Chapter 2087

If someone had told them before that local forces like the Hirado Domain of Japan might become a strong contender for regional maritime hegemony, they would probably think that this must be a joke. After all, to achieve such a goal, one must have a strong maritime power.

Armed, and building an armed fleet is a very expensive project for any country. Even a country as powerful as Haihan can only promote the expansion of its naval establishment step by step, and it took ten years to establish a naval force along the coast of East Asia.

Maritime supremacy.

Local forces like the Hirado Clan will theoretically be relatively limited in terms of economic scale and military technology. Before on-site investigation, the Kaihan military will definitely not actively regard them as competitors. But the Eighteen Shiba Yu Party

The emergence of variables has allowed the Hirado Domain to have more development capital, overseas trade channels, shipbuilding technology, military technology, and professionals in various positions... These conditions that the Hirado Domain did not originally possess are probably only ten.

Bazhi Yudang can manage to provide it.

But no matter who is the leader behind this matter, Haihan cannot sit back and watch this armed fleet develop and take shape. This is not only the attitude of the military, but also the executive committee will definitely do it after learning about the progress of the investigation here.

Make the same choice.

"There are things to do in the next few months!" Wang Tom joked: "After this game, I just changed defense!"

The naval forces currently stationed at the Datong River base were all mobilized from various parts of the south in May last year. It will be a year or two in one or two months. At that time, the garrison will gradually begin to change defenses and be stationed in other places.

There is a probability that they will be transferred back to the south, and there is basically no war in the south now. By then, these troops will not have many opportunities to perform combat missions.

Qian Tiandun responded: "Fighting can be fought, but the scale must be controlled. If it turns into a national war, it will actually be of no benefit to us."

The Haihan Executive Committee has never had much interest in the Japanese archipelago. Not only is it isolated overseas, the terrain is mountainous, and there are not many valuable mineral resources for development. Haihan prefers to concentrate limited resources on the mainland coastline.

Operate nearby in order to obtain better returns. If the investigation did not lead to the Hirado Domain, Haihan would not even pay much attention to the development of Japan.

Wang Tom agreed with Qian Tiandun's view: "Even if there is a fight, it will be against the armed fleet of the Hirado clan. There is no need to provoke the Tokugawa shogunate."

Fighting against local forces and fighting against the country are two completely different concepts. Although Japan is not a powerful country, there is no need to take the initiative to provoke them.

"Let's send a telegram to Sanya first. We still have to make a decision from the Executive Committee before we can start preparing for war." Qian Tiandun's words brought an end to the meeting. Although they were all convinced that the Executive Committee would also choose to use force.

To solve the hidden dangers of the Hirado Domain, but war is a major event, and decisions must be made in accordance with rules and procedures.

At this time, the reconnaissance fleet led by Yuan Zhi was on its way south from Hirado Port to Nagasaki. The widest part of the strait between Hirado Island and Kyushu Island is only more than ten miles, and the two ships can basically be separated on the deck.

The side coast has an unobstructed view. Yuan Zhi noticed that there are many natural harbors on the west coast of Kyushu Island, but Japan obviously lacks the idea of ​​​​developing and utilizing them, and almost all of them are in a state of neglect.

Among them, Sasebo Bay, which is specially marked on the chart, is also a stop that Yuan Zhi must visit on this trip. When Chen Yixin led his team to perform a reconnaissance mission near the coast of Japan, he listed Sasebo Bay as the only worthwhile destination in western Japan.

Focus on strategic goals. This means that if Haihan chooses to establish a military base or trading port in Japan, the area where Sasebo Bay is located will be the first choice, and its strategic value is much higher than trading ports such as Nagasaki and Hirado.

In addition to the natural harbor conditions of Sasebo Bay itself, the undeveloped environment here is also one of the main reasons why Chen Yixin was optimistic about this place in the first place. If it has experienced commercial development for a long time like Hirado Nagasaki, then the sea will

It will be much more difficult for Han to take it as his own.

This was the first time Yuan Zhi came to Sasebo Bay. When the fleet sailed into the entrance of the bay, he understood why this place was favored by senior military officials.

The entrance of this bay is less than one mile wide, and there are high points on the peninsula surrounded by the north and south sides where fortifications such as forts can be built. After entering the bay, the view suddenly becomes clear. There is no resistance in this cross-shaped bay.

