The pigeon letter sent back by Li Guorui from Hagi Castle arrived in the capital five days after the relay of Nagasaki, Jeju Island, and Qingdao. Three inches of the world and at this time just received Fan. Putmans, reported by Drion, had just ordered a messenger to sail from Yokohama to Beijing to protest against the government.

Immediately after sending the messenger, Putmans sailed to Taiwan, preparing to transfer Taiwan's ships to North Japan to defend Sado Island.

Even at this moment, Putmans still did not feel the crisis, and still believed that even if there was a conflict between the two sides of Sado Island, the people of the country would not expand this conflict to the area outside Sado Island and turn it into a full-scale war between the two sides.

The reason why Putmans has such self-confidence is that although the company occupies a disadvantage in the coastal waters of the country, the farther away from the country, the greater the power of the republic. Once the country provokes such a full-scale war, then the country's merchant ships will not be able to sail safely in the waters beyond the Strait of Malacca. Such an outcome would be a disaster for both sides, so Putmans did not believe that the war could escalate to this level all at once.

However, for the Osaka and Edo shogunates, the news of the Ming-Dutch conflict from Sado Island made both sides realize a great opportunity to recover Sado Island.

After obtaining Iemitsu's approval, Matsudaira Nobutsuna quickly rushed to Kyoto to make a secret visit to Shimazu Tadashi, who was on duty at the imperial court, hoping to join forces with Osaka to retake Sado Island and expel the Dutch from Japan first.

After Japan's defeat in World War II, in addition to paying reparations and opening ports, it had to lease Sado Island, Nagasaki, Kobe, and Yokohama to foreigners, and recognized the legitimacy of Chejitan's missionary work in Japan.

These foreigners, the Japanese are the most cordial to the Chinese, because the Chinese had the freedom to live and do business in Japan before that, and Japan was deeply influenced by the Chinese, so the arrival of the Chinese businessmen did not have a fierce friction with the Japanese people.

In addition, with the help of those who lived in Japan, the new merchants quickly became familiar with the customs of Japan and knew how to conduct their own business activities there. They befriended the lords and samurai of each domain, and recruited Japanese agents to make contact with the local people, so that foreigners and Japanese people in Japan were not only well heard, but also believed by some enlightened Japanese that Japan could only return to its pre-war independent status by relying on the help of the country.

As for the Nanban people from Europe, they not only did not respect Japan's ization, but also tried to impose their own transformation on Japan. In addition, the goods of the Southern Barbarians were rarely demanded by the Japanese, and their commercial actions were more crude and simple, coupled with the differences in the appearance of the Europeans, which made the Japanese people at the bottom launch a spontaneous boycott, and even in some inland areas, there were people who openly attacked the lone Southern Barbarians, so the contradictions between the European merchants and the Japanese people at the bottom became more and more intense.

The Osaka and Edo shogunates hated all foreigners in Japan, because they took away their privileges and economic interests in their own countries.

However, after the Great War, especially when the Japanese were still firmly in control of Osaka and Kobe, the shogunate elders on both sides realized that challenging all foreigners at once would only make them humiliated again. Therefore, both sides have the idea of developing with the help of the power of the state, and then expelling other foreigners.

The conflict between Minghe and Sado Island this time suddenly gave both sides a feeling that an opportunity had come. Shimazu Tadashi quickly agreed to Matsudaira's proposal, and according to the other party's suggestion, he first sent someone back to Osaka to report the information on Sado Island to Osaka Governor Ye Yuxuan, and then persuaded the governor of the country to order the expulsion of the Dutch, so that Japan could find a reason to send troops to Sado Island.

After receiving the letter from Shimazu Tadashi, Shinko Mizuno, the administrative commissioner of the Osaka shogunate, did not immediately report to the governor Ye Yuxuan, but first went to Yoshikawa Kosuke, who was the economic commissioner at the time.

Although after the establishment of the Osaka shogunate, Toyotomi Chiyo left Japan as agreed, and the five elders and the five commissioners ruled western Japan. But at the same time, Toyotomi Chiyo also handed over the Osaka territory to the Ming Dynasty as management.

Ye Yuxuan, who served as the governor of Osaka, and his deputy Li Chenfang, with the prestige they had established during the war, quickly took over the Osaka territory without any obstacles, and incorporated the port of Kobe, which had been converted into Hyogo, under his rule.

Although the five elders have the decision-making power of national affairs, it is the five commissioners appointed by the Taige who actually govern. However, anyone with a discerning eye knows that the appointment of the five commissioners obviously has a lot to do with the Ming people, because the appointed five commissioners are basically the meritorious ministers who followed Li Chenfang to seize Osaka.

The first Osaka commissioner outside of the Five Commissions was the former shogunate official Ikeda Sota who was redeemed by Li Chenfang, and this former shogunate official in his early fifties became the Osaka commissioner with the support of Li Chenfang, and he was extremely loyal to the vice-governor who focused on military training, and even the Edo shogunate sent people to woo him several times did not change his mind.

