Chapter 383 The Financial Problems of the Satsuma Domain
Satsuma Domain, whose external name is Shimazu clan, has a height of 770,000 koku, ranking second in Japan.
The origin of the Shimazu family is Tadahisa Yuizune, a retainer of the Konoe family. Legend has it that the ancestor of Tadahisa Yuizune was a family named Yugetsu-kun who came here across the ocean from mainland China. Yugetsu-kun claimed to be a descendant of Qin Shihuang, so he named him Qin.
After Minamoto Yoritomo was named, his clan was called the Qin clan. Another theory is that Tadahisa Yuisune was the seventh son of Minamoto Yoritomo, the younger sister of Minamoto Yoritomo and his retainer, and the son of Tango Bureau. After the opening of Minamoto Yoritomo, the island
The Tsu family became a local lord. In the fourth year of the founding of Japan, Minamoto Yoritomo appointed Tadashi Yui as the head of Hyuga Shimazu Village. Soon after, he was additionally appointed as the guardian of the three kingdoms of Satsuma, Osumi and Hyuga. After Tadahisa Yui took office, he was
The name was changed to Shimadzu, and the Shimadzu family was established.
At that time, Kyushu was inhabited by an indigenous people named Hayato. They still had not accepted all the culture from Kyushu, which meant that the locals still retained their barbarian customs and their folk customs were fierce. They repeatedly rose up against the central Yamato court.
Both uprisings caused a great shock to the central government. Wei Zongzhongjiu received support from the central government because he had the title of guardian of the Three Kingdoms. After taking office, he tried to integrate with the local government. Although he suffered many setbacks, he still made some progress. So he soon became
A major force in Kyushu.
After the end of the Kamakura shogunate and the Muromachi shogunate - during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Shimazu family always stood on the side of the samurai. As the vanguard of the samurai army in resisting the palace, the head of the Shimazu family, Shimazu Sadahisa, was also a famous general in the samurai army. It went like this.
After the Muromachi period, we entered the Warring States period.
In the seventh year of Daiei in Japan, the Shimazu family split up and Takahisa Shimazu of Iga became the governor of the family. However, his succession triggered a split in the family. As a result, a war began between Takahisa and Tadashi. In the fifth year of Japan's Astronomy, Takahisa
Takahisa captured Ijuin Castle from another branch of the Shimazu family, the Sashu family. In the seventh year of Tenbun, he defeated Mikyu in the battle of Kasada Castle and unified Satsuma, the base of the Shimazu family in the future. Takahisa's victory laid the foundation for
He laid the foundation for the Shimazu family who would later become a daimyo of the Warring States Period. Therefore, he is called the true ancestor of the Shimazu family.
After unifying Satsuma, Takahisa moved his residence to the inner city. After that, he devoted himself to the work of making his hat of Guardian of the Three Kingdoms worthy of the name. As a result, a series of wars started.
After surrendering to Hashiba Hideyoshi, the Shimazu family became the main force of Hashiba Hideyoshi's army because they were located in Kyushu.
On the Korean battlefield, the Shimazu Army gave full play to its toughness and daring spirit, and its fighting will was particularly tenacious. Its combat effectiveness was also extremely fierce. It can be said to be the most difficult opponent for the Chinese and North Korean coalition forces.
So much so that the North Korean general Shimazu Yoshihiro, the commander-in-chief of the Shimazu Army, called him "Ghost Stone Manko". The combat effectiveness of the Shimazu Army was recognized by both sides.
However, the war of aggression itself exceeded the capacity of Japan's national strength. Thanks to the heroic fighting of the Ming army, the Japanese army repeatedly fought in the north. Therefore, the Japanese army was finally defeated and returned home. After returning home, the Shimazu family went through successive years of war, and their territory was reduced.
It was supposed to be a time to recuperate, but the ensuing Sekigahara War forced the Shimazu family to send troops again. The Shimazu family chose the Western Army in the Sekigahara War. As a result, they were punished after the war. Although the family name was not cancelled.
A lot of land was confiscated, leaving only Satsuma Kingdom and a small part of Osumi Kingdom territory. The Shimazu family, which survived two hundred years of war during the Warring States Period, became the Satsuma Domain and became one of the three hundred famous names of the Edo Shogunate.
But now, Tsurumaru Castle, the main city of this once tyrannical daimyo, has been attacked by artillery fire from the Ming Dynasty...
Ding Yunyi was not worried about whether he could win the attack on Tsurumaru Castle. His only concern was the governance of the Satsuma Domain after the war...
And no one has a more thorough understanding of the Satsuma Domain than Hisao Shimazu.
In Shimazu Hisao's introduction, the financial problem that troubled the Satsuma clan the most was. If financial problems were a common problem that plagued all clans during the Edo period, then Satsuma's situation ranked first among all the clans. Due to many reasons
, it is no exaggeration to say that the Satsuma Domain was basically on the verge of bankruptcy during the two hundred years of the Edo period.
Years of lack of money and geographical remoteness made the Satsuma clansmen regarded as country people and suffered repeated discrimination.
