His roar was echoed by Tachibana's retainers, and everyone put their hands on the saber beside them, and there was a big disagreement with the intention of beheading these messengers of the Shimazu family and then fighting to the death with the Shimazu family.

For feudal lords and vassals, the domain is everything, with the territory, they are a high class, they can do whatever they want in the territory, if they lose the territory, they will either have to take refuge in other feudal lords, or they will become civilians with nothing, which is an unacceptable consequence for them.

"Since Dahan gave the Shimazu family such a promise, he will keep his promise, and as long as Kyushu fights down, he will definitely hand it over to them." In such an environment, Shimazu Tadaneng and several other envoys were already as pale as earth, but Zhou Pu was not in a hurry, "And we show sincerity, since we have agreed to such conditions, we will not be afraid to say it." But...... The feudal lord doesn't have to worry, although Kyushu Island was given to the Shimazu family, but the Tachibana family can also be placed elsewhere, isn't it? ”

Tachibana Muneshige had already recovered from the anger just now at this time, and he looked at Zhou Pu, who had snatched Shimazu Tadano's words, and his eyes suddenly became sharp.

"Who are you?"

Under his gaze, Zhou Pu felt a little uncomfortable, but he still held back this discomfort, stood up unhurriedly, and once again gave Tachibana Zongmao a deep bow.

"The lord of the Tachibana domain, in the next Zhou Pu, is a messenger sent to Kyushu by the emperor of the Han Dynasty, I have heard that the lord of the domain is heroic for a long time, and when I see it today, it really deserves its name!"

"The messenger of the Son of Heaven?" Tachibana Somao's eyes widened slightly, and then he suddenly sneered, "You are very bold, you actually dare to come here by yourself......"

"If you don't have the guts, you won't accept the orders of the Son of Heaven to come here." Zhou Pu raised his head, and then smiled at Tachibana Zongmao, "Besides, I came here to help the feudal lord, how could the feudal lord be unfavorable to the feudal lord?" ”

Although he said it very arrogantly on the surface, he kept repeatedly mentioning the Son of Heaven of the Han Dynasty, just to pull out the emperor's banner to support himself, and also made Tachibana Zongmao have some scruples and dare not turn his face.

"You big men invaded our country for no reason and slaughtered our people, and you dare to say that it was to help me?" A slight look of anger appeared on Tachibana Zongmao's face, "You are so wanton, aren't you afraid that you will be punished by heaven like Yuankou back then?" ”

Although he was angry when he said it, Zhou Pu wanted to laugh in his heart.

The big man came over, and now it seems to be like a bamboo, and Tachibana Somao also knows that there is no deterrent to say that there is no deterrent force to resist now, but he actually moved out of the heavens......

He was taught to worship gods and ghosts since he was a child, and the Japanese believed in those ghosts and gods, but he didn't feel it at all. He also didn't believe that Japan's luck could be so good, and that there would be another kamikaze to stop the attack of the Great Han.

The lord of the feudal domain said this, and I could not agree with it. At that time, Meng Yuan was a Hulu, a thief who stole the Central Plains, and my Han Dynasty was a Han dynasty that defeated the Ming Dynasty and seized the artifact, and he was also the undisputed Son of Heaven in the Central Plains. He replied with a sneer, "Say it again...... Our invasion of Japan is to crusade against the shogunate and to restore discipline to your country, which is a move that conforms to the principles of the people's hearts and is also the help that your imperial court earnestly hopes for. On the contrary, this is to conform to the principles of heaven! ”

Zhou Pu's straightforward rebuttal did not make Tachibana Zongmao angry, but made his heart move slightly. This Han envoy is really a brave and resourceful person, no wonder he will be favored by the emperor of the Han Dynasty.

Whether the Son of Heaven of the Great Han conforms to the way of heaven or not, in fact, he doesn't care, so he doesn't argue anymore, and now he is most concerned about how much benefit his Tachibana clan can get.

Moreover, he still has a heart disease in his heart - forty years ago, he led the army to invade Goryeo as the general of the army under the command of Lord Taega, and fought with the Ming Kingdom in Goryeo, leaving a lot of hatred for each other. Although it is now time has changed, and the Ming Dynasty and the Toyotomi family have disappeared into the remnants of history, but

"Imperial Court ...... What benefits does the court intend to give you? He asked directly.

"As neighbors, as neighbors who have been separated by a strip of water for many generations, the two countries should support each other, and we are not here to fight the shogunate for any benefit, but just to uphold justice for the court and monarch of the neighboring countries." Zhou Pu hurriedly replied.

"Don't tell me these deceptions!" Tachibana Somao frowned, "Although I'm not a very smart person, but at least I've lived to this age, don't tell me some words that lie to children, lest I get angry and do something that you can't regret." ”

"Of course, the feudal lord can make us regret it, but the Han officers and soldiers on Kyushu Island also have the ability to make the feudal lord regret it, so ...... Let's all take a step back, lord of the domain, and don't talk too stiffly. Zhou Pu pushed back without humility or arrogance, "If the feudal lord thinks that it is useless to arrest me, then it is wrong, I did not come to Kyushu alone, I still have a deputy, even if you catch me, you will not be able to blackmail anyone, it will only make there no room for both sides." ”

As soon as these words came out, Tachibana Soshige's face became even more ugly. The envoy of the Han Dynasty made it clear that the Han would not care about his life at all, and even if he was arrested, there was no way to blackmail or bargain, which undoubtedly cut off one of his ways.

