Soon, although the words were incomprehensible, Zhao Song and Yan Guang had already had a very happy conversation with Tachibana Zongmao, firstly, because the Han side intended to win over Yourong, and secondly, because Tachibana Zongmao was quite knowledgeable and knew what the Han needed to do the most, so he never lied to Zhao Song and others.

Of course, when Zhao Song and Yan Guang asked about the future battle proposals, Tachibana Somao also relayed the suggestions he made to Bi Su and others, and then reported Bi Su's subsequent actions to Zhao Song.

"This Bi Su, twice and three times, went north without waiting for the order, did he not take the military order into account?" Yan Guang immediately became a little angry. "It's a good idea, it seems that the previous letter was not strict enough, and it can't scare this Tuanzheng."

"Since Bi Su has already rushed over and pursued all the way to the Liuhe Domain, it will be difficult for us to command him remotely, so we can only let him act on camera." Zhao Song wasn't very angry, "Besides, it's not wrong for him to make such a deployment, we should really cut them off in two ways - besides, now that the situation is urgent, it's not realistic for him to wait for us to react before receiving orders." ”

"I knew you would say that." Yan Guang frowned slightly, "Okay, this is not disputed, in short, I also agree with this plan." The problem that plagues us now is not how to defeat the shogunate army, but how to deal with the aftermath as soon as possible after defeating the shogunate army. We should take advantage of the current concentration of the shogunate forces and annihilate them all in one fell swoop, otherwise we will be in trouble if there are small remnants of the army scattered around. ”

"What Senator Yan said is very true, so let's do it, I think so too." Zhao Song nodded happily.

Then, he summoned the herald and instructed him to convey his orders to Ma Tongji and Li Huanghe, who were far away on the front line, and prepared to let them continue to march north and east, and strive to cooperate with the southward troops of the Liaodong Regiment as soon as possible to encircle the castle of the Kurume Domain, the last nest of the shogunate army, and prevent anyone from escaping.

Yes, Zhao Song meant to first surround the Kurume Domain with field troops, consume the food and morale of the defenders in the domain by besieging it, and then wait for the artillery that had already landed to slowly transport it to Kurume Castle - yes, the Han army obeyed Sun Wuzi's admonition and did not like to waste their forces in siege warfare, so they attached great importance to artillery fire and liked to use artillery to blast the city walls.

There are several types of cannons in the Han Dynasty, which are used in different aspects, and now the small cannons used by the front-line troops are used for field troops, and the mortars specially used for siege have just been unloaded from the sea to the landing site, these cannons are very heavy, even if they use special artillery trucks, the speed of action is relatively slow, so the front-line troops need to wait for a while.

At the same time, Zhao Song and others have another purpose.

"Lord Zhou, I don't know if you wrote the texts to the various wealthy families in Kyushu?" Zhao Song suddenly asked Zhou Pu.

"Well, I already wrote it when I left Bi Tuanzheng." Zhou Pu immediately replied, "And I have already asked the envoys of the Satsuma Domain and the Liuhe Domain to bring them to those feudal lords, and I think they will all be able to receive them soon." ”

Then, he took a manuscript from his bosom and handed it to the two people in front of him. "Here is the original manuscript, please look at it."

Zhao Song took the original manuscript of the "Kyushu Reward and Punishment Order", and then swept it roughly, "Yes, it is very well written, reasonable and powerful!" ”

"If there is no Zhao Luzheng's military might and victory, then there will be no reason and strength at all." Zhou Pu complimented at the right time, "If it weren't for the fact that the Han army defeated the shogunate army so easily, the wealthy families of Kyushu would not have been so easy to attach. ”

"Hahahaha, everyone supports each other and supports each other." Zhao Song laughed, "Lord Zhou has set a two-day deadline for them, I think it's very good, two days is enough for these people to think clearly, during this time, Senator Yan and I will also have you, just wait here......"

Then, he accentuated his tone, "After we have gathered all the Kyushu feudal lords who are willing to belong to us, we will take these feudal lords and their subordinates to Kurume Castle together, so that they can see the military might of our great Han!" ”

"Your Excellency!" Zhou Pu immediately echoed the other party's proposal, "The Japanese have always been afraid of the strong, and they want them to follow us honestly, and it is indeed a very effective means to show artillery fire." ”

Although Tachibana Zongmao was standing next to them, because he didn't understand Chinese, Zhou Pu didn't have any scruples, and he spoke a little harshly, and he looked like an old monk sitting still, and he didn't show the slightest curiosity about the words of the three people, but quickly became familiar with his identity.

"Then it's decided, I just hope that the adult's text can scare a few more feudal lords." Zhao Song waved his hand, "It's not too early, come, let's have a few glasses of wine together, let's celebrate it!" ”

"Dare to disobey!" Zhou Pu was also complacent, and arched his hand with a smile.

While several officials at the highest level of the Han Dynasty in Kyushu were deliberating, the document of the "Kyushu Reward and Punishment Order" issued by Zhou Pu did disperse to all parts of Kyushu except for the Ogura Domain, which was directed by Bisu's soldiers, through the envoys, and also caused the feudal lords in these places to fall into unprecedented hesitation.

