Mukai Tadashi walked quickly to the castle tower, feeling quite apprehensive in his heart, because he knew the reason for this summoning assessment. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In the last month, the waters from western Japan to the Ryukyus have been turned upside down by the Jeju Akito, and merchants from the various feudal domains of Shikoku and Kyushu, as well as Osaka and Kyoto, have reported to the shogunate, and the sailors of the Jeju Akito collect taxes from the maritime merchants.

Even the Dutch and Spaniards came to complain, and were forcibly extorted from taxes by Jeju Ming sailors in these waters.

This action of Jeju Akito is simply an insult to the shogunate, and you must know that these places are the waters under the jurisdiction of the shogunate, at least nominally.

After hearing about this, Mukai Tadakatsu immediately dispatched the newly formed Galen fleet to the western and southern parts of Kyushu to collect enemy ships, but there has been no news so far.

Therefore, this time Xiang Jing Tadashi is also ready to accept the general's thunderous wrath.

After all, after the death of Lord Suchung at the beginning of the year, the general really took power, and it was when the momentum was pressing, and what Jeju Mingren did was of course unbearable.

Mukai Tadashi walked into the castle tower, only to see that after Tokugawa Iemitsu was sitting on the case, the treasure was majestic, and the lines of the moon head combing were not messy, and since he took power, he paid more and more attention to his appearance.

At the beginning, Ii Naotaka sat in the first place, the minister appointed by Tokugawa Hidetada at the time of his death, and now the eldest of the Tokugawa family, occupying the position of chief family elder.

Sakai Tadashi lives under him, and although the old minister is old, his waist is straight and his spirit is strong.

Since Doi Toshikatsu was defeated in Shimonoseki last time and was fined 5,000 stone fiefdoms, the most important thing is that he has lost face and has been very devastated. Now his beard is white. It's eye-catching.

Inaba Masakatsu is the youngest senior high school here. But his face is extremely pale, this is tired, as Jiaguang's most trusted subordinate, he bears the most chores, and his body is a little unbearable.

"Your Highness." Tadashi Mukai bowed to Iemitsu.

"Excuse me," Iemitsu waved his hand, "you can do it, I'll wait for you." ”

Tadashi Mukai hurriedly took the lower position. He's the only one here who isn't old, so of course he has to keep his eyebrows low.

"Okay, let's talk about it." Iemitsu gestured to Inaba Masakatsu.

"Your Royal Highness the General, all the elders, since more than a month ago, the Jeju Ming people sent a large number of naval warships to inspect the western and southern parts of Kyushu, as well as the southern part of Shikoku to the Ryukyu Sea," Inaba Masakatsu looked at you.

Doi had just returned from the fiefdom here, and this was probably the first time I'd heard of it.

"They had the audacity to board the ship and inspect it. The tax is levied at the rate of one-twentieth of the article carried, if it is not delivered. The goods were pulled away or destroyed, and the personnel were killed and injured, and the methods were extremely vicious, treating the people of our country as pigs and dogs. Inaba Masakatsu's tone was heavy.

The Tokugawa family was as bare-faced as frost, and his heart was already furious, and he was struck for a while when he received the news, and he had just taken over as a shogun for a few months, and this happened when it happened, that is, he was slapped in the face.

In the past 200 years, Japan has taken what it needs from its neighbors, and Korea, Ryukyu, and Ezo are all encroaching on it step by step, and it is only a matter of time before Ryukyu is about to be taken into possession.

And if Korea does not have the help of the Ming Dynasty, it has already perished, that is, the Ming Dynasty, Japan in Korea and it is also an equal match, although Japan's losses are also very large, but this is the most powerful empire in the East for thousands of years, Japan is undefeated but victorious, this is the glory of the whole of Japan.

However, after the appearance of this Jeju Mingren, the situation reversed, first seizing the western part of Ezo, and then defeating the shogunate sailors on Iki Island, and this time they began to collect taxes from Japanese merchant ships, which is really ridiculous, this is the merchant ships under the command of the Japanese shogunate, and they came to collect taxes, which is extremely arrogant.

Toshikatsu Doi was surprised that the situation was like this, he was just returning to the fiefdom to recuperate for three months, and the situation changed so much.

"In addition, the Dutch, Spanish, and English also protested to us, saying that their merchant ships had been plundered a lot, and that our shogunate sailors could not protect this sea, which caused them to suffer heavy losses, and hoped that we would lower our taxes and make up for the losses." Naotaka Ii continued.

The dealings with Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, England, France, and Portugal were now under his rule, so these southern barbarians complained to him.

"If they think they've lost too much, they don't come to Nagasaki Maritime Trade." Jiaguang's face was bruised, and his mouth was a little stumbling.

"No matter how willing they are to give this, even if they don't compensate them, they will still rely on it and not leave." Tadashi Sakai scoffed.

The armor and artillery sold by these Southern Barbarians, the Ming Dynasty silk, porcelain, raw silk, the gold and silver goods they brought back, and the cups they earned were full of money, how could they be willing to leave.

"There are also a dozen or so groups of Ming merchant ships who have also complained to our Nagasaki commission, and the Jeju Ming people have also collected taxes from them." Inaba is victorious.

"This is the Akito who is used to infighting, hehe." Ieko scoffed.

This time, he finally saw Mingren's infighting, which made him feel relieved.

Xiang Jing Zhongsheng was sweating profusely while listening, and the words of the general and the elders of the family poked his heart every word, and there were so many omissions, why, it wasn't that the navy was unable to protect the sea frontier at all.

