The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 208 Going to Japan
On June 1729, 6, with the waves undulating and the sails hanging high, a supply ship belonging to the Korean Squadron of the Ryukyu Fleet of the Qi Navy split through the turbulent water and sailed quickly to the southeast with the help of strong steam thrust.

The warship soared between the blue sea and sky, and the sound of the roaring sea wind continued to sound. White waves rippled on the water, and the crew nervously and busily adjusted the sails in order to get more power for the warship.

The sun shines through the clouds and shines on the ship, making everything look like a magnificent picture. In this vast sea, the battleship is like a shining flag, bravely facing the waves, starting another journey of its journey.

Li Yanliang, dressed in army uniform, looked extremely eye-catching on the battleship, frequently attracting side glances from the officers and soldiers on board.

The "Ganyuan" is a steam-sail supply transport ship with a displacement of 1,300 tons. It is inconspicuous among the Qi Navy ships whose tonnage is increasing day by day, but in the waters of Northeast Asia, it is an inconspicuous one. An out-and-out "big guy", even in the powerful Beiming Navy, the ship, equipped with only twelve cannons, is comparable to its main battleships.

In addition to carrying more than 800 tons of coal and a large amount of drinking water, the ship was also packed with more than 600 immigrants. It was going to sail to Penglai Port first, join a dozen merchant ships and immigrant ships stationed there, and then pass through Gengluo Port. Island (today's Jeju Island), arrived in Ryukyu, and handed over the transferred immigrants to the managers stationed there by the Immigration Department.

Finally, the more than 20,000 immigrants who have gathered here will be distributed to the mainland and various overseas territories according to the arrangements of the Immigration Department officials to enrich the local population.

The northern drought that broke out last year affected several provinces and caused more than one million victims. The overseas states of Qi, Wei, Luzon, Shun, Liang, and Ha Tien seemed like a group of vultures that smelled something fishy. They organized ships one after another to go to coastal ports in Shandong, Denglai, Hebei, Jianghuai and other places to carry out wanton activities. Recruit and gather refugees and transport them back to their respective territories.

Initially, the prefectures and counties along the coast of Daqin also followed the prohibition issued by the imperial court and issued strong warnings to these immigrant ships from overseas Xia. They organized local town armies and government officials to try their best to prevent the refugees from boarding the ships.

However, as the disaster worsened, the number of victims fleeing the famine increased day by day, and they fled to the south for food, which had not yet suffered from drought. After hearing that there were immigrant ships bringing large amounts of food to the coastal ports, they were recruiting Han people to go to sea. Driven by hunger, countless victims turned to the seaside.

Starting from September last year - after the autumn harvest, due to drought, crops failed or reduced production in large areas, causing the disaster to reach its peak, prompting more victims to flee - as of June this year, a total of more than 180,000 refugees have taken overseas flights. Xia's immigration ship left Qin. Among them, nearly half of the victims were transported away by Qi State. They were gradually transferred to the two governorates of Ryukyu and Annan. After being raised for a period of time, they were distributed to the mainland and many overseas territories.

In addition, areas such as Mozambique and Angola that were captured from Portugal also needed a lot of immigrants to serve as the basis for the local governor-general to suppress the local Portuguese and local indigenous people.

As for the victims transported back from the Qin State, they were not even able to have enough to eat and their lives could not be saved. They could not spend them however they wanted. They could be transferred to the overseas territories where they were most needed according to the arrangements of the Immigration Department. Pioneer, open up more living space.

At the end of the Qi-British War, Qi State ceded Newfoundland, Acadia, Belize, the Bahamas Islands and many other new territories in the Americas and Caribbean from the Kingdom of England, and was in urgent need of a large number of people to fill them.

In desperation, various coastal towns and ports adopted a tacit attitude towards the immigrant ships from the foreign vassals and Zhuxia, choosing to turn a blind eye and allow the refugees to board the ships and go to sea.

It is true that overseas territories have countless wealth. As long as you are bolder and more flexible, you will definitely have many more opportunities to make a fortune than at home.

Therefore, the cabinet government of Qi State allocated a special fund for immigration, and took advantage of the severe drought in the north of Qin State to "make a fortune".

There are so many mouths to eat and so many victims to provide relief, the pressure they bear is extraordinary!
The grain stocks in the official treasury were exhausted within a few days of the relief effort, which immediately caused countless refugees to clamor and become violent, and began to seriously affect local people's livelihood affairs.

"Look, Ming's warships are coming!"

But the amount of wealth is often directly proportional to the potential risks.

In a very short period of time, hundreds of thousands of victims gathered in more than ten coastal ports, including Haizhou (today's Lianyungang), Jiaozhou (today's Qingdao), Wendeng (today's Weihai), Fushan, Penglai, and Tianjin. Even some coastal beach areas that are not suitable for large ships have gathered a large number of refugees, hoping to find a chance to survive.

