On the island of Kyushu, Mt. Aso, located in the center of the island, rises with thick white smoke.

Originating from the administrative division of the Reiji Kingdom implemented by the Emperor of Japan, the island was given the name "Kyushu" by establishing a total of nine Reiji countries (Chikuzen Province, Chikugo Province, Hizen Province, Higo Province, Bunzen Province, Bungo Province, Hyuga Province, Osumi Province, and Satsuma Province).

Although it claims to be "Nine Kingdoms", its area is similar to that of the Ming Dynasty's Qiongzhou Mansion, that is, it is equivalent to the Ming Dynasty's mansion. The Kyushu Quest is the Kyushu Governing Authority set up by the Muromachi Shogunate, and the next level is the guardian of the Ryō country.

However, now that the Japanese emperor has long since died in name, these countries have become a virtual reality, and the tiny island of Kyushu is like a plate of scattered sand, and the various regions are ruled separately.

As the temperature on the island gradually cools, the various forces are also sticking to their own territory, resolutely wanting to wait until next spring when the flowers bloom before going to war.

As the saying goes, "poor mountains and bad waters come out of the people", this small place should not be underestimated, and the Mongol army has twice invaded Japan and was defeated in Kitakyushu.

When Hai Batian led the combined fleet to carry out a trip around the island, Li Guozhi was not idle, and stepped up the maritime trade between the joint merchant group and various Japanese forces.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty has always had friendly trade with Japan, and the former Wufeng shipowner was the largest middleman in the trade between the two countries, and then the Portuguese also intervened, causing many Japanese forces to have a welcoming attitude towards maritime merchants.

Nowadays, the Portuguese route from "Xiangshan to Japan" has been ordered to stop, the smuggling gangs in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Nanzhili have been either absorbed or destroyed, and the trade between Asahi and Japan has also been interrupted, so that the joint merchant group has almost monopolized the maritime trade with Japan.

It is precisely because of this that the United Business Group has also made frequent moves and has become a guest of many forces.

Kyushu Island is an island with a bulge in the middle, and the island is mostly mountainous and hilly. Hizen Province is located on the northwest side of the island, and the terrain is relatively flat, and many places are suitable for growing crops.

In this era of farming, the land that can be used for production is the valuable land, so the former fertilizer is already a high-quality territory in the entire Kyushu Island.

It's the middle of November, and a heavy snowfall has covered the land with a thick layer of snow, and there is a creaking sound when stepping on the snow.

The group arrived at a large Japanese-style mansion with a heavily guarded door.

"Contemptible dragon temple Longxin, welcome President Li to come!" Longzo Temple Takashin personally greeted him at the door and greeted Li Guozhi warmly.

Li Guozhi was wearing a mink coat, looking like a noble son, with a wisdom in his eyes, but he responded with a smile: "Protect the lord, look up for a long time!" ”

This Ryuzoji Takanobu is now a young man, and he is far from being called the "bear of Hizen", and he cannot be called the "Three Heroes of Kyushu" along with the Bungo Otomo clan and the Satsuma Shimazu clan, and he is just a lord of Hizen Province.

The Ryuzoji clan originated from the close minister who managed the Hizen magistrate, a tributary of Takagi-kun of Gannan Bibong Castle.

In 1186, the Takagi family's Minamijiro Ji family became the owner of Ryuzoji Village in Ozu Higashigo, Hizen Province, and the family changed their surname to Ryuzoji clan. At the end of the Muromachi period, the Ryuzoji family split into two parts: Ryuzoji Temple in the village and Mizue Ryuzoji Temple.

In 1529, Ryuzoji Takanobu was born in Hizen Province Saka Castle, and was the son of the Zhou family of Ryuzoji Temple.

In 1545, Ryuzoji Takanobu's grandfather Ryuzoji Iejun and his father Ryuzoji Zhou family were killed by the Shaoji clan's important minister Baba Yorishu for failing to rebel against the lord Shaoji Dongshang, and Takanobu followed his great-grandfather Ryuzoji family and fled to Chikugo Province to join the Puchi clan.

