Osaka Castleshiro, lord of the Tsuchiura clan and son of the former old Nakatsuya Sumano, stood on a pier in Kawaguchi Port, his hands clenched into fists, glaring at a large old lock ship that had docked and was dropping anchor and throwing cables.

It was a "huge ship" with a displacement of almost 1,000 tons, and the gun windows of the two gun decks were closed and not opened to show that it was not hostile. However, Tsuchiya Masanao still did not dare to slack off, he had already deployed 1,000 samurai and 10 "big cylinders" on the side of Kawaguchi Port, if this old lock ship docked in the name of "peace talks" dared to open the cannon window, then let them taste the benefits of Osaka artillery!

And the remaining 2,000 samurai that Osaka Castle can mobilize have now all entered the fortified Osaka Castle!

Once the peace talks break down, the samurai under the jurisdiction of Osaka Castle will have to hold on to Osaka Castle and wait for reinforcements from the Edo side!

But Tsuchiya also knew very well in his heart that if the other party really planned to use force, he and the 1,000 samurai on the side of Kawaguchi Port would probably soon become "gods" - their role was just to buy a little time for the defense of Osaka Castle!

Just thinking about becoming a god, the old gate boat had already lowered the springboard. Then Tsuchiya saw an acquaintance! It's the "No. 1 loyal minister of the shogunate" Hotta Masatoshi who almost engraved the word "loyalty" on his face - he was reused by his father by martyrdoming Tokugawa Iemitsu by seppuku!

is such a big loyal minister, how did he get off the gunboat of the Ming Dynasty now?

It's hard to do it. He's already mutinied?

Thinking of this, Tsuchiya Masashi pointed at Hotta's nose and roared: "Hotta Furukawahou, how did you get off the boat of the Ming people."

He stopped in the middle of his words, it turned out that he had already seen that he was not the only Japanese who got off this old lock boat, and there were many generals!

Although the status of these people is not as good as that of the military commissioner Hotta Masatoshi, they are all characters such as the flag book of the Tokugawa shogunate or the second son of the famous family of the pedigree!

Why did they all mutiny?

Could it be that the entire Japanese mercenary corps has been bought by the Ming Kingdom?

How much benefit did Daming give?

Hotta Masatoshi was in a pretty good mood when he saw Tsuchiya Masano, and he smiled and went up to greet him: "Hou Tsuchiura, it's been a long time since you saw you, and you've already made Osaka Castle?" Next should be the Kyoto Division, and then you can go to the old school, right? ”

"Guhe Hou, what's going on?" Tsuchiya Masanao didn't have the time to fight with Hotta Masatoshi, "Aren't you leading troops to attack the Ming Kingdom?" How do you get back to Japan on the ship of Ming Province now? ”

"Don't fight," Hotta said with a smile, "The Spaniards don't keep their promises, they haven't been paid for three or four months, we are mercenaries, and we fight with money, and the Spaniards don't give money, so what's the point of fighting?" So we made peace with the Ming Dynasty and returned the territory we occupied, in exchange for the Ming side sending a ship to send us back to China. ”

"What?" Tsuchiya Masanao never dreamed that Hotta would answer himself like this, "If Spain doesn't give money, you won't fight?" ”

"Of course!" Hotta's face was taken for granted, "Mercenaries collect money to fight, what can they fight if they don't have money?" ”

"Then Da Ming just let you come back?" Tsuchiya still couldn't believe it.

"Don't let us come back. Are you still leaving us to eat? Hotta Masatoshi asked with a smile, "Besides, the Ming Dynasty and Japan did not go to war, we just took money to fight. As long as the price is right, we will also help Daming beat the Spaniards and the Dutch! It's a business! ”

When Tsuchiya heard this, this was quite reasonable, Daming had indeed been a Japanese mercenary, although Daming itself was not short of troops, but when they attacked Luzon, they still invested tens of thousands of Japanese mercenaries. After all, Japanese mercenaries can endure hardships, are not afraid of death, and can do dirty work, as long as they are given enough money, they can do anything vicious!

I heard that President Geng of the Americas also has many Japanese mercenaries under him, all of whom were hired by the Ming Dynasty and sent over, which is very useful!

In the past two years, many "poor feudal lords" in Japan have been working as recruitment middlemen in Japan, and they have deceived those ronins on their territory who can't eat enough and dream of being samurai all day long to become soldiers.

