October 25, 1729, Sendai.

In the fifth year of Keicho (1600), after the Great War of Sekigahara, Date Masamune was not awarded the title of "Million Stone" by Tokugawa Ieyasu, but on the basis of the existing fief of 570,000 koku, it was still increased to 620,000 koku, making it the strongest feudal clan in Tohoku.

At that time, Date Masamune began to build Sendai Castle (present-day Hirayama Castle in Aobayama, Aoba-ku, Sendai City), and since then, he has continued to implement new plans to expand and develop the castle. Over the course of 100 years, the entire Sendai Castle has been built one after another, and there are many castle towns outside the castle, with a population of more than 150,000 people, making it the economic and cultural center of the entire Tohoku.

However, in order to prevent the suspicion of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, Sendai Castle did not have a castle tower, which is a great pity for the Date clan.

Sendai was very prosperous during this period, and some foreigners who visited the city described it as "more like Edo".

What is even more rare is that as early as the time of its ancestor Date Masamune, the Sendai clan, attached great importance to foreign exchanges and overseas trade. In the 18th year of Keicho (1613), he sent his retainer Tosunaga Shikura to cross the Pacific Ocean on a large sailing ship named "Date Mura Maru" built by the Sendai Domain, and then crossed the Atlantic Ocean by land through Mexico, and finally crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a Spanish merchant ship to Europe, where he visited King Philip III of Spain. However, with the shogunate at the time, the shogunate issued a series of closed edicts prohibiting all foreign trade (only allowing the Dutch East India Company and the Ming Dynasty to engage in small-scale trade), which finally shattered the Date clan's desire to trade with the Spanish Philippines and Spanish America.

After the end of the Battle of Enpo (i.e., the First Qi-Japanese War) and the signing of the Edo Treaty, Japan's door was kicked open by the Qi state, and the trade between Qi and Japan increased rapidly in a short period of time, and exchanges between the two countries became more and more frequent.

Although there were no treaty ports in the territory of the Sendai Domain, the powerful merchants of the Qi Kingdom still managed to do business throughout the Mutsu region, and the Sendai Domain swept through the vast situation.

In the early days, the Date clan was still worried about the shogunate's lockdown decree, and at the same time worried that the invasion of the Qi kingdom's commercial forces would greatly damage the social stability and existing economic order of the Sendai domain.

After Date Yoshimura, the fifth-generation lord of the Sendai Domain, succeeded him as the governor, he began to implement benevolent governance and reform in the domain. Yoshimura re-established the financial management system inherited from the first feudal lord Date Masamune, and once again implemented the rice purchase system to increase fiscal revenue. On the other hand, Yoshimura also actively engaged in smuggling trade with the Northern Ming and Qi Kingdoms to obtain commercial benefits.

Under these circumstances, Yoshimura made efforts to restore the handicraft business of the Sendai Domain, organized policies such as the production of textiles "Sendaidaira", the development of mines, and the incentive of pastures, and expanded the type and quantity of domestic goods exported in exchange for valuable development funds.

For more than 20 years, the Sendai Domain imported weapons, horses, hardware, ironware, leather, and many other manufactured goods from the two countries, and exported Japanese crafts, grain, copper ore, and sulfur. These businesses expanded year by year, bringing huge profits to the Date clan, and raising its already rival power to a higher level.

Oh, by the way, the Sendai Domain also used the abundant copper mines in the territory to cooperate with the Northern Ming and Qi countries to make fake money - in fact, no matter in terms of the level of craftsmanship or the content of copper metal, this fake money is more real than the real money of the shogunate - Qi produced technology, Northern Ming produced equipment, and Date produced raw materials, and this business was prosperous, and countless Kanei Tongbao flowed out of the Sendai Domain and flooded the Japanese market.

Today's Date family, with its strong economic strength, has gradually extended its tentacles to the feudal domains in the northeast, the size of the feudal army has been secretly more than doubled, the weapons and equipment have also been partially firearmed, and there is a large artillery team, which is more advanced than other feudal states in terms of armament, and the operational ideology and technical and tactical level are due to the guidance of many retired officers and non-commissioned officers of the two countries of Qi Ming who are privately employed, and they have an extraordinary strength, even compared with the new army of the shogunate.

Despite its growing strength, the Sendai Domain's heart was filled with unease and anxiety after the shogunate revealed rumors of the "withdrawal of the feudal domain and the establishment of a prefecture".

The source of uneasiness lies in its geographical location and its own innate original sin. Unlike the Choshu Domain and the Satsuma Domain, both of which were located in the most remote southwest of Japan, far away from the direct leadership of the shogunate, and the surrounding areas were all small feudal domains, so once they fought with the shogunate, they could fight without worry. The location of the Satsuma Domain is even more in the corner of Kyushu Island, and there is a danger of the sea, a moat, and a wind and grass, so you can have enough time to prepare.

However, the Sendai Domain was located in the Mutsu region, just over 300 kilometers from Kanto, the core area of the shogunate, and less than 200 kilometers from the Mito Domain of the Imperial Three Clans. If the shogunate wants to attack their Sendai Domain, it will take less than half a month to quickly kill them at the doorstep.

