As a remote place in the southwesternmost corner of Japan, the Satsuma Domain was originally a place where the economy was declining. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Naturally, land is not worth much, and houses are not worth much.

However, since the arrival of the Zheng family, the price of land has skyrocketed, and although inflation makes people feel that money is worthless, more people feel that the Satsuma clan has begun to prosper.

Hostels, restaurants, Qinglou Chu Pavilions are all flourishing rapidly.

Naturally, the Satsuma clan could also collect taxes in this economic development. Not to mention the direct income that merchants can expect as a result.

In Japan, the status of the townspeople (merchants) was much higher than that of the Ming Dynasty.

Traditionally, however, both China and Japan have been heavy on agriculture and over business. But under the changes over the years, compared with the Ming Dynasty, the situation of Japanese counterparts is obviously much smoother.

Zheng Senzhi was able to find out the news of the Satsuma Domain, not because he did not have the ability of his merchant friends.

If you don't understand the difference between Chinese and Japanese businessmen, you can understand a little bit by listening to the theory of borrowing money.

In the Ming Dynasty, if any prince and high-ranking official asked a merchant to borrow money, it would be unimaginable. The big man asks for money, and he can't ask for a shelter with both hands, who thinks he needs to borrow?

But this is not the case in Japan, where it is not uncommon for daimyo to borrow money from merchants. And what made the Ming people feel even more unbelievable was that the daimyo didn't dare not return it.

In order to solve the financial crisis, Shimazu Mitsuhisa naturally borrowed a lot of money. This time the free trade zone finally gave him an opportunity to deal with those businessmen in turn.

If you rent out the land, the rent will naturally pay off the debt.

If the Satsuma clan had developed as a result, the merchants would have to grovel and beg for mercy in exchange for a good chance to make a fortune.

In the past, of course, it was not that there were no merchants who came to the Satsuma Domain to do business, but after the closure of the country, many people lost interest in the barren Satsuma Domain. Even if someone wants to do business here, they don't feel the need to grovel to curry favor with the daimyo.

But now, as soon as this change comes out, everything will be different.

If the Satsuma Domain becomes a free trade zone in the future, and there are more Ming people to do business, then all the shops will be much easier. At that time, not only will taxes be able to keep up with the financial crisis that has plagued the Satsuma clan for decades, but most of the officials, including the daimyos, will also benefit from it.

"I believe that the merchants of the Ming Dynasty will be very interested in this new land. Perhaps, in the near future, it can be upgraded to a higher special zone and enjoy more favorable policies of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Cihong did not hesitate to throw out another bait, so confused that Shimazu Mitsuhisa couldn't find the north.

Although I don't know what kind of special zone will have specific policies, since His Majesty the Emperor said that it is a more generous policy, it must be a more powerful support project.

After Shimazu Mitsuhisa heard this, he was naturally even more excited, and couldn't help but shout immediately: "Long live my emperor!" ”

Zhu Cihong immediately laughed out loud.

You know, Japan has not accepted the king for a long time. This "Long live my emperor" refers to the emperor of the Ming Empire, not the emperor of Japan.

The difference is huge.

This means that the hand of the giant Ming has reached into the country of Japan. Moreover, it was very easy to get rid of the Satsuma Domain, the second strongest domain in Japan.

On the side, Abe Tadaaki, who was late, rushed over.

He was worried that Shimazu Mitsuhisa would lose his temper with quitting the Ryukyus and abandoning the Zheng clan, which would embarrass His Majesty the Emperor. But the outcome is obviously countless times better than expected, and its direction is completely different.

The originally unruly daimyo seemed to be easily tamed in the face of the majesty of His Majesty the Emperor, and he didn't know what tricks His Majesty the Emperor used, Shimazu Mitsuhisa even shouted the words "Long live my emperor".

You must know that when this sentence is shouted, no matter how Shimazu Mitsujiu explains it later, others will only think that he has fallen to Daming and has completely become a pro-Ming faction. Once this label is attached, if you want to tear it off, the price you pay will be painful.

Obviously, Shimazu Mitsuhisa has no intention of tearing off the pro-Ming label on himself. He was even proud that he was qualified to be labeled.

He looked at Abe Tadaaki and didn't care, but was very relaxed, and asked Abe Tadaaki to testify with a smile: "Old Middle Temple, your arrival has made the Satsuma Domain shine. And now, there is a very important thing waiting for you to testify. One belongs to the glory of the Satsuma Domain, and the other belongs to the luck of Japan. A very important event is about to be finalized! ”

After speaking, Zheng Sen and Zu Dashou on the side joined forces with Zhu Cihong, and the businessmen who came with Zhu Cihong rushed over one after another.

