New Shun 1730

The Matsumae Domain did not have a real salary of rice and rice, and they all relied on business. Their business acumen had long discovered that something might have happened in the north.

Ezo was so bitter and cold that it did not produce brocade.

But a few years ago, silk appeared in Ezo, and it was very high-quality silk, which was called Ezo brocade.

The lord of the Matsumae Domain, Matsumae Suehiro, also presented Ezo brocade to the shogun as a tribute for the audience.

As for why brocade appeared in this place, it was actually very simple.

Or it should not be called appearance, but reappearance.

During the Yongle period, the Nurgan Dusi had a tribute system, and silk flowed into Heilongjiang, then from Heilongjiang to Sakhalin Island, and then from Sakhalin Island all the way south.

Although it was slow, just like the Shu brocade that appeared in Daxia during the Han Dynasty, as long as there was goods, trade would exist.

After that, the rise of the Later Jin Dynasty and the war in the Central Plains, this tribute system was cut off.

Until the war against Russia many years ago, the indigenous tribes in the lower reaches of the Heilongjiang River swore an oath of blood with Liu Yu, and then accepted the imperial canonization.

Every year, mink furs must be contributed, and the emperor also needs to return some silk brocade.

As long as there are goods, there will be trade. Although the spread is slower, the Ainu people still traded along Sakhalin Island, and gradually some brocade arrived at Fukuyama Castle in Matsumae.

As for what happened in the northeast, the people of Matsumae were slow to react and closed the country, so they didn't know. There was not much interest in knowing.

However, this kind of trade has only benefits, no harm, and it is happy to see it happen. From the workmanship, it can be known that it must be a product from the Tang Dynasty, but no one said it.

If the Matsumae clan said it, it would probably be banned from trade; Edo might know, but everyone likes this kind of brocade and is unwilling to ban it.

But at this time, when they heard that people from the Tang Dynasty were building a city in Ezo, they were not thinking about trade, but worry.

Japan was a closed country, and the Matsumae clan had the exclusive control over the trade with the Ezo clan.

Although the previous battles with the local aborigines had caused the Matsumae clan to suffer losses and temporarily cut off the idea of ​​completely occupying the Ezo clan, they still did not want others to reach out to them because they had the trade privileges permitted by the shogunate.

Merchants were of low status, but Matsumae Sukehiro needed merchants to maintain his rule and income.

The Ryohama Group, composed of Omi merchants, had a close relationship with the Matsumae clan and made great contributions to the income of the Matsumae clan.

At this time, Japanese rice could not be grown in Hokkaido, but Hokkaido was one of the four largest fishing grounds in the world and had rich fishery resources.

These fiefdoms could not grow grain, but they could fish and do business. Some merchants gave money to the owners of the fiefdoms, transported rice from the south, and hired local Ezo people to work.

Hunting for a living is definitely not as comfortable as working for others. In Dashun, it was a similar situation. Many local tribes in Vladivostok and other places had chosen to integrate into villages and towns to live a settled life.

The model in Hokkaido is similar.

Relying on the price difference of rice, the rich fisheries and furs in Hokkaido, the merchants of the Ryohama Group made a lot of money and could fully afford the "tax package".

But if the administrative management was handed over to the retainers, it would be a loss. The retainers did not have such a level, and the thinking mode under the agricultural feudal system could not play business.

Matsumae Suehiro asked the merchant crawling on the ground: "Did you see the Tang people?"

"Sir, it should be the Tang people. They tied their hair, and when they traded with the Ainu people, they also said they were from Dashun. They sold cloth there in exchange for fur."

The merchant hurriedly answered what he had seen, but he did not dare to get too close to the earthen city to watch carefully, so he ran back to report the news.

Matsumae Suehiro knew that this matter might be serious.

If it was just a business, it would be okay.

Send someone to inform that according to Japan's national policy, only Korea, the Netherlands, China and Ryukyu can trade.

If it is a Chinese ship, it can go to Nagasaki for trade, which is not allowed here.

Of course, they can also be allowed to smuggle secretly.

But I am afraid that they are not here to trade, which is very bad.

After carefully asking the merchant for some details, he asked someone to take the merchant down first, and the retainers gathered together to discuss the matter.

The policy of closing the country is beneficial to the shogunate, but it is certainly not beneficial to the feudal lords, merchants, etc. in various places.

Big merchants with ability and connections can trade in Nagasaki.

Worse, they can only trade in Ezo, and they can also drink some soup by relying on the silk and other things awarded to the frontier tribes under the Dashun tribute system every year.

A retainer put forward an opinion that deceived the superiors and the subordinates.

"The general issued a closed country order, and the feudal lord must abide by it. However, if those Tang people trade with the Ezo people, we take these goods from the Ezo people and transport the Ezo brocade to Edo for sale, then the Matsumae domain will not violate the closed country order."

