Shi Diwen said: "As you said, the little lord of the Kumamoto clan does not dislike our country. If he is not really suddenly ill, then he is deliberately avoiding it. As for the reason, I think there are only two possibilities."< br>
"First, the Kumamoto clan already knew the purpose of our visit to the Kyushu clans, but they didn't want to take sides and express their stance, and they didn't want to offend us, so they simply found an excuse to avoid it, so that they wouldn't have to embarrass themselves."
"Secondly, there is someone who strongly opposes the Kumamoto clan getting too close to my country. It may be the retainers of the Hosokawa family, or it may be pressure from Edo. In short, the small feudal lord cannot withstand such pressure and can only refuse our visit. ”
Amakusa Shiro responded: "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, then should we use the spies lurking in the local area?"
Shi Diwen said: "What is the identity of our people lurking in Kumamoto Domain? If they are Haihan nationals whose identities are disclosed, don't take risks for the time being. They may have been under surveillance for a long time."
Amakusa Shiro said: "Sir, don't worry. In addition to using their identities as businessmen as a cover, the Military Intelligence Bureau has also sent a number of Japanese spies to lurk here for a long time. They are not so easy to be noticed, and it is more difficult to find out information." More convenient.”
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "Okay, hurry up and make arrangements for this matter. We will rush to the next stop as soon as possible."
The Military Intelligence Bureau under the Sasebo Base targets all the Kyushu vassals. In order to facilitate the collection of intelligence, it has recruited many Japanese personnel. Most of these people were selected from locally recruited soldiers. After special training, they were sent to various feudal lords in Kyushu to lurk.
Naturally, Amakusa Shiro would not ignore a powerful clan like the Kumamoto clan, and had arranged for spies to be stationed there a few years ago. Now, as long as the news is notified to the local Haihan Trading Post, someone will distribute the order, and the Japanese spies will complete the intelligence collection.
Amakusa Shiro immediately sent several people ashore in the name of supplies to contact the local Haihan Merchant Store to arrange relevant matters.
In order to send the news back to Shi Diwen as soon as possible, Amakusa Shiro also specially left a warship with a radio station to temporarily stay in the Ariake Sea for a few days.
After everything was arranged, the fleet sailed west out of the Ariake Sea, then turned south and headed for the Satsuma Domain, the last stop of the trip.
The territory of the Satsuma Domain is located in the southernmost part of Kyushu. Regardless of the area under its jurisdiction or population, the Satsuma Domain is now the most powerful clan in the Kyushu region.
Compared with other daimyo who came to power at the beginning of this century, the Shimazu family that ruled the Satsuma Domain could be considered a traditional aristocracy. As early as several hundred years ago during the Kamakura Shogunate period, the Shimazu family was enfeoffed into Satsuma, The guardian daimyo of the Osumi and Hyuga kingdoms even ruled most of Kyushu for a period of time.
At the beginning of this century, the Satsuma Domain also sent troops to invade the Ryukyu Kingdom and once included Ryukyu into its territory. Later, with the intervention of Kaihan, the Satsuma Domain returned Ryukyu's autonomy. However, the Satsuma clan did not quarrel with Kaihan because of this. Instead, they took this opportunity to embrace Kaihan and became one of Kaihan's main partners in Japan.
The feudal lord Shimazu Mitsuhisa, who is in his early forties, is in his prime, and his governance ability and experience are much better than those of the other young feudal lords. He is also Shi Diwen's most optimistic person among the rulers of the Kyushu feudal clans.
A considerable part of Shi Diwen's plan to instigate the Japanese Civil War was tailor-made for the Satsuma Domain. He knew that even if the other clans did not respond, the Satsuma clan would definitely take this opportunity to take action. Its goal was not only to break away from the rule of the shogunate, but also to compete with the Tokugawa family for the world. Of course, the reason why Kaihan provided support to the Satsuma Domain was not because he wanted the Satsuma Domain to really become the master of Japan, but because he wanted the ambitious Shimazu family and the Tokugawa shogunate to consume each other.
The Shimadzu family was not unaware of Kaihan's purpose. It was just that the Satsuma clan couldn't do without Kaihan's support if it wanted to dominate. Both sides got what they needed in this cooperative relationship.
The seat of Satsuma Domain is located in Kagoshima, and Shi Diwen and his party received a grand welcome after sailing into Kagoshima Bay surrounded by Satsuma Peninsula and Osumi Peninsula.
The Satsuma clan sent more than ten warships to line up on the sea several miles offshore to welcome the arrival of the Kaihan fleet. The port is even more crowded with people and colorful flags fluttering. Such a scene is really rare overseas. The formation is no less than that of allies such as North Korea and Annan.
This made Shi Diwen's gloomy mood after being rejected by the Kumamoto Domain slightly improved. No matter what the real purpose of the Shimadzu family's gesture was, at least the attitude was respectful and enthusiastic enough, which was already difficult for the Kumamoto Domain to achieve. extent.
Of course, the feudal lord Shimazu Mitsuhisa also came to the port in person to welcome Shi Diwen's arrival. This was not the first time they had met, but Mitsuhisa Shimazu still appeared in front of Shi Diwen in a humble manner, as if he was Shi Diwen's subordinate.
Shi Diwen didn't show any airs. After meeting, he first exchanged greetings with Shimazu Mitsuhisa, and then invited him to ride to Kagoshima Castle with him.
Among all the feudal clans in Kyushu, the Satsuma clan has the deepest cooperation with Haihan. The cooperative relationship between the two parties has long been beyond the military field, and the commercial aspect has opened the door to Haihan, trying to build Kagoshima Port into a business center in southern Kyushu.
As for the lock-down order issued by the Tokugawa Shogunate, it was basically equivalent to waste paper in the Satsuma Domain. If it were not for the fear of the shogunate's strength, the Satsuma clan would have sent troops to bulldoze the Nagasaki Port in the north, which was controlled by the shogunate.
Therefore, there are quite a few Haihan commercial institutions stationed near Kagoshima Port, and businessmen from Portugal, the Netherlands, North Korea, Annan and other countries are also coming here one after another. The scale of international trade is growing.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa was very proud of this. He believed that whether it was the port conditions or the trade policy of the Satsuma Domain, the local port was far better than the Nagasaki Port, and it was only a matter of time before it was replaced.
However, as the residence of the Shimadzu family, Kagoshima Castle appears to be very low-key. It does not even have the castle tower that is standard in large castles, which does not seem to match the strength of the Satsuma Domain.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa was very calm about this. Almost all of the Satsuma Domain's fiscal revenue was used in external fields, such as military construction, trade expansion, etc., and investment in face-saving projects such as residences was extremely limited.
Everyone knows that Satsuma Domain's military strength is one of the best in the Kyushu region, and no one will attack here to ask for trouble. As for the military forces that really have the strength to attack this place, such as Haihan, they are not objects that the Satsuma clan can resist, even if they build a strong city, it will be useless.
Investing money in building the city was not cost-effective in Shimazu Mitsuhisa's opinion. Therefore, the scale of construction and fortifications of Kagoshima Castle were far inferior to those of other powerful feudal lords in Kyushu.