He said this, first, to show that he recognized Liu Jing's efforts to develop influence in Japan over the years, and said that he was willing to explain his merits to the above; The other one also knocked on the side, telling him that he could communicate directly with the above, and that he was in charge of Japanese affairs, so that he would not have other thoughts in his heart, but would ruin a big thing.

"I understand that I will never live up to the expectations of the imperial court!" Liu Jing also solemnly assured Zhou Pu.

If he hadn't had other ambitions, he wouldn't have been able to stay in Japan for so many years. He has suffered a lot of anger in this position over the years, but he has also made a lot of benefits, if he wants to be a rich man, he can apply to return to China a few years earlier, but he has stayed here, in order to go further?

Now, this opportunity has finally come, and the imperial court finally intends to use troops against Japan. As long as the imperial court defeats Japan, whether Japan or the shogunate is in power at that time, he will no longer dare to disobey the orders of the Great Han, and at that time, he can really be powerful in Japan.

Therefore, whether it is for the court or for himself, he must do this errand well and assist the Lord Zhou sent by the imperial court to do a good job of attacking Japan.

However, although he knew that the imperial court was going to attack Japan, for the sake of secrecy and security, the imperial court did not tell him the specific details, and he did not know anything about the strategy of dispatching troops and even the prince's visit to Goryeo, and Zhou Pu did not plan to tell the other party.

Although Zhou Pu did not disbelieve in the other party's loyalty to the imperial court, he also knew that this Lord Liu had been in Japan for many years, and there were many involvements up and down.

"I'm here as a maritime merchant, but if you want to act here, you can't use that identity anymore." Zhou Pu thought of another question, "I have to bother Lord Liu for this." ”

"Lord Zhou don't have to worry, this problem, I was already prepared when I received the letter from China before," Liu Jing waved his hand, indicating that he didn't have to worry, "We have prepared an identity for adults in the mission, there happens to be a person in the mission who is about the same age and size as the adult, and has been in charge of the affairs of the mission, and has not often gone out to contact the Japanese, there are very few people who know him here in Nagasaki, and there is no one outside Nagasaki...... My lord is wronged, use his certificate, and we will use adults to contact the outside world during this time. But...... It's best to be careful when dealing with the Japanese, after all, there are many things that people in the mission don't want to participate in at will......"

The shogunate used a closed country policy, so the management of maritime merchants was very strict, and even the port of Nagasaki was very troublesome, but because they were responsible for the mediation of Sino-Japanese trade disputes, and at the same time responsible for maintaining relations with the Japanese shogunate and the daimyos, the people of the mission had a certain freedom of movement, and the Japanese shogunate did not control them very strictly, and the Nagasaki government also issued special passes to them.

This arrangement, from the perspective of the Han side, is obviously too big and the management is too negligent. However, the Japanese did not care, because in the past two thousand years, only the Great Yuan Dynasty of the dynasty on the mainland crossed the sea to invade Japan, and the Han Dynasty had never done such a thing, and the relationship between the Han Dynasty and Japan in the past few years was not bad, and the economic and trade exchanges were even more frequent, and the Japanese could not imagine that there would be such a catastrophe waiting for them.

Although the Han Dynasty has been conquering everywhere since its establishment, the island nation has not directly felt this, nor can it feel the true strength of the Han Dynasty. At this time, the whole of Japan was isolated from the rest of the world due to the Tokugawa shogunate's policy of seclusion, and they could not hear or want to hear what was happening outside, enjoying the peace after the Warring States period.

However, this closed calm will eventually be broken one day, sooner or later.

"I can't thank you enough for taking such a pain." Zhou Pu thanked the shrewd and capable official again, and unconsciously said in a much more polite tone, "Please rest assured, I will be cautious and careful before I come into contact with the Japanese, and I will not let the efforts of the adults go to waste." ”

Then, after carefully admonishing Zhou Pu a few more words, Liu Jing and Zhou Pu said goodbye and encouraged each other and walked out of the room.

As soon as Liu Jing walked out, the tension in his heart was finally relieved a lot. To be honest, when encountering such a big thing, even if you are usually shrewd and capable, you will inevitably be a little afraid and nervous, but you are just forced to calm down.

When he arrived at the office, his attendant told him unexpected news.

Representatives of the Dutch merchant embassy came to the embassy to ask to see him.

"What are they doing when they come to see me?" Liu Jing asked in surprise.

