Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1929 Change and Strength ([-])

"The shogunate may want to increase the tax and tribute of the feudal clan." On the castle tower of Fukuyama Castle, Masahiro Matsumae, the reserve feudal lord, caressed the stone railing, looked at the lush forest in front of Fukuyama Castle, and said softly: "In the past, our stone There is no high school, and the shogunate also despises us, so naturally we don’t have to pay any taxes. On the contrary, they have given us great convenience so that our Matsumae family can develop the Ezo land with peace of mind, but it’s hard to say what will happen in the future .”

"Lord, this money has to be given." The gray-haired veteran Imamura Yoshinosuke shook his head and remonstrated: "Many policies of the shogunate are a matter of life and death for this domain. At this critical juncture, it is not appropriate to cause more trouble."

Yoshinosuke Imamura is also considered an old man of the Matsumae Domain. When Takahiro took office as the feudal lord, he was a veteran samurai in the feudal domain. He successively assisted the three feudal lords Ujihiro, Takahiro, and Mohiro, and now he is the de facto feudal lord Masahiro. To make full use of the remaining heat and stand on the last post, he can be said to be the elder of the four dynasties, and his status is extremely respected.

Yoshinosuke Imamura also has a close relationship with the people on the east bank. Over the years, he has made eight missions to the east bank and bought back a large amount of weapons, military supplies, livestock, seeds, tools and other things urgently needed by the feudal clan. The entrepot network of Shandan Trade has been established, which is a great contribution.Wei Boqiu once praised Imamura Yoshinosuke, saying that he has a sharp mind, extraordinary insight, and at the same time, he is calm and has the style of a general. He is a rare talent in the Matsumae clan.

Therefore, after his illegitimate son Wei Chengzhong joined the Matsumae family and became the heir of the daimyo, Yoshinosuke Imamura received more courtesy. Masahiro Matsumae even promised in private that once the business of the feudal town develops greatly in the future, he will give the Imamura family the status of a feudal clan , which made Imamura Yoshinosuke tearful and favored inexplicably.You must know that in this era, branch vassals are generally obtained by the daimyo's main family. The reason is to spread the risk when there are more children, so as to avoid the extinction of the family when the main family is changed; or to deal with some private development. Hidden fields outside the scope of the shogunate quota.In any case, no matter what the situation is, basically the vassals are obtained by the children of the same family. It is not impossible for people with foreign surnames to obtain them, but they have to make extraordinary achievements before the daimyo can go to the Edo shogunate and ask for the approval of the general to grant the vassals Zhu Yin shape.

Taking the situation in Japan in the last hundred years as an example, most of the new branches were obtained for the children of daimyo, and very few were rewarded to meritorious officials.Therefore, the place Masahiro Matsumae promised to give to the Jincun family in the future is really grateful, and then it has a dead heart.

Some people may think that Masahiro Matsumae is too young and too generous, and that he can even give away land, which is the foundation of his life, and he really fell into the tricks of the shogunate-the shogunate is very happy to see the big names crack the soil and reward them to their children or family members. Your servant, because this kind of policy similar to the Tweet Order is obviously weakening the strength of a single local vassal—but Masahiro Matsumae, who has received more than ten years of education on the East Coast and traditional Japanese culture, obviously has the same thinking as the traditional Japanese People are different.He is deeply influenced by the people from the east coast, and he always believes that in order to prosper the business of the feudal town, talents are the most important thing!Especially now that he is full of ambition to start a new school in the feudal clan and gradually carry out reforms, it is really important to have loyal and consistent courtiers, and Imamura Yoshinosuke and his son hold important positions in the feudal clan, open-minded, His prestige is well known, and he is also appreciated by the people on the east coast, so it is only natural to give them generous rewards.

Imamura Yoshinosuke is currently mainly responsible for attracting immigrants and reclaiming land in the feudal clan. Before that, he was in charge of the business field and can be described as an all-around talent.What he meant by "don't cause trouble" just now is very clear, that is, he is afraid that the shogunate will come up with a policy to prohibit domestic vagrants or landless grassroots from flocking to the Matsumae Domain to reclaim wasteland and strengthen the Matsumae Domain. So there is this saying.