Tsuchiya Masanao hurriedly asked, "Marquis Furukawa, are there many people who have been hired by the Ming army to fight against the Spaniards and the Dutch?" ”

"Yes!" Hotta Masatoshi smiled, "About 20,000 people have been hired by them, and the Ming intends to send them to attack Java and Malacca. The rest were not chosen, so they sent them back. But that's fine, and I'll come back safely and eventually. ”

I see! Tsuchiya Shin said: The Ming army needs mercenaries to fight the territory of the Dutch, and Hotta handed over more than 20,000 people at once in exchange for him and the rest of the mercenaries to return home. Reasonable, that's reasonable!

More than 20,000 Japanese mercenaries can definitely wipe out the 10,000 mercenaries of the Dutch East India Company!

Tsuchiya breathed a sigh of relief: "Guhe Hou, you scared me, I thought."

"Why?" Hotta Masatoshi asked with a smile, and then asked himself and said, "Tsuchiura Marquis, do you think that I, Hotta, am going to carry a knife to Shangluo and respect the king?" ”

"Hahaha, how is that possible?" Tsuchiya laughed, "Who doesn't know that you Hotta are a loyal minister of the shogunate?" ”

While Tsuchiya and Hotta were talking and laughing, a large number of Japanese mercenary soldiers with flintlock pistols had already disembarked from the large 1,000-ton old gate ship. This large old lock boat is quite capable of loading, and there is a steady stream of soldiers coming down from above, all of them are well-equipped and full of morale, and after getting off the ship, they began to launch a "queue to shoot" formation on the dock.

And the closed gun window of the large old lock ship also quietly opened, and the muzzles of more than a dozen 18-pound and 12-pound cannons were pushed out of the gun window.

Tsuchiya Masanao had already noticed that something was wrong, and looked at Hotta with a puzzled expression: "What does Furukawahou mean by this?" ”

"Nothing." Hotta said nothing, and at the same time, he had already figured out a flintlock pistol and put it against Tsuchiya's head!

And the officers of the group of Japanese mercenaries who disembarked with Hotta also took out their pistols and controlled Tsuchiya Masanao's group of unresponsive men.

"Guhe Hou, what do you want to do? Are you going to rebel? Tsuchiya Masa's face turned blue and he stared at Hotta fiercely. But just staring, there is no intention of pulling out a knife and cutting people.

"Rebellion? How can it be? As soon as Hotta waved his hand, his men immediately began to move, and some of Tsuchiya's men were armed with katanas, tied up and escorted to the ship; Others began to push towards the periphery of the pier, expelling the 1,000 samurai who had been placed on the periphery of the pier by Tsuchiya Masato who were under the jurisdiction of Osaka Castle and were only equipped with arquebuses, katanas, spears, and 10 large barrels. There were also some Japanese mercenaries who formed a human wall behind Hotta and Tsuchiya.

While commanding his subordinates to control Kawaguchi Port, Hotta Masatoshi also defended himself loyally: "Tsuchiura-marquis, what are you talking about? I am a loyal minister, how can I rebel? ”

"You" Tsuchiya glanced at the flintlock pistol pointed at his head, and said nothing.

How could there be such a brazen samurai in the world?

"Bang Bang Bang"

At this time, the crisp and dense gunfire rang out, and this density of fire knew that it was not something that an arquebus could shoot

Hotta said to Tsuchiya with a straight face: "Tsuchiura Marquis, you misunderstood, this official is not to oppose Lord Gongfang, nor is he going to King Luoqin. It's just that the 30,000 samurai under this official haven't been paid a penny for months! There are still many samurai who have been killed or disabled in battle and have not received their due pensions, and the official must take them to Kyoto to ask His Majesty the Emperor for an explanation! ”

"What? Ask the emperor for an explanation? Tsuchiya Masato glared at Hotta, "What does this matter have to do with His Majesty the Emperor?" And the emperor doesn't have much money, if you really want to recover the arrears for those mercenaries, you should go to the princess! ”

"Marquis Tsuchiura," said Hotta, "but I am a loyal servant of the Tokugawa family, how can I go to Edo with an army of 30,000 to ask the shogun for money?" Moreover, there were tens of thousands of shogunate new troops on the Edo side...... In the event of a fight, there will definitely be heavy casualties.

