Chapter 141 Satsuma Domain’s Choice
"You are a thoughtful person..."
Zhang Chunyao's face turned a lot red after being praised by Chen Cao. Perhaps it was the redness left on her face after she had just finished her work: "This is what I should do."
Chen Cao lowered his head and glanced at her white body: "You should know what you should and shouldn't do..."
This intentional or unintentional sentence made Zhang Chunyao feel disappointed immediately, and then shed tears. Chen Cao shook his head and said, "It's not your fault. I've been with you for so long and I've treated you badly."
Zhang Chunyao nodded: "I know."
"Master Marquis, the scouts are here to report that there are cavalrymen from the Satsuma clan coming from Sakura City towards Bozuo Stronghold."
Xin Zhao whispered outside the cabin door. Chen Cao stood up and buckled his belt, then pulled Zhang Chunyao up: "Have a good rest and don't think too much."
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"It is impossible to prevent the entire Fangjin village from reporting the news,"
Liao Yaowen came in a hurry three days later. When he passed by Changzhou Domain, he was blackmailed by the local feudal soldiers. If he had not found a local person he knew well as a guarantee, he would not have been able to reach Fangjin Village today.
"The people of Japan, especially in the Satsuma Domain, are all members of the Shimazu family. They have great trust in the Shimazu family. Even though the army is here now, the Marquis must be more careful. They have many ninjas and dead soldiers. There are many, and assassinations are common."
Chen Cao nodded in agreement, and then asked: "What is the overall strength of the Satsuma Domain?"
Liao Yaowen compiled the information he had collected over the years into a small book and handed it to Chen Cao: "Please take a look at it, Lord Marquis; the strength of the entire vassal is in the entire Japanese country, and it is the strongest among the great names of the outer vassal. They are nearly as powerful as warriors alone." Ten thousand people, plus about 30,000 vassal soldiers who can be mobilized, we must not be careless."
Chen Cao flipped through the book, then handed it to Sun Chuanting to look at, and then asked, "How is the Shimazu family doing inside?"
"The current family governor is Shimazu Tadahashi, and the next family governor, Shimazu Mitsuhisa, is still a hostage in Edo. The Shimazu clan has many branches. The direct family is all in Satsuma Domain, and the branches are all in Osumi and Hyuga Kingdoms;
The Tokugawa family was afraid of the Shimazu family, so they placed retainers of the Tokugawa family as the Three Kingdoms daimyo in Hizen and Higo as well as the Hyuga Kingdom to monitor the Shimazu family. If there was any change in the Shimazu family, the Three Kingdoms would send troops to encircle and suppress them first. "
"The Japanese country is not monolithic," Sun Chuanting interjected. He put the booklet on the desk: "Master Liao, you have been in the Japanese country for a long time, have you investigated their specific situation? I mean, has the shogunate placed spies here? ?”
"There really is..."
Liao Yaowen immediately reacted and clasped his fists towards Chen Cao: "Master Hou, I don't know something. The shogunate has a residence hall for each feudal lord. These residence halls are like our Jin Yiwei's agents in various yamen;
The people in charge here are Kurata Heimasa and Ueyama Heiji. Although they stay in Satsuma Domain, they report everything in Kyushu in detail. "
Chen Cao turned to look at Sun Chuanting and said, "Does Boya want to fundamentally divide them?"
Sun Chuanting nodded: "When the Yuan army conquered Japan, they encountered resistance from all the Japanese people. Although the foreigners they fought in the Western Regions abandoned their helmets and armor, they still suffered a major defeat here in Japan. Except for the weather, they were not the same. Underestimating the enemy is inseparable;
The lower official thought that since Mr. Liao said that three countries were surrounding Satsuma, instead of letting them work together, it would be better to let them have opposite hearts. In this way, at least the Marquis' goal could be achieved. "
"It makes sense. Although Hizen, Higo and Hinata have fewer troops than Satsuma, once chaos breaks out in the land of Kyushu, it will be a headache for the shogunate. We will most likely be condemned if we come. If they go to me with the name of righteousness, Ming Dynasty appealed, those Qingliu in the court will mess around again and disrupt my plan."
Chen Cao said and looked at Song Che: "Shi Xiu, go and bring all Toyotomi and his party."
"Master Marquis, if this continues, do we need to continue to implement the strategic plan in Sakura City?"
Sun Chuanting is now proficient in using the new terms used by Chen Cao in every battle. Even high-end vocabulary such as equivalent ratio can be used at the appropriate time.
"Yes," Chen Cao knocked on the table: "If the Shimazu clan insists on showing their loyalty, wouldn't it be better for them to gather troops? Besides, if we miss this good opportunity...
If a daimyo really has so many troops, it is really not a good thing. On the contrary, this is what these daimyo often do. Everyone here should keep one thing in mind;
Non-my family, its heart must be different..."
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"General, do you think the Shimazu clan can use it?"
Chen Cao personally poured a cup of tea for Hideyori. The Japanese tea ceremony was also passed down from the Tang Dynasty.
Osamu Ono was away, and Hideyori only had Sanada Yukimura by his side. The overly resourceful general was indeed not suitable for political affairs, and he sat on one side without saying a word.
"During the Battle of Guanyuan, they did not dispatch..."
Hideyori thought for a while and said.
Chen Cao nodded in agreement, showing his loyalty to the Toyotomi family and shouting slogans loudly, but in actual actions, he shied away on the grounds that he was far away in Kyushu and could not support the Chinese war.
"Besides, during the Battle of Osaka, I ordered them to lead troops to support them, but they did not do so..."
