Chapter 150 Sincerity in Negotiation
"The Satsuma clan has been defeated. Go back and report to your lord."
"More than 40,000 people..."
"The Ming army looks like it has 20,000 troops, all of whom are firearms troops. I must inform you in detail about this matter so that you can make a decision as soon as possible."
"How should I say it?"
"Mingguo's intention is all over Japan..."
"Hiss...I'll go back right now..."
...
"Master Marquis, I finally failed to complete the mission..."
Chen Cao patted Lu Xiangsheng on the shoulder: "You did a good job. Breaking their main force is the same as breaking the city of Satsuma. You are the first to do it. The secretary will note it down for now."
"The general will be in panic."
The ministries rushed over quickly, and Tang Kainian and Song Che turned around to report the situation.
"Master Marquis, the entire army has lost 472 people and injured more than 1,600 people..." Tang Kainian said.
Song Che then said: "More than 8,000 enemies were killed, more than 24,000 were captured, and the rest all escaped."
"so much?"
Chen Cao was a little surprised that so many prisoners were captured.
"Some of the samurai leading the group committed seppuku and died, but we didn't care."
Chen Cao didn't care about the life or death of these people, so he nodded: "Whether we want to die or not has nothing to do with us, pass on the order, assemble the entire army, leave one regiment to guard the prisoners, and the rest will all march towards the main city of Satsuma;
Also, hurry to the port to inform those left behind and proceed as planned. "
"yes..."
.
When Chen Cao's army arrived at the main city of Satsuma Domain, the entire city was under martial law, and all the famous residences outside the city were set on fire.
"It seems that there are many smart people in Satsuma Domain with such a desperate plan."
Chen Cao immediately stopped where he was, because the fire ahead was a little hot. Although it was winter, the weather was good in the afternoon, and the setting sun was actually shining on the earth near the evening.
"The first thing they did is to block the progress of our army, and the second thing is to cut off the people's desire to survive. In this way, they can mobilize those people to fight our army to the death."
Sun Chuanting frowned and analyzed. Xia Yunyi, who was accompanying the army, nodded and then interjected: "The Japanese are all cunning and vicious. If we go by what the Toyotomi family said earlier, the student thought that the Marquis could bring the Toyotomi family here to see them. What was the reaction?"
Chen Cao felt that Xia Yunyi's idea was very good. If the Shimazu clan decided to continue to be loyal to the Toyotomi clan, then he would not have to bombard their door with artillery. Not only would he save military supplies and ammunition, but he would also be able to enter the Satsuma city without any bloodshed. This was a good idea. A very good deal.
"Well, what you said makes sense. Xin Zhao, send your horse back immediately to bring all the Toyotomi clan here. Tell them that there are more than 24,000 prisoners here and ask them if they want them."
"yes..."
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu" A messenger arrived: "Let me inform the Marquis that a messenger from the Satsuma Army has arrived."
Continuously killing messengers seems to be inhumane, not to mention that the Shimadzu family may very well be used by themselves in the future.
"Bring the people."
The person coming was Hatano Ma. Such a great general was in danger as an envoy, so we could see the courage of this person. Of course, Chen Cao did not recognize him.
After finishing the translation, Chen Cao turned to look at Sun Chuanting: "Does Boya think they are stalling for time?"
Sun Chuanting frowned, stared at Hatano for a long time, and then said: "It's hard to say this, but if I were them, I would definitely use this city to hold off the opponent, and then wait for reinforcements. But now we are like divine soldiers and generals, and we have reached the shogunate. There was no response, presumably they didn't know the information yet, or the shogunate was waiting to see the success or failure of the Shimazu clan;
According to what the Marquis said, such a large vassal could easily raise 40,000 troops, which was indeed a serious problem for the shogunate. "
Chen Cao felt that what he said made sense, and then stared at Hatano and asked: "If you want to negotiate, you must be sincere. Go, I will not kill you. Go back and tell your lord that if you want to negotiate, you must do it yourself." After leaving the city, I will build a pavilion on the high slope outside the city. If you come before noon tomorrow, everything can be discussed easily. If you don't come after the time...
hey-hey...
When I conquer your city, the Shimazu clan will disappear from the history of Japan..."
Hatano was a military commander. Being so aroused by Chen Cao, his blood suddenly surged. If he hadn't been shouldering an important mission, he would have already had an attack at this moment. Even so, his face still turned red.
Chen Cao saw this and sneered disdainfully, and then said: "Go quickly, time is getting less and less. If you are late, maybe your master will blame you."
As he spoke, Chen Cao reached out towards Xin Zhao, and Xin Zhao handed a baggage to Chen Cao.
Chen Cao threw the sealed bundle to Hatanoma: "This is a gift from me to your lord. Remember, let him consider it carefully."
.
The center of power of the Shimazu clan in the Satsuma Domain, the castle tower was brightly lit. Even Chen Cao, who was far outside the city, could see the lights as if they were in the sky.
The house was full of guests, all loyal fans of the Shimadzu family.
The governor of the family, Shimazu Tadahashi, sat cross-legged on the throne with a sad look on his face. The battle during the day had trapped all the power of the Shimazu family. Even if all the people were recruited, there were currently less than 5,000 defenders in the city.
"Everyone..."
Shimazu Tadahashi finally spoke after a long silence: "Is there any good way?"
