1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 906 "Edo Treaty"

During this period, the Tokugawa shogunate had a total stone height of 400-450 million stones in its territory directly under its jurisdiction, while the total stone height in Japan as a whole was only 2000 million stones, and the shogunate accounted for more than 20%.If you add Ishi Taka of the Gosan Clan (Owari Tokugawa Clan, Kishu Tokugawa Clan, and Mito Tokugawa Clan, which have the right to succeed the Great General in addition to the Tokugawa Shogun’s family), Ishi Taka is directly controlled by the shogunate. The total amount is close to 550-600 million shi. In Japan, it is definitely a dominant company, firmly controlling the situation in the world.

In addition to land income, after the Sekigahara War, the Tokugawa shogunate implemented the policy of "Tianling" of gold and silver mountains in Japan. The country's gold and silver income was controlled by the shogunate to build the ruling foundation of the Tokugawa family.

Izu Jinzan, Sado Gold and Silver Mine, Suruga Abe Jinzan, Tajima Ikuno Jinzan, Iwami Ginzan, and Shimono Ashio Copper Mine are all owned by the shogunate.Moreover, not only these mines are controlled, but the surrounding areas are also under the management of the Tokugawa shogunate, and Edo directly dispatched magistrates or set up magistrates' offices.

The shogunate controlled gold, silver, copper and other mines. With these resources, it began to mint a large amount of three currencies of gold, silver and copper, and thus obtained a large amount of seigniorage, which was also one of the most important incomes of the shogunate.

It stands to reason that the shogunate owns a large amount of land, mines, coins, and Japan's most important trading port-Nagasaki, there should be some scattered silver in its pocket, and it has filed a claim for 2000 million taels of silver against Qi, gritting its teeth , Tighten your belt, and then make a ten-year or 20-year mortgage payment, you can deal with it no matter what, and you won’t be forced in Qi State for a few days, still not letting go, begging Qi State to reduce the amount of compensation, and insisting that The conditions of Qi State greatly exceeded the capacity of the shogunate.

You must know that since the Battle of Osaka (1615), the continuous large-scale battles since the Warring States Period have come to an end, and Japan has entered a rather long period of peace, known as Yuan and Yanwu.During the era of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third-generation shogun of the shogunate, the shogunate’s finances were extremely abundant, and its military power was extremely powerful, as if it had entered a peaceful and prosperous age.

After the fourth-generation shogun Tokugawa Iezuna succeeded to the throne, politics changed from arbitrariness to civil rule, and society began to stabilize, and the goal of a well-off society was advancing in small steps.However, in 1657, the largest fire in the Edo period, the "Mingli Fire", broke this calm and plunged the shogunate into a sudden financial crisis.

The fire burned two-thirds of Edo's urban area to ashes in just two days, including more than 500 daimyo mansions, more than 700 banner mansions, countless samurai mansions, more than 300 temples, More than 400 towns were burned.The Nishinomaru, Tianshou Pavilion, and Honmaru Imperial Palace in Edo Castle were all destroyed in the fire, burning an area of ​​more than 2500 hectares, and more than [-] people died.

After the disaster, the shogunate not only provided assistance to the shogunate ministers, bannermen, imperial family members, and samurai, but was also allowed to advance their salaries in advance, and at the same time provided a large amount of living subsidies to the townspeople of Edo Castle.For those daimyos and shogunates who died in the fire, the Tokugawa shogunate also donated corresponding gold and silver to Shi Gao as comfort.

Although in the process of post-disaster reconstruction, the Tokugawa shogunate came up with the old method of "recruiting the world", asking the domestic daimyo to pay for the reconstruction of Edo.However, at that time, the residences of countless daimyos in Edo were destroyed by fire, and the construction of their own mansions was already financially stretched, and they could not afford to pay, and they couldn't afford too much gold and silver.

Therefore, the shogunate had to pay for the reconstruction work itself.The restoration of the Honmaru palace of the shogunate alone cost nearly one million taels of silver and [-] koku of rice.

After this "Ming calendar fire", the Tokugawa shogunate paid a considerable amount of money, which has shaken the financial foundation of the shogunate and almost exhausted the savings of the three generations of the Tokugawa family.

After that, with the slowdown of annual tribute rice income (due to the increase in population), the output of gold and silver mines gradually decreased, and the annual deficit in revenue and expenditure made the shogunate's reserves less and less.

A few years ago, the shogunate began to limit the quantity of goods imported from the Qi State and crack down on smuggling of merchant ships from the Qi State. Perhaps it was to slow down the outflow of gold and silver from Japan, reduce the trade deficit, and achieve the goal of improving the shogunate's fiscal balance.

In addition, an important reason for the deterioration of the shogunate's finances is that, as a de facto national government, its income and expenditure are seriously disproportionate.The fiscal revenue of the shogunate mainly comes from the tax revenue of the territory directly under its jurisdiction. The annual taxation is about 80-100 million stones, 30-60 taels of gold, and 185 guan of silver (about 1 million taels of silver, 3.75 guan is equivalent to [-] kilograms). Looks like a good income.

