The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 209 Hengguan
1729, June 6, Hengguan.

"A big ship has docked!"

With a loud shout, the vendors gathered at the pier immediately rushed towards the berth where the ship was about to dock. Some were carrying baskets filled with various fruits and drinking water, some were holding a half-open box with different sizes of tobacco, and others were holding wooden signs with the words "Stay in the hotel" and " Meal" words.

A few stout and powerful foremen stood on tiptoes and looked at the approaching ship, looking for the type of ship and whether it carried a large amount of cargo so that they could get a job carrying bags.

"It looks like a warship (battleship)." A coolie foreman murmured: "Now the vendors are cheaper."

As we all know, the salary of the Qi army is relatively high. Such a warship must have at least a hundred officers and soldiers. Just a little bit exposed between the fingers is enough for these hawkers to collect interest for several days.

And because it is a warship, it may not carry much cargo, which may not be able to meet the labor needs of the hundreds of coolies at the dock.

"Woo..." With the help of the tugboat, the warship steadily moved to the berth, and then began to anchor down.

Several dockworkers quickly took the cable thrown by the sailors, tied it firmly to the bitts on the shore, and then looked at this majestic warship in awe.

Kosaka led a group of garrison troops to rush to the berth and ordered the soldiers to drive away the swarming hawkers, lest they collide with the "military master" Kamikuni who was about to disembark.

Kosaka swung the scabbard and whipped a vendor hard, instantly leaving a dazzling red mark on the vendor's face. He screamed and hurriedly stepped back.

This time he came to Hengguan to take up his post. In order to establish a good relationship with his colleagues and subordinates and quickly integrate into them, he bought a lot of local products from the Qin State and prepared them as meeting gifts for everyone. This makes the carry-on luggage a bit too heavy, and it would be troublesome to carry it out with bare hands.

Well, he's a Xuanjie captain (major). However, this is definitely a big shot for him.

That year, the Qi-Japanese War broke out. When the Zhuxia Allied Forces headed by Qi State faced one or two thousand Japanese cavalry troops charging into battle, they once suspected that the things the opponents were riding were donkeys, which could not compete with the Eight Banners Cavalry of the Qing Dynasty. The ferocity and power are comparable.

More than fifty years ago, the Qi-Japanese War ended. According to the Treaty of Edo signed by both parties, the Japanese government (shogunate) permanently ceded Shimonoseki, Iki Island, Hirado Island and the affiliated islands of the above three places to Qi. After the Qi State took over, it was set up as Yingzhou and was subordinate to the Ryukyu Governor-General. It was used as a forward warning position to monitor the Japanese islands nearby.

In other words, our navy can't even look down on the serious army, let alone these servant troops composed of local Japanese soldiers!

After decades of development, the population of Yingzhou has exceeded 80,000. If the immigration officials did not extract the population from this place every year and send them to several governor-general areas of Yinzhou, the population would be even greater - nearly 70% of the population. They were all concentrated in Hengguan City, turning this small wharf formerly owned by Changzhou Domain into an economically active and commercially prosperous port city.

You know, their company commander is just a captain (lieutenant) of Qi Guo Renyong.

The first to disembark were a group of ranked officers and senior non-commissioned officers, followed by the sailors, each carrying a heavy baggage. While talking to each other, they walked toward the dock management building without even looking at the two rows of garrison soldiers maintaining order.

After Qi State brought Yingzhou under its rule, a large number of excellent horse breeds were introduced to Hengguan for riding and pulling carts. At the same time, sporadic good horses began to be bred with local "dwarf horses", and a large number of excellent horses were bred. horses.

The Japanese islands are not a place rich in fine horses. The domestic horses are still a type of Mongolian horse introduced from the Korean Peninsula in the late 4th century. After thousands of years of evolution, horses have become shorter and shorter, with a shoulder height of basically meters. However, when paired with Japanese people who are generally short in stature, they complement each other well.

With a short build, thin bean-shaped eyes, and a tightly pursed mouth, he stood in front of him in a gray cloth military uniform, acting extremely humble.

"Is there a carriage going to the city's security headquarters?" Li Yanliang asked, while taking a look at the garrison sergeant.

"Sir!" When Kosaka was looking at the Qi navy officers and soldiers who were disembarking one after another with an expression of awe and envy, he suddenly noticed that a Qi army lieutenant officer came to his side. He immediately straightened his body and saluted him. military salute.

Unlike that group of naval officers, they could ask the sailors on the ship to help them carry their luggage, and they would leave the dock leisurely with their hands folded.

Hengguan City is located in the southernmost peninsula area, but the dock is on the east side of the peninsula, more than two kilometers away. With so much luggage, you can only take a horse-drawn carriage.

"Sir, are you going to the security headquarters? There are many carriages at the exit of the pier. I can call one for you immediately." Hearing this, Kosaka couldn't help but quickly glance at the officer's rank.

"Go ahead and call a carriage for me." Li Yanliang breathed a sigh of relief and put the bundle he was carrying on the ground.

