Ming East India Company

Shiranouchi also had reasons to insist on immediate shipment:

One is Tokugawa Ieyasu, who is currently considered a "potential stock" and has high investment value as he has just moved to Kanto.

Another point is that the price of raw silk is greatly affected by the year; if it is shipped again next year, the price will be halved.

Actually, there's another very secret reason, but Shiro can't say it outright right now...

Ultimately, the two sides argued endlessly, and Bai Ling and the others agreed to let him change the luck, but they made it clear in advance that this was a one-time thing, and if it failed this time, the matter would be dropped.

Accompanied by the port's horn, ten Malaysian ships left Naha Port and headed north.

The direct voyage to Edo was much longer than the more established route to Ryukyu, and the MH17's carrying capacity was more than enough to transport sufficient fresh water and food.

However, Hakuno is now the de facto "island lord" of the entire Ryukyu Islands, so he ordered the Amami Islands, Miyako Islands, Yaeyama Islands, and other islands along the way to provide him with food and fresh water, in order to minimize the loss of the fleet's reserves.

Fortunately, Hakuno had been treating these "vassals" who paid tribute to Ryukyu well during this period, so they were happy to provide Hakuno with supplies.

After leaving Amami, Hakuno's fleet took advantage of the tail end of the southeast monsoon and sailed at full speed toward Edo.

After sailing at full speed for twelve days, the fleet finally reached the Seto Inland Sea. There they met Ii Naomasa, who was in charge of the development and land surveying of the Kanto region, and finally got to meet Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Dressed in a plain Ryukyu brocade robe and holding a gift list, Shirono entered the main hall of the mansion under the guidance of a retainer of the shogunate. The furnishings in the hall were extremely simple, with only a table, seats, and weapons hanging on the walls.

Shiro bowed deeply and said, "Shinwashi, a merchant from the Ryukyu Kingdom, has come here with raw silk from Jiangnan after hearing that Lord Tokugawa has established a new capital in Kanto. He hopes to facilitate trade in the East China Sea and contribute to Edo."

Seated in the main seat, Tokugawa Ieyasu raised his hand and ordered someone to present raw silk. When the wooden box was opened, bundles of lustrous white and delicate silk were revealed.

Tokugawa Ieyasu twirled the silk threads between his fingers. The threads were tight, smooth, and tough to the touch, far superior in quality to the coarse raw silk produced in the Kanto region.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's calm expression softened into a greedy glint as he asked, "Where in Jiangnan does this raw silk come from? The journey is arduous; why didn't you go to Hirado in Kyushu, but instead came to Edo, which has only recently been established?"

Bai Ye straightened up and replied respectfully, "Reporting to Guandong Palace, this is top-grade raw silk from Huzhou in Jiangnan, a top choice for weaving in the Central Plains."

With the Kanto region now newly pacified, Edo is in dire need of rebuilding. Your retainers, samurai, and powerful clans in Kanto all require high-quality clothing materials, as the local silk fabrics are coarse and far inferior to those from the Jiangnan region.

Although Hirado is closer, Lord Taiko's tax rate is too high. Our Ryukyu Kingdom controls the East China Sea shipping route and is familiar with the winds and currents. We can sail directly to Edo, bringing raw silk, porcelain, and medicinal herbs directly, avoiding transshipment and extortion, and relieving Edo's urgent need for supplies.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's face remained expressionless.

Can you guarantee that goods will be delivered every year?

"The shipping route has been opened, and raw silk will be supplied continuously from now on. You can rest assured, sir."

Tokugawa Ieyasu nodded:

"You don't need too much. I'll give you two thousand dan of red seals every year. Just send over that amount."

At this time, Tokugawa did not dare to offend Toyotomi Hideyoshi too much, so he only dared to take what he could. If he undermined the Toyotomi family too much, he would not be able to withstand the consequences when Toyotomi came to his door to ask for punishment.

Seeing that an initial cooperation had been reached, Shirane took the opportunity to begin more in-depth exchanges:

"Thank you, Lord Kanto. However, there is another matter I would like to discuss: may Ryukyu engage in free trade within your territory in the future?"

Tokugawa Ieyasu found it very strange:

"Free trade? Has our Kanto region ever restricted trade with you Ryukyuans?"

Bai Ye revealed a meaningful smile:

"Of course there are, such as armor and cannons."

Tokugawa Ieyasu's face darkened. During the Sengoku period, the major daimyo strictly controlled armor, cannons, and horses, and strictly prohibited merchants from taking these items out of their territory.

"You should know that this is impossible. No daimyo would allow such a thing to happen."

"However, Ryukyu does indeed have a need to deal with the various daimyo of Kyushu."

"To deal with Kyushu?"

"That's right. Ever since Lord Taiko launched the invasion of Korea last year, the Shimazu clan has been taking advantage of the chaos to frequently send troops to invade our Ryukyu territory. Since Ryukyu needs to protect itself, it naturally needs weapons to help it."

Tokugawa Ieyasu came to his senses and gradually realized the true purpose of the Ryukyuans' visit.

Although Tokugawa did not yet have the determination to conquer the world and unify the East at this time, he was able to pose a threat to the various daimyo in the west by adhering to the principle of "befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones".

It would certainly be extremely beneficial for the expansion of one's own power.

Tokugawa Ieyasu nodded:

"From now on, you may purchase firearms, armor, gunpowder, etc., but you can only do so in Edo and cannot move around or leave at will."

"Moreover," Tokugawa Ieyasu said with a sly smile, "...

"You Ryukyuans must use 70% of the silver and copper coins you obtain from purchasing goods to buy other goods in my Kanto region. In return, I will give you a much lower tax rate than Hirado."

At this time, due to the mining of the Iwami Silver Mine, the East had a large amount of gold and silver, which was extremely attractive to the Ming Dynasty, which lacked gold and silver. This is also the reason why the silver thread trade was able to continue to operate stably at this time.

However, no matter how much silver there is, it will eventually run out, so the major daimyo of Japan still try to save as much as possible.

However, apart from silver, Japan didn't really have any competitive commodities in Ming China. Now that they finally had Ryukyu as a fat pig, Tokugawa Ieyasu naturally wanted to fleece it.

Moreover, there is another objective reason: at this time, all the important mineral deposits, such as the Iwami Silver Mine, had been completely seized by Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the previous "Taiko land survey".

Although Tokugawa Ieyasu was a powerful daimyo who ruled eight provinces in the Kanto region, he did not actually have much gold or silver on hand.

This is also the basis for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's monopoly on the silver silk trade; he is now the only one in all of Japan with that much silver. Even other daimyo who can smuggle raw silk privately cannot come up with that much silver.

Therefore, in Tokugawa Ieyasu's view, this was a very worthwhile deal.

For Baiye, this deal was also very worthwhile. Once Yuegang closed and the Bai family gained exclusive control over trade with Japan, they would certainly not lack silver.

However, it's hard to say about weapons, ammunition, livestock, and ironware; it would be difficult for the Ming Dynasty to find such a stable source.

Therefore, Hakuno readily agreed to Tokugawa Ieyasu's request.

Thus, with both sides believing they had "made a huge profit," Hakuno and the Tokugawa clan signed the first business contract in the history of the Haku family's development in Edo.

Under the watchful eyes of the monks at Sensoji Temple in Edo, Hakuno solemnly affixed the vermilion seal of the Ryukyu Kingdom to the Edo Trading Contract.