In Japan, the capital, Suwo family residence, the powerful minister Suwo Mazi talked with Zhang Yu, the visiting "five-masted ship owner". The two are old acquaintances, so they have no extra polite words. They just get to the topic and talk about the current situation.

It is now winter, and this year, the cooperation between Japan and Zhou Guo (Maicrosoft and Beiyang Trading Company) has been very pleasant as ever, with bilateral trade volume increasing by 50% compared with the previous year, and the prospects are bright.

Tea, silk, cloth, fragrant medicine, sugar, paper, books, iron pots, and various handicraft products from the Central Plains are very popular among people of all walks of life in Japan.

The gold, silver, various seafood and sulfur produced in Japan are also goods that Zhou State needs in large quantities.

Among them, the demand for sulfur grew the fastest, because Zhou Guo’s textile industry and papermaking industry used sulfur to bleach textiles and paper, so the amount of sulfur was very large (another important use was gunpowder).

For Japan, sulfur mining is comparable to mining, and silver is much more convenient and the output is much more abundant.

Therefore, sulfur became the most promising goods in bilateral trade. Japan relied on sulfur to exchange a large amount of daily necessities from Zhou (Beiyang Trading Company).

A "big project" for cooperation between the two countries has achieved remarkable results this year: the two sides' strategy for the northern island of Japan, the Essay Land, was very smooth.

The large number of captured Essians (also known as Mao people) have added a lot of labor to the manors and mines of the Japanese nobles. Because this is a real benefit, Suwo Mazi has received more and more support.

Even the old nobles began to soften their positions. In many not-so-important governments, they no longer chose to confront Su Imazi.

Su We and Ma Zi are very satisfied with this, so the "slave hunting" matters in the coming year must be strengthened. He must negotiate with Zhang Yu, who is absolutely keeping his word before the end of this year.

Secondly, in the "Kanto Region" occupied by the Emirati, the Japanese imperial court must make practical progress, which requires the help of Zhou (Beiyang Trading Company).

The island of Japan is a long and narrow island with east-west direction. The area actually controlled by the Japanese imperial court is the western half, while the eastern half of the island is occupied by the Eurasians. The two sides are in the same situation and it is impossible to shake hands and make peace.

At the east-west junction, there are several passes established by the Japanese state, so the areas actually controlled by the Japanese court are called "Kansai", and the places occupied by the Essays are called "Kanto".

How to expand the territory to Kanto is a concern for the Japanese kings of all dynasties, but the terrain of the Kanto region is complex and the Essay tribes are numerous, so the expansion of the Kanto region has not been very progressive.

Now, Su We and Mazi decided to use the power of Zhou State (Beiyang Trading Company) to use troops to fight against the Kanto region next time, the army took sea routes, bypassed the heavily defended land areas of the Hokkien, and landed directly in the coastal area behind it.

Build a fortress at the landing point, and then use this as a stronghold to launch an attack on the Eurasians so that the head and tail cannot be taken into consideration.

This idea requires a strong navy as a support. It is difficult for the Japanese navy to take on major tasks, so Su and Mazi want to rely on Zhou Guo (Beiyang Trading Company).

Zhou's sea ships acted as transport ships to transport personnel and supplies to Japan. Because the Estuary basically does not have decent warships, this matter is actually not very risky, and the fleet only needs to be wary of sea storms.

At the same time, Japan needed a large number of excellent armor and weapons to arm soldiers in order to gain a greater advantage in fighting against the Hokkien. These armor and weapons were hoped to be purchased from the Zhou Kingdom.

In response to this, Zhang Yu said that there was no problem in principle, but the specific details must be negotiated by relevant company personnel in Japan.

The next issue is the most critical: Japan plans to send envoys to Zhou, and related matters need to be communicated with Zhou in advance in order to achieve satisfaction between both sides.

It is normal for the two countries to interact. Before, Japan had sent envoys to Zhou, but now the situation is somewhat different.

The Zhou Kingdom has unified the Central Plains and is strong. So what kind of appropriate identity should the Japanese envoys conduct official exchanges?