Hideyori added again.
Sanada Yukimura on one side finally said: "Tadashi is not very firm in his position, but during the Battle of Osaka, they contained Bunzen and Bungo in Kyushu. The merits and demerits are indeed difficult to judge."
Chen Cao had more sources of information than them. Shimazu Tadahashi's position as governor of the domain was about to end, and Shimazu Mitsuhisa would return from Edo next year to inherit the position of governor.
"General, don't you like the Shimazu family in your heart?"
Hideyori looked at Chen Cao expressionlessly, and said after a long time: "I can't say whether I like it or not, but what they did is really chilling. My father was very kind to them when he was alive, but in the end..."
Chen Cao nodded, and then thought for a while: "Since the general does not like the Shimazu clan, then I will annihilate Shimazu's army in this battle, and then completely eliminate them... But...
As a result, I am worried that the Choshu Domain will be afraid of you, Shogun. "
Hideyori was stunned, and suddenly felt that what Chen Cao said made sense: "Back then, Ieyasu, Maeda, Ukita, Mori, and Kobayakawa were the five elders of my Toyotomi family. My hatred for Ieyasu was actually not deep, but the most hateful one. It is Hideaki Kobayakawa, and if that guy hadn’t suddenly rebelled in a good situation, Ieyasu wouldn’t be qualified to sit in China.”
Sanada Yukimura, who had his eyes closed at this time, spoke again: "Hideie is the adopted son of His Excellency Guan Bai, and is a loyal supporter of the general. His loyalty can be expected. The Mori family was the leader of the Western Army during the Battle of Sekigahara. I heard that Ieyasu After conquering the world, he retired. Now there are only two countries, Zhou Fang and Nagato, which are suppressed by the Tokugawa. If the general raises his arms and shouts now, he should be able to respond;
During the Battle of Osaka, Maeda Toshitsune joined Osaka Castle to assist in the defense. Now I heard that he is still in charge of the Kaga Domain, so I guess his status has not changed. "
Chen Cao turned to look at Liao Yaowen. Liao Yaowen lowered his head and said, "Master Marquis, if the Maeda family wants to help, I'm afraid it's a big deal. According to inquiries from subordinates, I learned that the current Maeda Toshitsune and the Tokugawa family are related by marriage, and they have a close relationship. That’s why he was not suppressed after the establishment of the Edo shogunate. Even though he was far away in what they called Tohoku, there was no surveillance around his daimyo.”
"General, as my subordinates said, the Maeda family is no longer reliable, so we might as well just ignore them."
Chen Cao was still talking to himself, but he didn't know that Hideyori laughed loudly, and then said with a bitter face: "Back then, my wife was Ieyasu's daughter, so she couldn't have saved me? If Yukimura and others hadn't protected me and risked their lives to save my mother, , and now there is no one of my Toyotomi lineage in the world."
Yes, Japan is an interesting place. Even if the daimyo are relatives, their interests come first before absolute interests. Back then, Ieyasu even ignored his son-in-law for the sake of Osaka Castle. I think this matter Hideyori must have a grudge.
"In this case, I also have a plan. When Satsuma is captured, the Shimazu clan will be handled by you, General. I will never interfere. But before that, the General may continue to stay on the ship for some time. Now It’s not the time for you to come forward.”
Hideyori bowed slightly: "It all depends on the arrangement of Marquis Dingwu."
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There are no mountains or crop fields in the Plain River area in front of Sakura Castle. This is the training ground for the feudal soldiers of Sakura Castle and Chiran Castle, and it is also the gathering place for Satsuma Domain soldiers during major military operations.
The lord of Sakura Castle is the Hirata Masamune family. Unfortunately, the current and future governors of the Hirata family died in Ryukyu. The heads were pickled and taken on the ship. I don’t know who the Hirata family was at that time. Can people clearly see what a human head looks like?
Hirata Masutaka is the second son of the Hirata family. He was originally going to be enfeoffed and sent to the Hyuga Kingdom as an official after Masunobu became the family governor, but now the entire Sakura City is immersed in great sorrow.
The family retainers and Masugao were all sitting in the castle tower of Sakura Castle without saying a word. There were two boxes on the table in front of a group of retainers, and in the middle were Hirata Masumune and Hirata Masanobu. head.
Of course, these two boxes of human heads were a great gift from Chen Cao to the Satsuma clan.
Although there is a mistake in the Japanese country, it is also the highest honor of a samurai. The head that is chopped off after hara-kiri will not go to hell after death. If the head is chopped off by the enemy without hara-kiri...
"Lord..."
A bearded retainer leaned towards Zeng Gao: "The people of the Ming Dynasty came prepared, we should prepare."
Another middle-aged retainer was very excited: "My lord, gather the army and kill them quickly. Don't let them succeed."
"Report..."
The warrior outside the castle tower opened the door and knelt down outside the door: "To inform my lord, a large number of Ming troops were found about ten miles outside the city, numbering about five thousand."
"Is the information reported by the scouts accurate?"
Hirata Masugao asked excitedly.
The samurai lowered his head: "It's accurate. Hatamoto personally verified it. They all have war horses."
ah...
There was a panic in the castle tower. Five thousand people had war horses. This was a formidable enemy in the Japanese country. Even powerful people like Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi had only more than a thousand cavalry, and now the Edo shogunate has gathered I am afraid that the whole country can only gather 3,000 cavalry.
Hirata Zenggao was not stupid. He knew that the Japanese war horses were not as good as the tall horses of the Ming Dynasty: "Quick...quick...send someone to this city quickly to inform the lord..."