Once the war broke out and the shogunate ordered the Mutsu feudal clans to send troops, the Sendai domain would be besieged on all sides, and no matter how strong the feudal army was in combat and how advanced its weapons were, it would not be able to resist such a tidal siege.

However, it is not realistic for the Sendai clan to cling to its self-preservation, hoping to win the mercy of the shogunate's subordinates by seeking perfection with its own compromises, and finally retain the century-old feudal heritage.

The strength of the Sendai Domain itself did not allow the shogunate to let them go lightly.

The name seal is 620,000 stones, and the actual receipt is more than 2 million stones, and he also hooks up with the Northern Ming Dynasty and the Qi State, secretly develops military strength, and it is difficult not to attract the attention of the Tokugawa clan!

What made the Date clan even more worried was that Date Masamune, the ancestor of the Sendai Domain, was rated as a heroic figure who was "born 20 years early and achieved as much as Nobunaga Gong's hegemony", which once made the shogunate deeply jealous.

In order to dispel the suspicion of the Tokugawa clan, successive governors starting from Date Masamune, the ancestor of the domain, had to adopt the method of exaggerating and swaggering to self-harm, so that the shogunate would abandon its vigilance against the Sendai domain.

Every time he went to Edo to give an explanation, Date always led more attendants, and the team often marched in gorgeous costumes and exaggerated performances to show off to everyone.

The banner representing the Date family's service team is depicted with a golden Hinomaru, the black maize of a samurai on his back is depicted with a golden half-moon, and the sheath of a large sword inserted around his waist is made of gold. Even Ashigaru wears a golden hat with gold stars painted on his chest and back.

The ranks of the Date family, ranging from high-ranking samurai on horseback to ordinary ashigaru, were all dressed in gold. Even the horses are quite eye-catching, wearing armor decorated with the furs of leopards, bears, tigers, etc. Such a gorgeous outfit attracted the attention of people along the way.

In this way, the Date family not only spread their reputation, but also hoped to make the shogun let down his guard.

My Date family is so flamboyant, how can it be easy to rebel?

Because of Date Shi's series of exaggerated and amazing performances, people around the world began to call people who behaved or dressed in exaggerated and gorgeous manners "Date Men" or "Date Men". Since then, the Sendai clan has inherited the extremely flamboyant family style of the Date family, and it has become an excellent occasion to promote the "Date of the One".

You think I want to do this? It's very expensive, and it's easy to cut down!

The Sendai Domain was always in this state of uneasiness and anxiety, and while actively improving the feudal administration, it also watched the movements of Edo Castle vigilantly, lest it be killed by the Tokugawa clan.

Well, it's too aggrieved and too depressing!

Therefore, when the Mori clan of the Choshu Domain was angry at the crown, oh no, it should be for dignity, and directly flipped the table and openly confronted the Tokugawa shogunate. Date knew it was time for a change.

More than a month ago, with the covert help of "some people", the governor of the Sendai Domain, Date Yoshimura, who had been assigned to the staff of Edo Castle, successfully escaped and returned to Sendai smoothly.

The Sendai Domain's army of more than 5,000 people marched towards the Kanto region in a mighty manner, preparing to take advantage of the fact that the shogunate army was entangled with the Sacho coalition army in Zhoufang and Nagato.

In less than half a month, the Sendai Domain's army successively defeated several Daimyo clan armies of the Fukushima Domain, Shirakawa Domain, Moriyama Domain, Iwaki Taira Domain, Matsuoka Domain, etc., and on October 15, severely damaged the "rebel army" hastily organized by Tokugawa Soyao of the Mito Domain, which shook the world.

As a result, the enraged shogunate, while actively organizing the defense of the Kanto region and Edo Castle, once again issued a conscription order from the shogunate, requiring the feudal states of Mutsu, Dewa, Hitachi, and Shimono to dispatch their feudal armies to attack the Date clan of the Sendai domain.

However, not long after the conscription order was issued, the Akino Kingdom and the Pacification Prefecture in the northern part of the Mutsu region announced a state of emergency mobilization, and the ships of the Ming Kingdom frequently roamed the waters around Tohoku Japan, with a major attempt to attack the Mutsu domains.

Under these circumstances, the feudal states in the regions such as Mutsu and Dewa were terrified, and these feudal states, who did not want to get involved, took the opportunity to shirk the shogunate's orders and retreated their respective feudal armies to the castles in preparation for a possible military invasion by the Northern Ming.

As a result, there was little threat from the north and south sides of the Sendai Domain, and it was possible to attack the core area of the shogunate with all its strength to the south.

When the "Morigen" sailed into the Sendai Outer Harbor and docked at the dock, it was not surprising that the Date clan was furious because the grain on board was "forcibly bought" by the shogunate.

I'm fighting a war here, why is there no food to order?

Why don't you Qi people have any responsibility at all, how can you let the shogunate confiscate the food on the ship?

Could it be that you are still afraid that the shogunate will be rude to you?

Well, in this situation, it would be best for the shogunate to clash with the Qi country, so as to reduce the military pressure on the fallen shogunate!

