Fun Bangliang rode a flying scissor boat and after two days of wind and waves, he finally arrived in Nagasaki, Japan. When he set foot in Nagasaki again, he had already changed his identity.

After Yan Siqi failed to plan a peasant uprising in Japan, Wen Bangliang never set foot in Japan again.

Nagasaki is still as usual, and the coolies on the dock are busy loading and unloading goods. From time to time, you can hear people talking to each other in Hokkien dialect, and you can see Ming people all over the streets.

Fumibonry did not stop for much, and directly visited the shogunate in Nagasaki and revealed his identity.

As expected, Funbonry was immediately regarded as a guest of honor by the shogunate. Funbonry submitted the letter written by Funbonry to Tokugawa Iemitsu and then began to wait.

The letter was urgently sent to Edo (Tokyo). Five days later, Tokugawa Iemitsu received a letter written by Zhao Yan. Tokugawa Iemitsu was overjoyed after someone translated the contents of the letter. The Tokugawa shogunate was recognized by the general of the Ming Dynasty, which was undoubtedly a very exciting thing for him.

At the same time, the general was willing to trade with him, and was willing to sell him muskets and cannons, as well as plate armor commonly used by Westerners. This was undoubtedly what Tokugawa Iemitsu cares about and excites the most.

He also bought some muskets, artillery, and plate armor from Westerners, but the price was very expensive and could not be purchased on a large scale with his financial resources.

The excited Tokugawa Iemitsu immediately rushed to Nagasaki to meet with the envoy from the Ming Dynasty.

In Nagasaki, Tokugawa Iemitsu met Fukura Ryo, who represented the Tenglai side on his mission to Japan. Fukura Ryo fluently communicated with Tokugawa Iemitsu in Japanese.

Funbangliang and Tokugawa Iemitsu for nearly three days had been exchanged and finalized the details of the trade between the two sides. Funbangliang made very smooth progress in the negotiations with Japan, and basically met the conditions explained by Zhao Yan.

Japan allowed Denlai to set up a gang in Nagasaki and reached an exchange agreement on the trade of saltpeter, sulfur and brass.

The price of plate armor costing fifteen taels is set at 720 jin of brass, which is equivalent to 30 taels of silver in Japan, but it can be cast into copper coins equivalent to 90 taels of silver when transported back to the Ming Dynasty, and the price is even higher after making copperware.

A musket costs only three taels of silver, priced at 3,000 kilograms of saltpeter, or 2,000 kilograms of sulfur. A smoothbore gun in front is priced at 2,000 to 5,000 kilograms of silver.

Such a price is fully acceptable to Japan, or even very willing to accept it.

Because Japan is a place with a lot of nitr ore, copper ore and sulfur, because these things are low in price and heavy in weight, few foreign merchant ships are willing to transport these things away.

For example, if you use 1 tael of silver to buy the goods transported back, you can buy 24 kilograms of brass. Suppose a merchant ship transports a total of 1,000 taels of goods to Japan and earns 2,000 taels of silver in Japan. If you transport the goods from Japan back, you can make 2 to 4 times the profit. Of course, you can exchange all the 2,000 taels of silver for goods and transport them back to make the biggest profit.

But if you want to buy brass all, it is obvious that the load capacity of the merchant ship is not enough, so it is naturally very unprofitable. It is also natural that no merchant is willing to buy brass from Japan.

Japan is a mineral specimen country, which has all kinds of minerals, but there are not many other minerals except saltpeter, brass, and sulfur.

Zhao Yan's shipyard can build flying scissors. At the speed of flying scissors, it does not have to be restricted by transportation capabilities at all. Brass is a very profitable thing for Zhao Yan. This thing is simple to operate. After being transported back to Denglai, it can be directly made into copper coins and distributed.

Saltpeter and sulfur are exactly what Zhao Yan lacks in military affairs. The weapon that consumes the most gunpowder is naturally the rockets currently used.

In a battle, as long as there are enough rockets, they can be shot out. There is no problem with the rate of fire. This is a weapon that is more powerful than artillery, but the problem is that it is too expensive. As long as there is enough gunpowder, everything is not a problem.

