More than half a month later, the envoys of Batavia and Satsuma arrived at Lingao. The two sides of the pen "Fun" www.biquge.info Pavilion were all old acquaintances, Batavia sent Putmans, and Satsuma Clan sent Shimazu Mitsuhisa.

Putmans had been a prisoner of Lingao for a while, and had seen everything about Lingao. However, Shimazu Mitsuhisa has been in Kagoshima since he was a child, and this is the first time he has gone abroad, and when he sees the bustling port and the neat and mighty buildings and streets of Lingao, he was surprised that he couldn't even speak.

"Sure enough, it's the Heavenly Empire, the streets are spacious and beautiful, and any of the houses on both sides are taller than our castle tower, so my sister came to such a place!"

Walking on the street, Shimazu Mitsuhisa said to Shimazu Chiyo, who led the way, quite exaggeratedly.

Chiyo Shimazu replied expressionlessly, "My brother seems to admire this place very much." Otherwise, let's change? I'm going back to Kagoshima to be the head of the house, and you're here? ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa avoided the topic with some embarrassment: "I haven't seen General Xia for a while, and Mitsuhisa misses him very much and wants to listen to his teachings in person. Sister, let's hurry up, I can't wait! ”

In the summer, Nan alone received the two envoys in the South Park Chamber. Because the operation of this matter was somewhat disgraceful, he did not inform others, especially Sun Yuanhua, who was worried about the country and the people.

"Hehe, both of them are old acquaintances, but I didn't expect us to meet again." Xia Nan smiled and greeted, "Mr. Putmans is still happy in Batavia?" His Excellency Mitsuhisa Shimazu must have succeeded him as the head of the Satsuma Domain, right? When you come to Lingao, are you still used to it? ”

Putmans smiled bitterly: "Thanks to Your Excellency, I am just an idle job in Batavia now, just waiting for death." ”

Mitsuhisa Shimazu's mood was much more excited. He respectfully knelt on the ground and saluted: "General Laoxia is concerned, Guangjiu is fortunate to have inherited the position of head of the family." This time I came to Daming, I felt that the trip was worthwhile, and I gained a lot of knowledge. For example, Your Excellency's big ship that can travel thousands of miles a day, such as the beautiful and atmospheric houses and streets of this city, all make Guangjiu breathtaking. ”

The big ship that travels thousands of miles a day is the clipper. In order to improve efficiency, Xia Nan sent two clippers, the "Yangming" and the "Maria", to send Shimazu Chiyo and Van Bommel to Japan and Nanyang respectively, and then to bring the envoys to Lingao. Otherwise, the Dutch side is fine, just rely on the small sampan of the Japanese, and I don't know if the Year of the Monkey can reach Lingao.

After the greetings, Xia Nan cut to the point.

"Both, my plan may have been told to you by Chiyo and Van Bommel. The specific arrangements were: the East India Company's fleet was responsible for attacking the areas of Kinmen, Penghu, and Zhongzuo in Fujian; The samurai of the Satsuma clan landed in Zhejiang and Fujian and attacked the local government. Together, you created a massive offensive momentum that made the Ming Emperor nervous. ”

Putmans asked tentatively: "I led a fleet to attack these places last year, but I did not gain anything except fresh water and food from various islands, and finally suffered a heavy defeat to Zheng Yiguan. I don't understand what you're trying to do with us repeating last year's scene down this line, but we don't see any value in doing it anyway, so can we choose to give up? ”

"Mr. Putmans, I hope you will understand that it is you who do things for me now, not your own trade routes, and you do not have the right to make your own choices. You just have to execute, and it's up to me to decide whether it's worth it or not. However, given that you are accountable to the shareholders of the Netherlands proper, I can cover the costs of sending your fleet, including but not limited to the payment of the salaries of the soldiers and crew. After the deed is done, I can increase the quantity of your company's raw silk and tea goods in return. Xia Nan replied resolutely.

Hearing this, Putmans's expression was wonderful, with helplessness and joy. Although it may not sound glamorous for the East India Company to serve as a temporary mercenary, it seems to be a good deal if you don't have to bear the costs of the war and can get more hard currency such as raw silk and tea.

He spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "Looks like we can't say no?" Well, then, I will convey to Governor Yan Petersson Kun that I believe that he will persuade the Council to send a fleet to the Far East to cooperate with your Excellency, for the sake of raw silk and tea. However, I still have one question: when I led the fleet to attack the area of Kinmen and Penghu, I was fiercely counterattacked by the local government, will it be the same this time? I don't think Governor Kun wants too many casualties. ”

"You can rest assured, Zheng Yiguan, who made you suffer so much at the beginning, has disappeared from this world, and the acropolis of the center and left has been completely destroyed, even if there is sporadic resistance from officials along the coast of Fujian, it is difficult to form a scale. If necessary, I will send a fleet to follow you to help repel any threatening resistance, but not lightly, lest it be exposed. All you have to do is convince the Emperor of the Empire that you want to declare war openly again. ”

Putmans said happily: "If you can have your battleship and artillery to escort you, I don't think Governor Kun will have any doubts." ”

Xia Nan nodded and turned to Shimazu Mitsuhisa: "Your Excellency Mitsuhisa, what about you, what questions and requirements do you have?" ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa replied respectfully: "We only look forward to General Xia's horse." All you have to tell us is: how many samurai do you need to send from the Satsuma Domain, where to attack, and to what extent? ”

It's no wonder that the Americans in the old time and space have been reluctant to give up Japan, as long as they completely deter the Japanese, they are very obedient horses, much better than the mercenary Dutch.

He thought for a while: "I heard that back then, dozens of Japanese ronin samurai could chase thousands of Ming troops, and hundreds of people dared to go deep into the interior to attack the city and plunder the land...... Let's just play big, can you make a thousand samurai? ”

Shimazu Mitsuhisa proudly puffed up his chest and replied: "The Satsuma Domain is the strongest feudal domain in the whole of Japan, with 770,000 stone highs and more than 100,000 subjects, it is not a problem to pull out tens of thousands of troops, let alone a thousand samurai?" ”

In the summer, Nanda Khan underestimated the Shimazu family too much, but he didn't expect that the total population of the people was nearly ten times that of Lingao, and there were tens of thousands of troops, and one or two thousand samurai were naturally not a problem.

However, the number of "Japanese pirates" must be controlled within a certain range, and they are just making a show, not to create an ancient version of the war of aggression against China, but if they really want to let the Satsuma Domain pour out of the nest and send tens of thousands of troops to land, then they will not be able to control the situation at that time, and let the lives in Zhejiang and Fujian be ruined, then they will become sinners.