The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 211 Aiding the Domain
"General Li, I have long admired you!" Mouri Keyichiro stood at the door of Fufeng Tower and bowed deeply to Li Yanliang, then with a flattering smile on his face, "You come to the banquet this time, I deeply feel that I am honored and happy beyond words.”

"Mr. Maori speaks Chinese very fluently!" Li Yanliang nodded slightly and stopped to look up and down at the Japanese businessman from Hengguan City.

"Sir, I'm afraid you don't know yet." Zhou Chongzan, the person in charge of the black guard stationed at Hengguan next to him, said with a smile: "Mr. Mao Li not only speaks Chinese fluently, but he also writes good articles, and he is very knowledgeable about traditional Chinese culture. The culture is deeply studied, almost the same as that of my fellow Qi people!"

"Ashamed, ashamed!" Mouri Keyichiro said humbly: "Although Xiaomin was born in Nagato, he spent his entire youth in Hengguan City. It was even more thanks to the favor of the empire that he opened a business in the city. Only in certain primary and secondary schools can I have the opportunity to learn Chinese. I have also done some research on Chinese culture, but it is not in-depth and I can only have a brief understanding of it."

During this period, many economically developed areas in Japan, such as Gyeonggi, Kanto, and Edo, also opened many common people's education represented by Terakoya. Terako (students) did not care about wealth or status (except for filthy students). , also including women. However, many poor warriors and poor families could not even afford a full meal. How could they have free time for their children to go to the temple to receive basic education.

When the Qi State passed the Treaty of Edo in the fifth year of the Han Dynasty (1675) and ceded several territories such as Hengguan, it took less than three years to declare Chinese as the official language in all newly occupied areas. They must also be forced to enter primary and secondary schools run by the government and receive Qi State-style education. If an adult Ding fails to pass the government assessment in Chinese (mainly spoken language), he will not be recognized as an overseas national and will not enjoy all national treatment and benefits provided by the government. Welfare.

After more than fifty years of rule, except for those residents who fled from mainland Japan from time to time, most of the Japanese residents in Hengguan City have basically mastered proficient oral expression skills in Chinese, and there are even many who can write many beautiful articles. of “elite talents”.

As the deputy commander of Hengguan Security, Li Yanliang naturally had some understanding of the Japanese businessman in front of him through the channels of the black guards. He knew that he was a Japanese immigrant, but he never thought that this man would actually integrate into the empire in order to deeply integrate into the empire. , so proficient in Chinese, you can also write beautiful articles.

Moreover, this Japanese businessman also gave himself a Chinese name, Mao Hanjun. Ha, a very meaningful name.

Well, that's fine. If you are so devoted to the empire, many things will be easier to explain.

The problem is, except for this new deputy commander of security, each of you has received a lot of filial piety from me!

"Haha..." Ye Xuanliang, the director of the Land Border Management Office of Hengguan Customs, laughed after hearing this, "I said shopkeeper Mao, please stop hiding it. A few days ago, our brothers from the Land Border Management Office also saw Your men transported a batch of refined swords, guns and plate armor to the Choshu Domain. Oh, by the way, half a month ago, you also brought over a dozen muskets. As for horses, gunpowder, waterproof tape, and medicinal materials, that's more No more counting!”

It was obviously my warm invitation to invite guests, how could it turn into a Hongmen Banquet? !
What's happening here? Could it be that the other party wanted to use this as a leverage to blackmail him severely?

However, the interior layout design of the restaurant adopts the traditional Chinese character "hui" pattern, leaving a transparent hollow pattern. The owner of the restaurant has set up a stage in the middle of the empty hall, and will arrange Kabuki performances or "Noh" performances to entertain the guests while they are dining.

"How is shopkeeper Mao's business lately?" Li Yanliang took the small bowl filled with fish soup from Maori Kenichiro's hand, took a few sips, and then asked seemingly casually.

Why not give yourself a warning in advance and send a message?
"You have a close relationship with the Mouri clan of the Choshu clan, right?" Li Yanliang first motioned to an accompanying officer to guard outside the private room to prevent anyone from eavesdropping, and then solemnly asked Mouri Kenichiro: "Before, weapons were smuggled. It's probably shipped to them, right?"

"General, I don't know much about many things before, and ordinary people don't know that certain products are prohibited. That...that...sold some government-controlled goods to the interior of Japan." Mouri Kenichiro defended himself calmly. He said: "However, after being reminded by the customs, I no longer sell those prohibited goods. Haha... As a businessman, you still have to abide by the laws of the empire, and you don't dare to risk yourself again."

"..." When Mouri Keyichiro heard this, his right hand holding the chopsticks trembled. He couldn't help but look at Zhou Chongzan, the leader of the black-clad guard sitting next to him, but he saw his faceless appearance. He had his head buried in the food and was eating with relish without paying any attention to him. Conversation here.

