Chapter 633: The occupation of Hyogo Prefecture is of great significance.
With Yan Jiuniang setting an example, more and more merchant ships chose to pay money and seek the protection of the Zhenhai Army.
Li Shiyue knew that in order to truly establish themselves on the island, they had to build their own stable and controllable trade network.
Therefore, she had Sun Xiaoliu and Xuanjia Anren work together to select experienced Zhenhai soldiers and some Japanese who had been screened and shown "loyalty" to form a special caravan.
These caravans operated within her designated sphere of influence, namely Shimane Prefecture, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and even further afield, while also beginning to attempt cross-sea trade.
The first stable cross-sea trade route naturally connected her to her foundation—Jian'an.
The sea salt provided by Jian'an is a hot commodity in the Japanese market.
Meanwhile, silver, copper, and sulfur from Japan were continuously transported back to Jian'an to supplement Li Shiyue's financial expenditures. At the same time, Jian'an also sent refugees brought back from Jiangnan to Shimane Prefecture to support Li Shiyue's occupation of the area.
This route, escorted by experienced naval warships, was extremely safe and quickly became a golden waterway flowing with silver.
Immediately afterwards, the second trade route led to Dongmou.
As an important port in the north of Dalong, Dongmu could provide grain, cloth, and more soldiers.
Through Dongmou, Li Shiyue could also establish indirect contact with the forces in the north and broaden his sources of information.
The third, and also the most strategically astute, was to reopen and control the shipping routes to Jiangnan.
Silk, porcelain, and tea from Jiangnan were highly sought-after luxury goods by the Japanese aristocracy.
Li Shiyue used his silver to purchase large quantities of these goods, not only for trading with Japanese merchants, but also to attract adventurous merchants from the Jiangnan region to trade directly with him.
She granted these maritime merchants preferential tariffs and safe shipping routes, gradually bringing the previously scattered and dangerous smuggling trade under her control.
Finally, and most importantly, Li Shiyue turned her attention back to the Seto Inland Sea.
This body of water connects Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, and is one of the core areas of Japan's economy and politics.
She chose a natural harbor with a superior geographical location and easy defense—Oshima Port, located in the Seto Inland Sea;
She redeployed a naval fleet to the area and expanded "Oshima Harbor," giving it more robust warehouses and docks.
Thus, Oshima Port quickly became a new trade hub and distribution center for goods, both for Honshu Island and for Japan.
The expansion of Oshima Port signifies that Li Shiyue is no longer content with living in a remote corner.
Using this as a fulcrum, she began to formally disrupt Japan's traditional trade structure.
Goods from Jian'an, Dongmu, Jiangnan, and Japan gathered and were traded here.
Li announced in October that any merchant ship wishing to trade in the area or pass through the nearby waters must pay an "escort fee" to the naval garrison in exchange for a "Li" command flag.
Ships flying this flag will be protected in waters controlled by the naval forces.
The "escort fee" naturally attracted questions and probing at the beginning.
It wasn't the questioning from the Da Long merchant ships, but from several fleets belonging to certain small powerful clans on Kyushu Island.
They relied on their knowledge of the hydrology and attempted to forcibly cross the waterway without paying the toll.
As a result, they were soon subjected to fierce bombardment by the "Thunder God Cannon" and encirclement and suppression by the Zhenhai Navy's "Breaking Waves".
The end result was nothing more than the ship being destroyed, the crew dying, and all the cargo being confiscated.
Li Shiyue used swift and decisive means to declare to everyone that the East China Sea route, especially the key waterway connecting western Honshu Island and Kyushu Island to the Seto Inland Sea, would henceforth be under her, Li Shiyue's, control!
Bloody lessons are more effective than any announcement.
Soon, sensible Japanese merchant ships came to Oshima Port, lined up to pay the fees, and received the flag that symbolized safe passage.
Merchant ships from all sides docked here, traded, and replenished their ships before leaving port. The Zhenhai Navy set up an office here to collect fees and maintain order.
Wealth, like rivers flowing into the sea, began to converge on the area controlled by Li Shiyue.
