Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 220 Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's ridicule, has Zhu Hongwu changed his personality? [Please subscribe]

Japan, Muromachi, Kyoto.

Because the residence of the Shogun was moved here in 1378, the Ashikaga Shogunate is now also called the Muromachi Shogunate.

In the study of Muromachi Palace, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who was only twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, was kneeling with an upright posture and a serious expression. He did not look like the monk Ikkyu that later generations knew.

Although Ashikaga Yoshimitsu succeeded the Shogun at the age of eleven, the power of the shogunate was monopolized by the Hosokawa clan. However, since he married and took power ten years ago, he not only gradually regained the power of the Shogun, but also served as the Gon Dainagon and the Left Minister.

Last year, he served as the elder of the Genji clan and concurrently served as the Ryobetsu of the Junwa Sho Gakuin. He was awarded the title of "Jun Sanko" and became the leader of both the court nobles and the samurai. It can be said that he has been blessed with all the power aura of the current Japanese court.

Later, he established his own Zen practice center, Luyuanyuan, within Xiangguo Temple. He appointed the abbot of the abbey as the successive monk registrar, in charge of the Five Mountains and Ten Temples, as well as various streams (Buddhist temples), and in charge of personnel affairs.

As a result, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu actually controlled Japan's temple system.

Although he is not yet thirty years old, his power and prestige far exceed those of his father and grandfather, the Shogun!

Because he ascended the throne at a young age and grew up under the control of the Hosokawa clan in the shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu developed a cautious and steady character.

Therefore, after concentrating the power of the Northern Dynasty in his own hands, he was not thinking about how to unify the north and the south as soon as possible, but how to further consolidate the power he had already grasped.

While Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was thinking about how to consolidate his power, a retainer bowed outside and walked in.

"General, Lord So of Tsushima Domain sent a secret letter to me from his family."

"Muneki Shigeru?"

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu muttered something and took the secret letter handed over by the attendant.

After opening the secret letter and reading it, he frowned deeply.

Then he ordered: "Go and invite the captain."

"Hayi!"

A servant responded and left. Not long after, a young man who was a few years older than Ashikaga Yoshimitsu walked in. This man was the current Kanrei of the Muromachi shogunate, Sasaki Yoshimasa.

In the "Kangli Coup" several years ago, Sasaki Yoshimasa led the Sasaki clan and made great efforts to overthrow the powerful shogunate official Hosokawa Yoriyuki. After serving as Kanrei, he was recruited by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu as his right-hand man.

After paying his respects to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Sasaki Yoshimasa respectfully asked, "I wonder what the General wants me to do?"

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu directly handed over the secret letter from Muneshige.

After reading the secret letter, Yoshimasa Sasaki was shocked and said, "I never thought that the Ming navy had been traveling north through Japan for the past six months in search of the elixir of immortality for the Hongwu Emperor."

Although Japan was now divided between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the Muromachi shogunate was focused on internal affairs, it still had a navy, and many fishermen went out to sea to fish. The Ming navy passed through the West Sea (Sea of ​​Japan) several times, and naturally the Muromachi shogunate could not hide this.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu said calmly, "I've read a lot of Chinese history books since I was young. I knew how much the Chinese emperors sought immortality and dreamed of ruling over such a vast country. How ridiculous!"

"As for sending people out to sea to search for immortals and the elixir of life, Qin Shi Huang did it, as did Emperor Wu of Han. It's even said that Emperor Taizong of Tang had this intention, but was ultimately dissuaded."

"From this it can be seen that all the emperors of China who were talented and ambitious had the delusion of immortality."

"It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang was originally a commoner, yet he rose to prominence at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, expelled the Mongols and established the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, he can be considered a man of great talent and strategy."

"This person should be in his fifties or sixties now, very old. It's normal for him to be reluctant to give up his power and to dream of immortality."

