"You are a real businessman." Matsuura Takanobu saw that he was so bold, and he felt a little admiration. "Aren't you afraid of being punished by the shogunate for violating the ban?"

"If the lord doesn't want to do business with us, I'm afraid he won't agree to meet us, right?" Zhou Pu immediately asked, "If your lord doesn't want to import our products, then he will naturally find products to export to us. Copper is the most important right now.

It is profitable, so we want to import copper from the feudal lord, and when this business opportunity is over, we will buy other products."

"Do you want to maintain trade with us for a long time?" Matsuura Takanobu frowned slightly, looking like he didn't understand.

"If the feudal lord agrees, we are willing to maintain trade relations with your clan." Zhou Pu immediately replied, "Nagasaki is good, but after all, it is under the direct control of the shogunate. Sometimes it is not convenient, and we have to rely on others.

Other channels.”

"You...are businessmen with special connections?" Matsuura Takanobu's expression became more solemn. He stared at Zhou Pu closely, "Do you also have connections in Dahan?"

"It's true." Zhou Pu was noncommittal. "If the lord is willing to do such a business with us first, we will definitely have many opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Then, the room suddenly fell into silence, and Matsuura Takanobu closed his eyes, as if thinking about something big.

"Okay...I can help you find copper and help you export it from Hirado Port." After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes again, and then looked at Zhou Pu. "But correspondingly, in order to maintain this transaction, you

You also need to import a commodity to us."

"The feudal lord... wants to import goods from us?" Zhou Pu was shocked for a while. Didn't the feudal lord just say that he didn't want to import goods from Dahan? Why did he suddenly change his mind?

"Well, I do want to buy goods from you." Matsuura Takanobu said calmly, "And these are goods that only well-connected businessmen like you can handle."

"What does feudal lord mean?" Zhou Pu was still very confused.

"The fire blunderbuss of your big man is very powerful, and it is made with fine workmanship and high precision." Matsuura Takanobu said in a very calm tone, "I want to import a batch of fire blunderbuss from you, and the cost will be covered with copper.

buckle.

"What?" Zhou Pu became more and more surprised. "The lord of the feudal lord is a firecracker... Is this a commodity that the shogunate prohibits the general daimyo from importing?"

The Han Dynasty's firearms are very sophisticated, and because of their large output and short distances, the price is very cheap compared to Western firearms. This has become a highly sought-after commodity in Japan. However, in order to prevent daimyo from various places from taking advantage of it, the shogunate also strictly prohibited daimyo.

Entering firearms, Zhou Pu did not expect that Matsuura Takanobu, who had taken the shogunate's ban so seriously just now, would turn around and ask for weapons from him.

"Yes, I want a gun." Matsuura Takanobu remained calm, "You are all businessmen from China. You came to Japan just for money, so you don't have so many worries."

"Speaking of scruples, I do have them, but...if the lord really needs it, we can't find a way." After a while, Zhou Pu hesitated to answer, as if he was very scrupulous. "But, the quantity won't be too high.

It’s a lot, and it will take a while, after all, we need time to raise funds.”

Although he was very embarrassed on the surface, he was already happy in his heart. Unexpectedly, this visit went more smoothly than expected. Matsuura Takanobu agreed to cooperate with the smuggling of copper, and also wanted to import Han's firearms, which showed that he had no regard for the shogunate.

With that kind of fear from the bottom of their hearts, it should be very promising to incite them to oppose the shogunate like the Shimazu family.

"Well, I'm just waiting to see your sincerity." Matsuura Takanobu stood up in excitement, "But you have to give us a deposit first. We can't work in vain."

"If you pay a deposit, we will send it to your domain soon." Zhou Pu replied immediately.

"Okay, you go back and prepare the deposit." Matsuura Takanobu stood up from the steps and left the room without looking back.

……………………

In the dusk of the afternoon, Zhou Pu and others left the castle tower of Hirado Castle and boarded the Dutch merchant ship again, preparing to rush back to Nagasaki.

"I wonder why you are so polite to the Matsuura clan?" Just when they were about to return to Nagasaki, Togo Shigekata, who was staying next to Zhou Pu, couldn't help but ask. "The Matsuura clan is nothing more than a small clan, and there are not many in the territory.

Even if the samurai join our side, they will not help much in the end. Being on the line with them will only increase the risks we face."

"Kyushu covers a very large area. Although your clan is powerful, there is no guarantee that it will be able to control the entire island quickly. In order to achieve my mission, I still need to find some additional helpers. This will be beneficial to both of us." Zhou Pu said politely.

