As for where the goods in the hands of Chinese businessmen come from, there is no need to go into details. Most of them are obtained through smuggling.
Even so, the Tokugawa shogunate still gave great care and preferential treatment to Chinese businessmen.
As soon as Tokugawa Hidetada succeeded to the position of Shogun, he drafted and issued a document strictly prohibiting Western merchant ships from docking in the territories of other daimyo and engaging in commercial activities, and all of them were required to dock in Nagasaki or Hirado instead.
As for Tang ships, that is, Chinese merchant ships, no matter where they land, they can engage in business according to the wishes of the ship owner.
In Nagasaki and Hirado, some Chinese merchants were also taken care of, and the shogunate issued them red seal certificates allowing them to reside and trade.
Now, a big pie hit the Tokugawa family's head, making Tokugawa Hidetada and others dizzy and surprised.
Trade directly with the Ming Dynasty, without tribute, without middlemen profiting from the price difference; exchange permanent envoys for better communication and contact, and jointly deal with the Western Barbarians...
Yeah, we in Japan can get along with the Ming Dynasty on an equal footing!
What does this prove? It proves that the Tokugawa shogunate is awesome. All you daimyo and others, just behave yourself!
Working together to deal with the Western barbarians is exactly what the Tokugawa shogunate wants to do. How come the Ming Dynasty and we have the same idea?
As for the other conditions, they are not a problem at all!
The "certificate and flag" system was implemented for Chinese merchants in Japan. Without a certificate and a yellow flag issued by the Ming court, they were not allowed to trade in Japan.
Similarly, the Ming Dynasty also recognized the Japanese Zhuling Certificate and prohibited unlicensed Japanese merchant ships from docking for trade.
How come you have the same idea as our shogunate? We are just about to issue an order to close the country!
Only the most loyal Japanese merchants were issued red seals, allowing the shogunate to monopolize overseas trade. The other daimyo were left to starve.
As for Chinese businessmen in Japan, that's none of the shogunate's business. That was an order from your emperor, so don't blame us.
Although Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada attached great importance to trade with Ming, they repeatedly tried to repair the relationship between Ming and Japan and resume the Kanko trade.
However, the Ming Dynasty remained indifferent, forcing the shogunate to adopt an encouraging policy towards Chinese merchants, which led to an increasing number of Chinese ships going to Japan to engage in smuggling trade, and the Ming Dynasty was also listed as a "trading country" by the Edo shogunate.
In other words, the fact that there are so many Chinese smugglers in Japan has a lot to do with the policies of the shogunate.
As long as the shogunate agrees to the court's conditions, those smuggling merchants will be strangled. The court has left them a way out, if they don't take it, they will die!
Lin Huazhong, who already held an official rank, felt happy. He hugged the Japanese woman next to him, laughed and drank the wine brought by another Japanese woman.
On the opposite side, Tokugawa Hidetada and Dong Qichang were arm in arm, with drunken eyes, and they were as close as brothers.
………………
Hirado, Chinese community.
Yan Siqi's house was large and was frequented by many people, as he was not only the leader of a group of sea merchants or pirates, but also a "snail" in charge of trade for the local Japanese government.
However, there was a different atmosphere in the house today. It seemed very cautious and a little tense.
In a relatively tightly guarded room, Boss Yan, who was usually ignored by few people, sat upright with a respectful look on his face.
Opposite him sat two people: a cheerful young man talking animatedly, and a serious-looking fellow sitting stiffly.
Yang Tiansheng sat with Yan Siqi at the bottom. He was not as serious and cautious as Boss Yan. Sometimes he would smile and interject a few words to ease the atmosphere in the room.
"No matter how tall a tree is, its leaves return to their roots. This is what His Majesty told me personally." Wu Zheng bowed in a certain direction and said, "No matter how much money you make, it's hard to return home. In the end, you will be a ghost in a foreign land. This is not what Brother Yan wants, right?"
Yan Siqi was moved. These words directly hit the inner pain beneath his strong appearance, which could even be said to be the pain of most Chinese maritime merchants living in Japan.
Chinese people have a strong sense of homeland. The saying "fallen leaves return to their roots" is a vivid portrayal of this.
For most Chinese people, there is a traditional concept that the place where they were born is their home.
With this kind of consciousness, even if you live outside for a long time, you will still feel a sense of not belonging.
Especially after death, many Chinese people who live abroad want to be buried in their hometown, or even have a memorial tablet in the ancestral hall.
Therefore, although the Chinese businessmen living in Hirado and Nagasaki were wealthy and lived well, many of them wanted to return home clean and show off their wealth in front of their fellow villagers.
Yang Tiansheng knew Yan Siqi's psychology very well. Seeing that he was moved, he quickly struck while the iron was hot and said, "The court has issued a special amnesty. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Yan Siqi hesitated, for he certainly hoped to return to his hometown of Haicheng, where he had family, relatives, and friends, and where he had dreamed of returning home in glory countless times.
However, the fate of the maritime merchant and pirate Wang Zhi made Yan Siqi worry.
"You don't dare to say anything?" The cold-faced man suddenly spoke with disdain, saying, "Who killed Wang Zhi, and how long ago was it? Since then, the Holy Emperor has never killed anyone indiscriminately."
As he spoke, the cold-faced man pulled out a pardon from his bosom and spread it on the table for Yan Siqi to see. "This is the pardon written by His Majesty himself. How could he go back on his word?"
"I dare not." Even Boss Yan, who risked his life on the sea and lived on the edge of a knife, knelt on the ground when faced with the emperor's handwritten pardon.
Yang Tiansheng reached out and helped Yan Siqi up, and sincerely advised: "How could a crude merchant like me be summoned by the Emperor, just to trick Brother Yan into returning to be killed?"
Yan Siqi laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "How dare a mere ant be so arrogant? Besides, I trust Brother Yang's words. Besides, I'm a worthless person, so how could I possibly trouble Your Majesty for help?"
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