The Kyushu region is quite small, with a total of more than thirty feudal lords divided and governed on this large island. But it's not big at all. Once several powerful local vassals start to annex the surrounding areas, they will soon carve up all the territory in Kyushu.
The conquered Xiaofan was unable to resist, so he could only send news of asking for help to Edo, hoping that the shogunate would seek justice for him. But the mountains are high and the water is far away. The sea voyage from Kyushu to Edo is about two thousand miles. The envoys sent out to ask for help may have fallen before the envoys arrived in Edo.
Distant water could not save nearby fire, so some daimyo had no choice but to abandon their own territory and try to escape to areas controlled by the shogunate first.
Those located on the east coast of Kyushu naturally fled eastward toward Honshu and Shikoku, while some daimyo fled to the nearby port of Nagasaki for refuge.
After all, this is the only area directly under the jurisdiction of the shogunate in Kyushu. It seems relatively safe to escape here, and maybe local officials from Nagasaki can intervene to mediate.
But Nagasaki's leader Yuta Kosaki didn't think so. When the news that the Satsuma, Saga, and Fukuoka clans were launching troops one after another reached Nagasaki, he knew that the situation might deteriorate quickly, but the progress was still far beyond his expectations.
Although these families have not publicly declared war on the shogunate, their current behavior has long exceeded the authority of the daimyo, and there is no doubt that they are raising troops to cause rebellion.
As for intervening, Yuta Kozaki would not have such unrealistic ideas. The garrison in Nagasaki has less than a thousand troops and mediocre combat effectiveness. What qualifications do they have to negotiate a truce with these local powerful men?
In the past, the prestige of the shogunate could be used to suppress these daimyo, but now they are obviously no longer afraid of the shogunate, and using this old trick will obviously not work anymore. Maybe they will also turn their attention to Nagasaki and operate on Yuta Kosaki first.
Yuta Kosaki still hopes to exchange his military procurement achievements for future glory and wealth, and he will definitely not take unnecessary risks at this juncture.
He just hoped that before the shogunate sent back clear instructions, he would try not to attract the attention of these daimyo. After he completed the arms deal with Kaihan, he would immediately leave Nagasaki in the name of escorting the goods, so as not to be unable to escape after a full-scale war.
But what Yuta Kosaki didn't know was that the reason why none of the powerful vassals in Kyushu that had raised armies came to trouble Nagasaki was because the arms deal he led had been leaked. Attacking Nagasaki at this time would only be due to minor reasons. Big loss. Everyone is waiting for the deal between the shogunate and Haihan to be completed before taking action to intercept this big piece of fat.
The time soon came to late October. Compared with before Shi Diwen's visit, the power map of the Kyushu region had undergone significant changes in more than a month.
There were originally more than thirty vassals, but now less than half remain. The rest are either branches of several powerful vassals, or small vassals that have long been attached to them. And those small vassals that were considered to be shogunate factions were basically annexed.
Although some small vassals tried to rise up during this period, they basically did not cause a big wave. It was considered good to be able to gather three to five hundred peasant soldiers, and this force was not enough in the face of several powerful vassals that had already installed guns and artillery. Look, often when they meet on the battlefield, they are defeated directly in the first round.
Naturally, the one who gained the most was the Satsuma clan who took the lead and was well prepared. It swallowed up the entire Hyuga country and most of Bungo country in one go, and advanced all the way north along the east coast of Kyushu to Beppu Bay.
If the Fukuoka Domain had not also advanced southward along the east coast and blocked the Satsuma army's northward route at Beppu Bay, Shimazu Mitsuhisa would most likely not have given up.
Although the Fukuoka Domain was not as large as the territory occupied by the Satsuma Domain, it almost swallowed up the entire Buzen Country area and nearly doubled its territory. The Saga Domain, whose territory was located in the northwest corner of Kyushu, took advantage of the situation and took over Chikugo Kingdom, as well as Hirado Island and the Goto Islands west of Kyushu. However, the latter's population and property are extremely limited, and it can only be regarded as better than nothing.
Although the Tsushima Domain did not directly participate in the war, Soyoshi was inspired by his visit to the Sasebo base and sent troops in the name of mercenaries to assist the Saga Domain in crossing the sea.
This not only brought the relationship closer to the Saga Domain, but also took the opportunity to exercise the actual combat capabilities of the troops, and also obtained some economic benefits, which was quite fruitful.
The Saga Domain was also able to dedicate part of its troops and stationed them at the necessary place between Nagasaki and Sasebo Bay, waiting for the shogunate's fleet to find the Kaihan people to complete the arms deal.
Among the powerful feudal lords in Kyushu, only the Kumamoto clan, whose daimyo Hosokawa Tsunato was under house arrest, did not appear. However, other companies, under Shi Diwen's instructions, did not take advantage of him at this time.
After all, the Kumamoto clan is not weak, and it is not as easy to dismiss as ordinary small clans. If they really want to annex the Kumamoto clan's territory, a fierce battle will probably break out, and no one wants to face the internal fighting in Kyushu before facing the shogunate's war. It consumes the precious military power in one's hands.
During this period, the several powerful vassals more or less got the benefits they wanted. However, when everyone was celebrating their victory, the Kumamoto clan, which had been silent all this time, suddenly made some noise.
Hosokawa Tsunato sent envoys to various domains and the Sasebo base to announce that he had been released from two months of house arrest and executed all those who organized and participated in the incident, including a shogunate from Edo officials.
Hosokawa Tsunato claimed that the incident was caused by collusion between shogunate officials and traitors of the Hosokawa family, in an attempt to change the name of the Kumamoto clan after putting himself under house arrest, and its nature was tantamount to rebellion. And his execution of these people was also due to the stubborn resistance of the other party and their resolute refusal to surrender.
Although Hosokawa Tsunato did not name anyone and said that the shogunate planned and instigated this matter, he directly executed officials from Edo without asking the shogunate for instructions. It was obvious that he had great resentment against the shogunate.
But no matter what the truth is, Hosokawa Tsunato's comeback was a step too late after all, and he didn't have time to catch up with the New Year's Pork Festival.
Moreover, as the civil strife of the Kumamoto clan has just settled, Hosokawa Tsunato will definitely have to clean up the interior and eliminate the personnel deployed by the shogunate. At this time, armed forces are needed to defend, and most of them will not dare to organize troops to launch external military operations.
The most nervous person about this news was not the daimyo of each domain, but Yuta Kozaki, who had just received the order from the shogunate.
The shogunate was very pleased that Yuta Ozaki was able to "persuade" Shi Diwen to sell arms, and ordered him to conduct transactions with Haihan as soon as possible and return the purchased arms directly to the state.
At this time, news came out that the Kumamoto clan had killed shogunate officials. Kosaki Yuta was very worried that this would kick off the rebellion of the Kyushu clans, and Nagasaki would immediately become the target of public criticism. He must go to Sasebo immediately to complete the arms deal before the feudal clans rebel.