If we rely on spontaneous immigration from our own countries to fill up those overseas territories, we don’t know that we will have to wait until the Year of the Monkey.

People always yearn for a better life. Hanzhou's local economy is developed, transportation and life are convenient, and you can easily support yourself by finding any job. Why take huge risks and live in those distant overseas territories?

If one crosses the Pacific and Indian Oceans and goes to the distant Yinzhou or West and North Africa, it will be difficult to return to the Han Dynasty even in this life, which is really unacceptable.

Seeing the refugees continue to gather, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, the local officials along the coast suddenly became paralyzed.

In order to better navigate Europe and the North Atlantic and build a stable maritime transportation chain, Qi State decided to attack the Tuoshan Islands (today's Canary Islands), Shaohua Islands (today's Cape Verde Islands), and Xiling Islands (today's Azov Islands) (Israel Islands) to increase colonial efforts and migrate more Han people to achieve the purpose of gradually replacing the local race.

I would stay well in my hometown, find a job in any factory, have enough food and clothing, and enjoy a relatively developed modern life. Then I would get a wife, have children, and live my life in peace. Why bother, risking all kinds of dangers to fight life and death in remote overseas territories in pursuit of an illusory dream of getting rich?
Therefore, the willingness of local citizens to immigrate is not particularly strong. Those who really can't make it, or those who are ambitious and want to get ahead, will only go to Weiyuan, Dongzhou, Kaihua (today's Java Island), and Jinzhou ( Sumatra) and other surrounding territories were relocated. Even further, it would not go beyond Qianzhou (now South Africa), Bangladesh and India.

When the supply transport ship "Ganyuan" entered the waters of the Changshan Islands, two warships flying the Great Ming Riyue flag came from the northeast. They seemed to have no scruples about entering the traditional waters of Daqin and were extremely arrogant.

When they approached the Qi ships, the two Beiming warships, which had a displacement of about 800 tons, sent a string of semaphores in a very friendly manner to show their respect.

The "Ganyuan" responded by sounding its whistle. "Beiming must be very depressed." Li Yanliang smiled and said to a naval officer lying on the side of the ship: "As Qin's opponents, they have not caught up with this wave of immigration and can only watch helplessly. As we pull away boat after boat of Qin victims."

"I can't say how depressing it is." Luo Zhengju, the first mate of the Gan Yuan and the navy's military commander (captain), shook his head and said: "Last year, Beiming teamed up with Dongdan and Bohai to invade hundreds of kilometers into the hinterland of Liaodong, defeating large and small enemies. There were dozens of walled cities and fortresses, and they plundered nearly 80,000 to 90,000 Qin people, countless supplies of all kinds, and almost uprooted all Qin’s colonization sites near the Liangjiang River Basin. With their size, they wanted to digest and absorb so much at once With a large population, it will probably take several years.”

"It's because they are too small, so I'm afraid they hope to get more people back from Qin in order to quickly expand their population base." Li Yanliang said: "If Qin solves the northwest border troubles, they will definitely not let go Overcome them. Even if Beiming and other three countries ceased war, they will probably come to disrupt Qin's immigration operations from time to time for a long time to prevent Qin from gaining a foothold in the Liangjiang area. If you don't want to be defeated by Qin To attack and destroy them, the only way is to continuously expand the depth of their respective defenses. In this way, even if they capture 80,000 to 90,000 people, they will not be too satisfied."

"Li Xiaowei has a far-sighted vision, and he actually prepared for Beiming and other three countries for a rainy day." Luo Zhengju said with a smile: "With the size and strength of the three countries, they are indeed unable to deal with the threat of Qin. However, as long as we, Qi, take action , will definitely not let Qin win easily. Don’t you know that in order to guard against Qin, Beiming built a large number of fortresses in Zhenzhou, northwest and southeast of Korea. In this war, the Qin army also suffered a lot. After the armistice and peace agreement was reached, the North Ming Navy occupied Pidao (today's Chudao Island in North Korea), Yuncong Island (known as Shenmi Island) near the mouth of the Yalu River, and many other islands in the name of Li Linzuo. The purpose of the island is to monitor Qin's military movements in the Liaodong region at any time, and at the same time, when war breaks out again in the future, it can cut off the Yalu River channel from the side. In my opinion, if Qin had not established a powerful navy , it may be difficult to completely overwhelm Beiming militarily."

"Do you think, at some point in the future, will Qin and Beiming achieve reconciliation and establish normal diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries?" Li Yanliang turned his head and watched the two Beiming warships gradually go away. , an idea suddenly popped into my mind.

"Will there be a reconciliation between Qin and Ming?" Luo Zhengju was stunned, "The emperors and ministers of the Northern Ming Dynasty have always regarded 'liberating' China and restoring the country of the Ming Dynasty as the primary purpose of founding the country. If there is a reconciliation, wouldn't they lose their legal authority and lose their authority?" inherited?"