In 1546, with the assistance of Kamachi Jiansheng, the Ryuzoji family also raised troops to kill Baba Lai Zhou, and re-established the Ryuzoji clan. Inherit the Shuijiang Longzao Temple family, and belong to the Ryuzoji Temple's own family, Longzao Temple Yinrong.

In 1548, Yinrong of Longzoji Temple died, and the heir of the Longzoji family was extinct, and Longzoji Takashin married Yinrong's surviving person to inherit the family. Against the backing of Yoshitaka Ouchi, the most powerful daimyo in the western country, Takanobu succeeded in suppressing the opposition of his retainers.

In 1551, Ouchi Yoshitaka was killed by his retainer Tao Qingxian, and Tsuchihashi Eiyi, a major minister of Ryuzoji Temple, took the opportunity to cause an incident and united with the people of Hizen Province who were close to Otoshi to besiege Ryuzoji Temple and establish Ryuzoji Temple. Forced to flee to Chikugo Province, Takanobu once again asked for the support of the lord of Yanagawa Castle, Kamaike Kenmori.

In 1553, under the escort of the Kamaike army, Ryuzoji Takanobu successfully returned to Hizen and exiled Ryuzoji Supervisor, establishing absolute control over the Ryuzoji family.

In 1559, Ryuzoji Takanobu attacked the Shaoji clan and forced the Shaoji Dongshang to commit suicide in Sefukuji Castle, and the Shaoji family perished.

In 1560, Ryuzoji Takanobu defeated Chiba Yinrai and two years later established the dominance of Higashimae.

In 1563, the rapid expansion of the power of Ryuzoji Takanobu caused panic among the people of the neighboring countries, and the Arima clan and the Omura clan attacked Higashizen, and the Ryuzoji Takanobu and Chiba clan defeated the coalition army.

It is precisely for this reason that the thirty-four-year-old Ryuzoji Takanobu is the head of the Ryuzoji family, occupying a large territory in front of Higashihi, and has become a new force on the island of Kyushu.

It's just that in the world, even if it is a generation of heroes Cao Cao, he is also facing all kinds of troubles.

Although there has been no major war in the past two years, he has constant friction with the countries close to him, and the Otomo family has been eyeing Donghi before, so that Takanobu of Ryuzoji Temple is ignorant of food.

He was now able to mobilize only 3,000 troops, and if the battle struck again, he was afraid that he would be defeated and flee the country.

It was with the help of his allies that he was able to make a comeback and thus regain the territory of the former Fei. Ryuzoji Takanobu was deeply aware of the importance of the alliance, so he welcomed Li Guozhi and his party.

At the tatami, the two sides sit cross-legged, and a plump Japanese woman makes tea for both sides.

Li Guozhi grew up in Beijing, and although he has seen and heard about the Dongying people, he has never seen a Japanese woman. Now, when he saw that the young Japanese woman's face was covered with a thick layer of white powder, he couldn't help but take a strange look.

Seeing this, Ryuzoji Takanobu immediately showed an ambiguous smile like a man, and gave a look to the retainer next to him. The retainer nodded understandingly, but felt pity and heartache.

"Huh...... Chairman Lee, what do you think of the taste of this tea? Ryuzoji Takanobu asked with a smile.

Li Guozhi is a veteran in business, and he responded quietly: "This tea is very good, the lips and teeth are fragrant, thank you for the guardian with this tea!" ”

"Huh...... Chairman Lee, you're welcome! I heard that you also trade in rice and grain, but I don't know that this is the case. Ryuzoji Takanobu is a straight-hearted person, and he asked straight to the point.

Historically, silk, ceramics and ironware have been the main commodities traded in the trade, whether it was the smuggling merchants of the Southeast, or later the Portuguese merchants, and grain was usually not on the list of trade.

In fact, the reason is easy to understand, after all, businessmen are chasing profits. If equally important commodities were to be transported, it was naturally more profitable for goods such as silk, ceramics and tea, so food would always be excluded from it.

It's just that in the latest information, the United Business Group actually brought a large amount of rice grain from Daming, and heard that the price of this grain was very affordable, so it made Longzao Temple Longxin very moved.