"I said I had some important things to ask for help." The attendant replied respectfully, "But they didn't say what it was for, they just said that it was a big deal and needed to meet with your lord......"

"These Dutchmen, it's really strange......"

Liu Jing wanted to refuse at first, but after thinking about it for a while, he decided to meet these Dutch who suddenly arrived to see what they were planning. "Well, let's meet them."

When he arrived at the flower hall where he usually received his guests, he found that the Dutch who had come to him turned out to be a familiar face, William Gozett, the Dutch representative in the port of Nagasaki and a senior employee of the Dutch East India Company.

The Dutch trading houses were in the Hirado Domain, and they did not have a direct presence in Nagasaki, but since the Dutch trade with Japan was now largely through Nagasaki, they also had some trade representatives in Nagasaki. However, Liu Jing heard that the Dutch were secretly also moving to move the trading houses of the Hirado Domain to Nagasaki to adapt to the fact that Nagasaki had replaced Hirado, of course, this was just a rumor.

Gozette was a tall, middle-aged man with gray hair, an angular face, a very burly figure, and because he was a sailor, his arms were very strong, and he looked like a powerful man. Because he has been adrift at sea for many years, his complexion is not bronzed, but at this time his face is full of smiles, not at all like a businessman who has experienced an unknown number of battles at sea.

Like Liu Jing, Gozette was also stationed in Japan and was responsible for trade negotiations with Japan, so in the past few years, people on both sides have been in contact with each other, and they have known each other several times back and forth, which can be regarded as a little friendship - of course, people on both sides are just friendly with each other in the nature of businessmen, and there is not much sincerity inside.

As soon as he saw that it was this old acquaintance, Liu Jing, who had a straight face, also put on a smile on his face and greeted him in the Japanese language shared by the two of them when they communicated. "Mr. Gozette, I haven't seen you for many days, what is the matter with me?"

He'd always felt awkward to call it a name, but over the years he had gotten used to it.

"Mr. Liu," William Gozett spread his hand exaggeratedly, "we have come here for your request, and we need your help on a very important matter. ”

"Please speak, please speak." Liu Jing asked him to sit down while looking at the other party with just the right amount of curiosity. "Everyone should help each other when they go abroad to do business together, if there is anything we can do to help you, just ask."

"Actually, this should be very important to your country as well." Gozette sat down, the cramped chair didn't even seem to fit the burly body, "We have recently received a report from our merchants, and there has been news from the company's side, that the harassment of pirates has suddenly become much more frequent on the trade routes to Japan, and their equipment and firepower have been enhanced, which has caused a lot of losses to our merchant ships. I would like to ask, has Mr. Liu received similar feedback recently? ”

Liu Jing knew in his heart that these pirates were deliberately sent out by the Han himself.

Since the previous year's meeting agreed on the strategy of driving away passing merchant ships by intensifying the harassment of pirates and assembling naval ships in the name of combating piracy, the leading generals of the Navy Military and Political Department did not dare to slack off, and after a while, they formulated corresponding plans and arrangements, and then secretly issued orders.

In the establishment of the navy, there are many officers and soldiers who were previously recruited from Zheng Zhilong's fleet, and they were used to doing the technology of doing business when they followed this sea giant, and they were naturally familiar with the old business, and the navy has been fighting against pirates at sea for many years, and many of them are familiar with the habits and combat methods of pirates, and even captured many pirate ships.

After receiving the order, the North Sea Fleet quickly secretly organized a group of officers and men to disguise themselves as pirates, and then began to loot at sea, especially those merchant ships that went north to Japan, which were the key targets.

Since the establishment of the Han Dynasty, because of the severe crackdown of the Han Navy for many years, the sea has been a lot more peaceful over the years, and the passing merchant ships have also relaxed their vigilance. As a result, after these "pirates" manipulated those specially sealed pirate ships to go to sea, they caused great results from the beginning, and the merchant ships of various countries in the depths of the ocean suffered many disasters.

After several attacks, Dutch merchant ships suffered terribly, and the news reached the Dutch East India Company in Batavia. The officers and governors of the East India Company were shocked when they heard the news, because the trade between Batavia and China and Japan was very important to the company, and it was arguably one of the most lucrative routes for the company, which could not be missed.

However, although they were very worried, they could not come up with a solution to these pirates for a while.

In this case, firstly, because of the war with Spain, the current strength of the East India Company has been greatly damaged, and it is difficult to transfer a detachment from the current fleet to clear the pirates in those sea areas.