With the death of Mizuno Katsunari, the entire army of his domain was also annihilated, and after the power of the domain army was annihilated, the resistance of the Fukuyama domain was quickly quelled. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Although a small number of samurai have been displaced to the people, causing some minor disturbances, they no longer have any influence on the overall situation.

Because many people had fled the countryside, the surrounding countryside had become much more sparsely populated, but the rest of the people did not cause any hindrance to the Han army, they carefully hid, and when the crossing army had finished looting, they returned to the land where they once lived and cultivated, and continued their original lives as if nothing had happened.

For a long time, these peasants have been subjected to very severe oppression for generations, so they have no affection for the lord and the shogunate, and the reason why they fled is only for fear of being killed by the Han army, and they do not feel that these things of the Han, the court, and the shogunate have anything to do with them.

When the Han army showed that they had no interest in slaughtering civilians and only occasionally engaged in "normal" looting, the peasants put aside their fears and hesitations and returned to the land, and even some of the refugees who had fled before returned to the domain to cultivate their own land - after all, for these peasants, the land was everything, and the anxiety of the approaching harvest season could overcome all fears.

After occupying the territory of the Fukuyama Domain, the Han army also chose to stand still for the time being, intending to rest for a few days before re-advancing. They stopped, of course, because the army had been marching for days and had just fought, so they needed to rest and recuperate, and also because it was also for the sake of stabilizing the supply lines in the rear.

During these periods, they marched smoothly all the way, but they also lengthened the distance from the base Choshu Domain, so there were some problems with logistics and supplies, and the supply of grain and grass became intermittent. At the same time, the logistics of the army were also disrupted by the fact that the ronin warriors had fled into the mountains and forests - these people were short of food and clothing, and whether out of hatred for the Han or out of their own needs, they would go to plunder the supply teams behind the army.

It was for these reasons that at the suggestion of Huang Changguo, Zhou Pu ordered the army to be temporarily stopped, and then sent troops everywhere to clear out the bandits in the mountains.

And in the course of these days, he also received a continuous stream of reports from the rear. Most of this information was good news - as they set out from the border of the Zhou Province and attacked north, the army of the Mori clan also set out from the border of the Nagato Province and invaded the Iwami Province.

Iwami Province was the direct domain of the shogunate, but due to the lack of defense forces, the offensive of the Mori army was very smooth, and soon penetrated the territory, and took Iwami Ginzan into his own hands. At the same time, the important officials of the imperial court, who were hidden in the mountains of Iwami Province, also took advantage of this opportunity to join the Maori feudal army, and finally ended their uneasy escape journey.

The official arrival of the imperial court in the hands of the Han and the Maori family also gave the Han even more appeal, and just recently, a large number of inscriptions continued to be printed, calling on the daimyo of the world to rise up against the shogunate.

And just as he was taking a break from the army, a special group of people also came to his barracks.

This group of people had just arrived from the capital of the Han Dynasty, some of them were officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the other was the envoy Hashimoto Minoru who had been sent to the Han Dynasty by the Japanese Imperial Court.

Hashimoto Minoru was sent to the Han by Zhou Pu before, and negotiated with the Han court, after the Han war against the Japanese shogunate, Hashimoto Minoru was also sent back by the Han, accompanied by the officials of the Han.

The official named Mu Yannian is also about the same age as Zhou Pu, and the relationship between the two of them as colleagues was not bad before, but because they are both cutting-edge, there is also a secret competition between the two people.

But now, the situation is completely different, Zhou Pu received the blue eyes of His Majesty, and was entrusted with a heavy task by him, and he really made such a great contribution single-handedly, now he has no way to compete with Zhou Pu anymore, in fact, an important task for him this time is to show credit for this colleague.

