As soon as he entered, Zhou Pu found that the wine and food had been placed on it, because he was already hungry, so he was not polite, and sat directly on it and began to eat.

And Liu Jing also sat down with him, but he didn't move his chopsticks, just watched and couldn't help but think deeply.

"Hey, Lord Zhou, I'll be honest with you, we are looking forward to the stars and the moon, and now the court has finally made up its mind!" After a while, he suddenly sighed, "We have long thought about asking the imperial court to teach Japan a lesson!" ”

Because he is a trade representative, Liu Jing needs to deal with many things related to disputes between Chinese and Japanese businessmen, and he often has to socialize with Japanese officials, both of which need to be dealt with, and sometimes he even has to eat the faces of the Japanese. But because of the heavy responsibility, I have to endure.

To tell the truth, he has long been very impatient with these Japanese, and has suggested to the country several times that some harsh measures should be taken against the Japanese, but he didn't expect that now, the imperial court has really decided to do this, how can this not make him cheer?

"Lord Liu has been in Japan for a long time, and he is familiar with the situation in Japan, and he has to worry about this matter." Zhou Pu sandwiched a few more pieces of meat for himself, and then took advantage of the time to say, "Your Majesty wants to attack Japan, but this preparation must not be neglected, I will be rewarded for doing well, and it will be difficult to explain to the country if I don't do well." ”

"Lord Zhou, please rest assured, you will naturally save it in the next place!" Liu Jing said again and again, "In the next moment, I will personally lead people to survey the terrain of Kyushu in various names, and report the preparedness situation in various places." ”

"That's very good." Zhou Pu nodded, "In addition, I have to contact the feudal lords who are not on good terms with the shogunate, and ask the adults to help." ”

"This will naturally help, but I don't know who the adults want to contact?" Liu Jing asked.

"I decided to contact the Shimazu family, but if you have any other reliable candidates, you can also tell me, after all, the more people we can contact, the better." Zhou Pu replied, "I don't know if adults have any suggestions?" ”

Liu Jing groaned for a moment.

"Among the wealthy families in Kyushu, some of them relied on the shogunate to prosper, and these people are not enough to rely on; Although some people are dissatisfied with the shogunate, but they are weak or timid, these people are still not enough to rely on, and the choice of Shimazu is the right one, Shimazu Tadashi has been on the battlefield, has courage, and because of the repeated encroachment of the shogunate on the family business, the opinion of the shogunate is also very great...... is indeed a good candidate, it can be seen that the adults have really participated in the study in detail. ”

After putting on a top hat for Zhou Pu first, he said the result he thought of, "I also thought about it for a while before I went down, in addition to Shimazu, I also thought of a family in Xia." It is for the Matsuura family. ”

"Matsuura?" Zhou Pu frowned slightly, and searched from his memory, "But the Matsuura family, the lord of the Hirado Domain?" ”

"Exactly." Liu Jing nodded, "This Songpu family has a lot of business because of the relationship between the previous opening of the sea, if it can participate in our major events, it will definitely be of great help." In addition, because of the relationship between the Tokugawa shogunate and repeated suppression, he was also very dissatisfied with the shogunate, and it can even be said that he had a deep hatred......"

Next, he introduced Zhou Pu to the situation of the Matsuura family, the lord of the Hirado domain.

Matsuura was a daimyo of Hizen Province in Kyushu, and the current lord of the Hirado domain was called Takanobu Matsuura, and his great-grandfather was also called Takanobu Matsuura, and it was under the rule of the great-grandfather of this feudal lord that the Hirado Domain opened its port.

At that time, Hirado Port was also the first to be settled by Portuguese merchants, but later due to a dispute between Japanese merchants and Catholics, and Matsuura Takanobu of that generation was very disgusted with Catholicism, Hirado Port expelled these Portuguese and changed to trade with the Dutch, and the Dutch also established trading houses in the Hirado Domain, and the Matsuura family and the Hirado Domain also gained great financial resources.

However, the good times did not last long, and in the time of Takanobu's son, Matsuura Jinnobu, after the Tokugawa shogunate unified Japan, they suppressed the powerful daimyo in various places, and planned to monopolize foreign trade in the hands of the shogunate, so that other daimyo would not have the opportunity to use the sea trade to strengthen themselves. The port of Hirado soon became the target of their suppression, although with the efforts of Matsuura Zhenxin, the Hirado clan barely retained the Dutch trading hall and a certain amount of trade power, but the trade income could only be transferred to the hands of the shogunate, Matsuura Zhenxin was also disheartened after the shogunate's many suppressions, and passed the position of the feudal lord to his son Matsuura Hisanobu, and he became a monk himself, and the legal name was Hochi.

