Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 279 Establishing a Trading Post in Nagasaki

??

Hyosuke Amazaki toyed with an empty wine glass in his hand, then lowered his head and said, “Mr. Liu, thanks to the presence of Zheng Yiguan, Hirado’s castle town has firmly surpassed Nagasaki’s. Hirado’s revenue has long exceeded that of our Hizen Domain. Our lord, Lord Nabeshima Katsushige, is determined to make Hizen the strongest domain in Kyushu, but everything requires money, and Nagasaki’s biggest source of income is trade…”

Liu Ye understood the implication. Hirado, as Zheng Zhilong's place of origin, had a greater influence than Nagasaki in foreign trade. Hizen Domain, as one of the powerful western domains, along with the other three major domains of Satsuma, Tosa, and Choshu, was known as "Satsuma-Choshu-Tosa-Hizen." In the late 19th century, it was also one of the vanguard forces in the anti-shogunate movement. Naturally, it was unwilling to remain a simple farmer, a mountain spring, and a small landowner. Attracting wealthy merchants to Nagasaki was a way to increase its income and expand its power.

Liu Ye's large-scale purchase of 500,000 catties of raw silk at once was rare among businessmen, which caught the attention of the Nabeshima family. This led to Amagasaki Hyosuke hosting Liu Ye and his party. As for dealing with the people from the Satsuma Domain, it was just a side effect.

Liu Ye had already planned to establish his own trading network in Nagasaki. Besides Zheng Zhilong's immense influence, another reason he abandoned Hirado was that Nagasaki would become the only port with a semi-open trade zone after the national isolation edict was issued. Amazaki Hyosuke's recruitment perfectly aligned with his own ideas, making it a mutually beneficial arrangement.

However, it was not Liu Ye's style to agree easily. At present, the Nabeshima family and its subordinates were unaware of the upcoming isolation order, so he took advantage of the time difference to propose some conditions that were favorable to him.

He feigned hesitation: "Mr. Amazaki, I understand what you mean, but I'm a businessman, I go wherever I can make money. Hirado and Nagasaki are about the same to me. To be honest, Hirado has the Zheng family backing it up, so it seems that we Ming Dynasty merchants are safer and more secure there..."

Amazaki Hyosuke hurriedly said, "Anyone who is a friend of our Hizen Domain is definitely safer than someone from Hirado. Look, even the young lady of the Shimazu family couldn't do anything to you today."

Li Fei interjected at the opportune moment: "Even if they make a move, we will not be afraid of the Satsuma Domain. Our master is not only a businessman, but also a military commander in the Ming Dynasty. When it comes to firearms, the Shimazu clan's arquebusiers are no match for us."

Amagasaki Hyosuke's eyes lit up. Just like Zheng Yiguan, he was a powerful figure who combined military and business acumen, making him even more desirable to win over. Zheng Yiguan commanded thousands of warships and tens of thousands of soldiers, a formidable force in all of Japan. Even a single attack on Kyoto could potentially alter Japan's political landscape. Unfortunately, the chances of the Hizen Domain winning over Zheng Yiguan were virtually zero. If this Liu Sang also possessed considerable military strength and the financial resources to manage a massive silk trade of 500,000 catties, bringing him over would be a powerful ally for the Hizen Domain.

He slowly suppressed his excitement and cautiously asked, "So Liu Sang was also a general of the Ming Dynasty. May I ask how large Liu Sang's forces are?"

Liu Ye answered seriously, "Not many, just ten or twenty thousand land troops and a few hundred naval warships."

This exaggerated number shocked Amagasaki Hyosuke. It's important to understand that in Japan, a battle involving several thousand people was considered a "battle." As for the several hundred warships, while not as large as Zheng Yiguan's, they were still a formidable naval force in Japan, exceeding the combined naval power of some powerful domains.

After hearing Liu Ye's words, his attitude became even more respectful: "If Mr. Liu can do business in Nagasaki in the future, please feel free to make your demands, and we can agree to them."

Liu Ye pretended to ponder for a moment and said, "I won't put Mr. Amazaki in a difficult position. If you allow us to set up a trading post in Nagasaki, with no restrictions on the entry and exit of personnel and ships freely entering and leaving the port, I will agree to your request."

After the decree of national isolation was issued, no ships other than those from the Netherlands and Ming Dynasty were allowed to enter Nagasaki Port. Even the Dutch could only set up trading posts on a peninsula called Dejima outside Nagasaki and were not allowed to enter or leave Nagasaki. At the same time, they were subject to alternating surveillance by the Hizen Domain and the Fukuoka Domain.

Liu Ye's proposal of such a condition can be considered a privilege. If it were an ordinary merchant, let alone a town official like Amagasaki Hyosuke, even the lord of the Hizen Domain would not agree, since it was strictly prohibited by the shogunate.

However, the situation changed after Liu Ye revealed his abilities. After considering it for a moment, Amazaki Hyosuke replied, "This is beyond my authority. I must report to the magistrate, and perhaps obtain the consent of someone of the Nabeshima family elder rank or higher, but it shouldn't be a big problem."

Hearing his reply, Liu Ye knew that things were most likely done, and he was secretly pleased.

Before defeating Zheng Zhilong, using the "Far Voyage" to trade valuable goods was an important channel for rapidly accumulating wealth. Japan was the most important market, and it was essential to establish a foothold there. Of course, after defeating the Zheng Group and the Dutch, one could learn from Zheng Zhilong's approach in another timeline and collect protection fees from passing merchant ships, which would bring in money faster and without requiring any initial investment. In addition, items such as sulfur from Japan were also important military supplies. Establishing trading posts with free access would make it easier to acquire and transport these supplies.

Both sides felt they had benefited from the situation and were naturally in high spirits. After a few cups of sake, Amagasaki Hyosuke, in high spirits, clapped his hands and summoned a group of women in kimonos, who were even more attractive than the maids who had served tea and sake earlier.

The women, with humble and ingratiating smiles on their faces, sat down, nestled into the guests' laps, and fed them drinks. It seemed these women were specifically hired by Amagasaki Hyosuke to entertain his guests.

Before his time travel, Liu Ye was a CEO who had seen countless women. Even after his transmigration, Tang Yu and Su Wen, who were by his side, were quite attractive. Before coming to Suzhou, he had even seen beauties like Dong Xiaowan. Therefore, he wasn't particularly interested in these average-looking Japanese women. Besides, there were no condoms in ancient times; these women had entertained countless guests, and it was hard to say if they had venereal diseases. To avoid spoiling Amagasaki Hyosuke's mood, he took a sip of the wine offered by the woman, but made no further moves.

------------------

Note 1: "上洛" originally meant "to go to the capital." In Japanese, "上洛" primarily refers to going to Kyoto, which is also known as Luoyang, hence the term "上洛." Before the Meiji Restoration in Japan, the act of Sengoku daimyo leading their troops to attack Kyoto was called "上洛." It was mainly used to describe the process by which the most powerful regional daimyo assembled a large army and marched to Kyoto to demonstrate their status, somewhat similar to the "alliance" in ancient China during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.