The copper mines of the Ming Dynasty were exhausted, but the Wa Kingdom, which was across the sea, was a large copper producer.

The submarine volcanic activity of the Chukkai Ridge in the Pacific Ocean brought abundant non-ferrous metal resources to the Wakuni and produced large metal deposits such as Ashio Copper Mountain and Besko Copper Mountain.

Therefore, at the intersection of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Wa Kingdom became the largest exporter of silver and copper in this era, but the country's low productivity and long-term princely struggle for hegemony caused the minting industry of the Wa Kingdom to come to a standstill, and the daimyo preferred to use the Ming Dynasty's money, after all, in their opinion, the cost of copper mining was not as good as trading with the Ming Dynasty with worthless copper ore.

In Li Xingzhi's view, copper is a strategic material, even more practical than silver, because copper is more flexible and dissipates heat faster, and it is really the best material for casting cannons.

The usual money is twenty catties of copper, that is to say, if this deal is negotiated, the gross profit will reach a terrifying 600 percent, minus the cost of shipping and minting copper coins, Li Xingzhi can at least earn more than five times the cost.

Moreover, the copper mines of the Wa Kingdom are also associated with silver mines. According to the "Heavenly Creations" provided by Sun Zhijie, it is recorded: "Dongyi copper also has those in the silver mine. ”

"When it is smelted in the furnace, the silver knots on the surface, and the copper sinks down. The merchant ship drifted into China, called Japanese copper, its shape is a square long slats style, Zhangjun people get it, re-smelt it in a furnace, and take out zero silver. ”

According to Li Xingzhi's speculation, Zheng Zhilong of Fujian was able to amass so much wealth, and if nothing else, he would probably earn such a trade deficit.

"General, in exchange for twenty catties of copper ore, this is too much, can it be lowered a little, the copper mines of the country are rich ores, with high copper content, and even associated silver mines, if it is changed to fifteen catties for the same money, the foreign minister can make the decision for my lord."

Tanaka Saburo is not stupid, if the copper money is calculated according to the measurement method of the Ming Dynasty, but it is only about five catties, then the bulk of the profit from this transaction was not earned by the Ming Kingdom, and the Sado Domain has become a middleman in the Ming and Wa copper money transactions.

"Your Excellency Tanaka, let's settle according to what Benhou said, but Benhou can privately give you a rebate of 10% of the transaction amount, that is, for every copper coin purchased by the Sado Domain, Your Excellency Tanaka can get 200 Wen, how about it?"

Li Xingzhi smiled and looked at Saburo Tanaka, who was bargaining with him, as the saying goes, thousands of miles of officials are only for money, Li Xingzhi doesn't think that the generals who traveled all the way to Daming to negotiate copper money transactions would not like silver.

"Isheiri?"

Saburo Tanaka raised his fingers, his mouth opened into a big O-shape, and he looked at the Ming General in front of him with a shocked expression.

Those who can become the general of the Sado Domain naturally understand the huge kickbacks here, and according to the calculation that each sea ship can carry 100,000 catties of copper, it is equivalent to a profit of 500 yuan for each ship.

Li Xingzhi was very pleased with Tanaka Saburo's reaction, and in his memory, although the Wa Kingdom was rich in silver and copper, because the handicraft industry at that time was far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, there was a great demand for Ming goods.

The goods of the Ming Kingdom could be sold at two to three times higher prices than in the country.

For example, the raw silk produced in Nanjing can be sold for about 125 taels in Guangzhou, and 2301 taels in Nagasaki; The price of sugar in Guangzhou was 1.6 taels per quintal, but when it arrived in Nagasaki it was sold for 4.5 taels, nearly tripling the price.

However, because the Japanese did not have superior products to exchange, they mostly exchanged silver, copper and other metals for Chinese goods.

Gu Yanwu pointed out in the "Book of Diseases of the Heavenly Counties": "There is no goods in the Japanese country, only gold and silver. ”

Under these circumstances, a large number of Chinese merchant ships poured into the Wa Kingdom for maritime trade. The merchant ships of the Ming Dynasty transported shiploads of raw silk, silk fabrics, sugar, books, and traditional Chinese medicine to the Wa Kingdom, bringing back the entire ship of precious metals.

Due to the urgent shortage of coins and a large number of handmade products in the Wa Kingdom, Li Xingzhi was completely able to bite the price he had set and trade with the Sado Domain.

The reason why Tanaka Saburo was promised was to tie this general of the Sado Domain to the chariot of the Jingbei Army.

According to Li Xingzhi's estimate, once the trade of counterfeit money began and a large amount of copper money flowed from Sado to the interior of the Wa Kingdom, other red-eyed daimyo would inevitably be attracted like wolves, and even the Tokugawa Shogunate in the Wa Kingdom would be alarmed.

At that time, the Sado clan will either stop trading fake money with the Jingbei Army under tremendous pressure from the country, or it will have to arm itself to protect its vested interests.

It was obviously unrealistic to stop trade, after all, there was no more powerful sea force in northern China than the Jingbei Army, and the only thing the Sado Domain could do was to ask for its own help.

With Tanaka, who took his own benefits, he was in the Sado Domain, and he could adapt to the situation, and he could even train him to lead the way of the Jingbei Army, Li Xingzhi didn't believe that in this era when the emperor was just a decoration, the Japanese people would have any bushido spirit.

During the period from Hongzhi to Jiajing, those vaunted invincible Japanese pirates in the world were actually just dogs raised by the Han gentry, and Wang Zhi, the owner of Wufeng who founded the country in Nagasaki, and Zheng Zhilong, the current overlord of the South China Sea, were all inextricably linked with the gentry group in the south of the Yangtze River.

If the Japanese people can be controlled by the gentry in Jiangnan, then they can naturally be controlled by Li Xingzhi.

To put it mildly, as long as the long knives of the Jingbei Army were sharp enough, the daimyo of the Wa Kingdom and their Tokugawa shogunate could only wag their tails in front of Li Xingzhi and beg for mercy.

"Thank you, General! If you go back, you will definitely contribute to this, and please rest assured that the general. ”

Saburo Tanaka, who was kneeling on the ground, threw himself to the ground again and respectfully saluted Li Xingzhi, which made him full of admiration for Li Xingzhi.

He followed behind the shirt family, tired and tired of working for only about 500 yuan a year, and there was a family to support, and life was tight, and now the general of the Ming Kingdom could earn more than ten times or even dozens of times the silver with a casual word.

"You get up, you can discuss specific business matters with Qian Tiju, draft specific rules, and when the fleet of the city is ready, we will start trading."

Li Xingzhi waved his hand and motioned for Saburo Tanaka to leave, he also had to check the training of the Liao army horses and sailors, so naturally it was impossible to talk to this Oriental ghost.

"Foreign minister, thank you General Mingguo!"

Saburo Tanaka also had a very good look, got up cautiously, bowed down and slowly retreated.

"Marshal, that subordinate will also retire first, and go to negotiate with this Japanese man about maritime trade."

Qian Anning also knew that Li Xingzhi's military affairs were busy, and Tanaka Saburo had retreated, and it was pointless for him to stay here any longer.