Answer him, "Although the Matsuura clan is not strong, they are finally entrenched in Kyushu.

For many years, if we can borrow their power, it will be a help to pacify Kyushu. Besides, the Matsuura clan has a deep grudge with the shogunate. As long as they guide us well, they will definitely be willing to cooperate with us - visit them today

Judging from the results, our trip is still worth it. They really have other ambitions."

He knew that although Togo Shigekata was nominally arranged by Shimazu Yoshihiro to protect him, he was actually responsible for surveillance. Anything he said to the other party might be reported to Shimazu Yoshihiro himself.

It affected the cooperation between the two parties. Therefore, he always respected this retainer who was proficient in swordsmanship and never looked down upon him.

At the same time, the reason why he actively seeks contact with other wealthy families in Kyushu is to not rely too much on the Shimazu family. If the Han Dynasty only has the Shimazu family available after attacking Kyushu, it will not be a good thing for the Han Dynasty, and it will not be a good thing for himself.

It's not a good thing. He must find some people to rely on or support, and use them to weaken the influence of the Shimadzu family now and in the future.

"The Matsuura clan has other ambitions, which may not be a good thing for us, sir." Togo Shigekata still had a straight face, and it seemed that he was still not convinced by Zhou Pu, "If your lord really wants to bring the Matsuura clan in,

How should we repay them afterwards? Kyushu is not a big place."

When Zhou Pu had a secret conversation with Shimazu Yoshihiro, the condition offered to Shimazu Yoshihiro was that after the Han pacified the shogunate, the entire island of Kyushu, except Nagasaki, would be given to the Shimadzu clan. It was precisely for this temptation.

conditions, the Shimadzu family participated without hesitation.

Among them, they became the pioneers of luring wolves into the house. Due to their position, they naturally did not want other wealthy families in Kyushu to participate in dividing the Kyushu Island that they originally regarded as their own - even the territory of the Matsuura clan.

Want to take it away.

Of course Zhou Pu could see what the young man was thinking. In order to ease the atmosphere, he smiled slightly and said, "You don't have to worry. We big men keep our promises and will not go back on the conditions we have made. Even the Matsuura clan is involved."

, the territory previously promised to your noble clan will definitely not be less."

"My lord, what do you mean by this?" Togo Shigekata was even more confused.

"If the Matsuura clan really participated in our great cause of overthrowing the shogunate, then he would naturally be a hero. Heroes need to be rewarded, but they do not necessarily have to be rewarded in Kyushu. After the war, if the Matsuura clan has made contributions, you will be rewarded.

The imperial court can re-confer them to other places...Other wealthy families who helped the Han Dynasty can also do the same. Only in this way will more and more people join us and oppose the shogunate, right?"

Togo Shigekata thought for a moment in silence, and finally nodded lightly and asked no more questions. After the shogunate came to power, the transfer of feudal lords from various places was very frequent, and many powerful daimyos were moved across their territories, so what Zhou Pu said

In his opinion, the method was not unreasonable. The Matsuura clan was sent to other places after the war. Even if the fiefdom was expanded, it would not have any negative impact on the Shimadzu clan's Kyushu Island.

"We are grateful that your Excellency can keep in mind your previous promise." At this moment, Jiang Xia Mingxian, who was next to him, also spoke, "The lord has received the batch of firearms that Your Excellency sent before, and he is very satisfied with the quality. As expected,

It is a fine workmanship made by a man. However... the feudal lord feels that the quantity is too small, and he wants you to replenish a batch and send it over as soon as possible in the near future."

After the two parties reached a tacit understanding, Zhou Pu responded to Shimazu Yoshihiro's request and smuggled a batch of weapons currently collected by Dahan Merchant Store to Shimazu Yoshihiro through Jiangxia Mingxian and others. Shimazu Yoshihiro tested

After receiving these weapons, he was very satisfied and equipped them to a team of his most trusted retainer warriors. However, in order to continue to expand his army, he also wanted to get more weapons from Zhou Pu.

"It is not easy to transport weapons. We have already given most of the weapons in the collection to your noble clan. We will need to wait for a while before we can transport another batch to your noble clan." Zhou Pu shook his head gently, "Please also ask the feudal lord

Sir, wait a little longer."

In fact, Dahan Merchant Ship has been smuggling large quantities of weapons into the Nagasaki Merchant Hall. There is already a lot of storage in the Merchant Hall, but Zhou Pu doesn't want to give all the weapons in the store to the other party now, so he excuses himself.

.

"Time is precious, please bring the weapons over as soon as possible." Jiang Xia Mingxian accepted Zhou Pu's explanation, but continued to urge, "There are too few weapons now, and it is not enough to even arm all the lord's personal entourage.

