Chapter 2728

Compared with normal sales, arms business is undoubtedly more profitable, and it is easier for Haihan to exert influence on buyers through such channels. Although Zhu Zian is not familiar with the military, he also knows that in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, through certain secret channels

They spent huge sums of money to buy a lot of weapons and equipment manufactured by Haihan, but due to the lack of corresponding training methods and tactical command systems, the effect of converting these weapons and equipment into combat effectiveness was not particularly ideal.

Of course, the weapons and equipment sold by Haihan to external parties are often not models for their own use, and their combat performance is significantly different from that of the Haihan Army's own equipment. Therefore, purchasing Haihan arms does not mean that it will soon reach the same combat power as the Haihan Army.

Even though the servant armies of North Korea, Annan and other countries that are officially recognized by Haihan have the same system and equipment as Haihan, there is still a clear gap between their combat power and Haihan's army.

Although the servant army is the main customer of Haihan arms, there is also a drawback, that is, the speed of equipment updating and elimination is very slow. If there is no large-scale war, it is normal to buy a batch of weapons and use them for twenty or thirty years. For example

Although the matchlock guns exported by Haihan in the early years were lagging behind in performance, they are still being deployed in large numbers in the armies of many countries in East Asia because there is no objective demand for updating and upgrading. Therefore, it has become a modern practice to proactively find new customers and create market demand.

An important development direction of the Hai-Han arms trade in this stage.

Japan's political system, which is similar to feudal lords, currently seems to have maintained a peaceful situation for decades after the Tokugawa shogunate came to power. However, due to the unstable foundation of its rule, most areas in the country are still autonomous by separatist forces.

The situation may return to the Warring States Period before the Tokugawa Shogunate at any time.

Zhu Zian even has reason to suspect that one of Haihan's purposes in trying to stir up civil strife in Japan is to turn this place into a huge arms market. In addition to making profits, he can also take the opportunity to increase his influence on various domestic forces in Japan.

force.

Of course, while making these plans, Haihan will continue to maintain diplomatic relations with the Tokugawa Shogunate to ensure that the existing business system can operate smoothly. The main mission of this mission to Edo is also

To discuss trade-related issues with the Tokugawa Shogunate.

But perhaps the fleet visiting Edo Bay was too large, and the shogunate was obviously wary of it. It arranged a guide ship to take the fleet to the mouth of the Tama River, thirty miles south of Edo Castle, and let the fleet dock here.

temporary anchorage.

This approach is similar to the treatment the fleet received when it visited Nagasaki, but because Edo Bay is large enough, the anchorage is farther from the city, and the precautions against the fleet are fully demonstrated.

However, the mission did not raise any objection to this arrangement. The mission of the combined fleet here was not to attack Edo Castle. It could make the shogunate feel the pressure and take certain preventive measures, which would have achieved the purpose of showing off force.

There is no need to really force the opponent to send troops to Edo Bay and make the atmosphere too tense.

The only person who clearly expressed dissatisfaction with this was the North Korean general Andoseki who came to Edo with the Haihan delegation. From his own country's standpoint, he wished that the relationship between Haihan and Japan would be as tense as possible.

It's better to just have a fight, so that even if North Korea can't eat meat, it can at least drink some soup.

Of course, Andoshi also knows that the possibility of this happening is very slim, so it is necessary to show the close relationship between Korea and Haihan to the Japanese in order to deter the Japanese. But now it is arranged to be far away from Edo

Thirty miles away from the city, this makes it difficult for the few Korean warships in the combined fleet to make a sense of presence.

He could only hope that before leaving Edo, Haihan could arrange an event similar to a joint military exercise and bring the team to the vicinity of Edo Castle to show off their force, so that the trip of thousands of miles would not be in vain.

Although the shogunate was wary of the arrival of the combined fleet, it actually showed that it attached great importance to it. Therefore, the official who came to the anchorage to greet the Kaihan delegation also had a high status. He was Tadaki Sakai who served as the "old man" in the shogunate.

.This official position is almost at the top of the shogunate system, almost equivalent to the status of the six ministers, but the responsibilities and authority are broader.

Sakai Tadakiyoshi conveyed the current shogun Tokugawa Ietsuna's welcome to the Kaihan mission, and said that he would try his best to provide convenience for the mission's needs during their visit to Edo. As for the specific arrangements for the meeting between the two parties, they will also be discussed with the mission.

The team maintains communication.

On behalf of the mission, Shi Chengwu presented a batch of gifts to Sakai Tadakiyo, as well as documents written by the Executive Committee, and asked him to deliver them to Tokugawa Ietsuna on his behalf.

There is nothing important in the document of the Executive Committee. It is basically just diplomatic rhetoric with little nutrition. Because when this document was prepared, it was only determined that the Tokai Region would send a mission to visit Japan, but the tasks that needed to be completed

It has not yet been clarified, so it is just a courtesy diplomatic document prepared and does not involve the specific mission of the mission to Japan.

After the two sides held a brief meeting in accordance with diplomatic etiquette, Sakai Tadaki took the initiative to leave, leaving two officials to coordinate the various needs of the mission. However, until he left, he and Shi Chengwu did not agree on a meeting with the shogun.

Specific time.

"It seems like his boss is going to put us out of business first?" Tao Hongfang asked Shi Chengwu after watching Sakai Tadaki and his entourage leave.

Shi Chengwu said: "That's not necessarily true...the current general is not in charge yet. The people around the general should really make the decision. It's hard to say what the other party's considerations are."

The current shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, was born in 1640 and is only fifteen years old this year. Although he succeeded the shogun at the age of ten, he is still very immature in terms of governance, so he still needs to rely on the previous shogun for many political affairs.

His late father Tokugawa Iemitsu left his team of courtiers to handle the matter. This included his uncle Masayuki Hoshina, Tadaki Sakai, Tadaki Abe, Nobutsuna Matsudaira and others.

Although these officials directly appointed by the shogunate were loyal to the Tokugawa family, they also had their own interests and demands, and their attitudes towards handling various affairs were not necessarily consistent. The mission's plan to visit Edo had been notified at least two months ago.

When they arrived in Osaka Prefecture, the local government had already sent a courier to send the delegation's visit schedule to Edo. Logically speaking, arrangements for the meeting should have been made long ago, and there should not be such a delay.

All Shi Chengwu could think of was that the shogunate's internal opinions had not yet been unified, and it was not clear how to treat the Haihan mission's visit.
Chapter completed!