I

Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Li Quan stared at the stock price on the blackboard, but what he was thinking about was sailing adventure.

In the past few years, traveling between China and America, he has discovered the Hawaiian Islands, Dadong Islands, Midway Islands, Wake Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Although half of them have been discovered by Spain long ago, this is the first time for China.

Next, he did not plan to go to America himself, but went south from the Philippine Islands.

Li Quan heard from the Spaniards that there are large islands further south, all of which are tropical rainforests. The headhunters there are more cruel than those in Luzon and Taiwan.

The expedition ships have been built. There are three in total, none of them are very big. They will set off when the trade wind comes.

He offered a higher salary than the American route and finally recruited all the crew members. The most active one is Cheng Jingming, a second-generation rich man from Suzhou who signed up without asking about his salary. He just wants to travel around the world by boat.

"Dang, Dang, Dang! Guide Salt Factory is up to the limit, Guide Salt Factory is up to the limit, don't get the application form from Guide Salt Factory again!"

The sound of a bell ahead disrupted Li Quan's thoughts.

Li Quan couldn't help complaining: "It's a boring trick."

He is engaged in maritime trade, so of course he understands the significance of issuing stocks. The company can raise funds from the private sector very conveniently. However, the various tricks in the stock market have turned stocks into gambling, at least for retail investors, which makes Li Quan feel very boring.

"Commander Li, why don't you try your luck?" asked a wealthy businessman next to him.

Li Quan said: "It is enough to take risks at sea, not in the stock market."

The wealthy businessman complimented: "Commander Li traveled thousands of miles across the sea and narrowly escaped death to do business for His Majesty. I really admire him for his determination to serve the country with every fist and fist."

No matter how Li Quan explains it, Sihai Trading Co., Ltd. is considered an imperial merchant, and he is the leader of the imperial merchant in people's minds.

From Nanjing to Luzon, as long as you give your name along the way, both officials and civilians must be polite to Li Quan. Really, Li Quan would see whomever he met. Governors, chief envoys and other high-ranking officials in the border areas would all be summoned immediately after receiving Li Quan's invitation.

Today, Sihai Trading Company has 19 ships, all of which can sail across the ocean. Including sales staff in China, Japan, America and Tanzhou (Hawaii), the company has more than 6,000 employees. They have private armed forces and even colonies - Danju and Sindengchun, which are essentially colonies of Sihai Trading Company.

Moreover, the business is no longer limited to American trade. There are a number of merchant ships sailing regularly between Shandong, Liaoning, North Korea, and Japan.

It even monopolized the trade from Shandong to the Tumen River, but this monopoly was a helpless move. The mouth of the Tumen River is very remote, with only more than 200 Han people (all prisoners), and even the Jurchen tribe is not large in number. You can't make much money from a trip, so private merchant ships are reluctant to go there.

Therefore, Sihai Trading Company has some official attributes. It is not easy to make money by running Tumenjiang, and it is not profitable to continue to immigrate to the Americas. However, Sihai Trading Co., Ltd. is willing to do it, and its sights are obviously set on twenty or thirty years later.

Li Quan chatted with the wealthy businessman next to him for a few words, and suddenly a subordinate ran in and whispered: "The Ronin of Japan's Satsuma Domain rebelled, and Tsurumaru Castle was captured by the rebels!"

"Tsurumaru Castle was attacked?"

Li Quan was surprised and said: "When the Datong army attacked Tsurumaru Castle, they even failed with their artillery. How could those rogues conquer the city?"

People kept rushing into the exchange, obviously getting the news.

More than ten minutes later, the stock price of a company mainly engaged in Japanese trade suddenly began to plummet, and it hit the limit in less than an hour.

…

Because the Datong Army went to Kagoshima to fight, the history of the Shimadzu family has been completely rewritten.

The governor who was supported by China has passed away. The current governor is called Shimazu Yoshimasa. The war reparations paid to China were settled with interest only six years ago.

Not only had to pay compensation, but they also had to be busy having fun. Even though the smuggling trade was hugely profitable, the Shimadzu family was a little unable to bear it, so they increased their efforts to exploit the people. What's more, profits from the smuggling trade must be distributed to the shogunate's senior officials, otherwise they will threaten to strictly investigate smuggling.

Japanese farmers in the Edo period were both like yeoman farmers and sharecroppers.

The land belonged to the lords, and the peasants could only farm it as tenants. However, the land rented by tenants can be passed on to descendants, which is equivalent to obtaining permanent tenant rights. Then why are they said to be like farmers? Because farmers not only have to pay rent, but also pay land taxes.

Paying both rent and taxes is rare in Ming Dynasty.

Land rent and taxes are collectively called annual tribute, accounting for about 60% to 80% of farmers' total income.

Do you think this is the end?

You also have to pay miscellaneous taxes, such as mowing grass, fishing, hunting, making salt, crossing bridges, sailing boats... As long as you do these things, you have to pay taxes according to the rules.

In addition to annual tribute and miscellaneous taxes, they also had to perform corvées and work for the lord for free.

"A Study on Peasant Revolts" published in 1928, counted a total of 574 peasant revolts in Japan during the more than 200 years of the Edo period. But after World War II, Japanese scholars continued to study historical materials and found that there were more than 1,000 peasant riots in the Edo period!

On average, there are four riots per year.

Moreover, the further time goes by, the more detailed the riot plan becomes, because there have been countless experiences and even mature uprising routines have been summarized.