The Han Dynasty has always been very generous to meritorious officials, as long as they make meritorious contributions, they have always been rewarded, and Zhou Pu has made such a great meritorious service, and he will naturally not be left behind, and the imperial court has promoted him to an official and made him the deputy director of the Department of Foreign Affairs. has been promoted to the official rank, so now for Mu Yannian, Zhou Pu is already one of his bosses, the youngest deputy director in the official office, and the future is promising, he can no longer treat him in the same way as before.

What's more, he had heard some gossip among the officials that as long as the war ended smoothly and he didn't make any big mistakes, the imperial court would knight him and make him a member of the Han Dynasty.

According to the tacit agreement reached between Zhou Pu and the Japanese court, after the end of the war, the Han Dynasty needed to send some officials to assist the Japanese court in stabilizing the territory it had obtained, and the Han did have the need to stabilize the occupied area to facilitate the mobilization of the army, so he also agreed to this request.

Mu Yannian and others are the first batch of these officials, they are all people who were in charge of Japan-related affairs before the Foreign Affairs Department, and they have some knowledge of Japan, and they will help Zhou Pu stabilize his place in the process of advancing all the way.

"Lord Zhou, I haven't seen you for many days, and your demeanor is better than in the past!" After meeting, he bowed respectfully and saluted Zhou Pu, "Your Excellency has made such great contributions to the country in the past few months, and your colleagues have admired you!" ”

"Where, where. I'm just contributing to the country, what's the difference between me and others? Zhou Pu just shook his head lightly and denied it with a smile. It not only seems modest, but also puts a big shelf on the side. "You've worked hard, you've come all the way here, the conditions here are poor, I can't entertain you well, I'm really sorry!"

"Don't say such things, adults!" Mu Yannian hurriedly said, "My lord took so much risk before, and he didn't complain after suffering so much, I still have good food and drink when I come here, what can I complain about?" My lord, this time we are here to assist you in your errands, you can take care of yourself, and you don't need to worry about us, as long as you can do the tasks arranged by the peak with peace of mind......"

"What you said is very good, everyone comes to a foreign country, they are all fellow travelers, we don't take care of each other and support each other, who else can help us?" Of course, Zhou Pu will not say nothing at all, "Although I don't have good tea and good food here, but I have collected a lot of materials all the way to the army, and I will allocate some to you when I go back, so that you can do things conveniently." ”

"Your Excellency...... This...... Isn't that right? "Everyone is an official of the same dynasty, and they understand each other, what is the hidden meaning of this allocation of materials, Mu Yannian naturally understands it very well.

"What's good or bad? You need to do this now, where do you have so much to worry about? Zhou Pu said with a smile, "It's just a newcomer, and you will definitely have a lot of affairs, all aspects of the place have to be taken care of, there are always some things that need to be used for money, so what's the point of taking a sum of money?" ”

During this time, he marched all the way into the army, and his subordinates were also looting everywhere, and the army would naturally have the rules of the army, and he didn't need to open his own mouth, so he would naturally send most of the best things below. Therefore, he now has a lot of gold, silver, and goods in his military tent.

He was originally a generous person, but now it is a special period, so he was not stingy at all, and spent all this money, part of which was given to the people around him to reward their hard work; A part of it was given as a bounty to the troops who had made meritorious contributions in battle, so that the whole body was very satisfied with him, and felt that the envoy was indeed very generous.

And Mu Yannian's gang came over, so he naturally would not be stingy, and still had a good relationship with these colleagues according to the previous practice.

He knew that as long as the war went well, he would be the emperor of Japan in the future, and at that time, the gold and silver seas would flow under his feet, so why should he care about such a small amount of money now.

And Mu Yannian and the others had long known the fact that Japan was rich in gold and silver, and they had already had the idea of making a fortune in their hearts before they came, and seeing Zhou Pu so generous, they were naturally grateful to him.

At this time, the atmosphere on both sides was more harmonious, and the topic naturally turned back to China.

