Leaving Kyushu Island, I asked Arashi's fleet to return to Hakata first, and I was invited by Shimazu Yoshihisa to set sail for Kagoshima. To put it bluntly, the high-level of the two sides met to deepen their understanding and lay a more solid foundation for the next step of cooperation.

Getting from Tanegashima to Kagoshima is just a day's journey at a moderate speed. Kagoshima's name was cute, but at the time, it wasn't synonymous with cuteness.

Kagoshima is the southernmost prefecture of Kyushu, opposite the Sami Islands and Okinawa to the south. In the center, there is the north-south Kirishima volcanic belt, which has a lot of volcanic activity and hot springs, but the soil is very poor. To the west is the Satsuma massif, and there are also many old volcanoes and hot springs.

According to Tanegashima Tokiyao, Shimazu Yoshihisa likes to choose this place for his guests, because it has "the best soup in the world"!

This so-called "yu" does not refer to the soup that is drunk, but to the hot spring bath. In Toei, many people have a hobby of "bathing", and it is estimated that Shimazu Yoshihisa is also a lover of this, so everyone makes an appointment here.

With the warm afternoon sun, my flagship was sent to Kagoshima. There was a group of people waiting on the port, and when I went up to meet it, it was Shimazu Yoshihisa and his party!

Shimazu Yoshihisa, now 50, wears a kimono with an orchid on a black background and a rigorous "bun", also known as a "crown bun" – the uniform hairstyle of the Sengoku daimyō. As a wise man who is cautious everywhere, Shimazu Yoshihisa is meticulous in his dress.

As he waited for me, he stood on the dock with his hands in his sleeves and his legs straddling. When they saw me coming, they immediately greeted me warmly, and when they came to me, they exchanged salutes with me.

The eyes of the wise man of Kyushu looked me up and down passionately and prudently, and studied my gentle smile again and again, before he let go of the vigilance in his heart and replaced it with a kind face.

"Qilan Palace! I'll call you that, no problem! "At this time, Shimazu Yoshihisa's position was from the third rank, which was basically the same as my position in the Ming Dynasty, so he politely called me according to his level, completely ignoring the age gap.

From his expression, I could deeply feel the meaning of his friendship, which filled my heart with doubts - as the actual ruler of southern Kyushu and a powerful figure who unified the whole of Kyushu, why did he value and win over me so much as a young man from outside.

I don't believe that there is a gratuitous eye for each other, and even more so that I have never met him before.

But I did a good job of hiding my inner doubts—at least I thought so, and I replied enthusiastically, "Yoshikuden!" Keeping you waiting! It's rude! ”

Shimazu Yoshihisa laughed and introduced me to a middle-aged man in his forties dressed as a samurai: "This is my brother, Suijiu!" You know each other! ”

I look at this Shimazu for a long time, and his height is around 1.65 meters, which is already a very high stature during the Warring States period! He wears a kimono with a red flower brown background and a mid-length * around his waist. He had a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes sparkled with wisdom.

I secretly said in my heart that this Shimazu was also a famous Warring States general that I admired quite much in my previous life.

Although he is not as a wise man as his eldest brother as his eldest brother, nor is he as brave as his second brother Shimazu Yoshihiro, but in fact, he is among the four Shimazu brothers - Shimazu Yoshihisa, Shimazu Yoshihiro, himself and the fourth brother Shimazu Iehisa, only the eldest brother Yoshihisa, and there is no lack of perseverance and courage and perseverance!

Shimazu was evaluated by his grandfather Shimazu Tadaya as "resourceful to thoroughly observe the interests and disadvantages" from an early age, and in the eyes of later generations, he was one of the few wise generals in Satsuma who had a brave manner. Suhisa mainly served as a military staff officer next to his brother Yoshihisa, and his words and deeds deeply influenced the strategic policy of the Shimazu Army.

From the battle of Iwaken Castle in his early teens, he participated in most of the battles of the Shimazu family with his brother Yoshihiro and his younger brother Iehisa. He successively served as the deputy general of his second brother Shimazu Yoshihiro in the Yokogawa Castle Raiders, Osumi Kohama Castle Raiders, Ito Raiders, and Ogawa Battles, and made great achievements.

