New Shun 1730

Thinking through this, Tokugawa Yoshimune sighed and burned Liu Yu's letter. He could not let this letter spread out anyway.

Thinking about the finances that had just improved in the past few years and the treasury that had just accumulated some savings, he sighed secretly and thought to himself, Liu Yu, Liu Yu, you really took great pains. Are you afraid that I will not have money to pay compensation in the future?

Even though Liu Yu had a bad impression in Tokugawa Yoshimune's heart, with Liu Yu's actions in recent years, Tokugawa Yoshimune still believed that Dashun was not for the conquest of land and population.

If this was true, how could Liu Yu have sent sweet potatoes and taught coin reform to stabilize prices as early as a few years ago during the Kyoho disaster?

At this point, one thing can be concluded that at least before Liu Yu sent contraband such as Shi Shiyong and war horses, Dashun had already had the intention to attack Japan.

If it was for conquest, wouldn't it be just right to attack during the Kyoho disaster?

If it was for conquest, why did they need to help introduce various policies to stabilize the rule of the shogunate, and even let the shogunate have extra money, enough to fight a war?

You know, not long ago, the shogunate was so poor that it even suspended the system of interviews and reports.

The more I think about it, the more credible it seems. Although Tokugawa Yoshimune is still shrouded in gloom, he is not so desperate.

If it is just to ask for money, opening, tribute, and enthronement, what's wrong?

Of course, we still have to fight. If we surrender directly, our prestige will drop sharply. Those outer daimyo will not only have a righteous reputation, but also their power will not be damaged.

Thinking about the fact that Liu Yu and Ooka Tadamisa did not stay to wait for news after the negotiation, and ran away directly, Tokugawa Yoshimune even had an inexplicable feeling of "heart-to-heart communication". Isn't this because they are afraid that he will surrender directly?

After determining that this battle would measure the wealth of the shogunate, win the favor of the Celestial Empire, and kill people with a borrowed knife to stabilize the country, Tokugawa Yoshimune once again summoned his close ministers and important officials.

"Liu Yu has left, and the war with the Tang Kingdom is inevitable. The Dutch may really do what Liu Yu said, and will not help our country because they are unwilling to lose the big for the small."

"Although the affairs of Satsuma Domain are independent, since it is an internal vassal, how can the shogunate not protect it? Liu Yu's son's letter asked me to hand over the Shimazu clan to apologize. As the Shogun, I must not agree!"

He started with a high tone, making everyone think that Liu Yu's letter really said that the Shimazu clan was handed over.

With the high tone, the image of the Shogun of the Shogunate suddenly became tall, and the ministers and close ministers also shouted that they were united and shared the same hatred of the enemy. However, the power of the spirit is not infinite. These people also know that there is no chance of winning the war with Dashun now.

Dashun has Liu Yu, not the Mongols who don't know how to play with ships. I'm afraid that they can't count on the kamikaze this time.

"Tomorrow, I will gather all the flag bearers and personally lead them to the Saikaido to fight the Tang people!"

As soon as the performance-like voice fell, Honda Tadayoshi, Ooka Tadaki and others immediately advised him not to do it.

Tokugawa Yoshimune was waiting for this sentence. Ooka Tadaki said: "Your Highness, the matter of Tosa must be learned. Liu Yu can do it if he can say it. If Your Highness personally leads the army to fight the Tang people in the Saikaido, what will happen if Liu Yu leads his troops to land somewhere else?"

"He can capture Tosa with 500 soldiers. If he leads 3,000 to 5,000 people, Your Highness's army is in the Saikaido, but he uses the navy to block the waterway. When there are no soldiers in the inland, won't he be able to do whatever he wants?"

"The peasants are all suffering. If they are tempted with "benevolent policies", there will be chaos. Your Highness must not lead the army to fight the Tang people!"

This is the words of a mature and patriotic person, but Tokugawa Yoshimune cannot say this. He has to show an unyielding attitude.

If things really go wrong in the future, he can also blame others, saying that there are treacherous ministers who don't let him fight.

He had already decided to kill someone with a borrowed knife, but he was just waiting for his ministers to persuade him. Now that he had said that, he pretended to be worried and gritted his teeth and said: "Liu Yu, Liu Yu, you are really treacherous! The navy can't win, and the Dutch won't send troops. What should we do?"

Honda Tadayoshi said helplessly: "For now, the only plan is to do as Liu Yu said in the letter. Ask everyone to defend the city, gather warriors from all over the world, and divide them into multiple teams."

"Liu Yu will attack the city for a maximum of fifteen days. Each team can be stationed separately, with an interval of seven or eight days. If Liu Yu attacks, the city will hold on, and the army will go to rescue."

"The armies are seven or eight days apart. If Liu Yu attacks, the two armies will join forces to help. Wait for Liu Yu to withdraw, and then separate. Only in this way can we hold on."

This strategy was originally proposed by Liu Yu, but now they can only follow Liu Yu's steps. Everyone present felt a little humiliated, but helpless.

It really feels like teaching you how to grow sweet potatoes and how to re-coin money on that day, and teaching you how to fight today.

But if we don't do this, according to the speed of Tosa's siege, how can we defend it under the policy of one country and one city?

Ooka Tadaki added: "You can compile the affairs of Tosa into a book and quickly send it to each feudal domain to tell them to be careful. Recruit farmers, strengthen the city, train samurai, and wait for the Tang people to attack."

Tokugawa Yoshimune said: "But what about Saikaido? When the Tang army comes to attack, they will definitely attack Saikaido. And the Tang merchants have been in Nagasaki for a long time and know their details. Moreover, the Tang people are good at fighting, and they have Liu Yu's navy to help. How to defend with 10,000 people landing?"

This is indeed unsolvable.

