Although Mitsushige Nabeshima was a little unhappy about Kaihan selling arms to the shogunate, he also knew that complaining to Kaihan would have no effect.
Business is business, and Haihan will not completely distance himself from the shogunate just because he supports the local forces in Kyushu. The shogunate's demand for arms was obviously much greater than that of the Kyushu vassals. Haihan would be really stupid if he voluntarily gave up such a big customer.
After receiving Shi Diwendao's reply, Nabeshima Mitsushige immediately summoned his retainers to discuss countermeasures. The top priority is to seek the greatest benefit for the Saga Domain under the current situation.
Nabeshima Mitsushige believes that although Shi Diwen's statement is a bit vague, it at least shows one thing, that is, Haihan will not object to any action taken by the Saga Domain.
Of course, Haihan will not be responsible for the incidents caused by this, and all consequences will be borne by the Saga Domain.
Nabeshima Mitsushige and his subordinates believed that this was actually a good thing for the Saga clan, because they were most worried about Kaihan favoring the shogunate or other local powerful people in Kyushu, but since Shi Diwen's attitude is that everyone can "play fair" ", which means that the Saga Domain can also take action.
"Since Satsuma Domain has done it, we can also follow suit, pass on my order, gather troops and horses, and set off to attack Chikugo Kingdom in five days!"
Nabeshima Mitsushige quickly made a decision, preparing to follow the Satsuma Domain's way of doing things and seize the territory near the Saga Domain as soon as possible.
At the same time, we went to Guangyuan and sent more manpower to keep an eye on the direction of Nagasaki. As long as the fleet starts to be assembled there and there are signs of going to Sasebo Bay to haul goods, the Saga Domain can dispatch its navy.
The Saga Domain did not have that much money to raise prices to snap up the arms ordered by the shogunate, but even with this budget, Nabeshima Mitsushige was more willing to choose to do a business without capital. While attacking the shogunate, he could also strengthen his own strength. Wouldn't it be beautiful?
Although the strength of the Saga Domain's navy cannot be said to be strong, it is still easy to deal with cargo ships. As long as Nagasaki's fleet leaves Sasebo Bay, it can be intercepted at sea.
The only thing that made Mitsushige Nabeshima feel uneasy was that his family might not be the only ones who got the news and were moved by it. If you can think of testing Shi Diwen's attitude, others can do the same.
Tsushima Clan and Fukuoka Clan, both in the northern Kyushu region, also have the ability to compete for this piece of fat. Maybe those two families are also planning how to attack this batch of arms while they are being transported.
But as long as you prepare early, your chances of success will certainly be greater. In Nabeshima Mitsushige's plan, not only the shogunate was targeted, but several colleagues near Sasebo Bay were also regarded as potential opponents.
Yuta Kosaki, who was in Nagasaki, probably never dreamed that while he was still preparing for this arms deal, someone was already planning in the dark how to steal the goods.
However, before he completed the preparatory work, the situation in the Kyushu region had changed dramatically.
Satsuma Domain's so-called "search for the missing caravan" quickly turned into a standard military operation.
Because they were well prepared, the Satsuma army encountered little decent resistance in its attack on the Hyuga region. The several smaller vassals closest to the Satsuma domain changed hands one after another in just a few days, and were replaced by Shimazu Hisamichi. It was incorporated into the territory of Satsuma Domain under the name of temporary control. Following the Satsuma Clan's dispatch of troops, the Saga Clan soon launched an offensive against the neighboring Kurume Clan, Yanagawa Clan, and Miike Clan in the neighboring Chikugo Province.
Mitsuyuki Kuroda, the lord of the Fukuoka Domain who had not made a clear stance on Shi Diwen's persuasion before, finally couldn't restrain his ambition after learning about the news that the other two families had raised troops. , Nakatsu clan launched an offensive.
The Kumamoto clan, whose daimyo is suspected of being under house arrest, has made little movement during this process, and has not even expressed its attitude publicly. It is not known whether it is waiting and watching the situation, or because the young daimyo is unable to govern, so no one can make a decision.
For these small vassals that were suddenly attacked, if the daimyo assessed the situation and gave up resistance, at least the whole family could be kept safe. After that, whether you return to the area controlled by the shogunate or directly join the new master, you will at least have a choice.
But if you overestimate your capabilities and gather people to fight against these powerful feudal lords, then you probably won't be able to get forgiveness.
Among them, the one with the smoothest progress was the Satsuma Domain, which had made the most complete preparations and even arranged exercises to warm up before the war. The speed at which it occupied new territory was almost as fast as its marching speed, and its troops basically followed the wind wherever they went.
But the one who was most anxious at this time was undoubtedly Tsushima. Now that all the heroes are together, everyone else is eating meat. Only Tsuima Fan can only watch from across the sea, and maybe he won't even be able to get a bowl of soup in the end.
Due to geographical reasons, the Tsushima clan had to cross the sea to attack other clans. The northern part of Kyushu was almost the territory of the Fukuoka clan and the Saga clan, so there was no place where the Tsushima clan could attack.
If you want to attack the small vassals with little combat effectiveness, such as Bunzen Kingdom and Bungo Kingdom on the east coast of Kyushu, Tsushima's fleet must first pass through the Shimonoseki Strait between Kyushu and Honshu and sail hundreds of miles at sea before reaching its destination. land.
But the Shimonoseki Strait is now under the control of the Fukuoka Domain, and the Kuroda family will obviously not allow the Tsushima Domain's fleet to pass through here to grab the meat in their bowl. The Nagato Kingdom on the other side of the strait is entirely the territory of the Maori family, which rules the San Francisco Domain. Its strength is comparable to that of the Fukuoka Domain, and it is also not someone that the Tsushima Domain can provoke.
Of course, there are some weak small vassals in the western end of Honshu, but according to the agreement with Shi Diwen, Tsushima vassal must wait until early next year when all the vassals in Kyushu jointly send troops to attack the target there.
As a result, in Kyushu's great show of annexation of small vassals by the great powers, there was no chance for Tsuima vassal to perform. Tsushima Domain's Daimyo Soyoshi was so anxious that he went to the Sasebo base in person and asked Shi Diwen if there was any opportunity for Tsushima Domain to intervene.
Shi Diwen is happy to see the "positive" attitude shown by Zong Yizhen. However, he also told the other party very clearly that Tsushima was not suitable to intervene in Kyushu's war situation at present, and it was better to wait and see the situation and wait for the opportunity.
"If Mr. Zong definitely wants to do something, then I would like to make a suggestion, seize the time to expand the army and prepare for war, so that we can seize more territory in the subsequent war."
Shi Diwen reminded Zong Yizhen tactfully that Tsushima's current strength was not enough to compete with other powerful feudal lords in Kyushu for territory. If he wants to realize his ambition, he should target the Honshu area controlled by the shogunate, where there will be enough space for him to display his ambitions.