Shimazu Tadashi smiled when he heard this, turned his head to look at the field in the distance, and asked loudly: "Whether this is the general's method or not, I dare not guess." Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info but I'm curious, how would a person with such an insightful person as Li Bozhu think of the shogunate, and what will the future of the shogunate be in the eyes of Li Bozhu? ”

Li Tu suddenly heard such a question, but he was silent for a while. He tried to recall the historical knowledge that later generations knew, and then he replied: "The future of Japan belongs to the common people." The Tokugawa shogunate would rule for two hundred years, during which the samurai grew poorer and declined, and the commoners rose. Eventually, the lower samurai took control of several powerful feudal clans, overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate by force, and established a country where everyone was equal. ”

Shimazu Tadashi listened to Li Tu's words and said lightly: "What Lord Li said is the end of the samurai." ”

For a great aristocrat like Shimazu Tadashi, a commoner-controlled Japan meant the demise of the Shimazu family, which was probably more sad to him than his personal death. Shimazu Tadashi sighed and said, "What Master Li said is very reasonable. Now that the shogunate was firmly in control of Japan, there was no war, and the samurai would have perished sooner or later. The only suspense is how it will perish. ”

Shimazu Tadashi asked again: "Since Lord Li can predict such a future, can there be a way to change the future?" ”

Li Tu asked lightly, "What kind of Japan does the feudal lord want?" ”

Tadashi Shimazu said, "Of course it's samurai Japan. ”

Li Tu said lightly: "Back in the war-torn era, Japan will always be the Japan of samurai. ”

Shimazu Tadashi looked at Li Tu and said, "Does Master Li have a way to make Japan war-torn out?" ”

Li Tu said seriously: "If the feudal lord sells me a few more cannons, there will be hope." ”

Hearing the translator translating the words into Japanese, Shimazu Tadashi thought Li Tu was joking, and laughed happily.

#####

When he arrived in Edo, Shimazu Tadashi was busy reporting to the shogun's arrival, receiving the envoys, and going to the castle the next morning to meet the shogun. It was not until the fifth day that the shogun found time to summon the visiting maritime representatives from all over the world.

Li Tu took the interpreter and followed the samurai, the guide of the shogun's family, into Edo Castle.

Edo Castle was the main castle of the Tokugawa shogunate and the center of power in Japan. Extensive construction of the city began in 1606 and was still being expanded when Litu arrived. The city is about five kilometers from east to west, four kilometers from north to south, and there are inner moats and outer moats around all sides, and the circumference of the outer moat is about 16 kilometers, and there are two city outlines. The castle is divided into Sannomaru, Ninomaru, Honmaru, and Nishinomaru from the outside to the inside. There are 20 expected buildings and more than 30 city gates.

Li Tu followed the warriors through the castle, only to feel that the road was winding, and the gates were like a labyrinth one after another. If there is no one to lead, Li Tu will definitely go astray. Flags are planted all over the castle with the Tokugawa family's Mitsuha Aoi family crest painted on them. Samurai and ashigaru stationed everywhere also carry small flags with family crests on their backs, and they hunt in the wind.

Walking into the Honmaru castle tower of Edo Castle, the samurai took Li Tu into a rest room. As soon as Li Tu sat down, someone came in to accept the gifts brought by Li Tu, and only asked Li Tu to leave a list of gifts. Then, someone came in and searched his body to check whether Li Tu had hidden weapons. After waiting for another half an hour, the guide walked in and led Li Tu into a large hall.

There were already many people sitting at the bottom of the hall, including four Daming maritime merchants in Chinese clothes, two foreigners with black curly hair and pointed chins, three foreigners with golden curly hair, and two chubby black-haired foreigners. At the top of the hall knelt four retainers of the Tokugawa family, facing the people below.

Li Tu took the translator and sat behind the foreigners. An attendant approached, and Li Tu handed the attendant a list of gifts he had given to the shogun.

After a stick of incense, one of the samurai at the top shouted, "The general has arrived!" ”

A sliding door was opened at the back of the hall, and surrounded by more than a dozen retainers in front and behind, a middle-aged man walked in from behind and sat in the shogun's seat, it was none other than Tokugawa Hidetada, the second shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Li Tu looked over and thought that Natokugawa Hidetada was in his forties, of medium stature, with a round face and a broad forehead, and a few strands of beard on his chin. Maybe it's because he has lived on people for a long time, and there is a momentum of not being angry and arrogant when he walks.

More than a dozen retainers knelt on either side of the head. After kneeling down for the leader, he said loudly: "Today, the general summoned all the maritime merchants to discuss the pros and cons of foreign trade!" ”

When the maritime merchants sitting at the bottom heard this, they all sat on the ground and bowed slightly, just like the Japanese. Even those Westerners, who have probably been to Japan many times and know the local etiquette, have also done this.

Tokugawa Hidetada sat in the general's seat, looked at the dozen or so merchants below, and pointed at the two chubby black-haired foreigners with a folding fan.

As soon as Tokugawa Hidetada pointed at this, one of the retainers sitting at the top of the house took a step forward and said loudly: "British Captain Oscar, answer the general's words: The general has closed all the churches at the beginning of this year, why do you still secretly preach in Kyushu?" Sedition? ”

The two fat English men sat on the ground, and when they heard the questioning of the general's retainers, they became nervous, and fell to the ground and spoke English for a while. Soon, his translator translated English into Japanese: "Your Excellency the General, our missionaries are indeed still active in Kyushu. But we have issued a solemn order for these missionaries to leave Kyushu, and we guarantee that no English missionaries will ever set foot on Japanese territory again. ”

When Tokugawa Hidetada heard this, he said coldly, "I'm going to close down the British trading house in Hirado. ”

Hearing this, the two Englishmen were anxious and chattered a lot, but Tokugawa Hidetada ignored them.

Tokugawa Hidetada looked up, saw Li Tu, and said with a smile: "The maritime merchants of the Tang Dynasty are also here." ”

The retainers of the general's family, who were sitting at the top, looked at Li Tu and said loudly: "Tang Dynasty maritime merchant Li Tu, answer!" ”

Li Tu raised his head and said: "In Xia Li Tu, he is a businessman from Zhangzhou in Daming. ”

Tokugawa Hidetada nodded and said slowly: "Merchants of the Tang Dynasty, welcome to Japan. Recently, there has been talk in Edo that Saiyi is cunning and enthusiastic about proselytizing and inciting rebellion. These people said that the shogunate should stop trading with Xiyi and only trade with the merchants of the Tang Dynasty. What do you think, this kind of rhetoric? ”

Hearing this, several Daming maritime merchants sitting in front of them were all happy. If Japan only traded with the Ming maritime merchants, it would have reduced many competitors and the goods could be sold at a higher price. The maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty wished that the Tokugawa shogunate would close off the country and only trade with the Ming state.

Hearing the translation, Li Tu thought for a while, bowed lightly to Tokugawa Hidetada, and said, "I thought it was inappropriate!" ”