"General, I have understood what you mean, please believe that your country is at war with other countries, and I, as a Dutchman, have absolutely no intention of interfering, nor will I stand next to any Japanese to confront your army." Gozette first expressed his neutrality, and then put forward his own conditions, "but ...... As you may know, Japan and Japan have always had close business ties, and we still have trading houses in the Hirado Domain, where many of us have lived for decades, I ...... May I take the liberty of begging you, ordering your soldiers not to threaten our property there? ”

"We have no intention of destroying the property of your merchants." After listening to the translation, Zhao Song immediately replied, "But a war is a war, and if we have to fight in the Hirado Domain, then we can't guarantee that we will not harm the property of your merchants." Therefore, for the sake of everyone, I suggest that you consult with the lord of the Hirado domain when you go back, and advise him to remain as neutral as your merchants in the war, and not have to come to war with us for the sake of the shogunate. ”

"This ...... We do not want to interfere in Japan's internal affairs. Gozette felt a little embarrassed, "The decision of the feudal lord is not something we can control. ”

"Then please work hard, otherwise we can't guarantee how things will develop." Zhao Song waved his hand impatiently, "Okay, do you have any other requirements?" I'm running out for time. ”

"I already understand the general's requirements...... We will work hard to preserve our property. Gozette frowned and pondered for a moment, then bowed to him, "At such a moment, I ask you to be merciful and allow us to send several ships to bring the merchants who are unwilling to stay back to Batavia, and to report the news to the top of our company. ”

Zhao Song didn't answer, but looked at Cai De, who nodded slightly.

"Okay, then promise you, we can allow you to leave Japan, but under the banner." Zede immediately said to Gozett. "By the way, I have one more request, now that we are at war with the shogunate, we don't want you to provide any help to the shogunate, and we can't sell arms. If we detect a merchant ship coming to Japan during the war, we will always warn it, and if we don't heed it, we will treat it as an enemy ship and sink it if necessary. Therefore you who go back to Batavia had better tell them about it as well, lest any merchant ship be innocently suffered! ”

Such an arrogant request made Gozett's face suddenly turn pale.

"This requirement...... It's been too difficult for us, two generals, and as you all know, our company has always had a long-standing and stable trade relationship with Japan......"

"Now that the two countries are at war, the shogunate is already in a hurry, where is there any effort to buy your country's things, even if they are sent over, what's the use?" Zhao Song frowned, "This is not our request, this is our order." During this period of time, if there are any things that your country needs that you can buy from our country, our country is vast and rich in products, and it must be able to meet the needs of your country. ”

Such a strict request made Gozette feel very embarrassed, but he also knew that he did not have any opportunity to refuse the other party's conditions now, and could only find a way to return to Batavia first and see what the company's top management thought.

"Okay, I'll relay your country's request to the company." He looked at Zhao Song cautiously, "Then, I want to ask you again...... Can we resume trade with Japan after the war is over? ”

"After the war is over, everything can return to normal, and we just want to punish the shogunate for being too disrespectful to us." Zhao Song replied very seriously.

However, these words were not at all true, because the Council of State in which he participated at that time had already decided to carry out exclusive trade to monopolize Japan's trade routes after the war.

"I see what you mean, thank you, General." Gozette thanked him again.

"Okay, I have limited time here, and I have to continue to attack, if there are no other requirements, then you can go back." Zhao Song was a little impatient.

"Okay, General, I won't delay your precious time, goodbye." Gozette saw that the general did not want to talk to him any longer, so he interrupted the meeting, and then left the Songshan with his attachés, and rowed back to the Dutch merchant ship, where they would at once rush back to the merchant house and tell the terrible news to the merchants in the merchant house, as well as to the lord of Hirado.

After leaving the Dutch behind, the fleet was back on its way to Nagasaki, and by the time they had gathered off the coast of Nagasaki, it was already evening.

At this time, both Naito Tadashige and Soga Koyu had received the news that the Han army had attacked Kyushu and landed in Hakata Bay.

The sonata, the lord of the Fukuoka Domain, Kuroda Tadayuki, may have been frightened, but he wrote very fiercely in the song, and the Xuancheng Mahan sent an unprecedented naval fleet, and the artillery fire was so intense that he destroyed their fort in Hakata Bay at the first time, and crushed the feudal soldiers who were ambushed in the interior, leaving them unable to resist. Now that Hakata Bay had fallen and the Han army had occupied the previous fort, it was impossible to resist the military forces of the domain alone from continuing to push towards Fukuoka, so I asked Nagasaki to send a large army to reinforce the Fukuoka domain. His panic and fear could be seen in his words.

After reading this report, the two of them were a little speechless for a while.

They were eager to reinforce the Fukuoka Domain, but now that Nagasaki's defenses were a little tight, how could they send a large army to reinforce them?