It seems that there is only one way left to go at the moment, but it is too unwilling.

"Okay...... It seems that you don't want to reveal the secret agreement with the imperial court...... Well, you also have to keep your word, so don't say it. He sighed, and finally chose to give in slightly, "However, I still have to tell you that if the Tachibana family has no place to live after the war, then we would rather fight to the end until we die!" ”

Then, he glanced at Shimazu Tadano, who was still earthy, with a contemptuous look, "If you are here to persuade us to accept the reality and become a servant of the Great Han or the Shimazu family, you can invite you back now." Please rest assured, you are messengers, I will not do anything to you, even if we die in battle, we will die cleanly. ”

His words were impassioned, but Zhou Pu heard the sound of the strings - if there is no place to stand, then fight to the death; If you have a place to stand, you probably won't have any resistance.

Well, that's what he wants.

"Domain Lord, if we really don't want to give your clan a place to stand, we won't go out of our way to come here, wouldn't it be much more meaningful for everyone to talk with knives and guns than with their lips and tongues?" Because he had roughly figured out the bottom line of Tachibana Soshige, Zhou Pu seemed more calm, "As we have already said, in order to thank the Shimazu family for cooperating with us in the first place, as long as we can win the shogunate, the whole island of Kyushu will be given to the Shimazu clan after the war, and it will be passed down from generation to generation as a territory - this is something that the Son of Heaven personally recognizes, and it cannot be changed." ”

He intends to move the Emperor of the Han Dynasty out again to increase his deterrent, and then say what he intends in his heart, "The territory of the Tachibana family is now in Kyushu, so it will definitely be given to the Shimazu family at that time, but ...... This is definitely not a loss for the Tachibana family, because we will never treat anyone who works with us badly. As long as the feudal lord helps us, we can find a place elsewhere to compensate the feudal lord. ”

"...... compensation?" Tachibana asked with a slight suspicion.

"Yes, if our side wins after the war, then your imperial court will naturally regain authority under our arrangement, and at that time, they will definitely be grateful for our merits, and they will also remember those who helped the imperial court defeat the shogunate......" Zhou Pu said very slowly, "If we specifically instruct them to compensate a few meritorious heroes at that time, then they will definitely agree, what does the feudal lord think?" ”

Although Zhou Pu said it very vaguely, Tachibana Soshige understood that if the Han really won the shogunate, not to mention what the shogunate would do, the status of the imperial court would definitely rise greatly after the war, and even be able to have a large area of direct territory - but the Han obviously did not fight only to help the Japanese court, and they would obviously take a lot of precautions.

If they can take advantage of this situation, the Tachibana family should be able to find a place to stay.

When he was young, he was originally full of energy, not afraid of heaven and earth, and made an unknown number of big things, but now he is old and tired. More than ten years of stumbling have worn out his sharpness, and he doesn't want to do anything earth-shattering now, he just wants to be able to keep his family.

Originally, when the Han Dynasty came over, he was already a little panicked, although the strength of the Han Dynasty's soldiers was so strong, although he was in a remote location, he had already heard of it - besides, he had fought with the Ming Dynasty back then, and he had also seen the strength of the Ming Dynasty's elite forces and abundant financial resources, and he could directly destroy such a powerful Ming Dynasty, so how strong should the Han be? At least not something he could match with a Liuhe clan.

After hearing the news that the shogunate army had been defeated everywhere and that the Han army had been driven straight in, his panic became even stronger, for fear that his family and the entire domain would become victims of the Han army. He has lived for so many years and is not afraid of dying, but he can't let go of his family.

When he received an urgent notice from the shogunate, he hurriedly summoned the soldiers in the domain to be on strict guard—but he also knew how many people he could gather in a small feudal domain of 100,000 koku. And such a hastily assembled army will certainly not be an opponent of the Han army.

Because of this, he has not been able to move his troops, even if he received the messenger from the shogunate for support, he has never sent troops, he just does not want to break with the Han and become their primary enemy.

He had been looking for a way to compromise with the Great Han, or at least stay out of the matter, but he was unable to get in touch with the Great Han, so he could only wait anxiously, and now it seemed that the situation was a little smoother than expected.

"How much compensation can I have?" After a long silence, he suddenly asked.

"How about 300,000 stones?" Zhou Pu asked casually. "The most important thing for us Han people is that the grace of dripping water should be reciprocated by a spring, if the feudal lord has helped us a lot, we will naturally repay it with the greatest sincerity, and three times the territory must be able to satisfy the feudal lord, right?"

His expression was very indifferent, as if it had caused a great commotion among all those who listened.

300,000 stones, this is not a small amount, almost the amount that an entire Lingguo can produce. Everyone else was already worried that they would have to face the Han soldiers, and even coexist and die with their own domain, but when they suddenly heard such news, who could not be overjoyed?