In Osaka Castle, which was firmly controlled by the Ming people, the joint meeting of the five elders and the western Japanese feudal domains naturally did not make any waves. And between the five elders, Satsuma, Kumamoto, and Ogura were opposed, and Choshu and Okayama were opposed. In addition to the five elders, the feudal domains moved closer to the Ming people, so a balance was formed within the Taiko shogunate.

After Mizuno Shinko received Shimazu Tadashi's order, he naturally knew that this matter could not be decided by Shimazu Tadatsune's letter. He was also well aware of his abilities, and let him carry out the specific matters that the ruler had told him, and the rules he could do, but it would be too reluctant for him to act as a lobbyist to convince the Governor.

The five commissioners, and only the economic commissioner Yoshikawa Kosuke, who returned from the Ming Kingdom for less than two years, is probably the best lobbyist for this matter. Although the young economic pursuer was regarded as a holiday by some old-fashioned samurai because of the nationalization of daily clothing and food.

However, the officials of the Osaka shogunate had to admit that this nationalized Japanese was not only capable of handling affairs, but also the shogunate official who knew the governor's mind best. He was always able to find the best balance between the Ming Kingdom and the Osaka shogunate, so that the relationship between the two sides would not be ruined.

In the cubicle of the tavern, Kosuke Yoshikawa closed his eyes and thought for a long time after listening to Mizuno Shinko's story. It was about half a incense time before he opened his eyes and said categorically to Mizuno Shinko: "Elder Shimazu's idea is still wrong, if we want to use this conflict between the Ming and the Netherlands to gain something for Japan, first, we can't openly join forces with the Edo shogunate; The second is that you can't choose to convince Governor Ye. ”

Mizuno Shingu was shocked and asked, "Why?" ”

Yoshikawa Kosuke said with a bright eye: "At the beginning, the Ming Dynasty united with those Southern Barbarians to divide Japan into two and support the revival of the Toyotomi family, because it was worried that a unified Japan would rebel against the Ming Dynasty's leadership of Japan.

Today's world is no longer what the scholars call it. Even the country that once regarded itself as the best in the world has already admitted that there is a much wider world beyond the world, and there is also a Ming that is comparable to Hua Ming, so what qualifications does Japan have to close its doors and stand still?

As the Ming Emperor said, the world today is increasingly divided into three circles, one is Christianity, one is Tianfangjiao, and one is Huaming, and beyond these three Mings is the new world that has not yet been civilized.

Christianity spread from west to east from the sea, and Celestial Christianity spread from west to east by land. If Hua Ming does not awaken and unite to expand outward, then sooner or later we will become vassals of the other two Mings.

The reason why the Ming Dynasty united these Southern Barbarians to attack Japan was to wake up the sleeping Japan, so that the Japanese would quickly wake up and follow the Ming Dynasty to expand the living space for Huaming. China is not only a country, but also a country that respects Huahua and is willing to abide by the Chinese order, that is, Huaye.

Since the Ming Dynasty took over the management of the Osaka region, Osaka's politics, economy, and transformation have been changing every day, and how can this momentum of enlightenment be interrupted by those ignorant old samurai?

Therefore, before Western Japan was fully civilized, the action of uniting the Edo shogunate may be seen by the Ming Dynasty as a possibility that Japan may refuse to be civilized. Once the Ming Dynasty misunderstands Japan, then our actions will naturally not be recognized by the Ming Dynasty, and the dispute between the Ming Dynasty and the Dutch will also lose the space we can operate. ”

Mizuno Shingu couldn't help but be persuaded by the other party, he subconsciously nodded slightly, but soon he asked again: "Then why can't you convince Governor Ye?" ”

Kosuke Yoshikawa replied confidently: "Japan is far away from the mainland, and it is inconvenient to communicate with the same country. As the governor of Osaka, Ye Yuxuan has power that is beyond the reach of the feudal minister, no matter how much the Ming Emperor trusts him, Governor Ye himself has to avoid suspicion.

Even now that the Dutch on Sado Island have seized the Ming people, Governor Ye will not immediately make the choice of war, but will first negotiate and wait for Beijing to make a decision.

If we report this to His Excellency the Governor, we will be tied hand in hand. If everything is decided by Beijing, then we will only be a spectator in this matter, because I don't think the Dutch have the strength to challenge the Ming head-on.

Once the Dutch chose to back down, then we lost an opportunity to expand Japan's voice in East Asian affairs. ”

"And according to your meaning?" Mizuno Shinko asked Yoshikawa Kosuke suspiciously.

Yoshikawa Kosuke leaned forward slightly, and said to Mizuno Shinko, "Mizuno-sama should rush to Kobe immediately and report this matter to Lord Li Chenfang." As a guard of His Majesty the Emperor, he has more freedom than the Governor of Ye. Moreover, the five divisions of Western Japan are under his command, and as long as Lord Li is provoked, we will also have an excuse to intervene in the incident on Sado Island..."

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