A wave of anger suddenly rose from Zhou Pu's heart.

The Shimazu family's huge intention to limit the scope of their operations to Kyushu and western Japan, and not to march into the Kanto region, which was the base of the shogunate, meant that they did not intend to do their best to help the Han army, but instead had the intention of pushing themselves and others to the front line and watching from the sidelines.

Although Zhao Song and the others didn't plan to rely on these daimyo to help them fight a decisive battle with the shogunate when they originally made the plan, and they didn't think about pushing them all the way from Kyushu to Edo by land along Kyoto, but the Shimazu family was still making their own little calculations at this time, which really made Zhou Pu a little annoyed.

Moreover, if this news is announced in Kyoto, it will definitely make itself lose a lot of prestige on the Japanese court, and may even affect their position.

Shimazu Tadashi, sooner or later I will let you understand that I still have a big man who is by no means easy to manipulate, he thought to himself.

"Your fan's request is too strange...... Zhou Pu frowned, and forcibly held back the anger in his heart, "Fighting a war has always been to go all out since ancient times, where is the reason to limit the scope of combat for yourself before the start of the war?" Besides, our army is a guest army, and we already need the help of these local forces, so if it weren't for your cooperation, wouldn't our army have to face a lot of casualties? ”

"This is the conclusion that the elders of our clan came to after a joint consultation...... Even if it's the lord himself, he can't change it for a while, so I'm sorry, my lord. Togo Shigekata apologized hesitantly, "The lord of the feudal domain has touched the interests of many people in order to eliminate dissent recently, and if you ignore the opinions of all the family elders again, I am afraid that it will cause dissatisfaction within the domain, so please forgive me." ”

Zhou Pu felt that this was not true, with Shimazu Tadashi's original control, coupled with the fact that he had recently purged so many opponents with an iron fist, there must be few powerful people within the family who dared to say goodbye to him anymore, if he wanted to implement it forcefully, no one would oppose it at all. The reason why it is said that the decision of the old family meeting is probably to find a reason for himself.

His guess is indeed true, which was originally what Shimazu Tadashi meant. The shadow left by the Tokugawa family in the Battle of Sekigahara to the Shimazu family and even all the anti-Tokugawa daimyo was too heavy, and the hundreds of thousands of troops faced each other, and the result was that the army had broken up before they could be killed with real swords and guns, which really makes people's hearts chill when they think about it.

Although Shimazu Tadashi was extremely confident in the army and military strength of the Great Han, he felt that Kanto was the hinterland of the Tokugawa forces, and if he went deep into Kanto again, he was afraid that he would inevitably suffer great losses.

Moreover, the Shimazu family had the intention of expanding their power by following the Han Dynasty, but they did not intend to take the opportunity to replace the shogunate as the ruler of the entire Japan in one fell swoop - this was beyond the limit of the Satsuma domain's strength, and the Han dynasty might not tolerate the destruction of one shogunate and the emergence of a new one.

Since it is no good to fight desperately, then why fight desperately, Shimazu Tadashi's calculations, as long as the Han Dynasty defeats Kyoto and Western Japan with the help of the Great Han, and then you can wait and see the situation and wait for the Great Han to go to the decisive battle with the Shogunate, if the Great Han really destroys the Shogunate, it is naturally the best, but if the Great Han can't do it, then at least it can maintain a situation where the East and West Japan are separated, and at that time, the Shimazu family is the pillar that the imperial court must rely on, and the family power will naturally sweep away the previous haze and reach a new height.

Although Zhou Pu couldn't fully see the other party's calculations, he could naturally guess a rough idea, since the wood was completed, he no longer raised any objections on the surface, but in his heart he already had a little disgust and vigilance towards the Shimazu family, and planned to find a way to limit the excessive expansion of the Shimazu family's power after the war.

After exiting the Choshu Domain, they walked northeast along the seashore and soon entered the territory of the Hiroshima Domain.

The border between the Hiroshima and Choshu domains was heavily guarded, and they were able to move forward only after being scrutinized by the samurai of the domain. On the border, he also saw a number of fortifications, which showed how wary the Hiroshima domain was against the Choshu domain.

As part of the elaborate design of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Hiroshima Domain was established from the beginning to contain the Choshu Domain of the Mori family, and the first lord of the Hiroshima Domain was Fukushima Masanori, who defected to Tokugawa Ieyasu and others with Ishida Mitsunari and others, and was one of the five commissioners, and this domain had a territory of 490,000 koku, which was precisely to suppress the territory of the Mori family.

Later, Fukushima Masanori was transferred to the title because he was jealous of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the Hiroshima domain fell into the hands of Asano Nagasho, the son of Asano Nagamasa, another of the five commissioners, Asano Nagasho, who had passed away last year, and now his son Mitsumori Asano succeeded him as the lord of the domain. The lord was also pro-Tokugawa, so he continued Fukushima Masanori's hostile policy towards the Choshu clan and was always wary of the Mori family.

