There are still many mountains in the southern part of Kyushu, especially in the Satsuma and Osumi areas, which are almost independent kingdoms surrounded by two mountain ranges. Therefore, after the Shimazu family took control of the area, they achieved a relatively stable position, and they became careless about attacking north.

Although there are still many of them in the central part of the country, the endless mountains are almost impossible to see, so the role of a natural barrier has been greatly reduced. For the daimyo lords in the central part of the country, these mountains are sometimes a nuisance. Since the Onin Rebellion began to become chaotic, several powerful bands of thieves and evil parties have gathered on the mountains in this area, and the number of them has reached thousands at the most, and they even dared to directly attack the local lords. It wasn't until Kyushu reunited into a few large forces of hundreds of thousands of stones that this situation changed.

However, after settling down, these mountains have shown their value in their own right, as they were formed by various living and dead volcanoes, and thus produced the largest mineral resource in Kyushu, sulfur.

Because of the massive popularity of iron cannons in the past few decades, it is naturally impossible to completely rely on imports for this kind of thing, although it is unrealistic to want each daimyo to establish his own iron cannon workshop, but if even the source channels of fire yao are completely in the hands of others, then I am afraid that the financial resources will not be able to support it, and secondly, it is equivalent to entrusting one's life in the hands of others!

Since it is to produce fire, sulfur, which is the main raw material, is naturally indispensable, and the price of sulfur, which was originally almost useless, has continued to rise for more than 20 years. Soon after the establishment of Sangatsuya in the 5th year of Eiroku (1562), arms trading became a mainstay business, and the huge profits from the sulfur mines in Kyushu were also very profitable.

When you arrive in the northern part of Kyushu, Hizen, Chikuzen, and Bunzen, it is not easy to find a decent mountain. In these few feudal states that were relatively small in absolute size, the main plains were rich in farmland, but when it came to resources, they were far behind, and even timber had to be brought in in large quantities from the south every year.

But lack does not mean nothing, right now I am standing at the foot of a mountain in front of Hizen, although this mountain is not connected by a vein, but there is no lack of danger in the abruptness. Halfway up the mountain is the old nest of the Ryuzoji family, Saga Castle, and the Ryuzoji ruler is trapped in it with his more than 3,000 troops.

I didn't encounter any decent resistance before and after I invaded Hi, and most of the local nobles at least didn't fight resolutely, and of course the three of them, Juntadashi Omura, did a lot of work. The situation is now quite obvious, and it seems that the Ryuzoji Masashi does not have the strength to fight me alone, and Yoshikawa Motoharu is cowering in the northern part of Chikuzen and holding his ground.

The speed at which I marched was not very fast, and the ruler of Ryuzoji Temple, who knew it well, had sent more than two dozen emissaries to the Maori army, sometimes even three in a day, and this one had already left the city, but the smoke and dust raised by the horse's hooves of the previous emissary had not yet fallen. I didn't stop this, from a tactical point of view, it was better to have a battle with Yoshikawa Motoharu, and their 35,000 men and horses may not be without the strength to fight, which is also completely in line with Yoshikawa Motoharu's character.

However, what is surprising is that Yoshikawa Motoharu, a supposedly fierce general, is extremely calm this time, and from the perspective of ordinary people, it is almost to the point of ignoring the righteousness. By this time, I had fully understood that the Mori family was unswervingly standing with the "monkeys", and the reason why they came to Kyushu was to drag me here. As for the Ryuzoji Masato, he is just barely a reason for the Maori family to come to Kyushu, and even if he dies now, this reason still exists.

Now presumably, the politician of Longzao Temple has repented of his intestines, and his impulse has made someone a gunman, and he has fallen into this embarrassing situation, and he is afraid that he will not get much benefit if he wants to surrender. And I do think so now, the Ryuzoji family is one without strength and the other is on the wrong team, at least I have to treat him differently from the always "positive" Otomo family.

"Saga Castle...... Looks pretty good! "Standing in the middle of the camp, I looked up and was basically satisfied with the building.

Located on a promontory southwest of Hizen, Saga Castle is a residence built and painstakingly managed by Ryuzoji Takanobu, and the castle reflects his personality in every way. The sturdy building and facing the sea on the mountain, which not only controlled the road from Higo to the north, but also overlooked the shipping channel of the Tsushima Strait, fully met his requirements for safety, but seemed to be a little less ambitious.

"This city is the largest and most dangerous city in Hizen! If the lord wants to ......," said Takenaka Hanbei, standing behind me, softly.

"I want to ...... Maybe it's time for me to think about it! I looked back at him in surprise, then nodded with a deep groan.