This is obviously an opinion that takes advantage of loopholes.

Japan was somewhat wary of Westerners, but not of Dashun.

The main reason was that throughout the dynasties, except for the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the Central Plains Celestial Empire seemed to have no desire to expand in the direction of the sea.

Moreover, in the bitter cold land of the north, Dashun had many directions to expand, so how could it be possible to think about occupying Ezo?

Matsumae Sukehiro did not comment on this suggestion of deceiving the superiors and the subordinates. After thinking about it, he felt that it was better to keep this matter secret for the time being.

If they are really just here for trade, they can be allowed to trade quietly without letting the shogunate know about it.

Edo is so far away from here, so it's not impossible to hide a little lie.

Although his Lumi was only a nominal amount of 10,000 shi, he had a strong relationship with the DPRK and Zhongguang by marriage. For example, Matsumae Shihiro's wife is a newly named Hachijo clan and the niece of the imperial concubine. A little manipulation of this matter will also be beneficial to the Matsumae clan.

However, we still have to take a look before talking about it.

Matsumae Zihiro decided to send a few people to explore the bottom first to see what these people were here for.

Hokkaido is not that big to begin with, and Fushan City is only two to three hundred miles away from the settlement of the first batch of Dashun immigrants.

Matsumae Shihiro sent a retainer and more than 20 people to check it out. If you can ask them clearly about their purpose of coming, ask them clearly. If the other party shows hostility, withdraw first and make another argument.

When the retainers arrived with their people, Tucheng had already grown somewhat in size.

There are earthen walls and wooden fences outside, with protruding edges and corners all around. Although it is a low-end version, the construction method is still based on the bastion method.

The retainers of Matsumae Domain felt something was wrong when they saw it. It didn't look like they were doing business.

People in the city also discovered them. There were employees of trading companies in the city who understood Japanese. The Marine Corps lieutenant was in charge of the negotiations, but the actual negotiators were employees of the trading company who knew Japanese.

The two parties agreed to meet outside the city, both carrying weapons. The Matsumae Domain had matchlocks, and I didn't think there was anything special about these flintlock guns. They were just muskets.

"Are you from Tang Dynasty?"

"Yes. Our ship encountered a storm and deviated from its course. We had no choice but to settle here first. We cut down the wood and built the ship. We built the earthen fortress to prevent anyone from robbing our goods."

As soon as he opened his mouth, he followed the standard rhetoric of colonists, always borrowing some land to rest as a prelude.

Although this opening statement was cliché, it was very effective and made Matsumae Shihiro's retainer relax a little.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, judging from this opening statement, there is no malicious intent.

"This is the land of the Matsumae clan. You are not allowed to stay here. And if you want to trade, the general who conquered the barbarians has ordered the country to be closed. People from the Tang Dynasty must go to Nagasaki for trade."

"Building a city here is not allowed. You should demolish the city here as soon as possible. If you want to return to your homeland, you can go to Nagasaki and take a boat back."

The employees of the trading company had been trained in speaking skills before coming and asked: "Even if we go to Nagasaki, what will happen to our goods? This is all our wealth. If we just abandon it here, we will have to pay for it when we go back." Poor. No matter what, we have to sell all these goods before we can leave."

"Please tell Lord Matsumae to allow us to trade here. We really don't want to go to Nagasaki. If possible, I hope Lord Matsumae can use your ship to send us back."

As soon as this suggestion was made, the retainer immediately refuted this childish and ridiculous idea.

The lock-down order was no joke. It was fine for the Matsumae clan to be on the sidelines and engage in the Ezo trade. If they built ships to send these people out of Japan, it would be a serious crime.

Moreover, the retainers of Matsumae Domain quickly discovered the problem.

"If you are engaged in trade, why are there so many people? Don't all merchant ships carry goods?"

At this time, the Japanese ship was not big, and the scale of six to seven hundred people was really terrifying, and they could not imagine it.

"I am engaged in trade, and some people are going to reclaim wasteland. Please tell Lord Matsumae that we will leave as soon as possible. In up to three years, we can build a ship and leave. During this period, we are willing to pay a certain amount of taxes. Pay in silver or silk.”

"I'm even willing to pay a deposit of three hundred taels of silver. After our ship is built in three years at most, we will leave here. It's too cold here and nothing can be grown. We don't want to be in this kind of place."

"I heard that all land in Japan is enfeoffed, and we are willing to pay upward payment to the owner of Zhixing Land here."

He said it so sincerely, pleading and willing to pay, and it seemed to be true.

But the retainers of the Matsumae clan insisted on letting him go to Fukuyama Castle to meet the lord of the Matsumae clan. The employee of the trading company thought, "I am a fool to go. I don't want to go. I don't know if I can come back."