In the Edo period, when there was basically no war, most horses were used for farming and transport, and they did not pursue the so-called "big horses". Naturally, horses were not bred well, resulting in a serious decline in the body height of horses in Japan. Even its average height is shorter than that of ancient horses.

Therefore, the carriages Li Yanliang rode were basically the same as those in the mainland. They were all driven by strong and powerful horses.

After the carriage passed through a relatively messy shanty town and a relatively lively commercial district, it came to the "Chinese District" with a relatively quiet and elegant environment. It was surrounded by a two-meter-high wall. There were many Japanese at the entrance. Police guard.

The people living here are mainly local colonial officials, scribes, soldiers, as well as businessmen and their families living here. Of course, there are also some Japanese administrators and wealthy people with some status. Most of the important colonial institutions are also located here, which can be regarded as the inner city of Hengguan.

When the carriage stopped in front of the Hengguan Garrison Headquarters building, several army soldiers with armed guards immediately came forward. Before the words of scolding could be uttered, an Army Xuanjie Colonel officer was seen getting off the carriage.

"Sir!" A lieutenant (second lieutenant) on duty saluted Li Yanliang with a military salute.

"I have been ordered by the Army General Staff to take over the post of deputy commander of Hengguan Garrison and chief officer of the First Battalion of the Fifth Regiment." Li Yanliang adjusted his military uniform and waved a transfer order in front of the captain. He shook his head and said proudly: "Take me in now to see your highest officer."

"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant's heart tightened, and he immediately waved to the two soldiers to pick up the luggage on the carriage. Then he turned slightly to one side and led Li Yanliang towards the door of the building. What's strange is that in the past, the deputy commander of the Hengguan garrison was concurrently held by the deputy commander of the fifth regiment, and his rank was Linghu Lieutenant (lieutenant colonel). Now, Captain Xuejie has been appointed to take over. He looks very young. Could he be a son of a powerful local family? ——
With a smile on his face, Mori Kenichiro picked up the wine bottle and filled the wine again for the Qi officer in front of him. Then put down the wine bottle, raise your own glass, and toast to the other party.

"I can't hold the position of deputy commander of the security for more than a few days." Cao Zhengjia, deputy commander of the Hengguan security and deputy commander of the fifth regiment, drank the wine in the glass in one gulp and looked at the wine on the corner of the table. A beautiful gift box, he said with a smile: "I am afraid that I am not lucky enough to accept Mr. Maori's kindness."

"General Cao's words are wrong!" Mouri Keyichiro said solemnly: "Thanks to your care over the years, my business has been extremely prosperous and I have made a lot of money. I sincerely express my sincere gratitude to you for this. Thank you and respect you. Even if you are not the commander of the Hengguan Guard and no longer stay in Japan, we are still friends."

"Since Mr. Mao Li is such a good friend, let me give you a piece of advice before I leave." Cao Zhengjia said: "Although the new deputy commander of security is not old and his qualifications are not deep, his background is very profound. So, you After he takes over, the messy business will temporarily calm down a little, and don't let others take advantage of you and use it to establish your authority."

"General Cao, I don't know this person..." Mouri Keyichiro felt a little pain when he heard the other party suggested that he temporarily stop his smuggling business, so he carefully inquired about the identity of the new security commander.

"He has some relationship with my Da Qi royal family, and he also served as the military attaché to His Majesty Yonglong of Qi State, and the relationship is very close." Cao Zhengjia smiled brightly, "With his background and status, I am afraid that even the Governor of Hengguan, Even the governor of Ryukyu is afraid of him."

"Oh, it turns out he is a descendant of the royal family of the Kingdom of Heaven." After hearing this, Kenichiro Mori's eyes lit up.

This kind of noble man probably loves money the most and knows how to enjoy it best. At that time, it will just be more money and more filial piety. Don’t you believe that the injustice will be settled?

Furthermore, people with this status and background come to work in Hengguan, most likely to gain qualifications and gain experience. I am afraid they are not clear about the twists and turns of the place.

If we can get him, we might be able to expand our business to Ryukyu, and even Osaka, Kyoto and Edo.

"Don't think blindly!" Cao Zhengjia saw Maori Kenichiro's thoughts at a glance and reminded: "This young deputy commander of security has been on the battlefield several times and fought with barbarians, so he has seen blood. Before you can figure out the person and habits of the other person, don’t try to be smart, or you may end up backing up!”

Damn it, these Japanese businessmen are calculating, short-sighted, greedy, absolutely third-rate in character, and have no limits at all.

This Mori Kenichiro should be inextricably related to the Choshu Domain Mori family. Through Hengguan, he transferred various materials to the mainland of Japan and sold them at high prices. Then through the relationship network he established, he acted as a broker for many trading companies and merchants in Qi, purchasing Japanese specialties on their behalf and grabbing the middle price difference.

After many years of business, he has accumulated a fortune of tens of millions, and is a very important figure in Hengguan City and even the neighboring Changzhou Domain. It is reported that the Choshu Domain Mori, who was in financial difficulties, borrowed a lot of money from him to make up for the deficit of the domain, which made this person very influential in the Chinese region (referring to the western part of Honshu Island).

