Where did the commercial goods in Chinese businessmen come from? Needless to say, most of them were obtained through smuggling.

Even so, the Tokugawa shogunate still gave great care and discounts to Chinese businessmen.

After just succeeding as the shogun, Hidetachi Tokugawa drafted and issued a document that strictly prohibited Western merchant ships from docking in other daimyo territories and engaged in business activities, and all of them were transferred to Nagasaki or Hirado.

Regarding the Tang ship, that is, the Chinese merchant ship, no matter where it is located, it can be used as a merchant as the owner of the ship.

In Nagasaki and Hirado, some Chinese maritime merchants were also taken care of, and the shogunate issued a red seal to them that allowed them to stay and travel.

Now, a big pie hit the Tokugawa family's head, filling Tokugawa Hidetaku and others with dizziness and surprise.

Trade directly with the Ming Dynasty, do not pay tribute, do not make profits from middlemen; send long-term envoys to better communicate and contact, and jointly deal with Western barbarians...

Yes, we, Japan, can get along with the Ming Dynasty on the same level!

What does this mean? It means that the Tokugawa shogunate is awesome. I will give you all the names and other names to me!

Together to deal with the Western Barbarians, this is exactly what the Tokugawa shogunate wants to do. Why did the Ming Dynasty think of going together with us?

As for other conditions, it is not a problem at all!

Chinese businessmen in Japan implemented the "supporting books and inserting flags" system, and did not obtain the certificates issued by the Ming court and the yellow flag, so they were not allowed to trade in Japan;

Similarly, the Ming Dynasty also recognized the Zhu Ling of Japan, and did not allow unlicensed Japanese merchant ships to dock for trade.

Why did we think of it with our shogunate again? We are preparing to issue a lockdown order!

Only the Japanese merchants who were most loyal to the shogunate were given red seals, and the shogunate monopolized overseas trade. Other daimyos were given to drink the northwest wind.

As for the Chinese businessmen in Japan, nothing is wrong with the shogunate. That is the order given by your emperor, don’t blame us.

Although Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetachi attach great importance to trade with the Ming Dynasty, they have repeatedly made efforts to restore the relationship between Ming and Japanese and restore the exploration and cooperation trade.

However, the indifference of the Ming Dynasty still made the shogunate able to adopt policies to encourage Chinese businessmen, which led to more and more Chinese ships engaging in smuggling trade in Japan. The Ming Dynasty was also listed as the "country of trade" of the Edo Shogunate.

In other words, there are so many Chinese smuggling merchants in Japan, which has a lot to do with the shogunate policy.

As long as the shogunate agrees to the court's conditions, those smuggling maritime merchants will be strangled. The court left a way for them, and if they don't go, they'll die!

Lin Huazhong, who was already in the official position, was happy in his heart. He hugged the Japanese girl beside him and laughed and drank the wine brought by another Japanese girl.

On the other side, Tokugawa Hidetachi and Dong Qichang were already armed with each other, their eyes were fascinated, as if they were two brothers.

……………………

Hirado, Chinese community.

Yan Siqi's house is large and there are many people coming and going. Because he is not only a group of sea merchants, or the boss of pirates, or the "Architera" that the local government in Japan is responsible for trade.

However, today's house has an atmosphere different from the past. It seems very alert and a little nervous.

In a room with relatively tight guards, Boss Yan, who usually has few people to be cared about, sat upright and looked respectful.

Opposite him, there were two people sitting. A young man with a sensual expression was talking, while a serious guy was sitting there.

Yang Tiansheng sat down with Yan Siqi, but he was not as solemn and cautious as Boss Yan. Sometimes he smiled and said something to mediate the atmosphere in the room.

"The tree is a thousand feet tall and leaves fall back to its roots. This is what Your Majesty said to the emperor himself." Wu Zheng bowed in a certain direction and said, "No matter how much money you earn, it is hard to return to your family. In the end, it is not what Brother Yan wants to be a ghost in a foreign land?"

Yan Siqi was moved. This sentence hit his inner pain under his strong appearance, and it can even be said to be the pain of most Chinese maritime merchants living in Japan.

