"Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness the Senator Zhuxing, the Shimazu family is grateful!" After Shimazu Yoshihisa said these words, he bowed down first, and the three brothers around him also bowed down.

"Your Highness Yoshijiu doesn't have to be like this, the three Highnesses should also hurry up!" My face was slightly red, but it was fleeting, and while his thanks were a bit excessive, there was nothing wrong with me.

This is no longer the mountainous area of Hinata, but the Ninomaru of Funachi Castle, and the time is July 16 of the ninth year of Tensho (1581).

The Shimazu family had already surrendered, and their attitude was quite thorough, and the four brothers sent back to the army and came to the mansion with me by themselves, accompanied by only a few dozen people. To be honest, I was apprehensive about their attitude at first, and I still didn't say anything about their disposition, even if I executed them all. But then my suspicions were dispelled, and nearly half of the people in their entourage were women, who seemed to be hostages ready to be delivered.

There was a lot of controversy over how to deal with the Shimazu family, and most of the local daimyo and wealthy families in Kyushu advocated "severe punishment", not to mention Otomo and Ito, even Omura and Arima of the original Ryuzoji family system also had this attitude. Of course, they may not have the intention of avenging their old master, but the Shimazu family's several stormy and fiery invasions of north-central Kyushu are a nightmare that will not be eliminated for them. They feared that if the situation in became fierce, the Shimazu family would go north again and swallow them all, which is very likely in the current situation.

Shimazu must be suppressed, but it is also important not to turn the "tiger" into a "sick cat" all at once. I weighed it all and came up with a plan that didn't make all parties overly excited, but not very reassuring.

"Although I have fought with you several times, I don't have too much resentment towards the Shimazu family from the bottom of my heart!" I sighed, and for some reason I didn't want to make those contrived expressions. "Everyone's interests conflicted, and they had to go to a hostile position. I don't mind what happened before, and I hope you don't mind, and I hope we can cooperate well in the future! ”

"Don't dare to be, I am willing to follow His Highness the Stars!" The four brothers saluted together.

"Letting the Shimazu family hand over half of the territory this time is a bit regrettable, but it's also a last resort!" I waved at them and said. "This time, only the Satsuma and Osumi countries were reserved for the Shimazu family, and the territory was reduced to 460,000 koku, which was also a decision made after taking into account the positions of all parties. However, I also know that you are all real samurai, and it is natural that you will not be untouched when you hand over the land that you have led your subordinates to fight so hard for. As a matter of course, I understand your thoughts, but all I can do is ask you to focus on the big picture! ”

"The Shimazu family is an unforgivable sin, and I am already grateful to have His Highness Zhuxing's forgiveness and survival!" Shimazu said with great "emotion".

"There is no need to say here if you are guilty or not, in fact, everyone knows what is going on!" I appreciate Hisataka Kayama's statement, and I honestly haven't heard anything like that in many years.

"His Royal Highness Zhuxing takes the safety of the world as his own responsibility, I don't know if there is a place where our Shimazu family works?" Yoshihiro Shimazu said suddenly, causing the originally relaxed atmosphere in the room to suddenly tighten.

"Oh......" I breathed a slight sigh and glanced at him in some surprise.

In my memory, Shimazu Yoshihiro is the most outstanding of the four brothers, not only is he a civil and military all-rounder, but he is also resolute and resolute, but when I see it today, he is not outstanding, just a little dark and thin, just a middle-aged person. I didn't think that he had not spoken for a long time, and as soon as he spoke, he was shocking, and the meaning in this was already very deep.

"His Royal Highness Yoshihiro...... Any insights? I asked with a smile as I fixed my eyes on him.

"The Shimazu clan is only in a corner of Kyushu, and I really hope to do my part for the world!" Yoshihiro Shimazu said eloquently, and the other three were all calm. "Our Shimazu family has been fighting hard for decades, but we have never been able to jump out of the small circle of Kyushu, since the destiny does not belong to me, it is also a helpless thing. Today, although Kyushu is peaceful, but the world is not calm, I, Shimazu Yoshihiro, would like to lead 3,000 athletes to Kyoto with His Royal Highness the Senator of the Stars! ”

I sighed slightly in my heart, the first person to say this in Kyushu was actually the Shimazu family, and this alone is superior to the Otomo family. Of course, Otomo Zonglin can also be regarded as a generation of heroes, but with the increase of age, his courage has also greatly decreased, and he is afraid that it will be difficult to jump out of the circle of Kyushu in his lifetime. The Shimazu family is a completely different situation, really based on Kyushu and looking at the world!

