Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 370: Two Benefits
On Omu Island, Ise Sadaki also discovered that the Satsuma Domain had no way to deal with these Ming people who threatened to escape.

Ise Sadaki was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke

"What is the current situation of the samurai stationed in Ryukyu by the Satsuma Domain?"

"Except for those who resisted arrest, the remaining 162 Satsuma soldiers were all imprisoned in the city."

"There is plenty of water in the city. As long as we can make a deal, you can take the person away anytime."

Ise Sadaki's face relaxed when he heard this. These samurai stationed in Ryukyu were not just one person. Behind each samurai there were a large number of relatives and friends.

Fortunately, the Ming army did not kill people at this time. Otherwise, even if the Satsuma clan wanted to suppress the matter, the samurai in the clan would definitely not let it go.

The dispatched samurai foot soldiers had 30 or 40 casualties, but the feudal domain could easily suppress the rebellion by finding a reason and offering some compensation.
Ise Sadaki nodded slightly when he thought of this. This alone showed that these Ming officials did not come here to start a war.

After confirming the safety of the hostages, Ise Sadaki finally looked at Zhu Zhiyu opposite him and said in a deep voice:

"Why do you Ming people station troops in Ryukyu?"

"Haven't I sent someone to tell you before? The Ming army is stationed here for copper. What's going on with Kamada in your domain? How come he can't even convey a single word clearly?"

Ise Sadaki looked at Zhu Zhiyu, who was frowning, and then he spoke again.

"Kamata has reported this to the domain, but are you really making such a fuss just to buy some cheap copper?"

Zhu Zhiyu looked at the suspicious look on Ise Sadaki's face and realized that the Satsuma clan was still suspicious of the Ming army's intentions.

Zhu Zhiyu thought for a moment and then said

"Do you know how much copper the Ming Dynasty bought from Japan last year?"

"It should be no less than 500,000 kilograms."

Zhu Zhiyu heard this, but shook his head and said

"Last year, our Ming Dynasty bought more than two million kilograms of copper from Nagasaki. Our Ming Dynasty purchased so much copper, but the shogunate refused to lower the price by even a cent, and also did not allow other merchants in Nagasaki to lower their prices."

"We, the Ming Dynasty, came here sincerely to trade, but the Japanese shogunate took the opportunity to hoard goods and drive up prices. Is this fair? This is not fair, so we came here on our own."

Ise Sadaki was also surprised when he heard this. How did he know that the Ming army needed no less than 500,000 catties of copper? Because last year Satsuma sold 500,000 catties of copper to the shogunate, and as far as he knew, most of this copper was transported to Nagasaki.

However, he did not expect that the Ming court had bought millions of kilograms of copper in Nagasaki last year, and it seemed that the other party was planning to buy more this year.
Zhu Zhiyu's eyes turned and he spoke

"The shogunate forcibly closed the Japanese port and held the only port in its hands. It is really hateful to buy low and sell high. Most of the products in Nagasaki Port belong to your various domains."

"Satsuma has copper, and the Ming Dynasty collects copper. We two families can handle the matter ourselves, so why should we give it to the shogunate for nothing?"

"How much can Satsuma offer for copper materials now?"

Ise Sadaki heard what Zhu Zhiyu said, and felt that what Zhu Zhiyu said made sense, but also vaguely felt that it was wrong. However, at this time, Ise Sadaki still spoke subconsciously.

"I, the Satsuma Domain, can sell copper for 100 catties and 7 ounces of silver."

Zhu Zhiyu frowned when he heard this and said

"Impossible. The price of copper in Nagasaki is only a few hundred pounds. If you are so insincere, then I will just look for another company. There are more than just your Satsuma family that has copper on the island."

The reason why the Ming Dynasty stationed troops in Ryukyu at this time was to smuggle copper materials.

After the shogunate closed the country, it strictly prohibited the feudal domains from manufacturing large seagoing ships. Now, except for the Tokugawa shogunate, the rest of the feudal domains in Japan have basically lost their ability to sail.
It was difficult to transport copper from Japan to Ming, but it was easy to transport it to Ryukyu.

As long as the Japanese feudal lords sailed their ships to the sea, both parties could find a deserted island near the coast to exchange goods and complete the transaction.

Such transactions were so secretive that when the various domains returned to their domains after completing the transactions, the shogunate probably didn’t even know that the domains’ ships had ever gone out to sea.

After the Ming army received the copper materials near the coast of Japan, they did not need to cross the ocean. They only needed to transport the copper materials back to Ryukyu along the archipelago and store them on the main island of Ryukyu.
When the monsoon is right next year, Ming official ships will no longer need to go to Japan, but can directly go to Ryukyu to transport copper back to the country.
Once this route is established, the Ming Dynasty can smuggle copper materials from Japan all year round.

Ise Sadaki was not anxious when he heard Zhu Zhiyu threaten to contact other daimyo. It is not easy to close a deal in one go.

Ise Sadaki thought for a moment and then spoke again.

"How much copper can the Ming Dynasty buy every year?"

