Chapter 1518: The Beginning of Everything

Because of its closed-country policy, the shogunate normally paid attention only to matters on the few islands of Japan itself. It was extremely slow and blind to changes in the outside world, and even knew very little about China, which was right on its doorstep. Yagyū Sōsai believed that the shogunate's internal perception of China was still stuck at the time of the war against Great Ming in Korea decades ago — and although that description was already one of someone very hard to provoke, Yagyū Sōsai felt that this still grossly underestimated the present Great Han court.

If Hideyoshi's great army facing off in Korea against the Great Ming of the Wanli reign was a fierce tiger, then the Great Han court of today was several times more formidable — it had already lifted off the ground and become a vicious dragon. This vicious dragon was mighty because it valued its military, and prosperous and powerful because it valued industry and commerce. Its army had fought its way to desolate regions thousands of miles away, beating the famously renowned Mongols so badly they could only clutch their heads and scurry away; its navy roamed the seven seas at will, making the Spanish and the Dutch, who had once ruled the oceans, shrink back and halt in their tracks.

How could one lightly afford to offend a vicious dragon like this?

He had been silently cursing the shogunate's decision in his heart the whole time.

Yet no matter how many objections he had, matters had already reached this point, and he could only think of every possible way to make amends. Therefore, as soon as he received the news, he requested an audience with the Maritime Tax Office stationed in Tianjin and then entered into negotiations. But after negotiating for a while, the Tianjin Maritime Tax Office said the matter was too grave for them to resolve and could only be reported up to the Ministry of Commerce in the capital, and Yagyū Motoaki thereupon requested to go to the capital's Ministry of Commerce to make his case before the Great Han court.

However, because of the New Year holiday, his request was held down for a time and could not be acted upon. Only after the New Year holiday was over did he get the chance to enter the capital.

Burning with anxiety, he wasted no time. The moment he got the news, he rushed from Tianjin to the capital. After alighting from his carriage, he headed straight to pay a visit to the Ministry of Commerce, and so he was in no mood to admire the flourishing prosperity around the capital.

Of course, although he had been thoroughly versed in swordsmanship since childhood, ever since coming to Great Han he had never dared to carry a blade in public, nor dared to display any arrogant or overbearing attitude. So even though his heart was frantic, he had no way to vent it.

Fortunately, after a long and arduous journey, he finally arrived at the offices of the Great Han Ministry of Commerce.

Because of its enormous organization, the Ministry of Commerce's offices were not placed inside the imperial palace in the capital like many of the cabinet departments, but were instead built as a separate, dedicated compound. Since the Ministry of Commerce was in charge of the nation's commercial and trade affairs and state-run enterprises, it was immensely wealthy and powerful. Its offices were built on a grand scale, covering a vast area, and were a three-story stone structure, awe-inspiring and majestic.

After handing his identification documents to the guards at the gate, he waited for a short while and was finally summoned inside the compound. A minor clerk from the office then led him all the way to a waiting room, and what followed was another long wait.

Only when he had grown almost somewhat impatient did the door of the waiting room finally open. Another minor clerk led him into a room, where a middle-aged official with graying hair and a rather portly build was already seated, waiting for him.

The cabinet minister currently in charge of the Ministry of Commerce was Zhou Xuezhi, Marquis of Shangdang. A grand minister of that rank was naturally not someone he could see just because he wanted to. The person he had an appointment with today was He Jingkun, a deputy director of the Foreign Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce.

"Envoy from a foreign state pays his respects to Lord He!" The moment he entered the door, he gave Lord He a deep bow, appearing utterly deferential.

"No need for such ceremony, no need. Please, sit." This Lord He was quite amiable and did not put on airs at all. He gestured for him to sit. "Our office had a meeting just now, so I have kept Your Excellency waiting a long time. My apologies."

"My lord toils in service of the state. I am too full of admiration to have time for any complaint," Yagyū Motoaki said hurriedly.

As an important official of the Ministry of Commerce directly overseeing foreign trade, Yagyū Motoaki had of course investigated his background. This Lord He Jingkun was not a professional official who had risen through the civil examinations. Before the founding of Great Han, he had been a merchant in the Cloud Mountain Firm, specializing in maritime trade. After the new dynasty was established, the Cloud Mountain Firm was placed under the direct jurisdiction of the court's Ministry of Commerce, and he naturally and smoothly entered the Ministry of Commerce, becoming an official of the new dynasty. Following the principle of making the best use of a person's talents, he was fittingly placed in the Foreign Trade Department.

After several years of ups and downs in officialdom, he had become the deputy director of the Foreign Trade Department, wielding significant power, and had also been granted the noble title of Baron by the court for his meritorious service, formally becoming a newly risen favorite of the court.

However, even though he had become a high official and a member of the titled nobility, many of his old mercantile habits still lingered. He treated people extremely well, never put on airs, and his portly face had an air of "harmony brings wealth."