Various types of large ships pass through the area, and there is also quite a lot of land that can be used to build port terminals. At the southern end of the cross-shaped harbor, there is also connected to another inland bay, Omura Bay, which is more than ten times the size of Sasebo Bay.

It is not difficult to hide thousands of warships in this place.

After joining the army, Yuan Zhi traveled all over the country and visited many places, but for a natural harbor with such superior conditions, the only one he knew of that could rival it was Jinlan Port in Annan Kingdom.

However, Cam Ranh Bay was the reward for Haihan sending troops to help the Zheng family of Annan win the civil war. It was semi-permanently assigned to Haihan on a lease basis. It is probably difficult to repeat this operation method in Japan. Although Japan's national strength

It may not be more powerful than Annan, but it has had the experience of fighting against the two superpowers of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties before, so it is not afraid of powerful enemies. It is probably difficult for Haihan to overwhelm its own power and hand over this region.

out.

Of course, if Haihan is really determined to occupy this place, it will be difficult to stop Haihan even if a war breaks out. It’s just that Sasebo Bay is really far away from the main trading ports on the mainland, and Japan is enforcing the

Due to the seclusion order, it is obviously inappropriate to use this area as a trading port for development. Unless Haihan has long-term plans for the Japanese archipelago, garrisoning troops here does not have much practical significance. Therefore, although the natural conditions of Sasebo Bay

It is very superior, but for Haihan it is somewhat useless.

Of course, the purpose of Yuan Zhi's visit to Sasebo Bay this time was not to plant a flag to enclose the land here, but to confirm that this place has not been developed on a large scale by Japanese officials, so that if the military feels the need to take over this place at any time,

, so there won’t be a lot of trouble for this. In fact, the results of the inspection are not much different from the last time Chen Yixin came. There are only a few scattered small fishing villages in Sasebo Bay, and the number of fishing boats on the sea is larger than Haihan’s two

The reconnaissance ship was much smaller and did not find any signs of extensive construction work to build the port.

This also made Yuan Zhi breathe a sigh of relief. The reconnaissance of Sasebo Bay was considered to be the easiest task in this trip. It was successfully completed without any effort. Moreover, there was no time wasted here and the subsequent tasks could be started immediately.

Sailing a hundred miles south from Sasebo Bay, they reached Nagasaki, another destination on their trip. After the Portuguese arrived in Nagasaki in 1570, they quickly promoted the trade atmosphere here. Later, merchants from the Netherlands and China also came.

Trading with Nagasaki made it one of Japan's most important foreign trade ports at the beginning of this century. The shogunate took a fancy to the huge profits this place gained from trade every year, so it canceled its local autonomy and replaced it with

Listed as an area directly governed by the shogunate, tax revenue from Nagasaki's prosperous cross-border trade can go directly into the treasury of the shogunate.

However, due to the Notre Dame incident that broke out in Nagasaki in 1610, which greatly affected the relationship between Japan and Portugal, starting in 1616, the shogunate began to restrict the ports that merchant ships from Europe could dock. By 1635, the shogunate stipulated that the Portuguese could only

Able to complete trade projects in Nagasaki Port, and set Dejima near Nagasaki Port as a Portuguese settlement, and they are not allowed to leave Dejima and enter Nagasaki.

In fact, at this stage, there are very few Portuguese people still doing business in Nagasaki. As far as the field of cross-border trade is concerned, the Nagasaki Port controlled by the shogunate and the Hirado Port under the rule of the Hirado Domain actually exist.

There is a competitive relationship, and the foreign businessmen currently engaged in cross-border trade in Nagasaki are mainly from China and the Netherlands, and their trade scale is not as good as that of Hirado Port in the north.

Of course, the shogunate also has its own unique advantages. For example, it can issue administrative orders to allow foreign businessmen to go to Nagasaki to complete transactions. The Hirado clan basically has no resistance to this. But Yuan Zhi believes that if another two or three years pass, Hirado will

The domain's armed fleet has become a climate, and it will be difficult for the shogunate to compete with the powerful ships and cannons of the Hirado domain by relying on these small actions.

It was obviously inconvenient for the reconnaissance fleet to sail directly into Nagasaki Port, so they once again adopted the approach of Hirado Port, and after dark found a secluded coast near Nagasaki Port to send Amakusa Shiro ashore.

