Chapter 1550: Placing the Bet

This group had been searching everywhere along the mountainside, but they moved in mutual silence, showing little of the enthusiasm of a hunt. Instead, they seemed rather cautious, as if worried about something.

When they saw a group of people dressed in the same short jackets, their hair coiled in buns and attired like farmers, approaching in their direction, this silent party finally stirred with a faint ripple of commotion.

In Japan, the social hierarchy between samurai and commoners was rigidly stratified. Although samurai could no longer slaughter farmers on a whim as they had in the Warring States era, peasants absolutely dared not approach a gathering of samurai lightly. And so... a glimmer of understanding dawned in everyone's mind.

Veiled by the mountain grasses, the figures flickered in and out of view, but the sound of their footsteps grew heavier and heavier, mingling with the mountain wind sighing through the withered grass, making every heart increasingly unsettled.

At last, under their watchful gaze, this group arrived before them. These people were all tall of stature and very young, their movements swift and agile. Though dressed as farmers, they did not look in the least like men who had toiled long in the fields.

A young man at their head stepped out from the ranks, then with the utmost deference made a deep bow, hands clasped, towards Shimazu Tadahiro in the center of the crowd. Then, in extremely fluent Kyushu dialect, he spoke.

"I am Zhou Pu, special envoy of the Great Han Empire. I pay my respects to the Lord of the Shimazu Domain!"

Indeed, he was Zhou Pu, the Foreign Affairs Bureau official dispatched by the Great Han to Japan to undertake the task of communicating with the local powerful clans. While still in the Great Han, he had already set the Shimazu family of the Satsuma Domain as his primary work target. After arriving in Japan and observing for a period of time, he finally made up his mind, then contacted the Shimazu family through certain channels and arranged to meet the domain lord, Shimazu Tadahiro.

Although the shogunate recognized the Shimazu family's rule over the Satsuma Domain, because the Shimazu had repeatedly opposed the Tokugawa family in the past, they had always kept Shimazu Tadahiro and other important Shimazu figures under surveillance. Therefore, to lull the shogunate into complacency, Shimazu Tadahiro used the pretext of going out to hunt, bringing a group of trusted retainers out of the Satsuma Domain's main castle, Tsurumaru Castle (Kagoshima Castle), and arriving at the foot of Mount Korai.

It was easy to imagine how tense their hearts must have been.

When he called out these words, the others opposite him turned pale and exchanged glances, the last vestiges of wishful thinking vanishing from some of their minds. They knew they had now all become involved in an extraordinary conspiracy.

Unlike the nervous and uneasy retainers beside him, Shimazu Tadahiro was far more composed. He waved his hand, gesturing to a young retainer next to him.

"Shigekata, go over and take a look."

"Yes!" The young retainer immediately accepted the order, dismounted, and walked towards Zhou Pu and his men. He wore a sword at his waist, his movements swift, agile, and powerful, looking highly proficient with weaponry.

His name was Togo Shigekata, a member of the Togo family, retainers to the Shimazu. His father, Togo Shigetaka, was a famed swordmaster of the Warring States era and the founder of the Jigen-ryu style. In his youth, he had pledged allegiance to the Shimazu family and become their retainer. After two generations of loyal service, Togo Shigekata had become a retainer deeply trusted by the domain lord, Shimazu Tadahiro.

Having inherited his father's teachings in swordsmanship and after years of arduous practice, his skill had become exceptionally outstanding, arguably among the best of the Shimazu retainers. For this reason, Shimazu Tadahiro always kept him by his side as a bodyguard.

With a stern expression, the young man walked up to these uninvited guests and began to search them. Zhou Pu raised his hands and signaled for his own men to submit to the search as well.

After the search was complete, Zhou Pu took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Togo Shigekata.

Swiftly, Togo Shigekata took the letter and walked back to Shimazu Tadahiro, presenting it to him with utmost respect.

After receiving the letter, Shimazu Tadahiro did not read its contents, for the sake of secrecy, the letter was written casually and its content was utterly irrelevant. What he examined was the seal stamped at the very end.

Once he confirmed that the seal's pattern and characters matched exactly what he had previously agreed upon with the other party, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He waved his hand again, and immediately a retainer led a horse over to Zhou Pu once more.

"Sir Zhou, please take a step forward and follow us. The domain lord wishes to find a secluded place to converse with you," this retainer said to Zhou Pu with a bow, speaking in extremely fluent Chinese.

The Shimazu family had always had Ming Chinese in their service internally, so there was no shortage of retainers proficient in Chinese. A representative example was the Gō E Ken family. Gō E Ken, originally named Huang Youxian, had come to Japan to escape misfortune during the Wanli era of the former Ming dynasty and became a Shimazu retainer. He was well-versed in Chinese scholarship and eloquent in speech, earning him the Shimazu family's significant trust.

During Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea and the subsequent war with the Great Ming, he had even met the Ming envoy Shen Weijing who came to Japan and was responsible for interpretation work.

After his death, his son, Gō E Nikan, continued to serve as a Shimazu retainer, and after years of immersion, he had become completely indistinguishable from a Japanese, save for his mastery of Chinese.

