In the early years, when Haihan decided to establish a permanent military base in the Kyushu region of Japan, he actually inspected multiple locations including Sasebo Bay, and Hakata Bay was one of them.
The water area of Hakata Bay is several times larger than that of Sasebo Bay. It is surrounded by a large coastal plain for development and has a permanent population of tens of thousands. It is also only a hundred miles away from the strategically important Shimonoseki Strait between Kyushu and Honshu. In terms of innateness, The conditions are actually much better than those of the remote Sasebo Bay.
If it is run by Haihan, over time, a Sanya-style port city can be developed based on the area near the harbor, which can easily feed hundreds of thousands of people.
However, Hakata Bay is not unclaimed land. If Kaihan wants to take over this place, he must go to war with the Fukuoka Domain, which will trigger a larger-scale war between the two countries.
At that time, Haihan did not want to consume too much of his military resources on the Japanese archipelago, and finally chose to settle in Sasebo Bay, which was easier to complete the occupation.
Shi Diwen read a lot of information about Hakata Bay at that time, and was no stranger to this place. He even knew about the situation of the Kuroda family who ruled the Fukuoka Domain.
If the armed fleet visiting Hakata Bay this time can deter Kuroda Mitsuyuki, it will be of great help to the goal that Shi Diwen wants to achieve.
You can say whatever you want, but you still have to be careful with your actions. After the fleet sailed into Hakata Bay, Shi Diwen ordered to slow down the speed to prevent the Fukuoka Domain from mistakenly thinking that the fleet was coming to attack the local area.
A sailboat sailed from the direction of the pier, with a flag woven with the Kuroda family's crest hanging on its mast. The ship slowly stopped on the sea four or five miles away from the fleet, turned its hull sideways, and faced the direction of the Haihan fleet with its broadside.
Immediately, another small boat was put down on the ship, and several people rowed towards the Haihan fleet.
Amakusa Shiro knew that this was the person who was here to guide the Haihan fleet to the shore, so he ordered the gangway to be lowered and led to the Zhoushan.
Seeing that the Kaihan fleet was very cooperative in letting its own personnel board the ship, Mitsuyuki Kuroda, who was watching from the top of the Fukuoka Castle tower, breathed a sigh of relief.
He was really worried that the Haihan people would make a sudden attack on Fukuoka Domain. If such an armed fleet rushed straight to the port and landed forcefully, then his own troops might not be able to stop them.
Fortunately, the pilots have successfully boarded the opponent's giant ship, so it seems there won't be much of a problem.
Although the port had cleared several berths in advance in preparation for Shi Diwen's visit, it was unexpected that the scale of the visiting Haihan fleet would be so large. Just one Zhoushan docked would take up three berths. berths.
However, the Haihan fleet did not originally intend to berth all the ships at the dock, and left several warships inside and outside the harbor as maneuvering forces in case of emergencies.
Shi Diwen was not surprised that the landlord did not arrange a grand reception ceremony. He knew the Kuroda family's position very well. If he was too enthusiastic about his arrival, it would appear unreasonable.
The meeting arrangement between the two parties had been negotiated with the Fukuoka Domain by Amakusa Shiro before this. As a safety guarantee, Shi Diwen can enter Fukuoka City with an entourage of no more than fifty people to meet with the daimyo Mitsuyuki Kuroda.
Fukuoka Castle was built in the early 17th century and took six years to complete. It was completed exactly fifty years ago. Of course, Fukuoka Castle, like other Japanese castles, is a "city" in name, but in fact it is more appropriately called a castle. Its area and building scale are far less than those of some counties in China.
Fukuoka Castle is also known as Stone Castle. Three-quarters of the approximately two-foot-high outer wall is made of huge stones, some of which even weigh over a thousand kilograms.
These stones were simply shaped and then directly built into thick walls using the dry-laying technique. The huge exposed stones, with many grasses growing in the cracks, look very primitive and rough.
Only the uppermost quarter of the outer wall is made of bricks and painted the same white as the buildings in the city. A blue-grey tile eaves is built on the top of the wall.
It is worth mentioning that the area where Fukuoka Castle is located is surrounded by natural waterways and lakes. When it was originally built, these natural conditions were used to build a complete water protection system. There are only three bridges that can pass between the outside world and Fukuoka Castle. At this time, it can be regarded as a model in Japan that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Shi Diwen met Mitsuyuki Kuroda who came to greet him at the gate of Fukuoka City. This young man was wearing a very formal belted attire, and his gorgeous purple dark-patterned silk robe showed his identity, but there was still something on his face. Unable to hide the tension.
As a Japanese, Amakusa Shiro naturally acted as a translator for both parties.
Kuroda Mitsuyuki welcomed Shi Diwen's visit and then invited him into the city.
The two parties had not had much contact in the past, so naturally there was no friendship to reminisce about. After sitting down, they quickly got down to business.
Shi Diwen said: "The Fukuoka Domain ranks among the top in the Kyushu region in terms of population and products. I very much hope that Haihan can have more contacts with the Fukuoka Domain, not only in the field of trade, but also in politics and culture." , military aspects, we can also communicate more and establish closer relations.”
After listening to Amakusa Shiro's translation, Kuroda Mitsuyuki responded calmly: "The exchanges between the Fukuoka Domain and your country must still take the instructions of the shogunate first. I believe you also know that the Kuroda family has always been loyal to the Tokugawa Shogun. Everything should be done in compliance with the arrangements of the shogunate.”
Shi Diwen did not believe this statement made by Kuroda Mitsuyuki. If he is truly loyal to the shogunate, then meeting with high-ranking officials of Haihan without permission is already an act that is not tolerated by the shogunate. From the time Haihan notified the Fukuoka Domain to Shi Diwen's arrival, these few days should not be enough for him to ask for instructions from the shogunate in Edo and receive a reply.
Obviously, Kuroda Mitsuyuki planned to meet Shi Diwen first to see if this meeting could bring any benefits to the Fukuoka Domain. If we can't reach an agreement, it won't be too blunt to put up the shogunate sign and reject Shi Diwen.
Although Kuroda Mitsuyuki's plan was good, he couldn't hide it from an old fox like Shi Diwen. Now that they have met, Shi Diwen has some conditions that can make the other party's heart flutter.
"I believe Lord Kuroda also knows that the Tokugawa Shogunate also has a large amount of trade with my country, so we might as well talk about trade first."
Shi Diwen said while paying attention to the other party's expression: "According to the data I have, in the past three years since Lord Kuroda took office, the scale of Fukuoka Domain's trade with my country through the Sasebo Bay business inn has been increasing rapidly. Growing.”
"I have detailed statistical data here on the twenty most purchased commodities by Fukuoka Domain from our country. If Lord Kuroda needs it, I can make corresponding arrangements to ensure that Fukuoka Domain can purchase these goods at more favorable prices. .”