But soon he couldn't laugh anymore, because he discovered something even stranger.

Behind the main seat in the lobby, the kneeling man was not Nagasaki Shigenoshi Takenaka, but a man who looked older, with a samurai-style hairstyle, a black-hatted hat that old samurai often wear, and a very serious expression with a wrinkled face.

And the real Nagasaki pursues Takenaka Shigeyoshi, but he sits on his right hand, and his expression is calm and revealing some eccentricity.

Is it because the people in the camp have made the wrong arrangement?

No, unlikely. The Japanese are very hierarchical and even more concerned about the distinction between superior and inferior than the Chinese, and such a mistake is impossible to make at such a formal banquet.

In this case, there is only one possibility, that is, the status of this old man is higher than that of Shigeyoshi Takenaka.

What the hell is going on?

He was originally mentally prepared to be questioned in public, but he didn't expect that the development of events would be completely different from what he imagined.

"Are you all here?" Just when Liu Jing was still puzzled, the old man suddenly asked the people who were accompanying him. After receiving an affirmative answer, he picked up the folding fan placed on the desk and tapped it lightly.

With this soft sound, the hall that was still a little noisy quickly fell silent, and the whisperers stopped talking, and their eyes were focused on him. None of them were stupid, and now they must have seen that he was definitely a person with a very high status in the shogunate, so no one dared to make a mistake in front of him.

Seeing that he had achieved such satisfactory results on his first attempt, the old man nodded with satisfaction.

"Hello everyone, I must have caused you a lot of trouble to suddenly summon you here, and I am very grateful to you for taking the time to come here despite your busy schedule." His voice was cold and calm, and at first glance it was the tone of a person in a high position, "The contemptible Naito Tadashige, who is now ashamed of his position as the old middle of the shogunate, recently came to Nagasaki because he had important tasks on his side. Since I've come to Nagasaki, I want to meet you all in the question, so I ask for your understanding......"

Since he is one of the people in the shogunate and has the highest power in the shogunate, naturally no one dares to disunderstand.

Liu Jing suddenly realized at this time that this was the reason why he was so abnormal today, and secretly laughed that he was really suspicious of the dark ghost.

Before the others could react, Naito Tadashige picked up the full wine glass from the person next to him, then circled it to the people around him, then drank it in one gulp, and then put the glass back on the table.

"If you are ashamed, do it first for respect."

With his demonstration, the others also took their glasses and toasted each other. After a lifetime of belly, everyone involuntarily relaxed a lot, and the originally tense atmosphere eased down.

"I came to Nagasaki when I was younger, and it was very small and not very populated." After another glass of wine, Naito Tadashige sighed with emotion, "But when I came here today, I couldn't believe my eyes, in the past thirty years, this place has undergone earth-shaking changes, turning into a bustling port, filled with merchants from all over the world, and the market is bustling." Such a peaceful scene really makes those of us who have experienced the Warring States period feel a lot of emotion...... If the prosperity here continues, then I have no regrets. ”

Then he took the glass that had been filled with wine by the attendants, and toasted the officials and merchants again. "You have made Nagasaki where it is today. Without the efforts of officials and merchants, I don't think Nagasaki would have been able to become like this on its own. Ladies and gentlemen, for today's Nagasaki and for the peace of the world, come and toast again! ”

"Cheers!" Others, including Liu Jing, who had been thinking about destroying this peace, also picked up the wine glass and loudly responded to the old man.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Naito's face turned slightly red, but his eyes were still as steady as before.

"Nagasaki has become an important source of income for the shogunate in our country, and it is also a window to receive good products from all over the world, and its position in the heart of the shogunate is irreplaceable. It is rare that I have the opportunity to come here today, ladies and gentlemen, has the ordinary trade been affected and hindered unduly? If so, you can take the opportunity to mention to me that although I am old, I still have some power to speak within the shogunate......"

When they heard this, everyone couldn't help but put down their wine glasses again and looked at each other, and no one took this opportunity to give advice to this old man.

There is no doubt that because of the shogunate's trade policy and de facto lockdown policy, the trade of these merchants was restricted to varying degrees, and even the most lenient Han merchants had been privately complaining about the shogunate's practices. But who would dare to scold the shogunate's policies in front of the shogunate's elders? If you don't say it, you will be seen as opposing the shogunate.

As for the officials next to them, they are even more afraid to speak, how can they speak ill of themselves.

Seeing that the lobby was silent for a while, Naito Tadashige didn't care, but turned his eyes and looked at Nagasaki Shigeyoshi Takenaka, who had not spoken all this time.

"Bing, you are the highest official here, you should be the most vocal, tell me, is there a similar problem?"