"One million catties is not too little, and ten million catties is not too much. In other words, as long as the price is right, I will take as much as you have in Satsuma."

Ise Sadaki couldn't help but tremble in his heart when he heard this. If 7 taels of silver equals 100 catties, 10 million catties would be 700,000 taels of silver.
As long as Satsuma can make a deal, the financial problems that have plagued the domain for many years can be solved immediately, and it can even turn losses into profits.

Ise Sadaki couldn't help but ask

"Ten million jin? Do you have that much silver?" Zhu Zhiyu heard this but his expression was calm.

"This is not something you need to consider. When the time comes, just pay the money and receive the goods."

"How about it? What price can you offer?"

Ise Sadaki was silent for a moment before continuing

"I, Satsuma, can give you another ounce. How about 100 jin and 6 ounces of silver?"

"It's still too expensive, 100 jin and 5 liang. I, the Ming Dynasty, can promise to purchase at least 500,000 jin of copper from Satsuma every year."

Ise Sadaki heard this, but did not refuse, but said

"When trading, I, Satsuma, do not want silver, but goods from the Central Plains."

The goods from the Ming Dynasty have extremely high profits in Japan. If you can get the spot goods, you can make several times the profit as long as you resell them. It is much more cost-effective than taking silver directly.
Zhu Zhiyu thought for a moment, then said

"We, the Ming Dynasty, will not trade in weapons such as artillery and guns."

Ise Sadaki looked strange when he heard this and said

"What do I need from Satsuma? We need white silk, sugar, satin, cotton cloth, and tea sets. The more the better."

Zhu Zhiyu was slightly stunned when he heard this, and also said

"If it is these things, I can agree to it."

The two sides reached an agreement, and the atmosphere in the field suddenly relaxed. After both sides drank a cup of tea, Ise Sadaki's eyes flickered and he spoke again.

"Since the Ming Dynasty came here for maritime trade, it should not interfere too much in local affairs."

"I have governed Ryukyu for decades, and all the people in the country are loyal to me. I can temporarily lend the Ryukyu Islands to Ming Dynasty for garrisoning, but Ming Dynasty must return Ryukyu to me afterwards."

Zhu Zhiyu heard this, but he refused without hesitation.
"It's impossible. I, the Ming Dynasty, will not investigate the matter of Satsuma secretly controlling Ryukyu. This is already the limit."

"If it's Satsuma, even if your shogunate came with all its might, we would at most just withdraw temporarily."

"Ryukyu is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. We, the Ming Dynasty, will never allow Japan to invade Ryukyu."

Ise Sadaki heard this, but there was no anger on his face, and he spoke again

"What about Ryukyu?"

"The Ryukyu Islands are barren, and the islands of Sakishima and other places are thousands of miles away from your Satsuma. In fact, in my opinion, there is no benefit at all for you to occupy these places, so you might as well just withdraw."

"But if you were asked to give up these islands, I'm afraid you wouldn't be willing to do so."

"In this case, let's keep the status quo. The main island of Ryukyu will belong to the Ming Dynasty, and Satsuma will continue to station troops in the islands of Sakishima and Amami for the time being. We will talk about the rest later."

Ise Sadaki nodded slightly upon hearing this. Satsuma was unwilling to give up the two islands easily. The Ming army had already occupied the main island of Ryukyu by force, so it was naturally impossible for them to give them up easily.

Maintaining the status quo is now an acceptable solution for both parties. The most important thing at the moment is to complete the smuggling as soon as possible and go out to sea to make money.
Satsuma has tried every possible means for decades but has not been able to officially open up the Ming trade route.

However, the Satsuma clan had never thought that the Ming Dynasty would come to their doorstep and start trading with Satsuma.
If the Ming Dynasty had been so reasonable, why would they have invaded Ryukyu?
Seeing Ise Sadaki nod, Zhu Zhiyu also spoke

"In this case, let's wait and see whether the two parties have reached an agreement now."

Upon hearing this, Ise Sadaki also spoke

"This matter is of great importance and it is not something I can decide. I need to return to the domain to report and the decision will be made by the Lord of Satsuma."

"But in my opinion, my lord should be happy to see this happen."

At Naha Harbor, Zhongshan King Shang Zhi, Cai Jian and other Ryukyu officials all looked nervous and waited on the shore.

Although Shang Zhi and other Ryukyu officials could not see the situation on the island at this time, they still kept looking at Omu Island in the middle of the river.

The angels of the upper kingdom are negotiating with the Japanese, and this negotiation will determine whether Ryukyu and the Japanese will fight or make peace. It is also related to whether the Ryukyu royal family can officially get rid of the control of the Japanese and take charge of Ryukyu again.

Shang Zhi, Cai Jian and others were anxiously waiting for the result on the shore, but they were completely unaware that the two negotiating parties had not mentioned anything about the Ryukyu issue.

After Zhu Zhiyu and Ise Sadaki reached an agreement, the Satsuma ship on the riverside also sailed out of the port again.

After Ise Sadaki returned, the Satsuma fleet on the sea quickly turned around and sailed towards Satsuma.

(End of this chapter)