New Shun 1730

Several people signed their names and stamped their seals, and then immediately asked people to send it back to their respective capitals, where the heads of state from both sides would sign their names.

Return it as soon as possible, and hold a formal and grand signing and contract exchange ceremony with Xiaguan soon.

Of course, Matsudaira Terusada understood that the more than 300 million taels of silver in the treaty of "compounding interest on principal and interest" depended on whether Japan would take the initiative to surrender.

As a vassal, the emperor can of course waive the compound interest on these more than 300 million taels of silver with a stroke of his pen.

It's just that you don't have to worry about too much debt. When Matsudaira Terusada saw this amount, he understood that this was nonsense. Even if Japan were sold at this time, it would not be able to collect so much silver.

This is another win-win situation.

Emperor Dashun, with kindness in mind, canceled the vassal's debt of 300 million taels of silver with a stroke of his pen.

For the King of Japan, he won Li Zi and went to pay tribute, so that the Japanese people did not need to carry a debt of ten taels of silver, which was a great contribution.

After the treaty was signed, Liu Yu privately called Matsudaira Terusada aside and told the tribute conditions given by Dashun.

In view of North Korea's special prefecture-level prince etiquette, the title of King of Japan can be given a formal prince-level title by the Chinese dynasty.

As for Japan's shogun, after removing the title of General of the Conquest of Yi, the imperial court will also confer a prince with the courtesy of a prince, which is considered to be on the same level as Korea.

If he were to be granted the title of Duke, the shogunate would really not be able to accept it.

The North Korean side may murmur a few words, but Dashun will not go to North Korea to privately acknowledge the Japanese monarch's past affairs.

It is not that the two sides will not be able to communicate privately in the future, but formal trade and correspondence will be suspended.

After determining the level of canonization after paying tribute, Matsudaira Terusada made one final request, that is, he hoped that "Japanese" would not be used as the royal seal.

Liu Yu also agreed to this point. If he really paid tribute, Japan would have to deal with many things in the future, not just this title.

Some issues that can only be dealt with after paying tribute cannot be signed in a treaty before paying tribute.

For example, there are "honki" issues in Japanese history books, such as calling oneself Hua while calling others barbarians, such as not being able to trade with the Netherlands, such as arms sales and transactions, etc.

Of course, there is also the interest of more than 300 million taels, which is obviously exempted as long as the tribute is paid.

After confirming the tribute and a treaty to be signed, Matsudaira Terusada only cared about two things.

One thing is to hope that Liu Yu can release Zhaoren and Guan Bai. They will not go to the capital as prisoners, but will take the initiative to pay tribute after returning.

The second is whether those weapons can be prepared as soon as possible. Once the tribute is paid, they can be delivered immediately.

The first thing sounds a lot like taking off your pants and farting, but Liu Yu can also understand their difficulties.

The so-called emperor is just a shrine. After putting it back, the shogunate will have a way to step down, and it can also show the shogunate's contribution: since the vassals strongly recommend not to establish a new king to fight to the end, then I, the shogunate, will talk about bringing the emperor back.

"This matter is not difficult."

"The reason why the Privy Council allowed them to make a surprise attack on Kyoto was for the sake of General Yoshimune. Mr. Matsudaira is an old man, so I won't avoid you if you have some things to say, so I will tell you directly."

"If your king is not captured, wouldn't the shogunate be passive? If the fight continues, the Privy Council will prepare to specifically target the Daimyo of the generation and the Daimyo of the vassal."

"Look, how good it is now. The feudal lords don't want to fight for now, and the shogunate has also accused the feudal lords of harming the country. After all, General Yoshimune should also thank me, right?"

Matsudaira Huizhen only wanted to scold her, but she still forced out a smile and said: "What Liu Jun said is absolutely true. In this battle, the shogunate was not too oppressive, and the shogunate is really grateful. Does Liu Jun mean that he can be released?"

Liu Yu nodded and said: "Let it go, let it go! Of course let it go."

"However, I can't leave it to you directly. To be honest, I'm quite worried about your sailing skills. If we encounter wind and waves on the way, wouldn't a good thing turn into a bad thing?"

"Well, I'll send him back to Osaka and inspect the terrain of Kobe's opening of the port."

"Firstly, the warship will escort you, and the journey will be safe. Secondly, if you are paying tribute, you can also take a warship to Shimonoseki and arrive after exchanging contracts. Thirdly, Osaka is also closer to Kyoto."

Matsudaira Terusada praised: "Earl of Great Country, you are thoughtful."

But I thought to myself, who knows what you want to do.

After the matter was agreed upon, Liu Yu first waited in Busan for the emperor to stamp the seal. It was estimated that the emperor would have to send a set of ceremonial guards. When Japanese daimos came to pay their respects, the ceremonial guards would clear the way. If he went to Xiaguan to change It's a bit shabby to have a date without a set of etiquette.

The navy stationed in Hagi also mobilized five warships to join the Pusan ​​fleet.

The honor guards on land are all from the same cultural circle. After all, the Dashun side is a celestial dynasty, and the imperial envoy's honor guard will definitely not be worse than the shogun's side.

The momentum on the sea needs to be fully grasped.

I have never had the opportunity to go to the Seto Inland Sea to chart the sea, and this time is the opportunity.

Some engineers will also go with the ship. Liu Yu wants to build several lighthouses in some places in Shimonoseki and the Seto Inland Sea "for the convenience of Japanese people."

At the same time, some soldiers should be stationed in Xiaguan to "guard the lighthouse."

While waiting, Liu Yu acted as host again, inviting the merchant leader and Zhaoren to have a meal together, and sold two large ships to Zhaoren so that he could follow the fleet when paying tribute.