The lord of the domain is about to eliminate the opposition forces in the domain, and without the weapons you sent, it may be delayed for a long time."

Shimazu Yoshihiro wanted to suddenly raise troops to eliminate his opposition forces in the Satsuma domain before starting an uprising to help the Han Dynasty march into Kyushu. Now it was imminent, so he gave priority to the weapons he obtained from the Han merchant house to his cronies.

Follow, ready to launch at any time.

"I understand. I'll urge them when I get back." Zhou Pu nodded, "I wonder how many people your clan will be able to mobilize by then?"

The question asked by Zhou Pu was straight to the point, so Togo Shigekata hesitated slightly before answering.

"It depends on how smoothly the feudal lord can eliminate the opposition forces within the domain. After all, if everyone does not work together first, they will not be fully prepared for war. Otherwise, the shogunate will be alerted in advance and unnecessary trouble will be caused." He seemed not to want to.

He showed weakness in front of Zhou Pu, so he spoke very quickly, "If everything goes well and the feudal lord is able to eliminate the rebels, he will probably be able to gather three to four thousand people in the summer."

"If everything goes well, we can still only gather three or four thousand people?" Zhou Pu asked in surprise, "Why are there so few?"

He was indeed a little surprised. Although Shimazu Yoshihiro owned a fiefdom with a claimed property of nearly 700,000 koku and a population of at least several hundred thousand, why could he only use so few people to participate in major events?

"Soldiers are more valuable than more. War relies on elite soldiers, not just a random number of people. Mr. Zhou must also understand." Togo Shigekata looked a little embarrassed, "The Shimazu family fought for many years during the Warring States Period and accumulated a lot of rich war experience.

, retainers and samurai who have led troops in wars for many years, they can lead their own troops and finally form a large army. Now that Japan has been at peace for many years, most of the former veteran generals have withered.

Zero. Due to the regulations of the shogunate, we cannot train troops on a large scale, so we can't come up with enough samurai to lead the troops in a hurry. If we are given a year or two, we may be able to prepare 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers, but from now on

By summer, it will be very difficult for us to prepare three to four thousand men. If we recruit farmers to form an army at will, we can certainly raise the number of people, but what is the use of such an army?"

"I see... I understand." Zhou Pu nodded and accepted the other party's seemingly reasonable explanation. "Your domain, please hurry up and prepare. The more troops you can gather at that time, the better."

In fact, Togo Shigekata had another important piece of information that he did not disclose to him. When the Satsuma Domain inspected the land, it claimed that the stone height was 700,000 stone. In fact, the real output was only about 300,000 to 400,000 stone. Because the Satsuma Domain was close to the sea, it often suffered

Natural disasters struck, and there was more rain than in other places, so agriculture was not developed and the population that could be fed was much smaller than it actually was. He was unwilling to reveal the plight of the domain to Zhou Pu.

"Of course we will do our best to prepare. After all, our wealth and life depend on it." Jiang Xia Mingxian also spoke at this time, "But if we only try our best, big things will not happen after all. In the end, it still depends on the outcome of the battle between the Han Dynasty and the shogunate.

If the big man can't defeat the shogunate in one fell swoop, then wouldn't our work have been in vain..."

He is a descendant of people who were naturalized in the Ming Dynasty. Three generations of his family have served in the Satsuma Domain. He has already regarded himself as a Japanese, so he doesn't feel there is anything wrong in saying this.

"Why did you say that?" Zhou Pu felt vaguely that there was something in the other person's words.

"Sir Zhou, to be honest, we have recently received a piece of news, not very good news." Jiang Xia Mingxian kept staring at Zhou Pu, "Shogunate Tokugawa Iemitsu plans to send troops to Luo next year, and now they are already in

We are mobilizing troops within Tianling and it is expected that a large number of troops will be gathered within a few months. Although this is not because our plot was discovered, judging from the results, it has also brought us a lot of trouble..."

"What? Such a thing could happen?" Zhou Pu opened his eyes slightly in shock.

"Sir, we will not joke with you." Jiang Xia Mingxian replied word for word.

No wonder the two retainers of the Shimazu family looked so strange today. It turned out that they were shaken after receiving such bad news.

Tokugawa Iemitsu wanted to raise his troops to Luoyang to demonstrate to the imperial court and the daimyo of Western Japan. Judging from the tone of these two people, it should be an overwhelming force, or at least the number was scary enough. It is conceivable that by the time

When the Han Dynasty marched towards Kyushu and Honshu Island,
To be continued...