"Tang goods came from the West, prospered Nagasaki, and harvested the gold of the entire Japan."
"If this continues, it will be extremely detrimental to the court."
The huge castle tower cost more than one million taels of gold and attracted all the princes in the world. It can be said to be the number one building in Japan.
Although it does not have the splendor and splendor of Chinese characteristics, the white and green structure, coupled with a little cherry blossom red embellishment, makes it full of luxury with Japanese characteristics.
In the Honmaru, a small pavilion, the general Tokugawa Ietsuna sat on it, and the elders and clan members knelt on both sides. The atmosphere was solemn and solemn.
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the pavilion became a little subtle.
Because they met the vassal regulations signed with the Ming Dynasty, the majestic general who conquered the barbarians became the king of Japan. This was regarded as a shame by everyone in Japan.
It is precisely because of this that the outflow of silver and gold began to accelerate.
General Tokugawa Ietsuna's eyes moved on the faces of the retainers. After a moment of silence, he said: "Aizu Marquis, do you have any ideas?"
Hoshina Masaru understood the Aizu domain, so he was called Aizuhou. Of course, because Japan is different from China, his honorific title could even be His Highness.
"Shogun!" Masayuki Hoshina sighed: "Back then, Shogun secluded himself in the country. In addition to suppressing the invasion of the Southern Barbarians and closing the vassal country, the main purpose was also to reduce the outflow of gold and silver."
"Now that the country's gates are open, there are no southern barbarians, but people from the Ming Dynasty are pouring in. If we want to curb the outflow, I have no choice but to resume seclusion."
Crash--
As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.
If the country is closed to the outside world, it will violate the regulations, and the Ming army may come over.
"It is really not advisable to put the imperial court into danger just for a little gold and silver."
Senior Matsudaira Nobutsuna shook his head quickly and stopped this idea.
The other pro-vassal ministers present also nodded in agreement.
The age of peace and prosperity has been too long, who wants to experience war?
"What can I do?" Tokugawa Ietsuna sighed, his face extremely helpless.
Sakai Tadakatsu said helplessly: "Tang products are rare, but domestic products are very cheap. From the perspective of the veteran, the current plan can only advocate domestic products——"
These words made everyone nod, indicating that he was experienced in planning for the country.
As long as there is no war, anything is fine.
Tokugawa Ietsuna shook his head slightly and had no hope for this idea.
If you ask him to use low-quality Japanese silk instead of brocade silk, he will never get used to it.
At the same time, should you eat sweets? Do you need porcelain? What about books? You have to read!
As for the exports, there are only a few items such as screens, paper fans, and Japanese knives, which together are not as much as the imported porcelain.
At this time, Hoshina Masayuki said with a smile: "Unexpectedly, Nagasaki's taxes have continued to increase over the years. After the Meireli fire, it was of great benefit to the imperial government's finances."
"It is estimated that Nagasaki will receive 400,000 taels this year, and the imperial court's deficit will be greatly improved."
The so-called Meiretsu Fire refers to an extremely large fire that occurred in Edo Castle in 1657, which is extremely exaggerated in the entire world.
The daimyo yashiki, the town administrative office, and even the Honmaru Palace and the castle in Edo Castle were successively engulfed by fire. The Ninomaru and Sannomaru in the palace were also almost completely destroyed. Only the Nishinomaru was still intact, so Ie Tsuna
The only option is to evacuate to Nishinomaru.
The fire burned from the afternoon of the 18th to around 8:00 on the 20th. The fire caused the destruction of 60% of the buildings in Edo.
It burned as many as 100,000 people to death.
Countless people were disabled by burns.
According to statistics, the Honmaru alone used 930,000 taels of silver to build houses for the samurai, and used 10,000 guang of gold (usually 7.5 jin), and the treasury was completely empty.
You should know that the Tokugawa shogunate's financial revenue can be roughly divided into annual tribute, rice, three years of service, transportation and small general expenses.
The annual tax collected by the shogunate is about 500,000 to 800,000 shi, 300,000 to 600,000 taels of gold, and 20,000 guan of silver (usually 7.5 jin).
The total is about four million taels of silver.
And Nagasaki's 400,000 taels a year is enough to pay the annual tribute from the shogunate's Tenlords, which is really remarkable.
Such huge numbers and contributions made everyone nod and smile.
The shogunate's life was getting better, and they, the vassals, were naturally comfortable.
At this time, no one mentioned the Tang goods thing anymore.
If Tang products are banned, Nagasaki's fiscal revenue will plummet. Who can bear this?