Of course, as a businessman who was discriminated against by the samurai class, Mouri Keyichiro was as calculating and greedy as the samurai accused him of, and he also did many gray and black businesses behind the scenes. In addition to engaging in loan sharking, the traditional industry of Japanese businessmen, they also frequently engage in human trafficking.

Through his various means, countless young Japanese women were sold to Ryukyu, Luzon, Nanyang, and the distant Yinzhou. Every silver coin he earned was stained with the blood and tears of the miserable women.

At the same time, in order to obtain higher profits, he also spent a lot of money, bribed many Hengguan officials and garrison soldiers, and engaged in large-scale smuggling. He could obtain many controlled and sensitive commodities from Hengguan Port and then secretly transport them to the mainland of Japan to make a fortune.

Even Homing products that were prohibited from trade by the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan could flow into China and even the Kanto region through the trade channels he established. Sable pelts known as "soft gold," sea otter skins from Bitterleaf Island, Steller sea eagle feathers that can be used to make bows and arrows, and plenty of fish.

It can be said that as long as you can earn profits, you can ignore everything else.

During this period, due to the influence of the Qi State and the drastic changes in the entire society, several rounds of reforms in the shogunate were carried out, and they lasted for several years. But the whole of Japan does not have a clear idea of ​​how to carry out the reform. It seems that this can be changed, and that can be changed, but on second thought, it seems that it cannot be changed lightly, as it may affect the direct interests of the Tokugawa shogunate.

With no other choice, I can only rely on the information I got from the contact with Qi Guo, pick up some scratches and pick up something suitable for manipulation, and then secretly learn from Beiming's model, intending to imitate the cat and try to change it first.

It is conceivable that this kind of reform that is not combined with the actual situation of the country will bring about many social problems, making the entire society a mess and tearing apart all classes.

If this were compared to other countries, the economy would have collapsed and order would have been in chaos. If another heroic figure comes and raises his voice, he may directly threaten the rule of the shogunate.

But the miraculous thing is that Japan has managed to survive without collapse. There have been many small disturbances but no major turmoil, and it has maintained a rare social "basic stability."

Probably because they have lived on the island for thousands of years, the determined Japanese people are more tolerant. Agricultural reforms have caused food prices to skyrocket, production to drop sharply, and citizens' lives have been greatly affected. Even many warriors often suffer from hunger. It seems that farmers have not benefited either. Their lives are in trouble and they are no longer as good as a dog.

However, Japanese society has not collapsed, and there are still a lot of chaos. The living standards of samurai, the traditional vested interest class, plummeted, and vicious murders broke out from time to time. Either forced by the threat of loan sharks or deposed by daimyo, violent acts of assassinating businessmen and daimyo occurred one after another. The whole society was like a pressure cooker, with resentment rising and it seemed that it had reached a certain critical point.

Fortunately, this "pressure cooker" has many pressure relief valves. Through Qi State and Beiming, those disqualified warriors in society whose interests have been harmed and whose lives are difficult, and who also have martial ethics, organization, and action ability can be sent to the Go overseas, such as Korea, Lingbei, Annan, Nanyang, India and even Yinzhou, and become cannon fodder troops hired by the "Hua Yi" to fight for the interests of the "Hua Yi".

If you are lucky enough to be rewarded for your meritorious service, you can even become an officer, which means a jump in class and will bring about earth-shaking changes in your entire life.

Well, of course, there are also those who are unlucky, that is, they really become "cannon fodder" and dissipate into nothingness when the wind blows.

You may not have seen it, but during the Qin-Ming War that lasted for more than a year, how many warriors were buried in the ice and snow of Korea and Liaodong, which makes people sad to hear about it.

A lot of people with the ability to cause trouble in the country have left, and the remaining people are also thinking about how to get out, and naturally they have less thoughts about making trouble in the country. While the shogunate was sighing, they could not help but breathe a little sigh of relief. Then let's continue to make do, change here, change there, and maintain the dominance of the Tokugawa family. The daimyo of each domain lived a modest life, squeezing the people of the domain while continuing to be exploited by loan sharks.

After the Sino-Japanese War and in the decades after Japan opened its borders, the only ones who have gained huge benefits and whose social status and strength have been greatly improved are definitely the merchant class. Through the growing foreign trade, their wealth expanded rapidly, and the number of people they supported was also very large. In the Gyeonggi and Kanto regions, the impoverished daimyo were no match for the cunning businessmen. Hundreds of heavily armed guards could be summoned at any time to block daimyo who owed debts and did not dare to come out. Some powerful businessmen even took a large group of people to other people's feudal countries to collect their debts, completely destroying the intimidation of the daimyo.

Although Mori Kenichiro has a Mori clan on his head, if the Choshu Domain next door dares to refuse to pay back money, he can still hold the banner of Qi and lead people to block Mori Yoshimoto (the current lord of the Choshu Domain). Collect debts.

After all, he is also an overseas national of the Qi State who has settled in Hengguan, so he cannot be bullied by "outsiders"!
(End of this chapter)