How should the Japanese side call Emperor Zhou?

And how should the king of Japan claim to himself?

If the Zhou Kingdom sends envoys to Japan, how will Japan receive the envoys? Should the King of Japan come out to welcome him and kneel down to receive the letter of Zhou, or should the envoys of Zhou transfer the letter of the country to Japanese officials in the capital?

For Zhou, Japan is a "small country" and naturally does not have the right to be on an equal footing. Japan also understands this point and does not dare to expect anything. It just wants to get Zhou's title in a more decent way.

Based on domestic political considerations, Suwo Mazi hopes that the envoy's mission to Chang'an will be able to get a decent title for the King of Japan without being overly "descended".

After all, the two countries are now in a very tacit silence period, and all official exchanges are carried out through the Maritime Bureau and Beiyang Trading Company, so we can avoid the sensitive question of "Is Japan a vassal state of Zhou Guofan?"

If so, it means that the replacement of the throne of the Japanese king must be recognized by the Zhou Kingdom (canonized). As for the current situation in Japan, whoever dares to promote this matter will be in trouble.

Therefore, the etiquette and the wording of the letter of the country during the interaction between the two countries became the key.

Su and Ma Zi certainly did not dare to anger the emperor of Zhou, but he also hoped that the Zhou State could give the King of Japan a decent way to "face".

To put it bluntly, Su, I and Ma Zi strongly advocate that the two countries send envoys to win a decent title for the King of Japan. Once this matter is completed successfully, as a promoter, he can take the opportunity to gain reputation.

But in order to avoid political enemies finding excuses to attack him and "insult the king", we must communicate with Zhou State in advance to see what the tone is.

Zhang Yu was not an official of the Ministry of Rites of Zhou, but as the confidant of the Zhou emperor, Su I and Ma Zi knew that he could use Zhang Yu to communicate with the Zhou emperor to see if he could get the best of both worlds.

Only when both sides have discussed the details will Japan officially send envoys.

If it is really difficult to deal with, then maintain the status quo. The two sides can only carry out bilateral trade silently. For formal official exchanges, let’s talk about it later.

For this reason, Su and Mazi wrote a handwritten letter, asking Zhang Yu to convey it on his behalf, and submitted it to the emperor of Zhou.

Zhang Yu couldn't get into this matter and could only serve as a messenger to run errands. When he came to Japan this time, he also brought Su Ima Mazi's letter to his niece.

When Empress Yuchi’s younger brother Yuchi Jiade lived in Hakto, Japan, he was the niece of Suma Mazi as his concubine. Suma Ma’s family gave birth to a male child for Yuchi Jiade. Now the family is in Yecheng, Xiangzhou, Central Plains, and the former King of Shu guards the tomb.

Su Wo's handwritten letter was handed over by Zhang Yu to Su Wo Mazi. When Zhang Yu returns to the Central Plains, he will bring back the reply letter from Su Wo's father.

And Su I and Ma Zi have one more thing, and want to find out what he is saying through Zhang Yu, that is, when a large-scale war broke out between Baekje and Silla, what attitude should the President Zhou take?

Should we mediate in the center or help one of them (Silla)?

As a person who has experienced many years of political struggle, Su Mu Ma Zi certainly knows that it is difficult to get the correct answer to this kind of question, but he still has to ask, because he must get the real answer as much as possible in order to gain the upper hand in future court discussions.

Baekje and Japan have close ties. Not to mention that Baekje and Silla are enemies, Japan and Silla are also in a state of trouble. Once a war breaks out between Baekje and Silla, Japan will definitely stand on Baekje’s side.

If necessary, I will send troops.

In Japan, whoever makes a wrong choice on this issue will be in trouble. Even if it is powerful, it will be betrayal of relatives.

The problem is that once Silla asks for help from Zhou State, Zhou State's decision will determine where the situation in Haidong will develop.

Su I-Mazi looked at Zhang Yu and said seriously: "Boss Zhang, this matter is related to our country's national policy. I need to get accurate information so as not to be taken advantage of by political enemies, and to overthrow the clan, and it will be irreversible..."
Chapter completed!