From 1563 onwards, Shimazu served as the lord of Yoshida Castle for a long time, and was praised by the local people for his impressive political achievements. It is also said that he drank a large amount of alcohol over time, and he often drank the toasts of his retainers at a banquet at home instead of his brother, who was not very good at drinking, and was admired by many retainers.

On the eve of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Kyushu expedition, Suiku advocated surrendering to Hideyoshi, but the remaining three of the four Shimazu brothers advocated a war of resistance, so Suiku's claim was rejected.

Later, after the complete defeat of Hideyoshi, the Shimazu family, as Suihisa said, decided to surrender to the Toyotomi family. However, after returning to Hideyoshi at the Shimazu family, out of the preservation of the family's reputation, which I thought in my previous life, his attitude towards Hideyoshi suddenly changed completely, and he began to adopt an attitude of fierce resistance!

Since then, he has confronted the powerful Hideyoshi many times, either openly or covertly, which deeply angered Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi then ordered Yoshihisa to crusade against his younger brother Suijiu, and in order not to embarrass his eldest brother, Suijiu was generous and self-defeating, and died at the age of 56.

But people have not forgotten this capable, intelligent, rational but emotional famous general - after Hideyoshi's death, the people who respected the people for a long time built Shingakuji Temple at the place where he committed suicide to commemorate the old - that is, the current Hiramatsu Shrine, Shimazu Tokihisa as the god of war and the god of safety and production has been believed by the people for generations to this day.

There is such a saying in Toei - "There is no dark king in the Shimazu family"! In other words, as the representative daimyo of Kyushu, the successive heads of the Shimazu family and the retainers were all outstanding figures in both civil and military affairs. This statement can be confirmed by the fact that the Shimazu family was able to gain a foothold in the chaotic Warring States and then spent the three hundred years of Edo safely.

Today, I was able to meet two of the best Shimazu players of our time at one time, and I was really touched by it. I don't know why, I, who are familiar with the history of the Warring States Period, am not very interested in many wise generals and brave generals, and always think that they don't seem to fit my aura, and their deeds can't resonate with me.

But if you think about it seriously, I did have some of the characters I admired the most during the Warring States period - when it comes to daimyo, I identify with Kenshin Uesugi the most; Speaking of wise men, I am grateful for Sanada Masayuki; The brave generals most appreciate the snow of Tachibana Road; But the most understandable thing is that the Shimazu in front of him is undoubtedly old.

When I saw someone I had been friends with for a long time, I was filled with emotion. But I also introduced No Regrets and Nine Ghosts Masataka and others, and the atmosphere was warm for a while, and they greeted each other.

Yoshihisa Shimazu took me by the wrist and led me to the place where I was going to receive me, a bathhouse called "Kirimiyu" on Sakurajima......

I can understand this kind of etiquette of pulling people to take a shower when we first meet, but I need to get used to it slowly...... However, Yoshihisa had no intention of taking off his clothes when he met, and instead entertained me in the small attic outside the hot pool.

I probably heard from Tanegashima that I don't like seafood, so the food he ordered was a lot more palatable, especially the pork floss egg yolk sushi and seaweed rice rolls, I ate two servings of it myself, and the udon noodles were also very delicious, and after eating a bowl, I asked for another bowl.

Shimazu Yoshihisa and Shimazu Yoshihisa laughed and said that I was a non-hypocritical person, so they also accompanied me to eat another bowl.

After eating and drinking a little wine, Shimazu Yoshihisa proposed to go to the soup. In fact, everyone is gradually getting familiar with it at this time, so wash it!

So I didn't regret it, and I entered the soup with Shimazu Yoshihisa and Shimazu Iehisa, both of whom were two brothers, which was just right. Nine ghosts and filial piety their big soup outside, the kite is not washed, and a few people who are also not washed are outside, and continue to deal with the food on the plate! I was full, but I went to the back island to fish......

When most of my body soaked in the bubbling hot spring, I couldn't help but shiver!