Sasaki Yoshimasa frowned and said, "If he wants to find the elixir, he can just send people to find it. Why does he have to occupy Tsushima? I'm afraid the reason is not as simple as Munetsugu Shigeki said in his letter."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu gave a slightly sarcastic smile, "Of course it's not that simple. On the surface, it's to protect his immortal journey, but in reality, he wants to seize the opportunity to occupy Tsushima and carry out the unfinished work of the Mongols."

Sasaki Yoshimasa's expression suddenly became serious. "General, are you saying that the Ming Dynasty wants to imitate the Mongols and cross the sea to attack Japan?"

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu nodded, "It is possible."

Thinking of the current situation in Japan, Sasaki Yoshimasa panicked and asked, "What should we do then? The Southern Dynasty has not yet been resolved. If the Ming army attacks in large numbers, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to defeat them with the whole country's strength like the Kamakura shogunate did."

"Why are you panicking?" Ashikaga Yoshimitsu chided him. "Even if the Ming wanted to attack across the sea, it would take years to prepare. Not to mention Zhu Yuanzhang's pursuit of immortality would inevitably drain the nation's resources. Even if he wanted to conquer Japan, he might not be able to do so in the end."

Sasaki Yoshimasa nodded and said, "Then I'm afraid we can't intervene in Tsushima's affairs."

"We really can't do anything about it," Ashikaga Yoshimitsu said. "Before the Ming army actually attacks, we'd better not give them any excuses."

"Besides, the Tsushima clan used to serve the Southern Dynasty, not our Northern Dynasty. Why should we care about Tsushima's affairs?"

"Tsushima Island only has military and commercial benefits, but no production. But before the shogunate unified the north and south, the shogunate had no use for Tsushima Island's military and commercial benefits. Why give it an excuse to cause trouble for the Ming Dynasty?"

After a pause, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu continued, "Not only can we not intervene in the affairs of Tsushima Island, we must also send an embassy to Ming. First, to understand Ming's strengths and weaknesses, and second, to pretend to be a vassal of Ming."

"This way, even if the Ming Dynasty truly intends to attack, it can be delayed for a few years. During this time, this general will surely be able to wipe out the Southern Dynasty and unify the north and the south. By then, even if the Ming army truly crosses the sea to attack, we will not be afraid."

Sasaki Yoshimasa praised, "The general is naturally wise and intelligent as a god."

Then, a thought struck him, and he added, "Oh right, a while ago, fishermen in the West Sea reported seeing the Ming navy stationed on Sado Island. They've been there for quite some time, and it seems they intend to stay there for a long time."

"Sado Island?" Ashikaga Yoshimitsu frowned. "This island is just a place for exile of criminals. There are no people and no production. However, it is much closer to Kyoto than Tsushima Island."

"So, send dozens of warships back to the West Sea to patrol the coast and monitor the movements of the Ming troops on Sado Island, to prevent them from crossing eastward and attacking from there."

"Ha Yi!"
···
It was late November.

The Pingxu section of the railway, which began to be repaired after the Xudan section of the railway was opened, has finally completed its repair work.

Although it will take some time before the railway opens to traffic, with the opening of some carriages of the Xudan section of the railway to the public for riding and transporting goods some time ago, public discussion on railway transportation has become increasingly heated.

Some far-sighted gentry and businessmen have already foreseen that once the Pingxu section of the railway is opened, railway transportation will surely bring a lot of business opportunities and profits.

Among the gentry and merchants of Jiangnan, Zhili, a rumor, whose authenticity was unclear, had recently spread: the imperial court was planning to "cooperate" with the private sector to establish a railway transportation company and make money together.

This sounds extremely strange - since ancient times, when the imperial court needed money and food, it would directly ask for it from the people, or even rob them. When has it ever been seen that the imperial court distributed the benefits to the people?
So most people just regarded this as a rumor and laughed it off.

Gu Chongli, a Suzhou gentry, landlord and wealthy businessman and head of the Gu family, also believed that this was a rumor.

But when he returned home that day, he saw his wife, Li, saying mysteriously, "Master, I went to the Shen family today to inquire, and they did buy shares in that company."

