currency in our country, and the continuous outflow will make the domestic currency become scarce, and then the price will fluctuate greatly, and it will also make the business become depressed, and this situation is something we need to reverse and avoid no matter what." ”

The shogunate's economic system itself was based on the Ishitaka system, and it can be said that the price of rice was the cornerstone of the existence of the entire shogunate, and the continuous outflow of gold and silver would cause the price of rice to fluctuate drastically, which would undoubtedly affect the rule of the shogunate.

"And how exactly is your country going to control trade?" Liu Jing asked again. "What is the annual outflow of gold and silver that your country can accept?"

"This can be discussed concretely, as long as it can negotiate an outcome that is acceptable to both parties." Naito Tadashige smiled slightly, as if he wanted to ease the atmosphere, "However, in my personal opinion, it would be better to have a lower annual outflow than last year, and with last year's outflow, our country will feel unbearable in the long run." ”

"Less than last year?" Liu Jing subconsciously frowned, obviously making a difficulty, "This ...... It's too little, I'm afraid the court will find it difficult to accept. In addition, if the volume of trade is controlled, your country's imports will be hindered, and your business will be severely affected for a while, right? ”

"Don't misunderstand, restricting the outflow of gold and silver is not restricting trade, in fact, we hope that the trade between the two countries will flourish even more." Naito shook his head.

"What do you mean, sir?" Liu Jing was confused by him again.

"The large outflow of gold and silver is actually a problem in essence, that is, the trade between the two countries is very unbalanced, Japan imports more things from China, and China imports too little from Japan, and there is a huge gap between the two, and the outflow of gold and silver is inevitable." Naito raised his voice slightly so that the other side could hear more clearly, "So, in order to solve the real problem, what we want is to be able to restore a certain balance to the trade between the two countries, and the export cannot be too small than the import." So...... If your country is able to expand its imports from Japan, your exports will not actually be harmed. ”

"In other words, your country actually wants our country to increase imports from your country, right?" Liu Jing thought for a while and completely straightened out the other party's meaning, "However, my country encourages trade, and if merchants can sell goods imported from your country in our country, we will not restrict them, but the number of my country's imports from your country is still very low for so many years, so it can be seen that businessmen can't sell your country's things...... Trade is voluntary, and we can't let our merchants force us to buy things that we don't need, right? ”

From Japan to China, the trafficking of maritime merchants is ultimately a huge transportation cost, so maritime merchants are pursuing high-profit goods, and will not buy some things that cannot be sold at a high price to sell, and now the things that Japan exports to China are nothing more than some folding fans, pottery, lacquerware and other items, and it is impossible to balance trade by relying on them.

"China is also a prosperous commercial country, and there are many skilled craftsmen among the common people, and there are still a lot of goods that can be trafficked, as long as the merchants deal with it correctly, it should still be profitable," Naito Tadashige did not give a convincing answer to Liu Jing, "In short, no matter what, China's position has been very clear, the trade between the two countries must be balanced, and the outflow of gold and silver must be controlled. ”

"If you want to say bitter things...... I can understand it below, but I am just a person below, and I can't represent the imperial court, and whether the imperial court can accept your country's opinion or not, I'm afraid it will take some time to discuss. After Liu Jing thought about it, he no longer insisted on his opinion, but left an ambiguous reply, "I can only promise the adults that I will definitely revise the book immediately, and convey these requirements of the adults to the country as they are, so that the imperial court can judge them, and then tell them to the adults." ”

"That's very good." Naito nodded again, "If the envoy can accomplish this, it will be a great contribution to the relationship between our two countries!" I am here to await the good news of the envoy, and if it does, I will reward the envoy with great gratitude. ”

"I'm ashamed, it's just my duty." Liu Jing bowed his hand to Naito, and then chose to leave.

Although he verbally perfunctory to the other party and promised to convey it to the country, in fact, he had already made a judgment in his heart, and the country would not accept this result.

If the Han Dynasty was not prepared to wage war against Japan, after receiving the news of the past transmitted by himself, he might also be preparing for war, and the Han Dynasty is now prosperous and has such a powerful sea power, how can Japan allow it to restrict the outflow of its gold and silver.

Since trade can no longer knock on Japan's door and allow gold and silver to continue to flow into China on a larger scale, then the only way to talk is to use guns.

After returning to his apartment, Liu Jing told Zhou Pu what he had seen and heard tonight, and Zhou Pu was first slightly shocked by the arrival of Naito Tadashige and the fate of Shigeyoshi Takenaka, but was quickly attracted by what happened later.

"These widows actually have quite bright heads!" After listening to Liu Jing's narration, Zhou Pu sighed, "They also know that they can't sit and eat empty, but they have to flow for a long time." ”

"Now that Japan is in power with the shogunate, Lao Zhong is one of the highest-ranking officials of the shogunate, so he is also a zaifu, how can a person who can be a country zaisuke not have a bright head?" Liu Jingchang sighed, "Heh, I really didn't expect that they had the idea of blackmailing the big man inside, no wonder they suddenly stopped the export of copper, it turned out to be to take the lead in taking people to get off the horse!" ”

"However, it may not be said that it is very bright......" Zhou Pu suddenly shook his head, "The Han Dynasty is now so prosperous and powerful, they actually made such a decision without thinking about it, to be honest, I think it's quite unscrupulous." ”

"You can't blame them for their lack of plans, Japan has been closed for thousands of years, except for the Mongols, who has taken the initiative to invade them? They certainly didn't expect such a thing to happen. Liu Jing smiled, "That old man still has the idea of going to China to blackmail the imperial court, and when that day comes, they will be surprised, right?" ”

"Then of course I want to surprise them." Zhou Pu also laughed, "This group of people sit in the well and watch the sky, thinking that they can suppress our big man and the Son of Heaven with some cleverness, it is really wishful thinking, and they will know the suffering by then." ”

"In any case, we have to convey their demands to the imperial court, and before the battle, we must put on a business as usual, and we must not let them see the clues." Liu Jing continued, "This Naito Tadashi is a powerful person, and you have to be careful lately. ”

"I'll be careful with that, though...... Now that Shigeyoshi Takenaka has just been purged by them, he will definitely continue to clean up his henchmen, and now the officials of the shogunate here must be in danger, and I am afraid that they will not have time to take care of the outside, even if Naito Tadashige is powerful, he is just a blind man without eyes and ears, I think now is a good time for me to act. Zhou Pu was full of confidence, "As long as this period of time has passed, the preparations will be almost over." ”