Soon, despite the language barrier, Zhao Song and Yan Guang were already chatting happily with Tachibana Munashige, firstly because the big man wanted to win over Yurong, and secondly because Tachibana Munashige was quite knowledgeable and knew that the big man needed him most.

What do you do, so you never make false promises to Zhao Song and others.

Of course, when Zhao Song and Yan Guang asked about future combat suggestions, Tachibana Muneshige also relayed the suggestions he made with Bi Su and others, and then reported Bi Su's subsequent actions to Zhao Song.

"This Bi Su acted on his own two and three times and went north without waiting for the order. Doesn't this mean he didn't take the military order seriously?" Yan Guang immediately became a little angry. "He is promising. It seems that the previous letter

The letter is not harsh enough to scare this regimental commander."

"Now that Bi Su has rushed over and pursued him all the way to Liuhe Fan, it will be difficult for us to command him remotely. We can only let him act with the camera." Zhao Song was not very angry, "Besides,

, he is not wrong in making such a deployment, we should indeed intercept them in two directions - in addition, the situation is urgent now, and it is unrealistic for him to wait for us to react before taking orders."

"I knew you would say that." Yan Guang frowned slightly, "Okay, let's not argue about this. In short, I also agree with this plan. The problem that troubles us now is not how to defeat the shogunate army, but how to defeat the shogunate.

The army will deal with the aftermath as soon as possible. We should take advantage of the opportunity of the shogunate army to gather together and annihilate them all in one go. Otherwise, if there are small groups of remnants wandering around, it will cause us trouble."

"What Counselor Yan said is true, let's do it this way, I think so too." Zhao Song nodded happily.

Then, he called the herald, and then ordered him to convey his order to the two regiment commanders Ma Tongji and Li Huanghe who were far away on the front line, preparing to let them continue to march north and east, and strive to cooperate with the Liaodong regiment going south as soon as possible.

Together with the troops, they surrounded the Kurume Domain's castle, the last home base of the shogunate army, and did not allow anyone to escape.

Yes, what Zhao Song means is to first surround Kurume Castle with field troops, consume the food and morale of the defenders in the castle in a siege manner, and then wait for the landed artillery to be slowly transported to Kurume Castle - yes,

The Han army obeyed Sun Zi's admonition and did not like to waste their troops in siege battles, so they attached great importance to artillery and liked to use artillery to blast open city walls.

There are several types of cannons in the Han Dynasty, which are used in different aspects. Now all the front-line troops use small cannons for field troops, and the mortars specially used for sieges have just been unloaded from the sea to the landing site.

These cannons are very heavy, and even if they use specialized artillery vehicles, their movement speed is relatively slow, so the frontline troops need to wait for a while.

At the same time, Zhao Song and others have another purpose.

"Master Zhou, I wonder if you have written a message to the various wealthy families in Kyushu?" Zhao Song suddenly asked Zhou Pu.

"Well, I already wrote it when I left Bi Tuanzheng." Zhou Pu immediately replied, "And I have asked the envoys of Satsuma Domain and Liuhe Domain to bring it to the feudal lords. I believe they will receive it soon.

"

Then, he took out a manuscript from his arms and handed it to the two people in front of him. "Here is the original manuscript. Please take a look at it."

Zhao Song took over the original manuscript of the "Kiuzhou Reward and Punishment Order" and then scanned it roughly, "Yes, it is well written, reasonable and powerful!"

"Without Zhao Lvzheng's military power and victory, there would be no reason and power at all." Zhou Pu complimented him at the right time, "If it weren't for the Han army defeating the shogunate army so easily, then the wealthy families of Kyushu would not have been able to do so.

It would be so easy to fall in love."

"Hahahaha, everyone supports each other and supports each other." Zhao Song laughed, "Master Zhou gave them a two-day deadline. I think it's good. Two days is enough for these people to think clearly. During this time, I

With Counselor Yan and you, just wait here..."

Then, he emphasized his tone, "After we gather those Kyushu feudal lords who are willing to join us, we will take these feudal lords and their men to Kurume Castle to let them see the military might of our great men!"

"Your Majesty!" Zhou Pu immediately agreed with the other party's suggestion, "The Japanese have always been afraid of subduing the strong, and we want them to follow us honestly. Showing artillery fire is indeed a very effective method."

