"Emergency military situation, get out of the way..."
In the Satsuma Domain's Daimyo Mansion, a samurai armed with military intelligence was shouting loudly and hurrying on his way. All the servants on the way quickly moved out of the way, for fear that he would be chopped off for blocking the intruder.
Soon, under the guidance of the guard on duty in the mansion, the samurai came to the door of the home of Shimazu Tsuyoshi, the head of the family who was really in charge of the real power. He knelt on his knees and handed over the military information and said: "Report to your lord, This is an urgent military message from Ryukyu, please read it."
At this time, Shimazu Tsutoyo, who was half sitting on the soft and thick mattress, motioned to his son Shimazu Takasaki, who was kneeling next to him, to take over the military information inspection.
Since the year before last, when a man with white hair sent a man with black hair, Shimazu Tsuyoshi's health has been deteriorating. After a minor illness at the beginning of this year, Shimazu Tsutoyo gradually felt that he was about to die. Now he could only begin to slowly delegate power to the new head of the family, his grandson Shigehiro Shimazu.
However, Shimazu Shigehao is only sixteen years old after all. He is too young. He will be unstable if he has not experienced many things. But he knew that he didn't have much time left and there was nothing he could do.
Now he is counting more on his son to assist Shimazu Shigehao. After all, he is also Shimazu Shigehao's grandfather①.
The number of words on military affairs was not that many, but it made the expression on Shimazu's face less solemn.
"What's the matter?" Seeing Shimazu Takasaki's silence and frowning expression, Shimazu Tsutoyo couldn't help but asked worriedly.
In today's era of old and new power, stability is the priority in everything. Naturally, Shimazu Tsutoyo didn't want to see anything unexpected happen.
At this moment, Shimazu Shigehao, who was sitting upright and kneeling on the other side, was also looking at his uncle and grandfather, Shimazu Takasumi, with his expression revealing that he was very curious about the letter.
The things mentioned in the letter are very serious.
Looking at his seriously ill father, Shimazu didn't want to say anything, lest he make his condition worse. But if you want to hide such a big thing, you definitely can't.
Therefore, Shimazu Takasaki could only bite the bullet and said: "Father, there is news from Ryukyu that the rebels of the Tartar Kingdom have established a new Central Plains dynasty, named 'Yi'."
Hearing this, Shimazu Tsutoyo was stunned for a while before he seemed to remember such a thing, and then he slowly said: "I remember that it was last year that I heard that rebels had appeared on the Tartar side. At that time, I didn’t pay much attention, thinking that they had been wiped out by the Tartars like the other rebels. I didn’t pay much attention, and I didn’t expect that they were still standing.”
"Then why are you frowning?" Shimazu Tsutoyo asked as if he suddenly came back to his senses.
"Father, when Shang Mu heard about this, he sent an envoy to Yi Dynasty to hand over his credentials, and..."
When Shimazu Takasuke said this, Shimazu Tsutoyo couldn't help but laugh and said: "A country that has just been formed by rebels, Shang Mu is so impatient. It seems that Shang Mu is not only a coward, but also a coward." , and have no brains at all, it seems that with this person acting as a puppet in Ryukyu, we can feel at ease."
"However, Ryukyu's loyalty to the Central Plains Dynasty is indeed enviable. By the way, what else did you want to say just now?"
After laughing, Shimazu Tsuyoshi asked again after thinking about it.
Seeing his father's rare happy look, Shimazu Takasaki really didn't want to talk anymore, but Shimazu Tsuyoshi had already asked a question, so he could only continue talking, because this matter definitely couldn't be hidden.
"In addition to sending people to hand over credentials, Shomu also begged them to send troops to attack us." Shimazu Takasuke said carefully while observing Shimazu Tsutoyo's expression.
"Shangmu, do you feel that you are impatient with life?" Hearing this, Shimazu Tsutoyo, who was originally calm, couldn't help but get angry, but he quickly calmed down and said disapprovingly:
"Forget it, don't pay attention to this matter. This is not the first time they in Ryukyu have done something like this. Neither the Tartars nor the rebels probably have the time to pay attention to them."
"But it's better to give Shang Mu a beating, otherwise he will think that he can really change the world. Your wife, you will ask the people below to beat Shang Mu later to make him realize the reality."
From Shimazu Tsutoyo's words, it seemed that the entire Ryukyu Kingdom was just a small ball of Ryukyu at his mercy.
"But..." Facing Shimazu Tsuyoshi's order, Shimazu Takasaki seemed to be hesitant to speak.
At this time, I heard the voice of a warrior asking to see him and report.
After receiving Shimazu Tsumuyo's response, a samurai wearing a samurai uniform with a three-leaf sunflower pattern, the emblem of the Edo Tokugawa family, came to Shimazu Tsumuyo's room holding military information, bowed and reported: " Reporting to Lord Shimazu Tsuyoshi, this is Fujiwara Kanbei, the general of the shogunate. This is a letter sent to you by the general of the shogunate. Please read it."
"Your Majesty, bring it to me." Hearing this, Shimazu Tsutoyo felt a little uneasy in his heart. As a daimyo, if it was just a trivial matter, the shogunate would rarely send his own samurai over to deliver the message.
When Shimazu Tsuyoshi took the letter and unfolded it, it turned out to be Tokugawa Ieshige's handwriting.
Even though Tokugawa Ieshige was just a little old man who was 1.56 meters tall, he had a unclear speech and was often ridiculed for being incontinent. But the energy of the Tokugawa family is definitely not something the Shimadzu family can afford.
If the Tokugawa family wanted to destroy the Shimazu family at this time, it would be extremely easy. Maybe even the Tokugawa would not have to send troops, as long as they gave an order, the other daimyo would be happy to oblige.
In this way, Shimazu Tsutoyo has to pay more attention to it.
The number of words in the letter is still small, and the general idea is to be more restrained on the Ryukyu matter. You can test the true strength of the Yi Dynasty, but don't bring the fire to Japan.
Shimazu Tsuyoshi felt a little confused when he saw it, especially when he was testing the true strength of Yi Dynasty, he didn't understand. Could it be that he was sending troops to work as pirates in southern China? Is this a tacit admission that he can take advantage of the "Lockdown Order"?
"Father?" Seeing Shimazu Tsutoyo holding the letter in a daze, Shimazu Takato couldn't help but whisper worriedly.
"Oh, your lady, please find someone to arrange for Mr. Fujiwara to go down and rest." Shimazu Tsuyoshi immediately ordered after regaining consciousness.
"Yes, father." Shimazu replied.
"Fujiwara-sama, please go down and rest first. I will finish replying to the letter later and then ask you to take it back to the general." Shimazu Tsutoyo said respectfully to Fujiwara Mihei who was outside the house.
"Okay, thank you." Fujiwara Mihe couldn't help but smile.
After all, there is food and wine, beautiful women to accompany you, and most importantly, there is money to be made. Who wouldn’t be happy?
Note ①: Don’t doubt it, it’s not made up. Shimazu Shigehao was born to the daughter of his uncle who his father married. However, his mother died of confinement disease after giving birth to him. She was only nineteen years old.
②: At this time, North Korea and Japan both claimed to be Little China and looked down upon the Manchus.