Nagasaki is a very important port, and it is also the city that they are now holding onto, and they cannot relax in the slightest.

"I didn't expect the big man to hit so easily." After a while, Zeng I Guyou sighed and said something that was already meaningless.

"That's to be expected." Naito Tadashi looked much calmer, "The ships of the Great Han are strong and sharp, and sure enough, with their naval gunboats, with such sharp artillery support, we can't fight them on the coastline, and we can't beat them at all." Now that the feudal domains have been peaceful for a long time, and their armaments have been decadent, how can they withstand such artillery fire? ”

When he said that he couldn't defeat it at all, he felt a little bitter in his heart, because it was precisely because the shogunate restricted the power of the feudal domains so strictly, that the shogunate's defense force in Kyushu became so weak...... I knew I shouldn't have done it so desperately.

But what's the use of saying that you know earlier?

"Nagasaki is also on the open sea." Zeng I Guyou said thoughtlessly.

"Then we'll have to go according to the plan." Naito Tadashige frowned, "Are you ready to set fires everywhere?" ”

According to the previous discussion between the two of them, both of them did not have confidence in the Han army, which had the advantage of both land and sea in the port of Nagasaki, and thought that it would be very unwise to fight the Han at the seaside, so they decided to resist only a certain degree in Nagasaki, and when the situation was not good, they would retreat to the Kurume Domain in the interior and use the castle to resist. At the same time, in order to prevent the Han from taking Nagasaki easily and turning it into a base for further aggression, it was necessary to burn Nagasaki to the ground and destroy all the port facilities when the Han attacked.

"It's pretty much done." Zeng Gu You's face was still very gloomy, "The rest of the stubborn people can't take care of them." ”

They had spent several days expelling the civilians of Nagasaki before, and most of the civilians were driven away by them even if they were unwilling, and they were driven to the wilderness outside Nagasaki City, and some civilians were really reluctant to have their family business, so they stayed in Nagasaki City to hide with a fluke mentality, because they had to pay attention to the defense, so Zeng I Guyou and his subordinates didn't bother to search for this group of people.

By the time they started setting fires all over Nagasaki, they would probably not be able to survive.

"Sooner or later, we will have to withdraw from Nagasaki, but we must not let up our resistance here, and we must go all out." Naito Tadashige didn't want to overdo those civilians at all, "The ships of the Great Han are strong and powerful, and we can't match them, but the bravery and will of our samurai are incomparable." In the middle of the city, the streets are narrow and the houses are very favorable, and the terrain is very favorable to us, and they cannot make use of their muskets and artillery, so we must resist here desperately, killing as many people as possible. ”

"That's rightfully ...... I will stay here and fight with everyone, live up to my family name, and live up to the trust of the general. Zeng I Guyou raised his head, his face full of excitement, "It's you, the old man...... You'd better go back to Kurume first, set up defenses there, and prepare military supplies for us. ”

"No way!" Naito Tadashige directly vetoed Soga Koyu's advice, "I am the highest official of the shogunate in Kyushu now, and now that the two armies are not at war, how can I escape alone?!" I'm going to stay here and personally supervise the battle, and then retreat together when everyone can't hold it anymore. ”

While they were still talking, an attendant walked in and reported that their Great Han's naval fleet had come to the open sea of Nagasaki to assemble.

"Is it finally here......" Naito Tadashige looked up blankly at the void outside the window.

At this moment, with a loud bang, the rumbling cannon sound resounded, and then the collapse of the walled house, which shook the ground as if it were trembling.

"Old and middle-aged adults, please supervise the battle outside the city, I will bring my own army and fight to the death with the Han thieves!" He shouted loudly, and the attendants led him to his horse, and then he disappeared into the streets of the city with the attendants.

Compared to him, Naito Tadashi seemed much calmer, and he drank the tea on the desk unhurriedly, and then stood up amid the incessant rumbling.

Then he stepped out of the door, mounted his horse, and galloped in the opposite direction from which he had left.

According to the predetermined plan, the next Zeng I Guyou will be responsible for commanding the soldiers in the city for a long time to resist the Han army, while Naito Tadashige will supervise the battle outside the city and be responsible for the supply and transportation in the rear, they do not expect to be able to resist for a long time, but to kill and wound more Han soldiers, and make this port no longer available to the Han.

He rode his horseback with his attendants and soon came to a hill on the outskirts of the castle, which was highly regarded from the outset as the way between Nagasaki Castle and the Kurume Domain.

It was already ten o'clock in the evening, and the golden light had colored the earth with an illusory color, and Naito Tadashige went to the top of the mountain and picked up a telescope.

This telescope is very exquisitely made, carved and golden, and is very valuable, and it is made by the special Seiko of Dahan, and it was originally Naito's favorite object. However, now when he was playing with the telescope in his hand, Naito Tadashige smiled bitterly.