When it comes to the movement of landless peasants in Japan, the shogunate itself actually encourages them, but there are strict procedures and measures to prevent them from messing around.In the early days, in order to restrain the power of local tyrants and rich peasants and ensure the income of tribute, the Edo shogunate strictly prohibited the permanent sale of land throughout Japan. At the same time, it encouraged the division of land and production, and tried its best to support small farmers.In addition, the shogunate also prohibited the sale of persons and the use of domestic slaves, and allowed farmers to sue the lord and immigrate to live on the land of other lords. Of course, the latter needs to go through complicated procedures. Without the appearance of a daimyo or powerful retainers in the feudal town, it will definitely not work , because the shogunate was also worried that farmers would take advantage of this loophole to escape and leave the land deserted.

For example, in the third year of Qing'an (1650), the shogunate issued the "King'an Proclamation" to farmers from all over Japan, and made 32 strict regulations on farmers' production and life. In addition to the content of other feudal clans, there are even regulations on where farmers grow what, and everyone is required to be strict in food, clothing, housing, and transportation, which can be described as extremely harsh.

Therefore, the power of the Edo shogunate is still very strong. If they are upset, then a notice can get stuck in the neck of the Matsumae domain, and it is not impossible to change or revoke the domain.After all, the enfeoffment system in Japan is quite different from that in Europe. The upper-level lords in Europe basically have no right to intervene in the internal affairs of the lower-level lords, but Japan can!This can be seen from the many unified policies issued by the shogunate across the country. They all require all the feudal clans in Japan to implement them as a whole. The authority is very strong, and the local feudal clans do not have complete autonomy.

The Matsumae Domain is currently mainly developing in Ezo, which is a virgin land with a large area and few people, and needs a large number of people to reclaim wasteland.Moreover, as the scale of Matsumae's trade expands day by day, a large number of people are also required to engage in commercial or handicraft work, not to mention that in order to fight the Ainu, they also have to maintain a certain size of army.All of the above needs population, but the main source of population for the Matsumae Domain is to attract ronin or landless untouchables in Japan, so the shogunate can seriously threaten the Matsumae Domain with just a single document. Development and even survival, you have to be soft--in fact, as early as the previous general, because of the complaint from the shogunate's pro-vassal, Kii Fan, the Matsumae clan was already "valued" by the shogunate, although no collusion with the Matsumae clan was found in the end The evidence of pirates, but the feudal lord Matsumae Tokihiro was summoned to Edo to perform duties twice in three days, and even other people were not allowed to serve on his behalf.

Therefore, Yoshinosuke Imamura mentioned just now that it is not appropriate to offend the shogunate now, but to flatter the shogunate and lower the vigilance of the shogunate as much as possible.If you charge more money, just charge some money, what a big deal!The shogunate now has so many people to support, the army has 8 people, not to mention the large number of retainers, samurai and other officials, the expenses are also high!Therefore, if the shogunate resets the stone height for the Matsumae Domain, and then clarifies the obligations and tributes to be fulfilled by the Domain, then as long as the amount is not too outrageous, it should be settled.Moreover, doing so also has a great advantage, that is, to recognize the fait accompli on behalf of the shogunate, and to legalize the various trades and land reclamation conducted by the Matsumae Domain.

"As long as the shogunate doesn't want to change our family, then it can be tolerated. If you really want to change my family at the risk of the world, then..." At this point, Masahiro Matsumae did not continue, but the meaning was already obvious. Imamura He also lowered his head slightly, expressing his second opinion.

In fact, although Wei Boqiu, who has been operating in Kushiro, Akkeshi and the nearby Thousand Islands for many years, has retired and faded out of politics, this does not mean that the Matsumae Domain has lost the support of people on the east coast.In fact, whether it is Heishui or Denglai, they have already expressed their attitudes, and they strongly support Matsumae Fan, trade, military aid and other help are all available!

Of course, Masahiro Matsumae also knew that there was a reason why people from the East Coast were so generous.In fact, Chen Shuo, a student of his biological father, told him before that people on the east bank supported the Matsumae clan, although there were factors of doing business to make profits, but using it as a bridgehead to obtain an entry ticket that would affect Japan was also the reason. one of the important factors.That is to say, the people on the east bank regard the Matsumae Domain as a stepping stone to break through Japan's closed social and economic system. When necessary, they can leverage the capabilities of the Okotsuyu domains including Matsumae, Hirosaki, and Sendai. Move the political situation in Japan, and then make a deal with the shogunate.