"I have failed His Highness's trust, and my subordinates will die." Kowtow to Jing Zhongsheng.

"If you can get rid of these Ming people if you die, then the Honkaku will never be soft." Jiaguang said angrily, "I called you here to ask you how the naval Galen ship is being built and whether you can go to sea to fight." ”

"Back to Your Highness, in the past two years, my sailors have purchased ten Dutch warships that can be put into battle, and there are sixteen self-built ships that can be used in battle, and ten more have been launched, but they have not yet been fully trained, and there are still more than twenty ships under construction." Xiang Jing Zhongsheng replied prostrately.

"Xiang Jing, let me ask you, how did you deal with the alarm you received." Today's old man Yi Naotaka asked unceremoniously.

"Bing Lao Zhongda, his subordinates received the alarm, and two days later sent ten Galen ships to find the Ming warship, hoping to catch the culprit and sacrifice it to the general." Tadashi Mukai was extremely respectful.

At this time, Jing Yi Naotaka is the minister who cares about his life, and he even gets the favor of Jiaguang, how not to let him be jealous.

"In this way, if the Ming Dynasty is attacked, you may be defeated head-on." Naodaka Ii stared at Mukai Tadakatsu, this matter is extremely important, and it is related to the shogunate's countermeasures, and it must not be ignored.

"The decisive battle at the moment is absolutely impossible," Xiang Jing Zhongsheng gritted his teeth and said, "In the last battle, the Ming people have fifty large warships, and it is not a problem to build one or twenty in the past few years, so the number of warships of our naval division is still out of disadvantage, and the subordinates are planning a decisive battle with the enemy in the next year." ”

"Well, Lord Mukai's loyalty is commendable, and he is up to the task." Jing Yi Naoxiao looked at Xiang Jing Zhongsheng for a long time, and after Xiang Jing Zhongsheng was covered in a cold sweat, this sentence suddenly appeared.

Let everyone be surprised, okay, you can't meet the enemy, so you can say that you can be reused.

"What does I-sama say?" Tokugawa Iemitsu is confident that he still has some eyesight, and Mukai Tadashi is slightly inferior to his father, but he is loyal.

But Naotaka Ii, who didn't have much contact with Mukai, made him curious about how he said this.

"Hehe, if Xiang Jing is in a hurry to get rid of his responsibilities and reluctantly fight, that is, for his own ambitions, he ignores the great cause of the general, and under the blame of everyone, he insists on his own heart, which shows that his heart is extremely strong, and he is loyal to His Royal Highness the general, which can be reused." Naotaka Ii said with a smile.

Tokugawa Iemitsu nodded in approval, well, this minister's father didn't look away, so he was still good, and his vision was outstanding.

Xiang Jing Zhongsheng hurriedly said that he didn't dare.

"It's just that loyalty is not enough, as the shogunate general, you have a way to deal with it." Jing Yi Naoxiao's face became so fast, and he smiled on his face, but now his face sank like water.

Peat, you smiling tiger, Xiang Jing Zhongsheng scolded in his heart, but he didn't dare to be ambiguous, "General Bing, I have ordered the ten sea ships on patrol to be divided into five groups, and look for the Ming people sea ships separately, and give them a head-on attack. ”

"The remaining dozen or so Galen ships are left to do anything." Tokugawa Iemitsu frowned.

"Your Highness, if the Ming sailor enters the inland sea, the sailor will leave the warship to fight." Kowtow to Jing Zhongsheng.

"Hmph, I'd like him to go to the Inland Sea, but I'm afraid they won't dare," Tokugawa Iemitsu said disdainfully, the narrow Seto Inland Sea, and the big ships are not easy to walk, "Send them all out and clean up the waters near our country." ”

"Obey the order, and the subordinates will do it immediately." Mukai Tadashi is in the tunnel.

"Lord Xiangjing, if it is a comprehensive decisive battle with the Ming people, how many warships will my sailors need." Inaba asked.

He is now in control of the shogunate's money bag, yes, now Ii Naotaka is the elder, and he has the most power in his hands, but if it comes to the degree of cronies, he can throw Ii Hachijo Street.

However, it was precisely because of his position that he was anxious, and at his suggestion, at his suggestion, the shogun had stopped the construction of Edo Nishimaru and Uchimaru, as well as the grandfather Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was his favorite and most respected grandfather, Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Before his death, Hidetada lamented that he did not see the completion of the complete Edo Castle, and regretted that some old ministers scolded Iemitsu for it, saying that he was not filial, which made him feel very stressed.

Moreover, now that the expenses are getting bigger and bigger, he is really haggard, and he hopes to get rid of this big burden as soon as possible.

Of course, I especially hope that there will be as many as possible, and Xiang Jing Zhongsheng said carefully, he carefully calculated, I am afraid that there must be eighty ships, and now there can be forty ships, which is still insufficient.

"Lord Inaba, my subordinates estimate that it will take forty to fifty warships to fight the enemy in a decisive battle."

"Sss Inaba Masakatsu took a breath, damn, I have worked hard for three years, and it is only half of it, he turned to Jiaguang, "Your Highness, if it is okay to build another twenty sea ships, the rest of the subordinates may not be able to do it." ”

A sea ship is 10,000 silver, and it has to be 400,000, and this is a ship, as well as artillery, personnel salaries, and armor, how to do it without a small judgment of 780,000 silver.

"The remaining twenty sea ships are to work together to get things done, and now defeating the Ming people is the first priority." Of course, Jiaguang knows how to be small, but he has no face to be stimulated by the Mingren, and even if he goes bankrupt, he has to defeat the Jeju Mingren. (To be continued.) )