After lunch, Gao Pragmatic went to the Ministry of Finance again, but because Huang Zhiting returned to Beijing, he took the time to return to the mansion in the afternoon.
As soon as he returned home, he was told that Duke Cheng Guo had sent someone over. Gao Pingshi was suddenly surprised when he heard this, and then he remembered that Zhu Yingzhen was not unwilling to come in person. He was just a young man captured by the emperor and had just left for Tianshou Mountain to offer sacrifices on his behalf this morning.
In fact, sacrifices on behalf of others are the most important errands of the princes now, and since they are carried out on behalf of the emperor, the etiquette is very important and must not be sloppy. It is impossible to skip work, so you can only send someone
Came to see him.
But the visitor had nothing special to say to Gao Yingshi. He just brought a handwritten letter from Zhu Yingzhen. The letter was written to his family's fleet in Japan. It did not explain any situation, but only asked them to obey Jinghua's orders at any time.
.
This is enough, because Zhu Yingzhen's family's fleet is second only to Jinghua in size, and he is the default "big brother" of the other noble families. His family's fleet fully obeys orders, and other families' orders will definitely be followed.
So, even if more than half of the fleet's cruise to Kyushu Island has been completed, and the specific implementation is very pragmatic and I don't bother to ask, nothing will go wrong anyway.
Although there are at least dozens of Japanese "navy armies", they are actually just pirates of varying sizes. They are also called "pirates" in Japan, and the more famous ones in later generations are basically all pirates.
After entering the game, what are the Kumano Navy, Murakami Navy, Saltwater Navy, Goto Navy, Andong Navy, Tango Navy, Awaji Navy, Bungo Navy, Bojin Navy, etc.
Even though they all have "Navy Forces" in their names, they seem to be very formal. In fact, many of them only have the ability to sail offshore and don't have any big ships. A few Anzhai ships are considered a powerful force. They are basically incompetent in front of the Sea Trade Alliance.
Don't dare to speak loudly.
Of course, this is certain. After all, Captain Wufeng was just the pirate leader of the Ming Dynasty, and even in Japan he dared to be called the King of Pure Sea.
Having said this, I would like to mention by the way: Wang Zhi left for Japan after the Ligang Incident in the 32nd year of Jiajing (1553), and it was on the territory of Kyushu Island that he "proclaimed himself king".
According to Tian Rucheng's "Wang Zhizhuan": Wang Zhi "based on Songjinpu in Satsuma Island, arrogantly called Song Dynasty, called himself King of Hui, deployed officials and subordinates, and had the title. He controlled the key points, and the barbarians on the thirty-six islands were all under his command.
.”
However, the so-called "Matsujinura of Satsuma Island" here is wrong and confusing. In fact, Wang Zhi's base on Kyushu Island in Japan is Hirado Island in Hizen Province.
When Wang Zhi passed by, it was almost around the time when Japan's "Kosho Shun Alliance" (Takeda, Hojo, and Imagawa Alliance) was formed. However, on Kyushu Island in the West, there was no trend for any one company to dominate, and it was probably very chaotic.
Hirado Island where Wang Zhi is located may not be well-known as "Hirado", but if you say "Nagasaki", everyone should be very familiar with it. At that time, it was controlled by a daimyo who was not very powerful, named
Matsuura Takanobu.
This person is the 25th generation governor of the Matsuura clan, the son of Matsuura Konobu, and his legal name is Michiko. The Matsuura clan is a wealthy family active in southern Hizen and northern Matsuura counties. It is famous because it owns the trading port Hirado with a very advantageous geographical location.
Strong economic strength. Because of this, the Matsuura family has been coveted by neighboring Arima, Omura, Ryuzoji and other families.
After Takanobu succeeded the family governor, he surrendered to the rising Ryuzoji family. Then he vigorously developed trade in Hirado Port, which enabled the Matsuura family to achieve unprecedented development. He was very active in dealing with domestic evangelism (Catholicism) and foreign trade, and cooperated with Wang Zhi's personal relationship is also very good - of course, that is the friendship brought about by the bond of interest.
Almost ten years before Wang Zhi went to proclaim himself king, the Portuguese went to Japan in search of the golden country written by Marco Polo and were shipwrecked on Tanegashima. It was Wang Zhi who brought them to Hirado, and under the enthusiasm of Matsuura Takanobu With the reception, maritime trade between Japan and Europe started.