Although Tachibana Munege was standing next to them, because he didn't understand Han?, Zhou Pu didn't have any scruples and spoke a bit harshly. He also looked like an old monk sitting still, not showing any sign of what the three people said.

Out of curiosity, I quickly became familiar with my identity.

"Then it's settled. I just hope that your admonishment can scare a few more feudal lords." Zhao Song waved his hand, "It's getting late. Come on, let's have a few glasses of wine together, let's celebrate!"

"How dare you disobey me!" Zhou Pu was also very proud, smiling and cupping his hands.

While the Han Dynasty was discussing with several officials at the highest level in Kyushu, the "Kyushu Reward and Punishment Order" issued by Zhou Pu was indeed dispersed through messengers to all parts of Kyushu except the Ogura Domain where Bi Su was heading.

The feudal lords in these places fell into unprecedented hesitation.

Among these hesitant feudal lords is Matsuura Takanobu, the feudal lord of the Hirado clan. Because the Hirado clan is relatively close to Nagasaki, he is also one of the first clan lords to face a decision. This man is only in his early thirties.

The feudal lord has encountered many great changes in his life, but never once has it been as dangerous as the situation he is facing now.

The wording of this statement was very impolite, and could even be said to be arrogant. The request to respond within two days, and if he did not surrender, both sides would be destroyed was even more ruthless. However, he had to carefully consider this inhumane decision.

Require.

The Hirado Domain is located between Nagasaki and Fukuoka Domain, so the glorious victories of the Han army on the two battlefields will give them a more intuitive feeling than elsewhere. What's more, the Han fleet went south from Hakata Bay to the sea off Nagasaki.

At that time, the huge fleet also left an unforgettable impression on every Hirado domain citizen who saw its majesty.

In addition, the disastrous defeat of the shogunate also brought them other adverse consequences - recently, refugees from the above two places have been pouring in continuously, so much so that it is almost reaching the point where the feudal lord can no longer bear it.

He received this "Kyushu Reward and Punishment Order" from the Yanagawa Clan's envoy, so he also knew that Shimazu Tadahashi and Tachibana Munemoge - the two most famous feudal lords in Kyushu - had defected to the Han and led their troops.

Cooperate with the fact that the Han Dynasty attacked Kyushu.

In the past few days since the war, he has repeatedly summoned the important ministers and elders in the domain, wanting to discuss with them to see if there is any solution, but no one among the elders has been able to come up with a satisfactory answer.

Yes, no one knows how to face the consequences if they disagree with the big man's request.

Resistance is obviously unrealistic. The Hirado Domain is only a small domain of 61,000 koku, and there are not many people in the domain. It cannot recruit many people who can resist. Even a large domain like Fukuoka Domain, or even the shogunate's own

Even the army could not stop the powerful Han, and it was basically impossible to expect the Hirado clan to be able to stop the army.

The big man has made it very clear that if he surrenders, he can save his family, but if he dares to resist, everyone in the domain will be destroyed. Under such a threat, no one dares to propose all-out resistance.

Although during the discussion, the elders were worried that the feudal lord would be angry, so no one offered to surrender and abide by the conditions proposed by the big man. However, when they discussed, the subtext was very clear. They all hoped that Matsuura Takanobu would take the overall situation and the lives of all the clan members into consideration.

For the most important thing, don't act out of emotion.

Matsuura Takanobu knew what they meant, and he didn't want to end up dying together, but it was still difficult for him to make a decision.

In order to have the last hope, he summoned the Dutch and wanted to ask them what they thought of the Han's rash attack on Kyushu - the Hirado clan had a Dutch merchant house and had always had good relations with the Dutch.

Gozzet, the commercial representative of the Dutch East India Company in Hirado, arrived soon. His clothes were impeccable, but his face was a little gloomy, perhaps because he had been worrying a lot recently.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Matsuura Takanobu went straight to the topic.

"Mr. Gozette, the Han Dynasty has now dispatched a large army to Kyushu. You must also know that our shogunate has completely failed." He directly explained the situation to the other party, "Now, the people of the Han Dynasty have issued a notice to us.

They asked us to surrender as soon as possible and asked me to go to Nagasaki to pay homage to the generals sent by the Han. I would like to ask, what do you think of the Han?"

Because of the Dutch in the domain, he still had hope in his heart. Although he knew that the Dutch merchant ships in Hirado could not fight against the powerful Han fleet, he also knew that the Dutch had frequent business contacts with the Han fleet.

