Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 194: Tsushima Island Smuggling Trade

"Oh my god, the gold and silver I got were all given to the Portuguese before I could even warm them up!" Qi Yongze felt extremely painful as he watched box after box of gold and silver being carried onto the two Portuguese ships.

Over the past half month, immigrant fleets have arrived one after another, bringing not only thousands of immigrants to be transported, but also a large amount of supplies and food to their Linhai Fort.

On August 8, the two immigrant ships "Polang" and "Zhengtu" arrived at Linhai. They left behind two captured Japanese ships and a large amount of gold, silver, food and other supplies, and exchanged some immigrants. Without staying for too long, they set sail and headed for the Xinzhou continent in a hurry.

On August 8, "Kaituo", "Kaiyuan" and "Qishun (ordered by Guangzhou Shipyard)" also arrived in Linhai with six Portuguese ships and two Ming Dynasty Fu ships.

The fleet carried a total of more than 3,000 people. When they landed to rest, they immediately filled the small Linhai Fort.

Of course, not all of these people will be transported to Qiming Island. At least more than a thousand people will be temporarily stranded in Linhai, waiting for transportation next year.

Because there are only four Portuguese ships accompanying the immigrant fleet to Qiming Island. The other two will turn around and sail to Nagasaki, Japan after unloading the immigrants to participate in the resumed Portuguese-Japanese trade.

Yes, when the Portuguese lowered their stance and continuously asked the shogunate for permission to trade, the Tokugawa clan finally showed their "magnanimity" and relaxed the ban on Portuguese trade in Japan.

However, in order to limit the Portuguese's contact with the Japanese people, they were only allowed to send two merchant ships to Nagasaki each year.

If the Portuguese dare to preach privately again or seduce and mislead the Japanese people, the shogunate will impose the most severe punishment, and may even permanently ban the Portuguese from trading in Japan.

Although the official "isolation order" had not yet been issued, the Tokugawa shogunate was constantly tightening its foreign trade policy to consolidate the "central authority" it had established.

As long as the Tokugawa shogunate had complete control over foreign trade in its own hands, it would be able to cut off the local daimyo's opportunities for foreign trade, thereby weakening their financial resources.

You know, under the silk-cutting system, the shogunate made huge profits by reselling raw silk, which greatly enriched the finances of the Tokugawa clan.

If restrictions on the scale of trade between "foreign barbarians" and Japan are not increased, many local daimyos will inevitably engage in secret trade with them through various means, which will not only damage the economic interests of the Tokugawa family, but also increase their own strength in disguise.

All of this was something the Tokugawa shogunate absolutely did not want to see.

Furthermore, one of the core tasks of the Tokugawa shogunate during this period was to restore the authority of the central institutions and accelerate the construction of a centralized "feudal system."

The European Christian civilization, which was very different from Confucian civilization, entered Japan along with the trading ships. It obviously did not help the Tokugawa clan to complete the above tasks, and even played a considerable hindrance role.

In the eyes of the shogunate, these "foreigners" were not doing business properly, but were spreading Catholicism. They were purely disrupting social order and undermining the foundation of the shogunate's rule, and they must be restricted and controlled.

After receiving stern warnings from the Tokugawa shogunate, the Portuguese repeatedly assured that they would abide by the shogunate's ban on religion, would not bring missionaries into the country smuggled, and would not contact ordinary Japanese people and disrupt local order.

The Portuguese in Macau were extremely excited after the resumption of trade.

While transporting a large amount of Ming Dynasty goods to Nagasaki, Japan, they can also pick up a group of immigrants needed by Xinzhou Huaxia in Guangzhou and transport them to the transit point they built, thereby earning a considerable amount of freight.

Compared with before, trade profits increased by at least 40%, and it didn't take very long. It was simply an extra wealth bestowed upon them by God.

Of course, they didn't dare to ask for a high price for such a short-distance transport mission, as they had many competitors. Those Ming merchants, due to the size of their ships and their experience in ocean voyages, might not be able to cross the vast Pacific Ocean to the American continent for the time being.

But it was no difficulty for them to travel to Japan, the East Indies and the Malay Peninsula.

The immigration transit point established by the Chinese people in Xinzhou in northern Japan is not far from the Ming Dynasty. With someone to guide them, Ming merchant ships can easily sail here.

