For the executive committee, appointing Japanese people is not a big deal. The key is to be loyal, reliable, and possess sufficient professional capabilities.
Minami Takahashi, who is under Qian Tiandun, and Shiro Amakusa, who is currently stationed at the Sasebo base, are both Japanese ronin samurai who took refuge in the Kaihan army in their early years. They can also rely on their military exploits to rise step by step to senior generals in charge of military power in the Kaihan army. .
After Kaihan captured Hirado Island, in order to prevent the resurgence of the Hirado clan, most of the people on the island were moved to the Zhoushan Islands after the war. Today, there are many talented Japanese personnel working in government offices at all levels in the Tokai Region. took office.
The Sasebo base recruits Japanese young people locally to join the army every year. Although the number is not too large, arranging these personnel to serve in special departments such as the Military Intelligence Bureau plays an irreplaceable role.
Most of these Japanese personnel working for Kaihan have a common characteristic, that is, they are almost all from civilians, not from powerful families like Tsunato Hosokawa.
It's just that if Haihan wants to control the situation in Japan, he needs to create a reliable spokesperson for his interests. This identity is much higher than the level of his partners. The corresponding requirements are also rising. It is not something ordinary people can do. He must find a talent with a powerful background. OK.
It is not impossible to support civilians to become high-ranking members of a party, but it requires too many resources, the cycle is too long, and there are too many uncontrollable risks. It is easy for the investment to be wasted. It is obviously not as good as supporting an already powerful person. Great names come easily.
Although the famous names such as Mune Yishin and Shimazu Mitsuhisa that Haihan had attracted in the Kyushu region were very enthusiastic about cooperation and were willing to obey Haihan's various arrangements, they did not regard Haihan as their suzerain country. Loyalty, this is the main reason why Shi Diwen is not at ease with Hosokawa Tsunato.
However, compared to other daimyo, Hosokawa Tsunato, who was relatively new to the world, obviously had more room for transformation and had personal conflicts with the shogunate that were difficult to resolve. His conditions may not be perfect, but compared to other competitors, they are more in line with Haihan's requirements for an interest spokesperson.
Until a better choice emerges, Hosokawa Tsunato must be Shi Diwen's current preferred target. However, how to slowly transform this person's ideas and establish his loyalty and obedience to Haihan is still a big problem.
Yan Chujie said: "Old Shi, in your opinion, if the shogunate takes the initiative to start a war next, can the people in Kyushu withstand the shogunate's offensive?"
Shi Diwen said: "At present, the time left for the Kyushu feudal clans to prepare for war is still a little short... If they fight alone, they have no chance of winning. Even the Satsuma clan, which is the strongest in Kyushu, is definitely not from the shogunate. Opponent. But if the feudal lords form a coalition and attack from multiple fronts, bringing the war to the Honshu area controlled by the shogunate and spreading out the shogunate’s forces, then I think we can still fight, at least we won’t lose too quickly.”
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Yan Chujie continued to ask: "Will these big names obey our tactical arrangements?"
Shi Diwen said: "One of the agreements I reached with them is to send military advisers to perform war supervision duties and ensure that subsequent military operations can be implemented according to the plans we have formulated. If they want to violate the agreement, then we can terminate the weapons according to the situation Subsequent supply of ammunition ”
For the Kyushu daimyo who are about to rebel and fall, the only condition that can effectively control them is probably arms.
The new army they organized not only needed to be trained by Haihan instructors, but also had to rely on the arms provided by Haihan to gain combat effectiveness. Otherwise, it would be difficult to compete with the shogunate army who was far superior to them. For this reason, Shi had to agree. Various requests made by Devin.
Schneider asked: "Then our country is providing arms to the shogunate at the same time. What do these big names think?" Shi Diwen smiled: "Business is business, so what if you have opinions? If you are not convinced, you can send troops to rob the road like before. Or just pay a high price to sweep all the goods on the market so that the other party can’t buy them.”
Tao Donglai said: "You said earlier that the shogunate requested that we deliver door-to-door delivery next time. Then there is basically no possibility of being intercepted halfway."
Shi Diwen said: "Because of this, the Kyushu daimyo will rely more on the arms provided by us in the future. The last time I gave them a tip and asked them to rob the shogunate's arms, the purpose was just to encourage them to completely break with the shogunate. It’s just shame, this kind of good thing can’t always happen.”
Yan Chujie sighed: "It's a pity that the distance is too far, and there will be many things after the new year. Otherwise, I would be interested in going to observe it."
Shi Diwen said: "Don't worry, this civil war will not end soon, and there is no need to rush to go after the beginning of the new year. When there is a large-scale decisive battle, we can form a group and go from Hangzhou to watch the excitement. It will definitely be in time. ”
"According to my assumptions, it is normal for this civil war to last ten or eight years. The most ideal result is to return Japan to the Warring States Period, with dozens or hundreds of countries, large and small, all over the country fighting endless wars throughout the year. The battles continue like this from generation to generation.”
Although it was not the first time for everyone present to hear Shi Diwen explain his conception of this civil war, no one interrupted his speech. After all, this bold idea is now becoming a reality step by step. Just listening to Shi Diwen's description will give you an inexplicable sense of pleasure.
The Executive Committee has always regarded Japan as a major hidden danger in the future, but military occupation of the resource-poor Japanese archipelago is not a good deal. The only way to solve the hidden danger once and for all is to split it into pieces and exhaust the national power in a long-term civil war.
Although doing so will cause countless lives to be devastated locally, in the eyes of everyone on the executive committee, the split of Japan cannot tolerate the existence of the Heart of the Mother of God, otherwise it will definitely leave huge troubles for future generations.
Shi Diwen proposed that the old weapons that have been phased out in the Haihan Army, as well as the ammunition that is about to reach the end of its storage life, and the old warships that are about to be decommissioned, should be sent to the Sasebo base as soon as possible, where they will be sold to the local conflict parties nearby. .
His proposal was once again unanimously supported by the Executive Committee. Nowadays, everyone hopes to promote the situation in Japan to continue to ferment, and the most effective method is, of course, to send the weapons and equipment they urgently need to all parties in the conflict.
Armed with sharp weapons and eager to kill, as long as the armed forces they possess reach a certain scale and intensity, even if Haihan does not give any instructions, the daimyo will never be able to restrain their ambitions.
The higher the intensity of the war, the greater the scope of the impact, and the more local forces involved, the easier it is for Haihan to exert influence and achieve indirect control over Japan.
And there are only a few months left to achieve this step.