Since the establishment of the Satsuma Domain, financial problems have always been the top issue in the feudal administration. It is precisely because of financial difficulties that the Satsuma Domain has been unable to carry out various reform projects, resulting in the Satsuma Domain's long-term backwardness. And the awareness of long-term backwardness has become the basis for reform.
Obstacle. The financial problem of Satsuma Domain is that there are too many recurring and non-recurring expenses.
The first problem comes from the feudal organizational system of the Satsuma Domain. The feudal organizational system of the Satsuma Domain is quite unique, called the outer castle system. This unique system is similar to the imperial family system of the Kamakura shogunate, which is also the reason why the Shimadzu family has been influenced by the Kamakura family.
It is a historical legacy that the Kura Shogunate named after the guardian.
The biggest feature of the outer city system is that its samurai do not gather and live near the main city, but live in small strongholds near the fields. There are a large number of mountain castles called "foot" in Satsuma Domain.
There are small military strongholds such as Peace Castle. These places are collectively called the outer castle. The main city headed by the Shimazu family is the inner castle.
These military strongholds were populated by large groups of semi-samurai or quasi-samurai.
These people farmed in peacetime and organized attacks during wartime. This situation existed on the one hand because the Shimazu family, as the guardian daimyo during the Kamakura shogunate period, inherited the imperial family system in order to unify the local area as soon as possible, and suppressed a large number of local wealthy families in the territory.
Both the Heqilang Party and the Qilang Party made reservations.
Entering the Warring States Period, these gang members transformed into the so-called outer castle warriors, or quasi-samurai. On the other hand, the outer castle system was also a result left over from the long years of war in the Satsuma Domain. Since the Satsuma Domain entered the Warring States Period, until the establishment of the Tokugawa clan, the outer castle system
The war has never stopped, so the Satsuma clan needs more mobilized soldiers to maintain its combat effectiveness than other clans. Therefore, in order to be able to balance war and farming, and to control the country easily, Satsuma has set up a large number of quasi-samurai personnel throughout the countryside.
The samurai of the Satsuma Domain accounted for more than 30%, close to 40%, of the total population. Such a high ratio was rare.
Moreover, the Shimazu family was defeated by the Central Government of Honshu when it almost completed the goal of unifying Kyushu and was forced to vomit a large amount of land. The large number of samurai and quasi-samurai who had been established during the unification of Kyushu lost their land at once, and the Shimazu family could not
His abandonment resulted in a large number of Satsuma feudal lords.
Because there were too many feudal lords, the territory was reduced. Therefore, the issue of the salaries of these feudal lords made the Satsuma clan scratch their heads.
The second problem comes from the shogunate. The Satsuma clan and the shogunate can be said to have a bitter feud. During the Battle of Sekigahara, the Shimazu family not only belonged to the Western Army, but also wounded Naomasa Ii, one of the Four Tokugawa Four Kings, with a musket. This
This made the shogunate deeply wary of the Shimazu family. Not only did they arrange for attendance and handover tasks, but they also continued to send down a large number of laborers. Satsuma Domain was originally one of the farthest feudal clans from Edo, so each duty call and handover was costly.
, about 50,000 taels per trip. Plus a lot of labor, the financial burden is extremely heavy.
There are also big problems in the geographical environment of the Satsuma Domain. Irrigation difficulties and a large number of natural disasters mean that although the Satsuma Domain has a nominal income of 770,000 koku, its actual income is often only a little over 350,000 koku.
Low income, high expenditure, and the consumption of long years of war have made the Satsuma Domain extremely poor.
In order to alleviate this poverty situation, the Satsuma Domain's solution was to send troops to the Ryukyus. During the period of Shimazu Tadashi, the founder of the Satsuma Domain, through the conquest of the Ryukyus, the Shimadzu family captured 40,000 koku of land on Amami Oshima. At the same time, they obtained the land from the Ryukyus.
The right to earn profits from the tribute trade. This greatly alleviated Satsuma's financial difficulties in the early and mid-term. It also allowed Satsuma to obtain strong economic sources. For example, the brown sugar produced in Amami Oshima.
Sugar was a valuable commodity in Japan at the time. Brown sugar was needed to make confectionery and traditional sake brewing in various places from Honshu to Kyushu.
At this time, the largest producer of brown sugar was Amami. Therefore, this huge benefit was exclusively owned by Satsuma. Brown sugar established financial credit for the Satsuma Domain. With the benefit of brown sugar, the domain office successfully obtained a large number of loans from businessmen in Osaka and other places.
It provided immeasurable help to the early and mid-term feudal finances.
However, the Satsuma Domain's seizure of Amami and Brown Sugar interests only effectively alleviated its financial distress. In fact, it only left Satsuma in a state of half-starvation. The finances still need to borrow money to maintain daily expenses. And borrowing money
The high interest attached has gradually become another major burden on Satsuma's finances. Therefore, various reforms in Satsuma in the early days only alleviated the financial crisis. They did not really reverse the financial predicament. They even increased the financial burden for the future.
