Chapter 1552: Awakening

In truth, his words were only half genuine. It was true that officials of the Japanese shogunate often used the isolation policy as a pretext to restrict and extort Chinese merchants, but this trade was actually quite beneficial to China as well, because the shogunate now only traded with China and the Dutch, inadvertently eliminating many of China's competitors. However, Shimazu Tadatsune had long been removed from the details of trade between the two nations, so he naturally had no way of knowing the intricacies involved.

"For the sake of trade between our two nations, for some gold and silver..." Shimazu Tadatsune narrowed his eyes slightly. "Are those truly your only objectives?"

"What does the domain lord mean by that?" Zhou Pu asked, somewhat surprised.

"Your Han Emperor is a great hero. I fear him." Shimazu Tadatsune said abruptly. "If he fights his way to Kyushu but then decides not to withdraw his troops, at that point I will have become a sinner of Japan."

You, afraid of becoming some sinner of Japan? If you were afraid of becoming a sinner of Japan, you wouldn't have come to meet me. You're simply afraid that after our Great Han army defeats Japan, they'll snatch away your old Kyushu base as well... Zhou Pu chuckled inwardly.

"On this point, the domain lord may set his mind at ease! Our imperial Son of Heaven merely wishes to uphold righteousness on behalf of Japan, and harbors no improper designs. Japan has never been the king's land of China, and is moreover a fairly respectful tributary state. There is absolutely no reason for China to seize Japanese territory!" Zhou Pu's face was a picture of righteous solemnity. Naturally, there was no way he could reveal the court's plan to carve out Nagasaki Port after the war. "Furthermore, the Shimazu family held Kyushu for many years, only to have it violently seized by the shogunate, reducing you now to being trapped within Satsuma Domain. Our nation also feels that the shogunate's actions violate public justice. After the war, Kyushu island must be restored to its original condition."

"Great Han intends to give Kyushu island to the Shimazu family after the war?" Shimazu Tadatsune's white beard trembled slightly again. "Are these words true?"

"These were spoken personally by the Great Han Emperor. How could they possibly be false?" Zhou Pu replied with head held high. "Domain lord, consider this: the soil of Japan has not been the king's land of China for a thousand years, and the people of Japan are not the people of China. If we were to occupy Japanese territory, China would have to mobilize troops and masses. How much time and wealth would that cost? What use would occupying this place serve? Is it to turn the people of Japan into the people of China... would that not be a sheer waste of money? Our imperial Son of Heaven is brilliant and wise, and would absolutely never do such a futile thing. So long as Japan can restore its order after the war, and then restore normal tributary and economic relations between our two nations, our court will naturally cease hostilities and withdraw its troops, allowing both nations to share peace."

Shimazu Tadatsune was finally moved.

He realized that everything this young man said was very reasonable; he had no grounds to refuse. The Chinese Emperor had sent an expeditionary force far from home, and could not possibly maintain a massive army in Japan to wage prolonged campaigns. He could only defeat the shogunate, obtain satisfactory reparations, and then withdraw the bulk of his forces. As for spending money to send these people away, that would be the court and the shogunate spending money — what did that have to do with him?

Moreover, as this young man had said, with the strength of the Great Han navy, as long as they could occupy Kyushu island, even if the northern advance met with setbacks, relying on the navy and the power of Satsuma Domain to hold Kyushu island would at least pose no problem.

If everything went smoothly, they would march directly on Kyoto, overturn the existing order in Japan, and vent years of pent-up resentment. If things did not go smoothly, they could at least rely on the power of the Great Han navy to hold Kyushu, carve out their own territory, and stand in defiance against the shogunate.

As long as he could avenge the hatred of the shogunate's constant bullying, and then bring the entire territory of Kyushu island into the Shimazu family's sphere of influence, what did the imperial court's fate have to do with him?

The moment this thought crossed his mind, the old man finally stopped hesitating.

Tokugawa Ieyasu and Tokugawa Hidetada were both dead. Then he would fight it out once more with the Tokugawa brat!

"How many iron cannons can you give me right now?" He suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared coldly at Zhou Pu.

"What?" Startled by that stare, Zhou Pu was slightly taken aback and did not react for a moment. He had not expected that this old man, who had been voicing doubts just moments ago, would suddenly, without any warning, broach this topic.

"Since the Great Han Emperor wants my help, he couldn't possibly have sent you merely to deliver a few words, could he? What he intends to give me — you are the special envoy dispatched by the Great Han Emperor, you cannot be unaware." The old man's tone remained very flat, but a hint of ruthlessness had crept into it. "How many iron cannons can you give me right now?"

The "iron cannons" he spoke of were in fact nothing more than firearms, specifically the matchlock guns that the Spanish and Portuguese had sold back in the day. These matchlocks were extremely primitive and not very powerful, but after their introduction to Japan, they quickly became the decisive weapons used by the Japanese to fight one another during the Warring States period. In recent years, however, firearms produced by many Great Han military workshops had also flowed into Japan. Although the quantities were very small and most were directly monopolized by the shogunate itself, some had still made their way into the hands of the Shimazu family. The craftsmanship of these firearms was vastly superior to the iron cannons they had previously owned. Whether in range, firepower, or stability, they far exceeded their original conceptions, making it hard for him to believe they were actually made by mainland craftsmen.