"I don't trust you. If you are not of my race, you will have a different heart. If you insist on letting me go to Fukuyama Castle, I would rather die here. Please convey this to the Lord of Matsumae Domain, okay?"

As he spoke, he quietly stuffed some silver into his hands, and his bribery movements were smooth and smooth. He was obviously skillful, and he looked like a real businessman.

The retainer calmly accepted the money, and after asking some more questions, said: "Trade is absolutely not allowed."

The merchant hurriedly said: "If we are really not allowed to trade with the locals, then Lord Matsumae, please eat these goods. They are all in short supply. But please allow us to fish here to survive the shipbuilding period." We will not have anything to do with the Ezo people during this period.”

"Or, please allow us to rent a small piece of land. Lease for three years, and we will leave after three years at most."

The retainer couldn't make a decision on his own, so he said he would go back to Fushan City to ask the family head first and let these people wait for news.

Returning to Fukuyama Castle, I explained the situation to Matsumae Shihiro. Matsumae Shihiro was also a little confused and didn't understand what was happening at all.

It sounds like the overall situation is that some immigrants and merchants were shipwrecked and had to stay in this place.

Matsumae Sukehiro knew nothing about the colonists' rhetoric, so such deception sounded believable.

This is not Nagasaki, and the income of the retainers is limited. After receiving the silver, they will naturally say a few good words.

"Lord, they are Tang people, not Catholics. There is no big problem for them to stay here temporarily."

"People who are not of our race must have different hearts. It is understandable that they are unwilling to come here and are wary of us."

"Besides, as long as they promise not to trade with the Ainu people and leave after three years, what harm will it do to us?"

"We can let the merchants of the Ryohama Group buy their goods and sell them in the south. They will say that a Tang ship ran aground in Ainu, and they will leave after repairing the ship."

"Besides, they are willing to pay to rent land for temporary residence. We can allocate a small area to them and not allow them to cross the border. This should be no problem."

"People who go to sea are very fierce. They carry muskets, and the Tang ships also have cannons, and their cannons have been unloaded. They are not Ainu people. If we have to drive them away, some people may die. It is not worth going to war for these people."

Matsumae Sukehiro didn't care much about the money. If he could get it, it would be good. But this matter mainly depends on the attitude of the shogunate.

In recent years, under the reform of Tokugawa Yoshimune, the shogunate has gradually stabilized and revived. The fear is that the shogunate will take this opportunity to directly intervene in the affairs of Ezo.

The Matsumae clan does not want the shogunate to reach out.

Raising the enemy to protect oneself is applicable to countries under the centralized system.

For the feudal system, there is no concept of raising the enemy to protect oneself. There is only the situation that the shogunate reaches out to seize power after raising the enemy.

It is still difficult to say what those people are doing here. But since it is said to be leased for three years, this is a reasonable solution.

Anyway, it is the bitter and cold Ezo, and it is not the territory that the Matsumae clan can govern. It only has jurisdiction in name.

There is another great benefit to having a good relationship with these people.

That is the Ezo brocade trade.

Before, they could only trade with the Ezo people. This time, since there are merchants from the Tang Dynasty, they can secretly tell the merchants from the Tang Dynasty that they can quietly sell brocade here in the future. Then they would buy the brocade back from the Ezo people, or let some merchants secretly participate in smuggling and sell it in the south.

The isolation order was strictly enforced elsewhere, but the Matsumae clan had a trade license with the Ezo people, so it was much more relaxed here, and a loophole could be secretly made.

Historically, as early as 80 years before the Black Ship Incident, Russia had secretly contacted the Matsumae clan, hoping to obtain a trade license. However, on the one hand, the Russians promoted Orthodox Christianity in Ezo and levied fur taxes, which seriously violated the interests of the Matsumae clan; on the other hand, Russia's bulk trade goods were furs, which conflicted with the Matsumae clan's trade in Ezo.

Therefore, the Matsumae clan was extremely opposed to trade with Russia.

But the merchants of Dashun were very different.

These merchants brought in brocade, silk and other scarce goods; instead, they exchanged for furs, taro, etc., which was beneficial to the Matsumae clan.

Of course, if smuggling, hundreds of people must not be allowed to build a city and occupy it. Now the other party asked for permission to borrow for three years, and sell all the goods to the Matsumae domain first, and never trade with the Ainu in the future, which is within the scope of what can be allowed.

Show good relations, and when the merchant returns in the future, we can talk about smuggling in the future, which is also a long-term plan.

"Then let's do it. Let these people pay 1,000 taels of silver or equivalent silk as a rent loan. The rest of the goods will be bought by our merchants. Give them a ten-mile range, and they cannot leave this range. If they violate it, we can only send troops to drive them away. The merchants will report the situation at any time."

Thinking that these people may be short of food, Matsumae Sukehiro also kindly instructed: "Tell them that they can provide them with some dried fish, and allow merchants to sell fish to them."