Hizen was an important feudal kingdom, and with the increase in overseas trade, its economic power was also rising rapidly, and the "Fire Fat Country", which was only used to exile felons, has long become a distant memory. Normally, at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, Hizen did not rank high among the four great feudal clans, but if you exclude the accumulation of Mori and Shimazu's centuries-old strong daimyo, Hizen is actually not lagging behind at all on the basis of economic strength alone.

There is a relatively vast and fertile land in front of the fertilizer; Hizen Arira Port Hirato; Merchants from the southern barbarians would arrive at Hizen first, and for a certain feudal state or power, this was a "nutrient solution" that would help them thrive. For the central government, this is also a "nutrient solution", but the culture may be both strong limbs and cancer cells.

"Do you think there is still a need for the Ryuzoji family to exist?" I looked up at the castle again, and it was still a dead scene.

"Then it depends on whether the ruler of the dragon temple is wise or not!" Takenaka Hanbei leaned behind me and said. "Now the dragon temple family is worried about internal and external troubles, but it only maintains the unity on the surface. If the Ryuzoji politician heeded the advice and surrendered immediately, then it would be best to maintain the name of the Ryuzoji family, so that at least Nabeshima and the others could have a stabilizing effect. However, I suggest that even if the territory of the Ryuzoji family is not drastically reduced, they should be ordered to hand over Saga Castle! ”

"Chongzhi, but this time I and yours are just the opposite!" I turned my head and smiled at him, then walked back into the tent with my hands behind my back.

"This ......" The half-guard in Takenaka looked at my back and was slightly stunned, then shook his head and walked in after me. Does the lord have a special idea about Hizen? He asked, seated.

"There are some ideas, but they are not fully formed!" I took the towel from the attendant and wiped my hands, but waved him to change the tea. "My idea is to get a change in Hizen, or to manage it as a special area. For this to happen, the old system had to be changed. I am very optimistic about the status and long-term development here, so I must grasp it more firmly! ”

"What do you think...... Is Hibiki more important than Bungo? Takenaka Hanbei asked tentatively, and it was a little strange for him to think about it.

"In a sense, that's true, but they do something different!" I reached out and gestured to try to explain to him, but I couldn't make it clear.

The role of Bungo is indeed very important, as I have said many times before, but with the advent of the era of peace and the reform of the political system, its role will become less and less, and the opposite is true of Hizen. Based on my understanding of the current pattern of the world and the development of future trends, Hizen, with Hirado as the core, will definitely become a cultural and economic center. Whether you call me prepared for a rainy day, or say that I am unfounded, in short, in my vision of the future, I am far more worried about the revolution than the conspiracy of the feudal lords.

But there's a problem with that, and that's that the basis of this conclusion is that I have come to it based on unique information, and it's really not easy to explain to him.

"If you want me to say that I can't tell the basis for a while, in short, I want to build Hizen into a fulcrum in Kyushu and even the entire southwest!" Since I can't explain it clearly, I simply don't explain it, and I just said the result. "In order to facilitate future management and development, most of the old forces in Kyushu must be cleaned up. The rulers of Ryuzoji Temple can keep Saga Castle, but the territory must be limited to 50,000 koku. But Nabeshima and Omura are a big problem, you can help me figure out a way! ”

"Does the lord want to directly govern Hizen?" Although I still didn't fully understand why I was so keen on a corner place, Takenaka Hanbei still thought about it seriously.

"It's too early to do this, but at least we can't make this a unified independent kingdom again!" I wanted to do it all at once, but reason told me not to rush it.

"Then you need to transfer some people and stuff some people in......" He was very good at this kind of thing, so he immediately thought of a way.

"Hmm......" I nodded, but not without other concerns. Although I am sure that I will be in control of Kyushu this time, after all, everything is difficult at the beginning. I don't want to leave any unrest here, because when I go back to to do something else, there is a good chance that something unexpected will happen here! ”

"This ...... It should be possible! Takenaka Hanbei reached out and touched his chin, growing his beard to make his otherwise weak face look more imposing. Although the lord has not been in Kyushu in recent years, our power has gradually deepened. Bunzen and Chikuzen are places where we and the Maori family are in a tug of war with each other, so there are no longer a few small wealthy families who have been cleaned, and some space has been vacated! ”

"It's been really hard work in the past two years, and I've done this situation alone!" His words couldn't help but think of Kanosuke Yamanaka, who had been fighting with the Mori family in Kitakyushu, and he hadn't complained to me once in the past two years.

"Maybe he's having fun!" I don't know because I remembered something, Takenaka Hanbei showed a faint smile.

An attendant walked in with a letter, and I motioned for him to hand it over to the half-guards first. "What's the matter!" The tea had been replaced, and I picked up the cup and blew it gently.

"It's not a big deal!" Hanbei Takenaka was already looking at the second piece of paper. “…… His Highness Wise is dead! ”