While Shimazu Hisatsu, Shimazu Hisaaki, and Shimazu Hisashi were arguing, the 25-year-old head of the Shimazu family, Shimazu Mitsuhisa, was sitting in his position observing the expressions of the retainers below. It's just that he watched it for a long time, and found that the retainers who were qualified to sit in the deliberation room had always remained silent about the argument between the three people, and they didn't want to offend either side.

He immediately knew that this was not the moment to turn against Shimazu Hisaki and Shimazu Hisaki, even if he wanted to take the opportunity to punish the two, he was afraid that he would be persuaded and stopped by these retainers.

"That's enough." Shimazu Mitsuhisa hit the tatami mat in front of him with the folding fan in his hand, and the loud knocking sound finally quieted the three people who were arguing fiercely, and the retainers in the room also focused their eyes on him. Shimazu Mitsuhisa ignored everyone, just stood up directly and walked in front of Shimazu Hisaaki.

Shimazu Hisaaki pressed his hands on the tatami mats, bent forward and bowed to Mitsuhisa who was standing in front of him, although the other party didn't say a word, but Shimazu Hisaaki still felt that his eyelids kept jumping.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa stared at the back of Shimazu Hisasho's head for a long time, until the room was quiet and could hear the different breathing sounds of the retainers, and then he held the folded folding fan in his right hand and gently tapped it on Shimazu Hisaaki's shoulder and said, "Since Hisamurai has been presiding over the feudal government in the past, this time you are strongly advocating war. Okay, this matter is still up to you, but before that, do you dare to make a military order? ”

As soon as Shimazu Mitsuhisa said this, Shimazu Hisatsu, who originally wanted to stop him, swallowed his words back, and the other retainers all looked at Shimazu Hisaaki's face, wanting to see what the head of the Shinshin Shimazu family would do.

Shimazu Hisasho's face was also blue and white, he knew that the matter of establishing a military order was not a trivial matter, if he repelled the shogunate fleet, it would be fine, but if it failed, he would inevitably become the Shimazu family's explanation to the shogunate.

Seeing that Shimazu Hisahari was forced into a dead end by the head of the family, Shimazu Hisashi couldn't help but say loudly: "Isn't it inappropriate to let His Royal Highness Jiuzhang make a military order now?" Kushoden's claim just now was also to keep the name of his family so that he would not be humiliated by the shogunate. It's impossible for the shogunate to come to the door, so we have to make amends with a smile, right? ”

Shimazu Hisatsu just wanted to refute it, but Shimazu Mitsuhisa had already said categorically: "This time it was not just the shogunate who came to the door, but people came to the door with the imperial edict to ask for the guilt." Since you are fighting the main battle, you should know that once you start a war against the shogunate fleet at sea, it is tantamount to admitting yourself, and the assassination of the Minister of the Interior is inseparable from our Satsuma Domain.

If we can repel the shogunate fleet, we will be able to fight a war with the imperial court and the shogunate in the future. But if we lose, if you don't take the initiative to stand up and take responsibility, will you still let the entire Satsuma clan be buried with you? Although I, the Satsuma samurai, are loyal and brave, this is not how I use them to ward off disasters for you..."

Hearing the head of the family imply that these people were greedy for life and afraid of death, did not take responsibility for things, and only wanted to use the signboard of the Satsuma Domain to resist the accountability of the shogunate and the imperial court, Shimazu Hisahari finally couldn't help it. He knew that if he didn't say anything at this time, once the words of the head of the family spread outside, his reputation would be completely ruined.

He was able to control the feudal domain because of the prestige he had established among the Satsuma samurai. Once he loses his popularity, it will be difficult for him to gain the support of the middle and lower class samurai, and what awaits him will inevitably be Shimazu Mitsuhisa's political reckoning with him.

What's more, if he refuses to sign the military order, he will not be able to continue to assert his position on this issue. Once Shimazu Mitsuhisa is allowed to reconcile with the shogunate, he will also be thrown out as a scapegoat, and then no one will be willing to speak up for him.

Therefore, under his grief and indignation, he finally replied in a stiff tone: "Since the family wants me to issue a military order, I am naturally willing to obey." However, I also ask the head of the family not to interfere with all my actions against the shogunate after I have signed the military order. ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa looked at him coldly, and said word by word: "Okay, as long as you don't let the shogunate army fight in this Tsurumaru Castle, I won't stop you from doing anything..."

Under the gaze of Shimazu Mitsuhisa, Shimazu Hisashi wrote the military order, and Shimazu Hisashi also signed his name with trembling. After Shimazu Mitsuhisa ordered the little surname to put away the military order, he turned around and walked towards the inner room, and said quite calmly: "Everyone will disperse, and the rest will be left to Jiuzhang and Jiuqing to do." ”

No one could see that Mitsuhisa Shimazu's left hand, which was hidden in his sleeve and clenched into a fist, was already covered with slimy sweat. Although the weather in Kagoshima is very cool in November, and when you stand on the walls of Shiroyama Castle, you feel a little cold when you stand on the walls of Shiroyama Castle, but Shimazu Mitsuhisa who stands on the castle walls feels that her whole body is full of heat, and only by standing on the walls of the sea can you feel calmer.