After Amakusa Shiro successfully sneaked into Nagasaki, he went to Dejima to visit the Portuguese merchant house early the next morning. The cooperative relationship between Haihan and Portugal was relatively strong, and Amakusa Shiro did not have to worry about being betrayed by the Portuguese during his sudden visit.

After Amakusa Shiro met Garcia, the person in charge of the business store, he took the initiative to reveal his identity to him. Garcia also had some knowledge and was not surprised by Amakusa Shiro's behavior of dressing up as a local and claiming to be a Haihan. He has lived for a long time.

Saki can also speak simple Japanese, so there is no big obstacle in communicating with Amakusa Shiro.

However, he still asked cautiously: "Then how do you prove that you are a Haihan citizen?"

"Serve the Executive Committee!" Amakusa Shiro raised his hand to salute a very standard military salute, and said the most common slogan in Haihan Kingdom. Anyone who has been to Haihan Kingdom should know the symbol of this slogan

significance.

"Serve the Executive Committee." Garcia repeated his words to show respect, and then asked: "So how can I help you?"

Garcia had been to Haihan before and could understand the slogan spoken in standard Haihan dialect. He had heard this slogan every day in Sanya, and he could tell whether it was authentic or not. It is not so easy to fake.

. And this was also the first time he heard someone speaking Haihan dialect in Nagasaki, so he was convinced of Amakusa Shiro's identity.

"I want to know all kinds of news about Nagasaki, the more detailed the better." Amakusa Shiro gave a very vague scope. He originally prepared other information to prove his identity, such as the Portuguese Ambassador to Haihan

name, etc., but it seems that it is no longer needed now.

Garcia looked embarrassed and said: "Your Excellency may not be aware of the situation here. The scope of our Portuguese public activities is limited to this island, and the external information we have access to is very little. I'm afraid I can't give it to you.

How much help.”

"Then... let's talk about trade." Amakusa Shiro also knew that the other party was telling the truth, so he could only settle for the next best thing.

Garcia thought for a while and said: "The transaction tax levied by the shogunate in Nagasaki is 20% higher than that in Hirado Port. This is a very harsh condition for foreign businessmen, but we have no choice. The shogunate requires us

The transaction can only be completed in Nagasaki. Our trade volume in Japan has dropped by nearly half in the past two years. If this continues, it is estimated that we will have to say goodbye to this country completely in two or three years."

Amakusa Shiro asked: "According to what you said, the shogunate's suppression of the Hirado Domain has actually become public. What is the reaction from the Hirado Domain?"

"Reaction?" Garcia said with some disdain: "The Matsuura family are all cowards. They dare not react in any way to the unfair orders issued by the shogunate. I think if the shogunate asks them all to commit suicide, these cowards will eventually do it."

!However, the retainers of the Matsuura clan are still somewhat bloody. I heard that the Tagawa clan was very dissatisfied with this and kept asking the Matsuura clan to submit a letter of disobedience."

"Tagawa clan?" Amakusa Shiro thought that he had already made contact, so he continued to ask: "Is there any news you can tell me about Tagawa clan?"

Garcia said: "I heard that many Han people from the Ming Dynasty took refuge under the Tagawa clan in the past few years, and these people are very capable people. They helped the Tagawa clan expand business routes overseas and train armed personnel.

Xingjian Shipyard... Nothing seems to be able to trouble them. If I hadn't heard something later, I would have almost thought that these people are actually you Haihan people in disguise."

"What did you hear?"

"I heard... these people were once subordinates of Zheng Zhilong, and the reason why they took refuge with the Tagawa family is because Zheng Zhilong also has a son who was raised by the Tagawa family. They may hope to use the reputation of Zheng Zhilong and Shibazhi to gain a foothold in the Tagawa family.

The Hirado clan has made a comeback." Garcia paused and added: "The last sentence is just my personal opinion, you don't need to take it seriously."

Amakusa Shiro was shocked at this moment. If Zheng Zhilong still had a son alive, it would indeed be of special significance to the Eighteen Zhizhi Party. He couldn't help but think of the guard he saw at Hirado Port again the day before yesterday.

The young man from the Tagawa family gathered around him. Could it be that that man was Zheng Zhilong’s son?
Chapter completed!