Cao Bianjiao waited for Liu Jingming to leave, looked at He Xilian, and said, "When will the support from the North Korean side arrive?" ”

He Xilian said: "At the latest tonight, some craftsmen and engineers will arrive, as well as military materials, including artillery, grain and grass. ”

Cao Bianjiao nodded, Tsushima Island is very important to the Ming Dynasty, not only as a frontier strategic place for the Japanese, but also as a waterway to guard the south and north, and it must be taken seriously, and it is planned and arranged for a good life.

Liu Jingming's fleet went ashore, the soldiers began to rest, and Cao Bianjiao arranged for people to replenish supplies and carry weapons on the ship.

Zong Yicheng and the others secretly discussed with a cadre of family elders in another place, and they didn't even dare to light the lamp.

"You say, can the Ming people really defeat the Wa Kingdom?"

"I don't think it's difficult, the Ming Dynasty is the Heavenly Empire, and it was able to defeat the Wa State in Korea a few decades ago, and now the army is flourishing, so it's not difficult."

"The Wa Kingdom should not be underestimated, they are so close to us, besides, the Ming people don't care about us, and the North Korea also doesn't care, otherwise why would our ancestors bother to submit to the shogunate of the past dynasties......"

"Then you say, will they withdraw their troops? If they withdraw, what will we do, the shogunate will not let us go. ”

"In this matter, I think it's better to take one step at a time, by the way, we must strengthen the relationship with Cao Bianjiao and others and find out their thoughts."

"Yes. In my opinion, we have to send people to North Korea, the Ming Dynasty, we can't get on the ship of the Ming people in a daze, and leave no way back......"

"Yes, also, the Japanese side uses the relationship, find out a little more, maybe it will be useful."

……

A group of people whispered quietly in the dark, but they didn't dare to say more, and after a while, they quietly went out separately.

No one noticed that a person who had already left quietly changed direction and walked towards Cao Bianjiao's residence.

At noon the next day, Cao Bianjiao, He Xilian and others drank Zhuangxing wine and sent them on the boat. This time, their destination was the Guanmen Strait, and this time the fleet numbered as many as 50 search, 7,000 men, with flags flying and long sails.

The fleet rushed out of the harbor and headed straight for the Guanmen Strait.

He Xilian and the others accompanied Cao Bianjiao and watched them go away, and after a while, He Xilian said: "Your Excellency, there is no need to worry, Liu Jingming is also an old man in the army, and he has a lot of experience at sea. ”

Cao Bianjiao nodded silently, still not very stable in his heart.

The Ming Dynasty had very little experience in fighting at sea, especially when he traveled far away at sea, and he was alone, not only he was worried here, but the soldiers on the ship were not so stable in their hearts.

These are things to take slowly, not in a hurry.

Cao Bianjiao comforted himself in his heart, and immediately said, "Is there any news from Jiuguo Island?" ”

"Matsudaira Nobutsuna did not continue to storm the city, besieged the city, and played psychological warfare, but it did not work much against the original city, and these Christians were quite determined. ”

Cao Bianjiao thought for a while, turned his gaze to the southeast, and said, "Zuo Liangyu, how is Hua Shanjiu's preparations?" ”

"10,000 people, wait for the day, if the original castle is defeated, they will raid the north, these 10,000 people carry cannons, firearms, far stronger than the original castle, even if you can't defeat Matsudaira Nobutsuna immediately, as long as you occupy some fortress places, it is not so easy to fail, the Tokugawa shogunate has to send heavy troops to encircle and suppress, and Shimahara is not so easy to be peaceful." Hossie Lian Road.

This is Cao Bianjiao's backup plan, the original city is unbearable, that is, to release the Satsuma Domain, the island of Kyukoku cannot be calm, and it must continue to consume the national strength of the Wa Kingdom and disrupt the established plan of the Tokugawa shogunate!

"Well," Cao Bianjiao nodded, and said, "Pay attention to the movements on the Edo side, and also pay attention to the dynamics of their people, and strengthen infiltration, have they changed anything on the emperor's side?" ”

He Xilian's expression was a little strange, and he said: "Their emperor has always been set up in the air, the emperor of iron, the shogunate of flowing water, and they can't be counted on at all. The Edo side is stable, Tokugawa Iemitsu is a very capable person, and he tosses the daimyo from all over the world enough, and all kinds of rebellions emerge in an endless stream, but they are all petty fights, and the Tokugawa shogunate has a solid foundation and is not so easy to be leveraged......"

Cao Bianjiao was silent for a moment and said, "You don't need him to have a big effect, just have this name." You have to think of a way to imitate a holy decree or handwriting, and it will be useful when the time comes. ”

He Xilian suddenly thought of the four words 'Respect Wang Xiangyi' in a secret book of the Military Intelligence Department, and his heart moved, and he said, "Yes."

"Is there any news from the imperial court?" Cao Bianjiao then asked.

In the past, most of the generals were not killed in battle, but were imprisoned and executed under the impeachment of the imperial court.

Therefore, these foreign generals were all frightened, couldn't sleep at night, and tried their best to please the court, but in the end, few of them ended well.

He Xilian knew what Cao Bianjiao was worried about, and said with a calm smile on his face: "Your Excellency, don't worry, not to mention your and Cao Dadudu's holy family, the Yanguan line has long ceased to exist, and the emperor is not something that the court can fool at will, even if the government and the opposition have some whispers, it is not enough to shake this action." ”

Cao Bianjiao glanced at him, and suddenly said, "What does your Shuai Mansion think of our Cao family?" ”

He Xilian was stunned, his expression was a little stiff, and he said, "My lord, where are you talking about this, how can the Shuai Mansion have an opinion on the Cao family." ”

Cao Bianjiao looked at him, his eyes turned slightly, but he didn't say much.

