Chapter 3518
Since war is inevitable, Masuyama Masato can only put aside other thoughts and only think about how to let the shogunate win this war.
He knew that the Kyushu vassals at this time were no longer what they used to be. With Haihan's backing and the purchase of a large number of advanced weapons, their military strength was no longer what it was before. If the shogunate wants to suppress the rebellion in places like Kyushu, there will inevitably be fierce battles.
What the shogunate is currently most in short supply is not troops and weapons and equipment, but military expenditures. In the past winter, the shogunate has invested the equivalent of two years of fiscal revenue in emergency military expansion and preparations for war.
A considerable part of these war preparation funds flowed overseas, and the main destination was foreign weapons and equipment suppliers.
In addition to Haihan, the shogunate was also quietly contacting Portuguese and Dutch businessmen, trying to purchase various types of firearms from them. It's just that the quantity and quality of products that these channels can supply are far from comparable to Haihan.
Although the shogunate knew very well that Haihan had an unshirkable responsibility for the dramatic changes in the situation in Kyushu, it could only pinch its nose and suffer this secret loss. Not only could it not publicly accuse Haihan, but it also had to offer gold and silver and beg Haihan to sell more. Give yourself some ammunition.
The foreign trade channels of the shogunate have been greatly affected since the accident in Kyushu last year. Now only a few ports in Honshu that allow Haihan merchants to enter are still in operation. But without the window of Nagasaki, the scale of trade dropped sharply, and the large amount of tax revenue that evaporated out of thin air caused the shogunate to feel pain.
This change in and out quickly caused the treasury of the shogunate to bottom out. As a last resort, they could only increase the mining intensity of domestic gold and silver mines such as Iwami, Ikuno, and Sado, hoping to make up for the serious financial deficit.
However, this method of solving the problem is only a temporary measure in Masuri Masuyama's opinion, because no one can predict how much gold and silver reserves there are in these mines, and whether they will be able to dig more next year after digging this year.
Therefore, Masuyama Masatoshi's views on the civil war are actually consistent with those of Tokugawa Ietsuna, that is, the local armed forces in Kyushu must be defeated as quickly as possible with the power of thunder, and the suppression must be completed quickly.
If the war is dragged into a stalemate, it will not only greatly consume the resources of the shogunate, but also provide Haihan with an opportunity to intervene in the civil war.
Masato Masuyama could only pray. The cross-border expedition organized by Haihan was just to watch the excitement. He did not dare to think about what would happen if Haihan took advantage of the situation after the civil war broke out.
In early March 1658, huge fleets began to leave Zhoushan Dinghai Port and sail eastward to Kyushu, Japan, 1,600 miles away.
Since there were so many ships participating in this expedition, they were divided into five batches when setting off to facilitate coordination and command. The fleets in each batch were thirty or forty miles apart, stretching more than two hundred miles from end to end, and sailed into the East China Sea in a mighty manner.
Not to mention the diplomats from various countries who participated in this inspection, even many time-travelers saw a fleet of this size for the first time. And Shi Diwen, who single-handedly planned this inspection operation, once again received praise from all parties.
One day being able to ride a horse to Japan is one of the goals of most time-travelers after coming to this time and space. However, due to various objective reasons, Haihan has no intention of launching a large-scale war to conquer the Japanese islands. Only a handful of people have done so in the past thirty years. Visited Japan during the year.
Being able to travel to Japan in this way is something many people have never imagined. Although the purpose of this trip is not to conquer Japan, being able to see with your own eyes how this country has embarked on the road of self-destruction is enough to make most of the time-travelers who are already in their old age happy. Three days later, the first batch of fleets arrived at the waters of the Goto Islands, the westernmost part of the Japanese archipelago.
Although this place is still about two hundred miles away from the west coast of Kyushu, it is already under the jurisdiction of Kyushu Saga Domain.
The chief of the Saga Domain, Nabeshima Mitsushige, dispatched several warships to welcome the arrival of the Kaihan fleet on the Goto Islands.
The Nabeshima family of the Saga Domain can be regarded as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the great changes in Kyushu last year. They annexed many small clans such as Karatsu, Hirado, Omura, Shimazono, and Fukue in the neighboring areas in one fell swoop. The area under their actual control suddenly expanded. several times.
Nabeshima Mitsushige realized that his strength had increased significantly. Of course, he was no longer satisfied with living in a corner. He hit it off with several other powerful feudal lords and prepared to take the shogunate as his next goal.
The Sasebo Bay occupied by Kaihan is now within the territory of the Saga Domain. Therefore, the Nabeshima family has maintained close contacts with Kaihan's garrison. Nabeshima Mitsushige also firmly believes that he is the target of Kaihan's greatest support.
When he heard that Haihan was going to organize multiple countries to visit Kyushu, he realized that this was a very rare opportunity and took the initiative to apply to Haihan to take over the reception task.
Of course, this good intention can only be taken with the heart. Haihan would not leave the lives of so many important people in the hands of outsiders. Moreover, after Nabeshima Mitsushige learned about the actual size of the inspection team, he would probably be glad that his application was not successful. Otherwise, the thousands of people coming from Kaihan would have to rely on the Saga Domain to receive them. It would not take long for the Saga Domain to The coffers were emptied.
Along with the Saga Domain warships, there was also the Kaihan Navy stationed at the Sasebo base in the waters of the Goto Islands. Base commander Amakusa Shiro personally led the team to greet him. He is also the highest-level official currently stationed in Japan.
When the expedition fleet slowly sailed into Sasebo Bay, the guests who came from afar were shocked by the environment here - the harbor conditions and port size here are even higher than those of Zhoushan Dinghai Port.
Even Ningqi, who has always been very strict on military expenditures, couldn't help but exclaimed after seeing the scene at the Sasebo base with his own eyes: "Okay, okay! It seems that there is really not much money spent in Japan over the years." Waste! ”
Shi Diwen said with pride: "The Sasebo base guards the waterways in and out of the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, and is the anchor of the entire Kyushu region. It is precisely because of the existence of this place that the big names in Kyushu have confirmed that our country has the ability to take care of them, so they dare to Raise troops to fight against the shogunate.”
Since Kaihan occupied Sasebo Bay, the port construction here has not stopped for a day. The result of more than ten years of continuous construction is a coastal terminal that is 20 miles long and has nearly a hundred berths.
At the same time, more than 30 dry bulk warehouses, a convenient dock rail transportation system, and a shipyard with more than ten large and small shipyards have been built here.
The garrison base with a radius of several miles is the core area of this area. Beyond it, thousands of people live on the coastal plain near the military base, gradually forming a coastal city that revolves around the military base.
(End of chapter)