Daming Military Empire

Chapter 218 Pretending to be a God Stick, Shimahara Harvests Amakusa
The Tokugawa shogunate was blamed. They had lost a few soldiers and hadn't troubled anyone yet. In the end, they became the murderers of the "Hirado Murder" in a blink of an eye, and they couldn't explain it, because they didn't know. Who killed the head of the Matsuura family and all the retainers.

Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu was speechless after receiving the news. The rebel army on Shimabara was enough for him to have a headache, and he really didn't have time to deal with the Matsuura clan in Hirado.So he simply ignored it and made a fuss. The Matsuura family only had 1 people to die. As long as the Shimabara uprising army is dealt with, it will be easy to deal with them.

However, this time he miscalculated, Tianchuan Yuhuang was like a divine help, the flag was raised, and the applicants gathered. As soon as he issued the conscription notice, the recruits almost burst the Hirado Castle, less than ten days He summoned more than 2 horses in no time!In addition to the original Matsuura clan's troops, Tianchuan Yuhuang has more than 3 people under him. This development trend has made more ronin and commoners see hope, and more and more people are coming to Hirado Castle to apply. , as if it really got the favor of the gods.

Of course Tianchuan Yuhuang did not get the favor of the gods. These were the result of his son-in-law Zheng Zhilong's secret assistance. Hong Xu and Gan Hui had more than 2 Japanese pirates under their command. It's no surprise there's such a buzz.

What is Zheng Zhilong doing now?After successfully capturing the position of guardian of the Matsuura family, the next step is to recover Amakusa Shiro, who is rushing to Shimabara right now.

It is said that the shogunate army has besieged Shimabara Castle for more than ten months, but since Shimabara is facing the sea, Ming Dynasty keeps sending warships pretending to be pirates to transport food and supplies, so the rebel army in the city has nothing to do, but the shogunate army outside the city is a bit difficult For the sake of succession.

On this day, Amakusa Shiro Shizhen received the news that his benefactor who had been secretly supporting him came.

Because Zhu Cijiong did a good job of keeping secrets, even Amakusa Shiro didn't know who was secretly supporting him. The sea area between Daming and Dongying has always been a hotbed of pirates. There are countless pirates big and small. He thought it was someone who supported him What about pirates!

This time, Zheng Zhilong brought the 2 main force of the Nanyang Navy and more than [-] foreign pirates under Shi Daxuan. Anyway, the big event in Hirado has been decided, and Zheng Zhilong is not afraid of exposing the target. The large number of pirates is not near Dongying. However, he simply took thousands of large and small warships and went straight to Shimabara Bay under the banner of pirates.

Of course, there is one thing that must not be exposed, that is, the Dongying people should not be allowed to know that the Ming Dynasty navy was involved, so Zheng Zhilong ordered Shi Daxuan to command hundreds of small sailboats and hundreds of blessing ships to sweep around the periphery, while the Nanyang Navy's fifty ships Super battleships are hidden among hundreds of Fuchuan. Such a huge pirate team, even the Shogun will avoid it when they see it. The merchant ships and fishing boats will naturally avoid it when they see it. Everyone can only pray desperately. Pirates don't go to loot near his house, no one knows that the Daming navy is among the pirates.

If any pirate really had such a huge fleet, it would probably be able to rob the entire coastal city of Jiuzhou Island, but Zheng Zhilong is no longer a pirate, so he did not plunder everywhere, but commanded a huge fleet to sail into Shimabara Bay, docked on the sea north of Amakusa Castle, waiting for the arrival of Amakusa Shiro.

Hearing that his benefactor is coming, Amakusa Shiro naturally ran to meet him without hesitation. He hastily handed over the defense of Shimabara Castle to a few able-bodied men, and boarded the pirate ship that came to pick him up, and rushed to Amakusa Castle the sea to the north.

When he saw the countless pirate ships outside, he had a conclusion in his mind, and it really was a powerful group of pirates helping him secretly.However, when he saw the [-] super battleships in the middle, he couldn't help wondering, who is this? He only heard that there are such super battleships in Europe, but he has never heard of such warships in any eastern country. Could it be the Spanish or Dutch fleet?
After boarding the flagship, he was even more puzzled. The flagship is obviously all oriental. What's going on?

The general who led the way just led him in with his head covered, and didn't tell him who the owner of the battleship was. He just entered a large room in the middle of the battleship with doubts.

Zheng Zhilong put a lot of thought into subduing Amakusa Shiro. In order to increase the sense of intimacy, he even turned out the kimono that he hadn't worn for a long time and put it on. So when Amakusa Shiro came in, he was shocked that he was still from Japan. , Do Japan have such a powerful pirate?

Zheng Zhilong put on a pious expression, crossed himself earnestly, and then smiled and said, "God bless you, little brother Shizhen, I'm glad you're safe and sound. When I heard that 12 shogunate troops came to attack Shimabara Time, I’m afraid you won’t be able to stand it.”

Friends, they turned out to be friends!No wonder he would help him out of nowhere. It turned out to be a church member. He crossed himself devoutly and said excitedly, "Thank the Lord for sending you to redeem us. I don't know who you are?"

Zheng Zhilong continued to pretend to be coercive: "Brother Shizhen, you don't have to be so ignorant, we are all a family, we should help you. My surname is Zheng, my name is Zheng Yiguan, and I am a teacher Nicholas."

