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The revitalization of the shipbuilding industry in Ninghai County has stimulated the employment of Quanzhou Port and indirectly stimulated the consumption of local people. Affected by this, the service industry of Quanzhou Prefecture and the timber industry of Tiannan County have begun to rise again, and the future is very good. The governments of the three counties of Songjiang have also withdrawn a batch of funds through the guò commercial tax, which will continue to expand production and stimulate economic development.

It's a virtuous cycle!

However, such a good thing seems to have nothing to do with the barren Cook Islands.

Shimazu Saburo didn't know what the territory of the other daimyos was, but what was the situation of the Asahikawa clan himself, as a lower-class samurai of the Shimazu family, he knew it clearly. Due to the high salinity of the barren land, the grain produced is very limited. If the wind and rain are smooth, it will be fine, and with the fish caught from the sea, you can barely eat. If there was a drought, flood or typhoon, it was almost destined to starve to death in those years.

In order to solve this situation, the Shimazu family did not work hard, but almost all of the investment did not achieve the desired effect, but only made things worse.

For example, the Shimazu family once sent some retainers and ronins to disguise themselves as pirates and go to the coast of the Qianyuan Empire to plunder. But the pirates sent were either wiped out, or they got carried away after arriving in the world of flowers, abandoning the impoverished Asahikawa clan and only caring about eating and drinking by themselves. On the contrary, due to the large number of samurai who went, the Shimazu family's own force was almost insufficient, and they were coveted by the nearby daimyo and had to abandon this operation.

After that, they also managed to get good seeds from the empire and cultivated them intensively.

This seems to be a good idea, but I found out after it really happened. The Empire's high-yielding seeds are too delicate. In the Asahikawa Domain of the Cook Islands, it is obvious that the water and soil are not adapted. Even if it is carefully served. The end result was not as good as it could have been.

As for trying to buy food from outside, the merchants of the Andaman city-state did accidentally visit them. But the question is, what did the Asahikawa clan buy from?

Gold and silver were scarce in the Cook Islands, and even the coins in circulation were in the Qianyuan Empire or the Lena system, and they could hardly mint coins themselves. Not to mention the Shimazu family of the Asahikawa Domain, there is nothing to show except for fishing goods - will the Andaman people in the South Seas need fish, shrimp and seafood? Are they fed?

"Therefore, Dongyi people are born with this fate. No matter how hard you try, it's useless! ”

Basking in the sun on the roof made of bamboo and thatch, Shimazu Saburo thought angrily. seems to have accepted his fate, but there is always a little unwillingness in his heart.

Or, one day, I will also go to the Qianyuan Empire in the southwest to be a sea coward, right?

Shimazu Saburo's stomach growled, and the rumors he had heard were remembered more and more clearly because of the hunger reminder. According to the pirates who have ventured there, the upper side is like a paradise, with fertile land and abundant products, and with a little effort, you can eat enough. And. Although the kingdom has a million soldiers, most of them are used against other enemies. There are not many soldiers along the coast, and their strength is not very strong.

Looking at the knife on his waist, Shimazu Saburo fantasized that with his stronger strength than that senior, he must be able to deal with three, nay, at least five Shangguo soldiers, right?

However, this guy, whose family lives in the coastal fishing village of the Asahikawa Domain, will soon be able to feel the combat effectiveness of the soldiers of the Kingdom for himself.

Around noon.

The bowl of batter mixed with wild vegetable leaves that I ate in the morning had been digested a few hours ago, and now I was even more hungry. Shimazu Saburo, who had nothing to do, didn't dare to practice dancing, so he could only continue to bored and fantasize about some messy things while touching the two rice balls in his arms, which were his dinner today.

Even though you are hungry, you have to endure it, otherwise the night will only be more difficult.

"When will this kind of day be the end!"

He cursed as he rolled over on the roof, but at that moment, he inadvertently turned his head to look at the sea, and suddenly saw a sail in the harsh sunlight.

Boat?

At that moment, Shimazu Saburo almost thought that he was hungry, and continued to lie down to bask in the sun with a few mutters. But after a few breaths, he sprang to his feet, stood on tiptoe and set up his pergola to look over the horizon.

It's really a boat, a lot of boats!

If it's just a simple comparison of quantity, Shimazu Saburo is not afraid. Although the Asahikawa Domain was not large, there were at least 1,000 boats of all kinds - but most of them were fishing boats. Most of the remaining warships were light ships that could only fight in the near sea. Even if three or five ships are added together, they may not be as big as the lucky ships just seen.

Could it be that the Date family in the west called?

Shimazu Saburo panicked for a while, but quickly reacted that although there were many sailors in the Date family, they were mainly small boats. What's more, the flotilla is not quite coming in the right direction.

If it's not the Date family, then who will it be?

