Chapter 2716

Japan's foreign policy at this historical stage was very subtle. On the one hand, it issued five consecutive lockdown orders from 1631 to 1639, imposing extremely strict restrictions on foreign merchant ships engaging in trading activities in Japan, and even banned all overseas merchant ships at one time.

The Japanese returned to China. On the other hand, under the dual effects of domestic demand and external pressure, they had to grant Haihan trade privileges and allow Haihan merchants to engage in trading activities in several designated port cities.

To put it simply, the country was locked up, but not completely. At this stage, Nagasaki Port, which was directly controlled by the shogunate, became Japan's main foreign trade port.

For the local government in Nagasaki, how to properly handle the relationship with Haihan has always been a very thorny issue. Haihan merchants have occupied a considerable share of the trade activities in Nagasaki Port, and even controlled

The pricing power of some commodities can affect the operation of the local market to a certain extent. If Haihan merchants withdraw from the Nagasaki market, it will also cause huge economic losses to Nagasaki.

But at the same time, the existence of the Sasebo base also makes the Nagasaki authorities feel like a thorn in the back. They are always worried about being attacked by the Kaihan army. After all, there has been a precedent of Hirado before this. If Kaihan really takes action,

, it will definitely be difficult for the local armed forces in Nagasaki to protect themselves.

Afraid that you won't come, but also afraid that you will mess up, this is the current mentality of the Nagasaki authorities when dealing with relations with Kaihan. So when the size of the Kaihan garrison in Sasebo Bay suddenly increased greatly, the Nagasaki authorities immediately became nervous and hurriedly sent

An official representative came over to test his words.

However, the answer given by Shi Chengwu was obviously not within the expected range of the Nagasaki authorities. Kosaki Seijiro was also dubious about this: "Why was it that the visit application submitted by your country before this did not mention the accompanying armed fleet?

Don’t you have the trade items you mentioned?”

Shi Chengwu patiently explained: "Part of the fleet that arrived at the Sasebo base the day before yesterday are the troops and immigration fleet led by General Wang Anguo who will go to the other side of the ocean, and some are North Korean sailors who are following us for sea training.

Division fleet. The few remaining naval ships are the accompanying fleet responsible for protecting the safety of the mission during its trip. This time it just coincides with the meeting, and several fleets are merged together to facilitate operations."

Of course, the "few" mentioned by Shi Chengwu is only compared to the large East China Sea Fleet. For the Nagasaki authorities, it is nothing more than a deterrent armed force.

Seeing that the other party still seemed unwilling to believe his words, Shi Chengwu had no choice but to push Tao Hongfang to the front: "This is Mr. Tao Hongfang from the Ministry of Commerce of our country. The trade projects to be negotiated during this visit to Japan are all made by

Master Tao is responsible."

Knowing Shi Chengwu's intention, Tao Hongfang took the initiative to explain: "Our country's trade exchanges with Nagasaki Port have become more frequent in recent years. In order to provide more convenience for these cross-border trade activities, our country has specially prepared some new cooperation projects.

However, because the review procedures of our country’s Executive Committee take some time, these items were not mentioned in the official documents sent to your country.”

After Tao Hongfang finished speaking, he ordered someone to fetch an official document book, opened the first page, put it in front of Kosaki Seijiro and said, "Your Excellency, you can take a look."

Kozaki Seijiro took a closer look and found that the content on this page was a directory, and each entry was indeed a trade item related to Nagasaki. In particular, the transnational trade ship class mentioned by Shi Chengwu earlier had Shandong Zhifu listed on it.

Port, Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang, Jilong Port on Taiwan Island and many other ports.

When he was about to reach out to read the contents at the back, Tao Hongfang had already pulled the book back in time: "The detailed contents can only be revealed after the mission arrives in Nagasaki to meet with your family."

Tao Hongfang's approach is understandable. These are confidential information involving major business interests. Naturally, they cannot be disclosed to the outside world at will before the meeting between the leading figures of both parties.

However, Tao Hong was able to produce an official document in black and white, and he was already 80% convinced by Seijiro Kosaki. Let’s not talk about other projects. If those few ship lines to many important ports on the mainland can be fixed, it would be enough to convince Nagasaki.

The scale of trade has reached a higher level, which is a great thing that we can only hope for.

As for whether the size of the garrison in Sasebo will change due to the arrival of this huge fleet, that is no longer a question that Seijiro Ozaki is currently concerned about. The significance of the existence of Nagasaki Port lies in trade, as long as this cornucopia can continue to generate economic benefits.

, then other issues can be put aside for now.

Kosaki Seijiro was anxious when he came, but he was very happy when he left. He even chose to take the boat back to Nagasaki overnight despite the fact that it was getting late.

"I thought this was someone who came here to investigate, but I didn't expect him to be sent away so easily." Tao Hongfang was a little dissatisfied with this change of attitude. He was impressed by Ma Fan first. Looking at the performance of the Nagasaki envoy, he

I think it is not difficult to deal with Japanese people.

Shi Chengwu smiled and said: "The Japanese are afraid of power but not moral. They value short-term benefits rather than long-term harm. As long as they put pressure on them and then induce them to gain benefits, it will basically work. Of course, the prerequisite is that you have to be better than them.

You have to be strong, if you can't beat him, then he will look like a different person!"

Tao Hongfang was worried that this statement would make Amakusa Shiro unhappy, so he winked at Shi Chengwu to signal him not to go too far. However, he did not expect that Amakusa Shiro was completely unfazed by this, and nodded in agreement: "That's right,

There are many people in Japan who are short-sighted and willing to gamble their wealth for short-term gains. I was like this when I was young, otherwise I would not have caused such a big disaster."

The "catastrophic disaster" mentioned by Amakusa Shiro naturally refers to the fact that when he was young, he was taken to the South China Sea by pirates, accidentally went to Yulin Bay to rob, but was captured by the time travellers. At that time, he took risks in order to make a living, but in retrospect, he was indeed audacious.

This move, if it weren't for the kindness of the people who traveled through time, he and Takahashi Minami would have been dead by then.

However, at this time, Amakusa Shiro had long since let go of that experience and his former identity. He had long regarded himself as a member of the Haihan, and did not feel that there was anything wrong with Shi Chengwu's description.

The mission stayed in Sasebo Bay for seven full days. If Wang Anguo hadn't been urging them, it would have been delayed for a few more days before setting off.

The day before the departure of the combined fleet, the latest issue of "Haihan Times" was delivered to Sasebo Bay, and the relevant reports about the mission also occupied a corner position on the front page. However, due to timeliness, the content of the report was still

During their visit to Seoul, North Korea, the young officials saw their names on the front page of the Haihan Times for the first time, so they were very excited.
Chapter completed!