At that time, one of the Portuguese ships was carrying Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuits who came to preach in the Far East. He took this opportunity to introduce Catholicism to Japan for the first time. In just one month, there were 200 people in Hirado. People converted to Catholicism because of him.
From this perspective, Wang Zhi had a huge impact on Japan, both economically and culturally. This is why there was later a bronze statue of Wang Zhi outside the Matsuura Historical Materials Museum in Japan.
However, both the so-called "Bozu Navy" controlled by the Shimazu family and the "Mishima Navy" controlled by the Matsuura family directly chose to avoid the battle when they faced the Keihua fleet.
This is easy to understand, because naval operations are very different from those of the army. Throughout the history of wars at home and abroad, there are often classic battles in which a small number of people win a large number in the army, but there are very few such examples in the navy.
There is no obstruction on the sea and there is no way to hide. Both sides have the same field of vision. It is difficult to lay an ambush. You can see clearly from a distance. If you have a bigger ship and more ships, you have the advantage. , almost certain to win; if you have a small boat and few ships, you are at a disadvantage and almost certain to lose.
This is why in the original history, the Portuguese and Dutch navies were defeated by the Ming Dynasty on the coast of South China. They actually had the advantage of larger ships at that time, and their armaments were more advanced. Unfortunately, even though the Ming Dynasty navy has declined terribly, at least it The numerical advantage when fighting close to home was still huge, crushing the single-ship advantages of Portugal and the Netherlands with staggering numerical advantages.
When Shimadzu and Matsuura faced the Keihua fleet, they were overwhelmed in terms of both the quality of individual ships and the scale of the fleet. At that time, the Japanese small ships with two to three hundred materials such as Kansune and Kobayashi (this was the sea ship) The thieves have the most, and the Anzha ship is basically their main battleship), which is no more than a children's toy in front of Jinghua's dozens of single-ship armed transport ships worth 1,600 materials.
The situation was like the opponent holding an AK47, and you only had a broken wooden sword that children played with, so why fight? Therefore, the two families reacted very rationally at that time, and took the initiative to send a small boat over, politely He asked angrily where the guest came from.
Needless to say what happened next, Jinghua’s guests were not here to fight, so the two sides started doing business. And in view of the fact that Jinghua’s display of maritime strength was so amazing, much more exaggerated than the original Wufeng shipowner, Japan People also show great sincerity in business and don't dare to do anything famous.
The situation in other places in Japan is similar. Although it is an island country, during the Warring States Period, the level of each company was almost the same, so the fleet of Jinghua - and later the Sea Trade Alliance - could do business with peace of mind wherever it went. , it is rare for trouble to happen like the previous one, and it can only occur in special situations when two families are fighting on land.
Although the main force of the Beiyang Fleet has gone on an expedition to Luzon, basic trade has not been interrupted. The Maritime Trade Alliance should still have twenty or thirty armed transport ships around Japan.
This strength is indeed nothing in the eyes of Gao Pragmatic, but in Japan it is still a giant. Unless Toyotomi Hideyoshi unexpectedly gathers the "naval forces" across the country and launches a sneak attack into the harbor, otherwise these twenty or thirty armed transport ships will only
If they gather together to form a temporary combined fleet, they can still move sideways in Japan.
If there was anything that could pose a danger to them, it would probably be the twelve gunless transport ships also produced in Jinghua that were sent to Japan - if Toyotomi Hideyoshi had not installed "iron armor" on them, but
If they are equipped with artillery.
Of course, in theory, if you are fighting in the Seto Inland Sea, there is another danger. Because the sea conditions in the Seto Inland Sea are quite special, specifically the wind conditions are quite special, which the Japanese call "nagi".
"Nagi" usually appears in the morning or evening, which means that the sea breeze and the land breeze are ready to switch. At this time, the Seto Inland Sea will often suddenly become calm. Calm and calm is generally a good word, but it is not suitable for naval battles in the age of sailing.
Very bad, it means that the ship's maneuverability is significantly reduced, and it can only rely on ocean currents to drift.
In this situation, giant ocean-going sailing ships would be at a disadvantage against those offshore ships that could temporarily use oar power. Considering that the "baked jade" often used by Japan's "Navy Army" during the civil war was an incendiary bomb
, when the armed transport ships almost lose power, the danger increases significantly - after all, they are not equipped with "iron armor".