"The Shen family said that it was because they, the Shen family, contributed the most money and grain among the wealthy families in Suzhou that they were able to obtain the qualification to purchase the shares in advance."

At this point, Li couldn't help but complain, "Master, when the court was building the city, our Gu family contributed money and grain, not much less than the Shen family. The court sold shares to the Shen family but not to our Gu family. This is not fair."

Gu Chongli frowned and asked, "Who did you hear this from?"

Li said, "Of course it's Wang, the wife of Mr. Shen. I have no relationship with the second or third wives of the Shen family."

Gu Chongli pondered, "So, is it true that the imperial court is planning to cooperate with private tycoons to establish a railway transportation company?"

"It must be true. There's no way Wang could have lied to me about this."

"But why did that person change his personality?" Gu Chongli was puzzled.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang levied heavy taxes on Suzhou, the people of Suzhou secretly hated him. Although it is not as serious as it was later, when the people of Suzhou mention Zhu Yuanzhang, they do not call him "Hongwu Emperor" like the people in the capital, but mostly refer to him as that person.

Li smiled and said, "Didn't that person change his personality a year or two ago? Otherwise, how could Master's business be so prosperous now?"

Anyway, at home, Gu Chongli didn't have so many concerns. He snorted, "No matter how easy it is, it won't be as enjoyable as it was before."

Li continued, "I heard from Wang that the reason the imperial court wanted to partner with a wealthy private citizen on this business was mainly to use the private citizen's money to build the railway."

"It's said that the money for building the railway is not a small amount. Even if that person is ruthless, he can't just rob people, and forcing the people to donate is definitely not an option."

"So, we're selling a small portion of the company's shares. This will both raise funds and allow wealthy families like the Shen family, who have made contributions to the court, to profit as well."

Gu Chongli asked doubtfully, "Does the Shen family really think that railway can make money?"

Li asked in reply, "Didn't you say, Master, that if we built more railways and opened them up to the public, we would surely make a lot of money?"

Gu Chongli was stunned for a moment, then said: "I did say that."

Then he fell into deep thought.

That railway passes through Suzhou. Although the train currently only goes to Danyang, when the railway to Shanghai is completed in the future, Suzhou will also be able to enjoy the convenience of railway transportation.

Gu Chongli once went to Danyang to see the train. One train could indeed carry a lot of things, and there was no risk of capsizing and losing goods like by water, and the consumption on the road was not as great as by land.

It is said that the train only needs to burn coal, and a certain amount of coal is enough for one trip. The transportation cost is much lower than that of a horse-drawn carriage.

If the imperial court sincerely cooperates with wealthy private households, builds more railways in the future, and opens more roads for the people to transport goods and even passengers, it will indeed be a good business.

You can even take this opportunity to establish a relationship with the imperial court, which will make other businesses go more smoothly.

Thinking of this, Gu Chongli's heart suddenly heated up, and he said to Li with a pleasant face, "Find some time to visit Wang and see if you can find out about buying shares in the railway transportation company."

Li, however, took advantage of the situation and snorted, "Doesn't the master dislike people visiting him?"

Gu Chongli stepped forward, shook Li's hand, and said gently, "I just want to accumulate more property so that I can pass it on to Lin'er in the future."

After hearing Gu Chongli mention his son, Li finally nodded and said, "Okay, I will visit Wang more often."

The communication between Gu Chongli and his first wife, Li, is just a microcosm of what happened to many gentry and wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan after they learned that the railway company was selling shares to a small number of wealthy private households.

Although some people still had doubts about this matter, most of the gentry and wealthy families were influenced by greed and wanted to take advantage of the court and participate in the lucrative business of railway transportation...
···
night.

Capital.

It was already past ten o'clock, and the lights in Liu's mansion were still on, and many people gathered in the small courtyard where Su Caiwei lived.

"Second Madam, push harder, push harder."

"Ah~"

Hearing Su Caiwei's screams in the delivery room, which seemed to be at the end of her breath, Liu Kuan could not help but pace back and forth, feeling extremely anxious.

　First update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)