As the second-generation lord of the Choshu Domain, Mori Shu is actually still a young man under 30. But after he saw that Ye Yuxuan, who came to meet him, was a young man who was younger than himself, he suddenly felt a little unhappy in his heart, and couldn't help but sneer: "Is there no one to send in the Ming Kingdom?" Or are you underestimating my Maori family? Can even a child who hasn't grown a full beard be able to go out of my Maori family? ”

Ye Yuxuan, who had just sat down opposite Mao Lixiu, was not angry after hearing this, but just smiled at Maoli Xiu and said: "This highness is laughing, how can I be the messenger of the Ming Dynasty, I am just a businessman who came to talk about business today." Our country had good relations with the shogunate, so how could we secretly send an envoy to meet with the daimyo under the shogunate? This is not in line with the etiquette of my Heavenly Empire. ”

Mao Lixiu suddenly looked at the old Fukuhara Sadayoshi beside him in some surprise, he was a little confused about the current situation, if it wasn't for the unavoidable hardship, he would not have taken the risk to meet with this Ming envoy. But if the young man in front of him did not come on behalf of the Ming Kingdom, then his adventure would not only be meaningless, but would also put the Maori family in an even more dangerous situation. After all, the Maori family did not fully approve of this contact with the Ming Kingdom.

Fukuhara Zhenhao, who was handling this matter single-handedly, suddenly couldn't hold his breath, and he said sternly to Ye Yuxuan: "Isn't Mr. Ye here on behalf of the East China Sea Patrol Mansion?" Or is it that the Tokai Patrol Prefecture intends to do the same thing against the Satsuma Domain? ”

Ye Yuxuan looked at Fukuhara Zhenhao with some surprise, and asked curiously, "Do you know a little bit of a small conflict between our East China Sea Patrol Mansion and the Satsuma Domain?"

Fukuhara Sadayoshi seemed to be a little angry, so he replied openly: "Our southwestern feudal domains are deeply suppressed by the shogunate, so we can only huddle together for warmth, and naturally there are some news channels between each other..."

"Ahem, ahem." Maori Xiu coughed violently, and finally Fukuhara Sadayoshi came to his senses, and he stopped talking about the Satsuma Domain.

Mao Lixiu looked at Ye Yuxuan with a torch in his eyes, he straightened his upper body, and said coldly: "This Mr. Ye, if you are not here on behalf of the Ming Kingdom, I think there is no need for this meeting to continue." ”

Ye Yuxuan lowered his head and straightened his robe, and said unhurriedly: "Why is this Highness so impatient, do you have something to say?"

What is the current situation of the Changzhou Domain, I don't know anything about it, how can I wade into this troubled water. My willingness to contact you in a private way is already a great way to save face for the Maori family. Now that you know about the conflict between the Satsuma Domain and my Tokai Patrol Office, you should know who has the upper hand in this conflict at the moment.

I haven't done much to help the Tokai Patrol Office, and the Satsuma Domain's pioneering work in the Ryukyus over the past few decades has been ruined, and now I can't even take care of my own Tanegashima. I believe that as long as the head of the Shimazu family does not go crazy, he will soon succumb to my Tokai Patrol House. And I also believe that the reason why you contacted me is precisely because you see the future of this conflict, so you want to get my help. ”

Ye Yuxuan's words paused, he suddenly raised his head to meet Mao Lixiu's gaze, and continued with a calm face: "However, if you want to get my help from Daming, you need to prove what kind of value you have. After all, not all cats and dogs can get the support of my Daming. ”

Fukuhara Sadayoshi, who was sitting on the side, was first angered by Ye Yuxuan's words, he half-squatted up, and said angrily at Ye Yuxuan: "My Maori family has Nagato and Zhou to visit the two countries, and it is a great feudal clan in the southwest of Japan with hundreds of thousands of stone highs, is it also a worthless existence in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Ye Yuxuan raised the corners of his mouth, but remained silent, obviously acquiescing to Fukuhara Zhenhao's statement. Ye Yuxuan's attitude made Fukuhara Zhenhao feel ashamed and angry, and he wanted to get up and turn his face. However, Maori Xiu calmed down, and he made a gesture to calm down Fukuhara.

At this moment, Mao Lixiu finally abandoned his original contemptuous posture for the young envoy of the Ming Kingdom, and he readjusted his sitting posture so that his mind could be completely concentrated, and only then did he calmly say: "Then, what kind of value does Your Excellency think this domain should have, so that you can get the help of the Ming Kingdom." ”

Seeing that Mao Lixiu was able to adjust his mentality so quickly, Ye Yuxuan also had a little respect, he glanced at the demeanor of the two people opposite, and then said carefully: "If the Changzhou Domain has the ability to defend the independence of the domain, then Da Ming will naturally be able to consider how to help your domain." ”

Mao Lixiu thought for a moment before cautiously asking, "How can it be considered that this domain has the ability to defend its independence?" ”