The Chinese-proficient retainer brought along by Shimazu Tadahiro today was precisely Gō E Nikan's son, Gō E Meikan. His clothing and hairstyle were no different from the other retainers; from his outward appearance, not a trace of Han Chinese heritage could be seen.

Like the Gō E family, during the chaotic final years of the Ming dynasty, and especially with the monumental shift of the Mandate of Heaven occurring just a few years prior, there had been a continuous stream of Ming Chinese crossing the sea to Japan to seek refuge from the turmoil. These included not only landlords and merchants, but even former Ming officials and scholars.

The most famous among them was undoubtedly Zhu Zhiyu. Born into a family of Ming scholar-officials, his learning was profoundly deep. After the Ming's fall, having sworn never to become a subject of the Great Han, he sailed across the sea and settled in Nagasaki. Due to his great scholarship, he earned the respect of local Japanese scholars and frequently gave lectures there.

Zhou Pu, of course, was unaware of these intricacies, and so he was slightly surprised. However, he reflected that the Shimazu family had dominated Kyushu for so many years; though now repeatedly suppressed, their internal foundations must still be considerable. Having a retainer so proficient in Chinese was hardly surprising.

He did not object to Shimazu Tadahiro's cautiousness, nor was he afraid. From the day he set foot on Kyushu island, he had already put thoughts of life and death out of his mind. This was the Shimazu family's vital heartland; if the other party intended him harm, what use would even those few guards by his side be?

"Very well," he agreed directly, then crisply mounted the horse. Turning back, he gave an order to the men he had brought: "You all wait here for now. Do not wander off anywhere!"

Then, without further words, he rode directly up to the front of the Shimazu retainer group, coming face to face with Shimazu Tadahiro.

Shimazu Tadahiro had remained silent all along, merely observing Zhou Pu quietly, as if gauging his capabilities. Zhou Pu, for his part, showed no sign of weakness, sitting tall on his horse and meeting his gaze. The old man, his beard and hair all white, had a gaze that was dark and brooding; the tall, gallant young man had a gaze that was proud and fervent. For a moment, neither gave ground.

After a moment, Shimazu Tadahiro nodded almost imperceptibly, then suddenly wheeled his horse around and trotted towards the mountain path behind him. Having received the hint, Zhou Pu immediately spurred his horse to follow. The other retainers had intended to follow as well, but at a gesture from Shimazu Tadahiro, only Togo Shigekata and Gō E Meikan came along; everyone else was forced to remain where they were.

Shimazu Tadahiro still said nothing, only urging his horse forward at a rapid pace. Zhou Pu, not knowing his intentions, could only ride closely behind. They soon galloped into the mountain foothills, the vegetation growing ever more lush, the path ever more narrow.

Finally, beneath the shade of a large tree, Shimazu Tadahiro reined in his horse and stopped. Zhou Pu quickly caught up and pulled his horse to a halt as well.

"You have great courage, remaining composed throughout," Shimazu Tadahiro turned his head to look at Zhou Pu. "Your Emperor did not choose the wrong man."

"Many thanks for the domain lord's praise," Zhou Pu smiled slightly. "I am merely a nameless nobody within the Great Han court, not someone specifically chosen by His Majesty. In the court, there are many far more capable than I."

"The Great Han has many talents, and Japan has many as well," Shimazu Tadahiro was unmoved by Zhou Pu's words. "If the Great Han Emperor wishes to launch an expedition against Japan, it will not be so easy."

When he had first heard the news that the Great Han intended to attack Japan, he could scarcely believe it. For a thousand years, although the people of the Central Plains had clashed with Japan a few times in Korea, no Central Plains emperor had ever launched a conquest of Japan. Only when the Mongols occupied the Central Plains had they tried. Though he knew the Great Han Emperor was fiercely ambitious, he had never imagined he would set his sights on Japan.

"Where there is a will, there is a way. The officers and soldiers of our Great Han navy and army have been fighting across various lands for many years and have never met a match. Such a battle-hardened force is surely far stronger than the shogunate's army," Zhou Pu answered with great certainty, to demonstrate his confidence. "Once the Great Han army sets foot on Japan, it will utterly rout the shogunate forces. Then the Shimazu family will never again have to suffer the shogunate's oppression!"

"Back then, the Mongols also campaigned everywhere, destroying countless nations and conquering an even vaster territory than the Great Han holds today. Yet they still could not defeat the Japanese shogunate." Although Zhou Pu spoke with fervent passion, the old man remained extremely calm. "They came twice, and both times they were defeated right here in Kyushu, their great armies completely annihilated."

Zhou Pu understood why this old man's attitude was so cold: he had not yet decided whether to place his bet.

Rebellion was a high-risk venture. The shogunate's power in Japan was now immense, far more than the Shimazu family alone could contend with. If he rashly joined in and it failed, not only would his own life be forfeit, but the Shimazu family's domain and very existence would hang in the balance.

He needed to confirm the Great Han's resolve and believe that the Great Han could absolutely defeat the shogunate — at the very least, drive the shogunate out of Kyushu island — before he would place his bet.