After hearing that a free trade zone could be established in Japan, and free trade on it interrupted the Zheng monopoly, countless Ming merchants pounced like sharks smelling blood.

In the corner, watching countless peers rushing up, Lin Aping was really emotional.

As a former former worker in the Zheng family, Lin Aping knows more about Japanese trade than others. Originally, this was a trade that the Zheng clan almost monopolized. In the heyday, if the Zheng family had not been given the road money to buy a flag, once the Zheng fleet encountered it in Japan, it would have suffered and been plundered.

Now, His Majesty the Emperor has decided to show mercy and renew trade with Japan, and I don't know how many people are happy.

Many of the businessmen who came back to Japan also came for this. It's just that whether it is Chinatown or Xinhuagang, it is Zheng's territory, and small businessmen may be fearless, but large businessmen will inevitably have concerns.

At this time, Zhu Cihong and Shimazu Mitsuhisa proposed to expand the line between Sakurajima and the Osumi Peninsula to become a free trade zone, which naturally dispelled everyone's doubts.

There is no interference from the Zheng clan in these places, and it is a good time for other merchants in the Zheng clan to enter the market.

Especially Sakurajima, although those Chezhi Dan disciples were caused by Zheng Sen, they were not a force that he could completely control after all. Sakurajima is now more of the territory of the Expeditionary Company, and it is clear that His Majesty the Emperor is supporting the development of the Expeditionary Company.

Zheng Sen was not surprised by this. He had not only heard that the expeditionary company had the share capital of the Hengxin Trading Company, but also heard that the Hengxin Trading Company was the private property of His Majesty the Emperor.

Of course, Zheng Sen also understands the intention of vaguely breaking the monopoly.

On this point, there are naturally many differences within the Zheng trading company. However, Zheng Sen understood that in the face of a powerful empire, it was really not a wise move to resist hard. Especially when the Zheng family is begging for help, they naturally can't pick and choose.

For the current Zheng family, still holding the monopoly of trade with Japan is really a target, and if one is not careful, he will be burned.

At this time, everyone poured into trade with Japan, which increased Zheng's own security. Let those Japanese people dare not move their minds again.

Thinking like this, Zheng Sen and Zu Dashou introduced the affairs of the China-Japan Free Trade Zone one by one in front of Abe Tadaaki.

Hearing that His Majesty the Emperor had made this move, Abe Zhongqiu's eyes suddenly changed when he looked at Zhu Cihong again.

He frowned, his instinct telling him that something was wrong, as if he had pressed a stone in his heart, and he couldn't move it. He took a deep breath and said, "Shimazu Satsuma guards the temple, opens a free trade zone, and transfers taxes and civil affairs, is it true that they have been considered in detail, and they are no longer worried?" ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa was a little surprised when he saw Abe's attitude. But soon, he understood.

Abe Tadaaki obviously doesn't agree with it, but the identity or position of the pro-Ming faction makes him not firm in such a denial. Mitsuhisa Shimazu was able to understand Abe's thoughts.

Obviously, Abe Tadaaki, as an important minister of Edo, would not want the Satsuma Domain, the second strongest feudal clan far from Edo, to become bigger. There is no doubt that once the free trade zone is established, the Satsuma domain will quickly prosper.

It is not that Japan has no trade with Japan, and in the past, Japan's Hachiman ships sailed overseas, and they were extremely influential throughout Asia. So much so that the number of Japanese businessmen and their descendants abroad has reached at least 100,000 people.

However, Tokugawa Iemitsu insisted on closing himself from the country, so that all trade and trade activities were banned.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa rarely trusted the words of others, but today, he found the words of the previous Chechitan disciple to be very thought-provoking.

Once the fire is sown, it is extremely difficult to extinguish it.

He may not have heard the story of a spark that can start a prairie fire, but the benefits of trade are something that every daimyo believes.

One only has to look at the cities of Edo and Osaka that prospered after doing business with the Zheng clan, and the merchants who developed to understand how staggering the huge profits from overseas trade were.

"Please also rest assured that the Satsuma clan will carry out the matter of the free trade zone with the most sincere and firm faith. For Japan, this is for the well-being of millions of people. For the Satsuma Domain, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am very convinced that no matter what the difficulties or any dangers are, they will not be able to stop the faith of the dozens of Li people in the Satsuma Domain! I, Shimazu Mitsuhisa, will definitely dedicate the rest of my life to this, and I will never back down from the cause of the Satsuma Domain! "Shimazu Mitsuhisa swears.