Tokugawa Iemi-south is undesirable for the trade demand for brass, saltpeter and sulfur, and it is guaranteed to strengthen the mining of brass, saltpeter and sulfur immediately.

In early July, Wen Bangliang returned to Shandong after completing his mission.

After hearing Wen Bangliang's report, Zhao Yan couldn't help but be overjoyed, and immediately asked the first fleet, which had already been in place, to escort the fleet to Japan.

The fleet to Japan this time had six merchant ships, and four lucky ships were loaded with cargo, but there were not many cargoes, all of which were glass mirrors and 50,000 kilograms of cotton cloth.

At the same time, people were drawn from the business and went to Japan to form a permanent guild hall to deal with trade issues. Establishing a guild hall is of course of many benefits, and the biggest benefit is to save time.

The guild will prepare the cargo for the return flight in advance. After the merchant ship arrives in Japan, it will unload the cargo directly, and then load the cargo and return to the flight, which can improve the efficiency of trade.

If there is no guild hall, it will take a long time to prepare goods. At the same time, Zhao Yan also set up a large warehouse in Qingdao that specializes in stocking export goods.

Just like the products exported, Wenbangliang listed a profit table for Zhao Yan, among which the most profitable things are raw silk, cotton cloth, sugar, poria, licorice, and lead.

The highest cotton cloth is Zhao Yan's advantageous industry, with a profit of 300% to 400%. Poria cocos and licorice are also profitable between 200% to 400%, and licorice is generally more than 300%.

Sugar is 200%~250%. Lead is exported to Japan mainly to refine silver, and the profit is between 200%~300%. The waste lead is transported back to Daming, and it still has its own price, and the profit is as high as 200%~300%.

The profit of raw silk is generally around 200% to 300%, the price per burden is generally between 600 and 1,000 taels, and the profit of silk is 150% to 200%.

The profit of porcelain is generally between 150% and 400%, mainly depending on the quality.

Among them, the largest goods are sugar and porcelain, which are also the most imported from Japan and have the best sales. Zhao Yan can currently export goods to Japan, mainly cotton, arms, iron, and glassware.

As for sugar and porcelain, you have to buy them from the south. It is simple to buy these things, not as difficult as Westerners. Westerners generally look for local compradors, and part of the profits is first eaten.

Zhao Yan does not intend to develop sugar and porcelain, and Shandong is not suitable for large-scale planting of sugarcane, such as economic crops. Currently, his food is more than one.

However, the profit of licorice is good. Zhao Yan decided to divide 50,000 acres of land in Dengzhou to grow licorice. In addition to trade, the hospital also needs this herb, and the amount is large.

...In early July, the war in Henan was coming to an end. Zhao Yong's infantry battalion, Lin Yi and Wu Yongliang's cavalry battalion captured more than 400,000 people from the hands of the bandits.

Gao Yingxiang escaped into the mountainous area like a stray dog, and Zhao Yong and the others stopped chasing. The warfare in the mountains is too variable, not only is it easy to be ambushed, but it is also very difficult to replenish supplies. Therefore, according to Zhao Yan's instructions, Zhao Yong and the others did not pursue into the mountainous area. Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Hui, Ma Shouying, Luo Rucai and other troops were also unwilling to care about it.

After driving Gao Yingxiang into the mountains, he immediately ordered the soldiers and horses fighting in Henan to bring their captives to Shandong.

For most of these farmers from Shaanxi, and the prisoners who were mixed with a large number of thieves, Zhao Yan was not at ease to plant them in Yingzhou or Handan and bring them back to Shandong to settle in the safest way.

At the same time, other troops were summoned back to Shandong to deal with the plunder of the Qing soldiers next year. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, when Huang Taiji ascended the throne, the Later Jin Dynasty was renamed the Qing Dynasty.

From May to July this year, the Qing Dynasty's military front appeared in Shanxi and northern Shaanxi. This year, they completely conquered Mongolia. Lin Danhan fought to the Caotan to death, and the Qing Dynasty obtained the imperial seal.

