Today is still the fifth watch, and now the second watch is offered, and the monthly ticket is being frantically requested

It's a small Japanese-style hall with a floor entirely of tatami mats – in Japan, tatami mats are not a luxury that anyone can afford, and the house where Zheng Hong and others now stay is located in the mansion of a wealthy merchant in the town of Osaka Castle.

It had been several days since they arrived in Osaka, and Shogun Tokugawa was now living in Osaka Castle, and although he claimed to be going to conquer Satsuma himself, he did not advance after reaching Osaka. Therefore, the advisers of the Ming army brought by Zheng Hong also lived in Osaka, and in the past few days, they began to guide the first division of the shogunate army to deploy defenses in the area around Osaka.

Inside the hall is a small stage. On the stage, three Kabuki are performing, dressed in white powder, dressed in intricate costumes, and dancing to the sound of silk and bamboo.

On the tatami mats, along the east and west sides, seven or eight paces apart, there are several small Japanese-style tables on each side, which are full of wine and food, but they are not Japanese-style, but made by Cantonese chefs invited by Zheng Hong from the Yokohama Domain. Zheng Hong, Sakuma Kozan, Matsudaira Kanyu, Saigo Takanaga, Zheng Yongichi and others were each sitting behind a small table, and next to each of them was a young woman kneeling beside her, holding a bottle of French red wine in her hand, and when she saw that the wine glass on the small table was empty, she would diligently fill it.

"Brother Matsudaira, will the general agree to the recruitment of 10,000 mercenaries in Japan to participate in the future war against Russia?" Zheng Hong gently turned the tall glass in his hand and asked Matsudaira Jian Yudao. Today, Sakuma Zoyama, Matsudaira Kanyu, Saigo Takanaga, Zheng Yongichi and others were invited to the banquet for the purpose of recruiting Japanese mercenaries.

"Why don't you agree?" Matsudaira Jian Yu sneered, "It should be that you can't ask for it." If the Ming could hire 100,000 warriors to attack Russia. I'm afraid the Shogun would laugh out loud even in his dreams. ”

"Really?" Zheng Hong's eyebrows raised. Laughing and looking at Sakuma Zoyama. Sakuma sighed and said, "Lord Wang, I can't hide it. On the surface, the predicament of our country is due to the anachronism of the feudal system, but the root cause is that there are too many samurai! ”

"How many?" Zheng Hong asked.

"There are always four or five hundred thousand, and there are two million if you count the family members!" Matsudaira Jian Yu smiled bitterly and said, "There is still a Yulu here, and only God knows how many civilians there are who don't have Yulu or simply think they are samurai after leaving the feudal domain." ”

"How many people are there in Japan?" Zheng Hong asked again.

"About 30 million." Matsudaira Jian Yu shook his head and said. "Supporting 2 million poor and exhausted samurai with more than 2,700,000 poor and exhausted samurai is Japan's current national disaster. Every time the general thinks about this, he is restless! ”

At this moment, Matsudaira Jianyu probably never dreamed that these 400,000 samurai were not only a disaster for the Tokugawa shogunate, but also the foundation of Japan's rise and struggle in history. Hundreds of thousands of well-educated social elites who are worried about the country and the people will be a fortune if they make good use of it. And the current Tokugawa shogunate, as in history, did not see the value of these hundreds of thousands of samurai at all, and was only worried about their livelihood - these people were definitely more useful than the Confucian scholars and doctors in Zhu Jishi's place. Anyway, you can still cut people, and the rise of Japan in history and the fall of the Qing Dynasty are the success of the samurai and the failure of Confucianism.

Therefore, Emperor Zhu, who was bent on curbing the rise of Japan, had taken care of Zheng Hong before he left Yingtian. If the Tokugawa shogun agreed that the Ming would hire samurai as soldiers in Japan, he would hire as many as he could.

"It's not impossible to hire 100,000 samurai......"