However, the shogunate needs to spend a large amount of money every year, including relief and relief due to natural disasters in various places, military expenses, and a large number of constructions involving the whole country.It takes more than 10 taels of gold to maintain the normal operation of the shogunate every year.As for those unexpected expenses, the amount is even more alarming.For example, in order to suppress the Shimabara Rebellion, the shogunate spent 398000 taels of gold, equivalent to a year's income.

A few months ago, in order to conquer the invading Qi State, the shogunate assembled more than 15 troops to go to the Gyeonggi area, spending 80 taels of gold and [-] taels of silver, which almost made the shogunate sell everything.

Unexpectedly, more than 70 troops were severely injured by the Qi army outside the city of Daban, losing most of them and unable to fight again.Unwilling to fail, the shogunate gritted its teeth and raised more than [-] gold and silver, recruited more than [-] troops, and prepared to go all out to wipe out the Qi army that was already "seriously injured".

As a result, the army was once again defeated by Qi State in Shangzong Kingdom not far from Edo Castle. Not to mention the loss of troops, they even let others take advantage of the situation to fight under the Edo Castle, forcing the shogunate to sign an alliance under the castle.

It doesn't matter whether it is a switch or a business, it is fine to set up a lease in the territory of the shogunate, but the 2000 million indemnity is absolutely unaffordable to the shogunate.

But the people of Qi seem to have bitten this amount to death, insisting that all Japanese citizens pay 1 tael of silver in compensation. The plan to capture Edo.

For this reason, the shogunate elder Sakai Chukiyoshi and Nakatsuchiya Suzuo and others changed their words, claiming that the total population of Japan is not 2000 million at all, and at most it is no more than 500 million.

In addition, Qi State identified the shogunate as the responsibility for initiating the war. It stands to reason that the compensation should be calculated based on the population directly under the shogunate, and the population belonging to other vassal states in the country should not be included in the statistics.

After hearing the shogunate's argument, Qi Yuanshan, the special envoy of the State of Qi, resolutely refused to allow it. However, he accepted that the shogunate took out the Shigao data that the whole country relied on as a tax certificate to prove that the total population of Japan was only 500 million.

If the shogunate is unable to raise compensation payments for a while, Qi State will give a grace period, and the repayment period can be extended to 30 years, but an additional interest of [-] per hundred will be charged.In order to guarantee repayment, the shogunate also needs to deliver collateral.

"What is my shogunate using as collateral?" Sakai Zhongqing asked.

"Since the shogunate wants to open and close the business, it is natural to have a customs agency." Qi Yuanshan said: "In this way, your shogunate will mortgage all the customs of the country's commerce to Qi State until all payments are paid."

After Sakai Zhongqing listened, he was silent for a while, and then nodded in agreement with Qi Guo's request.

Finally, when talking about the need for the shogunate to cede territory to Qi, it was strongly opposed by representatives of the shogunate such as Sakai Tadakiyoshi.

Qi State proposed to cut Nagasaki, Nagoya, Osaka, Liupu (Yokohama) and other places as the core territory of the shogunate, how could it be easily agreed.Nagasaki and Osaka are territories directly under the shogunate, and one is the most important trading port in Japan before, and the other is the largest commercial city in Japan, both of which are the pockets of the shogunate.

Nagoya is the residence of the Owari clan, one of the three royal families of the shogunate, and the most important rice producing area in the entire Kansai region.As for Liupu, it is also directly under the shogunate, and its location is sensitive. It is less than sixty miles away from Edo Castle, and it can be reached overnight.If there is a conflict with the Qi State one day, wouldn't it be possible to kill the city of Edo immediately!
After two days of intense debate, Qi Yuanshan saw that Japan was determined and refused to agree, so he proposed instead that if it is difficult to accept the cession of the territory directly under the shogunate, then he can choose another famous land to cede to Qi.

Sakai Zhongqing heard the words, and carefully probed and asked where the Qi State wanted to ask for.

"Iki Island and its surrounding reefs, Hirado Island and its affiliated islands, Shimonoseki area, and the former Hirosaki, Hachinohe, and Morioka domains in the northern part of Mutsu." Qi Yuanshan said coldly: "The conditions here are I, Qi State, make the biggest concession, so don't refuse any more!"

After hearing this, Sakai Zhongqing couldn't help but secretly weigh it.Iki Island, Hirado Island and the affiliated islands are the territory of the Matsuura Clan of the Hirado Clan, with a stone height of 6 stone.Even if the Matsuura family was dissatisfied with ceding the above two islands to Qi, the power of the shogunate was enough to subdue them.The big deal is to find an excuse in the future to confiscate the territory of a certain daimyo who made a mistake, and then transfer it to the Matsuura family as compensation.

