Ming East India Company

After resolving Luo Sigong's issue, Bai Ye began to reconcile accounts with Bai Ling:

"How did you manage to get so much raw silk all at once?"

Bai Wenzheng was very dissatisfied with his daughter's behavior.

"What's wrong? Our family has finally made a fortune. The price of raw silk is extremely low on the market right now, and we also have the title of Keng Trader. Wouldn't it be better to buy more raw silk?"

Shiro couldn't help but complain:

"The entire Ming Dynasty only exports four or five thousand dan (a unit of weight) of raw silk to Japan each year. You've bought two thousand dan all at once. How can we possibly ship that out?"

"Besides, the favorable winds are almost over; there's simply no time to change our luck!"

Bai Wenzheng said anxiously.

After thinking for a moment, Baiye said:

"There is indeed a way. Japan is so big, we don't necessarily have to go to Hirado to do business."

"How could that be? Who would want all this raw silk if we didn't go to Hirado?"

Since Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified the East, there has only been one trade window for the entire East: Hirado. Even the Portuguese had to obediently unload their goods in Hirado.

Shirano pointed to the map:

"I think there will be people here who would be willing to accept our goods."

……

In the small study of the Honmaru in Edo Castle, the ginkgo leaves outside the eaves have turned a pale yellow, and they rustle down onto the bluestone steps in the breeze. Inside the room are three simple black wooden tables, covered with faded blue cloth mats, and even the teacups are made of coarse pottery, with subtle kiln marks still visible on the glaze—this is the unique rule of the owner of this house: no formalities in meetings, and meals are only for filling one's stomach.

The daimyo of the eight provinces of Kanto, the Junior Second Rank Minister of the Interior, and the lord of Edo, Tokugawa Ieyasu, had been sitting here for half an hour. Today he was wearing a dark brown cotton and linen haori without a single gold or silver embroidery, and his hair was tied in a simple topknot and secured with a plain wooden hairpin.

On the table in front of him were brown rice, miso soup, a small dish of pickled radish, two small sea bream grilled to a crisp, and a dish of dried plums. He ate very slowly, his left hand supporting the table, his right hand using bamboo chopsticks to pick up rice, chewing slowly and deliberately, as if he wasn't eating, but rather calculating the portion size of each bite.

"Sir, the land survey register in Kanto has been 30% completed. However, there are delays in the land survey in Izu County, with tenant farmers saying that they have poor harvests and are unable to pay their annual taxes."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sliding door of the academy was opened, and Honda Tadakatsu, Ii Naomasa, and Sakakibara Yasumasa entered with bows, followed by two retainers carrying documents.

All three knelt in obeisance, even their breathing became soft—they knew Ieyasu's rules all too well: during meetings, one must never make a sound or disrupt his rhythm.

Ieyasu raised his eyes slightly, without stopping his chopsticks, only vaguely responding with a "Sit." He picked up a piece of sea bream, slowly nibbled off the flesh, placed the bones on the edge of the ceramic plate, and then looked up at the three: "Izu territory? You're a former member of the Hojo clan, aren't you?"

Ieyasu put down his chopsticks, picked up his miso soup, and took a sip. The scallions on the noodles floated to the surface and then fell back down. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chillingly steady strength: "Is the flooding real? Or just an excuse?"

"We have sent local officials to investigate secretly, and it is true that one-third of the paddy fields in Izu County have been flooded," Yasumasa Sakakibara added. "But Shigenao Yamada has secretly hoarded 20% of the grain in the warehouse of his farmhouse."

Ii Naomasa stepped forward, holding the document in both hands: "Indeed. Yamada Shigenao, a former retainer of the Hojo clan, is requesting a reduction of his annual tribute by two years, citing local flooding."

A shadow fell over Tokugawa Ieyasu's face. Ever since Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched the Odawara Campaign two years ago and eliminated the Hojo clan, the eight provinces of Kanto had become a power vacuum.

In order to suppress the power of the Tokugawa family, Toyotomi Hideyoshi adopted the method of "promotion in name only" to transfer Tokugawa Ieyasu from the five provinces of Mikawa to the eight provinces of Hojo.

On the surface, Tokugawa Ieyasu's territory increased from 150 million to 250 million koku, but in reality, he lost his homeland and power accumulated over many years and was forced to migrate his entire clan to the unfamiliar Kanto region.

Now he has to deal with the resistance and rebellion of the remaining forces of the Hojo clan on one hand, and the suspicion of this Lord Taiko on the other.

Fortunately, this Grand Master Taige is currently busy with the Korean campaign, which has greatly reduced his pressure.

"We are permitted to waive 20% of this year's annual tribute, but we must be allowed to enter their territory for a complete land survey. The accounts left by the Hojo family are unreliable; we need to re-survey the land and clarify the real estate and population in Kanto."

"There's another matter. Just now, a fleet of Ryukyu merchant ships arrived in the Jiangwai Sea, saying they wanted to do business with us."

"Doing business? What are their goods?" Tokugawa Ieyasu picked up another piece of sea bream, chewing slowly as he spoke.

"The raw silk is all brand new raw silk from the Ming Dynasty."

Tokugawa Ieyasu stopped what he was doing and slowly put down the half-eaten fish:

"Is it reliable? And don't Ryukyuans usually trade in Hirado? Why would they come to Edo?"

"We don't know for sure, but my guess is that there's probably some internal strife among them."

How many goods were delivered?

"Two thousand dan of raw silk?"

Tokugawa Ieyasu remained silent, and Sakakibara Yasumasa reminded him:

"Such a large quantity of raw silk will definitely be noticed by Taiko if it's put on the market. This is emptying his pockets."

Tokugawa Ieyasu remained silent, clearly still hesitant about whether to proceed with the deal.

"They also offered that if you are willing, they can send raw silk to Edo every year."

A glint of light appeared in Tokugawa Ieyasu's eyes. The Kanto region was in dire need of reconstruction, and a stable source of trade revenue would be a tremendous boon.

"Do the merchants have a leader? Summon him."

Tokugawa Ieyasu was very cautious. He knew the consequences of taking on this business, so he was extremely careful in choosing his partners.

Outside Edo Castle, Hakuno, accompanied by an interpreter and escorted by a group of samurai, slowly entered the castle.

At an internal meeting in Ryukyu a few months ago, when Shirano proposed to transport raw silk to Kanto, almost everyone in his family opposed it.

The reason is simple: in an era when maritime knowledge was limited, no one knew how big or how far the East Ocean was beyond Kyushu.

Even the Portuguese, for a long time, thought that the Orient was Kyushu Island, and Kyushu Island was the Orient.

At the time, people believed that beyond Kyushu Island lay an endless ocean, and venturing out there would only lead to certain death.

Secondly, there's the issue of shipping routes. Even modern merchant ships with GPS navigation still need to follow fixed routes. If they wander aimlessly around the world without following routes, they are likely to run aground or be swallowed by storms and whirlpools.

Sending out a fleet without established shipping routes is extremely risky, which is why adventurers during the Age of Exploration were so revered—they risked their lives to dispel the fog of war on maps and pave the way for subsequent crews.

Even Bai Ling, while supporting Bai Ye in opening up new shipping routes, proposed a plan to hold the raw silk on Ryukyu Island for a year and then transship it next year.