"Lord Zhou, the imperial court is very satisfied with all the achievements you have done before, this time I came over, and Lord Kong also specially told me, as long as you make persistent efforts, you can sit in his seat in the future." As he spoke, Mu Yannian looked at him with envy. "Master Kong asked me to explain to you, although the previous thing is very smooth, but the next thing is also very important, and it must be carefully executed......

This is not a lie, Zhou Pu is so favored at such a young age, and has such great merits, it is inevitable that he will be promoted all the way in the future, even if he takes over the entire Foreign Affairs Department in ten or twenty years - maybe at that time the Foreign Affairs Department has become the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he can become a ministry official.

"Tell me more?" Zhou Pu didn't dare to slack off, and immediately asked.

"Lord Zhou, the meaning of the imperial court is also very clear, we must ensure that after the war, all parties in Japan have scruples, contain each other, and have to rely on us to check and balance, so we should also work in this direction next......" He turned his head to look outside the tent, and continued to talk when he was sure that no one could eavesdrop.

"The Japanese imperial court wants to use us to train a group of magistrates, so that they can directly control the territory, and we also want to make a plan, take this opportunity to collect the situation of Japan's mountains and rivers, and by the way, cultivate some people who can listen to us. If we can find a few obedient people, we will promote them and put them in control of the central government of Japan......"

"Well, that's what it should do." Zhou Pu nodded immediately.

"In addition, for the feudal domains, Lord Zhou was very handy before, and the imperial court also heard about it...... This arrangement did surprise the imperial court......" Suddenly, Mu Yannian laughed again.

"In order to settle the hearts of these feudal lords and let them take refuge in us, I made some promises...... Some promises are indeed more generous, and may not be very satisfactory to the imperial court......" Zhou Pu suddenly couldn't sit still. "However, when the war is over, the whole of Japan will be in our hands, and what will be done at that time is not a matter of a few words for us? The previous commitment can be changed to reclaim ......"

"No...... No...... Don't get me wrong, the court has no intention of overturning your promise. Your Excellency is an envoy of the Celestial Empire, and it is Your Majesty who speaks, so how can the promise you make be easily withdrawn? Wouldn't that make the Son of Heaven lose his trust? Besides, the various arrangements made by the adults were originally out of public intentions, and there was no need to change them, and the imperial court recognized the promises made by the adults. Mu Yannian hurriedly explained. The imperial court only decided that it was not appropriate to overfeud these feudal lords in the future, and when choosing a fief, it was necessary to choose a buffer in the middle of the big forces, such as between the Japanese imperial court and the Maori family, a group of small feudal lords could be placed, so that they could check and balance each other and avoid chaos. ”

Seeing that the court didn't mean to scold him, Zhou Pu finally breathed a sigh of relief. "That's very good, now I have only promised a few fiefdoms, and the rest has not yet been decided, now that you are here, you can consult with me when the time comes, and together we will determine the disposition of these feudal lords......"

"It's easy to say about the Japanese court and the powerful feudal clans, but for the shogunate, you must act carefully." Mu Yannian still has a serious face, "The meaning of the imperial court before also knows that the imperial court does not intend to take advantage of this time to defeat the entire shogunate, firstly, it consumes too many resources, and secondly, it is not necessary, it will only cheapen other forces for nothing, and it will also make Japan fall into chaos all the time......"

"I know that." Zhou Pu replied. He had received a face-to-face lecture from the Prime Minister before, so he naturally understood the intentions of the imperial court.

"The shogunate was extremely strong in the past, and if we don't defeat them this time, they will still maintain a strong force, and once we end the war, they can still control Japan, which is of course not good, not in line with the original intention of the imperial court; But if we beat them too badly, or if we destroy them outright, not to mention the casualties of our own men, even if we do succeed, it will not do us any good...... Therefore, please grasp the subtleties between them. Mu Yannian patiently explained to Zhou Pu, "Therefore, the imperial court believes that it is appropriate to keep the shogunate, and they should also be involved in the peace talks to jointly maintain the next post-war situation." ”

Zhou Pu immediately perked up, he knew that now Mu Yannian was talking about the direct instructions given to him by the imperial court.

