Since the Tang Dynasty, Japan sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty to learn from the culture of the Central Plains to the mainland, and the culture and living habits of Japan have been deeply influenced by the Central Plains civilization. For Japan, the top three things that came from the mainland civilization were writing, Buddhism, and tea.

However, unlike the Japaneseization of writing and Buddhism, Japan has always tried to maintain the original taste of tea culture imported from the mainland. Unlike most other things that were introduced to Japan from the Tang Dynasty, tea and tea culture were introduced to Japan only 4 or 5 hundred years ago.

The first propagator of tea and tea culture was the first ancestor of the Rinzai sect in Japan, which is called the ancestor of tea by the Japanese, Zen Master Eisi. In addition to seeking Buddhism in the Great Song Dynasty, this Zen master also brought back tea seeds and steaming methods from the Great Song Dynasty, so that tea and tea culture began to spread in Japan.

At the end of the Warring States period, with the efforts of Sen no Rikyu and other tea people, and the promotion of daimyo from all over the world, tea finally became a popular drink in Japan. Although the upper class of Japanese people still believe that the best tea comes from the mainland, they do not think of the current popular method of roasting green tea in the mainland, and still respect the method of steaming green tea that has been handed down from the Song Dynasty, so although all parts of Japan are still importing a large amount of tea from the mainland, Japan's own tea industry is also growing rapidly.

Located in the southwestern part of the island of Kyushu, Satsuma Domain is a volcanic land with many mountains and rivers, and the most distinctive feature of the Satsuma Domain is its many hot springs. Due to the large number of volcanoes, the core area of the domain was mostly covered with volcanic ash accumulations, and it was with these volcanic ashes that the soil quality of the area was improved, and although the plains of the Satsuma domain were scarce, the land was not barren.

Of course, compared to the large samurai population in the domain, the land of the Satsuma Domain was still too small, so after the Tokugawa clan pacified the world, the Satsuma Domain still took the expansion activities of the outer islands and successfully took control of the Ryukyu Islands, which improved the financial situation of the Satsuma Domain.

However, after the Ming Dynasty expanded its power again, the Satsuma Domain was also the first Japanese prince to be hit, and it not only lost the Ryukyu Islands, but even the Tanegashima clan became independent with the support of the Ming Dynasty. However, there is something to be gained, and the Satsuma Domain, which lost Tanegashima and the Ryukyu Islands, became one of the most frequent Japanese feudal states in trade with the Ming Dynasty after the opening of the Japanese sea.

Satsuma's volcanic ash, sulfur, and timber became the bulk of exports, and the various American plants introduced from the Ming Dynasty greatly increased Satsuma's grain production. As a result, the Satsuma Domain lost Tanegashima and the Ryukyu Islands, but the finances of the domain did not deteriorate.

In addition, the topography and climate of the Kagoshima area are very suitable for the growth of tea trees, but the Satsuma people have not known how to serve these tea trees before, when the Ming merchants arrived with advanced tea planting experience, the quality of tea produced by Satsuma began to rise rapidly, and a large number of local areas suitable for tea planting were also opened up as tea plantations, which had a positive impact on the finances of the domain.

However, most of the samurai of the Satsuma clan were increasingly dissatisfied with the status quo, because the economic prosperity did not bring them much benefit, but rather brought about an increase in prices, which caused them to live in difficulty. Although the elders and samurai who mastered the trade with the Ming Kingdom, the merchants who invested in the construction of factories and shipyards, and the landlords who planted tea and cotton gained a lot of wealth in economic development, the middle and lower samurai who relied on a fixed life found that their lives were not as good as those handicraftsmen they originally looked down upon. After all, the purpose of most people becoming samurai is to live a better life than civilians.

As a result, the Satsuma Domain, which enjoyed the benefits of opening up the sea, had many supporters of the theory of closing the country to the outside world. These samurai naively thought that by driving foreigners out of Japan, they would be able to return to the respectable times of the past. And the wealth created by the farmers and merchants will also fall into their pockets.

This force was so powerful that Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, did not dare to refute it head-on, but adopted an attitude of not commenting. Shimazu Mitsuhisa's attitude naturally led to the spread of the idea of the lord of the domain, and the samurai of Satsuma changed from the original attitude of hostility to the Edo shogunate to the new posture of hostile to the Osaka shogunate.

Of course, the confidence of these Satsuma samurai was supported by a large number of arquebuses and Francophone cannons purchased from the Ming Dynasty using the surplus of foreign trade, as well as some homemade muskets. From the point of view of the Satsuma themselves, the Satsuma samurai regiment and the national army of a full-fledged division controlled by the Satsuma clan using these weapons were easy to deal with the troops of the merchants and citizens of Osaka.

It wasn't until Mu Tianbo appeared in the sea near Kagoshima with the combined fleet of the Ming Kingdom and the Osaka Shogunate, in Tsurumaru Castle, which was built at the foot of Mount Jozan, that the lord of the Satsuma Domain, the Shimazu clan, was urgently discussing the current situation with his retainers.

Just over a month ago, the Emperor had taken advantage of the rice riots launched by the peasants in various parts of the country to turn into an uprising against the shogunate, and it seemed that the future of the Shogunate was still very good. But with the assassination of the Interior Minister Tokudaiji begins, the situation takes a turn for the worse.

Not only did the Imperial Court personally issue an edict denouncing the activities of honoring the emperor in various places as the ambition of a group of traitors, but it also claimed that someone had assassinated the Minister of the Interior in order to sow discord between the Shogunate and the Imperial Court, and then said that he would not let go of the main envoy who assassinated the Minister of Internal Affairs. After receiving an edict from the Imperial Court, the Osaka shogunate began to issue documents to each domain, asking them to send troops to prove their innocence.

