Nabeshima Mitsushige's proactive performance is not only driven by ambition, but also comes from his judgment of future changes in the situation.
Among the vassals in Kyushu, Tsushima and Satsuma, which are relatively close to Kaihan, have seen their strength grow rapidly in recent years, and Kaihan's intention to support them is also clear, just to let these people Local forces went against the shogunate.
Nabeshima Mitsushige believes that if the Saga Domain continues to sit on the sidelines, the risk of being involved in the war will be greatly reduced, but it will also miss opportunities for development and will definitely lag behind other powerful neighbors who have shown positive performance in the future.
In the last two years of the old feudal lord's reign, Nabeshima Katsushige was in poor health, and many affairs were handled by Nabeshima Mitsushige. From then on, he began to change the Saga Domain's strategy and actively sought cooperation from Haihan.
Since the daimyo of other clans can quickly grow in strength with the support of Kaihan, the Saga clan can also follow this path of development.
The only problem is that once you make a choice, there is no turning back.
Taking refuge in Haihan means standing on the opposite side of the shogunate, and you must completely break up with the shogunate at some point before you can get Haihan's full support.
If the attitude is not firm enough and Haihan is not selected as the person to support, then there may be only one fate waiting for the Saga Domain, that is, being abandoned by the shogunate, and at the same time facing the covetousness of other powerful clans.
Nabeshima Mitsushige's sense of crisis is not without reason, because he himself has the intention to annex the surrounding small vassals immediately after becoming strong. Of course, he will also worry that the Saga Domain will become the target of others.
Since the Onin Rebellion in the 15th century, these more than 100 years have been the Warring States Period in Japan. Conquests and melees between various daimyo have been the norm, and the shogunate system that unified the world has only been implemented for a few decades. Annexation Being annexed by others or being annexed by others is still a lingering thought in the minds of most daimyo.
This time, Shi Diwen suddenly announced that he was going to visit several powerful vassals in Kyushu. Based on the domestic situation, Nabeshima Mitsushige believed that this should be a signal that Haihan was about to release, so that these vassals were ready to take action.
"Everyone, the Haihan people have promised to provide us with the weapons we need, and are even willing to lend us money to fight the war. What we have to do next is to find the enemies and defeat them, and plant the flag of the Saga Domain all over the world! ”
"If we don't even dare to take such a small risk, then why are we talking about revitalizing the Saga Domain? Haven't you ever thought that one day the Nabeshima family will become the masters of the world, and you can also become a daimyo who divides the feudal kingdom by virtue of your military exploits? ! ”
Nabeshima Mitsushige's passionate speech finally boosted the morale of the retainers, and the internal opinions finally converged.
In the second stage of the talks, Mitsushige Nabeshima, who no longer had any scruples, proposed specific aid conditions to Shi Diwen more openly.
Nabeshima Mitsushige hoped that Kaihan could provide Saga Domain with 3,000 muskets and ten cannons, corresponding gunpowder and accessories at "reasonable prices", as well as at least six warships that could be delivered as soon as possible.
In addition to these previously negotiated military purchases, Nabeshima Mitsushige further proposed that Kaihan could send a military advisory team to the Saga Domain to assist him in training the new army.
Nabeshima Mitsushige also had good reasons. He wanted to expand the Saga Domain's existing army to more than 5,000 men in a short period of time. It would be difficult to complete the training of the new army with his own men alone. If Kaihan could send some officers If you help me practice, I might be able to catch up with the opportunity to take action. Prior to this, each domain had sent its own personnel to Sasebo Bay for training, with some secrecy. However, Nabeshima Mitsushige's proposal was obviously a big step forward, and it seemed that he was no longer concerned about the outside world's opinions. .
However, this is exactly what Shi Diwen wants to achieve. With a force like the Saga Clan that is willing to take the initiative, it will be much easier to promote subsequent implementation.
The Tsushima clan he visited earlier was too weak, and even if it was willing to take the initiative, it would be difficult for it to serve as the main force in the civil war against Makuaku. The attitude of the Fukuoka Domain is ambiguous, and it is obvious that they still want to wait and see the situation. The Saga Clan, which originally didn't have high hopes, gave him a surprise.
The two sides quickly reached a preliminary agreement on the next military cooperation. The Saga Domain will spend one million Haihan dollars to purchase various weapons and equipment from Haihan and prepare for the next war.
As support, Haihan will dispatch a military advisory team of about thirty people to Saga Domain as soon as possible to assist Saga Domain in receiving equipment and training personnel.
In addition, Haihan will provide Saga Domain with two-thirds of the huge military expenditure in the form of low-interest loans, which will be repaid in ten years.
Of course, this money must also be earmarked and can only be used to purchase weapons, equipment and military supplies from Haihan.
One million yuan may seem like a lot, but if it is used for large-scale military purchases, the money will actually be spent very quickly. The military purchase list proposed by Nabeshima Mitsushige alone has already advanced more than half of this money, not to mention maintaining a standing army of thousands of people, which will also be a huge expense.
Shi Diwen estimated that this million would not be enough to sustain the Saga Domain's war for a long time. After the war started, he would probably have to borrow money from Haihan.
However, this is also one of Shi Diwen's purposes. After a force like the Saga Clan owes Haihan a huge loan, they can only maintain their finances by relying on Haihan for a long time in the future.
For Haihan, this kind of special loan does not even require turning on the money printing machine to provide the other party with banknotes. As long as a paper agreement is required, the transaction can be completed. The executive committee will definitely support this 100% and is eager to lend it out. The more money the better.
After the two sides concluded their talks, Shi Diwen lost no time in inviting Nabeshima Mitsushige to visit the Zhoushan battleship anchored in the bay.
Showing Haihan's giant ships and cannons to the interviewees at close range can be more effective than a hundred times of lobbying. Feudal lords in the agricultural era would only struggle to fall into humble emotions in the face of the war machines of the industrial era. The chief of the Saga Domain, Nabeshima Mitsushige, and his retainers were no exception.
Shi Diwen introduced some basic information about the Zhoushan without showing off, and this simply opened a new world for Nabeshima Mitsushige and others.
Although the Saga Domain was close to the sea, its shipbuilding and navigation technology was far inferior to that of Haihan. Even in their dreams, it was difficult for them to conceive of such a giant battleship. It is no exaggeration to say that if all the naval warships of the entire Saga Domain are added together, their displacement may not be comparable to that of the Zhoushan.
As for the previous doubts about whether Haihan second-hand warships should be purchased, they were all forgotten now. Nabeshima Mitsushige knew that the navy of the Saga Domain would definitely not be able to control such a giant ship. He could get some smaller warships, which would be more suitable for his situation.