After listening to this, Abe Tadaaki stopped talking.

He was not wary of the rise of the Satsuma Domain, and Abe Tadaaki, who had studied at Kyoshi University, understood the meaning of sovereignty better than many people in Japan. He knew very well that if there was an area on Japanese territory where the Japanese could not exercise judicial sovereignty, customs sovereignty, and so on, it would obviously be a kind of territorial cession.

It's just that under the effect of Zhu Cihong's psychedelic drugs, Shimazu Mitsuhisa, a native bun who has been in Japan all his life, obviously can't understand what sovereignty is. All he could see was naked interests.

Even, for many warlords, if there is enough to pay for, even if it is a betrayal, so what?

Who doesn't know that the 21 articles in history are traitors? But the price is sufficient...... The traitors also faced it calmly.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa didn't know what kind of discredited comments his actions would leave in later generations, but the silence of the old man Abe Tadaaki obviously did not intend to stick to the topic.

This made it relaxing and quietly relieved. Frankly, if Abe Tadaaki really wants to continue to insist, although he is confident that he can resist, it will take a lot of effort.

This is not a good thing for the construction of the free trade zone, which is racing against time.

At this time, Zhu Cihong's life-saving words rang out: "I heard that the matter of Ryukyu has been finalized and implemented. After I came, I also wanted to see how the Sino-Japanese reconciliation agreement was being fulfilled now. Your Excellency Tadaaki Abe and Your Excellency Mitsuhisa Shimazu, tell me about it. ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa breathed a sigh of relief, His Majesty the Emperor spoke, and Abe Tadaaki didn't have the energy to discuss other gossip.

"I would like to inform Your Majesty that the evacuation of the Ryukyus is now one-third of the way in progress. The Satsuma Domain's troops, which had previously been scheduled to be stationed on Amami Oshima, had returned to Tanegashima accompanied by the First Fleet, and the Ryukyu officials were being handed over to the Ryukyu officials at various locations. There are still two remaining phases, one of which is the resettlement of Japanese people who have returned to the Satsuma Domain. The other is the transfer of all materials such as immovable property. At present, Japan is in discussions with the Ryukyu Kingdom, and the initial plan is for the Ryukyu Kingdom to redeem it. "Abe Tadaaki has been running around about this these days, but he is tired of him.

Zhu Cihong nodded with a smile, the army withdrew in the first step, and the Satsuma Domain did not make a ghost.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa also took the opportunity to complain: "The land of the Ryukyus, the people of my Satsuma Domain, regard it as the island itself. Treat it like your own home, and build it with care. Not to mention decades of hard work and wasteland, the population of the Satsuma Domain is now swelling, and there are many people and little land. Once so many people pour in, countless troubles are coming. But in the same way, Your Majesty's holy light can be checked, and my Satsuma clan yearns for the heart of the Ming Dynasty, the heaven and the earth can be learned, and the sun and the moon can be expressed. ”

Zhu Cihong pondered for a while, but said with a smile: "These satsuma guards don't have to worry. I can tell you the good news in advance that the Sino-Japanese Goodwill School hosted by the Daming Education Department will be the first to open in the Satsuma Domain. It is expected that the first batch of 1,000 students will be enrolled to teach basic Chinese conversations. Moreover, based on previous experience in North Korea, once the China-Japan Free Trade Zone is successfully established, more than 5,000 jobs will be created within a year. This is still taking into account the effect of popularizing the Chinese language in the Sino-Japanese Goodwill School, which teaches about 5,000 qualified graduates who master Chinese in a year. Once the language problem is solved, I believe that even 50,000 or 100,000 people will be evacuated. Employment Issues in the China-Japan Free Trade Area...... It will definitely not be a problem. The Liu Printing & Garment Workshop alone plans to build a 1,000-person workshop in the Satsuma Domain. And such a big workshop owner, this time with me, there are at least a hundred people. ”

One workshop owner can recruit 1,000 people, how much is 100?

100,000 people!

With the employment of 100,000 people solved, how prosperous will the Satsuma Domain become?

Perhaps Shimazu Mitsuhisa has not yet understood the importance of employment to a country.

But there is no doubt that the tens of thousands of people who have been evacuated from the Satsuma Domain will never have to worry about starvation anymore.

Moreover, the prosperity of the Satsuma clan seems to have been assured.

Now, what Shimazu Mitsuhisa has to do is to implement all this, and he must not let the duck in his mouth fly!