I don't mean that the Shimazu family is still trying to dominate the world, they are afraid that they have already let go of this mind, but this does not contradict active participation. Please imagine what it is like to take the initiative to join the joint battle that determines the fate of the world, at least not to be willing to be an ignorant person. Sometimes I even think that the daimyo of today generally dare not dare to go back to the era of the Onin Rebellion, when there were dozens of daimyo who came from afar in response to the call of Yamana and Hosokawa, unlike these guys now, who counted the spinning tops and turned around.

"I have received the wishes of several highnesses, but now is not the time!" I withdrew my gaze and smiled faintly, as I picked up the teacup in front of me.

"Isn't that the time yet?" The four brothers were stunned, and they didn't understand what I meant. Now everyone in the world knows that the arrow has been put on the string, how can it be said that it is not time?

"Then when does Your Highness think the time is right?" Jia Jiu's temper was a little anxious, and he asked directly.

"I can't say exactly when, everything only depends on the meaning of God!" I didn't mean to be surprised in the slightest, I just sipped the tea in my hand slowly, as if it was some supreme delicacy. "In fact, Kyushu is also a corner of the world, and several highnesses want to ...... Want to ...... The service of the imperial court does not necessarily have to go to. Sometimes I even think that this place is more important than, and I don't know who will guide whom! ”

"This ......" The four Shimazu brothers quickly exchanged glances with each other, and each saw a kind of confusion and incomprehension. However, Yoshihisa is the boss and as the family governor, he naturally knows that he can't hesitate to express his stance at this time. "The Shimazu clan is ready at any time, waiting for the order of His Royal Highness the Senator!" He replied very firmly.

"It doesn't have to be!" I shook my head. "With the wisdom of the four highnesses, they naturally know when to act, and some things are not worthy of me!" After saying that, I looked at them in turn meaningfully.

"So we won't force it, but there is one more request that you must accept!" Shimazu Yoshihisa also saw the opportunity quickly, suppressed his doubts and turned to another thing. "The Shimazu family has repeatedly offended His Royal Highness, and His Royal Highness has been working hard in the court, and his great kindness cannot be thanked. In order to repay His Highness's kindness, I want to dedicate my young sister Coral to serve by His Highness's side, and I hope His Highness will not hesitate to allow it! ”

"Oh...... All right! "I don't think it's necessary to even refute this face.

********************************************

The four Shimazu brothers have retired, and I am quite satisfied with this result, at least one thing is certain: as long as I am alive, the Shimazu family will not rebel! Although I don't know the details of their decision yet, and I can't guarantee what will happen after me, but for now, it's pretty good, so I'll have to worry about it later!

I looked at the clock in the house and saw that the conversation with the four brothers was much shorter than scheduled, so the next wave of guests had not yet arrived. I can do one more thing while I'm free, it's been a long time coming!

"Your Highnesses! I haven't seen you for many years, but you have always been good? A tall wild warrior entered the house and bowed to the ground, occupying a large piece of the floor.

"Suzuki-sama, don't be polite, I'm going to thank you for the first time after so many years!" I stood up and walked over to him and gave him a hand. "If you hadn't discovered Shimazu's plan in front of the Hyuga Formation and launched a surprise attack at a critical moment, I don't know what the outcome of this battle would have been!" I said with a laugh.

"Your Highness is serious!" Shigehide Suzuki straightened up, but still bowed his head respectfully. "Your Highness the Stars is destined for heaven, how can it be harmed by the ghost tricks of the young people! In the past, I was arrogant and ignorant and failed His Highness's kindness, and now I am ashamed to think about it! He shook his head and sighed as he spoke.

"It's good to be able to get lost and return, or you can continue to do your best for the righteousness of the world!" I was talking about words of encouragement, but I was wondering in my heart, what kind of experience made him such a tough person become so good at talking? It seems that there have been some experiences over the years, and it is not much worse than touching the soul. "How are these years?" I asked directly.

"How can I say it, it's good that I'm still alive!" A smile flickered on Shigehide Suzuki's rough face, but there was a very obvious bitter taste. "After leaving Kii, we spent some time in Honganji Castle, but at that time, Ozumi Castle was just a cage, and we were very depressed to live with the supplies that Mori brought from the sea. Later, the Lord himself lost his faith and sent us to help our allies fight, which was actually to distract the Oda family. We've been to both the West and the East, but others just want to use us as cannon fodder. Now that I think about it, I really regret it, I knew that I might have stayed in Kii all the time! ”

"It's not as good as home in the mountains and water, this is also something to think of!" My words were like exclamations, and they were like exhortations, and at the same time, I heard that they had never cut off contact with the Tsuda family. "Then how did you find out about the Shimazu family's plan to attack me?"

"That's a long way to say!" Shigehide Suzuki smiled wryly again. "After a few years of fighting in various places, the children who came out with me have lost a small half, and seeing that it is not a way to go on like this, I discussed with Chao Zhong to find another way out. I also had plans to go back to His Highness, but I really couldn't pull this face......"