Satsuma Peninsula, Shimizu Castle.

As Shimazu Naruto reorganized his armaments, Shimizu Castle was enveloped in a dull and oppressive atmosphere, and the streets were full of soldiers carrying weapons and residents in a hurry.

Shimazu Naruun, the sailor of the Ming army in the face of Izumi City, did not dare to slack off, after all, the Ming Dynasty was a powerful country with a territory of thousands of miles, so it had mobilized a force of the Satsuma country to prepare for this war, and the Osumi and Hyuga countries under its leadership also carried out conscription and mobilization.

For a time, the Satsuma Kingdom, Osumi Province, and Hyuga Province were in turmoil, and the original order was disrupted, and adult males were forcibly conscripted into the army.

In fact, Shimazu Mingyun knew very well that recruiting those farmers who had not undergone military training into the army was undoubtedly to send them to death on the battlefield, but in order to defeat the Ming army, he could only mobilize a force in his hands.

At least those farmers can act as cannon fodder on the battlefield, blocking the first round of attacks of the Ming army, and then winning advantageous fighters for Shimazu Narutomo's troops.

Originally, Shimazu Naruto also wanted to ask for help from the daimyo of Kyushu Island on the grounds of resisting the invasion of the Ming Dynasty, and formed a coalition army to fight the Ming army sailors who paid the water castle as they did when they defeated the Yuan army.

However, when Li Yuntian went to Kyoto, Shimazu Naruto realized that he probably couldn't count on the daimyo of Kyushu Island, because once Li Yuntian made it clear that he had come specifically to deal with the Satsuma Domain, the other daimyo would definitely watch the battle from across the mountains, hoping that the strength of the Satsuma Domain would be weakened.

Therefore, Shimazu Naruto can only rely on Osumi Province and Hyuga Province, which are ruled by the Shimazu family, and he is the guardian of Satsuma Province, Osumi Province and Hyuga Province, and will send troops to help both Osumi Province and Hyuga Province in public and private affairs.

As for whether the shogunate can help the Satsuma clan prevent this catastrophe, Shimazu Naruto does not hold out hope, his relationship with the shogunate is only tribute, and the shogunate cannot interfere in the affairs of the Satsuma domain, so he will not stand up for the Satsuma clan against the Ming army unless it is absolutely necessary.

Therefore, what Shimazu Mingyun can do now is to mobilize a large army to drive the Ming army's naval division out of the water city, only in this way can he protect himself, otherwise it will be even more difficult for him to win once the Ming army increases his troops.

In the afternoon of that day, a team under the banner of the shogunate appeared outside Shimizu Castle, and the soldiers guarding the gate of the city hurriedly entered the city to inform Shimazu Naruto.

"The shogunate sent someone?" Shimazu Naruto was gathering high-ranking officials from Satsuma Province, Osumi Province, and Hyuga Province in the palace to discuss the matter of sending troops to attack Hitami-gun, and was taken aback when he heard the news.

Then, Shimazu Naruto's brow furrowed slightly, he didn't think that the people of the shogunate would give him any good news.

"My lord, since the shogunate is here, then we have to go to greet it no matter what, and we must do all the etiquette." At this time, a retainer who was sitting in the first row of seats in front of Shimazu Naruto bowed to him and said quietly, no matter how you say that the Satsuma clan is now also subservient to the shogunate, how can you be disrespectful to the people from the shogunate.

"Let's go." Shimazu Naruto groaned for a moment, got up and led everyone forward to greet him with an expressionless face.

The envoy who came to Shimizu Castle this time was an old middle school of the shogunate, named Sakamoto Ryogen, who ranked third among several old middle school members of the shogunate, and it was enough for Ashikaga Yoshihito to send it in the hope that Shimazu Naruto would hand over the Japanese who had plundered Matsue Mansion, and then calm down the people and avoid a war.

The arrival of Sakamoto Yoshigen dissipated the tense atmosphere at Shimizu Castle quite a bit, which meant that Ashikaga Yoshihito did not abandon the Satsuma Domain, but wanted to prevent this engagement with the Ming army.

To tell the truth, the top and bottom of the Satsuma Domain didn't want to fight with the Ming army, after all, the Ming Dynasty was strong, and if this battle continued, even Tsutsuma would drag the Satsuma Domain down.

What's more, this time it was the elite sailors of the Ming Dynasty who came, and the southern town of the Satsuma Domain, Izumi City, was broken in an instant, which gave the people of the Satsuma Domain a huge shock, and for the first time I saw the power of the Ming army's firearms, making the walls of the Tsuzumi City become an ornament.

"Sakamoto-sama, I don't know why I'm here this time?" After seeing Sakamoto Yoshigen outside the city gate, Shimazu Naruto saluted and asked quietly, Sakamoto Yoshigen came to represent Ashikaga Yoshihito this time, and he naturally had to pay respect.

"I came to see Shimazu-sama on the orders of the Shogun." Sakamoto Ryogen bowed slightly to Shimazu Mingyun and said solemnly, "There are many people here, so let's go to Shimazu-sama's house." ”

"Sakamoto-sama, please." Shimazu Naruto sensed that something was wrong from Sakamoto Ryogen's strict expression, so he made a gesture of please with a blank face and entered Shimizu Castle with the version of Ryogen.