Therefore, the current lord of the Hirado domain, Matsuura Takanobu, can have a hatred for the shogunate to seize wealth. Not only that, but he also had a hatred for killing his father with the shogunate - his father Matsuura Hisanobu was forcibly left in Kyoto by the shogunate after the shogunate unified Japan, and was not allowed to return to the territory, under years of resentment, he finally couldn't bear it one day and chose to commit suicide by caesarean section, when he was only 32 years old, and his 12-year-old son Matsuura Takanobu inherited the position of family governor and became the current feudal lord.

Jinshin and Kushin are now dead, but the hatred they left behind must have been transmitted to Matsuura Takashi's faith, but he was afraid of the prestige of the shogunate and did not dare to show it, and if he could get strong support, there would be a place for this hatred to vent.

"This person is available!" After listening to the deeds of Matsuura Takanobu's family, Zhou Pu immediately made a judgment, "My lord is really familiar with the inside of Japan!" ”

When he was running a maritime business before, he didn't know much about the political situation in Japan, and most of them were not very clear, so the famous Shimazu family knew a little more, but now with the help of Liu Jing, it is much more convenient.

"Where, where, just a little bit of it...... It's best if you can help adults. Liu Jing waved his hand again and again to show his humility, "My lord, let's just do this, let's contact the Shimazu family first, and then I will go to inquire about the situation of the Matsuura family first, as long as there is a chance, let's contact them again!" ”

"Okay, just do it." Zhou Pu immediately agreed to his strategy, "However, ...... Now that I want to contact the Shimazu family, do you have any reliable channels? ”

"The Shimazu family was the great enemy of the shogunate before, and the shogunate can be said to be strictly guarded against them, and if it is a completely reliable channel, there is no such thing as a completely reliable channel." Liu Jing shook his head and said that he couldn't do everything, "It's a big matter, and it's impossible for me to explain the situation to the intermediary, so I can only make it clear to Shimazu Tadashi in person." ”

"That's just as well." Zhou Pu frowned slightly, obviously making trouble for this matter.

"How is Shimazu Tadashi doing now?"

"Because he was punished by the shogunate, he had to bow down to the Tokugawa family, so he was very depressed, and his health has not been very good over the years, and he has always lived in the territory of the Satsuma Domain, and he has not seen many people." Liu Jing said what he knew, "Moreover, his son was also placed in Edo by the shogunate, and this matter has to be considered......"

The Satsuma Domain was the fundamental place of the Shimazu family, and after the shogunate unified Japan, it still recognized the fait accompli and gave the domain to Shimazu Tadashi, so that the family served as the lord of the domain for generations.

However, of course, the shogunate was not unguarded against the Shimazu family, and under the rules of the shogunate, Shimazu Tadashi put his son, Shimazu Tadashimoto, into Edo Castle as a hostage, where he was granted his favoritism by the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu and renamed Shimazu Mitsuhisa. He was only 8 years old when he went to Edo, and now almost ten years have passed.

Based on the lessons learned from his own beginnings, the shogunate was very strict with the foreign daimyo in various places, and often took various punishments to weaken them and deprive them of their territory at every turn. In addition, the shogunate would have local daimyo send their sons or relatives hostage to Edo in order to dispel their resentment.

There are even rumors that the shogun is planning to enact a policy in the near future that requires feudal lords from all over the world to come to Edo Castle on a regular basis to live in turn.

"It's so high-pressure, so arrogant, it's no wonder that the daimyo everywhere are rebellious...... This shogunate is really harsh! After listening to Liu Jing's narration, Zhou Pu couldn't help but sigh, "I think that Shimazu Zhongheng is also a person who has been on the battlefield and served as a family governor, since he has done great things, he may not see a son as much as family business and revenge, right?" ”

"My lord's words are reasonable, Shimazu Tadashi has more than a dozen sons, and the prince is a hostage in Edo Castle, but there are still many sons who stay by his side, and I don't think he will be particularly jealous." Liu Jing also nodded in agreement with Zhou Pu's opinion, "However, after all, the love of parents in the world is deep, and this matter has to be considered......

"Lord Liu's words, I understand, I will carefully observe Shimazu Tadashi, and I will not talk to him until I am sure, so as not to spoil the big thing." Zhou Pu immediately agreed with him.

He said as he ate, and soon he was almost done.

"My lord, the rest place has been prepared, do you want to go and take a break?" Seeing that he had finished eating, Liu Jing asked again.

"No, there's still a lot to do, but I can't rest!" Zhou Pu shook his head, and then stood up, "Lord Liu has worked hard in Japan for many years, so it's really troublesome. You can rest assured, I will return to the country at any time, and I will truthfully tell the merits of the domestic adults in the report, the court has been generous, and will never treat the meritorious ministers slowly, and now the situation has reached a critical moment, please continue to share the worries of the court! ”