After nightfall, the noisy Qingshui City gradually quieted down, shrouded in the silence of the night.

The Satsuma Domain is arguably the most powerful feudal kingdom on the island of Kyushu, and its strength here is not only military but also economic, so Shimizu Castle is one of the most prosperous cities on Kyushu Island.

It is worth mentioning that some of the important cities of the Wa Kingdom were all made of rocks, and although they were small in scale, they were very strong and easy to defend and difficult to attack.

However, now facing the Ming army equipped with artillery, the city defense of Shimizu Castle has lost its former role, as long as the Ming army blasts open the city gate with artillery or bombs the city, it will be difficult for the soldiers of the Satsuma Domain to hold the city.

Fortunately, the Ming army's sailors stopped advancing after capturing the water city, otherwise as long as the Ming army's sailors took advantage of the defenselessness of the Satsuma Domain to quickly move towards Qingshui City, then there was a chance that Qingshui City would fall into the hands of the Ming army's sailors.

Most importantly, out of trust in the defense of Shimizu Castle, people including Shimazu Naruto will not abandon the city and flee, but will choose to stick to it and wait for help, after all, they have never dealt with such powerful firearms before.

In Shimazu Naruto's opinion, the Ming army naval division would not make such a superficial mistake for no reason, and it must not want to exacerbate the situation and cause the daimyo of Kyushu Island to panic, and then form a coalition army to deal with the Ming army's naval division.

After dinner, Matsuyama walked around the courtyard of the Shimazu family, and the people he met along the way bowed down when they saw him, and everyone knew that he was an adult from the shogunate.

"Matsuyama-sama." When he reached a secluded grove, a figure suddenly flashed out of the shadows under the trees beside him, blocking Matsuyama's path.

Through the moonlight in the sky, Matsuyama could see that the person blocking his way was a middle-aged man, who looked somewhat similar to Shimazu Naruto.

"Narumi-sama." After seeing this person, Matsuyama immediately smiled, bowed to him and said, "Let the adults wait for a long time." ”

"I'm just there." The middle-aged man also wanted Matsuyama to bow down, and then made a gesture of please, and entered the quiet grove with Matsuyama.

It is worth mentioning that this "Narumi-sama" is Shimazu Narumi, the same brother of Shimazu Naruto, the daimyo of Osumi Province.

Guided by Shimazu Narumi, Matsuyama walked through the grove to the wall of Shimazu's house, where there was a ladder, and he and Shimazu Narumi climbed the ladder out of the wall one after the other, and entered a nearby courtyard under the cover of night.

"Lord Matsuyama, I'm very sorry to meet you in this way, and I hope for Haihan." After entering a side room, Shimazu Narumi and Matsuyama sat cross-legged on the floor, and Shimazu Narumi bowed to Matsuyama and apologized in a deep voice.

"Where, I'm looking for Shimazu-sama in a hurry." Hearing this, Matsuyama also bowed to Shimazu Narumi and replied not unapologetically, and the humility of the two made this meeting between the two sides a good start.

"What is Matsuyama-sama looking for?" Shimazu Narumi raised his head and looked at Matsuyama quietly.

It turned out that before arriving in Shimizu Castle, Matsuyama had already sent a letter to Shimazu Narumi a day in advance, asking Shimazu Narumi to meet in private, so this was the night meeting between the two.

"This time, I came to find Narumi-sama on the orders of the general." Matsuyama Ming pondered for a while, and looked at Shimazu Narumi with a stern expression, "The general is dissatisfied with Lord Mingyun's disregard for the overall situation and insisting on provoking the Ming Dynasty, the strength of the Ming Naval Division is not comparable to that of the Yuan Dynasty, once the army is mobilized to attack our country, the consequences are unimaginable." ”

"This official is also deeply worried about this, as far as this official knows, all the ships of the Ming Naval Division are large sea ships with strong keels, suitable for sailing on the sea, and they have experienced boatmen who can avoid the wind and waves at sea." Shimazu Narumi nodded when he heard this, and said worriedly, "Therefore, it is really not a wise move to be an enemy of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

Since the Wa Kingdom defeated the Yuan army of the Eastern Expedition twice in Kyushu that year, the Shimazu family who participated in the war has a relatively detailed account of these two battles.