Shigeyoshi Takenaka, who was already a little unnatural, turned even more ugly at this time, and he hesitated for a moment, as if he was choosing words, and only after a moment did he reply expectantly.

"My lord, if you want to talk about problems, it is not without problems, after all, the number of merchant ships passing through Nagasaki every year is huge, and there are always some that are difficult to manage or take care of, and some people are not being taken care of as they deserve, so they will naturally feel uncomfortable. However, although there were sometimes minor problems, Nagasaki's officials were dedicated, and it was thanks to their efforts that Nagasaki's trade volume was now booming. I think that since I can come up with such results, even if there are some small problems, they are still flawed and there is no need to dig into them. ”

His words were said after racking his brains, very tactful, not only highlighting the achievements and merits of his own people, but also showing the palace for himself and his subordinates, and did not say it to death, admitting that there were some minor problems, so that even if it was refuted by the old and middle-aged adults, there was room for regression.

"Is there just a glitch? That's fine. Naito Tadashige didn't delve into it, but seemed to accept his statement, and nodded lightly, "The shogun is not a demanding person, as long as you are generally thinking about Nagasaki and Japan, if there are only some small things, I think I can handle it well, and I don't need to make a mess again......"

"My lord, where is this...... It is a great honor for us to be able to visit Nagasaki in person, and with our guidance, we can do better. Seeing that he had dealt with the old man like this, he was secretly glad in his heart, he was full of flattery to the old man, and picked up the wine glass again, "I wish you all the best!" ”

Seeing the chief do this, the other Nagasaki officials also picked up their wine glasses and toasted to Naito Tadashige alone, and the old man didn't care about himself, picked up the wine glass and drank it all, looking very friendly and did not serve a stand.

However, Liu Jing felt a little strange in his heart, he always felt that this shogunate old man seemed to have something to say, but because it was none of his business, he didn't say a word, so he drank with these shogunate officials, thinking about when the banquet would end.

In this way, the banquet was staggered, and the old Naito Tadashige also took this opportunity to get to know these business representatives stationed in Nagasaki.

"You are all businessmen of all countries and people on whom our foreign trade depends, so please continue to uphold your responsibilities in the future. In addition, I know that you all have a lot of complaints about some of the shogunate's initiatives, but there are many things that the shogunate has to do. "By the time the banquet reached nearly midnight, Naito Tadashige seemed to be drunk, and he didn't even speak as clearly as he did just now, but it seemed that his consciousness was quite clear." The purpose of my banquet today is to tell you that the shogunate is by no means exclusive to foreign trade, and that as long as you do not have any missionary or other purposes, we absolutely welcome you. ”

Then, as if thinking of something, he added, "By the way, there is one more thing, which is also very important." In order to be able to control trade more effectively, the shogunate recently planned to replace it with a new form of seals, which would be obsolete after a month. Therefore, I would like to ask you to send someone to pick it up in a few days after you go back, and then inform the country as well. ”

As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked, and everyone was a little stunned, and no one could speak.

The shogunate itself issued a trade license that allowed only merchant ships with the seal to trade with Japan, and in this way the shogunate was able to monopolize foreign trade in its own hands. One can imagine how important this object is to these businessmen in Japan.

However, the shogunate actually said that it would be replaced without warning, which really caught these people off guard.

Whispers suddenly filled the entire hall again, including the Nagasaki officials of the shogunate, and everyone did not understand why they were doing this.

"Dare to ask...... Dare to ask adults, what happened? Even the pursuer Takenaka Shigeyoshi himself didn't know why, so he hurriedly asked this old man.

He originally thought that he had curry favor with Naito, so he had been flattering him and drinking a lot, but he didn't expect that at this time, he suddenly heard the other party say such news.

In addition to the accident, he was more frightened in his heart. As the governor of Nagasaki, he was supposed to be the one in charge of all this, but the shogunate made such a decision, and he was not informed beforehand, or even after the decision, but only let him know with the merchants today. The meaning of this makes people shudder.

He was already a little drunk, but at this time, cold sweat began to break out all over his body, and he was trembling slightly. Although it would be embarrassing to ask such a thing in front of his subordinates, he couldn't help but ask.

"Haven't I said it clearly enough?" Naito Tadashige still looked at Shigeyoshi Takenaka calmly with that cold smile, "The shogunate is going to replace the seal, and it will be done within a month." ”

"Why...... Why do this all of a sudden? Shigeyoshi Takenaka asked with some cringe, "...... We didn't hear anything beforehand, and we didn't do anything to prepare for it...... I am afraid that this will cause confusion among the merchants......"