"Thanks to the General for asking, the business of the common people... is acceptable." Mouri Kenichiro didn't know what he meant, so he answered cautiously.

Fufeng Restaurant is a restaurant with a strong Japanese style. It was jointly invested and built by several Japanese businessmen in the city. However, unlike traditional Japanese restaurants, the entire building uses a large amount of cement and bricks, making this restaurant appear larger. grand.

"..." Mouri Keyichiro looked at the several Qi military and political personnel present with a troubled expression, his mouth opened, not knowing what to say.

Mori Kenichiro's eyes widened, looking at the several Qi military and political officials present, and he couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart.

I really don’t understand why the Japanese love these cold and cold things so much. They eat them one by one without any scruples.

Li Yanliang took a few mouthfuls of pufferfish sashimi, then stopped using his chopsticks. He felt it was a bit bland and tasteless. At the same time, he was a little wary of this kind of raw food, worried that he would eat a lot of unprocessed parasites.

"General Li, please try this delicious fish soup again. It is fresh and smooth. It is one of the famous dishes of this restaurant." Mouri Kenichiro enthusiastically introduced the new dish to Li Yanliang.

"I heard that shopkeeper Mao had previously sold many prohibited and controlled goods to the Japanese mainland. Now, can he still continue to operate?"

Should I answer yes or no?
Isn't this a matter of settling accounts later in life?

"Shopkeeper Mao, there is no need to worry." Zhou Chongzan picked up a napkin, wiped his mouth gently, and said with a smile: "Liu Lieutenant asked you about weapons smuggling, although to be honest, we have a use for you. Well, I might as well tell you that if the Choshu Domain wants something in the future, we can cooperate with our security headquarters and the Black Guards through you. In addition, you can send a message to the Mori clan. If you want to train the feudal army, we We can also help. We can allow them to enter Fuso City as refugees, and we will provide professional officers and staff to guide and train their vassal troops."

"..." Mouri Keyichiro looked at Zhou Chongzan in disbelief, and then turned to look at Li Yanliang. "That's right." Li Yanliang nodded and said, "We can provide the Maori clan with necessary military support to enhance the military readiness of the Choshu clan. In addition, you can also ask the neighboring Hiroshima clan and Fukuyama clan if they also need it. This kind of military support. As for the price of weapons supply, it can be 20 to 30% lower than the price you used to smuggle. Of course, you can also put forward some constructive suggestions on how to operate."

A few days ago, after reluctantly reaching a consensus with Fan Changchen, the governor of Hengguan, Li Yanliang immediately submitted an action strategy to the Ryukyu Governor-General, preparing to intervene in the affairs of surrounding vassal states on a limited basis, provide them with military support, and strengthen their armaments to enhance their resistance to the shogunate. Strength.

Although Qi has some "thoughts" about Japan in recent years, it believes that allowing such a populous country to complete true unification will inevitably break the balance of regional power and threaten Qi's Eastern strategy. However, they did not intervene in Japan's internal affairs in a big way. They only carried out some local "micro-management" and arranged two idlers, one for the Satsuma Domain in the southwest and the other for the Sendai Domain in the northeast, to provide certain support, thinking that Contain the Tokugawa Shogunate in the future.

For many years, the Beiming government has been constantly instigating and lobbying the Qi State, planning to dismember Japan into several pieces to completely eliminate their threat to Beiming.

Because a weak and divided Japan is an excellent expansion direction for Beiming, which can gradually encroach and annex Japan's northern territories.

That’s right, Beiming was not very interested in the vast and desolate Lingbei region. In addition to occupying the Yinzhou area (today’s Magadan Oblast, Russia), which is rich in gold and silver mines, it also only occupied the coast of the Ice Sea (today’s Sea of ​​Okhotsk). A few dozen settlements have been set up, some furs have been collected, some fish have been caught, and some sovereignty has been declared, but full actual control has not yet been achieved. They have always set their coveted eyes on the northern regions of Japan and the southeastern regions of North Korea, eager to devour them.

Without him, the vast area in Lingbei is too cold. It is in winter for almost half the year. It cannot support too many people, and naturally it cannot quickly improve its own strength.

Although northern Japan and southeastern Korea have undulating hills and small plains, they are much warmer in comparison, and the agricultural conditions are adequate. With some tidying up, they can become pretty good fertile lands. Not to mention, there are still a lot of people in the two places mentioned above. If they are gradually swallowed up, it will take twenty or thirty years to use them for their own purposes and become the best cannon fodder. Oh, no, he should be the best warrior.