During dinner, Meng Guzhezhe had already gone back to see Xinzhai, saying that the homework assigned to her by Mr. Liu Xin, a teacher, had not been completed. Of course Gao Pingshi knew that this was not the main reason. In fact, since she knew today that she was not on good terms,
The reason why she consummated the marriage had no reason to stay. Moreover, if Huang Zhiting came back, she would definitely not stay and be a lightbulb.
Oh, she doesn't know what a light bulb is, but she always understands.
But what surprised Gao Pingshi even more was that Liu Xin was not there either.
Huang Zhiting said that after Liu Xin talked to her in the afternoon, she went to see Xinzhai with Meng Guzhezhe, saying that she wanted to explain to Meng Guzhezhe and then assign homework for the next month or so. She would leave for Kaiping early tomorrow morning
——Gao Jingshi knew this. She was going to visit Liu Xian and had told him in advance.
However... in such a rush for time, I'm afraid it's better to consciously give Huang Zhiting a chance to be alone with herself.
There were only the couple, so this meal could have been a lot quieter, but Gao Qingshi was a man with few family rules, so he ordered Gao Yuan to be brought over, wanting to feed his son a meal himself.
Who knew that little Gao Yuan didn't really buy it. Although he didn't refuse when his father fed him to his mouth, he always stretched out his hands and feet towards his mother to crawl over, which made Huang Zhiting couldn't help but laugh.
Gao Pragmatic's patience was as good as ever, and he kept bringing the kid back to continue feeding. Huang Zhiting saw that he seemed to have no sense of control over the child's food intake. When it seemed that he had eaten too much, she couldn't help but said: "Okay, okay, okay."
"This meal is enough. He will have another meal later in the evening. He can't feed him any more now, otherwise he will vomit later."
Only then did Gao Pragmatic remember that the stomachs of such a large child were not fully developed, so they usually had to eat small meals frequently, and they really couldn't eat too much in one meal. Then he stopped with some regret and handed the child over to Huang Zhiting.
However, Huang Zhiting only teased Gao Yuan a little, and then handed it over to the wet nurse - she was said to be a wet nurse, but because of Gao Pragmatic's previous instructions, she actually did not breastfeed, but acted as a nanny.
After the wet nurse took Gao Yuan away, the table was also removed. Gao Pingshi took Huang Zhiting to the side of the house near Shichahai for a walk. After walking not far, Huang Zhiting asked: "Master, remember what I said in my last letter."
Something?"
Gao Pangshi didn't plan to say anything "business" tonight, but since Huang Zhiting asked, he had no choice but to answer: "What? That thing in Malacca?"
"That's right." Huang Zhiting responded: "It's the patronage that the Portuguese asked for. I always feel that that thing is of no use at all, but the Portuguese say it seriously. I suspect there is some conspiracy here that I don't understand.
.”
When it came time to "talk about business", Huang Zhiting even forgot about "concubine" and directly used the word "I".
Fortunately, Gao Pragmatic doesn't care, and even prefers it.
He laughed, shook his head and said: "You have really wronged the Portuguese. In fact, there is no conspiracy in their request for the patronage. At least for us, there is no conspiracy. If you have to say who they are targeting by requesting the patronage.
, then they are actually targeting the Spaniards."
"Oh?" Huang Zhiting said in confusion: "It seems that I still don't quite understand what you mean by 'union of kings'. Portugal and Spain obviously share the same king, but they still fight so fiercely, and even try their best to injure each other."
Knife, it’s really inexplicable and hopeless.”
The matter of Malacca is of course important if we say it is important. This stronghold controlling the Strait of Malacca cannot be overemphasized. Huang Zhiting actually succeeded directly through coercion this time. Even Gao Pragmatic was a little incredible.
Of course, looking back, it's not that magical. The key to the problem is still the serious imbalance in the balance of power. After the Spanish's avalanche failure in the Philippine Islands, the Portuguese have realized the fact that they cannot directly confront Jinghua in the Nanyang region. Therefore,
It is actually nothing unusual to give in with the European mentality of "surrender and lose half the money".
