Chapter 3506
When Masuyama Masato was attacking everywhere, his opponents were not idle either. The powerful vassals of Satsuma, Fukuoka, Tsushima, Saga and Kumamoto in Kyushu also arranged for their respective envoys to be active in Zhoushan.
It's just that they have received Shi Diwen's instructions in advance to avoid public appearances as much as possible, and their outing activities are also very low-key, so that Masuyama Masari's side is almost not aware of their existence.
The reason why Shi Diwen asked the Kyushu vassals to keep a low profile was mainly to prevent these Japanese from causing trouble during the forum and affecting the subsequent business.
Like the Tokugawa shogunate, the Kyushu vassals also did not receive formal invitations to participate in the Zhoushan Forum. But after all, these families were the targets of Shi Diwen's strong support. In order to appease their emotions, Shi Diwen specially arranged an opportunity for them to meet privately.
When Shi Diwen quickly walked into the conference room, the envoys from each family immediately stood up from their chairs and knelt on the ground to salute Shi Diwen.
Although Haihan was not interested in kneeling, Shi Diwen did not stop them and accepted their kneeling calmly. The rule against kneeling is only internal, and Japan obviously does not fall within this scope.
Shi Diwen said straight to the point: "I have limited time, so I will make a long story short. When I visited Kyushu last year, the action plan agreed with each company has been approved by the executive committee. Next, we will see your performance!"
"In addition, taking into account the international reputation of each Kyushu family, I have specially invited dignitaries from many countries to visit Kyushu in the near future to cheer for your campaign to conquer the shogunate!"
"I hope you will remember one thing. The better your army performs on the battlefield, the more external support it will receive. In the future, the country established by you will be more easily recognized by other countries."
As soon as Shi Diwen finished speaking, Zong Xiongtai of Tsuima Fan immediately responded: "Master Shi, Tsuima Fan has assembled three thousand elites. When the time comes, my brother will personally lead the troops to attack the state!"
The Tsushima clan was the earliest among the Kyushu vassals to cooperate with Haihan. Although its territory was small, with Haihan's support for several years, it already had an armed force that could not be underestimated.
Tsuima has always been very active in the plan to organize Kyushu coalition forces to conquer the Tokugawa shogunate, because this is almost the only opportunity for Tsuima to expand its territory. With the current strength of the Tsushima clan's army, it is not impossible to capture land several times larger than Tsushima in Honshu.
Zong Xiongtai expressed his stance so positively, firstly, to express his determination towards Ma Fan, and secondly, to support Shi Diwen and dispel the hesitations of other feudal lords.
However, it was said that there were only four powerful feudal clans in Kyushu in the past, that is, the other four clans present. Even though Tsushima clan's strength has increased a lot now, the other four clans still have no intention of letting Tsushima clan be on an equal footing with themselves.
"Okay, I'm also looking forward to Lord Zong's performance on the battlefield! Everyone, what do you think?"
Seeing that Shi Diwen turned his attention to him for advice, the Satsuma clan's envoy Shimazu Hisumi said calmly: "Master Shi, I would like to ask you something. You just mentioned that you would organize dignitaries from various countries to go to Kyushu for an inspection. The purpose is Are you going to watch the performance of the Kyushu Allied Forces on the battlefield? Can these people provide us with actual support, money and food, or directly send troops?”
The issues mentioned by Shimazu Hisumi were obviously also concerns of other companies, and they all nodded in agreement. Shi Diwen said: "Everyone needs to be clear about one thing. First, you have to defeat the shogunate on the battlefield before you can get what you want. If you can prove your ability, then don't worry about subsequent support. You will What you get is not just materials, money and food, but something more important - international status! ”
"After you defeat the shogunate and establish your own country in the future, events like the Zhoushan Forum can be attended publicly. The exchanges and agreements signed with our country or other countries will also be upgraded to the country-to-country level, rather than like As it stands now, the partnership is not binding and cannot be made public. ”
The war against the shogunate had been basically agreed upon by all the vassals during Shi Diwen's visit to Kyushu last year. It's just that after the war enters the next stage, each vassal has no clear understanding of what state they will be in.
And Shi Diwen's inspiring speech gave them the answer. Everyone felt excited when they heard it, as if the founding of the country was close at hand.
Shimazu Hisumi then asked another question that concerned him: "I heard that the shogunate has sent people to Zhoushan. Will your country contact them?"
Shimazu Hisumi's concern was obviously that he was afraid of any new conditions imposed by the shogunate, so he started to mediate with Haihan in order to keep Haihan out of the matter and cancel his support for the Kyushu vassals.
Shi Diwen smiled and said: "Don't worry, everyone, no matter what the purpose of the shogunate sending people to Zhoushan is, it will not affect our country's support for you!"
"However, I hope that you will continue to keep a low profile during this period, especially for the various exhibitions held in Zhoushan recently. It is best for you not to appear in public to avoid becoming a target of the shogunate. Of course, we will do our best to protect you in Zhoushan Security during the period.”
Shi Diwen's words are not alarmist. Japan is a country where assassinations are common, and even professional assassins such as ninjas were born. At a time when the civil war is about to break out, both sides will use any means to attack their opponents. No one can guarantee that there will not be a few assassins with hidden identities in Masato Masuyama's team.
If something happens to the envoys of these powerful vassals in Kyushu in Zhoushan, although it will not interrupt the subsequent war process, it will cause a lot of trouble and may even affect their trust in Haihan.
Although the people present all accepted it, Shi Diwen looked at their expressions and it was obvious that some people were still a little disapproving of it.
Shi Diwen had reason to suspect that they might also be thinking about whether there would be an opportunity to launch an attack on the shogunate's envoys to completely eliminate potential threats.
Of course, if anyone dares to take action in Zhoushan, Shi Diwen will definitely deal with him severely, regardless of whether he is a partner or his status.
If it were in Japan, even if these people beat their brains out in the street, Shi Diwen would not blink an eye. But if they try to extend the battlefield of internal fighting to Haihan's territory, then he will never allow this. situation occurs.
If you want to fight, you can only fight on the battlefield designated by Haihan. Beyond the scope of this battlefield, you must follow Haihan's arrangements.
After meeting this group of people, General Shi Diwen called Ji Yuanqing, the head of the Intelligence Bureau, asking him to keep an eye on these people and limit their scope of action if necessary. In short, one requirement is that nothing happens in Zhoushan.