During the campaign against Lin Dankhan, he also robbed the Ming Dynasty, but the movement was not too big.

In the ninth year, Huang Taiji decided to prepare to expedition North Korea in person. In order to prevent the Ming Dynasty from taking the opportunity to attack, Huang Taiji ordered Ajige to lead troops into the pass to plunder, and sent Dorgon and Duoduo and others to lead their troops to march towards western Liaoning to restrain the Ming army in Shanhaiguan and thus alleviate the pressure on the Ming army on the Ajige army.

After two or three years of development, Zhao Yan's strength has expanded rapidly. Although his foundation is not very stable and the population he can recruit is not too large, he also has a complete military group.

The Qing Dynasty was the main enemy he had to face. The population of the Ming Dynasty was at least 100 million to 150 million. However, after the Qing Dynasty entered the pass and massacre, the population dropped sharply to more than 20 million, and at least 60 million people died in war. Most of them were massacred by the Qing Dynasty, and the number of people was more than that of the Japanese in later generations.

Such a barbaric and backward nation naturally needs to be resolutely attacked. Only by defeating the Qing Dynasty can Zhao Yan feel at ease. Therefore, Zhao Yan will resolutely attack the Qing cavalry who are about to enter the pass.

Only by hitting him until he was hurt can the Qing Dynasty prevent him from entering the country again.

At the same time, Zhao Yan now has warships and is preparing to launch a maritime offensive against the Qing Dynasty. More than 30 carefully selected scouts boarded a small boat and took the night to Lushun in early July and began to survey the terrain of Jinzhou.

These scouts were originally the Liao people who fled from Liaodong to Dengzhou. These Liao people were discriminated against in Shandong, but Zhao Yan did not discriminate against them, but instead placed them with great care.

These Liao people are very useful to Zhao Yan. Many of them can raise horses, and the horse farm requires a large number of people who know how to raise horses. At the same time, they are familiar with the environment in Liaodong, which is exactly the people that Zhao Yan needs.

At the same time, the propaganda department established by Zhao Yan has been promoting the concept of ethnicity. After propaganda of the people's thoughts, insulting titles such as Liao Gou also disappeared from the mouths of the people under Zhao Yan's rule.

The people who fled from Denglai in Liaodong gradually integrated into the group under Zhao Yan's rule and truly regarded themselves as part of it.

The thirty scouts selected this time have been carefully trained, knowing how to draw maps, and loyalty has reached a level of fanaticism, and are more fanatical than any public.

Because they were oppressed by Jiannu for a long time, Zhao Yan's ideological propaganda focused on promoting the atrocities of the Qing Dynasty. In the army, they even took the fight against the Qing Dynasty as their first goal, and regarded the Qing Dynasty as their imaginary enemies at all times. These soldiers from Liaodong felt even stronger.

In Denlai, the general gave them good place, treated them as human beings, farmed the fields, and never discriminated against them. This was enough.

...Since Zhang Xianzhong separated from Gao Yingxiang's large army, he flew all the way to Huguang. At this time, Zhang Xianzhong still had a good preservation in terms of strength.

During the battle with the Denglai Army, Zhang Xianzhong was alert to the highest surname and ran the earliest, and Ma Shouying was miserable, and most of the personnel were lost.

The fierceness of the Denglai Army made Zhang Xianzhong feel restless. It was definitely an invincible official army. His confidence was shaken for the first time, and his feelings for the future became darker.

Maybe this is an incorrect path, Zhang Xianzhong sighed inwardly, it would be better to avoid Zhao Shaxing's military attack! It would be better not be targeted by him.

Therefore, he decided to enter Sichuan from Huguang and then return to Shaanxi from Sichuan. The mountains and roads in Sichuan were rugged, and Zhao Shaxing's soldiers might not be able to catch up with him.

Zu Kuan and Zu Dale's Liaodong soldiers were fighting as usual. They only rushed to grab the credit after the bandits from the east were defeated.

At the end of June, Zhao Yan wrote a letter to Lu Xiangsheng and sent the first batch of plate armor to Lu Xiangsheng, with a total of 5,000 pieces.