Of course, the contract has not been signed yet, and Malacca City has not yet exchanged defenses between the two armies. Theoretically speaking, it is not safe. However, Gao Pragmatic believes that this matter should not be a big surprise, even if God opens it
What a big joke. The Spanish Armada actually achieved victory against England, but that doesn't change the facts on Malacca's side.
After all, it is absolutely impossible for Spain to transfer the Armada to the Far East and Beijing for a decisive naval battle.
So what if he is transferred here? Fighting at home, Gao Wuchen is really worthy of Philip II... not to mention, he still owes a huge debt.
Therefore, although this matter was important, since Gao Pragmatic believed that the issue of "protection rights" was not important, the two of them decided the matter easily.
Immediately afterwards, Huang Zhiting began to report to Gao Pragmatic on some development issues in southern Xinjiang. These issues were very complicated, but there was one piece of news that Gao Pragmatic paid close attention to.
Huang Zhiting said that according to the previous mineral resources "enumeration" plan, Jinghua carried out a large-scale prospecting in southern Xinjiang. Since this operation was carried out under the banner of high pragmatism but in fact it was carried out based on the goals provided by Liu Xin, so
Most of them have indeed found the corresponding mining areas and mineral points.
However, finding it does not mean that it can be used. Since Liu Xin can only remember where there are mines, the specific mining areas, and whether the mine sites can be developed effectively and profitably under the current conditions, Liu Xin cannot possibly know them all.
It was clear, so in the end Jinghua Mining eliminated more than half of them.
Among the remaining small group, Gao Jingshi heard the news about the discovery of copper mines in the Huishan area and the Champasak area in the north of Xiangkhouang, Nanzhang Kingdom, and according to Jinghua's current judgment, the scale of these two copper mines may be quite large.
There should be many large-scale mineral deposits in the Xiangkhouang Plateau. This was something that Gao Qingshi had known for a long time. Liu Xin had previously analyzed the metallogenic belts and other relatively professional knowledge for him.
However, the development of that area was very low. Even in later generations, because Laos was a very backward country, its development was still poor. Many mining areas were simply discovered and estimated, and no actual development was carried out at all.
But this time, Jinghua discovered that not only did there indeed be copper mines in the Champasak area, but the grade of the copper mines there was very high. According to a sample survey, there were many copper mines with levels of 1%-2%, and many even reached 5%-6%.
, this data is quite astonishing for a copper mine.
The reason why Gao Pragmatic suddenly paid attention to copper mines is because he is now in charge of the national finance of the Ming Dynasty and has recently paid special attention to the trends in Japan.
How are these two things connected? Because he remembered that the reason for the early rise of the Oda family was actually because of making money - what was embroidered on the battle flag of the Oda family? Three Yongle Tongbao.
Even the armor of his Oda family samurai and the flag on his back were actually printed with a huge seal of Yongle Tongbao. Every time Gao Pragmatic thought about this, he would wonder if Oda Nobunaga's army looked a bit like the Imperial Association of the Ming Dynasty.
military.
Oda Nobunaga attaches great importance to the role of commerce (his family actually relied on the trade of Tsushima), which led Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was his groom, to also attach great importance to commerce. Not only did he build Osaka Castle near Ishiyama Honganji Temple, but also
All the big merchants of Sakai Town were forcibly moved to the castle town of Osaka.
The Yongle Tongbao of the Ming Dynasty, which was originally the main currency in circulation in Japan, has almost lost its source (because of two points: the Kanhe trade was interrupted by the Ningbo incident, and the copper coins smuggled in Jiangnan were interrupted by Jinghua after the opening of the sea), resulting in the current commercial circulation of Japan.
This is one of the important reasons why Toyotomi Hideyoshi was very dissatisfied with the construction of the Crystal Tower in Satsuma Domain.
However, the Yongle Tongbao of the Ming Dynasty was originally cast in large quantities during the Yongle period when the country was powerful as a gift. Later, because the Ming Dynasty itself was very short of copper and its own copper coins were not enough, this work was not done long ago.
Now that Huang Zhiting mentioned the copper mine, Gao Pragmatic remembered that his original plan to use currency to control Japan had not yet been fully implemented. Now that he has begun to step up his deployment in Japan, it is obviously time to upgrade the agenda.
However, Gao Pragmatic has not yet decided whether to exploit the copper mine in Champasak. The reason is...the three major copper mountains in Japan are still there at this time.
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