Chapter 1616: Karma Comes Full Circle

"First, let's turn Nagasaki into an isolated city." Zhao Song turned and began to walk away. "We'll have our men land in the outer suburbs first. Once ashore, we'll haul the cannons up too, then march our troops forward and cut off Nagasaki's rear lines, turning it into a city completely cut off. After that, we'll bombard them and burn them out — eventually, we can smoke them to death."

"And even if that doesn't smoke them to death, it'll force them to come out and fight us, won't it?" Ma Tongji's face lit up with sudden understanding; he finally grasped his commander's intent. "I beg Marshal Zhao to send us ashore for this mission when the time comes. We can absolutely sever Nagasaki's connection to the interior and force those rats to crawl out and face us in a decisive battle!"

"You really are full of drive." Zhao Song smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. "Let's eat first. The men must be starving after today."

As he returned to his resting quarters, the dark night sky shrouded the entire world. Aside from the flames still blazing skyward on the shore, no trace of war remained.

That very night, as the Great Han pressed its advance, word finally reached the Satsuma Domain at the southwestern corner of Kyushu.

The Great Han's advance had gone smoothly all along the way; the Fukuoka Domain and Nagasaki had both suffered devastating blows, and the Great Han had now landed at Hakata Bay... This string of reports was, of course, a crushing calamity for those loyal to the shogunate, but for the Satsuma Domain and the Shimazu clan, it was an opportunity — the opportunity that would let them make their final decision.

Within Tsurumaru Castle, the main stronghold of the Shimazu domain, Zhou Pu smiled broadly as he looked upon the domain lord, Shimazu Tadatsune.

"Does the domain lord believe it now? The military might of our Great Han is not something the shogunate can withstand."

Ever since the day he had set the fires and fled Nagasaki, he and the others from the trading post had, under the cover of Shimazu men, made their way into Satsuma territory and been received at Tsurumaru Castle, becoming honored guests of the domain lord — though, of course, had the Great Han not advanced, or had their advance gone poorly, they might just as easily have become prisoners or corpses beneath the blade.

So, upon hearing the news that the Great Han had advanced and all was going smoothly, Zhou Pu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now the domain lord need not hesitate any longer, nor is there anyone left to interfere with his decisions — the shogunate has already concentrated its own forces and those of pro-shogunate domains to resist our Great Han. For the domain lord, western Kyushu now lies effectively undefended... If you do not act now, when will you?"

Shimazu Tadatsune remained seated upright in the place of honor, silent, though his hands had already clenched into tight fists.

He was extremely tense right now.

He had not even been this tense when he had resolved to stake everything on this gamble with the Great Han.

Now the opportunity had finally arrived. In his hands, the Shimazu clan would rise to glory once more, reclaiming its former splendor and power, and perhaps even go further, becoming the master of Kyushu...

"The Great Han... will truly not go back on its word after the war and deny us dominion over all of Kyushu?" Though he knew such a question was essentially meaningless, Shimazu Tadatsune could not help but ask it once more.

"Our Great Han keeps its word and never reneges. His Highness the Crown Prince personally wrote a document confirming this to the domain lord — could that possibly be false?" Zhou Pu could not suppress another laugh. "Of course, as we said before, Nagasaki is not included in that."

"Good... good..." Shimazu Tadatsune still gripped his fists tightly, then abruptly rose to his feet. "Attend me!"

Several trusted aides, long prepared for this, immediately strode in.

"Get the troops in order at once. Tonight, I want every domain soldier assembled!" he barked his orders at them. "Then await my command — we march tomorrow morning!"

Ever since reaching their tacit understanding with Zhou Pu and his party, Satsuma had been secretly reorganizing its armaments and using the firearms provided by the Great Han to equip itself. However, wary of the shogunate's reaction, they had done so with some stealth. But after receiving the directive sent by Naitō Tadashige ordering all domains to arm themselves against a Great Han invasion, Shimazu Tadatsune cast all caution aside. Under the pretext of defending against the Great Han, the entire domain began massing its forces, ready to march at any moment.