Masahiro Matsumae didn't really resist this feeling of being a pawn, because the weak Matsumae clan really needed a blood transfusion from such a behemoth on the East Bank. Otherwise, how could they have achieved such a leap forward development speed?Masahiro Matsumae is absolutely sure that if he farms the Ezo land by himself, he will not be able to grow anything famous in 100 years.Therefore, as long as the people on the east bank do not endanger their family's rule in Matsumae, then he doesn't mind giving them the utmost cooperation, which is exactly what he has been doing all along.

"The stupid people in the shogunate are stuck in their own way and don't know the trend of the outside world. Now that Dongxue is the most prominent school in the world, they still hold on to some superficial Lanxue. How can they not be outdated?" Masahiro Matsumae I don't know what came to mind, and suddenly criticized the shogunate's order to lock the country, only to hear him say: "The majestic general of the kingdom of the rising sun has issued such a stupid thing as the lock-up order, and it's five times. Kick Japan into the abyss."

Having been Matsumae's fake son for more than ten years, Masahiro Matsumae is now taking on the role of the Japanese more and more, thinking from the perspective of the Japanese everywhere.This is actually very easy to understand. The so-called butt determines the head. He is an illegitimate child, and he is destined to have no future on the east coast. Then it is better to make good use of the hard-won status of the heir of the Matsumae clan and pass it on to him. This family business in Li will be made bigger and stronger, as the capital for him to settle down in Japanese society.

However, he also knows that such messing up by the shogunate (referring to locking the country) obviously made Japan lose the opportunity to catch up with the world trend, and it will inevitably make Japan poor and weak for a long time.And once Japan becomes weak, it will naturally attract the covetousness of other hungry wolves. As a member of Japan, can Matsumae be alone?Obviously impossible!Therefore, the Matsumae Domain also had to maintain close ties with the world power China East Coast Republic, and even maintained an alternative affiliation relationship, because it was obviously helpful to keep their own family's territory undisturbed.

Even, if there are great changes in Japan in the future, and the authority of the Edo shogunate is greatly affected by the impact of foreign forces (this may be many generations later), then your own children and grandchildren will also have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and make money in troubled times. Chance, chase that lost deer!

Imamura Yoshinosuke is an old man in the feudal clan. He has served several generations of feudal lords. He is not completely ignorant of Masahiro Matsumae's ambitions, and it can even be said that he knows it very well. Therefore, after hesitating for a while, he took the initiative to say: "Shoko-den , please don’t talk about Togaku with people from Sendai, Hirosaki and other foreign domains in the future, because this may arouse the disgust of the shogunate and have adverse consequences. The shogunate cut itself off from civilized society, so let them cut themselves off. As long as our Matsumae Clan retains a trace of civilization, there will always be a way to recover in the future."

"In addition, please Zhengguangdian quickly finalize the boundary line of Ezoji Island with the people on the east coast, and clarify which side is under their jurisdiction and which side is the reserved area of ​​the feudal domain. This must be clarified. If the relationship is not bad.” Imamura Yoshinosuke reminded again: “Ezo land is the foundation of the future development of the vassal, and it is necessary to obtain as much as possible enough reserved land. In addition, fishing rights and some trade Please also seek the exclusive right to the product as soon as possible, this is also related to the future development of the domain."

Masahiro Matsumae nodded slowly after listening.Under the current shogunate-like state, it is very difficult for the Matsumae clan to expand their territory. Even if their strength on the battlefield may far exceed that of the Tsugaru family of the Hirosaki clan who are close at hand, if If it cannot be recognized by the shogunate, it will not be able to annex the territory across the strait. On the contrary, it may lead to a crusade by the shogunate, which is what wise men do not do.Therefore, obtaining as much land as possible on Ezoji Island has become the best choice for the Matsumae family to strengthen their strength, and this can naturally be determined through negotiations, as long as their family can continue to serve as the leader of the East Coast Kingdom. Agents, just help them purchase food, sulfur, lead-zinc ore, copper, gold and silver, and collect more people.

It is conceivable that the development of the family in the next few decades or even hundreds of years will be tied to the East Coast people. What the Matsumae family has to do is to maintain a delicate balance between the East Coast people and the Edo Shogunate.Of course, if the sudden death of the shogunate annoyed the people on the east bank, then Matsumae had no choice but to be tied to the chariot of the people on the east bank and fight to the death with the shogunate.

(End of this chapter)