Smart leaders of peasant uprisings will start preparations years in advance. They were often ronin or rural warriors (village samurai), dressing up as monks and traveling around, spying on people's hearts and recruiting comrades. As the number of companions increased, they dressed up as doctors and masseurs and traveled to various villages to deliver messages regularly.

Before the riot began, representatives from each village gathered together to form a blood alliance and elect leaders.

The first to be attacked were neighboring villages. Wherever the peasant army went, local people had to join in. Those who did not join would have their houses burned down to force them to rebel, similar to the coercion of Chinese rogue bandits.

Then he attacked the magistrates, burned their houses, and then laid siege to the lord's city.

The most classic case is the Kurume riot, in which 200,000 Japanese farmers participated. Collect weapons, ammunition and other supplies in advance, set up contact points in each village, and decide on strategies, tactics, and uprising goals. It was also determined which buildings had to be destroyed and burned, and which officials were to be killed.

However, the endings are much the same.

During the uprising, no matter how bribed the lords were, the number of traitors was negligible. The rebels were very loyal, but their demands were nonsense. They only forced the lords to implement good governance. They never thought of overthrowing the lords and the shogunate and becoming the boss.

Often the lord agreed at the time, but two or three years later, he reverted to his old ways, and the leader of the uprising would die miserably.

Just like the Asakawa Riots, the peasant uprising army grew to more than 80,000 people, and their uprising goal was to get the lords to agree to their eighteen demands.

…

three months ago.

Kagoshima, Kawara Village.

Taro Kuroda wore a monk's robe and came to this village in the valley.

"Master is here, come and sit at home." Village official Nakamura Shiro greeted him with a smile.

The two entered the house together, and Nakamura Shiro's wife was quickly sent to cook food.

Taro Kuroda took off his bamboo hat and whispered: "I have contacted 17 villages, and they are all willing to start an uprising. There are also many ronin in the castle town of Tsurumaru Castle who are willing to cooperate. What about you? Haven't you made up your mind yet? "

Nakamura Shiro looked hesitant. After a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "I am willing to participate! The county magistrate encouraged us to reclaim the barren mountains and promised to only collect a small amount of annual tribute. But the reclaimed mountainous land has just been matured, so we will follow the rules of the river." The same tax applies to all the land. Where can we get it? Even if nothing happens, I’m afraid I won’t survive next year!”

The Japanese village officials in the Edo period were similar to Satomasa and the grain chief of the Ming Dynasty.

The land in the village belongs to the lord, and the farmers work in groups of five to contract. It is said that there are five households, sometimes more than ten households form a group, and they share the annual tribute and labor. If a family cannot pay the taxes, the farmers in the same group must make up the amount, otherwise they will be prosecuted together.

The village official is the leader of the land contracting team. If his team members cannot pay taxes, he is the first to be accused.

Taro Kuroda, who contacted the uprising, was a rural scholar.

Rural warriors were often relatively wealthy, or their ancestors had been wealthy because their samurai titles were purchased.

If there are country people, there will be city people.

Warriors in the city can wear clogs, but warriors in the countryside are not allowed to wear clogs.

When the two met, the city man didn't like the country man, so he slapped him in the face. If a countryman dares to resist, a cityman can directly draw his sword and kill him without taking any responsibility afterwards.

Taro Kuroda's grandfather was relatively wealthy and tried every means to buy a rural scholar title. By his generation, his family had long been in decline, and he was full of resentment towards the lords and county officials because his family was impoverished by the government.

Nakamura Shiro said: "Please talk about "Datong Collection" and the Tang Dynasty. I like your talk about these the most."

Taro Kuroda has said it countless times, and he opened his mouth: "The emperor of the Tang Dynasty said that everyone is born equal. In Japan, the four peoples, the royal family, the Chinese family, the noble family, and the common people are equal. I am a country scholar and a noble family. , You are a civilian, but we are also equal."

"Can we really be equal?" Nakamura Shiro asked.

Taro Kuroda said: "Equality has already existed in the Tang Dynasty. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty was also called the First Emperor of the People's Republic of China. That is to say, from him on, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was the emperor of the common people."

Nakamura Shiro had heard this saying a long time ago and asked it countless times. At this moment, he still showed a look of yearning: "The Tang country is so good, why were we not born in the Tang country? I heard people say that the Tang army used to attack cranes. Maruchi never robbed civilians, and used money to buy anything they needed from civilians. The people near Tsurumaru missed the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty and looked forward to the Tang army coming to fight again."

Taro Kuroda continued: "The emperor of the Tang Dynasty was also a commoner before. He killed the daimyo and county officials and distributed all the land to the farmers. The farmers of the Tang Dynasty no longer farmed the land for the daimyo, but farmed the land for themselves. Every year The annual tribute is also very small. Businessmen from the Tang Dynasty in Kagoshima Port told me that even the farmers in the mountains there have enough food. When there is a famine, the emperor will ask officials to provide relief."

"My own land? It's really unimaginable. Farmers in the Tang Dynasty can also have their own land," Nakamura Shiro asked, "So when we start an uprising, can we have our own land?"

Taro Kuroda said: "The farmers of the Tang Dynasty can do it, and so can we."

The nature of the Japanese peasant uprising has changed due to the influence of "Datong Collection". Their demand is no longer to let the lords implement good governance, but to seize land from the lords!