Lin Hongnian was not worried that he would not be able to occupy Japan, but he was only worried that in the process of quickly occupying the entire territory of Japan, it would lead to fierce resistance from the other side. In particular, the situation in which the shogunate and the Choshu domain, which were opposed to the shogunate and the Choshu domain, were lost, and the local feudal states, which did not listen to the orders of the shogunate, joined forces with the shogunate to survive and resist to the death, which would cause too many casualties among the soldiers of the captive army in the process of conquest.

Moreover, Lin Hongnian remembered that before he was transferred to Nagasaki, His Majesty had said that directly conquering a people with a long history and a large population by force was sometimes not necessarily the best choice.

It would be better if we could support one side of the force, and then control the whole of Japan through this puppet by firmly controlling this force in our hands. However, this puppet is difficult to find, and it must be both authoritative and obedient.

At this time, a guard came to report, saying that he had arrested two spies, claiming to be the emperor's envoy, who came from Kyoto to see Lin Hongnian. Lin Hongnian asked the guards to bring people in.

Takasugi Shinsaku and one of the guards were tied up with five flowers, and they felt like they were thrown to the ground like dead dogs, and then, the blindfolded cloth strip was untied, and the foul-smelling rotten cloth that was plugged in the mouth was also pulled out, Takasugi Shinsaku gasped for breath, and the bright light in front of him slowly became normal because his eyes gradually adapted to the light, and after recovering his eyesight, Takasugi Shinsaku began to look around.

In front of a large hall that looked a bit like a temple, Takasugi noticed that the people who had just pressed himself and his guards to the ground were several big men in gray uniforms, and it seemed that they were all soldiers of the Capture Army. Although he resented these big men, Takasugi Jinsaku still had to admit that the military uniforms they were wearing were very good-looking and majestic, much more pleasing to the eye than the Haori samurai uniforms on their bodies.

Takasugi Jinsaku was about to ask, when footsteps came from the back hall, and an old man of Han in his fifties and sixties walked out from the back of the screen in the back hall, accompanied by two attendants.

The old man was very majestic, walked straight to the court, and said loudly: "This official is Lin Hongnian, the special envoy of the Chinese Empire in Kyushu, and the person under the hall is a spy of the Kyoto rebels?" ”

Takasugi Jinzuo was stunned, isn't this the adult surnamed Lin who he wants to see?

He recalls that he was on a ship off the coast of Nagasaki, and was almost thrown into the sea and fed fish by a team of Chinese speaking Chinese claiming to be the navy of the Oriental Fleet. He was sent to Nagasaki when he had always claimed to be an envoy sent by His Majesty the Emperor to see Lord Hayashi of Nagasaki, but he did not expect that although he was regarded as a spy along the way, he was lucky to meet Lord Hayashi so soon. Takasugi Jinsaku hurriedly shouted: "Lord Lin, here is the envoy Takasugi Jinsaku sent by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for your country to behave like this, right?" Why don't you let someone loosen my ties and treat me with courtesy? ”

Lin Hongnian's eyes widened when he heard this: "What, you said your name is Takasugi Jinsaku?" Is it an emissary of the Emperor of Japan? ”

Takasugi Shinsaku was quite proud: "It's down there!" He thought that Lin Hongnian was shocked by his identity, raised his head a little higher, and waited for Lin Hongnian to let people loosen his ties, and then invited him to sit down.

Unexpectedly, Lin Hongnian didn't pay attention to it at all, and just asked, "Is there a certificate?" ”

Takasugi Jinsaku hated him a lot, the letter of state with the emperor's seal hidden on his body had already been searched by the soldiers who captured him, and it must have been sent to the hands of this surnamed Lin a long time ago, but now he still came to ask him, and it was clear that he didn't want to pay attention to him as a messenger. Thinking about it like this, he couldn't help but feel anxious, because he thought of a terrible problem: the first two times their Choshu Domain had sent two groups of envoys from Kyoto to this Nagasaki, and of course the main thing to the Kyushu Domain and this surnamed Lin was to show goodwill to the surnamed Lin, but there was no news from beginning to end, and now it seems that this is not an accident, it is definitely the deliberate action of this surnamed Lin. Isn't it enough that the conditions for opening oneself on the previous two times and this time now?

Takasugi thought about it carefully and confirmed his conjecture again. looked up at the Lord Lin in front of him again, and saw that the scheming people were not easy to get along, which confirmed his judgment even more.

If the other party doesn't accept the offer at all, it will be troublesome. If this continued, the Choshu Domain and the Shikoku Domain would not be able to stop the attack of the powerful Chinese Empire. At this time, Takasugi Shinsaku began to doubt his decision, maybe Katsura Kogoro said that it was better to submit to the shogunate than it is now. No, you must come up with conditions that make the other party feel good and let the other party retreat.

Therefore, Takasugi Jinsaku calmed down, took a deep breath, tried to make himself more humble, and said: "Lord Lin, the little one is not much to hide, just open the window and say bright words, this time the small one is to ask your country for peace on behalf of the Kyoto Imperial Court." What conditions did Lord Lin have, as long as your army could not support the shogunate and retreat to remain neutral, the Tokugawa shogunate could agree, we would all agree! ”

Lin Hongnian laughed: "Takasugi Jinsaku, then tell me, what conditions can you promise me the Chinese Empire?" ”

Takasugi Shinsaku was stumped.