In Zhou Pu's opinion, the Asano family of the Hiroshima Domain, which has a territory of more than 400,000 stones, will definitely continue to stand on the pro-shogunate position. Moreover, because they had the largest territory among the Sanyang Province feudal domains, and they were in the way of the only way to Kyoto, Zhou Pu regarded them as the greatest enemies in the future, and carefully collected relevant information along the way, and even consulted the people of the caravan about the population distribution of each place.

Perhaps because they had the same thoughts as Zhou Pu, Dongxiang Shigefang and Jiangxia Mingxian also began to carefully observe the road and everything around them when they passed by, and they were no longer as relaxed as before. It can be seen that the Shimazu family also regarded the Asano family as a dangerous enemy.

It was during this stop-and-go journey that Zhou Pu finally came to Kyoto.

Unlike other heavily fortified cities, Kyoto is much flatter and does not have too many towering defensive buildings, which makes Zhou Pu, who is accustomed to seeing high-walled fortresses along the way, feel much more relaxed and open.

Naturally, he didn't really run around to enjoy the mountains and rivers, but first found a store to stay.

Although Kyoto suffered a lot of losses from wars during the Warring States period, it has recovered a lot of vitality and commerce has flourished after decades of general peace. Kyoto is the center of Japan's textile industry, with a large number of employees and frequent business travel.

After the group settled down, Zhou Pu went out with a few businessmen under the pretext of sightseeing, and then came to the outside of Hashimoto's family's residence with the message left by Hashimoto Minoru.

The Hashimoto family's family is not high, just a side branch of the Xiyuan Temple family, the fourth rank of the Yulin family, their family is in a simple neighborhood, because the family is only 500 stones, can only be compared with a more advanced samurai, so the maintenance is also very sloppy. But here's the good thing - because it's humble and doesn't have a high status, no one pays attention to it at all.

Minoru Hashimoto came to the Hashimoto family through an adoptive to become the heir, and his adoptive father, Minoru Hashimoto, has passed away, and now the Hashimoto family is headed only by him and his younger brother Minoru Hashimoto. Minoru Hashimoto also knows the inside story, and after his brother left home, the Hashimoto family has always been taken care of by himself.

Because the income is not high, the Hashimoto family is not large, and there are few servants, but when Zhou Pu came to the door, there was a flute sound into his ears, the sound was ethereal and ethereal, but it was well controlled, and it could be heard that it had undergone years of training.

Zhou Pu didn't know that it was not a domestic servant or a professional musician who played the flute in the mansion at this time, but Hashimoto Minoru himself. Moreover, the Hashimoto family has been playing the flute for generations.

It is the instinct of the aristocracy to ritualize daily life, so that it can increase the sense of sacredness and mystery in themselves, and secondly, it can also be used to distinguish the commoners, solidify the professional circle, and exclude the plebeiers.

After the Fujiwara family monopolized most of the ministers' positions, because of the multiplication of the population, there were tributaries, and in order to find a foundation for these tributaries, the upper echelons of the ministers prescribed some fixed occupations for the lower levels, so that they were responsible for filling in fixed roles on weekdays or ceremonies, which was called family business. The Hashimoto family was assigned the flute, which was often played during ceremonies, and many families were assigned to the family business such as sheng and ikebana calligraphy, and there was even a family of ministers who had been engaged in Japanese cuisine for generations.

The small gate and low walls of the Japanese garden make it look cramped, but it's quiet.

Zhou Pu knocked on the door carefully, and he knocked on the door rhythmically, first five times, then three times, and finally five more times.

When Zhou Pu began to knock on the door, the flute that had been melodious suddenly stopped, and there was silence in the courtyard, except for his knock that had been echoing in the court, there was no other sound, as if someone was counting his knock carefully.

After knocking on the door, Zhou Pu still didn't say a word and waited quietly outside the door.

It didn't take long for the door to be reopened, and an old servant poked his head out, and when he saw Zhou Pu, he immediately looked to the side again, and after making sure that no one was watching here, he beckoned to Zhou Pu, and then walked in with Zhou Pu.

Because Zhou Pu's dress and hairstyle were no different from ordinary samurai, although he knocked on the door according to the method left by Hashimoto Minoru beforehand, the servant was still full of doubts.

"Who are you?" He asked in a slightly wary tone.

"I'm an official of the Han Dynasty in Nagasaki Merchant House, and I'm here to visit you for the sake of your lord." Compared to them, Zhou Pu was much bolder, and he generously showed his identity, "This dress is just convenient for coming from Kyushu, please take me to meet your master." ”

When Zhou Pu revealed his identity, the old servant's eyes widened, and he carefully looked Zhou Pu back and forth a few times.

"Okay, you can't see the result if you look at it like this, take me to meet your master." Zhou Pu was a little impatient. "If I am a person with ill intentions towards you, why do I need to come and visit you kindly?"

After he scolded him like this, the old servant's face changed again, but seeing that Zhou Pu was still in his chest, he slowly felt that the other party was reasonable.

"Please come with me, my lord."

He turned around and led Zhou Pu through the carefully tended flowers and plants after the entrance, and walked into the house.

