Nabeshima Mitsushige realized that the problems pointed out by Shi Diwen were his own shortcomings. To solve these problems, the efforts of the Saga Domain alone may not be enough, so he could only ask for assistance from Haihan.
Nabeshima Mitsushige said respectfully: "Master Shi, please give me some advice on the solution."
For a high-ranking Haihan official like Shi Diwen, Nabeshima Mitsushige didn't think there was anything wrong with bowing his head to ask for advice. It was natural to show humility in front of a strong man.
Shi Diwen pointed out unceremoniously: "Nabeshima-sama, if you are determined to raise an army to resist the curtain, you should start recruiting young people to expand the army now. I think the Saga Domain must maintain at least a standing army of more than 5,000 people. Achieve the goal of attacking the Honshu region”
"As for the weapons and equipment and naval warships that the Saga Domain lacks, I suggest that Nabeshima-sama immediately place an order with our country to purchase them. Perhaps there is still time to deliver some of them before the operation begins."
Nabeshima Mitsushige said: "But your country's arms purchase delivery time has always been very long. Waiting for a year and a half is considered fast. If you plan to buy ten or eight ships, can you really keep up?"
Shi Diwen said: "Don't worry, Saga Domain's needs can be dealt with on a special basis. I will report the situation to the executive committee on my behalf to ensure a smooth transaction process. As for warships with a long construction period, I suggest that you can Purchasing second-hand ships that are about to be decommissioned by the Chinese Navy can save a lot of money and complete the delivery as soon as possible. ”
Nabeshima Mitsushige is still a little uneasy: "Can second-hand ships... be guaranteed to be available?"
Shi Diwen said: "To be honest, the second-hand ships retired by our navy are all in good condition and can be sent to the nearby shipyard in Sasebo Bay for repair and maintenance in the future. Satsuma and Tsushima have purchased from my country in recent years. I have a lot of warships like this. Mr. Nabeshima can go and find out if they are useful.”
"But I would like to remind Mr. Nabeshima that even second-hand ships are limited in number. Now, the Saga clan is not the only one who is preparing to purchase large-scale arms from our country. If it is too late, it may be gone."
Nabeshima Mitsushige said: "In that case, let's make a decision as soon as possible."
Although Nabeshima Mitsushige was not good at military affairs, he was a practical person who could listen to advice. He immediately called a retainer and asked him to calculate how much equipment he needed to buy from Kaihan.
This is not unknown, but it is shocking. If it were to arm a standing army of 5,000 people and have the shipping capabilities to deliver them across the sea to the Honshu area, the military expenditures that the Saga Domain would spend on purchasing equipment would be an astronomical figure. .
Even though Nabeshima Mitsushige was mentally prepared for this, his face couldn't help but become a little ugly when he heard the number reported by his retainers.
However, since Shi Diwen planned to sell arms, he was certainly prepared for this. Dang even said that Haihan could provide a special loan to the Saga Domain to purchase these urgently needed equipment, without the Saga Domain providing any collateral, and only Charge extremely low interest.
Such favorable terms were difficult for Nabeshima Mitsushige to refuse, but he didn't quite understand why Kaihan would take the risk to lend money to the Saga Domain for the war. If the Saga Domain was defeated, there would be no collateral to offset the debt. , then wouldn’t Shi Diwen lose all his money?
Shi Diwen explained to him with a smile: "Nabeshima-sama is young and promising. I am very optimistic about the future development of the Saga Domain. Even if I take some risks in supporting the Saga Domain, I think it is worth it. I I think Mr. Nabeshima will not disappoint me.”
After all, Nabeshima Mitsushige is young and has too little experience in dealing with old foxes like Shi Diwen. Being praised by him like this will inevitably make his head feel dizzy.
But starting a war was a big deal, not to mention that the opponent was the Tokugawa shogunate who ruled the Japanese archipelago. Nabeshima Mitsushige still needed to discuss it with his men again, so he suspended the talks. "Sir, it seems that Nabeshima Mitsushige has been tempted. Your words are really powerful! You sold the arms in just a few words. I really need to learn from you in this humble position."
Hearing Amakusa Shiro's praise, Shi Diwen just smiled and said: "Actually, when I came here, I didn't plan to sell arms to the Saga Domain, but since this topic came up, I just did it. I didn't expect this Nabeshima Mitsushige has a big appetite, and he will purchase ten or eight ships as soon as he opens his mouth. I don’t think he will empty out the Saga Domain’s wealth before this battle starts.”
Amakusa Shiro reminded: "Sir, Nabeshima Mitsushige is so active. I think he has made this idea for more than a day or two. He just hasn't waited for such a suitable time."
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "What you said makes sense. If he had gone through regular arms purchase channels, I don't know when the schedule would be. Now we are door-to-door sales, but we have solved the big problem of scheduling for him. ”
Amakusa Shiro said: "But if he really plans to buy a small fleet, do we have so many ships on hand to sell to him?"
Shi Diwen said: "The exploration-class warships at the Sasebo base have been in service for more than ten years, and they can almost be retired. Sell these old ships to the Saga Domain, and let Nabeshima Mitsushige owe the debt. As a personal favor, secondly, we can recover the original cost of building the ship, and thirdly, we can strengthen the Saga clan's combat power, allowing them to go to war with the shogunate with peace of mind."
Amakusa Shiro added: "The Saga clan bought a ship from us. In the future, they will have to turn to us for help in training sailors and repairing warships. They are really tied to the same ship as us!"
Shi Diwen said: "If there is any backlash on the Fukuoka Clan, we can also use the Saga Clan to let Nabeshima Mitsushige beat Kuroda Mitsuyuki."
At the same time, in another large house in Saga Castle, Nabeshima Mitsushige and his retainers had different opinions.
Everyone had no opinion on breaking away from the shogunate and establishing an independent branch. The main differences focused on whether they should accept Kaihan's war loan and drain the Saga Domain's wealth to fight an expeditionary war.
A considerable number of people believe that the Saga Domain should first consolidate its territory to ensure that it can defeat the invading shogunate army when the shogunate sends troops to conquer Kyushu. But if the Saga clan voluntarily gives up the advantage of playing at home and crosses the sea to attack the shogunate's ruling area, there will be too many uncontrollable risks.
Nabeshima Mitsushige listened to the retainers' opinions with a gloomy face, and then slowly expressed his own thoughts.
"Do you think I haven't thought about these issues? If the Saga Domain wants to become the Saga Kingdom, is it enough to just hold on to its own territory? Even if I want to do this, will the Haihan people agree?"
"Have you ever thought about it carefully, why did Haihan encourage us to fall out with the shogunate? If all the feudal lords in Kyushu had a tacit agreement not to go to war with the shogunate, would Haihan still provide us with support?"
"Even if we don't take action, other vassals will act according to Haihan's will. At that time, Haihan will only support those who follow the arrangements. If the Saga Domain does not receive such support, its strength will lag behind other vassals in the future. Everyone, you don’t want the Satsuma and Kumamoto clans to annex the Saga clan’s territory, right?”