At the meeting just now, he exercised his power as the head of the family for the first time, and watching Shimazu Hisaki and Shimazu Hisaki, who had been fooling him like immature children, deflated, made him so happy that he almost forgot about the shogunate fleet that was parked at sea.

The castle wall where Mitsuhisa Shimazu was standing was in a good position to see the whereabouts of the retainers who had left the chamber and descended the mountain, but not to be discovered by the retainers. For the past two years, after each meeting with his retainers, he would stand in this position and observe the departing retainers, observing their interactions with each other to determine whether their private relationship was good or bad.

Of course, he is standing here today, not to see the reaction of these retainers after the meeting, but to wait for someone. He didn't stand for long, and Shimazu Hisatsu walked here under the leadership of the small surname.

From Shimazu's line of sight, the place where Shimazu Mitsuhisa is standing is a great place to observe the scenery. Tsurumaru Castle is a flat mountain castle, which means that each wall is built according to the mountain. The front of the wall is a steep cliff, but behind the wall is a flat land, and in some places there are a few trees to obscure the view below.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa now has a tall pine tree next to him, and the branches above it stretch out like a green umbrella, and it is undoubtedly a great pleasure to stand here and watch the Satsuma Sea in summer.

Of course, the scenery from the outside of the castle is also excellent, and the huge Sakurajima volcano rises abruptly above the sea, and the Shiroyama, where Tsurumaru Castle is located, are looking at each other across the sea from a small piece of the sea, like two men and women in love.

At this time, the layers of mist rising on the sea surface, combined with the golden glow of the sunset rays on the sea, make the sailing ships and the Sakurajima volcano in front of you a paradise with a veil.

Shimazu Hisatsu, who stopped, couldn't help but sigh and said: "Looking at such a scenery, what kind of troubles can be left in the world." ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa may have faced such a beautiful scenery too many times, so he was not moved by this at all, and it was very troublesome that interrupted Shimazu Hisatsu's emotion, so he asked so anxiously, "How is the exploration of Nagano's gold mountain?" How much production exactly? ”

Shimazu Hisatsu was silent for a while, then replied, "Nagano's gold production can only be regarded as average, and according to the estimates of prospectors, the maximum amount of gold produced is 40-500,000 yen a year. However, the gold veins are still concentrated, and the difficulty of mining is not very great, and the deeper the digging, perhaps the amount of underground deposits can be larger. ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa stared at the huge ships on the sea, and only after a long time did he say: "After this war is over, you go and negotiate with Daming's bank to see how much cash you can lend if you mortgage Jinshan to them." ”

Shimazu Hisatsu replied with some surprise: "Why do you want to deal with those Akito, they are even more fierce than the usurers in Osaka. We were able to dig up 1 million yen of gold ourselves, and we would have left a maximum of 500,000 yen left with a mortgage to them, which is a loss-making business. ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa said calmly: "If we can win the current war, we naturally don't need to mortgage the gold mountain, but the failure of the family is inevitable, and if the gold mountain is still in our hands at this time, people will come to the door to rob it." Whether it is the shogunate or the Ming people, it is impossible for us to keep the ownership of the gold mountain, it is better to mortgage the gold mountain to the Ming people's bank, at least we can get back a little capital. I'm sure they're not going to do anything to their own banks. ”

Shimazu Jiutong was stunned for a long time, and then asked cautiously: "Although Jiuzhang and Jiuqing don't have any talents, but with the martial arts of our own samurai, can't we even make a draw?" No matter how powerful the shogunate's fleet is, it can't go ashore, right? ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa shook his head and said: "The war is doomed to failure, it is better to admit defeat as soon as possible, so that at least the family has a chance to make a comeback."

Didn't you notice? The shogunate used the superiority of the naval fleet to force the family, and its main purpose was to make the family submit, not to completely destroy the Satsuma family. If the resistance of the Shogunate is too fierce, the shogunate may turn around and deal with the Choshu Domain first, and then assemble a large army to attack from the land, which will turn into a real disaster for the Shogunate.

So, you get ready. As soon as Shimazu Hisasho and Shimazu Hisakei command the battle and fail, you immediately mobilize people to arrest Kusho and Kukei, and then ask the shogunate for peace. ”

Shimazu Hisatsu was dumbfounded and couldn't believe what he heard, and it took a long time before he stammered: "But, in this case, won't our alliance with Kumamoto and Choshu be broken?" ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa glanced back at him, and said coldly: "This is the alliance signed by Shimazu Hisasho and Shimazu Hisakei, two traitors, and the Choshu Domain, what does it have to do with me."

Besides, the Kumamoto Domain has now broken its alliance, and it is impossible for either the Choshu Domain or the Honke to cross Kyushu Island and support each other under the threat of the shogunate's fleet. Since everyone is fighting on their own, then it is still the Illuminator who said, everyone should still have their own destiny and take care of themselves..."

(. = )