Chapter 2735

In the past few years, Haihan has probably conducted hundreds of trade negotiations with other countries, large and small, and this is not the first time it has dealt with the Tokugawa shogunate. Therefore, this issue is more prepared than the Ryukyu issue.

more fully.

The shogunate obviously did not have a clear understanding of the true intentions behind the trade-related issues of the Kaihan mission, or even if it was aware, it was completely unaware of the seriousness of the matter. Tokugawa Ietsuna and his men were

Attracted by the bright prospects described by the mission, even a staunch supporter of the seclusion policy like Sakai Tadayoshi would find it difficult to refuse the considerable benefits brought by trade with Haihan.

According to the estimated data given by the mission, in the next ten years, the economic benefits obtained by the shogunate from bilateral trade will continue to increase by more than 20% per year, and the social production and circulation that will be driven by this will be even greater.

It is considerable. If the shogunate can effectively guide and manage the production activities in the areas under its rule during this period, it is very likely that it will usher in the most prosperous period after the Tokugawa shogunate came to power.

For the shogunate, it seemed that there was no need to pay any price at all. As long as it slightly adjusted the implementation standards of certain laws and provided some trivial conveniences to Haihan merchants, it would be able to enjoy many benefits from the increase in the scale of trade.

Negotiations between the two parties soon entered into discussing specific operations, involving tax rate adjustments, ship schedules, settlement methods, and the delineation of the exclusive terminal of Nagasaki Port, which the mission was most concerned about.

Although negotiations on these details are quite time-consuming and laborious, it also means that the tone of cooperation between the two parties has been basically set. The remaining bargaining work can be said to have no impact on the overall situation.

However, the shogunate did not intend to terminate the talks on trade issues. After the third meeting, Tokugawa Ietsuna made a request to the mission.

"Buy weapons and equipment from our country?" After hearing this request, Shi Chengwu specifically confirmed it with the other party.

He was actually not surprised that the shogunate had such a plan. In fact, this was a request made by almost every country that had formally established diplomatic relations with Haihan, even Western countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands. Although Haihan sold arms at a high price

It is expensive, but the glorious record of Haihan Army is the most effective living advertisement, and Haihan will provide supporting services such as combat skills training, and can even complete the transaction in the form of installment payment or barter.

For buyers who want to quickly increase their combat power, Haihan is undoubtedly an ideal trading partner.

However, Japan is not considered a traditional buyer of Haihan's arms. Due to well-known reasons, Japan has been listed as an arms embargo by Haihan for a long time in the past, in order to prevent weapons from flowing into certain countries that have a feud with Haihan.

in the hands of local forces.

The official ban on sales cannot completely prevent sporadic weapons and equipment from flowing into Japan from black market channels, but not purchasing them in bulk means that these weapons cannot be officially installed in the military, and logistical support will also be a difficult problem to solve.

Despite this, there are still people in Japan who are always in contact with Haihan. Even if they cannot buy standard equipment, they can at least send people over for training. Therefore, there are always sporadic Japanese samurai training at the Sasebo base.

, but the shogunate is not on the list of cooperation partners.

The shogunate was not unaware of these signs of undercurrents, but it was a matter involving foreigners, and it was difficult for the shogunate to intervene directly to stop it.

Personnel training is a small matter, but if one day Haihan starts selling weapons and equipment to these training subjects, it may cause chaos.

There were actually arsenals that produced muskets and artillery under the shogunate, but due to technical limitations, they could only produce the most primitive matchlocks and small-caliber cast-iron cannons, which were even lagging behind the ordnance technology mastered by the Hirado Domain.

Because the materials and technology are not up to standard, the imitation Haihan weapons can only imitate the appearance and cannot achieve the performance required for combat.

Therefore, for the shogunate, the top priority is to purchase reliable standard equipment from Haihan to enhance the strength of the army under his command. Only in this way can the shogunate's rule be effectively consolidated and the ambitions of those who act secretly be deterred.

Although it was the first time to formally purchase arms from Haihan, the order issued by the shogunate was a big one: two thousand flintlock muskets, forty artillery pieces, four expedition-class warships equipped with weapons, and complete sets of armor.

and some standard cold weapons.

Shi Chengwu read the list listed by the shogunate. Although he was quite excited, he still tried his best to control his expression and responded calmly: "Except for armor and traditional weapons, almost all of the equipment your country plans to purchase are in It’s on my country’s list of export restrictions... I think this matter will be a bit difficult to handle.”

Regardless of the real purpose of the Tokugawa shogunate's purchase of arms, Shi Chengwu would not agree immediately. The weapons and equipment produced by Haihan are expensive, on the one hand because of their superior combat performance, and on the other hand because of shortage of supply. Even if Tokugawa

The shogunate can come up with cash, but it may not be able to buy spot goods.

After some discussions, Shi Chengwu said that he would ask the Executive Committee for instructions on this matter. If the Executive Committee can get approval, then the next step of negotiation on the specific content of the order can be carried out.

With Haihan's current military strength, it no longer needs to be afraid of Japan, so selling arms to it is no longer a taboo, but how to sell the arms still needs to be considered comprehensively.

If it is only sold to the shogunate, it is basically a one-time deal. But if we can find a few more buyers and provoke them to fight, so that the weapons and equipment will continue to be consumed, then this business can be considered successful.

At this time, good news also came from Sasebo. Shiro Amakusa said that he had been in contact with the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain regarding the restoration of Ryukyu and was very optimistic about the prospects of cooperation.

As the mission expected, the Shimazu family's focus is not on Ryukyu, but on trade relations with China. Ryukyu can be restored, but it still needs to continue to serve as a trade transit point for the Satsuma Domain in name, so that the Satsuma Domain can

On the premise of not violating the national lockdown order, we can continue to engage in cross-border trade activities. But this matter is simple to say. After entering the actual operation stage, there will be many specific troublesome matters that need to be resolved.

As for Kaihan's provision of military assistance to the Satsuma Domain, the Shimadzu family has shown a strong interest. The feudal lord Mitsuhisa Shimazu made it clear that as long as Kaihan can assist the Satsuma Domain in establishing a new army using firearms, no other cooperation projects will be possible.

It can be discussed, and the request for arms purchase was made almost simultaneously with Edo. However, due to limited financial resources, the content of the order was much thinner than that of the shogunate.
Chapter completed!