One of the important reasons why the Yuan army lost its two eastern crusades, in addition to the backwardness of the Yuan army and the majority of the Goryeo soldiers and Southern Song soldiers in the expeditionary force, was that many of the ships taken by the Yuan army were river boats without keels, so they could not withstand the huge wind and waves at sea.

In addition, the commander of the Yuan army was not familiar with the weather at sea and set out in time for the monsoon season, which directly led to the failure of the Yuan army's second eastward crusade, causing the Yuan army to lose more than half of its fleet in the storm.

The reason for this is that Kublai Khan did not know how to fight at all, so he mobilized inland river boats to fight, although it seems that river ships are similar to sea ships, but sea ships can resist the wind and waves at sea because they have a strong keel, while river ships do not, and they cannot adapt to sea navigation at all.

However, the Ming Navy Division is different, although Shimazu Narumi has not seen the fleet of the Ming Army Sailor, but since the Ming Army Navy Fleet is huge, then there must be a keel as a frame in it, which allows the Ming Army Navy Fleet to sail smoothly on the sea.

In addition, the navigation skills of the Ming Dynasty are unparalleled in the world, and since Li Yuntian can lead the fleet to reach the Wa Kingdom along the way, then other Ming troops can also come by boat.

Although the whole country of the Japanese state believed that the combat effectiveness of the Ming army was inferior to that of the Japanese state, Shimazu Narumi did not think so, the reason is very simple, Li Yuntian fought all the way from Xiaoliuqiu Island to Izumi County without tasting a single defeat, which is enough to show that the Ming army under his command is not simple.

What is particularly important is that Izumi City is an important town in Satsuma Country with a strength second only to Shimizu City, but it did not last long in the face of the Ming army's attack and was defeated, which certainly has the sharp factor of the Ming army's firearms, but it also reflects the strength of the combat effectiveness of the Ming soldiers from the side, otherwise the soldiers of Izumi City will definitely cause heavy casualties to the Ming army entering the city, but the fact is that the Ming army almost did not encounter much resistance and occupied the Izumi City.

In Shimazu Narumi's view, although Keiko Yamaguchi's subordinates were Japanese people, they were no different from the Ming army because they were attached to Li Yuntian, and they could be described as vassals of the Ming army.

If even the vassal army is so powerful, then the Ming army sailors who can make these vassal troops obediently obey orders must be more brave, which makes Shimazu Narumi feel uneasy in his heart.

In addition to the factors on the Ming side, the attitude of the Kyoto side towards this matter is also particularly important, if Ashikaga Yoshihito can support the Satsuma Domain and deal with the Ming army as he did against the Yuan army back then, then the Satsuma Domain will have the confidence to confront the Ming army.

But the reality is that the shogunate has compromised with Li Yuntian and abandoned the Satsuma Domain, so that the Satsuma Domain will fight against the Ming army and sailors alone, so that the Satsuma Domain will be under tremendous pressure, even if it is lucky to defeat the Ming army and sailors led by Li Yuntian, then I am afraid that it will also suffer heavy casualties.

Satsuma is different from the Ming army, the population base is limited, once the soldiers are killed or wounded, they cannot be replenished and there is no way to raise supplies, and the Ming army is different, Li Yuntian can draw troops and materials from the Ming Dynasty to continue to fight against the Satsuma country, as long as this war lasts for a year, the Satsuma country will collapse because of the lack of food.

Shimazu Narumi is different from Shimazu Narumu, he is steady and shrewd, and now it is clear that the situation is quite unfavorable to the Satsuma Domain, and once the Ming army and naval division are engaged, the entire Satsuma Domain will suffer heavy losses.

Moreover, Shimazu Narumi can be sure that after Sakamoto Ryogen arrives at Shimizu Castle, those Kyushu daimyo who are on the sidelines will definitely not send troops to reinforce the Satsuma Domain, and it is clear that the Satsuma Domain has been abandoned by the shogunate and even Kyoto.

In Shimazu Narumi's view, instead of dying, it is better to incur a war disaster than to save face, so that it is better to hand over some Japanese robbers to Li Yuntian, so that the Satsuma clan can also fight for the initiative and not be isolated by the shogunate and have to fight alone.