The letter explained the reason for the withdrawal of troops to Lu Xiangsheng, saying that the Jiannu of Liaodong would invade the pass next year, and the soldiers of Denglai must be transferred back to Shandong to attack Jiannu.

Regarding the handling plan of those prisoners, Zhao Yan hopes that Lu Xiangsheng can cooperate with one or two.

After receiving Zhao Yan's letter, Lu Xiangsheng was obviously worried about the prisoners' disposal plan. At this time, he also knew a lot about Zhao Yan's strength.

It is not an exaggeration to call the Denglai Army the most powerful army of the Ming Dynasty. The application of firearms is unmatched. The troops are not comparable to those of other government troops in terms of equipment or training. Military discipline is unprecedented, and there is no violation of wherever they pass.

This is not what he is worried about. What he is worried about is that Zhao Yan is not hindered by the court in terms of financial resources. What he has seen for months are Shandong salt vendors who are trafficking in private salt everywhere. These Shandong salt vendors are all guarded and equipped with the same equipment as the Denglai Army. Mercenaries with plate armor and holding muskets are constantly traveling across the Central Plains, and all the governments dare to ask.

At the same time, Lu Xiangsheng also learned from a Shandong merchant that the glazed mirror that appeared in the Ming Dynasty in the past two years was also made by Zhao Yan, and it was unique to his family. Zhao Yan could earn tens of thousands of gold a month just for the glazed mirror.

The business income is enough to maintain the military expenses of the Denglai Army. At the same time, Zhao Yan is also very keen on farming. The Jimin Commercial Bank he opened is constantly recruiting refugees in various places. From time to time, you can see a large group of refugees rushing to Shandong, Yingzhou and Handan on the official roads under the escort of Denglai troops.

This time he sent troops to attack the thieves. From the series of actions of the Denglai soldiers, even pigs could be found. Their main task was to catch people. Whenever the Denglai soldiers bit the thief army, the first thing they did was to shout the slogan "Kneel down and not kill, send it to oxen and farm the fields." After capturing the population, the Jimin Commercial Bank would inevitably transport the food within five days, and a specific process has been formed for the resettlement of refugees.

It can be imagined that with such continuous military farming, the strength of the Denglai Army will continue to grow. With enough money and food, Zhao Yan can form many such armies.

"You can govern the army, safeguard the people, and have many means. If you govern the world, you will not know whether it is right or wrong," Lu Xiangsheng sighed in his heart.

But at present, the Ming Dynasty really needed an army that could fight like this, and could sweep the unrest. Zhao Yan was very active in combat and did not see any disobedience.

So Lu Xiangsheng had no reason to hinder Zhao Yan's development. What if Zhao Yan's resettlement plan for the 400,000 prisoners he did not agree with?

He did not have enough money and food to resettle these prisoners, and 400,000 people were not 40,000. If these people were not settled, it would inevitably be that these people would continue to follow the thief without a way out, or become bandits and thieves to cause harm.

In early July, Lu Xiangsheng wrote a memorial to Chongzhen and reported on the journey of this battle.

"The thief of the King of Chuang, on June 21, fought with the troops under the command of Zhao Yan, the general of Denglai, and killed more than 30,000 thieves. The King of Chuang and his troops were defeated. The King of Chuang chased after three consecutive days. He fought with the King of Chuang for seven battles, captured more than 400,000 thieves. The King of Chuang rushed into the border mountain area in a hurry. The remaining six or seven thieves, some 3,500, or 10,000 or 10,000, and rushed into Henan and Huguang. It was easier to attack. More than 400,000 thieves were originally good people, but because of hunger and cold, they had no choice but to follow the thieves. They needed to release oxen and farmland for farming, so that they could not rebel again. However, they were content with Qin and Henan, and disasters continued, and wars were everywhere. It was not a good choice. Previously, Kong Youde was in chaos and made it deserted. I thought it was most suitable for peace of the people in Denglai. In addition, the general of Denglai was rich in resources and was willing to spend money on peace of the people, which was really a great good..."

(To be continued)
Chapter completed!