In order not to offend the Sendai Clan too much, the captain of the Qi Kingdom, who knew that he was at a loss, would not offend the Sendai Clan too much - after all, during the war in Japan, a large number of merchants would flock to him like hyenas that smelled fishy, and thoughtfully sold several guns equipped on the ship to Date at a "discount", and at the same time gave the other party dozens of muskets looted on the ship.

What, what if the ship is about to sail the vast Pacific Ocean and is attacked by pirates or island natives?

Don't be funny, during this period, in addition to the ships of the Qi State, there were only merchant ships belonging to Luzon (Zheng) and Wei Guo in the entire Pacific Ocean, and there were any threats such as pirates.

Even the Spaniards, who had opened up the galleon trade, did not like to wander around the Pacific Ocean very much, but waited in Spanish America for the Oriental world to take the initiative to transport a steady stream of goods.

Because, the domineering Qi people declared that the Pacific islands were all protected territories of the Qi State, and unceremoniously divided the entire Pacific Ocean into their sphere of influence, and no foreign countries and forces were allowed to touch it.

Not to mention, the Qi people also carried out migration activities of varying scales in a number of key Pacific islands, and also sent officials and soldiers to settle in.

The hegemony of the two oceans of the Great Qi Empire is not something to be talked about casually!

In addition, the "Shengyuan" is a steam-sail hybrid ship, if it really wins the jackpot, it can easily escape the pursuit of the enemy with its high speed and high maneuverability when encountering pirates flowing to the Pacific waters.

As a result, the merchant ships running the Pacific route are basically unarmed. Of course, this also frees up more space for the vessel to load more cargo.

Therefore, the guns on the "Shengyuan" were originally intended to be smuggled into the Sendai Domain, and in order to show full sincerity in front of the Date clan, the shipowner deliberately claimed that he did not hesitate to sacrifice the armament of the entire ship, and sold these guns to the other party "with tears", so as to win the favor of the other party, so that the next time he traded, he could get more trading opportunities and preferential margins.

You must know that the Pacific route is not comparable to the Indian Ocean route, and there are many trade opportunities throughout the circle, and you can frequently sail into or stop at ports for trading. In the vast Pacific Ocean, the natives of the many scattered islands have little spending power, and can only be used as water supply points along the way.

As a result, in addition to making a circle around the Japanese islands as much as possible, the merchant ships on the Pacific route could only sail to the Americas as fast as possible, either to trade with the territory of Qi Yinzhou or to trade with the Spanish American colonies.

With such a long distance and so few trading opportunities, it is not enough to fill the merchant ship to a higher profit on trade.

The "Shengyuan" stayed in the Sendai Outer Port for only four days, and after purchasing large quantities of copper and saltpeter, it set sail for Kiyoto (present-day Hakodate City, Hokkaido).

"Actually, the shogunate, which was already in trouble, could have avoided the outbreak of war."

Winter is about to begin, the cold sea breeze carries gusts of chill, and the waves splash on the side from time to time, and Shi Baoshan, the captain of the Shengyuan, wraps the woolen coat on his body a few points tighter.

"The shogunate was too confident that with its own great strength, it would be able to suppress the daimyo of the world's feudal domains. In addition, they grossly underestimate the complexity and threat of the external situation. Of course, we do not want such a large country with a population of more than 20 million to achieve true reunification, and Beiming does not want to see Japan have a chance to rise and prosper. ”

"Yes, this is a war, and it is not easy to do business." Boatswain Liao Fuyuan nodded and agreed: "The money is all gone, who will we sell the goods of Qi Country to?" ”

"Well, I hope that after a few battles, the shogunate will be able to stop in time and continue to return to its former state after feeling that it is unable to completely put down the rebellious Choshu, Satsuma, and Sendai domains." Shi Baoshan said: "You said that you want to withdraw the feudal county, you can't make all the big names of the feudal kingdom panic!" The shogunate was still too anxious, so it should first try to establish counties and counties within its own domain, promote centralization, and then gradually expand to the imperial three families, pro-feudal daimyos, and genealogy daimyos, and finally take those external daimyo who are not in line with the shogunate. Step by step, wrapped in the general trend, slowly advancing, maybe we can be complete and truly unified. ”

"Unlikely." Liao Fuyuan shook his head and said: "Beiming doesn't want Japan to complete internal integration so easily and achieve unification in the true sense. If you think about it, Japan has a population ten times that of the Northern Ming Dynasty, and they are all a single ethnic group, which has been influenced by Chinese Confucianism for thousands of years. If the reform and reform are successful and developed, it will inevitably pose a substantial threat to the Beiming Dynasty. Originally, he couldn't cope with the Qin State, and in the face of the rising Japan, Beiming was afraid that he wouldn't even dare to close his eyes if he even slept well! ”

"Not bad. Beiming ignored the large areas of borderless land in Lingbei and the polar regions, and wanted to arch to the Japanese island, hoping that the whole of Japan would return to the situation of civil strife in the war. This time, the shogunate's misdemeanor made the Northern Ming find an opportunity, and maybe they will make another move to continue to encroach and annex the northern region of Mutsu. ”

(End of chapter)