If Liu Yu hadn't done anything in Tosa, at most he would have left more people in Edo, and the rest would have been able to gather 70,000 or 80,000 troops and gather on Kyushu Island.

Even if the Dashun Army was strong and crossed the sea to attack, according to his idea, there would only be 20,000 or 30,000.

With 70,000 to 80,000 against 20,000 to 30,000, there is still some chance of winning.

But now that Liu Yu is doing this in Tosa, how many troops can be gathered on Kyushu Island? If the entire army were to assemble for a decisive battle, and the navy sealed the strait, a few thousand men would be able to make everything bloom.

Whether it was Honda Tadayoshi or Ooka Tadayoshi, they actually believed in their hearts that Saikaidō could not be defended at all. But you can’t give up directly.

As for the things Liu Yu did in Tosa, if he gave up directly, the southwestern vassals would have to rebel first: why not follow the king to challenge the shogunate? As long as Dashun agrees to retain the territory of the southwest vassals, these vassal lords can lead the way to attack. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, Geng Jingzhong, and Kong Youde in the late Ming Dynasty?

Even if you don't do it, is it possible that you can still play the game of Strong Wall and Clear Field? The territory of Dashun is so large that the counties and counties can collect taxes. Isn't it easy to collect taxes in a place with this kind of enfeoffment system? The enfeoffment system is a manifestation of insufficient administrative management capabilities. It is easy for those who can play with counties and counties to collect taxes in places with enfeoffment system, but it is difficult to do the opposite.

This is not Nanyang, and there is no acclimatization or disease-prone situation. Once we give up, Dashun will not even have to transport military rations during the rice harvest next year.

But I can't beat him.

Prime Minister Ooka had no choice but to speak bluntly: "Your Highness, I think there is no chance of winning this battle. It is better to summon the soldiers of the southwestern vassals to defend it strictly. If we can win, that would be good. If we cannot win, we should hold on elsewhere and drag it out."

"Putting it off until you ask for peace. In the past, Gou Jian was shameful. He took revenge for twenty years. This country can follow suit."

"The people of the Tang Dynasty fought against the navy. After making peace with them, they worked hard and secretly asked the Dutch to help them organize and train the Nanman warships. I think they will be able to form an army in three years."

"If we fight back in the future, as long as the Tang navy is completely destroyed, we can pay back a hundred times the tactics Liu Yu used. He can land and harass everywhere, and so can we in the future."

"How can we know that it's a blessing in disguise? If it weren't for Liu Yu, how would we know that the outside world has changed so much? The firearms are so sharp? The battleships are so powerful? Fortunately, the Tang State has only been training for a short time, so we can still catch up."

Ooka Tadashi had seen Liu Yu's battleship with his own eyes and understood that it could not be fought against at this time.

But considering what was recorded in the previous Tang Dynasty storybooks, Dashun's navy should have been newly built in the past few years.

He didn't know exactly how much a boat cost. He didn't know how long it would take to train a qualified officer.

But he felt that since Dashun could build a navy within a few years, as long as the shogunate worked hard and tried hard, it would be enough to build a navy within three to five years.

At least, that's what he thought.

And it can also be purchased from the Dutch. As long as there is gold and silver, how can there be warships that cannot be purchased? At that time, some Dutch people can be hired to teach them the methods of naval warfare.

Japan has been building ships since ancient times, and there is a lot of wood on the island. It must be no problem to build a few Nanman warships.

It's nothing more than a boat.

In fact, he still had something to say, but it was really hard to say it at this time.

In Ooka Tadayama's opinion, it's impossible to defeat him, so why bother? It costs money to fight a war, so it is better to save the money and invest it directly, keeping the money originally used to fight the war, either to buy warships, cannons, or firearms.

This is the right path.

So what if the Eagle Hunting Order is restored? Since the people of the Tang Dynasty dared to send people who were good at riding and archery to do detailed work and teach the methods of riding and archery, it shows that the era of riding and archery has passed.

Others may not know it clearly, but the two retainer warriors from Tosa described the situation of the Battle of Tosa in detail. Regardless of the actions of those farmers, Liu Yu's firearms troops were unable to defeat them.

The new cannons made the mountain city that could be defended easily breakable; the iron gunners with bayonets were even more invincible in field battles.

Or make a desperate bet that Liu Yu is just scaring people, gather all the troops on Kyushu Island, and fight together. If you win, you will win, and if you lose, you will lose.

Or just don't fight at all, learn from the Yue King Gou Jian, and use the money saved as capital for future revenge to buy firearms and warships.

Now we talk about fighting, but we divide our troops to defend and defeat them one by one. We talk about not fighting, but we gather our troops and insist on giving it a try on Kyushu Island.

This is completely a method of looking forward and looking back, and it plays into the trap of the Tang people.

Strategically, we should not fight, saving money and pretending to be a grandson who is willing to work hard; but politically, we have to not fight. If we choose to agree to the conditions of the Tang people without fighting, the majesty of the shogunate will inevitably be destroyed.

Even if they knew that this battle would be defeated and the army going to Kyushu Island would die, this battle would still have to be fought in the end.

It was not for Dashun to see. Dashun knew that the shogunate could not fight.

The fight was for those foreign daimyo. It wasn't that the shogunate didn't fight. It was because they tried their best but couldn't fight. If they agreed to Da Shun's conditions, it would be a matter of course.

Since he had to consider politics, Ooka Tadashi knew that he could not express his thoughts.

However, what he didn't know was that what Tokugawa Yoshimune was thinking at this time was: If the southwestern vassals contacted Dashun, smuggled secretly, and organized new armies, the rule of the shogunate might not be stable. During the negotiation, we must contact Liu Yu and try to prevent Dashun from directly trading with the southwestern vassals. For this reason, we can agree to more conditions.