Edo, Japan.

Located at the end of the Musashi Plain, the largest plain in Japan, Edo is a name derived from the Ainu language, which roughly means "gate of the bay" or "mouth of the river", and the Ainu people were the original owners of Japan's islands and mixed with immigrants to form the so-called Yamato people.

Japanese castles and Chinese castles are two completely different concepts, Japan's Edo Castle and Peking Castle are not at all comparable, Peking Castle is a castle, and Edo Castle refers to the Tokugawa family's mansion, a bit like the imperial city in Beijing, of course, in terms of scale, there is no comparison.

The Tokugawa shogunate instituted a system of daimyo visits to the shrine, stipulating that the daimyo must own a residence under Edo Castle and that they must live in Edo for one of the two years, which led to more than 200 daimyo (feudal lords) throughout Japan overhauling luxurious feudal mansions in Edo, and at the same time, the shogunate also stipulated that each feudal lord must send a main family or eldest son to live in Edo as a hostage.

These two regulations alone led to at least half of the feudal lords living in Edo every year, and also contributed to the abnormal development of Edo, and by the time the Tokugawa family succeeded the seventh shogun to the throne, Edo had a population of one million, and Edo was not like the castle of Beijing, with a tall wall outside, and the whole of Edo, except for the high stone walls of the Tokugawa family's mansion, was simply a very large castle without walls or defenses.

The current shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate was the seventh shogun, the five-year-old Tokugawa Ietsugu, and the two most powerful auxiliaries were Mabe Kanbo and Arai Kimimi, both of whom were the right-hand men of the previous shogun, Tokugawa Ienobu.

On the west side of Edo Castle, the statue is handsome, and since the Tokugawa family succeeded to the shogunship, the Tokugawa family, as the assistant minister of the young monarch, has become the de facto ruler of the Tokugawa shogunate, and controls the military and political power of Edo with one hand.

The guard whispered at the door: "Lord Shiraishi (Arai Kimi), the assistant minister of the young monarch, has come to visit. ”

Quanfang raised his head and commanded in a low voice, "Yes, please." As he spoke, he got up and went to the door to greet him.

Arai Junmi. He doesn't look beautiful.,Compared to the fang.,He can be said to be as ugly as a ghost.,And the personality is fierce.,As long as you think it's right, you'll stick to it regardless of the opposition of others.,It's precisely because of Shiraishi's stubborn character and ugly appearance.,Many people call it a "ghost" behind their backs.。

The two bowed at the door and sat down. Shiraishi opened his mouth and said: "Recently, I heard that Nagasaki and Muroto have reported that Qing warships were found in the open sea to clear pirates, have you heard of it?" ”

"Oh?" Quanfang was slightly moved, and asked in a deep voice, "But that kind of new Western warship?" ”

Shiraishi nodded and said, "The battleship is not big, around Qianshi, but it is rumored that there are many artillery. ”

Quanfang sat still with a solemn expression, but his heart was shocked, since he escaped the large-scale invasion of Yuanmeng by relying on the 'kamikaze'. The Japanese feudal domains were particularly sensitive to foreign invasions, and the shogunate was no exception. After the Manchu Qing Dynasty unified the world, they were originally cautious and abnormal, but then the Qing State actually made a move to the forbidden sea, and the conquest of Taiwan took a lot of effort, which made Japan breathe a sigh of relief.

Four years ago, the fourteenth prince of the Qing Dynasty caught their attention when he built Western-style warships in the Shanghai Ship Repair Yard. The Qing naval division defeated and captured the Spanish fleet, captured Java, where the Dutch were entrenched, and occupied the entire South Seas. Immediately after that, it was rumored that he was going to expedition to Europe and the Americas, and Japan could be said to have shaken the whole country, but unexpectedly, at this juncture, General Tokugawa Ienobu suddenly died of illness.

Finally resolved the internal disputes, the Tokugawa family smoothly inherited the position of shogun and became the seventh generation of generals, and the warships of the Qing people actually began to clear pirates at their own doorstep, what do they mean? …,

After being silent for a long time, Quanfang spoke: "What does Bai Shijun think is the purpose of Qingguo's move? ”

"It's not good." Shiraishi said in a deep voice that although he was born a ronin, he was active in learning, and sought to study in Kinoshita Shun'an, studied Chinese culture, and specialized in Zhuzi etiquette for several years, belonging to the Zhuzi school of Confucianism, erudite and knowledgeable, proficient in Confucianism, history, geography, language and religion, ethics, literature, linguistics, can be called a generation of Japanese Confucianism.

"Bad comer?" Quanfang frowned, and said in surprise: "The Qing Kingdom has provoked wars with Spain and the Netherlands one after another, and I heard that they will go on an expedition to Europe and the Americas, is it possible that they will provoke us at this moment?" ”

"Since the Qing State dares to go on an expedition, it is naturally a strong army, and since they dare to provoke Spain and the Netherlands, why are they afraid of Japan?" Shiraishi said in a deep voice: "The Manchu Qing and the Yuan and Mongolia are both nomads, the desire for the land is endless, the Yuan and Mongolia invaded, we still have the blessing of the 'divine wind', if the Manchu invades again, I don't know if there is such good luck, but God bless Japan." ”

"Shiraishi-kun doesn't need to be so pessimistic?" Quanfang frowned unhappily, and said in a deep voice: "The Qing Navy's Sweep of pirates is most likely to want to develop shipping, hasn't Bai Shijun heard that the Qing Kingdom's inland shipping is quite busy, if the Qing Navy's Navy's wants to provoke us, what will the pirates do?" ”

