Because of the isolation of the country, the shogunate only paid attention to the affairs of a few islands in Japan on weekdays, and was very slow and blind to the changes in the outside world, even if it was close to China. Yagyu believes that the perception of China within the shogunate is still stuck in the war between Goryeo and the Ming Dynasty decades ago—and although that description is already very difficult to provoke, Yagyu Sosai feels that this is still too underestimating the current Han court.

If Hideyoshi's army was a fierce tiger in the Ming Dynasty of the Wanli Dynasty, which was facing off in Korea, the current Han Dynasty was several times more powerful, and it had vacated off the ground and turned into an evil dragon. This evil dragon is strong because it attaches importance to the army, and it is prosperous and powerful because it attaches importance to industry and commerce, and its army has been opened up all the way to the desperate territory thousands of miles away, and the Mongols who have a great reputation can only hold their heads and run away; Its navy spanned the seas, discouraging the Spaniards and Dutch, who had ruled the oceans.

How can such an evil dragon be easily offended?

He had been slandering the shogunate's decision in his heart.

However, no matter how much he had opinions, things had already come to this point, and he could only try his best to make up for it. Therefore, as soon as he received the news, he asked to meet with the Yamen of the Maritime Taxation Department in Tianjin, and then negotiated, but after negotiating for a while, the Tianjin Maritime Taxation Yamen said that the matter was too big for them to solve, so they could only report to the Yamen of the Ministry of Commerce in the capital, and Liu Sheng Yuanzhai immediately asked to go to the Yamen of the Ministry of Commerce in the capital to complain to the Han court.

However, because of the New Year's holiday, his request was suppressed at once, and he was never able to make the trip, and he didn't get the opportunity to enter the capital until after the New Year's holiday.

He didn't waste time in a hurry, as soon as he got the news, he rushed to the capital from Tianjin, and after getting off the carriage, he was ready to go to the Yamen of the Ministry of Commerce to meet him along the way, so he was not in the mood to appreciate the prosperity around the capital.

Of course, although he has been proficient in swordsmanship since he was a child, after he came to Dahan, he never dared to carry a sword in public, nor did he dare to show any arrogant attitude, so even if he was anxious, there was no way to vent.

Fortunately, after a long journey, he finally came to the office of the Ministry of Commerce of Dahan.

Because of the huge organization, the yamen of the Ministry of Commerce was not placed in the imperial palace in the capital like many cabinet deployments, but a special yamen was set up. Because the Ministry of Commerce is in charge of the country's commercial and trade undertakings and government-run enterprises, it is very wealthy, and the yamen is very magnificent, covering a wide area, and it is a three-story stone building, which is impressive.

After handing over his documents to the guards at the door, he was finally recruited into the office after a short wait, and then a servant of the yamen led him all the way to a waiting room, followed by a long wait.

It wasn't until he was almost impatient that the door of Houjian's room was approached, and another servant led him to a room, where a middle-aged official with gray hair and a relatively rich figure was already sitting waiting for him.

Now the cabinet minister in charge of the Ministry of Commerce is Shangdanghou Zhou Xuezhi, and of course he is not a minister of this rank who he can meet if he wants to, and he made an appointment today with He Jingkun, a deputy director of the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce.

"Foreign envoys, I have seen Lord He!" As soon as he entered the door, he deeply followed this Lord He and looked respectful.

"Excuse me, please be seated." This Lord He was very kind, and he didn't put on a show, and beckoned him to sit down. "We had a meeting in the yamen just now, so I made your envoy wait for a long time, I'm sorry."

"Adults work state affairs, and it's too late to admire, how can there be complaints." Yanagi Yuanzhai hurriedly said.

As an important official of the Ministry of Commerce, Yanagi Motosai certainly investigated his background. After the establishment of the new dynasty, Yunshan was assigned to the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of Commerce of the Imperial Court, and he naturally entered the Ministry of Commerce, became an official of the New Dynasty, and put it into the Foreign Trade Department in line with the principle of making the best use of his talents.

After a few years of ups and downs, he became the deputy director of the Foreign Trade Department, holding great power, and was awarded the title of baron by the imperial court for meritorious service, and became an upstart in the imperial court.

However, even though he has become a big official and a nobleman, the old business habits still have a lot of residues in him, he has a very good attitude towards people, never behaves properly, and his rich face has a look of "harmony and wealth".

Master He didn't speak all the time, but waited for his secretary to serve tea, and after the secretary walked out, he slowly picked up the tea and blew it lightly.