Guns, binoculars, warships, if only Japan could make these things.

This thought did not last long, and he immediately interrupted the thought, raised his binoculars, and looked at the distant shore.

The sky was already dark, the golden ocean and the golden sky were mixed together, and in a blurred ocean, some vague black outlines appeared in front of him, like monsters that had just been released from the demon cave.

From time to time, these monsters roared, and then there was a burst of brilliance, and countless cannonballs whistled towards the port of Nagasaki, and when they hit the ground, they made an even more terrible sound, which made people's hearts palpitate.

Nagasaki's batteries were also firing back, but their artillery fire was very weak, and the range could not be compared with the warships of the Han Dynasty, so they could not bring much hindrance to the Han Dynasty's artillery fire, but became the target of the Han Navy's shelling, and they were bombarded all the time, and under the repeated ravages of the artillery fire, they became miserable, and they could no longer see their original appearance.

Looking at this scene, although he had been mentally prepared for a long time, Naito Tadashige's heart was still a little tight, and his hand holding the telescope turned white.

If we had a cannon as good as theirs, how could this happen! His heart was filled with sorrow.

As an elder, he originally thought that his people could govern the country even if it was not perfect, at least they could do it, maintaining the rule of the shogunate, weakening the unruly feudal lords, and allowing the world to bid farewell to the peace of the Warring States. As a result, when I look at it now, there are too many things that have not been done well, and there are too many of them......

Because of shame and anger, his heart was blocked for a while, his eyes were black, and he almost fainted, but he finally stabilized his footing with the support of the attendants.

The messenger who reported to the shogunate had already been dispatched, so I wonder what the shogun should think after seeing his report.

At this moment, the sky was getting darker and darker, and the sun finally set on the western ocean in front of him, and as the golden light finally disappeared, they were all hidden in the darkness, and the big Han ships on the ocean could no longer see clearly, only darkness.

However, with each round of shelling of these ships, with the light of gunpowder, these ships were clearly visible, as if alternating between day and night.

"It's already night, give the order to go down, let the armies rest for the time being." Zhao Song, who was standing on the deck of the Songshan, put away his telescope. "Let's get ready to eat, but the cannon still has to continue to fight, and we can't stop."

This afternoon's shelling was still quite satisfactory to him, basically destroying the batteries that were still fighting back, and now the port of Nagasaki had little room to fight back in front of them.

After a round of shelling, the coast of Nagasaki also suffered serious damage, and most of the Japanese-Western-style buildings on the coast were destroyed by the bombardment of shells, and because of the flames caused by the heat of the shells, the wooden houses on the coast were soon set on fire, and no one came to extinguish the flames that rushed to the sky, so the fire grew bigger and bigger, illuminating the opposite coast.

However, now that it was night, he did not want to send troops to land directly and occupy the port city. The battle in the dark night is not conducive to the big man to play to his advantage, but will increase the risk of accidental injury, so just wait another day. All that remains to do now is to continue to show off the strength of the Great Han with artillery bombardment and destroy the confidence of those defenders.

"Zhao Shuai, please let our troops land tomorrow morning, and take this city for Zhao Shuai!" At this moment, one of his subordinates, Ma Tongji, a member of the regiment and the Julu Houma Chonghao, came to his side to ask for battle. "Our soldiers are now gearing up, waiting to make meritorious contributions to the country, and it won't be long before we can ...... the city of Nagasaki."

Bi Su's performance today made him feel a little hot, so he hoped that he could also take a share of the credit, such an easy landing and victory on Hakata Bay also made this young man proud, feeling that these Japanese combat strength was too weak to be taken too seriously.

"What? Is it arrogant at this time? Zhao Song glanced at this junior, and he was so frightened that he immediately stopped. Although the shogunate is old and weak, the size is there after all, and there are many loyal ministers and righteous people in it, so remember not to take it lightly. The narrow streets and alleys of Nagasaki make it difficult to make use of our army's strengths, so it is necessary to be cautious and not to act arbitrarily. ”

"Where can they resist now?" Ma Tongji was a little unconvinced, he looked up at the skyrocketing fire on the shore of Nagasaki Port, he didn't believe that there were still people who could survive here and resist his troops, "Seeing such artillery fire, they should have been frightened a long time ago......

"In the face of the enemy, it is better to overestimate than to underestimate, the current artillery bombardment looks quite loud, but it has not been able to kill and wound many of them, it seems that there are still a lot of defenders in the city, if we rush into it like this, they can still give us a lot of casualties if they have a high fighting spirit." Zhao Song shook his head, "There are only a few thousand of us, and the lives of every soldier are very precious, and they must not be wasted easily." ”

"What does Zhao Shuai mean, what should we do?" Ma Tongji was a little puzzled.