At this time, Shimazu Yoshihisa's voice came: "Qilan Palace...... Well, I'm a little crazy, so I'll call you Qilan, okay? Seeing me nodding, he continued with a smile: "Qilan, this is my favorite soup bath all over Kyushu Island!" It is said to cure all diseases, so you can experience it! If you like it, you'll come back often! ”

I laughed, looked at Shimazu Yoshihisa and smiled, "Brother Yoshihisa is too polite!" What's so embarrassing? I'm sure I'll come if you let me come, but you're welcome! ”

The Shimazu Yoshihisa brothers were stunned for a moment, and at the same time laughed out loud in their unrepentant faces! Dongying people are generally reserved, where have you ever seen me so simple and direct? So Shimazu Yoshihisa panted with laughter, and said, "You're welcome!" I'll arrange it for my subordinates! Qilan is here, we all say hello! ”

I laughed with him for a while, and the laughter died down, and we both knew that the greeting was almost over, and that it was time to get down to business.

Shimazu Yoshihisa smiled slightly, but said something that made my heart beat faster: "Qilan, I know you must be very strange, why do I value you so much!" Right? ”

There are only two possibilities for such straightforward speech, one is that there is no mind and will not hide it; The other is the wisdom bead in the hand, and the hole is like watching the fire. I'm convinced that Yoshihisa Shimazu is the latter, he knows exactly what he's talking about, and he's also convinced that I will agree with him, which is why he's so straightforward and straight to the point.

I nodded, and said unabashedly: "I believe that in the name of the first wise man in Kyushu Island, Brother Yoshihisa will not make worthless investments!" ”

Shimazu Yoshihisa laughed again: "Investment? Qilan: You haven't been in business for a long time, why are you full of business? ”

I drank two sips of cherry blossom wine, and suddenly a cold flow down my throat, I hiccuped, wiped my mouth, and said with a smile: "In business, there is nothing wrong with it!" ”

Shimazu Yoshihisa smiled: "There is nothing wrong with it! You're right, although I'm not a businessman, I won't spend money for no reason! ”

I lifted the bottle and took another sip, but smiled silently, waiting for him to continue. Shimazu Yoshihisa's eyes flashed with a stunning light, stared at me and smiled, "Because I believe that you will definitely be the one who will change the pattern of the Warring States!" ”

Putting down the bottle, I frowned, to be honest, I don't like this kind of nonsense compliment, in contrast, I prefer to talk about things in a down-to-earth way. So I hummed and asked, "What do you mean by that?" ”

This time, it was Shimazu who intervened, and the No. 2 general of the Shimazu family smiled: "Qilan, my brother is not a mouthful, we have done research." ”

I let out a long oh and smiled, "I want to hear it!" ”

Shimazu looked at Yoshihisa and did not regret it, smiled, and stared at me and said: "I have studied your resume with my eldest brother, second brother and fourth brother, Qilan, we all agree that when you were in the Ming Dynasty, you crossed the four grades within two years and reached the high position of the third grade, which is by no means lucky, but you are extremely good at building, borrowing, and using momentum, and you are a talent who is particularly good at layout!" ”

I was silent, waiting for him to continue. Shimazu continued: "Later, you suddenly left the Ming Dynasty and came to Dongying - of course, although your previous foundations are not too strong, but the opportunity you chose is very subtle, it is the moment when Dongying rushes from chaos to rule, and you choose to unite with Shibata Katsuya, nothing more than what you want is a balance of power!" ”

I still don't speak, because so far, what they say is right, and I don't need to say more. Shimazu didn't speak for a long time, but his eldest brother Shimazu Yoshihisa continued: "So I boldly guess that although you left the Ming Dynasty, your heart is still tied to the Ming Dynasty." It is said that the late Shoufu of the Ming Dynasty was related to you......"

Hearing the word deceased, my heart twitched, and my face inadvertently showed how smart Shimazu Yoshihisa was, and said with a slight smile: "Qilan doesn't have to be sad, birth, old age, sickness and death, human nature, Zhang Shoufu Ju Zhenggong has done his best in his life, and he can be regarded as a well-deserved death." And anyone with a discerning eye can see that the series of actions he left behind when he was dying are still very effective, and the current Ming Dynasty court has also entered a situation of resistance in the chamber! ”

Since I left the Ming Dynasty, although I have never mentioned that land, I have always remembered in my heart every person and thing worth remembering on that land and water. Today, at the southernmost tip of Kyushu Island and closest to the Ming Dynasty in Middle-earth, I heard the information about the Ming Dynasty again, and my mood was agitated for a while, so I stretched out my hand and asked the brothers to continue.

I have a vague feeling that today's meeting at the bathhouse seems to be much more rewarding than I imagined......