Bai Shi pondered for a moment before saying: "No matter what, we can't take it lightly, and our sailor strength must also be strengthened, so as not to attack the Qing Kingdom, we don't have the strength to fight." ”

Quanfang nodded: "I will order the sailor to strengthen the patrol, and at the same time order to strengthen the defense of Nagasaki and Hakata Bay." ”

"I don't think the country will make landfall from the Hakata Bay area again." Shiraishi shook his head slightly and said, "The Manchu Qing sailors are far superior to Yuanmeng, and Your Excellency should strengthen the defenses of Edo, Osaka, Kyoto and other places. ”

Quanfang said disapprerovingly: "Osaka and Kyoto have a population of more than 300,000, and most of them are samurai, how could the Qing Kingdom choose these places when it landed?" Not to mention Edo, which has a population of more than one million and more than 20,000 garrisons, more than half of the castle towns are samurai, and many of the feudal lords also have many samurai. ”

*

The East China Sea has clear skies and rippling blue waves.

However, the sea was not calm at all, and more than 20 seagoing ships were chasing and fleeing on the sea, staging a game of officers and men catching robbers.

The more than ten ships desperately fleeing in front are all two-masted ships of about 500 materials, and the twelve behind are Western warships of the same size, needless to say, it is the twelve newly commissioned fast armed sail warships led by the thirteenth elder brother Yinxiang and Lin Wei.

Yinxiang stood at the bow of the boat, put down the binoculars in his hand, looked up at the sky again, and then glanced at Zheng Duxin, who was standing on the side, and said: "These small sea boats are not slow to escape, seeing that it is not early, can you catch them before dark?" ”

"Rest assured, the Thirteenth Master will definitely be able to surpass them in another half an hour." Zheng said excitedly.

Lin Wei frowned at this time and asked, "We have been chasing south for a day, there are more than a hundred nautical miles, where are we now?" ”

Zheng has been floating in this sea area all the year round, and he knows the vicinity well, and he knows the approximate location with his eyes closed, and after a little hesitation, he said: "We have been going south along the islands and reefs all the way, and we have entered the Ryukyu country, at this speed, and then more than an hour south, we can reach the port of Naha in the Ryukyus." ”

Arrived at the Ryukyus? Yinxiang was slightly stunned and said, "Are you sure?" ”

"Back to the Thirteenth Master, Ryukyu is a transit point for maritime trade from the South Seas to Japan, and the mark has robbed here many times, not the mark is nonsense, this sea area, every island and reef, can be clear under the mark, just like the mother-in-law who is familiar with her own house." Zheng Duxin said categorically, and he almost patted his chest. ..., this guy is really a talent, fighting poison with poison, used to clean up pirates, that really didn't say, Yinxiang smiled slightly: "Let's go to Naha Port today, if you are not wrong, I will go back and report to you." ”

The general is always a seven-rank military attaché, Zheng Qianxin doesn't know the size of the grade at all, seeing him flustered, Lin Wei couldn't help but chuckle and said: "Don't thank you yet, the general is the top of the seven-grade, and the captain of the detachment is only at this level." ”

Seven grades, that's not the same grade as the county master! A pirate himself has become an official! Zheng Qianxin hurriedly knelt down on the spot and kowtowed three times, "Thank you for the reward of the Thirteenth Master." ”

"You don't have to thank me." Yinxiang said with a smile: "It is your blessing to meet the prince, tell your subordinates, work hard, the court is now the time to employ people, and you will be rewarded for your achievements!" ”

Being able to earn an official position by virtue of military exploits is naturally much more promising than being a pirate, Zheng did his best and kowtowed: "Prince Xie and Thirteenth Master Xie are reborn, and they will do their best to appease the pirates in the East China Sea." ”

"Get up." Yinxiang nodded, turned his head to Lin Wei and said: "The Ryukyu County is a vassal state of my Great Qing Dynasty, since we have arrived at his territory, let's go and meet the Ryukyu County King." ”

After Zheng got up, he asked in surprise: "Thirteenth Master, the Ryukyu Kingdom is a vassal state of my Great Qing Dynasty?" ”

"Of course." Yinxiang glanced at him and said: "Ryukyu was a vassal of China in the former Ming Dynasty, after I entered the Central Plains in the Qing Dynasty, the king of the Ryukyus was still on the table to ask for the title, and was canonized by the imperial court as the king of the Ryukyu mountains, and then changed the title of the king of the Ryukyu county, after that, the Ryukyu county continued to send envoys to pay tribute, and the new kings of the Ryukyu county had to send envoys to ask for the title when they ascended the throne, and they never stopped. ”

After speaking, Yinxiang looked at Zheng Qianxin curiously and said, "Why do you ask like this, is there something wrong?" ”

Zheng glanced at Yinxiang timidly, and then said: "The Ryukyu Kingdom also has contacts with Japan, and the Satsuma Domain of Japan often sends people to Ryukyu to ask for money. ”

Yinxiang raised his brows when he heard this, Ryukyu was bullied by Japan so much, why didn't he report to the suzerainty of the Qing Dynasty? After a slight groan, he said, "In this case, I have to go to Ryukyu for a trip." ”

Lin Wei was worried about Yinxiang's safety, and then asked, "How many soldiers and horses are there in Ryukyu?" ”

"I don't know how much, but it's certainly not much." Zheng said vaguely.

Yin Xiang said unintentionally: "Our fleet has more than 3,000 people, so there is no need to worry at all." ”