At this time, Japan was like the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the 20th century. Agricultural taxes were at their peak and reparations were incalculable. However, due to the customs controlled by the British, their customs revenue increased sharply, and they even had the leisure to prepare to reorganize their navy.
It is precisely because of the financial wealth that all local governments relied on its allocations, and even the central power was able to gather some power, and the Southeast Mutual Guarantee of the Xinchou Years was no longer there.
The interdependence of blessings and misfortunes is indeed wonderful.
…
Here, King Qin drove away from Tianjin and headed south, finally arriving in Saigon.
After nearly two months of ups and downs, he finally landed in Annan.
At this time, as the general leading the army, Zhu Jing greeted him with a smile and directly announced the good news:
"Your Highness, take down Champa."
"Really?" King Qin was overjoyed and felt unbelievable.
I only went to the grassland once, and then went to Beijing to celebrate the New Year. Within half a year, I captured Champa, which was really shocking.
You must know that although the Champa Kingdom at this time had become a vassal of Annan, it had more than half a million people and tens of thousands of troops under its jurisdiction.
As for the Ming army? There were only ten thousand people, and they had to garrison in Saigon, so their strength was even more meager.
"Of course." Zhu Jing helped him off the boat and told the story calmly and confidently.
With only 5,000 musketeers, they defeated the main force of Champa in one fell swoop. Then the cavalry took advantage of the situation to cover the city and rushed in. It took half a day to capture Champa.
"The area occupied by the city is several times that of Saigon. Although the palace city is a bit narrow, as long as it is expanded, it can be used as a palace."
"General Zhu——" King Qin was quite moved: "I never thought that you could conquer such a large area just by relying on one dry season."
"It's just that I won't go to Champa." King Qin smiled slightly and pointed at Saigon in front of him: "This is the most convenient place."
When Zhu Jing heard this, she smiled slightly and felt satisfied in her heart.
After such temptation, it seems that King Qin remained rational as always.
Yes, although the population at this time was larger, the city was more luxurious, and there were palaces built over hundreds of years, but don't forget that this was newly occupied land.
More importantly, it is adjacent to Annan.
Although the Ming army at this time was powerful and no one had to be afraid, Annan was in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, so keeping a low profile and being cautious was king.
King Qin said seriously:
"I will definitely report it to Your Majesty and boast about your achievements."
"This is the duty that a minister should do."
Zhu Jing smiled modestly.
Soon the two of them walked into Saigon City.
Saigon is only a short two hundred miles away from Champa. It once belonged to the Khmer Kingdom, but later it gradually broke away due to its location.
Now that it is occupied by the King of Qin, it is naturally extraordinary.
The entire city wall is made of rammed earth, not any bricks or stones. It can be said to be extremely simple.
But it is precisely because of this that manufacturing is convenient and fast, and the expansion was completed in just two months.
After half a year of construction, Saigon has changed drastically.
The entire street is square, with seven vertical and horizontal directions and a tic-shaped structure, and in the center is a palace city built of bricks and stones.
It is about three feet high, and its distinctive red door is covered with copper nails, showing the owner's attentiveness.
In front of the palace city, there is a bottomless trench with a width of more than five feet. It is already filled with water, making people feel frightened.
"Your Highness, during your absence, in addition to using troops to occupy the city, I also urged the local people to build the palace city——"
"It's just a temporary palace, there's no need to focus too much on it."
"Your Highness, although this is just your palace, it is our base camp."
Zhu Jing explained softly: "Now with the expansion of the territory, the population controlled by Saigon alone has exceeded 100,000, and a large number of businessmen have poured into the city."
"Under such circumstances, if you scatter your army among the crowd, it will be like ink falling into a stream and disappearing."
"So the general feels that all the main forces should be placed in your palace at this time. This will not only ensure your safety, but also maintain the leadership of the army."
"You should have thought carefully." King Qin sighed, having to admire Zhu Jing's ability.
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness." Zhu Jing raised her head slightly, puffed out her chest, and continued: "Besides, the barbarians fear power but not virtue. Only the magnificent palace can make them look up."
"you're right."
The suspension bridge was lowered and King Qin entered the palace.
It looks gorgeous on the outside, but it's quite simple on the inside.
The houses are arranged like eight trigrams, densely packed but orderly.
In the middle, a towering building comes into view.
"I'm afraid that's the palace, right?"
King Qin praised.
"Your Highness, that is the Confucian Temple——"
Zhu Jing said with some embarrassment: "Your palace is in the nearby row. Buildings that are too tall are very dangerous and quite obstructive for you."