Let's go to Kyoto and find the Emperor to call the shots! ”

"Your Majesty the Emperor! Let's leave Kyoto and go to Higashikari Edo! ”

"Bastard, how can Your Majesty leave Kyoto? Now it's time to give an order to the princess of Edo to immediately lead his troops to Shangraku and defend Kyoto! ”

"It's too late, Edo is so far away from Kyoto, how can the princess come in time?"

"Who is guarding Osaka, and why did the Ming army land?"

"It's not the Ming army that came, but the Spanish Japanese mercenary corps led by the old Nakata Masatoshi. That's why Osaka Castle Daidai Tsuchiura Hou Tsuchiya allowed them to land! ”

"This earthen house is too confused, isn't it? How could he let the mercenaries on the Ming ships go ashore? They were sent back by Daming's ship, indicating that they had taken refuge in Daming as lackeys! ”

"You can't stop it! Osaka Castle can mobilize only 3,000 shogunate troops and feudal armies, how can it stop 30,000 mercenaries? Those people are veterans who have been fighting the beaches of Daming for months! Moreover, after all, they were led by Hotta Laochu and some other shogunate banners, how could the Marquis of Tsuchiura think that they would actually come to trouble His Majesty? ”

"What the hell are the intentions of these bastards? They were sent by the princess of Edo to fight for the Spaniards, so what does it have to do with His Majesty the Emperor? The Spaniards did not pay their salaries, so why did they ask His Majesty the Emperor for it? His Majesty the Emperor does not owe them money! Besides, His Majesty the Emperor doesn't have any money."

In the tattered Zichen Hall of the Japanese Emperor, the Japanese ministers who had to hold their throats when they spoke in the past are now all unable to care about elegance and etiquette, and they are all shouting one by one, making the court in a commotion. It can be said that since Emperor Go-Daigo was driven out of Kyoto by the Ashikaga clan and fled to Mt. Hiei for refuge, the Shichen Hall of the Kyoto Imperial Palace has never been so lively as it is today!

After all, the emperor and the secretary of state who appeared on the Purple Hall of the Kyoto Imperial Palace after that were no longer "true emperors" and "true ministers", but just a group of "actors" who played the role of emperors and ministers.

The "drama" takes the stage and acts well according to the script, what are you yelling about? There's no one in the book!

But the problem is, this time there was a plot that was not in the script, and 30,000 heavily armed Japanese mercenaries suddenly broke into Osaka Castle, which is a new type of army!

They are all flintlock muskets imported from the Netherlands and England! The training was also carried out by Western instructors, and the full set of Dutch and English-style "foreign exercises" was not at all comparable to the old-style samurai armies guarding Osaka and Kyoto. In the whole of Japan, only the backbone of the Tokugawa shogunate, the new shogunate army, can be compared with these 30,000 new armies.

The problem was that the shogunate numbered only a few tens of thousands, and most of them were used to defend Edo and its surroundings, with a small number of Kumamoto and Ogura domains in Kyushu to help them defend against Yang Ki-taka's new Korean army. As for the rest of Japan's coastal areas, they simply can't be defended!

This is probably the national defense dilemma of an island country without a strong navy, the island country is surrounded by water, and when it has a strong navy, it is full of trenches and unbreakable!

But if there is no strong navy to rely on, it will leak everywhere and it will be impossible to defend. In addition, Japan is also a long and narrow island country with a particularly long coastline.

Thinking of the plots outside these "scripts", the smile on the face of Emperor Lingyuan, who was sitting behind the curtain, was so much that there was really no way to hide it.

The emperor coughed vigorously, and the ministers in the Zichen Hall rarely heard the emperor make such a loud noise, and they were a little stunned all of a sudden, so they quickly closed their voices, and they all turned around to look at the emperor who was "hiding" behind the curtain.

Emperor Lingyuan said: "I already know everything that Zhu Qing said!" I am the emperor of Japan, and Kyoto is the capital of Japan. Since ancient times, the emperor was not allowed to leave Kyoshi! How can I flee Kyoto now because of 30,000 unpaid soldiers?