Under such circumstances, the Portuguese naturally could not extort a lot of money from the Chinese in Xinzhou, and could only help them transport people according to the price of twenty taels of silver per immigrant quoted by those Ming merchants.

After unloading the immigrants, Linhai Fort immediately carried out more than 13,000 taels of silver and more than 1,200 furs to pay for the immigration costs of the Portuguese and Ming Dynasty merchants.

As a result, although this year's immigration season can leave more than a thousand people in Linhai Fort, making the local population exceed two thousand, greatly enhancing the strength of this transit point, it also almost consumes their accumulated gold and silver.

Without local financial support, short-distance immigration activities here may not be able to be maintained next year.

"You can trade with Japan and Korea through Tsushima. Over the course of a year, you should be able to earn at least 10,000 to 20,000 silver coins," said She Zhiliang, the fleet's temporary commander (formerly the mechanical and electrical instructor on the Breaking Waves), with a smile. "That should be enough to cover the costs of the thousand or so immigrants."

"Also, the cotton cloth, sugar, grain, spices, and other supplies shipped from the Ming Dynasty can be traded with the indigenous people on and around the island. The furs you obtain can then be resold to Ming merchants, generating a considerable income that can offset the financial deficit of your Linhai Fort. You're still in the development phase, with little economic activity. Even without significant gold and silver reserves, you can still manage to survive."

"But if the Daima clan refuses to engage in smuggling trade with us, we will be in trouble," Qi Yongze said worriedly.

"No one in this world would be against real money," She Zhiliang said. "Since the Tsushima clan was willing to serve two masters, they must be adaptable and adaptable. Think about it, Tsushima Island's natural environment is mostly mountainous and rocky, and the land is extremely barren, barely producing a few bushels of grain. Aside from fishing and hunting for mountain products, there's really no other way to make money."

"Otherwise, Tsushima, as a foreign daimyo of Japan, would have secretly paid tribute to the Kingdom of Korea in the name of a vassal. Isn't it just to make more money? Through those captured Tsushima merchants, we have learned a little about their situation. To consolidate their rule, maintain the feudal system, and support their vassals and thousands of people, the So clan would do anything."

"Smuggling is nothing to them! Trading with North Korea requires kowtow and flattery to earn a few hard-earned cents. If we can provide goods produced in North Korea or even the Ming Dynasty, and at a more favorable price, believe it or not, they will absolutely cut off the tribute trade with North Korea and cooperate with us instead."

"I hope so." Qi Yongze breathed a sigh of relief and said with a wry smile, "I originally thought that Wei Zhonglong and I would only need to carry out colonization and construction work in Hokkaido, endure some hardships and spend some energy, but I didn't expect that we would also have to find ways to earn money to support our family and work hard to raise funds for immigration transportation."

"Haha..." She Zhiliang smiled, patted his shoulder, and said comfortingly: "It can't be helped. It's because we have a weak foundation and a poor basis, and we are extremely short of useful talents. Just hold on for a few more years, and when our strength grows to a certain scale, the next generation we train will be able to take over. By then, we won't have to work so hard and do everything."

"Oh, speaking of talent development, we've brought seven teenagers from Guangzhou this time. Well, while we call them teenagers, they're all around seventeen or eighteen years old, which makes them adults at this age. You need to show them more care and give them more internship opportunities, so they can become your right-hand men."

"Meng Shengxin and Zhong Minghui taught them for more than four years. Through continuous teaching and example, their thinking patterns, as well as their initial outlook on life and values, have been deeply imprinted with our influence. They can now be considered one of our own."

"If so, if you put them through a rigorous internship, they should gradually grow into the most reliable grassroots management personnel. This way, you will also be able to deal with many issues such as managing a rapidly increasing population and building a stronghold after expansion."

"I thought Instructor Meng and his colleagues were living a life of luxury in Guangzhou, enjoying the company of beautiful women," Qi Yongze exclaimed with genuine admiration. "But I never imagined they would not only actively recruit immigrants and craftsmen, but also find time within their busy schedules to train and educate such a talented group of students. We are truly impressed by their ability!"

"Of course, we will teach and help these young people carefully so that they can grow into independent talents in a few years."

"After more than ten years of hard work, the children on Qiming Island have grown up and become talents. We now have a large number of people available." She Zhiliang's face was full of anticipation.

(End of this chapter)