In fact, Zheng Zhilong is quite famous in Dongpu, especially among the Catholics. Nicholas Yiguan is a great figure. His story has long been spread among the believers, and Amakusa Shiro has naturally heard of it.Therefore, as soon as Zheng Zhilong signed up, Amakusa Shiro was shocked and said: "You are Nicholas, an official, Zhennan King of Ming Dynasty!"

Zheng Zhilong pretended to be modest and said: "Hehe, that's right, little brother, don't be so cautious. We are all brothers and sisters. When you come to my place, you can just treat it like family. Come, come, sit, sit."

This is the prince of the Ming Dynasty, who is more powerful than the shogun of Dongying. Amakusa Shiro dared to sit there, but he couldn't stand Zheng Zhilong's enthusiasm, so he was forced to sit down.Although believers should be equal and friendly, the difference in status is too great. Amakusa Shiro couldn't deal with it calmly. He sat there cautiously and asked a little cautiously: "King Nicholas, thank you for your kindness. For our help, I don’t know what is the purpose of you recruiting me this time.”

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong pretended to be filled with righteous indignation and said, "This Tokugawa shogunate is too disgraceful. It not only ordered a comprehensive "ban on religion", but also sent demons Matsukura Shigemasa and Matsukura Katsuie to brutally suppress my church members. I have seen it for a long time. I can't go on anymore, little brother Shi Zhen won't stand up and resist, I will also find a way to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and give my church members a space of freedom and equality. A few days ago, the Tokugawa shogunate took action against the Matsuura family in Hirado. Almost all the heads and retainers of the Matsuura family were assassinated by them. If the wife hadn’t brought the guards home to visit relatives, my father-in-law would probably have died in their hands. Now I am funding my father-in-law to recruit troops and prepare to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate in one fell swoop. To establish a Tagawa shogunate of equality and fraternity, brother Shizhen might as well join the Tagawa shogunate and fight against the demons of the Tokugawa family together."

It turned out that he was here to subdue him. Amakusa Shiro was not an idiot. This Zheng Zhilong was the prince of the Ming Dynasty. If his father-in-law became the shogun, wouldn’t Dongying become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty? This is not the point, the point is the Ming Dynasty What is the attitude of the Ming Dynasty towards Catholicism? If the Ming Dynasty also banned Christianity, wouldn't it be a waste of work for him.

He couldn't help asking worriedly: "I don't know what His Majesty's attitude towards our Catholicism is. If he also banned religion like Tokugawa Iemitsu, wouldn't we also have no way out?"

Zheng Zhilong couldn't help laughing when he heard the words: "Brother Shizhen, you worry too much. In Daming, belief is free. Our emperor does not object to people's religious belief, just like me. Doesn't our emperor know that I am Do you believe in religion? If he opposes his people's belief in religion, how can he let me be the king of Zhennan?"

Amakusa Shiro couldn't help being a little moved when he heard the words, he continued to probe: "The prince has so many people under his command, the emperor of your country may have to use high-ranking officials and rich salary to recruit security, does this have anything to do with whether you believe in religion or not?"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head with a smile and said: "Little brother, you are wrong. I am not the only one who believes in religion in Daming, like the emperor's teacher, Xu Guangqi, the chief assistant of Daming's cabinet today, is also our church member. You said that our emperor will Is it against people's belief in religion?"

In the Ming Dynasty, the information was not as developed as it is now. Ordinary civilians are well-informed if they can know the major events within a hundred miles. He really didn't know that the chief assistant also believed in religion. He asked in disbelief, "There is such a thing. Is His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty really so tolerant?"

Zheng Zhilong patiently introduced: "There are still many things you don't know. For example, Zeng Dezhao, a member of the Ministry of Industry of the Ming Dynasty, was a missionary in Portugal, and the Ming Dynasty also signed treaties of friendship with Spain and Portugal. If our emperor dislikes Will religious people cooperate with these two Pope's countries?"

Indeed, if he dislikes people who believe in religion, he will never cooperate with foreigners. Shiro Amakusa is finally relieved about the issue of belief.But there is another problem. If Daming takes the opportunity to occupy Dongying, he will become a traitor who will notoriety for a long time. This has nothing to do with belief. Patriotism is a basic quality of a person. Amakusa Shiro asked hesitantly: " Daming won't take the opportunity to invade Dongpu, right?"

Zheng Zhilong shook his head and boasted: "You can rest assured that with the strength of the Ming Dynasty, all the surrounding countries can be completely occupied, but has the Ming Dynasty ever sent troops to invade? On the contrary, as long as you take the initiative to pay tribute, being a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, you can still enjoy it Take advantage of it. For example, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded North Korea, Daming immediately sent troops to support it, directly repelling Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s 15 troops, and Daming never interfered in North Korea’s internal affairs. As long as the nominal As long as you belong, you can get the protection of Ming Dynasty, isn't it good to have such a powerful suzerain country?"

In fact, what Zheng Zhilong said was all about the past. In the past, Ming Dynasty was indeed tolerant towards the vassal state, but now it is different. Since the "Daming vassal state order system" was promulgated, the vassal state wanted to be free from the constraints of the Ming Dynasty. It's impossible to have nothing to pay for the benefits alone.

However, Amakusa Shiro has only heard that Ming was kind to North Korea in the past, and he really doesn't know what happened in North Korea recently. For such a tolerant and powerful empire, what's wrong with recognizing him as the suzerain Woolen cloth?
He nodded slowly, and said firmly: "Okay, I agree to join Lord Tianchuan Yuhuang and assist Lord Tianchuan to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate."

(End of this chapter)