Zheng Hong pondered, "Speaking of which, the cost of hiring a warrior is much lower than hiring soldiers in the Ming Dynasty. A corporal (royal family) only has more than 1,000 catties and 2,000 catties of brown rice a year, which is only about 20 silver dollars. Our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will cost 36 yuan of vegetable gold every year, and they can get 40 acres of land after 10 years of service, which can be at least 1,500 yuan, which is 150 silver dollars per year! Counting the vegetable gold, it is 186 yuan, which is almost equivalent to seven to eight corporals, and the Japanese corporals are at least literate and hyphenation, and they also have some martial arts. Nine times out of ten, our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are illiterate, and they don't know martial arts, they are just strong croppers. ”

There are still some things that Zheng Hong did not say, Emperor Zhu's peasant soldiers are not as good as the Japanese lower-level samurai in terms of bravery and hardship, and they have been brainwashed and trained in martial arts since they were young, how can the peasants compare? Therefore, although Zhu Ming's army is large in number, it is not many elites, and it is okay to concentrate on fighting a big battle, if it is dispersed for a long and brutal campaign, it will definitely not be comparable to the Japanese samurai army. This is also the reason why Zhu Jishi wants to hire Japanese samurai for foreign wars.

Matsudaira Jian Yu clapped his hands and said: "What the prince said is right, the lower-level samurai of our country can't do anything else, there is no problem to be a soldier, of course, the salary for going abroad to fight a war is higher, at least 5 silver dollars a month, and you have to take care of food!" ”

Hearing this, Sakuma Xiangshan shrugged his eyebrows and glanced at Saigo Takanaga. Saigo said: "Lord, can you organize an expeditionary force in the name of the Japanese Empire and go to Siberia with the Ming army?" ”

"This ......" Zheng Hongha smiled, "Of course it is a matter of time, but it is not the same thing as my country's recruitment of mercenaries in Japan, and in the future, when your country settles down internally and officially opens the country, the two armies will definitely fight side by side tomorrow." ”

Sakuma Zoyama said: "What about before the founding of Japan?" ”

Zheng Hong looked at Sakuma seriously: "Sir, don't you know that the shogunate army is the foundation of the Tokugawa family?" If there is internal unrest, how can the general dare to use the fundamental army outside the borders? The so-called principle of wanting to go outside and first settle inside, Mr. won't be ignorant, right? ”

"After defeating the Lucia Empire, will Japan be able to expand in the land?" Saigo Takanaga asked again. He has served as an instructor in China for many years, and has come into contact with many soldiers of Western powers, which is an eye-opener, and it is reasonable for him to want to expand abroad. Historically, Japan could point the spearhead of expansion at China and Korea, but now with the strength of the Ming Dynasty, it is naturally not something that Japan can covet. Following the Ming Dynasty as a vicious dog, eating some leftovers became the only means for Japan to achieve expansion.

"As long as Japan enters the war in the name of the country, it will naturally get the spoils of war after victory." Zheng Hong slapped his chest unequivocally. Zhu Jishi has not explained this question, but he still knows the truth that people can't contribute in vain. However, as long as Japan is not unified for a day, it is unlikely that it wants to use troops abroad.

But Zheng Hong's eyes were about to light up when Sakuma Xiangshan and Saigo Takanaga heard this! Both of them knew that now the Russians were fighting against Britain and France in Europe, and against the Ming Dynasty in Asia, and if they were restless, they would definitely fight in groups, and when the time came, Japan would be killed if they followed the Ming ass and grabbed a little bit casually. This combination of public and military forces must be carried out quickly! It's best to push it out as soon as you defeat the damned Lucia fleet!

On this very night, hundreds of flat-bottomed boats, which could only sail off the coast of Japan, were slowly sailing on the sea near the island of Shikoku, escorted by two dozen Russian warships flying the Panslavic flag.

Vice Admiral Putiyatin, commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet, was also having dinner, and he was accompanied by two Orientals, namely Bai Siwen and Xiang Yonggong, the minister of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Bai Siwen didn't really want to come on this trip, but Putiyating insisted that he come with him, and he was embarrassed to refuse, so he had to take this trip.

"Shiro, apart from this Komatsu, do you know any other Japanese?" Putiyatin smacked his vodka and asked suddenly.

"I know, my concubine is not Japanese." Bai Siwen smiled, "I also learned Japanese with her." ”

"Yes, if she knew that you were invading her homeland with the Russian army, would she not let you go to bed?"

As soon as the joke came out, all the Russian officers in the cabin laughed. Bai Siwen also smiled as if he was in response, waved his hand and said: "No, in Japan, only the samurai class has the concept of a country, and ordinary people don't know that there is a country." Even if the Russian Empire destroyed Japan, they would still farm and pay for food! (To be continued......)