Japanese-style houses are all wooden structures, and wooden sliding doors are used to communicate with each other, so Zhou Pu changed into clogs in the house and came to the innermost part of the mansion. And at this time, Minoru Hashimoto was already waiting there early in the morning.

The Japanese garden is already cramped, and because the windows and doors are closed, the room is even darker, and the atmosphere suddenly becomes a little solemn.

Compared with his brother Hashimoto Minoru, Hashimoto Minoru is much more gentle, and because he often lives in the house, his complexion is much paler, coupled with his simple dress, Zhou Pu at first glance, he feels as if he is similar to the private school teacher in his youth, and he naturally has a sense of closeness.

The old servant walked up to him, and then respectfully told him what he had seen and heard just now, and like the old servant, Hashimoto Minoru had been looking at Zhou Pu at first, as if to confirm his identity. "Since you said that my brother called you, do you have any tokens with you?"

"Your brother is much bolder than you." Zhou Pu was a little impatient, so he knelt down directly, and then looked at each other quite arrogantly. "I came here after reading your letter of intercession, in order to help your brother, in order to save you, but you are still afraid of this and that, isn't it ridiculous? If you want a token, you don't, but you do have a letter. ”

As soon as he heard Zhou Pu actually talk about the national letter, Hashimoto Minoru roughly confirmed the identity of the other party in his heart - if the shogunate or other people really knew about these things, why should they test themselves again, it would be better to arrest them directly.

He reluctantly composed, then waved his hand to let the old servant beside him leave, and told him to keep an eye on the situation and not allow anyone to approach it.

"Contemptible Zhou Pu, the current observer envoy of the Han embassy in Nagasaki, because he received the envoys of your imperial court, and bitterly reported all kinds of examples of bullying in your imperial court, so he has compassion for the current situation of your imperial court, and wants to come to Kyoto to visit and see if it is true." After there were only two people left, Zhou Pu was still unhurried, "You should believe it now, right?" ”

Seeing that he actually said it so clearly, Hashimoto Minoru also retracted all his doubts, his face suddenly changed, and then he quickly knelt down to Zhou Pu.

"This ...... The angel arrived, and if you miss it, please forgive your sins! The matter is serious, and we can only be careful to guard against it, and if you are rude, please also ask the angel to forgive your sins. ”

"Since you are doing big things, you should be cautious, so what's wrong?" Zhou Pu didn't care, "You don't have to be formal." ”

"Thank you." Minoru Hashimoto raised his head again, and then asked with concern, "How is my brother's current condition?" ”

"He's fine now, he was sent out of Japan by us before I left for Kyoto, and now he's probably in the capital of our country." Zhou Pu smiled slightly, "Originally, we meant that he simply stayed in Nagasaki and waited for news, but he was responsible for his duties, eager to serve the country, and he wanted to go to our country and face the Son of Heaven to plead his case." As a last resort, we had no choice but to accede to his request. We put a lot of thought into getting him out of Japan safely......"

"So...... My brother is loyal, is he loyal to be rewarded......" After hearing this, Hashimoto suddenly burst into tears, "It is a great blessing to be able to meet the Son of Heaven of China!" ”

He was excited, not just because his brother had a chance to meet the Son of Heaven, but because he saw the attitude of the Great Han - if he were not interested in his proposal, there would be no need for these Great Han officials in Nagasaki to send him away with great dedication, although these Great Han officials may not be able to decide the affairs of the military state, but their attitude should be influential in the Chinese court.

If his mission is really successful, and everything goes as hoped, not only will the imperial court be able to take the opportunity to regain real rule over Japan, but even the Hashimoto family will be able to take this opportunity to rise to the occasion and become the most powerful family among the ministers, despite the current state of embarrassment......

"By the way, just now the angel said that a letter from my brother was brought over...... I wonder if the angel will give it to me? After a moment of excitement, Hashimoto finally regained his composure.

"The letter was meant to be given to you." Zhou Pu was still smiling, and then took out the letter written by Minoru Hashimoto from his arms and handed it to the other party, "However, don't call me an angel in the future, it sounds too strange, just call me Lord Zhou." ”

"Yes, yes." Minoru Hashimoto took the letter and opened it to read it.

Opening these letters, Hashimoto Minoru did not confirm the content first, but first looked at the handwriting on the letter, and then confirmed a few special marks and inscriptions, and then found that they were true one by one.

Then he read it carefully, and was so soon so shocked by its contents that his hands trembled slightly.

Zhou Pu naturally knew what was written in the letter for a long time, so he was not in a hurry at all, just knelt quietly to the side, carefully observing the other party's reaction.

Under his gaze, Hashimoto Minoru's originally pale face slowly turned red, and his hands trembled more and more, until finally, he reluctantly accepted the letter, and then raised his head to look at Zhou Pu.

"Lord Zhou, your country...... Did your country decide to defeat the shogunate before? ”

"Yes, in fact, it was under the order of the Son of Heaven that I came to Japan to contact the forces dissatisfied with the shogunate and unite to help us in our crusade against the shogunate." Zhou Pu nodded calmly, "So isn't that just right?" Your court wants to crusade against the shogunate, and we want to crusade against the shogunate, so we should naturally join forces. ”