Then, as if he remembered something, he raised his head again, "In this case, the affairs of the Han Dynasty envoy must not be delayed any longer! Let's just gather them up now and send them to Edo.

...If everything is calm, they will be the guests of the shogunate. If there is an emergency, an extra group of hostages will always be useful."

At this time, some voices suddenly came from the window, and the voices became more and more noisy, and the originally quiet night sky was also broken.

Naito Tadashige originally wanted to ignore it, but as if he felt something in his heart, his eyes suddenly widened, and then he suddenly stood up and staggered to the window.

Originally, he had poor energy and blood because of sitting on his knees. After seeing the scene outside the window, he became even more dizzy, staggering and almost failed to stand up.

"What's wrong, sir?" Soga Koyu felt something was wrong and ran over quickly.

When he looked over, he was stunned.

Under the window of a high-rise building, he clearly saw fires breaking out in several buildings in the distance, in a corner of Nagasaki Castle. The fire was so strong that it shot straight into the sky, lighting up the surrounding area. You could see people wearing wooden clogs.

Men and women wearing underwear are running hastily. From a distance, the flames shooting out everywhere are tongues that can devour everything. The place swept by this tongue is scorched black. The raging flames expand its claws unbridled.

, trying to cover all the places it uses under its rule.

It was already close to summer, so the weather was hot. Fueled by the wind, the fire grew bigger and bigger, and soon swept through some surrounding houses. The screams became louder and louder, reaching to the high-rise building where they were located.

.

Fires are common, but such a fire shocked the two important officials of the shogunate present.

Because the direction and location of the fire was clearly the location of the Han embassy.

What does this mean? The two officials thought of the same place at the same time.

"Damn it!" Naito Tadashige cursed, then he was shaken hard and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Soga Koyu's quick eyesight and quick hands prevented him from falling.

Naito Tadashige quickly regained his energy, then struggled to stand up, and then shouted to Koyu Soga, "Leave me alone, go and take people to arrest them! Catch as many as you can, don't let them run away."

!”

"Yes, sir!" Of course Soga Koyu also knew the seriousness of this matter. He responded immediately, then ran downstairs quickly, followed his entourage to the Nagasaki government office.

Then, soon he led the officials in the government office to the location of the Dahan Commercial Building. However, by this time, this once huge building had turned into a charred ruin.

The fire was still burning brightly, and the hot wind kept blowing on their faces, making him even more depressed.

Because he just asked others, and they all said that no one ran out of the store after the fire.

Either they are all dead, or they have run away beforehand... either outcome would be a huge disaster for him.

He endured the panic and anger in his heart, stared at the burning business building, and loudly ordered the people he brought to put out the fire immediately.

Water from wells in various places was quickly delivered, and even the common people were mobilized. Everyone was busy putting out the fire, and he also led people to patrol around to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos to escape.

However, until it was almost dawn, he still could not find anyone from the Dahan Merchant Store. By this time, the fire had been extinguished. He led his people to the ruins of the merchant store and took a closer look.

Still no one.

But there were traces of lamp oil and even gunpowder being used everywhere. It was obvious that this was a long-planned arson, and it was done by people inside the Dahan Merchant Store.

"Asshole!" He couldn't help but cursed.

After cursing for a long time, he dragged his very tired body back to the place where Naito Tadashige lived. Unexpectedly, he was received very quickly, and Naito Tadashige also had a sleepless night.

"How's it going?" Naito Tadashige asked immediately when he saw him. "Have you caught anyone?"

Soga Koyu shook his head miserably. "If we didn't catch them, they should have run away beforehand."

The two of them sat down at the same time, speechless for a long time.

"It seems that this was a premeditated move. These Han envoys have been deliberately plotting against us. This time they heard that we were going to send them to Edo, so they simply ran away." After a long time, Naito Tadashige finally

They expressed the common judgment of both of them, "Now we must search everywhere and catch them all!"

"I have ordered the guards in Nagasaki to search for them," Koyu Soga nodded, "But... Sir, there is one more important thing now than this."

"Yes... there is one thing that is more important." Naito Tadashige suddenly raised his voice, "Hurry up and pass on my order, let the feudal lords quickly gather all the soldiers in the domain, and then gather the soldiers as soon as possible, and hurry up

!”

"I have already given the order, sir. Now the envoys have rushed to their respective domains urgently. They should be informed after dawn." The gloomy Soga Koyu sighed, "But, I'm afraid.

It might be a little late..."

There was another moment of silence.

Although he could hear some resentment hidden in Soga Koyu's words, Naito Tadashige was no longer in the mood to be angry with him.

Obviously, since the envoys of the Han Dynasty Chamber of Commerce would take such a decisive action, they must have some deeper plot. Next, Kyushu is likely to be invaded by the Han Dynasty. As the two shogunate offices in Kyushu now

As a major official, the two of them must unite and never cause new problems.

"In addition to summoning these feudal lords, we must immediately send envoys to Edo and ask the shogun to quickly summon the soldiers and horses from all over the world to defend the country," Naito Tadashige immediately continued, "By the way, there is also Kyoto...Kyoto must also notify

, let Kyoto make preparations in advance, and don’t let the court be bewitched and influenced by the Han Dynasty!”

Then, he staggered to the desk, pulled out a few pieces of letter paper, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink and started swiping. His hand was shaking, but he didn't stop for a moment, almost crazy.

written on paper.

"What you said is right. I...I will do what you said." Koyu Soga looked pitiful at the old man and wanted to leave. "I will arrange defenses right now."