"Your envoy has come to negotiate with me about the export of copper, right?"

"Yes, sir." Yanagi Yuanzhai nodded hurriedly, "The situation of the country, I have already written a love letter before, and I ask the adults to forgive me for the hardships of the country......"

"Hey, your country has been in a big trouble for us recently......" He Jingkun smiled bitterly, "You suddenly stopped exporting copper to our country without informing you and then without explanation, and as a result, everyone up and down is asking us what happened, not only our own yamen people, but even the outside departments are asking...... The envoy also knows that copper is an important material, which must be used everywhere, involving several big yamen, all of whom are above the top, and we have to wait for them one by one with smiling faces, hey...... It's hard for us......"

Although Lord He's tone was very gentle, and he just complained a little, Yanagi Yuanzhai was a little frightened when he heard it, and his back was a little cold.

Because of the sudden cessation of copper exports, the shogunate has now caused resentment in several departments of the Han court, and I am afraid that it will not be long before the entire court's perception of the shogunate will become much worse, which is a big bad thing.

"I'm really sorry that the adults have been tired of the things that have harmed the country!" He stood up and took a deep look at He Jingkun again, "It's just that my country's friends are in an emergency now, so we have no choice but to make this decision, and I also ask your country Haihan." ”

"Your envoy is a little restless, a little restless." He Jingkun was still smiling, and waved his hand to signal Yanagi Yuanzhai to sit down again. "Our side is also in charge of maritime trade, so we probably know a little reason, the Netherlands has indeed been at war with the Spaniards recently, and the war is tight, and now they are still buying cannons from us. Therefore, it is not impossible for us to understand the reasons of the shogunate of your country...... However, not saying a word beforehand, and making it so decisive, really embarrassed everyone! ”

Because he is in charge of foreign trade matters, He Jingkun does know some foreign situations, even more than Liu Sheng. The Netherlands, which had gained independence by rebelling against the Spaniards, had been in constant conflict with Spain since its independence, for the sake of old hatred and commercial interests. At this time, the Spanish Habsburg Dynasty was deeply mired in German civil strife, and the Dutch took this opportunity to join the ranks of Spain's enemies and fought a war that lasted for many years.

The battlefield in Asia is mainly in the Spanish colony with Manila as the core and the Dutch colony with Batavia as the core, and after many years of land and sea confrontation between the two sides, the Dutch have gradually fallen behind in both Europe and Asia, so the military problem has become extremely urgent, in order to make up for the losses in the war, the Dutch are ready to concentrate the country's financial and material resources to expand the armament and fleet, and artillery has become the top priority.

Not only did they import copper in large quantities from Japan, but they also ordered large quantities of cannons from the Dahan through middlemen, ready for use in Europe and in the fleet.

Although the manufacture of cannons has introduced Western technology, after nearly ten years of improvement at no expense, the manufacturing technology of cannons has made leaps and bounds, and the best cannons in the West can also compete with each other. So the Han Dynasty from the Ming era of the cannon importer, jumped to become the exporter of cannons, but in the previous export places are more convenient transshipment of Vietnam, Siam, Myanmar and other places, Western countries ordered a large number of for the first time, at that time even the Shang Xiang himself was shocked - however, the principle of its own technical secrecy, the Han Dynasty's best and most sophisticated cannons will not be exported, only those cannons that can barely meet the requirements.

Therefore, He Jingkun, who is well-informed, also knows that there is a reason for the distress over there. However, there are reasons for this, and he cannot forgive Japan's egregious act of stopping copper exports to China without explanation.

"I can also understand the difficulties of adults." Yanagi Motosai's tone was still very respectful, "I have already sent a letter back to the shogunate, asking my subordinate superiors to plead with the shogun, severely punish the person in charge of this matter, and expand the production of copper, and strive to meet the shortfall of your country as soon as possible." ”

"If you say expand, even if it is expanded, it will be a matter of the future. What now, can't distant water save near fire? He Jingkun shook his head, obviously still unable to accept the Japanese explanation, "Is there really no other way for your envoy?" Let's see if we can allocate a sum of copper, at least to satisfy our previous order, right? ”

"Shame...... Ashamed...... "Yanagi Motosai still looked embarrassed and embarrassed, "I have already repaired the book and returned to China to inquire, but they said that they have really transferred all the copper in stock to the Dutch, and now they can only urgently requisition it from the mine...... But rest assured, my lord, the shogunate will compensate your merchants for their losses according to the agreed figures. ”