"If it had been too long and it had been impossible to fight back to the mainland, would the Northern Ming monarchs and ministers still have the heart to raise that slogan again? In addition, as the political, economic and cultural differences between Qin and Ming gradually widened, in the end, How many people still think of themselves as mainland Chinese?"

"That's not true." Luo Zhengju said hesitantly: "In the past during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the north and the south stood side by side for 170 years. When the Sui Dynasty unified the world and returned to China, there was no thought of leaving. Furthermore, during the pre-Song Dynasty, the north and the south were harmonious. The south was also divided for hundreds of years. When Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty succeeded in his Northern Expedition and expelled the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, the barriers between the north and the south were still eliminated and they were all citizens of the Ming Dynasty."

"Captain Luo, who do you think you are?"

"...Of course I am from Qi."

"In the future, the people of Beiming will call themselves Ming people, and the people of the mainland will also say that they are Qin people." Li Yanliang said: "And we will also proudly claim to be Qi people. So, you see, even though we are all We are of Chinese ethnicity, but we belong to our own countries. Similarly, we all have our own interests and a sense of belonging. ... Everything now seems to be a little different from what it was a hundred years ago."

"You mean..." Luo Zhengju couldn't help but fall into deep thought after hearing this, "In the future, everyone's national consciousness will far exceed national consciousness?".

Yes, why do I subconsciously think that I am a Qi person instead of a Han person? ——
In the early morning of June 6, the "Ganyuan" sailed away from Changshan Island and soon entered Penglai Port.

While the ship was replenishing water and supplies, Li Yanliang went to the representative office of the Qi government in Penglai and hurriedly wrote a letter to be delivered to his wife who was still in Nanjing, informing her that he would go to Hengguan to take up his post.

In the letter, he also asked his wife to take care of the baby with peace of mind. After the baby is born, he will arrange for someone to pick her and the two children up.

Li Yanliang guessed that he was awarded the position of Deputy Commander of Hengguan Security and Chief of the First Battalion of the Fifth Regiment this time because of His Majesty's care for him.

Of course, in addition to letting him accumulate overseas colonial territory management experience and military officer resume, His Majesty the young emperor also wanted him to investigate the current situation in Japan on the spot and provide first-class information for Qi's "Eastern Strategy" in the future. Hand information.

Based on Li Yanliang's understanding of this little emperor, he will definitely take action against Qin at some point in the future, thereby completely establishing Qi's leadership in the entire eastern world.

Then, except for the power layout surrounding the Qin State, which cannot exert force in the northwest, only the chain in Japan may have some variables during the dispute between Qi and Qin.

You must know that the Sino-Japanese War more than fifty years ago was only a limited blow to Japan's Tokugawa shogunate, but it did not conquer the country.

Although so much time has passed, all the vassal forces, including the Tokugawa shogunate, still dare not offend Qi easily. The scale of trade between the two countries has also been expanding day by day, and the entire market has been penetrated deeper and deeper by Qi's products. But the conflicts between them have become increasingly acute.

At present, the trade volume between Qi and Japan has reached more than 18 million yuan (Qi gold yuan), of which imports are more than 10 million yuan, exports are more than 8 million yuan, and the trade deficit exceeds 2 million yuan. This has led to an increasing outflow of gold and silver from Japan, which has not only caused a large-scale "money shortage" in the country, but also dealt a heavy blow to the weak domestic handicraft and weaving industries.

Faced with the influx of foreign goods and the drastic changes occurring in the country, many Japanese scholars, ministers, daimyo and other officials had numerous debates and opinions on how to handle foreign relations.

The theory of "rejecting China and expelling foreigners" that had been gathering dust for a long time has once again become popular. Many Japanese scholars believed that the shogunate was incompetent and allowed the "Chinese bandits to wreak havoc". They called on loyal people from all over the country to use the emperor as their banner to mobilize military equipment and call on the people of the country to rise up and defend the kingdom of God.

Seeing the influx of countless Qi goods, some "people of insight" angrily pointed out, "Getting close to and trading with the Chinese invaders and Yi Di will definitely make the frivolous and shallow-minded Chinese people infected with the customs of the Chinese invaders and Yi Di. It will surely cause people’s hearts to become scattered, and it will be difficult for me to have strong military equipment.”

However, fearing Qi's powerful maritime deterrent and the Ming Dynasty's eagerness to the north, the "cautious" Tokugawa shogunate still tried its best to suppress many "inappropriate" domestic behaviors and words and deeds, and continued to maintain friendly and close relations with Qi. economic and trade relations.

The rule of the shogunate can only be maintained if it remains unchanged for eternity. If people's hearts are too "impetuous" and their behavior is too "radical", big problems will occur in Japan as a whole!

(End of this chapter)