For a long time in the past, Qi State had been secretly supporting the Satsuma Domain, a great name in the southwest, helping them to actively improve the domain's finances, develop industry and commerce, and expand foreign trade. It also spared no effort to help the Shimazu family establish a large-scale military force. With a new army of 2,500 people, filled with a large number of Qi State staff officers and retired non-commissioned officers, the Satsuma Domain has become the strongest domain in Kyushu Island and even in the entire southwest of Japan.

According to the strategy of the General Staff of Qi State, once the shogunate issued a territorial seizure order to forcibly take back the territories of the daimyo of various vassal states, the Satsuma Domain Shimazu clan could take the lead in opposition and use force to fight against the shogunate's centralization of power.

At that time, Qi State can rely on its powerful maritime power to secretly assist Satsuma Domain and support his resistance to "tyranny".

At the worst, even if the Satsuma clan failed to defeat the shogunate, it could use strong force to defend itself on the island, and gradually cut off the pro-domain daimyo and genedai daimyo who were attached to the Tokugawa shogunate on Kyushu Island, and established itself as a separate kingdom.

As for the Sendai Domain in the north, although Qi State also put a lot of effort, the main force was Beiming. Through economic and trade means and military penetration, they gradually influenced the Date clan and made them determined to fight against the shogunate.

The jurisdiction of the Sendai Domain (including branch domains) is very broad. It is bounded by the Morioka Domain in the north by the southern part of Kamaishi City, the northern end of Sumida Town, the northern end of Oshu City, the southern part of Kitakami City and the northern end of Kanazaki Town. Within Mutsu, Its jurisdiction covers the southern part of present-day Iwate Prefecture, the entire Miyagi Prefecture, and the town of Shinchi in Soma County, Fukushima Prefecture. In addition to Mutsu, the Sendai Domain also governed three counties of Hitachi Province, one county of Shimoso Province, and two counties of Omi Province.

Although the public salary of Sendai Domain is more than 600,000 koku, it is lower than Kaga Domain and Satsuma Domain, and is equivalent to Owari Domain. However, the actual salary of the Sendai Domain is as high as one million koku. Coupled with the rich mineral resources, shogunate rewards from the smelting industry and animal husbandry, the fishery income from Sanriku Bay, port income, and northern smuggling income, the Sendai Domain's The actual financial scale is said to have exceeded more than two million dan, making it the "largest vassal in the world".

The Choshu Domain, which used to be the largest feudal clan, once had Yoshida Castle in Aki County as its base and owned 1.2 million shi from the ten countries in China. At the end of the Warring States Period, it could be said to have abundant capital to unify the world. However, the Mori clan was defeated by Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu (and was conquered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the period), which consumed a lot of the domain's strength. After the Battle of Sekigahara, due to the defeat, the Tokugawa army reduced its seals on a large scale, and only received more than 300,000 koku from Shufang and Nagato. They no longer had the ambition to dominate the world.

Therefore, neither Qi nor Beiming looked down upon this down-and-out "strong vassal". In addition, Shimonoseki, which originally belonged to the Choshu Domain, was ceded to the Qi State by the shogunate at the expense of others. It was hated and hostile by the Maori clan, which made the Qi State pay less attention to this vassal state.

That is to say, they do some trade, engage in smuggling, and absorb some immigrants. The relationship seems a bit neither salty nor weak.

However, Li Yanliang learned through many businessmen that after so many years, the Changshu Domain had actually changed its attitude towards Qi Guo.

Not to mention the prosperous trade exchanges and lively smuggling activities, which greatly improved the embarrassing financial problems of the Choshu Domain, the large amount of food and weapons and equipment obtained through Hengguan also revitalized this lonely domain and strengthened its strength. Slow recovery and improvement.

Various manufactured industrial products from the Qi Kingdom poured in from Hengguan, passed through the hands of the Changshu Domain, and then transported to the interior of Japan. Transit trade and re-export trade were flourishing, which greatly enriched the finances of the feudal state.

Therefore, after receiving these various benefits, Mao Li immediately realized that the Xiaguan area where he belonged was occupied by the Qi people. It did not seem to be a bad thing, but it was of great benefit to him.

At the same time, facing the pressure of the Tokugawa Shogunate to "seize territory" and "take back power", without a strong foreign aid, it would be impossible to fight against the Shogunate with its own strength alone.

If you don't resist, you can only hand over the territory that your ancestors have inherited for hundreds of years to the shogunate. How can you be willing to do so?

If you resist but are unable to resist, you will suffer the end of death and annihilation of your family.

Under this situation, is it possible to consider vassaling a powerful foreign force to preserve the Mori clan's territory and maintain the continued existence of the vassal state?
It just so happened that a young hero came to Hengguan who wanted to make great achievements. He also hoped to have a platform to display his talents, so he set his sights on Changzhou Fan.

(End of this chapter)