The Chinese have a strong sense of rural nature. As the saying goes, "Fallen leaves return to their roots" is a vivid portrayal.

For most Chinese people, there is a traditional consciousness that the place where I was born is my home.

With this awareness, even if you live outside for a long time, you will feel that you have no sense of belonging.

Especially after death, many Chinese who were wandering outside thought of burying their bones in their hometowns or even having a tablet in the ancestral hall.

Therefore, although Chinese businessmen living in Hirado Nagasaki are very rich and live a good life, there are many people who want to be whitewashed and show glory in front of their fellow villagers.

Yang Tiansheng knew Yan Siqi's psychology well. Seeing that he was moved, he hurriedly struck while the iron was hot and said, "The imperial court issued a special amnesty order, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Yan Siqi hesitated and of course he hoped to return to his hometown Haicheng. There were clans, relatives and friends there, and the return home in glory that he dreamed of countless times.

But the fate of the sea merchant and pirate Wang Zhi had to make Yan Siqi worry.

"I dare not say anything?" The cold-faced man suddenly spoke with contempt and said, "Who killed Wang Zhi? When was the old thing? Now, when did the Holy Emperor become an emperor and never killed a single person indiscriminately."

As he said that, the cold-faced man took out the amnesty book from his arms and spread it on the table for Yan Siqi to watch, "This is a memorial edict written by himself. Will he still go back on his word?"

"The grass-roots people dare not." Even Boss Yan, who was fighting for his life and licking blood from the knife, knelt on the ground in the face of the emperor's personal amnesty.

Yang Tiansheng reached out and helped Yan Siqi up and persuaded sincerely: "A vulgar businessman like his brother can be summoned long ago, but he is just to punish Brother Yan to be killed?"

Yan Siqi smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "How dare a certain ant be arrogant? And he believes in Brother Yang's words more. Besides, if a certain life is a bad person, how can he work long after he takes action?"

After pausing, Yan Siqi's face showed resolute expression and said, "The emperor is kind and kind, and forgives the crimes of the people. The people are willing to work hard to drive away the dogs and horses."

Yan Siqi was not completely moved, and his doubts were not completely eliminated, but there was a thread of things, so he was willing to fight.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty opened up the maritime ban and reached a trade agreement with Japan. The Chinese businessmen who lived in Japan were almost the same as washing away the charge of "pirates".

Both countries use restrictions such as "sentences and letters" and "red lines" to tie the neck of the Japanese merchants.

If you don’t receive “sent books and flags” from the imperial court, Japan will not allow you to come for trade; on the contrary, the Ming Dynasty also marked the “red letters” of Japan.

There may seem to be loopholes, but there is another rule. That is, only Japanese merchant ships can be used to "reincarnate" and all Chinese merchants can be used to "carry books and put flags".

This is very strict. Maritime businessmen who want to continue to do business in Japan can only return to China to receive "sending books and putting flags". Those who were guilty in the past can be written off at one cost. They just donate money to build a port and then build a shop by themselves.

It's still possible to smuggle, but Japan can't come here.

Trafficking in the East and voyages to the West. Nowadays, there are only these two wealth routes, and the imperial court can be said to have won one.

Boss Yan is not stupid. On the surface, he was moved and thanked the emperor for his kindness, but he had already figured it out in his heart that the pros and cons were weighed accurately.

Moreover, the first to respond to the imperial court's call seems dangerous. But "buy horse bones for a thousand gold coins", the court can make such a big move as opening a maritime ban, but how could it take a lot of trouble to kill a maritime merchant and scare away others!

Yan Siqi believed that she was not that important yet, and even was confused and puzzled by the court.

Needless to say, in Japan, even in Hirado, compared with Li Dan, a non-Japanese maritime businessman with the most red seals, his strength is far inferior.

So, when Wu Zheng proposed to choose a date to meet Li Dan, Yan Siqi knew that the opportunity was won by his good brother Yang Tiansheng, so he had to seize it.
Chapter completed!