The Xiaguan area is the territory of the Maori clan of the Changzhou Fan. Ceding it to the Qi State will not only weaken some of the Maori clan's strength, but also cause confrontation between them and the Qi State.

As for the northern area of ​​Mutsu, the territories of the Hirosaki, Hachinohe, and Morioka domains add up to more than 30 shi. It is said that they have been completely occupied by the Ming people in Ezo. It is estimated that it will be difficult to get it back.Moreover, the patriarchs of the above-mentioned San Francisco, except for the Nambu clan of the Morioka clan, stayed in Edo Castle for the reason of attending the pilgrimage, and the patriarchs of the other two clans all died in the war.

However, Sakai Tadaki still rejected the above-mentioned terms of land cession, claiming that the area of ​​land cession was too wide and involved too many vassal states, making it difficult for the shogunate to coordinate and suppress it.

After some tugging, Qi State reluctantly agreed to exclude the Morioka domain in the Mutsu area and no longer forcefully ask for it, but other than that, other ceded land must be satisfied.

On March 3, Sakai Tadakiyo signed the Treaty of Edo with Qi State on behalf of the Japanese government (Shogunate) after being authorized by the shogun Tokugawa Iezuna.

62. [-] subjects of the Great Qi Empire were murdered. Before August of this year, the Japanese shogunate personally sent Tokugawa Tsunashige (the younger brother of Tokugawa Iezuna) as the first-class apology envoy to represent Japan in front of the Great Emperor. The national government (shogunate) expresses the country's regret.

[-]. The country of Japan has already agreed to erect a monument with an inscription in the place where the subjects of the Qi State in Osaka were killed, listing the regrets of the Japanese government (the shogunate) for the murder, and writing in Chinese.

[-]. Punish the leader who harms the subjects of the Qi State and blame the ministers, officials, businessmen and ordinary Japanese people. During the period, the Qi State will send supervisors to supervise the implementation and confirmation;
[-]. Japan will manage the rights of the following places and transfer all the forts, weapons, factories and all public objects in the places to Qi State forever.

First, the east of the Ou Mountains in the Mutsu area and the north of the Omonogawa River, all cities and towns in the above-mentioned areas are included in the demarcation line.

Second, the Shimonoseki area under the Nagato State.

Third, the entire island of Iki Island and all its affiliated reefs.

Fourth, Hirado Island and all affiliated islands.

[-]. After the exchange of the maps mentioned in the preceding paragraph is approved and exchanged, both parties shall appoint three or more officials to serve as commissars for the demarcation of the boundaries of the Commonwealth to conduct on-the-spot reconnaissance and demarcation of the boundaries.

500. The Japanese government handed over 30 million taels of silver to Qi State as compensation for military expenses.The repayment is divided into 30 years, and during the repayment period, the unpaid part shall be subject to an additional interest of [-] per hundred.The first [-] taels should be paid within three months after the signing of this agreement.The balance shall be divided into [-] equal installments and paid annually; however, no matter when the indemnity shall be paid in full or in advance, it is at the convenience of Japan.

[-]. Within six months after the exchange is approved in this agreement, the Qi State will allow the people of the ceded area of ​​Japan to relocate outside the ceded area to sell all their properties and leave the territory.However, those who have not migrated after the expiration of the limit should be considered as subjects of the Qi State.

[-]. Japan has established Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, and Kamiso (Chiba City) as treaty ports. The subjects of the Qi State come and go to live abroad and engage in commercial craft production. Japan should give the best treatment.In the future, once all ports are added, they will be handled in accordance with the regulations for the opening of Shanghaikou or the opening of inland towns and cities, and they should enjoy preferential regulations and benefits.

[-]. The subjects of the State of Qi are free to engage in the manufacture of various crafts at the treaty ports of Japan; they are also free to ship and import various machines and goods, and the import taxes shall be negotiated by both parties.

[-]. If the subjects of the Qi State commit crimes within the territory of Japan, they must be handed over to the representatives of the Qi State stationed at the port and dealt with in accordance with the laws of the Qi State.

[-]. Merchant ships from the State of Qi are allowed to sail into the Yodo River and travel up from Osaka to Kyoto, and are allowed to take passengers and ship goods. The Japanese government is not allowed to search and detain them without reason.

[-]. In order to ensure that there is no cut-off of commercial passages to the sea, the Qi State agreed to build a fortress on the east side of Awaji Island with a radius of five miles to meet the needs of the garrison.The number of the garrison armed personnel shall not exceed the scale of a thousand people tentatively.

[-]. The troops of the State of Qi who are stationed in the territory of Japan shall withdraw all of them within two months after the signing of this agreement.

[-]. After the signing of this agreement, both sides shall return all the prisoners captured during the war to the other side.

[-]. In order to promote exchanges and communication between the two sides, the two countries sent plenipotentiary ambassadors to each other in Edo and Chang'an respectively.

[-]. From the date of approval of the exchange of this agreement, there should be a ceasefire.

(End of this chapter)