That said, the Shimazu clan had no desire to attack Nagasaki or the Kurume Domain and serve as the Great Han's vanguard. Their first target for the advance was the Nobeoka Domain, which lay to their north within Hyūga Province.

The Nobeoka Domain was not large, assessed at fifty thousand koku. Its lord, Arima Naozumi, was a cadet branch of the Arima family of Kurume Domain, and like the main family, he was aligned with the shogunate, having married Kunihime, the adopted daughter of Tokugawa Ieyasu (she was the daughter of Honda Tadamasa). Because of his pro-shogunate stance, he had always been deeply disrespectful toward Satsuma, and for this, he had been marked as Satsuma's primary target of attack.

Satsuma planned to first swallow this small fifty-thousand-koku domain, then push northward all the way, link up with the Great Han's forces, and sever the connection between Kyushu and Honshu. After that, together with the Great Han's army, they would slowly devour the entirety of Kyushu, securing a dominant position for themselves first.

Next, attended by his servants, Shimazu Tadatsune began donning his armor.

This armor was what he had worn in his campaigns years ago, lying forgotten and gathering dust for who knew how long. His retainers had originally suggested he change into a new set, but he had refused.

He wanted to wear this very armor to stir the memories of those bygone days, to bear witness to his new glory...

"Sir Zhou, we are about to march and formally become your allies. At this point, there is little else to say — we simply ask that you continue to deal with us in good faith, so that we may coordinate with you to bring down the shogunate." He regarded Zhou Pu with solemnity. "Now, I shall personally lead the force and advance upon the Nobeoka Domain. Come with me. When our two armies meet... you will be a great hero of your nation."

"May the domain lord's auspicious words prove true..." Zhou Pu could not help but burst into loud laughter.

"If all goes truly smoothly, you, my lord, will likely rise step by step after this, perhaps even becoming the highest-ranking official of the Great Han stationed in Japan?" Shimazu Tadatsune smiled faintly, as if seeking to curry favor with Zhou Pu, yet also as if hinting at something deeper. "I ask that you continue to look after us in the future."

"The domain lord has given us so much aid; when the time comes, we will naturally spare no effort to repay it. You need not worry." Zhou Pu assumed the man merely wanted further reassurance, so he casually placated him. "Whether I remain in Japan or not, so long as I hold office in the imperial court, I will do everything in my power to assist the Shimazu clan."

"In that case, my lord... might you be able to put in a good word for us with the Great Han court regarding one particular matter?" Shimazu Tadatsune's smile deepened. "If you can help us with this, our Shimazu clan will exhaust every resource to repay you."

"Please, domain lord, speak," Zhou Pu replied, feeling a bit puzzled.

"After the war, since all of Kyushu will fall into our domain's hands, could our domain... simply be elevated to a kingdom outright? We would form our own nation and serve as a tributary vassal of the Great Han for generations to come." Shimazu Tadatsune spoke to Zhou Pu with great earnestness. "We occupy an entire island and can thus set ourselves apart from the mainland. The Great Han would garrison troops in Nagasaki... We would serve as each other's mutual support. Would that not be excellent?"

From the perspective of his own interests and those of the Shimazu clan, the title of domain lord was naturally not as pleasing to the ear as that of a national sovereign. Since they were already selling out their country, they might as well sell out a little more and become sovereigns.

But Zhou Pu did not see it that way.

Keeping Shimazu Tadatsune and the Satsuma Domain within Japan's internal system would, on one hand, allow them to be used to check the postwar Japanese court and the Edo shogunate, and on the other hand, allow the court and shogunate to be used to check them — if the Shimazu were permitted to secede and form an independent kingdom on Kyushu, that balance would be destroyed, and the result would simply be the complete collapse of all checks and balances.

Furthermore, the Great Han was attacking a nation of tens of millions with a force of fewer than ten thousand men. The greatest taboo was making too many enemies, which was why they had always designated the shogunate alone as the enemy, marching under the banner of restoring proper order. If they were to actually carve territory directly out of Japan, would that not be slapping their own faces and bankrupting their own propaganda?