Although his uncle Cao Wenzhao failed to enter the Generalissimo's Mansion this time, everyone knows that it will be sooner or later.

It is rumored that their Cao family will control the Shuai Mansion for two generations, so the threat to the court and the society is too great, and it should be controlled as soon as possible.

When he was still the commander of the forbidden army, there were a lot of such voices, and now there are naturally more, not to mention the influence of Cao Wenzhao, Cao Bianjiao has been in the palace for many years, even if he didn't deliberately make friends with anyone, there is still a steady stream of voices reaching his ears.

For this reason, he discussed carefully with his uncle Cao Wenzhao, and decided to ignore the affairs outside the window and devote himself to the emperor's errand.

Seeing that Cao Bianjiao didn't ask, He Xilian quietly sighed in his heart.

How could the Generalissimo's Mansion have no ideas, didn't the 'military reform' led by Sun Ge consciously or unintentionally check and balance the Cao family and divide it?

Anyone with a discerning eye can see it, how could Cao Bianjiao not know?

However, these are not up to them to decide, what is the future of the Cao family, it does not depend on Sun Chengzong, it does not depend on the Generalissimo's Mansion, and it does not depend on the cabinet, the key is the attitude of the Qianqing Palace, as long as the sacred heart is there, the Cao family will not fall!

Liu Jingming's fleet soon left Tsushima Island and headed directly to the east, with a clear goal, that is, the Guanmen Strait!

On the side of the Wa Kingdom, Matsudaira Nobutsuna has besieged the original castle for many days, all kinds of persuasions, threats, and I don't know how many means have been used from top to bottom, but the original castle seems to be beaten with iron, silent, and there is no reaction at all.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna, Itakura Shigemasa, Miyake Shigetoshi and others gathered together to discuss the affairs of Hara Castle.

Itakura Shigemasa was the most anxious, he had received the news that Tokugawa Iemitsu was very dissatisfied with him and was ready to send someone to arrest him back.

"Xingang Palace, you can't wait any longer, the original city will not go down for a day, and the princess and I will be uneasy for a day, please give me another chance!" Itakura Shigemasa looked serious and said in a deep voice.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna knew Itakura Shigema's thoughts, and said quietly on his face: "Chongchang Palace, do you have any good ideas?" ”

Itakura Shigemasa bowed down and said, "There is no other way, only to attack, attack at all costs!" ”

The original city is surrounded by mountains, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and now, there is no other way than to attack.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna looked calm and said, "More than 60,000 people have been lost, how much more, can you take it?" ”

The last time the attack lasted for one day, more than 60,000 people were killed and wounded, the morale of the army was boiling, the major names were dissatisfied, and the civil unrest in various parts of Kyukoku Island also took the opportunity to rise and fall one after another. Matsudaira Nobutsuna gathered a total of about 130,000 people this time, and he had already lost 60,000, and if he came another 60,000, even if they captured the original castle, it would be difficult to say whether this campaign would be won or lost.

Itakura Shigemasa naturally knew this, and said without hesitation: "Xingang Palace, we use the strategy of exhausting the enemy, and the army continues to make an offensive posture, so that the original city can't sleep at night, and dare not relax during the day, I believe that they won't last long!" ”

Matsudaira Nobutsuna frowned, and looked at Itakura Shigemasa in some surprise. Unexpectedly, he could still think of such a solution.

After thinking for a while, Matsudaira Nobutsuna smiled and said: "This method is very good, it can be done, Chongchang Palace, this matter will be handed over to you." ”

"Yes!" Itakura Shigemasa stood up excitedly, bowed and strode away. He can't wait at all, he needs to raze Shimabara and save his life before Tokugawa Iemitsu's men come!

Miyake Shigetoshi looked at Itakura Shigema's back, frowned slightly, and said, "Palace, is Chongchang Hall in a hurry?" ”

Matsudaira Nobutsuna nodded, and then said, "What's the movement of Akito?" ”

"Judging from the surveillance from various places, they went to the Tsushima Domain," Miyake Shigetoshi said, "It seems that they are resting now, and I can't see their specific movements at the moment." ”

"Where do you guess they're going?" Matsudaira Nobutsuna looked at Miyake Shigetoshimichi.

Miyake Shigetoshi thought for a while, and said, "Most of the Ming people want to deal with the original castle, and I think it is from the Chikugo Domain that we will be attacked on both sides, and we will not be able to take care of ourselves." Or, the previous time was to explore the path, and this time they will come with heavy troops to support the original city. ”

Matsudaira Nobutsuna listened, retracted his gaze, looked outside, and said: "This shouldn't be the strategy of the Ming people, they won't be involved in our war for the time being, those rumors that they want to occupy our country are just to put pressure on us, their purpose is to get some cheap." ”

Miyake Shigerori nodded silently, he didn't think that the Ming Dynasty had the ability to occupy their Wa Kingdom, thousands of people, and it was not enough to plug their teeth.

It is nothing more than wanting the Wa Kingdom to bow to the Ming Dynasty, call the ministers a tribute, and complete their Huayi order.

"So, what is their purpose?" Miyake Shigetoshi asked suspiciously.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna has been thinking about this question, if the Akito wants them to bow their heads, there will definitely be a next move, but without absolute force, how can they surrender?

"The main hall, the flying pigeons over there of the Iki Domain spread the book, and the fleet of the Ming Dynasty left the Tsushima Domain and went straight to the Chikugo Domain!" A samurai suddenly entered.

Chikugo Domain, the northernmost feudal kingdom of Kyukoku Island, is far away from Shimabara, one south and one north, and at the same time, Chikugo Domain is close to the Kanmon Strait.