Trade revenue, including escort fees paid by merchant ships, commissions from berthing and trading at Oshima Port, and profits from his own merchant fleet, began to snowball, greatly supporting the expansion of Li Shiyue's power and the maintenance of the Zhenhai Army.
She used these funds to further expand her fleet, forming more fleets with both transportation and combat capabilities, while improving the treatment of the naval forces and the miners who worked for her, attracting more people to work for her from the inside out.
After getting through this cold winter, Li Shiyue did not stay idle.
She took advantage of the internal strife in Japan and the merchant class's desire for stable trade to continuously consolidate and expand her territory.
When she realized that the neighboring Hyogo Prefecture was vulnerable due to infighting among local powerful clans, she took decisive action.
This time, she was no longer content with merely occupying the western part of Hyogo Prefecture;
She wants to take over the entire Hyogo Prefecture!
After rest and replenishment, the Zhenhai Army was strong and well-equipped. Under the roar of the "Thunder God Cannon", the Zhenhai Army quickly occupied the core area of Hyogo Prefecture, especially the Ikuno Silver Mine area, which was famous for its rich silver mines.
The occupation of Hyogo Prefecture was of great significance.
This not only means that Li Shiyue has gained control of another important silver mine in Japan, giving her a "double guarantee" for her silver supply, but more importantly, Hyogo Prefecture is close to the Kinai region, where Heian-kyo, the political center of Japan, is located.
Li Shiyue's actions were like driving a nail into the heart of Japan, causing genuine and undisguised panic among the remaining nobles in Heian-kyo.
However, the panic did not immediately translate into an effective counterattack.
The new emperor's edicts seemed utterly powerless in the face of the Japanese nobles, who were each acting independently.
Some families whose strength has been weakened called for an alliance, but many more families are still observing. Some of them are even secretly trading with Li Shiyue's caravans, exchanging food and supplies for silver and luxury goods, making a fortune from the war.
In the areas controlled by Li Shiyue, including Shimane Prefecture (Iwami Ginzan) and the newly occupied Hyogo Prefecture (Ikuno Ginzan), she continued to implement and deepen her previous policies.
A large number of local Japanese civilians were hired to mine silver, build roads, and construct ports for her.
Li Shiyue strictly adhered to the principle of "paying according to work," and the remuneration he provided was far higher than the exploitation by the local Japanese nobles.
This led many Japanese civilians struggling to survive amidst war and heavy taxes, and even some impoverished low-ranking samurai, to actively seek refuge under Li Shiyue's rule.
For them, they would serve whoever could help them survive and thrive.
Li Shiyue gradually established a strange "prestige" among these people at the bottom of society, and her title of "Goddess of Justice" in Jian'an spread.
At the same time, her business with Japanese merchants grew larger and larger.
The types of goods traded expanded from the initial grains and cloth to timber, animal hides, medicines, and even intelligence.
Li Shiyue established relatively fair markets in the controlled areas, stationed officials to manage them, collected commercial taxes, and also cracked down on bandits to ensure smooth trade routes.
This orderly business environment was unimaginable in other parts of Japan, which was frequently plagued by war, and thus attracted more and more merchants to come. Some merchants even began to move their entire families to the counties controlled by Li Shiyue.
Li Shiyue did not forcibly implement Dalong's culture or laws, but instead adopted a pragmatic approach of "governing according to local customs".
While maintaining the absolute military superiority and core interests of the Zhenhai Navy, she allowed the Japanese to retain some customs and grassroots governance structures, as long as they obeyed her orders and paid taxes according to law.
This relatively tolerant attitude has, to some extent, eased the conflict between the invaders and the invaded.
However, all this prosperity and stability is built upon the powerful military strength of the Zhenhai Navy.
Therefore, Li Shiyue was no longer the abrupt "invader" in western Honshu, Japan, but gradually evolved into a powerful local separatist force that occupied a region, held a large army, and was as wealthy as a country, profoundly influencing the political situation and economy of Japan.
Her existence was like a sharp blade pressed against the throat of Japan, forcing the island nation to face the unprecedented changes brought about by this female general from Dalong!
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