The most visible one is always the first target.
King Qin nodded again at this time and repeated: "You'd better think carefully."
In a sense, this group of people came to Saigon to expand their rule based on the army.
In Western terms, it is armed colonization.
Of course, in the eyes of the people headed by the King of Qin, they were like the princes who were enfeoffed to various parts of the world in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, like Duke Zhou's Lu State.
Civilize the barbarians and submit them to China.
This is their slogan.
In this case, what is more admirable than Confucius?
Walking in the palace, the soldiers patrolling along the way saluted respectfully. When they arrived at the palace, King Qin became clearer about this.
An ordinary five-entry courtyard.
In the Ming Dynasty, even ordinary wealthy businessmen were inferior.
Although some of the maids and servants who serve are brought from the Ming Dynasty, most of them are locals, and their appearance is hard to describe.
"Let's go to the Confucius Temple to worship first!"
King Qin turned around, his face full of seriousness.
The grandeur of the Confucius Temple is beyond words, and what surprised him most was the statue of Confucius.
He turned his head and looked at Zhu Jing.
"Your Highness, I noticed that the city was occupied and Saigon was occupied, so I specially asked someone to carve it to create a positive outlook for the people."
Zhu Jing explained in detail.
It turns out that unlike Annam, Saigon, near Champa, and closer to the sea, has been influenced by the Peace Religion and Hinduism, and its beliefs are quite confusing.
For example, the Kingdom of Champa is one of the few Hindu countries where the state religion is Shiva.
In this case, other handicraft industries in this area are relatively backward, but the carving technology is one of the best, especially the gods, which can be said to be superb.
In this way, if we follow the tradition and erect a statue of Confucius, it will be a matter of course.
"I decided to patrol Saigon and Champa."
Although I have considerable trust in Zhu Jing, I can't help but feel disgusted and even fearful of her such overbearing behavior.
Therefore, all King Qin could think of was to establish prestige.
The first step to establish your own prestige is to let most of the people and the army know you.
"Your Highness is wise." Zhu Jing quickly understood its purpose, but he still agreed without any hesitation.
His ambition was not to Qin, but to use it as a stepping stone to climb to the higher peaks of Ming Dynasty.
So he didn't take the slightest bit of prestige and power to heart.
The next day, King Qin was riding in the royal carriage, or should I say it should be called an elephant carriage, that had been brought earlier.
The emperor only had large chariots, jade chariots, large horse chariots, small horse chariots, step chariots, etc., but no gold chariot.
Because the golden chariot is the crown prince’s first chariot.
Compared with the prince's chariot, the height of King Qin's carriage is six inches shorter, the width is one foot shorter, and the length of the shaft is one foot shorter than that of the prince's chariot.
Of course, the seat cushion is the same height as the emperor, and the decoration inside is also the same.
A long pavilion-style carriage with curtains hanging on all sides.
There is also a screen behind the seats in the pavilion, and the teeth, spokes, fenders and railings of the wheels are all inlaid with gilt copper decorations.
The curtains, hanging belts and seat cushions are all embroidered with clouds, dragons, phoenixes and other embroidery patterns, and the decoration is extremely gorgeous.
The chair was made of red woven gold embroidery and the cushions were surrounded by red curtains. Sitting on it, King Qin felt that this was the real prince.
There were about a thousand people in Lu Bo and ceremonial guards around him. They were the guards of Prince Qin's palace and were responsible for protecting him.
Of course, this was also brought by King Qin from Chahar, the mainland of Ming Dynasty.
A huge ceremonial guard was driving on the road, and the people on both sides had to kneel down and kowtow, not daring to raise their heads.
Through the window screen, King Qin glanced at the group of dark natives and had mixed feelings for a moment:
I actually regret it?
It's not even close to Saigon, and its radius is only a few hundred miles, which is equivalent to the entire Ming Dynasty.
The villages are extremely poor. Most of them are bamboo houses with thatched roofs and bamboo joints. Pigs are raised below and people live on top, which is very convenient.
But at the same time, their faces are sallow, their bodies are short, and most importantly, they are very thin.
After further questioning, it turned out that in Saigon, Zhu Jing spent most of the time fighting, and at most he controlled Saigon City, and the order was still maintained as before.
In other words, the vast rural areas are still paying heavy taxes and are exploited by the village heads, that is, the big landowners.
At the same time, a large number of Shiva temples are also widely distributed.
Farmers not only had to pay money to their fields and the court, but also had to support temple monks. Even in Saigon, where crops were harvested three times a year, their lives were extremely difficult.