The conditions written on the national document he originally brought were to pay the other party 1.5 million taels of gold, and then directly and formally cede Kyushu Island to the other party, open all treaty ports to the Chinese Empire, give the other party the most favored nation tariffs, and at the same time restore the rules of the Tang Dynasty in history, recognize it as a suzerain, and pay tribute every year. But this condition is obviously very dissatisfied with the other party, so he will treat himself like this, and he will not treat himself as an envoy of a country at all, but fortunately he said it directly, so that the surname Lin gave him a chance. This opportunity is not easy to come by, and the conditions must be touched by the other party, if it is still the same condition, maybe it is possible to be directly placed under house arrest or even disposed of by this surnamed Lin.

For the first time, Takasugi Shinsaku felt the sorrow of being like a fish and a man-made sword.

"Lord Hayashi, as long as your country does not support the shogunate, recognizes the new Kyoto court, and does not interfere in the internal war of Japan, our new Kyoto court will definitely be able to control the whole of Japan. When the time comes, we can compensate 3 million..... No, no, 5,000,000 taels of gold, and before that, cede the island of Kyushu and Hokkaido in the north to your country. Other terms and conditions such as trade tariffs are the same as those stated on the National Papers, and in addition to the right to explore and exploit minerals in Japan, your country is also allowed. How is it? After saying this, Takasugi Jinsaku felt that all the strength in his body was gone.

His current thought is that he has become a complete traitor, and in the future, the great Japanese history books will definitely record his crimes today. But even so, he had to do it.

There was a thought in his mind that reminded him every moment that he must endure humiliation and bear the burden, and that the hope for the future of the whole of Japan and the strong rise of the future all lie in whether he can survive this humiliation today, and when Japan develops and becomes strong in the future, all the humiliation must be redoubled.

Therefore, despite the blood dripping from his heart, he still responded with a humble smile on his face, looking at Lord Lin in the hall, waiting for the other party's answer. This condition must be able to impress the other party, this is the most daring and humiliating traitor condition that Takasugi Shinsaku can think of.

Sure enough, the other party was moved.

I saw Lin Hongnian say to a young man dressed as a Confucian beside him: "Litong my son, haven't you traveled all over Japan to study, do you know who this Takasugi Jinsaku is?" Can he count what he said? Also, didn't the Japanese emperor say a few days ago that he would return to heaven? Why did a Japanese emperor come out again? ”

The young man dressed as a Confucian scholar bowed down and replied, "Back to my father, Takasugi Shinsaku was only a minor family member of the Chōshōshō Domain, and he had never heard of it at all. However, according to the information, this person has recently emerged, and together with radicals such as Katsura Kogoro, he defeated the conservatives who originally controlled the administration of the Choshu Domain, and took control of the Choshu Domain, and even the feudal lord Mori Keiko was overthrown by him and became a puppet. As for the Emperor of Japan, I heard that Emperor Akihito was recently killed because the troops of the Choshu and Shikoku domains had invaded Kyoto. As for the new emperor, it must have been a child who pretended to be a descendant of the imperial family. ”

Takasugi Shinsaku was surprised! This Confucian he knew, it was the former staff confidant of Shimazu Saibin, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, Okubo Ritsu, a famous samurai of the Satsuma Domain, talented, but he didn't expect to change his surname, recognize the thief as his father, and become the son of this surnamed Lin. What surprised him even more was that the other party even knew about such a hidden thing they were doing in Kyoto, and if this was spread out, the entire Choshu Domain and even the anti-shogun forces would be finished.

Lin Hongnian didn't care what Takasugi Jinsaku thought, he just smiled sarcastically: "It's really despicable and vicious!" Such a betrayal of the lord and the murderer of the monarch still has the courage to stand here in a grand manner, is it possible that the Japanese people are all such villains? Thankfully, you've got out of the mud. ”

Takasugi Jinsaku saw that the two of them were talking and laughing like people, completely treating him as air, and insulting and sarcastic him, he couldn't help but be angry, but for the purpose of his trip, he had to suppress his anger and beg for mercy: "Lord Lin is laughing, those are all hearsay rumors. Emperor Akihito was killed, but the murderer was the shogunate, and they wanted to kill the crown prince, but we rescued him and proclaimed him the new emperor, for Emperor Meiji. Today, Jin Saku is ordered by the Emperor of the People's Government and the Minister and President of the New Dynasty, Prince Chihito, to submit his credentials, and he is willing to pay tribute to the times for the vassal state of your country. In addition, there are those conditions that I just mentioned, which only ask that your country remain neutral, do not aid the shogunate, and withdraw troops back to the Kyushu Domain. ”

Lin Hongnian laughed, even laughed out of his tears, took out his handkerchief and wiped his tears exaggeratedly: "I really laughed to death." Litong, have you ever seen such a brazen man, pointing to your belongings and telling you, "Give you half of these things, if you admit that they are his." ”

Saying that, Lin Hongnian didn't wait for Lin Litong to answer, and simply said neatly: "Takasugi Jinsaku, do you know what the conditions offered by the shogunate are?" Litong, you tell him. ”