"It's to avoid chaos that that's why I've summoned all these merchants today." Naito was still smiling, but he didn't smile much, "Although the time is short, it will definitely bother them, but from another aspect, it is a good thing." At least, few people in a hurry will have time to do something about it, right? ”

Shigeyoshi Takenaka's eyes widened suddenly, and then he lowered his head suddenly, "My lord...... Adults are right. The adults are far-sighted, and there must be a deep meaning in it, but I didn't understand it in a hurry, and it was indeed my stupidity...... Please forgive me. It is our responsibility to ensure that the merchant replaces the seal smoothly, and we will do our best to ensure that everything goes smoothly...... Don't worry! ”

However, Naito Tadashige didn't answer, just kept staring at Shigeyoshi Takenaka. His eyes were strange, and the smile he had smiled on was gone, but he looked a little annoyed.

Being stared at by him like this, Takenaka Shigeyoshi only felt a little hairy in his heart, but he didn't dare to say anything, so he had to keep his head down and kneel in the banquet, like a student being trained.

The others also sensed that something was wrong, and now they were even more afraid to speak, and everyone sat in the room in a daze, watching everything that was happening in the main seat.

"Is that all you want to tell me?" After a long silence, Naito Tadashige asked coldly at Masayoshi Takenaka. Then, he raised his voice and shouted, "Takenaka? ”

He no longer calls official positions, or even first names, but directly uses his surname, which shows that his attitude is a little worse. After hearing him shout, Liu Jing, who had been silent, finally determined that it seemed that this Nagasaki minister could not stay any longer, and he cheered up and kept looking at this side, wanting to get more information about the shogunate.

"Your Excellency, ......?" Shigeyoshi Takenaka raised his gaze and looked at Lao Zhong cautiously.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Naito Tadashige shouted again, "Why did the shogunate hide from you to replace the seal, and why did you only notify you today, don't you really know the reason?" ”

With this loud shout, Takenaka Shigeyoshi threw himself back, and then fell to the ground, and the table in front of him was also turned over, and the wine bottles, wine glasses, saucers and other utensils on it fell to the ground, making a loud noise, but no one came to clean up, and no one even made a sound, as if everyone except the two of them had become clay wood carvings.

"My lord......" Shigeyoshi Takenaka wanted to say something, but he didn't say anything under the great horror, and the wine in his stomach kept coming out of his mouth, coughing very badly, and he looked very embarrassed.

"You don't really think you're going to do anything you're going to do, Takenaka?" Seeing him like this, instead of being merciful, Naito Tadashige sneered, "If you hadn't been giving those merchants false seals in private, why would we bother to replace them all so suddenly?" You...... Do you know how much of a sin you have committed?! ”

"I ...... I ......" Shigeyoshi Takenaka seemed to want to defend himself, but because he was coughing all the time, his words were intermittent, "I don't have ...... None of these things have been done, my lord! As a shogun, I will never ignore the orders of the shogun, let alone issue a seal privately...... Possible...... Someone down there is a name for me, I ...... I'll check it out! ”

"You still want to excuse yourself?" The smile on Naito's face deepened, obviously annoyed to the extreme, "If we hadn't verified it clearly, how could we have disregarded your face so much!" ”

Then, he stood up on his feet, then crumpled up a few thick sheets of paper on his desk and threw them directly at Shigeyoshi Takenaka.

The paper ball hit Takenaka's body, and then bounced to the ground, which was really an unbearable humiliation in front of the public, but Takenaka Shigeyoshi couldn't control it so much, he reached out in a hurry, picked up the paper, and then unfolded it.

When he saw what these papers were, Shigeyoshi Takenaka's face suddenly turned pale and he collapsed to the ground again.

"Don't you have anything to say now?" Naito Tadashige asked coldly, "This is the evidence that you secretly made and sold the seals without permission!" ”

That's right, this is the seal issued by Shigeyoshi Takenaka in private.

Takenaka Shigeyoshi was a good fortune, and he finally managed to get the position of Nagasaki Commissioner, of course, he wanted to make a windfall. Although the Nagasaki Shogunate was already the highest-ranking position in the shogunate, and he had a large amount of extra income to obtain by virtue of his power, he was still not satisfied, and he secretly made the shogunate's seals and sold them to foreign merchants to make a profit.

Originally, he was the highest official in charge of Nagasaki, and as long as he approved of these extra seals, they were valid, and no one could see the clues, so he was still a little lucky until the end. He didn't expect that some of the seals sent overseas had already fallen into the hands of the shogunate, and now they had become evidence to punish him.

"Your Excellency......" he mustered up his courage and wanted to defend himself.