One of the reasons he had such confidence in Great Han's campaign against Japan this time was precisely that the Han army's firearms were simply too devastating, absolutely beyond anything he or the shogunate's army could match.

"If we're talking about iron cannons, it's not as if we have none..." After his initial shock, Zhou Pu quickly recovered.

Before leaving the capital, under the coordination of the Prime Minister himself, he had participated in a closed-door meeting with the Foreign Affairs Department and the Army. During that meeting, he had raised the potential need to provide some military aid to Japanese collaborators. This request had been promptly granted.

Great Han placed immense importance on firearms and their development, and because warfare had been continuous and unending, the demand for firearms was exceedingly high. Under the painstaking and ever-improving research of craftsmen with years of experience, the accuracy of Great Han's firearms grew higher and higher, and their firepower grew stronger and stronger, with weapon upgrades appearing every few years. Each time firearms were upgraded, priority was given to equipping frontline army units, after which large quantities of firearms would be phased out. Most of these decommissioned firearms would flow into civilian hands at low prices, becoming weapons for frontier settlers or hunters, while a portion would be piled into warehouses, destined to be melted down and destroyed.

Thus, to meet Zhou Pu's request, the army officials attending the meeting thought of using these decommissioned firearms piled in warehouses, turning waste into something useful by transferring them to the Japanese daimyo who supported Great Han. Based on their understanding, Japan's firearm technology was very low, and they had always relied on external merchants for imports, resulting in poor quality at high prices. Even these weapons discarded by the Great Han army were, by all accounts, considerably better than their own.

Upon learning of this situation, Zhou Pu was overjoyed. He immediately took his men and followed these army officials to the warehouses around the capital, where they selected a large batch of weapons. When he set out on his journey, these weapons were disguised as porcelain, distributed among multiple Chinese merchant ships, and transported to Nagasaki Port, where they were then moved to the Nagasaki trading house and gathered together. It was fortunate that the shogunate's Nagasaki officials, complacent after many years of peace, had grown negligent and held no wariness toward China, so the matter was handled very smoothly. By now, the Nagasaki trading house already held quite a number of weapons.

"How many?" Shimazu Tadatsune asked, a bit urgently.

"Three to five hundred firearms, all finely crafted, the best firearms of Great Han." After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Pu simply decided to give all the weapons currently gathered to the Shimazu family. "If the domain lord requires them, we can give all of these weapons to you."

"Then what are we waiting for? Quickly find a way to deliver them." Shimazu Tadatsune agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Give me however many weapons you have. I am helping you with such a major undertaking; asking for this small reward in advance is not excessive, is it?"

Before Zhou Pu could say anything more, he waved toward the back and summoned his two retainers over.

"Goto, Togo, the two of you will follow him back later and follow his arrangements!"

"Yes!" Although their inner thoughts differed, both retainers bowed their heads and accepted the order.

Because the rise and fall, honor and disgrace, even the very lives of his entire family were at stake, Shimazu Tadatsune had hesitated earlier. But under Zhou Pu's persuasion, he had now made his decision. And once the decision was made, he would once again become the resolute and decisive Shimazu clan head of his youth.

"The domain lord truly understands righteousness!" Seeing that the other party had completely followed his wishes and agreed to become the vanguard of the royal army, Zhou Pu was also beside himself with joy. "Please rest assured, we will find a way to deliver the weapons to the domain lord as quickly as possible, and will absolutely not delay the domain lord's great undertaking!"

"From now on, do not seek me out again. Communicate with me solely through these two men. Goto is proficient in Chinese, utterly loyal, and a reliable person." Shimazu Tadatsune suddenly raised his head to look at the sky. "I have been hunting long enough this time. It is time to return."

"Many thanks, domain lord!" Zhou Pu once again made a deep bow with clasped hands. "Domain lord, please rest assured. It will not be long before our court's great army can assemble and set out. The day the domain lord reclaims his ancestral lands is close at hand!"

Shimazu Tadatsune said nothing more. He waved his hand, then reined in his horse, turned toward the path he had come from, and rode back.

Along the way, he deliberately slowed his pace, then signaled his trusted retainer Togo Shigehō to ride beside him.

"What are your orders, my lord?" Togo Shigehō, understanding the domain lord's intent, asked in a low voice.

"From now on, you and Goto are to remain by his side at all times, guide his way, and report all of his movements to me." Shimazu Tadatsune lowered his voice. "Whatever he needs or wherever he wants to go, you must do your utmost to assist him."

"Yes." Togo Shigehō assented once more.

"Furthermore, he is an enemy of the shogunate and carries too many secrets on his person. If the shogunate's men find him, you must protect him and prevent him from falling into the shogunate's hands. If escape is truly impossible..." Shimazu Tadatsune gazed at the vigorous silhouette of the young man riding his horse in the distance, his expression utterly unchanged. "You will kill both him and Goto, and then commit suicide."