Major difficulties. Essentially, it is still on the verge of bankruptcy. This can be seen from the Satsuma Domain's debts.
When the first generation feudal lord Shimazu Tadashi was in power, the feudal debt was only about 20,000 ryo. After the second generation Shimazu Mitsuhisa took office, the feudal debt increased to 350,000 ryo. The feudal creditworthiness was questioned.
Thanks to the lucky discovery of Nagano Gold Mountain at that time, the credibility of the Satsuma Domain was maintained.
"Yongye Jinshan?" Ding Yunyi's eyes lit up.
"Yes." Hisao Shimazu sighed: "However, the Satsuma Domain's gold mountain was just ready to be excavated, and then it was suppressed by the shogunate. As a result, the finances were immediately tight. Although with the help of brown sugar, as well as offerings from Ryukyu and other places, the Satsuma Domain
The shaky credit was barely maintained. However, the financial difficulties of the Satsuma Domain have not been reversed in a real sense."
Ding Yunyi nodded slightly. This means that the Shimazu family of Satsuma Domain is actually on the verge of collapse due to financial problems.
Conquering the entire Satsuma Domain and defeating the Shimazu family is far from enough. How to take advantage of the Shimazu family's financial constraints to completely turn the Satsuma Domain into its own puppet?
This is not just a matter of occupying and conquering a Satsuma domain, but that this place will become a bridgehead for attacking Japan in the future...
Shimazu Hisao's introduction also allowed Ding Yunyi to discover the serious contradiction between Japan's local daimyo and the Tokugawa shogunate.
The Tokugawa shogunate was ruled by two generations of shoguns. The basic political and economic system of the Tokugawa era was established. Japan was placed under the control of the shoguns and territorial daimyo. The income of the Edo shogunate accounted for a quarter of the rent paid by farmers nationwide.
The "Tian Ling", a territory directly under the jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty, was entrusted with part of its territory to its retainers, warriors "Qi Ben" and "Yujia", called "Gizhi", and the rest was under the control of the general family. In addition to the territory directly under the general's jurisdiction, about seven
The completed land was distributed to 270 daimyo across the country. Each daimyo had a territory ranging from 10,000 shi to 1.2 million shi. They distributed the annual tribute on the territory to their accompanying ministers. The accompanying ministers also granted "Jia Lai" to the immediate retainers.
Salary meters.
The daimyo were controlled by the shogun and shouldered political, economic and military obligations to the shogunate, but they were the highest political monarchs in their own territories, possessing financial, military, judicial and administrative powers.
The shogun and the samurai class formed a relationship between monarch and minister, master and subordinate through the division and granting of territories and lumi. The daimyo, hatamoto and imperial family members swore loyalty to the shogun for the heavy burden of public and military service. Accompanying ministers, samurai, and family members
They must also serve with loyalty to their generals and their respective "lords".
The entire ruling class is composed of shoguns, daimyo, and samurai all the way to the "Ashgaru". In order to control the daimyo across the country, the shogunate placed the kinsmen and gendai in important places in Kanto, Kinki and the East China Sea, while the outside daimyo had to move to the northeast.
, Honshu Sanin, Sanyo Ryodo, Kyushu and other remote areas, the territories of each vassal were also intertwined to achieve the effect of containing each other.
After the Battle of Osaka, the shogunate established a one-country-one-city system, and all castles in the domain except the daimyo's residence were demolished.
The main financial source of the shogunate is the tribute rent exploited from the farmers in the territories directly under its jurisdiction. In addition, it controls important cities and mines across the country, monopolizes the main domestic markets: Edo, Osaka and profits from foreign trade, and concentrates the gold collected by the feudal lords.
, silver, and copper ores, as raw materials for coinage and important export commodities, gradually controlled the economic lifeline of the country.
Throughout the Tokugawa era, although the daimyo throughout the country maintained a state of separatism, the shogunate had absolute advantages in politics, economy, and military.
The shogunate formally respects the imperial family and pretends to be a general who is conferred by the emperor. The shogunate is entrusted by the imperial court. In fact, it treats the emperor as a puppet and uses it to fight against the vassal. Anyone who rebels against the shogunate can be regarded as an "enemy of the court."
to suppress.
The shogunate gave
The rice rented by the royal family and monasteries and shrines nationwide only accounts for less than 10% of the annual output of public land in the country. The royal family's annual income is only 30,000 dan, the total income of all the ministers and nobles is less than 150,000 dan, and the entire imperial court and other incomes are only 40 to 50,000 dan.
One hundred thousand stones is far less than a big prince.
Since the royal family relies on the shogunate for support, it can only obey the shogunate's orders in everything and please the shogunate.
And this also caused serious opposition and even irreconcilable conflicts between the daimyo and the shogunate in various places, and between the shogunate and the imperial family.
When Ding Yunyi figured this out, a comprehensive plan to deal with Japan had been formed in his mind...
Japan, sooner or later, will be in its own hands. It will take advantage of contradictions and intensify them at the same time, and finally achieve what it wants! (To be continued. Registered members of Piaotian Literature recommend this work.