Shimazu Tadatsune said, "Oh! Is there really a person with big red eyes in this world? ”

The rest of the retainers followed suit. Shimizu Saizo said with a smile: "Lord Jiadu, how can there be any people with big red eyes in this world? It's just a rumor. I also heard that the red eyes were strange at the time, so I paid attention to inquire. As for why he has red eyes, it is because that person was born with an eye disease and cannot see light, so he has to use the top red crystal to protect his eyes. In this case, it looks like red eyes from afar! ”

Shimazu and the retainers burst out laughing. An old man said disgustedly: "Really! It's like this for a long time! I really thought that people with red eyes would want to see it. ”

Shimazu Tadashi waved his folding fan and signaled everyone to be quiet. Said: "So who is this man?" ”

Shimizu Saizo said: "Lord Jiadu, the specific situation is not clear below, and it still needs to be investigated. The only known person is a pirate. And he has a nickname called the Red-Eyed Dragon King. ”

The crowd burst into laughter again. A sturdy old man said: "If you can be a dragon king by making a red crystal paste on your eyes, then I will also get a paste on your eyes, and then I can also be called a dragon king?" ”

The person next to him sneered and said, "Even if you bring the red crystal, you can't be the red-eyed dragon king." At most, it's a red-eyed crab king! ”

The crowd laughed again. After everyone finished laughing, Shimazu Tadashi said, "Shimizu-kun, can you be sure it's him?" ”

Shimizu Saizo said: "I can only guess that it is him." However, if we send someone to Nagasaki, we may be able to get the news soon. ”

Shimazu Tadashi said: "That's it! Then send someone, you have to be quick. ”

Shimizu called a samurai and gave him a few words, and the samurai bowed and left. Shimazu Tadashi said, "Then let's treat them as pirates for now." What do you think? Tell us about it. ”

The old man in charge of the money and food frowned and said, "Lord Jiadu, if we send troops, how many troops will we send?" Recently, we just changed the weapon armor for the samurai and ashigaru. I'm afraid there is not enough money and food to support the long-term operation of the army! And if we spend too much, it will affect our plans for the next few years. ”

Kayama Hisadaka said, "As long as I give me 1,000 troops, I can defeat those pirates and recapture Ryukyu!" ”

An elder objected, saying, "Kayama-kun, this time our opponents are not those cowardly Ryukyuans, but a group of murderous pirates. And Kono Kamiharu's guy hasn't heard from him so far, maybe he's already broken! You know, we have more than 1,000 troops in the Ryukyus! It can be seen that those pirates are still somewhat combative! ”

Birshan, Hisataka said disdainfully: "It's just a group of pirates! They may be dragons at sea, but on land, in the face of the invincible army of our Shimazu family, they are just a bunch of poor bugs. ”

The ministers discussed this issue. However, the cautious faction prevailed. After all, the Ryukyus were too far away from them, and this crusade was important. If they fail, they may not be able to land in the Ryukyus for several years, which is unacceptable to the Shimazu family. At the same time, they also considered that the Ryukyuan people might help these pirates, so they tentatively set the number of troops on the expedition at 2,000. As for other follow-up plans, we will have to wait for specific information to become available.

A few days later, the people sent out by Shimizu Saizo returned. Shimazu Tadashi reconvened a meeting in the council chamber to listen to Shimizu's report. Shimizu Saizo said to everyone: "Let everyone wait for a long time!" The people I sent out went to visit Tanigawa-sama, the governor of Nagasaki. Under his introduction, I met the famous maritime merchant Li Dan. It's a pity that he didn't see Li Dan himself. It is said that he himself is sick. However, the people sent to see Li Dan's heir. ”

Hisakama said curiously, "Oh, is that guy sick?" What a pity! He's a good guy. ”

Shimizu Saizo said, "Yes." And it looks like he's very sick! Otherwise, he would not have appointed an heir. ”

One of the elders said, "It doesn't matter to us who he designates as the heir. Let's talk about the pirate's information. ”

Qing Shui Zhai bowed down and said, "That heir's surname is Zheng." He was a very handsome young man. But he seems to have a conflict with the red-eyed dragon king. He gave a detailed account of the group to the man who had been sent and kept asking me why I wanted to inquire about the man. There is a hint of encouraging us to attack him. I reckon he thought we had been robbed by that pirate. ”

Kayama Hisaka sneered and said, "What qualifications does he have to instigate us?" What a despicable villain! It was not good for him to betray his companion like this. ”

Shimizu Saizo said, "It's not good, but it's good for us." He gave us detailed information on the man. Now we know that the pirate leader's surname is Liu. He had about five to seven sea-going ships under his command, numbering between 600 and 800 men. Each seagoing vessel has at least two large cylinders. There are also a lot of iron cannons, about 300 or so. ”

Shimazu Tadatsune said: "This is very consistent with the information we have gotten, right? So surely these are the people, right? ”

Qing Shui Zhai bowed down and said, "Yes, Lord Jiadu. It should be certain. And the person surnamed Zheng also said that this information was about half a year ago. But he warned us that the man was still smart. He doesn't rob ships like other pirates! Every time he hijacked a ship, he only collected 20% of the cargo, and never hurt anyone. Therefore, many maritime merchants did not run away when they met him. This has made him very rewarding. Maybe his strength will increase in the past six months. ”

An old man said, "What a clever fellow! That means they have at least ten big tubes, which is not easy to deal with! ”

Shimazu Tadashi thought about it and said, "That's a problem! The power of the big cylinder is too great, and non-flesh and blood can stop it! ”

Hisakama said, "That's what I said. But we can't afford to lose the Ryukyus! And there is one more thing I don't know if you have thought about it? ”

Hisashi Hisaka deliberately paused when he said this, and when he saw that everyone was looking at him, he said, "Qing Shui-kun said it just now." That pirate had robbed a lot of people. This shows that he has a lot of money in his old nest. If we defeat him on land, then take his lair. In that case, what will happen? ”

Everyone in the room laughed understandingly. The old man in charge of money and food is even more smiling! He said with a fluttering eyebrow: "If you say so, maybe the military expenses we sent this time may be earned back, and there will be a surplus?" ”

Shimazu Tadashi nodded and said, "If that's the case, then we have to take them seriously." ”

After some discussion, it was finally decided to send 3,000 troops to attack the Ryukyus. Among them were 1000 iron cannons. Now wait for the return of the scouts they sent to the Ryukyus, and officially send troops.

When the spies they sent to Ryukyu came back and told them that the more than 1,000 people under Kono Kamiharu and his command had all been shattered! Even King Shangfeng was killed by him! For this reason, Shimazu Tadashi also scolded Kono Kamiharu for being a brainless red deer!

There were a lot of pirates, about two thousand, and they were all young and middle-aged. At the same time, they built a military camp on the island. Crucially, they are now building houses and clearing land on a large scale on the island, employing local farmers to use all copper coins. Moreover, the spy also participated in the clearing of the wasteland, earning a few days' wages. This made the Ryukyuan people very supportive of them.

Eventually, the spies said that the other widows on the island had been put back to work. He contacted some Japanese merchants. Those Japanese merchants said that they could be used as internal responses. And their sea ships are not in the Ryukyus, so they should have gone out to rob. It seems that they have made the Ryukyus their nest, and they don't seem to be afraid of being attacked at all.

Shimazu Tadashi immediately ordered the spies to set off for Ryukyu again to contact the merchants. And brought a batch of weapons. At the same time, they are asked to find out as accurate information as possible. After that, the Shimazu family was completely in motion.