Among these hesitant feudal lords was the lord of the Hirado domain, Matsuura Takanobu, who was one of the first feudal lords to face a choice because of its proximity to Nagasaki. The lord, who was in his early thirties, had faced many major changes in his life, but never had the situation he was facing as sinister as the one he was facing.

The wording of this inscription was very unkind, even arrogant, and the request to reply within two days, and if he did not surrender, the jade would be burned, was even more merciless, but he had to carefully consider this impersonal request.

The Hirado Domain was located halfway between Nagasaki and Fukuoka Domains, so the glorious victories of the Han army on both battlefields would bring them a more intuitive feeling than other places, not to mention that when the Great Han fleet sailed south from Hakata Bay to the sea off Nagasaki, the huge fleet also left an unforgettable impression on every Hirado feudal citizen who saw its grandeur.

In addition, the shogunate's fiasco had other negative consequences: the influx of refugees from these two places had recently become so overwhelming that the domain could not bear it.

He had received this "Kyushu Reward and Punishment Order" from the envoys of the Yanagawa domain, so he also knew that Shimazu Tadashi and Tachibana Muneshige, the two most famous feudal lords in Kyushu, had taken refuge in the Han and led an army to cooperate with the Han in attacking Kyushu.

In the past few days of war, he has repeatedly summoned the important ministers of the clan to discuss with them to see what the solution is, but no one has been able to give a satisfactory answer.

Yes, no one knows how to face the consequences if they don't agree to Dahan's request.

Resistance was obviously unrealistic, and the Hirado Domain was only a small feudal domain of 61,000 koku, and there were not many people in the domain, so there were not many people who could resist. Even if a large feudal domain like the Fukuoka Domain, or even the Shogunate's own army, could not stop the Great Han, it was basically impossible to expect the Hirado Domain to be able to hold back the soldiers by itself.

The Great Han has made it very clear that if he surrenders, he can still protect his whole family, and if he dares to resist, it will make the people in the domain burn, and under such a threat, no one dares to propose to resist with all his might.

Although during the discussion, the elders of the family were afraid that the feudal lord would be angry, and none of them proposed to surrender and act in accordance with the conditions put forward by the Han Dynasty, but when they discussed, the subtext was already very clear, they all hoped that Matsuura Takanobu would put the overall situation and the lives of the entire feudal clan first, and not act rashly.

Matsuura Takanobu knew what they meant, and he didn't want to end up in the end of the jade burning, but he still had some difficulty making a decision.

In order to give him a last hope, he summoned the Dutch and asked them what they thought of the Han's rash attack on Kyushu, which had a Dutch trading house and had always had good relations with the Dutch.

Gozette, the commercial representative of the Dutch East India Company in Hirado, soon arrived, impeccably dressed, but his face was a little gloomy, perhaps because of the many troubles he had been having had lately.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, Takanobu Matsuura went straight to the point.

"Mr. Gozette, the Great Han has now sent a large army in Kyushu, and you must know that our shogunate has completely failed." He explained the situation directly to the other party, "Now, the people of the Great Han have issued a notice to us, asking us to surrender as soon as possible, and asking me to go to Nagasaki to visit the general sent by the Great Han, I want to ask, what do you think of the Great Han?" ”

Although he knew that it was impossible for the Dutch to fight against the powerful Han fleet in Hirado, he also knew that the Dutch had frequent business contacts with the Han, and the relationship between the two sides was good, so he wanted the Dutch to help him talk about it, at least to fight for a better condition.

However, he did not expect that the Dutchman's answer would be very simple.

"Lord Domain, I'm afraid you can't count on our armed forces. We only had a few merchant ships in Hirado, which could not resist the fire of the Han fleet, and we could not risk our own lives and those of our sailors. "If you need any advice from me about your situation, I suggest that you agree to the conditions of the Han as soon as possible, and assist them in maintaining order in the domain and on the island of Kyushu." ”

"What?" Matsuura Takanobu was taken aback by the attitude of the Dutch, who, instead of being willing to give him any help, advised him to accept all the conditions offered by the Han as soon as possible and surrender to the Han. "Mr. Gozette, are you willing to see Kyushu fall into the hands of the Great Han?"

"Even if it falls into the hands of the Great Han, it is better than a protracted war that lasts forever." Gozette shrugged his shoulders, "Sir, we came to Japan to do business, and if Japan has been at war all the time, it will be an unbearable consequence for our business interests. ”

Ever since he had seen the Han fleet with his own eyes that day and had met with the generals sent to Japan by the Han, Gozette had understood that the Han had made up his mind to defeat the Japanese shogunate this time. Originally, from the commercial interests of the Dutch, he should have supported Japan the most and helped them resist the invasion of the Han Dynasty, so as not to submit Japan to the Han Dynasty.

But...... He simply did not have the strength to support Japan now, and the merchant ships he brought with him were simply unable to resist the fleet of the Great Han. It was also impossible to count on Batavia, and although he had now written a report and sent a ship to the headquarters of the East India Company, he did not believe that Batavia would come to war with the Han for this reason.