Lord He did not speak at first, but waited for his secretary to finish serving the tea. Only after the secretary had walked out did he leisurely pick up his cup, gently blowing on it a few times.

"Your Excellency has come to negotiate with me regarding the matter of copper exports, I presume?"

"Yes, my lord." Yagyū Motoaki quickly nodded. "Regarding our country's difficulties, I have already written a statement of petition earlier. I beg my lord to show some understanding for our country's hardships…"

"Ah, your country has really created a huge headache for us lately…" He Jingkun gave a bitter laugh. "Without any prior notice or subsequent explanation, you suddenly halted copper exports to our country. As a result, everyone high and low has been asking us what exactly happened. It is not only people within our own ministry asking — even departments outside are asking… As Your Excellency also knows, copper is a vital material, needed everywhere, and it involves several major ministries. Every one of them looks down their noses at everyone else, and we have to go around serving each one with a smiling face. Ah… it really is difficult for us…"

Although Lord He's tone was very mild and was merely a complaint, Yagyū Motoaki listened with a certain trepidation, and his back even went somewhat cold.

Because of the sudden halt in copper exports, the shogunate had now stirred up resentment in several departments of the Great Han court. In that case, it probably would not be long before the entire court's perception of the shogunate deteriorated considerably — and that would be a terrible thing.

"That the affairs of our country have caused my lord trouble, I am truly sorry!" He stood up and once again gave He Jingkun a deep bow. "It is just that the friendly nation of our country is now truly in urgent straits of war, and so we had no choice but to resort to this last measure. I beg your noble country's magnanimous forgiveness."

"Your Excellency, please calm yourself, calm yourself." He Jingkun still wore a face full of smiles and waved his hand to signal Yagyū Motoaki to sit back down. "Our side also manages maritime trade, so we have a general idea of the reasons. Recently, the Dutch have indeed been at war with the Spanish, and the fighting is intense. They are even buying cannons from us right now. So the reasoning of your country's shogunate is not something we cannot understand… But to not say a single word beforehand and to act so resolutely — it truly puts everyone in a very difficult position!"

Because he was in charge of foreign trade matters, He Jingkun did indeed know something of the situation in foreign countries — even more than Yagyū knew. The Netherlands had originally gained independence by rebelling against the Spanish. Since its independence, for the sake of old hatreds and commercial interests, it still frequently came into conflict with Spain. The Spanish Habsburg dynasty at this time was deeply mired in the internal chaos of the German lands and unable to extricate itself, and the Dutch seized this opportunity to join the ranks of Spain's enemies, waging a war that had lasted many years.

The Asian theater, meanwhile, was mainly fought between the Spanish colonies centered on Manila and the Dutch colonies centered on Batavia. After years of engagement on both land and sea, recently, whether in Europe or Asia, the Dutch had gradually fallen to a disadvantage. Thus, military matters had become extremely urgent. To make up for the losses in the war, the Dutch were preparing to once again concentrate the state's financial and material resources to expand their armaments and fleet, and cannons had become the top priority.

They had not only imported large quantities of copper from Japan, but had also placed large orders for cannons from Great Han through intermediaries, preparing to use them in Europe and on their fleets.

Great Han had placed great emphasis on armaments even before its rise to power. Although cannon manufacturing had once introduced Western techniques, after nearly a decade of improvement at any cost, cannon manufacturing technology had made leaps and bounds of progress and could now stand as an equal to the best Western cannons. Thus, Great Han, once a cannon-importing country in the Great Ming era, had leapt to become a cannon-exporting country. Previously, however, the export destinations had all been places with more convenient transshipment, like Vietnam, Siam, and Burma. A large-scale order from a Western country was a first, and at the time even the Minister of Commerce himself had been alerted — however, based on the principle of technical secrecy, Great Han's best and finest cannons would not be exported; only those that barely met requirements would be exported.

Therefore, the well-informed He Jingkun also knew that the other side's difficulties had a reason. But a reason was a reason — he could not, because of that, condone Japan's atrocious act of unilaterally halting copper exports to China without any explanation.

"My lord's difficulties, I can also understand." Yagyū Motoaki's tone remained very respectful. "I have already sent a letter back to the shogunate, asking my superiors to petition the Shogun to severely punish those who handled this matter, and to expand copper production, striving to satisfy your noble country's shortfall as soon as possible."

"You say expand, but even if it is expanded, that is a matter for the future. What about now? Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire, can it?" He Jingkun shook his head, clearly still unable to accept the Japanese side's explanation. "Does Your Excellency truly have no other way? Can you look again and see if you can allocate a sum of copper, at least to fulfill our previous orders?"

"Ashamed… I am ashamed…" Yagyū Motoaki still wore a face full of difficulty and embarrassment. "I have already written home to inquire, but they say they have truly transferred all the copper in stock to the Dutch, and can now only urgently requisition it from the mines… However, my lord, please rest assured, our shogunate will certainly compensate your noble country's merchants for their losses according to the agreed figures."