Besides, these 30,000 soldiers are also samurai of Japan! He was a retainer of the samurai family, the Tokugawa shogun. There was no point in me fleeing to Edo to avoid them. And if I had fled Kyoto, wouldn't it have been confirmed that the loyal and brave men of these countries were rebellious ministers and thieves? If 30,000 loyal and brave men become rebellious ministers and thieves, they will have to go to war with the shogunate in order to clear their hands! I must not do anything that traps loyalty and injustice and plunges the world into chaos! Winter Scripture, how much money are these 30,000 loyal and brave people owed? Can you use the savings of the imperial court to make up for them first? ”

Not to mention, this Lingyuan Emperor is still quite righteous! Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and Tokugawa Mitsukuni know about it, maybe they will be more moved!

"His Majesty the Emperor," the new Guan Bai Yi Dongjing said at this time, "According to the Kyoto Division, the total of 30,000 loyal and brave deeds is owed about 100,000 silver!" ”

"One hundred thousand silver?" The emperor asked, "Is it a lot?" ”

A winter scripture shook his head: "Back to Your Majesty, 100,000 Ding silver is ten times more than all the savings of the imperial court, and it is impossible to take it out."

"Then I can borrow it!"

As soon as the emperor's words came out, the ministers in the Zichen Hall were stunned.

That's 100,000 silver! Equivalent to 400,000 taels of silver!

It can be sold for about 300,000 stone when used to buy brown rice...... It is equivalent to 600,000 mounting, which is the total income of the first year of the 600,000 stone territory.

The emperor owes so much money that the little income of the imperial court cannot be repaid with interest alone.

After this, the life of the court will not be able to pass? The big guy's money is still not sending?

"Your Majesty!" A winter scripture hurriedly persuaded him, "Although Your Majesty's benevolence is enough to move heaven and earth, the merchants who lend money are short-sighted and cannot see Your Majesty's light." So they won't lend that much money to His Majesty's ......"

"Winter menstruation," said the Emperor, "will only know if you try to borrow money." Ordinary moneylenders are shallow, but I know that the merchants at UBS Osaka are different from them. I'll probably lend me money! ”

UBS Hall in Osaka is a bank jointly controlled by Li Zhongshan, Chen Jinnan, and Lu Sanhao, and has not only opened many branches in the land of Daming, but also in Nagasaki and Osaka in Japan.

The emperor actually wanted to borrow money from this bank...... And with confidence!

Could it be that they have already said it in private?

And the emperor borrowed money from the Ming Dynasty's silver number to buy the 30,000 Japanese mercenaries sent back by the Ming Dynasty...... What is he doing here? Do you want to learn from Emperor Daigo's downfall?

A group of ministers who had long since accepted their fate all looked at the emperor behind the curtain, and they didn't know what to say for a while.

Emperor Lingyuan just said leisurely, "They are about to arrive...... If you still want to keep your family business in Kyoto, and if you want to restore the authority of the imperial court one day, then please fight with me! ”

The emperor really wanted to bring down the curtain......

The ministers below are all a little panicked!

At this time, the emperor added: "The Ming Dynasty supports me." ”

……

Edo Castle.

"Bastard, traitor...... There are no believers! ”

The man who is scolding, and the man who looks like he is a little broken, is Tokugawa Tsunyoshi, the general of Japan!

This "dog father" who loves dogs more than lovers has had a hard time lately!

The Spanish Armada had already determined that there was "none", and the word "enemy" could be directly removed, leaving only one Spanish "none" fleet.

And the Qing Dynasty has completely collapsed, and the territory has almost been annexed by the Ming Dynasty!

Yang Qilong, who could occupy a million occupations in northern Kyushu, also became the king of Korea with the support of the Ming Dynasty!

Now in the entire East, it seems that Japan is the only country that is still fighting against the Great Tomorrow Dynasty!

Now this Ming is a Ming who controls the Pacific Ocean!

And there seems to be a big basket in Japan...... Hotta Masatoshi actually came to Shangluo to ask for arrears!

Thirty thousand troops! In this way, they landed in Osaka with a swagger, and then drove directly into Kyoto...... What is he trying to do?

And the even more terrifying thing was that the emperor actually borrowed 400,000 taels from the Da Mingrui Bank to pay the 30,000 Japanese mercenaries.

What is he trying to do? Is the emperor trying to rebel? Does he also want to learn from Emperor Daiko to build the shogunate?

And they also want to collude with the Ming Dynasty to rebel...... It's really the first anti-emperor in the ages! (End of chapter)