1627 Rise of the South China Sea

The robbery at sea outside Sasebo Bay happened suddenly and went away quickly. Several cargo ships that were basically defenseless were surrounded by more than twenty warships. They had no way of escaping and had no choice but to surrender.

Several smaller warships immediately approached, and the warriors on board quickly boarded the ship, and then followed the armed fleet to a certain bay in the north with these ships.

As for Yuta Kozaki, who took the lead in escaping to the west, the robbers did not pursue him desperately. They just sent out several boats to follow and monitor him to ensure that he would not kill anyone.

Just as Yuta Ozaki thought, their target was this priceless batch of arms, not a shogunate official who fled in a hurry.

Whether Yuta Kozaki can escape or not, the matter of robbing the shogunate's arms cannot be hidden in the end, and it will not change the subsequent changes in the situation in the Kyushu region.

If they had previously annexed a weak vassal state, the shogunate might have pretended to be deaf and did not react out of consideration for stabilizing the situation, but this time they robbed the arms purchased by the shogunate, Edo will definitely not tolerate it. .

When the news came back to Edo, Tokugawa Ietsuna would definitely be furious. The next step should be to go through the process. First, convict the Kyushu daimyo of rebellion, then summon the army to prepare for war, and find a suitable time to attack Kyushu.

For the daimyo who instigated this incident, the top priority was not to hunt down Yuta Kosaki who was on the run, but to quickly divide up the arms they had obtained, and then go home and arm their troops to prepare for war.

It's early winter now. According to climate rules, there will be a lot of snowfall in the next few months. There is a high probability that the shogunate will not risk starting a war this winter. Therefore, the time left for each feudal lord to prepare for war is the few months between now and the beginning of next spring. .

Among the five powerful feudal lords in Kyushu, the only one who failed to get a share of the robbery was the Kumamoto clan, which had just calmed down the civil strife.

As the saying goes, one step is slow and the other is slow. The internal strife in the Kumamoto clan has caused its war preparation process to be much slower than that of other powerful clans. It was not until two days after the robbery that Tsunato Hosokawa of the Kumamoto Domain arrived at the Sasebo base as scheduled to meet with Shi Diwen.

Hosokawa Tsunato was not yet sixteen years old at this time and was the youngest daimyo in the entire Kyushu region. However, when he met Shi Diwen, he showed a maturity that was inconsistent with his age.

Hosokawa Tsunato first explained to Shi Diwen the reason why he failed to come forward to receive him last time. Before Shi Diwen visited Kyushu, he had been placed under house arrest by his rebellious retainers, and he was prepared to "put him under house arrest" after his successor arrived at Kumamoto Domain. Dispose of it.

It was not until recently that Hosokawa Tsunato finally seized the opportunity and launched a counterattack with the assistance of other retainers to quell the civil strife.

According to the subsequent interrogation of the perpetrators and the shogunate officials who colluded with them, it was indeed a direct instruction from the shogunate. The purpose was to kick out Hosokawa Tsunato, who took the initiative to get close to Kaihan, and replace him with an official loyal to the shogunate as the daimyo of the Kumamoto clan.

There were more than 100 people involved in this matter, none of whom were spared, and all of them had been executed on the order of Hosokawa Tsunato.

When Tsunato Hosokawa talked about this section, there was obvious hatred on his young face, and it was obvious that he had no mercy for the fate of these people.

Shi Diwen asked: "Master Hosokawa also killed the officials of the shogunate. Don't you worry that the shogunate will hold you accountable and charge you with rebellion?" Hosokawa Tsunari responded in a deep voice: "The shogunate has already I have taken action against the Kumamoto clan. If I don’t resist, the Hosokawa family will be gone. Since the shogunate doesn’t want me to live, then why should I be loyal to the shogunate anymore! The Hosokawa family will never take orders from the shogunate again in the future. Those who cannot accept this, I have ordered purges and expulsions.”

Shi Diwen nodded slightly, thinking that this young feudal lord has not yet been poisoned by bushido ideas, has no loyalty or fear to the Tokugawa shogunate, and dares to resist, which is extremely rare in this era.

He didn't know that Hosokawa Tsunato had such a thought, which was also inseparable from his admiration for Haihan.

Although Hosokawa Tsunato was young when he succeeded to the throne, he also had a strong heart. At that time, Kaihan had already signed the "Treaty of Amity and Commerce with Japan" with the shogunate, and he was obviously stronger than the shogunate.

Hosokawa Tsunato had already developed a strong interest in Haihan at that time. Later, he managed to get many books published by Haihan and come back to study them. He even hired highly paid Haihan scholars to come back and explain their secrets to him.

Although he was limited by the amount of knowledge and could not understand many contents, he gradually realized Haihan's complete leadership in various fields such as politics, economy, culture, and military. He believed that if the Kumamoto clan could fully imitate it, it might become the most powerful clan in the country.

With this idea in mind, Hosokawa Tsunari increased his contact with Haihan and began to select talents to go to the Sasebo base to receive various trainings provided by Haihan. Of course, this also includes military personnel training tailored for each of the Kyushu vassals.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this trend of the Kumamoto clan that it attracted the attention of the shogunate. Hosokawa Tsunari was still young and had a weak foundation for rule, so he was obviously the most suitable material to use as a warning to the monkeys. The shogunate believed that if the Kumamoto clan changed hands, it might also be an effective deterrent to other daimyo in Kyushu who were close to Kaihan.

However, the "smooth transition" plan designed by the shogunate ultimately fell short. Instead of solving the hidden danger of the Kumamoto clan, it actually forced it into the rebel camp.

Although Shi Diwen didn't know the details, since Hosokawa Tsunato was willing to join Kaihan, he was also happy to see it happen, and immediately expressed his support for him, ensuring that Kaihan would only recognize the Hosokawa family as the Kumamoto family. The ruler of the domain.

At the same time, it was also revealed to him that several other powerful feudal lords are currently preparing their troops and preparing to go to war with the shogunate next year. If the Kumamoto clan wants to retaliate against the shogunate's previous actions, they can also join them to form a coalition force to fight against the Tokugawa shogunate.

Shi Diwen's intention was still to give Hosokawa Tsunato a certain degree of confidence so that he could organize the Kumamoto clan's armed forces and engage in the next war with the shogunate. With the current level of hatred towards the shogunate, he should be able to achieve his goal without spending too much money.

However, it seems that what Hosokawa Tsunato wants to do is more than Shi Diwen expected.

"Master Shi, according to the plan you mentioned, we will have to wait until next year at the earliest to declare war on the shogunate and attack the Honshu region, but I don't want to wait that long. If other daimyo in Kyushu dare not declare war on the shogunate at this time , then I am willing to stand up and be the first!"

Shi Diwen smiled and said: "But even if you declare war today, it will still take time to prepare for the attack on Honshu. My suggestion is not to extend the time between declaration of war and the start of war too long, so as not to affect your own morale and encourage the shogunate. The majesty!"

Hosokawa Tsunato said: "Master Shi, I think we can attack closer targets before winter begins, such as... Nagasaki!"