When the time came, the Shimazu kingdom on Kyushu might not necessarily feel all that grateful to the Great Han, while the remaining factions of Japan would harbor deep hatred for the Great Han, making control far more laborious for no good reason.

Zhou Pu made his decision quickly. There was no need for him to go that far for the Shimazu clan's benefit.

But... they still needed the Shimazu clan for now. He decided to feign agreement for the time being. Once the Great Han had full control of the situation, there would be plenty of time to slowly deal with the Shimazu.

"The domain lord's proposal... does have some merit. I am not opposed to it myself..." Zhou Pu replied calmly. "However, this is not a matter I can decide on my own. It requires approval from back home — I can only put in a word or two for the domain lord when the time comes, but I cannot guarantee the outcome."

"We naturally understand your difficulties, my lord. The matter of founding a nation can, after all, only be sanctioned by your nation's Son of Heaven." Shimazu Tadatsune did not seem intent on forcing any commitment from him now, and instead nodded with considerable understanding. "However, so long as you exert yourself on our behalf in advocating for this, we can offer sufficient gratitude. Kyushu may be a barren place, and our humble domain has always been rather impoverished, but there are still some gold and silver deposits within our borders..."

Indeed, there was a gold mine within Satsuma's territory, in the Nagano region of the domain. Though not on the massive scale of the Sado gold mine, surveys had shown the reserves to be considerable. The Shimazu clan had always wished to develop this gold mine to ease the domain's financial pressures, but the Tokugawa shogunate, seeking to limit the Shimazu's power, had consistently refused to grant approval, forbidding them from exploiting the gold mine within their domain — this was one of the reasons the Shimazu clan detested the Tokugawa shogunate.

Previously, out of fear of the shogunate's authority, they could only endure, sitting on a gold mountain they could not mine, watching the domain's finances deteriorate day by day. But now, having hitched themselves to the great tree of the Great Han, and with the shogunate seemingly unable to restore its rule over Kyushu, the Shimazu clan no longer had any need to worry about the shogunate's wishes. They intended to immediately restart the development of the gold mine.

The gold mine could serve as a source of revenue to boost the domain's economy, and naturally, it could also serve as a door-opener, a way to tempt the Great Han's officials and secure their covert support.

"I appreciate the domain lord's generous intentions." Sure enough, Zhou Pu wore an expression of keen interest. "But with a powerful enemy before us, this is hardly the time to discuss such matters in detail. We can talk more thoroughly later."

"Good!" By now, Shimazu Tadatsune had finished donning his gear. He raised his hand and brandished the weapon he held. "Then let us be off, Sir Zhou."

And so, surrounded by a large entourage, Zhou Pu and Shimazu Tadatsune rode out of Tsurumaru Castle together, advancing on horseback toward the domain's northern border.

Because preparations had long been underway, the bulk of Satsuma's army had already begun massing at the northern border. Those now leaving the castle were only Shimazu Tadatsune himself and some of his trusted close attendants. Yet, though their numbers were few, these men wore gleaming armor and bore stern expressions, moving forward with a rhythm so uniform it was almost synchronized. Some rode horses, but most advanced on foot, so their speed was not great, yet they exuded an immensely oppressive feeling.

These close attendants were Shimazu Tadatsune's personal trusted troops, and naturally, their equipment was the finest. Although the Shimazu clan, after over thirty years of suppression by the shogunate, could no longer match its military strength at its zenith, these elite soldiers had, of course, always been exceptionally well maintained. Their armor had been handpicked from the Shimazu clan's stockpiles and was extremely sturdy, and many of them also carried firearms — these firearms were distributed from the weapons Zhou Pu had specifically smuggled in via Great Han merchant ships. Though they were firearms recently phased out of the army, their power and accuracy were the best of any weapons in Japan at the time, far surpassing those old "teppō."

With such a personal armed force under his direct command, Shimazu Tadatsune had the confidence to proactively launch campaigns against other domains and coordinate with the Great Han's operations.

The sky was very dark, and even the moonlight was dim, casting barely any shadows on the ground, though it made the armor gleam somewhat dazzlingly. Gazing out from horseback, Zhou Pu saw an unbroken line of torches stretching into the distance, as if he were in the midst of a fiery dragon. All around was silent; aside from the rhythmic sound of marching, there was not the slightest noise.