Ye Yuxuan said without hesitation: "As far as the current situation in Japan is concerned, at least your vassal state must be able to have the ability to resist the crusade of the shogunate army. ”

Fukuhara Zhenhao was dumbfounded for a while, and then looked at Ye Yuxuan incredulously and said, "If we can independently resist the crusade of the shogunate army, then what help do we have to ask Da Ming?" ”

Ye Yuxuan smiled and said: "We have an old saying in China, it is easy to add the icing on the cake, but it is difficult to send charcoal in the snow. If you can't even resist the shogunate army, won't the resources we have invested in your domain be easily wasted? In that case, maybe it would be better for us to maintain friendship with the shogunate, wouldn't we? ”

Mori Shu and Fukuhara Sadayoshi glanced at each other, and their hearts sank, and the attitude of the young Ming envoy completely shattered the assumptions they had assumed before this meeting. They originally thought that if the Choshu Domain showed signs of moving closer to the Ming Kingdom, it would be immediately accepted by the Ming Kingdom, after all, the Choshu Domain was one of the powerful feudal domains in southwestern Japan.

And the Ming country's active overseas expansion of influence in the past two years also made the Maori family think that the Ming country had ambitions for Japan. It was precisely when he saw the ambition of the Ming Kingdom, and when he encountered the threshold that made the Maori family live and die, Maori Xiu pinned his hopes on the Ming Kingdom, hoping to borrow the external force of the Ming Kingdom to ensure that the Maori family could pass this pass.

The reason why Mao Lixiu wanted to borrow the external force of the Ming State was also to see that in the "Battle of Wenroku Keichang", the Korean king who surrendered to the Ming State was still able to sit on the throne of North Korea safely after borrowing the Ming ** team to recover the country. However, the Ming State paid a lot of money and the lives of its soldiers, but because it was bound by the etiquette of the suzerain, it did not leave a single soldier in Korea and ask for war funds.

The experience of the Joseon king made Maori Xiu feel that if he could keep the Maori family's inheritance just by ceremoniously obeying the Ming Dynasty as the suzerainty of the Choshu Domain, then he didn't mind doing so. But, but who would have thought that after only a few decades, the Ming Kingdom would become so degenerate, and only talk about interests, not etiquette.

Mao Li Xiu's heart was a little dazed, feeling that the Ming Kingdom in his impression seemed to be completely different from the Ming Kingdom in reality, but this dazed mood was quickly cleaned up, no matter what the Ming Kingdom became, the only person in front of the Choshu Domain could ask for help was the one in front of him.

Mao Lixiu silently took a few deep breaths, forgetting his previous unrealistic fantasies, and then restarted the topic and asked, "Your Excellency just said that you are here today as a businessman, so I would like to ask, what kind of business do you want to do with this domain?" ”

Ye Yuxuan observed Maori Xiu's expression, and said: "Nagato and Zhou are both close to the sea, and there are many places suitable for building excellent ports, and the East China Sea Patrol Office hopes that the Changzhou Domain can cede a piece of land and let us build a fishery processing base and a trading port, this is the business I want to discuss with Your Highness today." ”

Fukuhara Sadahao subconsciously said: "Ceding the land, how can this be..."

But Maori Xiu said: "This is not a non-negotiable thing, but what can my Maori family get in return?" ”

Fukuhara turned his head in surprise and looked at Mori Shusama, "Your Highness? ”

Maori Xiu stopped Fukuhara Sadayoshi with gestures, just stared at Ye Yuxuan with his eyes and asked, "What can Daming give me to Maori's family?" ”

Ye Yuxuan replied with a smile: "Muskets, cannons, *, lead bullets, etc., as long as the Maori family has enough money, Daming can provide it to you." ”

Mao Lixiu thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, as long as you can provide 3,000 iron cannons, 30 large barrels, and three ships of ammunition." Then in Nagato, in addition to the coastline within 30 miles of Hagi Castle, you can choose one to build a port and processing base. Of course, there must be a limit to the size of this port city. ”

Ye Yuxuan looked at Mao Lixiu's face, although he tried his best to keep calm, but the hand holding the folding fan was bruised, and he suddenly understood in his heart, obviously the trouble encountered by the Changzhou Domain was even bigger than he had imagined before, so he gave in to himself so quickly.

He blinked his eyes before he said slowly: "The city of this port can be restricted, but the security and administrative power within the city must be managed by my East China Sea Patrol Office. No army or other armed forces of your clan are allowed to enter without our permission..."

Ye Yuxuan soon found that although the Maori family quickly expressed their submission in the general direction, they were extremely cumbersome and persistent in the details, and if this kind of negotiation continued, it was estimated that there would be no results in the last year. Sure enough, the character of these Japanese is the same as His Majesty's judgment, obviously they have lost the strategy, but they stubbornly want to redeem their defeat through tactics, and they really exude a small family spirit from the inside out.

Ye Yuxuan immediately interrupted the negotiation on the construction of the port city, and instead said: "Regarding the establishment of this city, it is better to wait for us to choose a location before talking, now let's talk about how to pay your vassal..."