Shimazu was silent in response. After another moment, Shimazu Tadashi said: "Gentlemen, this matter is already related to the life and death of the Shimazu family, please try to find some way to come out." Please! ”

That's when someone finally spoke. This man's name is Hirata Masumune. He once served as his lieutenant general during the first attack on the Ryukyus by Hisataka Kayama. And he is also deeply trusted by Shimazu Tadashi, and it is most appropriate for him to break the deadlock.

Hirata Masumune said slowly: "Lord Governor, I think at this time, the most important thing is to restore the combat effectiveness of the Shimazu family as soon as possible, and keep the true situation of the war secret from the outside world. Everything else can be put aside for a while. ”

Hirata Masumune opened the topic, and others dared to speak. So a few people attached themselves to Hirata Masumune. These people are heavy-minded. However, there are also some radicals who oppose it.

One of the samurai stood up and said loudly, "But are we going to compromise with those pirates like this?" It's a shame! How could we, the Shimazu family, bow down to pirates? ”

There was a heated debate on this issue. In the end, Hirata Masumune said loudly: "Enough, don't make any noise!" Listening to what Aso has to say, haven't you noticed that we are not facing some pirates? Can pirates get out of tight formations? Will pirates have uniform armor and weapons? And Aso has already said that those people are well-trained and elite soldiers! It is very likely that we are not facing pirates, but Ming soldiers under the banner of pirates! ”

At the mention of the word Mingguo, everyone fell silent. The Shimazu family also participated in the Korean campaign and suffered extremely heavy losses. So when Hirata Masumune pointed out that these people might be soldiers of the Ming army, everyone was silent.

But there were still people who were unwilling to whisper, "Are we just going to lose Ryukyu for nothing?" Maybe those Ming people don't have many troops. ”

Hirata Masumune said, "It's possible what you said. But how many more are we going to send this time? 5,000 or 10,000? And is our Shimazu family capable of facing the army of Ming on our own? ”

The samurai said, "But if it's really the Ming team, why do they behave like pirates?" ”

Hirata Masumune said: "This may also be an enemy strategy!" If we think they're pirates and send another army, maybe we'll fall into a trap! ”

Another samurai, who had not spoken, frowned and said, "No! The people of the Ming Kingdom have always been atmospheric. As a country, it would be a shame for their army to pretend to be pirates. Maybe they really are pirates. As long as we send a large army again, we will definitely defeat them! ”

Hirata Zeng

Seeing that many people supported this statement, Zong shook his head and said, "Well, even if what you say makes sense, they are indeed a group of pirates. But you can't deny that they are able to defeat our army of 3000 men, so how many men do we have to send to defeat them? ”

At this time, the elder in charge of the finances said: "The family's money is beyond its means!" There is not enough money to go on another expedition. And even if we scrape together enough money, we won't be able to scrape together enough ships. ”

Someone said, "Squeeze it!" Maybe we'll be able to scrape together some more money. It's okay to rent another batch of boats. ”

The old man said, "But we already have a loan that we have to repay when the time comes." ”

Now all the radicals did not move. Finally, after a short discussion, it was decided to hear what the pirate messengers had to say.

Soon, Liu Dahai was greeted from the post house to the conference hall. As soon as he entered the conference hall, Liu Dahai bowed his hand and said in skilled Japanese language: "Lord Shimazu, my lords. I saluted you under Liu Dahai. ”

As soon as Liu Dahai put down his hand, a warrior shouted, "Who are you?" Why didn't you see the Lord of the Family Governor not worship? ”

Liu Dahai knew that the dismount had begun. So although he was flustered in his heart, he still said with his hands behind his back: "As a Ming person, I can kneel to the monarchs and officials of my country. But there is no obligation to bow down to officials of other countries. Besides, I am a messenger, so there is no need to bow down. ”

The samurai was stuck. Another samurai exclaimed, "You are nothing but a pirate, so what right do you have to say that you are an emissary?" ”