"The imperial court felt that Japan was isolated overseas and information communication was not effective, so it was not remote, let the adults adapt measures to local conditions, and grasp the degree, and only needed to complete a few basic requirements."

"What are the points?" Zhou Pu asked.

"First, the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, who caused such a big disaster during his tenure, made the two countries raise sword soldiers, and was arrogant and rude on weekdays, insulting the emperor and bullying the court, which is really a great crime, so he must leave his post and give up the position of shogun to the rest of the Tokugawa family, and at the same time hand over the important ministers of the shogunate who caused the trouble before, and never allow forgiveness; Second, the territories previously occupied by the shogunate must be returned to the daimyo families who were innocently damaged by the shogunate; Third, the shogunate had to confirm the indemnity and continue to submit to the Han thereafter. Under Zhou Pu's gaze, Mu Yannian carefully stated the conditions of the imperial court for the shogunate. My lord, these conditions are relatively rough, but they are also very clear, so please arrange the disposal of the shogunate according to this basis. ”

"Are these three conditions......" Zhou Pu frowned slightly and groaned.

These conditions seem simple, but in fact they are also very harsh, and they are very troublesome to deal with, for example, Tokugawa Iemitsu is now a shogun and has great power, how easy is it for you to let him take the blame and go to work? What's more, if those shogunate ministers are killed, they will presumably fight to the death to save their lives.

"My lord, the court naturally knows the difficulties involved, so the court does not intend to hinder the lord, but let the lord do it. Your Excellency must also understand that the army of the Great Han is your most reliable backing—and Your Majesty has two more words to convey to your Excellency. Mu Yannian still has a serious face. Please keep it in mind. ”

As soon as he heard His Majesty's words, even though he knew that this was just a private word and not an edict, Zhou Pu still shook his head, and then immediately stood up from his seat and listened respectfully.

"The first sentence is that only those who can fight can make peace, and only when we can win the war, find a way to win, and force the enemy army to exhaust its strength, the enemy army will be discouraged, internal chaos, and then have to obey our disposal; The second sentence is that once a war starts, we must think about the extent to which we must make peace, and we must not waste war, but must first achieve the goal. Mu Yannian relayed His Majesty's words with a serious face, "Your Majesty also said that Lord Zhou is a smart person and should know what to do. ”

Zhou Pu pondered His Majesty's words carefully for a moment, and then bowed down to receive the order. "The minister understands, my emperor Shengming."

His Majesty told him to let go of it, but he also asked him to prepare to negotiate peace with the shogunate, and his meaning was very clear - the shogunate's system was also a long order, and the top and bottom were not stable, and if he faced great pressure, there might be internal chaos, and he had to work hard here.

And the premise of all this is that he and the Han army need to work hard to attack step by step and force the shogunate into this predicament.

"This time we came over, and we also brought a few Japanese, they are all people from the former shogunate in the Dahan Shokan, and their leader Yanagi Motosai is still being detained because of roaring and beating the imperial court officials, but they are just sent back." Mu Yannian continued, "The imperial court released them, although it means that the two countries will fight against each other, but the main thing is to let the two sides communicate, and if you want to convey anything to the shogunate, you can also ...... through them."

"I see...... I understand......" Zhou Pu now understood the deployment of the imperial court, so now he nodded again and again, "I will do it according to the deployment of the imperial court, and let the shogunate know that we are not here to destroy them!" This can be regarded as a scheming, at least it can separate their monarchs and ministers. ”

Then, he couldn't help but sigh, "Your Majesty's temple is a thousand miles, I really can't wait!" ”

"Your Majesty also has something for me to convey to your lordship." Mu Yannian couldn't help but laugh, "Less sycophants, more work!" ”