The great retainer of the Shimazu clan, Hisaka Kawasama, has died in Ryukyu, and the successor to the great boss is naturally his son Kuji Kalashama, but he is just an ordinary military commander, and his resourcefulness is not as good as his father, so he can only be succeeded by Washima. Just like Tsugeki, he sat cross-legged with his head lowered and said nothing.
Lao Naka Inoue Senshin rolled his eyes, and then said: "My lord, I have sent more than a dozen troops to various countries in Kyushu. If the reinforcements from Hizen and Higo, the two countries closest to Satsuma Domain, are fast, they will arrive in two days. , as long as we defend our city, the Ming people have nothing to fear."
Shimazu Tadaro felt that Inoue Sennobu was talking nonsense. He looked down on this old guy who could only talk about war on paper. After all, this man had never seen the sharpness of the Ming Dynasty's firearms with his own eyes: "Please think twice about what Mr. Laozhong said. The Ming army's firearms are so fierce." It was the first time I saw my son. Even the general who was next to me had never seen him before when he was in Korea. He opened fire one hundred and fifty steps away from our army. Our Satsuma warriors did not die on the way to charge, but in our own formation. He was beaten to death by the Ming army’s firearms.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the room took a deep breath. Shimazu Tadahashi leaned forward excitedly: "Do you really mean what you said?"
"The son did not dare to deceive his father. The Ming army had many weapons. Even if the noble lords surrounded the Ming generals with all their strength, they could not get close. The son's thousand iron artillery troops were not spared."
Shimazu Tadahashi looked at Shimazu Shigeki. This arrogant Satsuma general who would not bow his head even when he went to the shogunate to enter Luo. At this moment, he was like a deflated ball, with his head hanging down: "The opponent is strong, but our army is not. The opponent, in my opinion, must use the strength of all Japan."
There was an uproar in the room. Seeing that Shimazu Tadashi was serious, Shimazu Tadahashi said, "So, are the people from the Ming Dynasty coming here to discuss matters related to the Yuan army?"
As a veteran, Inoue Sennobu felt that he had the responsibility to shoulder the responsibility of Satsuma, so he said: "My lord, I would like to go to the Ming army to lobby them again, delay time, and contribute to the arrival of reinforcements."
Shimazu Tadahashi was about to cry bitterly and write farewell to Inoue, but the guard outside the door announced loudly: "My lord, Hatano-sama is back."
Everyone was extremely excited. They thought Hatano had gone to the Ming army and would never come back. Shimazu Tadayaro was even more excited, because Hatano was his close partner.
Holding the bundle in his hand, Hatano walked silently into the castle tower and saluted Shimazu Tadahashi: "My lord, this is what the commander of the Ming army, Ding Wuhou, asked the general to bring back. He said it was a gift for my lord. "
Everyone looked at the baggage in confusion. Inoue Qianxin took the baggage and handed it over, and then asked: "Then does Marquis Dingwu have anything to say to the lord?"
"have..."
When Shimazu Tadahashi heard this, he put down his burden for the time being, and then asked: "Tell me carefully."
"They said that if we, the Satsuma Domain, want to negotiate, we must ask our lord to leave the city and negotiate in a pavilion on a high slope outside the city."
After Hatano finished speaking, people in the room began to curse. The excited Shimazu Shigeki even stood up and asked for orders to lead troops for a night attack tonight.
"That's enough..." Shimazu Tadahashi scolded the noisy subordinates: "What more?"
"Tell me not to kill the general, and ask the general to come back and send a message, let me, the Satsuma Domain, discuss it carefully, and tell me that the baggage must be handed over to the lord."
It seems that what's inside the baggage is the key.
Everyone looked at the ordinary baggage. When Shimazu Tadashi saw it, he opened the bag with a look of resentment and gasped. Everyone craned their necks to look over.
After opening it, there was a stack of folded red cloth with vague black patterns on it. Shimazu Tadashi's heart skipped a beat. He suppressed the nervousness in his heart and grabbed one end of the red cloth and slowly lifted it up.
"ah..."
Shimazu Tadahashi, who had just finished mentioning it, shouted, threw the red cloth out of his hand, yelled, fell down and trembled and pointed at the red cloth: "This... this... can't... no Will do..."
Because it was night, and the lights in the castle tower were not that bright, the ministers sitting in the room could not see very clearly. When everyone saw this, Inoue Sennobu, the leader, stepped forward and picked up the quilt. Shimazu Tadahashi straightened the red cloth he threw away and began to observe.
"this..."
"This is..."
"Could it be..."
"impossible..."
Those who were close could clearly see what the black patterns on the red cloth were, and everyone was trembling as if they had a cold.
Hatano clearly saw the patterns on the red cloth, and trembled all over: "Is this...the Kiri pattern?"
Shimazu Tadayō is young and is not very clear about the origin of the paulownia pattern. He is the only one in the whole house who is not sure what the paulownia pattern represents, but he does know that the paulownia pattern is the same as the chrysanthemum pattern, which is a decoration that can only be used by the Imperial family. .
However, he saw that all the elderly people trembled when they saw this ornament, so he thought that the owner of this ornament was not simple.
Inoue Qianxin held up the red cloth with a trembling voice: "Five...five-seven paulownia pattern...this is...this is..."