He was generous. He sold two large merchant ships with a total value of 60,000 taels for 100,000 taels. He took 40,000 taels as an agency fee and paid 1,000 taels out of his own pocket to hire a group of sailors from the sea merchants to control the ships for Akihito and others when they paid tribute.

Although Akihito had no money, he thought that the shogunate would always pay for it. Thinking that Liu Yu really wanted to release him and let him go on his own initiative, it was also a face-saving thing for him, and he spent the 100,000 taels happily.

…………

When the draft treaty was sent back to Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Tokugawa Yoshimune only kept the confidant sent back by Matsudaira Terutsune. After asking for details, he unfolded the detailed negotiation process and content recorded by Matsudaira Terutsune.

Including the tribute issue discussed with Liu Yu in private, and the warning that "Japan will perish if China is in chaos" said by Kanpaku Ichijo Kenka that day.

After reading the contents of the treaty, Tokugawa Yoshimune did not have much waves in his heart.

From the time Liu Yu sailed to Edo to declare war, to the time the war really ended, Tokugawa Yoshimune had experienced too much, and was already somewhat... numb.

When Kyoto was raided and Akihito was captured, he had already anticipated the worst.

After rehearsing all the worst possibilities in his mind, such a treaty now really couldn't stir up too many waves in his heart.

Thinking of what Liu Yu said when he went to Edo, Tokugawa Yoshimune sighed bitterly and murmured: "I hate to press gold thread every year to make wedding clothes for others."

It was not until this moment that he chewed out the three-point taste of this Tang Dynasty poem.

The vigorous currency reform finally stabilized prices and increased the fiscal revenue of the shogunate. The little gold and silver in the warehouse were all prepared for Liu Yu.

The benevolent sweet potato planting made the people not starve to death or a large-scale uprising in Japan under the scale of taxes of five officials and five people. After all the trouble, it was just to keep Japan stable when Liu Yu extorted money, so that there would not be a big chaos, and the money could not be paid if the exploitation was not fierce enough.

These are things that cannot be changed, and Tokugawa Yoshimune has to think about the future.

Originally, for the sake of stability and for the Kishu Domain Tokugawa family to stay in the position of Shogun, he would rather pass the throne to his eldest son Tokugawa Ieshige, who was still wet in his pants at the age of 30, according to the system of primogeniture; he gave land to the remaining two sons, wanting to imitate the original three families, so that the inheritance rights would be in his own family and not pass it to outsiders.

He picked up the position of Shogun, and he was also from the three families.

Those who got on the car must want to close the door. After he climbed up from the three families, he naturally thought of abolishing the inheritance rights of the three families and creating a circle of his own family to inherit.

The eldest son inherited, and the two younger sons assisted in Edo, imitating the model of the three families and creating a second son. Even if the eldest son's line died out in the future, there were still two younger sons who could inherit, so there was no need to look for outsiders from the Gosan family.

He had been thinking about this before, and tried every means to get rid of the most threatening Tokugawa clan of Owari Domain, Tokugawa Muneharu - the dispute between the two was not only a dispute over the right of succession, but also a dispute over the future path of Japan.

Tokugawa Yoshimune believed that the financial difficulties were becoming more and more difficult because of the extravagant lives of the samurai. He ordered all samurai to be frugal.

Tokugawa Muneharu believed that the wealth of society had to pass through the hands of samurai first. If samurai did not spend money, the wealth could not circulate. If the wealth could not circulate, the society would have no vitality. The wealthy samurai, especially the samurai who received salaries without working, should spend money vigorously so that consumption could drive the circulation of social wealth.

Tokugawa Yoshimune believed that Zhu Xi's philosophy, which emphasized loyalty to the emperor and hierarchy, should be orthodox.

Tokugawa Muneharu was greatly influenced by Ogyū Sorai. He believed that the Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty simply used the language of later generations to understand the knowledge of the ancients, and made random interpretations, which was completely contrary to the learning of the saints. The Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty should be abandoned, Cheng Zhu should be smashed, and the great principles of the pre-Qin period should be restored.

Tokugawa Yoshimune believed that the existing system was still okay and only needed to be repaired.

Tokugawa Muneharu believed that the existing system was a mess, and the lower-level samurai should be thrown from the castle town to the countryside to become local landlords. In the name of restoration, the status of the people in the castle town and merchants can be improved to solve the various problems that have arisen now.

The dilemma faced by Japan at this time is actually similar to that of Dashun.

On the one hand, the Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty can no longer guide the current economic life.

On the other hand, a group of people feel that if moving forward is not feasible, then retreat.

Some people have ulterior motives, and they are carrying out a new reform under the banner of retreating in the name of restoration.

In short, no one has proposed a theoretical basis within the scope of Confucianism that can move forward and work.

Now after the Dashun conquest, the situation is completely different from before. Tokugawa Yoshimune has completely overthrown the Owari Tokugawa clan and eliminated the temporary threat of the three families.

He must consider whether his eldest son, who is still bedwetting and can't speak clearly at the age of 30, can bear the heavy responsibility in the future?

What should Japan do in the future?

Should it continue Zhu Xi's school of thought, carry out frugality campaigns, suppress merchants, and attach importance to the etiquette of respect and inferiority?

Or should it restore the system, reform the system based on the past, select talents, throw low-level samurai to the countryside, select talents from the castle towns to govern, and allow merchants to form the Zhunakama Commercial Guild?

The eldest son is definitely not good enough. Does the second son Tokugawa Munetake have any ideas for the route?

Perhaps, this time when going to Dashun to pay tribute, the second son should go and take a look at the situation of Dashun and learn from it.