Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 107 Business Partner
Due to the sudden thick fog on the sea, Deng Fei had no time to carefully check the details of the shelling of Songqian Castle, so he quickly withdrew the drone.

Facing the sudden weather conditions, Zhao Xin could only stop the bombardment.

As soon as the sun came out the next morning, the drone on the Thunder God took off again and circled over Matsumae Castle.Seeing the white lanterns and banners hanging inside and outside Matsumae Castle, Zhao Xin was sure that he had done a big job this time, and then ordered the Thunder God to turn to Ishinomaki Port.

Early on the morning of the third day, Denzo Katsuyama and Jiroemon Murata, who had been waiting for many days, boarded the Thunder God.

"Master Zhao, have you brought all the food?" The two bosses seemed to be forced by the Sendai Fan.

Zhao Xin turned around and pointed to the cargo hold below the deck and said, "I brought them all, a total of [-] shi of polished rice, [-] tons." He specially let the Thunder God be delayed for one night, so that everyone on board was sleeping at night. , put [-] tons of rice into the cargo hold.

Seeing the piles of grain in the cargo hold, Denzo Katsuyama and Jiroemon Murata couldn't help being overjoyed.

Taking advantage of the time to hoist the cargo, Zhao Xin invited the two to the meeting room and explained to them that because the ship was full of grain this time, the white sugar and silk ordered before would not be delivered until the next time.

Katsuyama Densan quickly said that it doesn't matter, the [-] shi of grain that the Sendai Fan wants is more important.Then he lowered his voice and said to Zhao Xin: "My lord, you don't know that hundreds of townspeople in this domain have starved to death at home. If this batch of food is no longer available, the lord will reduce the salaries of all the people below." Half three years."

"Ah? Isn't the Sendai clan very rich? Can't even buy some food?" Zhao Xin was very surprised.

Murata Jiroemon sighed and said, "I bought several thousand taels from Owari and Omi, but it's really a drop in the bucket. Now the Kanto feudal clans are rushing to grab the food on the market, and the price has gone up too much."

"No, my family's winery has also stopped working. Now the food produced by the domain must be given priority to Edo, otherwise if Edo is short of food, there will be big troubles."

"Then who will pay for the rice this time?" Zhao Xin asked with a smile.

"It's ready. The officials of the Entry and Exit Department of this feudal clan have brought the payment to the Ishinomaki Enforcement Office, and the payment will be made after the inspection of the goods." Katsuyama Densan quickly explained.He knew that the leader of Tang Yi in front of him was the one who would throw the table if he didn't agree with him, so he must not offend him.

Zhao Xin knocked on the table with his fingers, thought for a while and said, "I still have a unique business here. I wonder if the two bosses are interested?"

When the two businessmen on the opposite side heard that it was a unique business, they hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, why not tell me about it."

Although the sugar and silk hadn't arrived yet, the carved glass cups Zhao Xin gave them last time allowed them to make a fortune.Now that the God of Wealth wants to take care of them again, the two of them will naturally strive to move forward and never back down.

"Shrimp, Yi, and land." Zhao Xin looked at the two and said word by word.

After he finished speaking, Denzo Katsuyama and Jiroemon Murata looked at each other strangely, but did not speak.

"What? Are you not interested?"

Katsuyama Densan quickly explained: "My lord, don't be angry. The goods in Ezo are nothing more than leather goods and seafood. Apart from leather goods, they are still profitable. This... there is no shortage of seafood in this place."

Zhao Xin chuckled: "You think I'm going to do this?"

"That is?"

"It's coal. Coal from western Ezo."

Don't think that the islanders in the Edo period didn't use coal.In this era, the largest coal mine in the island country was the Chikuho Coal Mine in the Fukuoka Domain on Kyushu Island.With the rapid expansion of the population in the two big cities of Edo and Osaka, briquettes have become an important fuel in households.The salt-producing areas of the Seto Inland Sea also use coal as fuel for boiling sea salt.

Murata Jiroemon said: "But I heard that the business in Ezo is monopolized by the Matsumae Domain, and only businessmen from Omi can get in on it. And the Ezo people have always been fierce, this..."

"You don't have to worry about the Ainu people, I have already established a very good cooperative relationship with them. As for Matsumae, hehe..."

When the two businessmen saw Zhao Xin's expression, they guessed something in their hearts.But when they learned about what happened in Shachuan and Songqian Castle from Zhao Xin, they couldn't help but mourn in silence for the Patriarch of Matsuqian Fan.It's not good to provoke anyone, but Tang Yi must be provoked.

Zhao Xin proposed that the three parties jointly set up a firm, and the two businessmen would be responsible for recruiting miners in the territory of the Sendai Domain to mine coal mines in Beiquanzhou (Yubari) and Beiqujiang (Ishikari). sold to island countries.

As for the safety from the mine to Shachuan, Zhao Xin will send people to be responsible, and the two businessmen can also hire ships to transport the coal all the way to the North Sea.As for the price of coal, Zhao Xin gave the two a very satisfactory condition.

