Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 324 Going to Edo to Set Rules for the Shogunate

??

That was truly a wake-up call! Liu Ye slapped his thigh, stood up, and said in frustration, "How could I not have thought of that?"

The defeat and killing of Zheng Zhilong by the Qiongzhou garrison on their doorstep deeply shocked the Fujianese. Furthermore, the Tainan Customs Office was headed by Zheng Zhifeng, who was intimately familiar with the Fujian region. As a result, few Fujianese merchants dared to evade taxes; those who did were mostly silk or tea merchants from the Jiangnan region. Since almost all silk exports were concentrated in the Japanese market, and after Japan's isolationist policies, only Nagasaki allowed free trade. Therefore, as Li Fu suggested, by waiting in Nagasaki harbor and inspecting every merchant ship, no Jiangnan merchant evading taxes could escape. Unless they switched to trading tea or finished silk products, and instead went to Southeast Asia, they would inevitably be intercepted by the patrol fleet of the Bofu Customs Office when passing through the Qiongzhou Strait.

Liu Ye became increasingly excited as he thought about it, and waved his hand vigorously: "Let's do it this way."

However, his only concern was whether the Nagasaki side would cooperate. He asked Li Fu, "Aren't we overstepping our bounds by going to Japanese territory to investigate taxes? Will the Japanese obstruct us?"

Li Fu was shrewd by nature, and after spending several months in Japan, he had become almost a Japan expert. He confidently replied, "At least the Hizen Domain won't! We're collecting taxes from maritime merchants, which won't affect the Japanese at all. Most importantly, the Japanese admire the strong. The general defeated Zheng Zhilong in one fell swoop, and now he holds a very high position in the hearts of the Japanese. Legends about the general are circulating all over Nagasaki. You've already been deified by the locals..."

Liu Ye chuckled and said, "Really? The Japanese didn't describe me as a monster over ten feet tall with three heads and six arms, and a mouthful of fangs?"

“That’s not as exaggerated as it sounds,” Li Fu said seriously. “There’s just one thing the general must be wary of: the Hizen Domain’s non-interference doesn’t mean the shogunate won’t interfere. Although Nagasaki is within the Hizen Domain, it’s nominally a direct territory of the shogunate and Japan’s only legal port for foreign trade. If we make too much noise, be careful the shogunate might get involved!”

Liu Ye frowned and said, "That's true. Collecting taxes from your motherland on foreign soil is a taboo thing to do in any country."

Li Fu whispered, "Now that I've finished reporting the good news, I have some bad news to report to the general. When I was in Nagasaki, I overheard someone from the Nabeshima family, after drinking, casually mention that Zheng Zhilong had a son who survived the battle of Zhongzuosuo and was rescued by a Japanese subordinate, who is hiding him in Hirado..."

Liu Ye was startled, his eyes narrowed, and he asked, "What's your name?"

"His name seems to be Fu Song..."

“Fusong… Zheng Fusong?” Liu Ye tried hard to recall. It seemed that Zheng Chenggong had several names before he came of age. Before becoming the Prince of the Imperial Family, he was called Zheng Sen, courtesy name Damu. After being enfeoffed as the Prince of Yanping, he was also known as Zheng Yanping. However, according to the timeline, Zheng Chenggong attacked Taiwan in the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, he was nearly forty years old, so he should still be a child of about ten years old now. Fusong should be his childhood name.

Liu Ye rose and paced back and forth, thinking: Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. Regardless of whether this Fusong is the future Zheng Chenggong, since he is the only bloodline of the Zheng family, he must be eliminated. Although the Qiongzhou camp has already established its power, even an adult Zheng Chenggong cannot cause much trouble, let alone a mere boy. But leaving him alive is always a hidden danger. It is better to nip the future Prince of Yanping in the bud than to spend a great deal of effort dealing with him later. The Qing Dynasty's mistakes must not be repeated.

The next day, Liu Ye convened a meeting with relevant personnel to discuss matters concerning Japan. He first reported on several matters mentioned by Li Fu, and then asked, "Tax investigation in Nagasaki is imperative, but the reaction of the Japanese shogunate must also be considered; the Zheng family's runaway child is currently hiding in Hirado, what do you suggest we do?"

Yan Guang made a throat-slitting gesture and said without hesitation, "They must be eliminated to prevent future troubles!"

The others also chimed in: "We must nip this in the bud! Kill them!"

Qin Tian was eager to try: "If Battalion Commander Shi cuts off his father's head, I'll go cut off the brat's head. General, let me go to Hirado!"

Liu Ye gestured with his hand, saying, "You volunteered, which is commendable. I will consider it. Since everyone agrees on this matter, let's discuss the tax investigation again."

Li Fei said, "Based on my understanding of the shogunate, if we openly conduct tax inspections in Nagasaki, the shogunate will most likely feel that we have disrupted the existing order, and may prohibit us from doing so, or even expel us..."

Liu Ye frowned and said, "The shogunate has always been conservative. Given the Tokugawa family's tendency to want to retreat into their shells, it's not impossible for them to do this..."

Everyone began to ponder how to ensure that they could collect taxes without offending the shogunate.

Only Gao Jie shouted, "I heard Van Bommel say that the Japanese ships are all dilapidated sampans. If a naval battle breaks out, they will be no match for them. Moreover, their coastal defenses are no more than 12-pounder guns from Europe in the last century. With such weak coastal defenses, we should just attack them directly. Why should we be afraid of them?"

Liu Ye had a sudden inspiration. Since tax investigation and appeasing the shogunate were opposing choices, why not go all out and force the shogunate to submit? The Japanese often said that Zheng Zhilong had the strength to march on Kyoto. Could it be that the Qiongzhou Camp, which completely defeated Zheng Zhilong, couldn't march on Kyoto? In the 19th century, American General Perry orchestrated the Black Ships incident; the Qiongzhou Camp in the 17th century could have done the same.

Having made up his mind, he decided: "Gao Jie is right. We were able to defeat Zheng Zhilong and make the Dutch and Spanish submit. Why can't we do anything to the Japanese? Send a fleet to Edo and make the shogun submit, just like we did with the governors of Manila and Batavia!"

Sun Yuanhua, a seasoned and prudent man, was quite worried: "General, won't the court reprimand us for instigating a conflict between two countries?"

Liu Ye scoffed: "Military generals who command large armies are always courted by the court, as long as they don't rebel. How could they be reprimanded? Besides, since the Tang Dynasty, Japan has always considered itself a vassal state. Now that this little brother is disobedient, it's just a matter of teaching him a lesson. How can that be called a dispute between two countries?"

Thus, an armed demonstration triggered by tax collection was decided. In order to ensure that the full amount of commercial taxes from the merchants of Jiangnan was collected, the Qiongzhou fleet, after returning from Southeast Asia, set sail again for Japan, preparing to use force to establish new rules for the Japanese.

————————————————————

Note 1: In 1853, U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew Perry used gunboats to coerce Japan into opening its doors to the world, resulting in the signing of what was then Japan's first unequal treaty with Western powers. Because the ironclad warships of the time were black, this event is known as the Black Ships Incident.