By the time Shimazu Yoshihiro had swiftly escorted Zhou Pu across his domain's territory and they reached the border between the Shimazu lands and the Nobeoka Domain, it was already the early hours of the morning. Though ordinary people would be deep in slumber at this hour, Zhou Pu found that he felt not the slightest bit sleepy.

On the contrary, for some unknown reason, the further they advanced, the more his blood seemed to surge within him. His entire body brimmed with inexhaustible energy, and even his eyesight had sharpened considerably.

Looking out, the surrounding area was an open plain. Verdant green rice seedlings filled his entire field of vision, stretching on into the darkness where sky and earth merged. Beneath the dark sky, the rice stalks swayed in the paddies, like a deep and ghostly realm.

Yet what lurked within this darkness was not danger or fear, but wealth and glory... All the hardship of these many days, all the risks taken — everything had finally borne fruit... It all came down to this moment!

Zhou Pu's eyes widened as he looked toward Shimazu Tadatsune beside him.

Shimazu Tadatsune was equally solemn. Under the gaze of all, his expression unchanging, he stared steadily at the distant plain.

Once he took this step, there would be no turning back. The Shimazu clan would stake the lives of their entire family on a single gamble — glorious beyond measure if they succeeded, even if they had to bear a villain's name; and if they failed… then it would be no more than cherry blossoms withering and falling from the sky.

In this life, he had caught the last afterglow of the Warring States era, met the once-unrivaled ruler of the realm Toyotomi Hideyoshi face to face, fought in the Battle of Sekigahara, witnessed the collapse of the Western Army, and then, over a decade later, seen with his own eyes the final withering of the Toyotomi house.

In this life, what else could still stir his heartstrings? The Toyotomi clan, Ishida Mitsunari, Kobayakawa Hideaki — each of those names had once blazed with such brilliance that he could not help but fear and respect them, yet now they had all vanished, and even the successors to their family names were utterly gone.

In the hot-blooded days of his youth, he had sworn a grand vow to make the Shimazu clan flourish in his own hands — not necessarily to dominate the realm, but at the very least never to live beneath another's heel. For this he had campaigned north and south, enduring peril after peril. But circumstances proved stronger than men, and in the end he had no choice but to face reality, submit to the victors of Sekigahara, and endure decades of their relentless oppression, all for the sake of keeping his family alive, continuing to exist as a daimyo at the southernmost tip of the Japanese archipelago.

Everyone believed he had gone quiet, that he could only fade into obscurity and die as a vassal of the Tokugawa. He had thought so too. Yet in his heart, that flame could never be fully extinguished — a single ember always remained, gnawing at his heart with each passing day.

He refused to accept it. He believed the Tokugawa house had not won the realm fair and square, and he held even greater contempt for the descendants Tokugawa Ieyasu had left behind. What right did they have to issue orders to him? They were nothing but a pack of worthless men.

He had thought he could only carry this resentment to the grave, that his descendants would have to lie dormant in their hatred of the shogunate, waiting for an opportunity to overthrow it that might not come for centuries. He had never imagined that such an opportunity would arrive while he was still alive.

The sky was already growing light. A pale white glow was gradually spreading across the eastern heavens, and the outlines of the distant countryside and hills were slowly revealing themselves before him. Every tree and blade of grass here had once been deeply familiar to him, for this land had been territory held by the Shimazu clan — land they had been forced to withdraw from only after Sekigahara and the founding of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Because they had received word from the shogunate that the Great Han might invade and to prepare defenses, the Nobeoka Domain was now mustering the armed forces within its territory and concentrating them all at the domain's main castle, planning to march to Nagasaki or wherever the Great Han army landed to meet the enemy once the muster was complete. The border with Satsuma Domain was therefore essentially undefended. How could they possibly have imagined that the first attack they suffered would come from Satsuma Domain, of the same script and same race?

Since Heaven wills it so, then let me personally fight to reclaim everything that belongs to the Shimazu. The time has come.