However, the guardian of Shimazu Naruto Province, Osumi Province, and Hyuga Province can be said to be the supreme leader of the three countries, and if he decides to go to war, Shimazu Narumi will not be able to oppose it at all.

Moreover, the people of the Satsuma Domain have always been fierce and arrogant, and they looked down on the Ming army, so the main battle faction had the absolute upper hand, and at this time, Shimazu Narumi could not say it even if he wanted to oppose it, otherwise he would be despised and ridiculed as greedy for life and afraid of death.

It was precisely because of his pessimistic attitude towards the war with the Ming Dynasty that Shimazu Narumi came to see him late at night after receiving Matsuyama's letter, hoping to find a way to eliminate the war.

"Don't hide it from Lord Narumi, Lord Shogun thinks that Lord Narumun has plunged the Satsuma Domain into a huge crisis for his own selfish interests, and he is no longer suitable to serve as the guardian of the Three Kingdoms of Satsuma, and wants Lord Narumi to take over as the lord of the Satsuma Domain." Matsuyama Ming saw that Shimazu Narumi looked worried, so he looked at him quietly and said, "I wonder what Narumi-sama thinks?" ”

"This ...... It's not a good thing, now is the time for the Satsuma Domain to unify with the outside world, and Lord Naruto is not at fault, if the Shogun removes Lord Narumo from the post of guardian of the Three Kingdoms at this time, it will inevitably cause civil strife in the Satsuma Domain. ”

Shimazu Narumi's eyes suddenly flashed with a look of surprise when he heard this, and then his brows frowned slightly, and he shook his head at Matsuyama Ming, Shimazu Naruto still has a very great prestige in the Satsuma Domain, and he is not good to rashly replace Shimazu Narutomo, otherwise the three kingdoms to which the Satsuma Domain belongs will definitely split.

"King Tadamu is ready for a battle with Lord Narumun, as soon as Lord Sakamoto and I return to Mizujo, King Tadamu will declare war on the Satsuma Domain."

Matsuyama Ming clearly noticed the scorching light that flashed in Shimazu Narumi's eyes, and knew that he had already moved, so he lowered his voice and said, "It's not a secret, King Tadamu has already negotiated terms with those adults in Kyoto, so this battle of the Satsuma Domain must be defeated!" ”

"Must be defeated!" Shimazu Narumi couldn't help but gasp when he heard this, he could now finally confirm that the Satsuma Domain had indeed become a victim of the deal between the shogunate and Li Yuntian, and he couldn't help but feel a little sad in his heart, which was equivalent to saying that this battle had already been lost before it was fought.

"Only if this battle is lost, will Lord Mingyun hand over those pirates, and King Zhongwu will be able to collect his troops and return." Matsuyama Ming knew that Shimazu Narumi felt uncomfortable, so he opened his mouth to explain, "Only if Naruto-sama loses, can the adult take over the position of guardian of the three kingdoms of Satsuma and become the guardian of the three kingdoms of Satsuma!" ”

"What do you need to do?" Shimazu Narumi couldn't help but sigh when he heard this, it seemed that the Satsuma clan would fight a decisive battle with the Ming army sailors alone, and no one would come to help them, and then looked up at Matsuyama Ming.

"The Shogun hopes that Lord Narumi can preserve his strength when he is engaged with the Ming army, and if Lord Narumi agrees, he will inform King Zhongmu when he returns, and King Zhongmu will definitely send someone to contact Lord at that time." Matsuyama said quietly to Shimazu Narumi.

The strength of Osumi Province is second only to Satsuma Province among the three kingdoms of the Satsuma Domain, and if Shimazu Narumi does not contribute by then, it will be a catastrophe for Shimazu Naruto.

"Okay, for the sake of the long-term development of the Satsuma Domain, this official will do what the Shogun says." Shimazu Narumi suddenly breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, he thought that what interests he wanted him to sacrifice turned out to be to let him avoid the battle in the battle, which could be described as a good thing for him to preserve his strength, so he nodded and agreed, he didn't want his soldiers to fight a meaningless war.

Hearing this, Matsuyama couldn't help but let out a long breath, and after taking Shimazu Narumi, he successfully completed the mission of coming to Shimizu Castle this time.