"Wait a minute!" Unexpectedly, Naito Tadashige suddenly stopped him.

"Sir?" Soga Koyu was a little confused.

Naito Tadashige wrote the letter he intended to send to Kyoto and Edo at a very fast speed, then raised his head again and looked at Koyu Soga with bloodshot and slightly swollen eyes. "Koyu, I really feel wronged to you.

Now...I just came here and I have to face such a disaster in a hurry."

"Sir..." Koyu Soga still didn't quite understand what he meant.

"If everything develops in the worst possible way, then Jiuzhou will probably face the most embarrassing situation. I hope you can be mentally prepared and don't be discouraged or shrink back no matter what situation you face.

"Naito Tadashige laughed bitterly, and then looked at him with a strange look, "Kyushu must at least resist to the end and buy time for Edo."

Koyu Soga opened his eyes wide because he understood Naito Tadashige's hint.

"My lord, do you think Kyushu alone can't withstand the big man?" he asked in a hissing voice.

Naito Tadashige did not answer.

Soga Koyu hesitated slightly.

He had also heard about the reputation of the Han Dynasty for its military prowess and strong ships and artillery. If the Han Dynasty really decided to invade Kyushu, they might not be able to send too many troops according to their estimation, but it would be difficult for them to resist it.

The shogunate's troops in Kyushu were too small. Even if the feudal lords of Kyushu who were pro-shogunate were included, the troops they could provide would not be enough. He could not guarantee that these disorganized troops would be able to block the attack of the Han Dynasty.

"Maybe it is indeed a bit difficult. If...if there really is a fight, we can use Kyushu's geographical location to delay time and wait for the army assembled by the shogun in this state?" After a moment, he asked Naito Tadashige with a hint of expectation, "

After all, the Han Dynasty is a guest army. As long as we share the same hatred, then... there may be a turning point."

Naito Tadashige still smiled bitterly. "Yes, we must drag it on. In short, we must fight to the end and never give in. Maybe resistance will cause us heavy casualties here, but... at least we have delayed the general and the shogunate for time. In this case

, no matter what, the whole of Japan will remember us."

He was not optimistic that the shogunate would be able to compete with the Han army in Kyushu based on its own ability, because the main force of the shogunate was in Kanto, and it would take time to recruit, not to mention arming and marching to the Western Kingdom. Although he had already written a letter to urge

The general has made preparations in advance, but it will definitely take a long time.

If the shogunate fully mobilizes, it can pull out hundreds of thousands of troops, enough to fight against the Han Dynasty on the mainland, and exhaust them until they are exhausted and have to withdraw, just like Goguryeo did against Tang Taizong. But... I, who is the first to bear the brunt, may not be able to

It's time to hold on until then.

But now he is not panicking, but has even calmed down, because he has already made up his mind in the previous nightmares.

Under the gaze of Naito Tadashige, Soga Koyu gave up his last bit of luck and understood the severity of the situation and the pressure he was facing. "Sir, please rest assured. As the leader of the shogunate and the leader of Nagasaki, I bear the responsibility

I have fulfilled my duty and betrayed the general's trust. If the war goes against my will, I will definitely fight to the end with my subordinates and will never run away or surrender. Even if I die in battle, I will be remembered forever!"

"It would be good to have such awareness." Naito Tadashige nodded slowly. "This is the spirit that our samurai should have."

Then, he suddenly let out a long sigh, "In the past, everyone thought that it was the Han who needed our mineral exports, and it was they who asked for our mineral exports, so we are in a favorable position and can tilt the trade between the two countries more towards our needs...

...Who would have thought that such a thing would happen! I just hope that this is just a false alarm on our part, and the big man will not go crazy and let both countries fall into military disaster."

He is familiar with history and knows that the two attacks on Japan by the Yuan Dynasty ended in failure. However, during these two wars, the Kamakura shogunate also exhausted all its financial resources and was unable to reward soldiers with meritorious service. As a result, they were alienated and eventually rebelled.

Ashikaga Takauji was destroyed.

Will this war be the same? The Han Dynasty lost troops and generals, spent countless financial resources in vain, and the Tokugawa shogunate was exhausted and finally had to face the world's chaos?

Until this moment, he still couldn't believe that a big man would make such an unwise choice and spend countless financial and material resources to cross the sea and expedition to Japan.

"Please ask God to continue to protect Japan!" He prayed secretly.

At the same time that a fire broke out in the Dahan Commercial Building in Nagasaki Castle, almost at the same moment, a fire also broke out in a residential house in Kyoto, not far from Kyushu.

Because the arsonist was also fully prepared in advance, the fire was also fierce and spread quickly throughout the city.

The buildings in Kyoto are basically made of wood. Of course, it is easy to catch fire in this sultry weather. In fact, Kyoto has often suffered serious fires in history, so no one has doubts about it.

When the fire began to spread, the police officers responsible for maintaining public security in Kyoto quickly gathered in residential areas and began to put out the fire with all their strength.

However, just as they gathered at the fire scene and had no time to care about other places, a group of people also took advantage of the dusk to arrive outside the walls of the Imperial Palace. This group of people were all dressed in black clothes and had cloaks on their heads, making it completely invisible.

Identity, only a blurry black shadow can be seen in the night.

Although it is the Imperial Palace, the building layout is very small, and the walls are naturally not too high. Taking advantage of the darkness, they quickly arrived at the Yiqiu Gate in the southwest of the Imperial Palace. Because someone was acting as an internal agent, the door was not locked.
To be continued...