The only condition that Zhao Xin asked the two businessmen to pay attention to and must abide by is that you can use Ainu or refugees, but you must pay them enough to feed them.If something goes wrong because of this incident, then don't blame yourself for turning your face and denying others.

The three discussed the matter for a whole day.In the end, Denzo Katsuyama was in charge of drafting, and a tripartite cooperation agreement was put on paper.

According to the agreement, Zhao Xin, Katsuyama Denzo, and Murata Jiroemon will hold 30%, 35%, and 35% of the shares.Zhao Xin is responsible for the relationship between the various Ainu tribes in Ezo, and the safety of the transportation route of the mined coal on Ezo; other miners are recruited and transported to Ezo, and the establishment of mining camps, etc. is handed over to the two The businessman is in charge.The income earned by the firm is settled annually.

As for the name of the firm, the two businessmen suggested that Zhao Xin should come up with it, and Zhao Xin decided to call it "Beihai Firm".

The cooperation has come to an end, and the next step is to chat.So Zhao Xin mentioned going to Nagasaki Port.

Murata Jiroemon explained: "This is a bit difficult. You don't know, my lord. Foreign ships need a letter card when they dock in Nagasaki. Without this, I'm afraid it will be very difficult."

"And what about your merchant ships?"

"Although our ship does not need a letter card, once disembarked, the people in Nagasaki found that there were foreigners on board. Not to mention that the goods on board will be seized, everyone will go to jail."

Katsuyama Denzo asked: "My lord, do you want to go to Nagasaki to find a merchant from the Qing Dynasty?"

Zhao Xin nodded slowly: "I have this idea."

"This matter is very troublesome. It is said that the merchants of the Qing Dynasty lived in the residences of the Tang people. They were surrounded by strict guards and were not allowed to go out at all. Even if you boarded our ship and arrived in Nagasaki, you would not be able to enter."

Zhao Xin smiled indifferently, and then said: "Bosses, are you interested in going to Nagasaki together on this Thor? Don't worry, the Thor is not your debate ship. We will be able to do it in a few days." return."

"My lord, what do you want?"

"Since the shogunate won't open the door, I'll break it down!"

As soon as he said this, the two businessmen in front of him were completely frightened.Looking at the panic-stricken two people in front of him, Zhao Xin suggested that they go back and think about it carefully.

Katsuyama Denzo and Murata Jiroemon returned home at night, thinking carefully about boarding the boat to Nagasaki until late at night.As a businessman, as long as the profit is big, he is not afraid of being hanged.The two shop owners thought that even the Sendai Fan had to beg the chieftain of Tang Yi to sell food; and thought that since the two of them cooperated with him to open a business, they could be regarded as boarding the same boat.So now it is necessary to know whether the force of these Tang Yi people is reliable.

Thinking of the scene where the guns were fired at Matsushima Town and Ishinomaki Port...

The next morning, two firm owners boarded the Thor with a man.

Zhao Xin laughed when he saw this person. He was an old acquaintance, Shibata Kakuzo, who was stationed in the Ishinomaki Monastery in the Sendai Clan.

After an explanation from the two businessmen, Zhao Xin knew that after some consideration last night, the two decided to go to Nagasaki with Zhao Xin to broaden their horizons.But this matter was too big, and the two were afraid that their small shoulders would not be able to carry it, so they reported it to the officials of the Sendai clan who were waiting to pay the rice payment in Ishinomaki Port early in the morning.

When the official of the Sendai Domain heard that Tang Yi was going to Nagasaki Port to teach the shogunate, he couldn't help being very interested.Everyone in the Sendai clan is happy to see the Tokugawa family deflated.Speaking of...forget it, I had too many grievances with the Tokugawa family, and it took days and nights to talk about it.

In view of the tight time given by Zhao Xin, it was finally decided to send Shibata Juezou who had dealt with Zhao Xin several times.This person is just a small official, once something happens, he can be thrown out as a scapegoat at any time.

Shibata Juezang, who has always wanted to be an invisible man, knew that he might be a victim this time. After paying respects to Zhao Xin, he said: "This time, my vassal sent me here to see the North Sea with you. The martial arts in the town are outstanding. Please allow me, my lord. I am really sorry to cause you trouble."

Zhao Xin smiled in his heart, and the Sendai Fan also took the bait.

"No trouble, it's just an extra mouth to eat." After finishing speaking, he asked Pingtai to lead the three of them to the cabin where they were arranged to stay.

Shibata Juezang was depressed, he didn't take himself seriously at all.

At noon, the officials of the Sendai clan, who had experienced the fineness of the rice, led a team of guards and sent the 5 taels of fine money to the Thunder God.

After the inspection by both parties, they saluted and said goodbye.

After Zhao Xin waited for the other party's Guan ship to go away, he immediately ordered to sail south, aiming at Nagasaki.

(End of this chapter)