The East India Company could not afford to lose both the Chinese and Japanese markets, and besides, the company was now at war with the Spaniards, and really had no spare power to intervene in the war between the Han and Japan.

Therefore, he felt that he had to settle for the next best thing, hoping that the war would end soon, and that trade between the Dutch and the two countries would return to normal - and if the Han did not fight well in the war, the Dutch could even stand up and mediate and reap the gratitude of both sides.

Of course, it would be a little uncomfortable for the Great Han to easily defeat Japan, but even then it would be in vain.

In short, Gozette had no idea of interfering in the war at all, and in order to prevent the Hirado clan from still having a fluke mentality, and in order to prevent himself and others from falling into the whirlpool of war for no reason and risking their lives, he simply cut off the hope of the Hirado feudal lord and told him that the Netherlands could not do anything.

"What Mr. Gozette means is that the Dutch can't help us in any way, right?" After a moment of silence, Matsuura finally understood what Gozette meant, "You suggested that we surrender to the invading Han Kou?" ”

“………… Yes, my lord, if you have to understand it that way. Gozette hesitated, then replied with a little embarrassment, "But be assured that we do think this is the best solution for you." In our Western concept, there is no shame in surrendering when faced with an irresistible force...... I think that for you now, the military power of the Han is probably unstoppable, so you should make a wise choice for the sake of your people. ”

"Okay, I see, you guys go back." Matsuura didn't want to talk to them anymore, so he waved him away.

When Gozette left, there was an eerie dead silence in the castle tower.

Matsuura Takanobu had been pondering, and none of the elders had the audacity to speak—in fact, they all felt that they didn't need to say anything more.

"Does anyone else have any other suggestions?" After a long silence, Takanobu Matsuura raised his head and asked.

"It was the shogunate that forced the previous feudal lord to die...... Even if we fight back now, we have a point. One of the oldest family elders said suddenly.

The ancestor of the feudal lord in his mouth was Matsuura Hisanobu Matsuura's father. He participated in the Western Army in the Battle of Sekigahara, but the Western Army was defeated, and the shogunate later ordered Matsuura Hisanobu to go to Edo to consult the shogun, and Matsuura Hisanobu died on the way.

The elder of the family suddenly mentioned this old incident, in fact, it was also to give the lord of the domain a step and provide a reasonable excuse for the next action of the Hirado Domain.

Takanobu Matsuura fully understood what the other party meant, so he smiled bitterly.

Although he was not opposed to surrendering to the Han Dynasty, no one was willing to stand up and fight the Han army to the end and die as a martyr, which really made him a little embarrassed. If he doesn't agree, I'm afraid that even if he wants these old and important ministers to resist, they won't listen.

"Then it seems that there is no other way but to surrender." After laughing for a moment, he finally said the long-awaited sentence.

Although no one spoke, Matsuura Takanobu clearly felt that the people in the court were obviously relieved at the same time.

He didn't care what other people thought, and continued, "General Dahan asked me to go to Nagasaki for a consultation, since I want to surrender, then naturally I have to go over, you go and make arrangements, and choose a few people to go with me." ”

Although the road ahead was difficult and dangerous, and the army of the Great Han was cruel and ruthless, he did not dare to disobey the orders of the Great Han, so he had to go to Nagasaki in person.

At the same time, now that he had decided to surrender, Matsuura Takanobu felt that it was better to at least go earlier, Hirado was so close to Nagasaki, maybe he could grab the jackpot and make a good impression on the Han army.

With this in mind, the feudal clan quickly prepared for him, and he left Hirado Castle with some of his cronies and headed south for Nagasaki.

There were homeless people everywhere along the way, they were covered with dirt and had no food to eat, and they gathered around Matsuura Takanobu and his group to beg for food, and Matsuura Takanobu really felt a little pitiful when he saw it. Recently, due to the war, many displaced people have gathered in his Hirado domain.

However, he also knew that the food in the domain was limited and could not help too many people, so he had to harden his heart and pass through them, and agreed with the words of the Dutchman Gozette - it is better for this war to end quickly, even if the Han wins, it is better than if the war continues.

The closer you get to the boundaries of Nagasaki, the sparser the population becomes, and the aura of murder in the air is getting stronger and stronger.

When a group of red-clothed soldiers appeared in front of their field of vision, this nervousness finally reached its peak, and Matsuura Takanobu and the others immediately turned over and dismounted, without making any threatening moves in front of the red-clothed soldiers. When they arrived, one of them who could speak Chinese explained their purpose to the group of Han soldiers.

When the Han soldiers learned that they were the lords of Kyushu who had come to surrender, they immediately treated them much better, and then they escorted them to Nagasaki Castle and took them to meet the Han general.

When he set foot in the middle of Nagasaki Castle, Matsuura Takanobu found that this originally rich and prosperous city had been reduced to a ruined ruins, and a large group of ragged civilians were numbly driven by the Han soldiers to dig around in the ruins to build walls, and from time to time there were shouts and whips.

If I don't surrender, Hirado will become like this, and in addition to the desolation, Matsuura Takanobu can't help but be a little happy.