Faced with the dual pressure of the imperial court and the shogunate, the feudal states, which were not very interested in the rebellion, quickly responded openly to the call of the shogunate, and the statements of these feudal states then affected the feudal states that had been in a neutral position, and it seemed that once it began, it seemed that it could not be stopped.

When the Satsuma Domain had just received the Awa and Tosa feudal domains on the island of Shikoku and had fallen to the Osaka Shogunate, the combined fleet had already appeared in Satsuma Bay, which caught the Satsuma people by surprise.

Shimazu Mitsuhisa, the head of the family, who rarely spoke on the issue of feudal administration because he had not been on the throne for a long time, couldn't help but angrily send a message to Shimazu Hisasho and Shimazu Hisakei, who were presiding over the feudal administration: "Didn't you say before that the Yamauchi family and the Wasuka family did not have much loyalty to Osaka, and you are sure that these two families will at least remain neutral?" Also, who exactly sent personnel to Kyoto to assassinate the Minister of the Interior? Have you heard anything about this? ”

Although Shimazu Hisahara and Shimazu Hisashi are Shimazu Mitsuhisa's brothers-in-law, both of them are much older than Mitsuhisa, and they also have a good reputation among Shimazu's retainers, both of whom are known for their open-mindedness, and they are also figures among the elders of the family who actively support the king.

This time, it was also the main promoter of their alliance with the Choshu Domain, and the movement of the Emperor to launch a campaign to bring down the curtain and change the shogunate. In the face of Shimazu Mitsuhisa's questioning, although Shimazu Hisaharu's face was ugly, he still bowed down and apologized: "The minister is guilty, I didn't expect that Nonaka Kaneyama would be so arrogant, regardless of the opposition of many retainers in the Yamauchi family, and arbitrarily fell to the shogunate. Because of the statement of the Yamauchi family, the Wasuka family could not face the threat of being attacked by the enemy, so they had to throw themselves into the shogunate..."

"What I want is an explanation? I want immediate countermeasures. Now the combined fleet of the Ming Kingdom and the Shogunate has shelled our ships and issued a document questioning why our country is blocking the fleet's entry into Satsuma Bay, and whether there is any attempt to confront the Shogunate and the Imperial Court. You say, "How should the domain answer?" ”

Shimazu Hisahara couldn't think of anything to prevaricate Shimazu Mitsuhisa for a while, as the henchmen of the previous lord, he and Shimazu Hisaku have been presiding over the daily affairs of the Satsuma Domain. Even after the death of the previous lord and Shimazu Mitsuhisa took over as the head of the family, the two continued to control the feudal government on the grounds that Mitsuhisa was young and unfamiliar with government affairs.

It was precisely because of their conflict with Shimazu Mitsuhisa over power that the two who were originally beneficiaries of the open sea policy had to cater to the claims of the Zunwang Shoyi faction in order to seek the support of the low-level feudal lords, but this also deepened the rift between them and Shimazu Mitsuhisa.

Before this, because of Shimazu Mitsuhisa's forbearance, Shimazu Hisahara and Shimazu Hisashi didn't feel that this conflict was a big deal. But when Shimazu Mitsuhisa came to the city with the help of the shogunate fleet, Shimazu Hisaharu faintly felt that something was wrong.

Seeing this, Shimazu Hisakei, who was mutual aid to Shimazu Hisaaki, couldn't help but interject and said: "We really didn't participate in the assassination of the Minister of the Interior, and we have never assigned anyone to Kyoto.

The defection of the Yamauchi family and the Wasuka family was also purely accidental, but I don't think it's possible for the two families not to disagree with it. And even if the shogunate had an edict from the imperial court, it could not rudely bombard our ships. The shogunate is bullying the weak, and the family should fight back fiercely, instead of bowing to the shogunate, otherwise how will the family gain a foothold in the land of Kyushu in the future? ”

Seeing that these two family elders still refused to admit their mistakes, Shimazu Hisatsu, who was good friends with Shimazu Mitsuhisa, immediately objected: "Now that the shogunate has united the fleet of the Ming people, and has the support of the Shikoku Island clans, it has far surpassed the main family in terms of strength.

Moreover, the Kumamoto Domain, which had previously joined the alliance between the family and Choshu, had now changed their attitude, not only refusing to receive the envoys of the family, but also mobilizing troops on the border adjacent to the family, isn't it obvious what they want to do? If the struggle between the main family and the shogunate is defeated, I am afraid that the reinforcements of the Kumamoto domain will become an enemy army.

What's more, even if the Kumamoto clan does not change its position, this struggle between the main family and the shogunate will not have a chance of winning. The shogunate now held the righteousness of the imperial court in its hands, and with the support of the Ming Kingdom and various feudal towns, there were no flaws in the attack of the army by sea and land.

On the other hand, although the three feudatories of the Honke, Kumamoto Domain, and Choshu Domain were allied, they were cut off by mountains, seas, and natural hazards, and everyone could only deal with the shogunate army independently, and it was difficult to support each other, so it can be said that they fought on their own. What is the difference between such an ally and nothing? ”

Although he had the upper hand in momentum, Shimazu Hisahari replied stiffly: "Even if we don't have allies, can't we rely on the loyalty of the Satsuma samurai to resist foreign enemies?" In the battle of Sekigahara, the family faced dozens of times the enemy, but it was not the same as fighting a bloody way, so that the Tokugawa clan did not dare to condemn the family? As for the army of small traders in Osaka, are you still afraid that they will not be able to attack Tsurumaru Castle? In any case, we must not show weakness to the shogunate at this time, otherwise the shogunate will make any rude demands, and we will not be able to obey them one by one? ”

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