Like the others, Tachibana Muneshige frowned at the condition proposed by the Han envoy, but after all, he had the experience he had accumulated over the years, so he still maintained his composure, and was not as happy as the others.

"Sounds good, but your promise must wait for the victory of the Han Dynasty before it can be fulfilled, and it must be approved by the imperial court." He forced himself to let his tone remain as unfluctuating as usual, so as not to be seen as relieved, "We have to take a big risk, three times as much, but with the risk...... It may not be possible to compensate. ”

He deliberately didn't say anything to death, just tried to see if he could get more benefits, and secretly planned to "reluctantly" agree if it really didn't work.

Tachibana Somao didn't expect that the envoy from this big man would be much more crisp than he imagined.

"What about 500,000? A territory of 500,000 koku should be able to compensate for the risk taken by your domain, right? Zhou Pu immediately asked. Those merchants have five times the profits, and they will rush to do anything, even if it is illegal...... Lord, there aren't many things in the world that have five times the profit. But it doesn't matter if it's Kanto or Kansai, as long as you can have a territory of 500,000 stones, the Tachibana family will become a first-class wealthy family, so do you have to worry about anyone? ”

After finishing speaking, he looked at the old man opposite with blazing eyes, waiting for the other party's final reply.

He is indeed very confident, because on the one hand, there is a dead end, and on the other hand, the territory is expanded by five times, I am afraid that normal people will know how to choose - no matter how unruly Tachibana Soshige is, at this age it is time to take care of the clan (although he has no children under his knees, only one adopted son, Tachibana Tadashige), if he didn't understand this, he wouldn't have the courage to come over and gamble.

In the final analysis, it was the military might of the Han army that gave him enough deterrent power to let others know that he could only cooperate with him except death, and these feudal lords would generally only make wise choices.

He was indeed very generous, and the shoguns before him regarded the territory as the most precious thing, and were very stingy with giving it to others, but he had no scruples at all, and casually said 300,000 and a half thousand.

Of course, this is because he is not the lord of Japan, and he can't be the lord of Japan, giving someone someone else a territory of 300,500,000 or 801,000,000 stones, there is no essential difference to him, anyway, it is someone else's land, and he doesn't feel distressed at all when he gives it away himself.

In addition, he had a deeper consideration - at the previous state council, the prime minister had personally explained to him that his task was not only to win over the wealthy families in Japan and pave the way for the Han Dynasty's armed attack; It is also necessary to pay attention to creating a situation of checks and balances in all aspects after the war, so that no one can completely sit on the throne, so that the big man can stand high and balance the middle, and take advantage of the fisherman.

After the Shimazu family took possession of Kyushu Island, the territory occupied by them was already very large, I am afraid that there were nearly two million, and they would definitely become one of the most powerful people in Japan after the war, but Zhou Pu did not want to see the situation that the Shimazu family could do whatever they wanted after the war, so he wanted to create some big feudal lords, and then cooperate with the Japanese court to balance the Shimazu family, so as not to make it difficult for the family to control.

After the Tachibana family got their territory of 500,000 koku, they must have wanted to defend their territory, and they would no longer obey anyone—this was the effect he wanted. In the future, he plans to continue to look for more people in Japan who can support him, and then create some big feudal lords to come out, in short, the more complicated the situation in Japan after the war, the better.

The silence continued, and neither of the two people with their own thoughts spoke again, but Shimazu Tadashi and the others had already made up their minds, and they had already discovered that Tachibana Muneshige had no intention of asking for their lives.

"I am loyal to the imperial court, and if the imperial court issues any edict, I will accept it." After a long time, Tachibana Somao suddenly raised his head and sighed, "Although I am old and gray-haired, if the imperial court wants me to crusade against any of the enemies of the court, I will definitely muster up the last remaining strength to share the worries of the imperial court." ”

In fact, as a famous general left over from the Warring States Period, he has been in Japan for so many years, and he is used to seeing treachery and betrayal of his subordinates, where did he think about the imperial court? It's just giving yourself a step.

Of course, neither Zhou Pu nor Shimazu Tadano had any intention of exposing him.

"The lord of the domain is really loyal and courageous, and it is really a great blessing for the world to have the support of the lord of the domain in state affairs!" Shimazu Tadano shouted and knelt down again, "My master is willing to work with adults and fight again to overthrow the tyranny of the Tokugawa family!" ”

Although the envoy of the Great Han suddenly proposed to give the Tachibana family 500,000 koku of territory after the war, he was very surprised, but for the Shimazu family, as long as they could get the post-war reward according to the agreement, they didn't care at all about how the Tachibana family was disposed of, and how the land on Honshu Island was divided, they couldn't care about it anyway, so they just needed to cheer loudly.

At this moment, all the retainers of the Tachibana family next to him, as if they were having fun, all knelt down for Tachibana Soshige, and in the end, only two people in the entire hall were still standing and looking at each other.

Zhou Pu looked at the other party quietly, he had heard a lot of stories about Tachibana Somao before, but at this moment, there was just a gray-haired old man in front of him, an old man who was about to be driven by him, and he didn't flinch at all.