, the relationship between the two parties is good, so he wants the Dutch to help him negotiate, at least to strive for a better condition.

However, he did not expect that the Dutchman's answer was very simple and straightforward.

"Lord, I'm afraid you can't count on our armed forces. We only have a few merchant ships in Hirado. These merchant ships cannot resist the artillery fire of the Han fleet, and we cannot risk our lives and the lives of the sailors." Ge.

Zet said with a straight face, "If you need me to give you any advice on your situation, I suggest you agree to the Han's conditions as soon as possible and help them maintain order in the domain and Kyushu Island."

"What?" Matsuura Takanobu was shocked by the attitude of the Dutch - not only were these Dutch people unwilling to give him any help, they persuaded him to accept all the conditions proposed by the Han and surrender to the Han. "Mr. Gozert,

Are you willing to see Kyushu fall into the hands of the Han Dynasty?"

"Even if it falls into the hands of a big man, it is better than a protracted war that continues forever." Gozette shrugged, "Sir, we came to Japan to do business. If Japan is always at war, this pair of

This is an unacceptable consequence for our business interests."

Ever since he saw the Han fleet with his own eyes that day and had a meeting with the general sent by the Han to Japan, Gozzet understood that the Han had made up his mind to defeat the Japanese shogunate this time. Originally, considering the commercial interests of the Dutch

, what he should support most is Japan, helping them resist the invasion of the Han Dynasty, lest Japan succumb to the Han Dynasty.

But... he now has no power to support Japan at all, and the merchant ships he brought cannot resist the Han fleet. It is impossible to count on Batavia, although he has now written a report and sent a ship to the East India Company headquarters.

, but he didn't believe that Batavia would come to fight the big man for this.

The East India Company could not afford to lose the two large markets of China and Japan at the same time. Besides, the company was currently at war with the Spanish, and it really had no spare power to interfere in the war between the Han Dynasty and Japan.

Therefore, he felt that he could only settle for the second best, hoping that this war would end soon so that the trade between the Netherlands and the two countries could return to normal. If the Han Dynasty failed to fight effectively during the war, the Dutch could even stand up to mediate.

Sit back and receive the gratitude from both sides.

Of course, it would be a bit uncomfortable if the big man defeated Japan easily, but even so, it would be futile.

In short, Gozette had no intention of intervening in this war at all. In order to prevent the Hirado clan from taking chances and to prevent himself and others from falling into the whirlpool of the war for no reason and facing the risk of their lives, he simply stopped

The hope of the Hirado domain lord was met, telling him that there was nothing the Netherlands could do.

"Mr. Gozette means that the Dutch can't provide us with any help, right?" After a moment of silence, Matsuura Takanobu finally understood what Gozette meant. "Instead, you suggest that we surrender to the invading Han invaders?

"

"...Yes, sir, if you insist on understanding it that way." Gozette hesitated for a moment, and finally replied with a slight embarrassment, "But please believe that we do think this is also a problem for you.

The best solution. In our Western concept, it is not shameful to surrender when faced with an irresistible force... I think that for you now, the military power of the Han Dynasty is probably irresistible.

, so you should make a wise choice for the sake of your own people."

"Okay, I understand, you can go back." Matsuura Takanobu didn't want to say any more to them and waved him away.

After Gozzet left, the castle tower fell into a strange silence.

Matsuura Takanobu had been deep in thought, but none of the elders dared to speak - in fact, they all felt that there was no need to say anything more.

"Does anyone have any other suggestions?" After a long silence, Matsuura Takanobu raised his head and asked.

"Back then, it was the shogunate that forced the previous feudal lords to death... Even if we fight back now, we still have a reason." One of the oldest family elders suddenly said.

The ancestor of the feudal lord he mentioned was Matsuura Takanobu's father, Matsuura Hisanobu. He participated in the Western Army in the Battle of Sekigahara, but the Western Army was defeated. Later, the shogunate ordered Matsuura Hisanobu to go to Edo to visit the general, but Matsuura Hisanobu died on the road.

The family elder suddenly mentioned this old incident, in fact, it was to give the feudal lord a step forward and provide a reasonable excuse for the Hirado clan's next actions.

Matsuura Takanobu completely understood what the other party meant, so he smiled bitterly.
To be continued...