Shimazu Saburo quickly thought about it in his heart, and he couldn't help but wonder if the Shimazu family had been at war with any daimyo recently. But one thing is certain, if such a large fleet came with good intentions, it would be fine, and if it was malicious, it would definitely ruin the existence of the entire Asahikawa Domain.

The alarm must be raised immediately!

As a loyal samurai of the Shimazu family, Shimazu Saburo's loyalty to his lord is unquestionable. And in all fairness, although food and clothing are not good, the Shimazu family is already trying their best to support their samurai. The situation and living conditions of ordinary civilians on the island will only be worse than his.

In this case, there is no reason why Shimazu Saburo should not maintain his allegiance.

After looking around, a few people in the nearby fishing village had already spotted the fleet coming from afar. It's just that most of them didn't realize the possible crisis, but ran to the beach to watch this rare scene with shock and curiosity.

"Idiot, what are you doing, send a signal to Asahikawa Castle!"

Shimazu Saburo was shocked and angry, and scolded these stupid peasants, but there was nothing around the fishing village to burn and smoke. The firewood that was originally reserved has long been stolen by someone to cook rice. Since the Shimazu family hasn't had any trouble with anyone recently, they haven't considered the war factor, and they haven't left war horses on the beach.

If you run back on your feet, I'm afraid it's too late.

After a moment of hesitation, Shimazu Saburo gritted his teeth and picked up a torch and burned his own house, which had nothing useful except a little food and a few clothes. As for the bamboo hay for building a house, there is no shortage of this thing on the island, and if it is burned, it will be burned!

The act of setting fire to the house was still very good, and the smoke and flames spread quickly. In addition, the terrain of the Shimazu family's house is relatively high, and the smoke rising from this side can be seen for six or seven miles inland.

Relying on this alone, Shimazu Saburo is not at ease, God knows if the people behind will take this warning to heart, or simply think that it is just a fire. After seeing the fire burning, he immediately ordered several people to run back to report the news. At the same time, the remaining fishermen and two other Shimazu samurai who arrived were organized, and a limited number of swords, harpoons, and even clubs were picked up and prepared to deal with possible enemies.

Eventually, the huge fleet approached the beach and stopped about five miles away.

By this time, Shimazu Saburo could finally see the fleet. Including warships and warships, the total number is at least more than 100. Shimazu Saburo has never studied arithmetic, so he can't count it at all, but he knows that this fleet is very large. While he was watching, the sailors on the big ship were constantly lowering the clipper with slings, preparing to release the people to land.

Seeing those well-armed and murderous soldiers get on the clippers and quickly approach the shore, Shimazu Saburo is finally sure that these are the enemy!

Otherwise, it would not have been possible to send a large army to land without permission.

This sucks now!

Shimazu Saburo observed the enemy soldiers on these clippers, his palms were so nervous that he couldn't even hold the hilt of his katana. In his eyes, the soldiers who landed were all tall, strong, and equipped with well-armored swords, any one of them was comparable to the elite samurai of the Shimazu family, and they were armed to the teeth.

This is a great enemy that the Asahikawa clan has never encountered!

Seeing more and more enemies landing on the shore, Shimazu Saburo's heart is also sinking. He was shocked to find that the number of enemies was far greater than he had imagined. Even before the landing is completed, the number of people seen so far has already surpassed almost all the samurai of the Shimazu family!

What's even more rare is that everyone wears armor and carries a knife!

This was not the most shocking to him, when he noticed that there were bands of cavalry landing on the other side of the beach, his heart sank to the bottom of the eastern ocean. Cavalry is the top class of troops on Cook Island. Only the three most powerful daimyo on the island have raised that batch. When I fought with the daimyo on weekdays, I didn't dare to use it until I was in a decisive position.

The strength of the Asahikawa Domain is simply not able to raise large-scale cavalry, and they have no way to get good war horses.

It was for this reason, seeing these hundreds of cavalry, that he really understood how powerful the enemy really was, which the Shimazu family could not defeat under any circumstances. Perhaps, if you face such an enemy, you will die in battle. No, it should be said that death is almost certain!

At that moment, Shimazu Saburo felt fear and wavering in his heart. But looking at the people around him who were also pale, he took a deep breath and suddenly became firm again. Reaching into his arms, he stuffed the rice balls that he had kept for dinner into his mouth little by little, and slowly savored the taste. The tempting fragrance and barely full stomach gave him a little more courage out of thin air.

Isn't the fate of a samurai to repay the lord's family with death?

Thinking like this, looking at the enemy soldiers who had slowly assembled and advanced towards the fishing village, Shimazu Saburo clenched his knife tightly, and his eyes showed determination.

However, Shimazu Saburo doesn't know yet that fate has always played tricks on people.

People who think they are dead sometimes don't die! (To be continued.) )