Chapter 3612
Shi Diwen spent so much effort in instigating this civil war. The goal was to make Japan exhaust its own resources in the protracted civil war and completely lose its ability to expand externally.
At this stage, although both warring parties have suffered considerable losses, in Shi Diwen's opinion, it is far from the time for a ceasefire. If the passive Kyushu Allied Forces begin to have other thoughts, Then he must kill such signs in time.
With Haihan's support behind him, even if the Kyushu Allied Forces are slightly weaker, they will not be completely defeated. When the situation is really critical, the Kaihan Fleet at the Sasebo base will be dispatched to cut off the shipping lanes of the Kanmon Strait and secure territory for the Kyushu Allied Forces.
However, this move must not be informed to the Kyushu vassals in advance, otherwise they may adopt some too risky strategies during the battle knowing that Haihan will protect them.
After the meeting with Kuroda Mitsuyuki and others, Shi Diwen declined the banquet due to physical discomfort. Properly maintaining a sense of distance is also one of the effective means to maintain the dignity of the superior.
What's more, Shi Diwen is really not satisfied with the recent performance of these big names, and it's hard to give them a good look.
Shi Chengxin was thoughtful. He had already asked his servants to prepare ginseng tea and served it to Shi Diwen himself.
"Father, this ginseng tea uses wild ginseng produced in Changbai Mountain in Liaodong. It is said to be very effective in replenishing qi and nourishing the body. If you think it is okay, I will find someone to make some more."
Shi Diwen took two sips of ginseng tea and asked nonchalantly: "Is this a gift from Chen Yixin, or from the Manchu and Qing Dynasties?"
Shi Chengxin did not dare to hide it, and responded honestly: "It was the gift from Geng Jimao, who represented the Manchu Qing Dynasty to participate in the Zhoushan Forum last time. The child has been tested and is safe, so he ordered someone to prepare it into ginseng tea." For your drinking.”
Geng Jimao is the son of Geng Zhongming, the Ming Dynasty general who defected to the Qing Dynasty. In recent years, he has been involved in most of the errands with Haihan, and he can be regarded as the "Hai" in the Manchu and Qing court. "Expert on Han issues".
Whether it is for public reasons or selfish reasons, it is not surprising that Geng Jimao gave gifts to senior figures in Haihan to maintain relations. What's more, Shi Chengxin is definitely not the only one he is giving gifts to.
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "Geng Jimao is a smart man and knows how to maintain relations with our country. You can accept gifts from him, but if he wants to ask you to do something, don't feel like you are accepting his things. I agreed without losing face. Although we have ceased war with the Qing Dynasty, it does not mean that we will maintain a peaceful relationship from now on."
Shi Chengxin quickly agreed, knowing that this was his father. Remind yourself not to get too close to the Manchu and Qing side.
Shi Diwen was not worried about what tricks the Qing Dynasty could play. The Northern Region and North Korea were sandwiched between them, and it would be difficult to have a chance to make a comeback in the future. With the territory and population being continuously compressed, the Manchus could only gradually return to their previous tribal armed state.
In addition, he also knew that Chen Yixin had not sent troops to destroy the country for so long, not because of lack of strength or concern that the cost would be too high, but because he had a sufficient reason to maintain a huge armament scale in the northern region. If there is no such opponent one day, the military budget of the Northern Region may be reduced a lot by the Executive Committee. Chen Yixin had his own plans on how to deal with the relationship with the Manchus. Under such circumstances, if Shi Chengxin got too close to the Manchus, it might arouse Chen Yixin's dissatisfaction or even unnecessary suspicion.
Shi Diwen does not want Chen Yixin to think that Shi Chengxin represents his own attitude, or even mistakenly believe that he intends to intervene in Liaodong affairs. This will not be beneficial to either party.
After briefly reminding his son, Shi Diwen quickly returned the topic to the current business: "The Kyushu Allied Forces are obviously not as confident in the prospects of the war as they were half a year ago. What they proposed today This military aid plan is also testing our attitude. If we cannot provide strong support measures, I am afraid they will start to consider peace talks with the shogunate."
Shi Chengxin said: "I think this is not difficult to understand. After all, after half a year of fighting, Kyushu's resources have been almost exhausted, and the battle line has been deadlocked in the Kanmon Strait. This is too different from the pre-war predictions. It will definitely erode their confidence. "
The daimyo of the Kyushu vassals were instigated by Shi Diwen before the war. They fully believed that with the support of Haihan, the battle with the shogunate would be like their annexation of the local vassals of Kyushu. Just as easy.
However, the actual battle situation did not go as smoothly as expected. Although the actions of the coalition forces did cause considerable losses to the shogunate army, they still lacked a big victory that could change the offensive and defensive situation, and even the battle line was It was difficult to achieve this even in the Honshu area that was pushed to the shogunate.
Shi Diwen said: "It seems that counting on the Kyushu Allied Forces to fight against the shogunate alone is still not feasible. We have to find ways to add some code to maintain a balance."
Shi Chengxin tentatively said: "General You can’t really provide them with any big killer, right?”
Shi Diwen shook his head and said: "High-end weapons in the army cannot be leaked. This is an absolutely unbreakable rule! Even if the situation worsens to the point where we need to send troops personally, we cannot let them get what they shouldn't."
"I think we still have to think of a solution from the shogunate's jurisdiction. The intelligence sent back by Ma Boran also said that many daimyo are dissatisfied with the crusade launched by the Tokugawa shogunate. Let's see if it is possible to cause Another civil strife, to relieve some pressure on the Kyushu Allied Forces."
"And in Kyoto, let the intelligence department find a way to contact the imperial family and see if the person in the Kyoto Imperial Palace has any ideas." br>
Although the Japanese emperor was only the nominal ruler of the country and had been living in the shadow of the shogunate for hundreds of years, more like a mascot, the Tokugawa shogunate still wanted to continue to support the imperial family. , while maintaining this dignity, he also proves his legitimacy in governing the country on his behalf.
Although the imperial family has always been strictly controlled, it is difficult to say whether it is willing to play this empty puppet identity, especially when the Tokugawa shogunate has been immersed in the quagmire of war and has no time to care about anything else. If the imperial family is Being willing to stand up and speak out to break away from the control of the shogunate will most likely attract a group of followers who are willing to support the imperial family.
Although this method is unlikely to shake the foundation of the shogunate's rule, as long as it can cause chaos to the shogunate and prevent it from focusing on the war against Kyushu, it is worth trying.
Thanks to the free trade provisions of the Treaty of Amity between Japan and Maritime signed in Sasebo in 1646, Haihan merchants can enter and exit areas including Osaka and Kyoto without restrictions to engage in trading activities. This created an opportunity for the Haihan Intelligence Department to contact the royal family.