Liu Dahai sneered and said, "You actually think that the person who can defeat the 3,000 army of the Shimazu family is a pirate?" Wouldn't that mean that the Shimazu family couldn't even submit a gang of pirates? Then I really don't know how the Shimazu family can gain a foothold in this troubled world? ”

Several more samurai stood up to make things difficult for Liu Dahai. Fortunately, Liu Dahai had a wide enough knowledge when he was a tooth man before, and he was also clever in his speech, so he finally coped with these things. In the end, Liu Dahai remembered Liu Pei's words. Liu Pei once told him that he must not be led by others. Especially when facing the Japanese people, if necessary, you must lose your temper!

So Liu Dahai just finished dealing with a samurai, and immediately said loudly: "Lord Shimazu, I think it should be enough to get off the horse, let's talk about some practical things!" ”

Shimazu Tadashi, who had been watching coldly, waved his hand and said, "Sit down for Mr. Messenger." ”

Everyone quieted down when they saw Shimazu Tadashi speak. The little surname next to Shimazu Tadashi brought Liu Dahai a cushion. Liu Dahai sat down and felt back

I thought, what this owner said is really good! It's better to be really tough on these people.

Shimazu Tadatsune said slowly: "Then Mr. Messenger, can you tell us about your true share?" I'm very curious! Judging by your ability to fight, I don't believe you are a bunch of pirates either. ”

Liu Dahai arched his hand and said, "My lord, please forgive me for not being able to tell you about this matter for the time being." My Lord has his troubles. But I can responsibly tell you that we are really not a bunch of pirates. ”

There was a quick exchange of glances. A cloud rose in my heart. Liu Dahai replied that Liu Pei told him. Because Liu Pei believed that after he defeated the Shimazu family's army, no matter how stupid the Shimazu family was, they would never believe that they were pirates! But Liu Pei didn't plan to expose his role at this time, so he could only vaguely pass it. And Liu Pei knows very well that human beings have a strong brain replenishment ability, as long as he doesn't show his flaws, God knows what the people of the Shimazu family will think!

Shimazu Tadashi smiled and said, "If you are not pirates, are you soldiers of the Ming Kingdom?" ”

Liu Dahai did not answer this question directly, and decided to let Shimazu Zhongheng make up for it himself. He said, "My lord, let's not dwell on these issues. However, I have been instructed by my lord to come to negotiate the Ryukyu issue with you in good faith. ”

Hirata Masumune took over and said, "Okay, let's talk about this issue." I don't understand why you're attacking the territory of the Shimazu family? ”

Liu Dahai said with a smile: "Is Ryukyu the territory of the Shimazu family?" I only know that the Ryukyu Kingdom is an independent country. It has its own monarch and Jongmyo Temple! ”

Hirata Masumune said, "But decades ago, we brought the Ryukyus under the rule of the Shimazu family!" ”

When Liu Dahai heard this, he said: "King Shangfeng doesn't admit this!" King Shangfeng once arranged for someone to write a bloody letter to my family, and he promised half of the land as a reward for us to expel you. Moreover, King Shangfeng died at the hands of your samurai, and all the people of the Ryukyus knew this! ”

When Hirata Masumune heard this, he said, "But we have already sent a large army to surrender the Ryukyus!" The Ryukyus have also written a treaty of surrender to us, and they have been completely submissive to us for a long time! Then Ryukyu is of course the land of the Shimazu family! ”

Liu Dahai said: "That's right, the Shimazu family did send a large army to conquer the Ryukyus. But there is one thing I would like to draw your attention to, my lord also sent an army to defeat you. So does it mean that the Ryukyus are ours? ”

Hirata Masumune suddenly stood up and said loudly: "But the Shimazu family will not admit such a thing!" The Shimazu family has an invincible samurai and elite army, and we will send an army to defeat you again and retake the Ryukyus! ”