Knowing that Ashikaga Yoshihito had sent an envoy, the people of Shimizu Castle gathered in the streets to watch, and their faces all showed eager looks, hoping that Sakamoto Yoshigen would eliminate this war, and everyone knew that the war would make their already hard life even more difficult.

Matsuyama Ming, who was following Sakamoto Ryogen, looked at the people with hope in his eyes a little gloomy, he knew that these people wanted peace, but the people of Kyoto had abandoned the Satsuma Domain.

Therefore, unless Shimazu Naruto reins, these people are likely to be disappointed.

But then again, if Shimazu Naruto could make concessions, he wouldn't have made things go so far, even if he didn't hand over all the Japanese who had attacked the southern part of the Ming Dynasty, then when Ashikaga Yoshihito sent someone to inquire after receiving Li Yuntian's letter, he only needed to hand over a part of the errand to deal with the errand, and Li Yuntian would have lost the reason to lead the army to come.

It's a pity that Shimazu Naruto couldn't hand over the people, because the Japanese who plundered Matsue were actually his subordinates, and he was able to get a lot of money every year to develop the economy and military of Satsuma by plundering the coastal prefectures of the Ming Dynasty.

If Shimazu Naruto handed over those wouldn't be able to hand over those wouldn't be able to do so, his prestige in front of his subordinates would be damaged, and he would also be ridiculed by the vassal states, something he absolutely didn't want to see.

Therefore, this battle between the Satsuma clan and the Ming army and the naval division will be unavoidable, and Shimazu Naruto must show his toughness to the inside and outside world, even if he loses, he will still be honored despite defeat, and defend his honor and dignity with practical actions.

In the Shimazu Naruto House, the main hall.

"Lord Shimazu, I have come here to tell Lord Sù that King Tadamu of the Ming Dynasty has left Kyoto and returned to Izumi Castle, and the Shogun is preparing to wipe out pirates throughout the country after negotiating with him."

Sakamoto Ryogen, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, looked at Shimazu Naruto who was sitting opposite him quietly, and told him Ashikaga Yoshihito's decision, "The shogun hopes that Shimazu-sama can distinguish the current situation and hand over the pirates who plundered the Matsue Prefecture in the south of the Ming Dynasty to eliminate the war." ”

"Lord Sakamoto, we Satsuma have not harbored and sheltered pirates at all, and the Zhongwu King of the Ming Dynasty deliberately framed me Satsuma, with ill intentions, and I hope that Lord Sakamoto will give us Satsuma justice."

Shimazu Mingyun had long expected that this would be the result, it must have been Li Yuntian who had reached some deal with the shogunate so that the shogunate gave up on them, so his face sank and he said coldly.

"Shimazu-sama, after King Tadamu captured the Vaulting Port of the Ryukyus, he has already captured your people from Satsuma, and they have confessed truthfully, those people are now in the prison in Kyoto, and the Shogun has sent people to interrogate, and now the people of Kyoto already know that it was the people of Satsuma who plundered the Matsue Mansion of the Ming Dynasty."

Sakamoto Ryogen knew that Shimazu Naruto would not give in lightly, so he said bitterly, "Not only the general, but also the adults in Kyoto also hate pirates, and with those witnesses, the general is no longer able to protect Satsuma, otherwise it will inevitably lead to a war with the Ming Dynasty, please consider it carefully." ”

Shimazu Naruto Kensakamoto Yoshigen said in a high-sounding manner, putting the blame on the Satsuma Domain, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but show a sneer, he was sure that the people in Kyoto had reached some kind of deal with Li Yuntian, otherwise it would be impossible to sit back and watch the Ming army hit the gate of the Japanese state.

"Lord Shimazu, as far as the lower officials know, the army led by the Great Order Zhongwu King this time exceeded 20,000, and the Ming Dynasty was vast and had a large population, and the Zhongwu King had already hinted that he would transfer troops from the Ming Dynasty, so the lower officials hoped that Lord Shimazu would take care of the overall situation and not start the war lightly!"

Seeing the disdain and indifference on Shimazu's face, Matsuyama Ming pondered for a moment, and then opened his mouth to persuade, "Your Excellency should hand over some of the people, so that you can give an explanation to King Zhongwu." ”

"Lord Matsuyama, what you said is wrong, it's not that my lord wants to start a war with the Ming Dynasty, it's the loyal warrior king of the Ming Dynasty who deceived people too much, and robbed our Satsuma's Lidao County and Izumi County one after another, since they have already hit the doorstep, then we can only fight."

At this time, a retainer under Shimazu Naruto opened his mouth to correct Matsuyama Ming's statement, looked at Matsuyama Ming with a sneer and said, "My Satsuma warriors are nearly 50,000, which is enough to defeat the Ming army!" ”

"Fifty thousand?" Matsuyama Ming's brows suddenly frowned slightly when he heard this, it was obvious that the retainer was exaggerating, and Shimazu Mingyun was already quite remarkable if he was able to gather 20,000 people.

Due to the limited territory of the Wa Kingdom, the number of people was limited, and if you look at it from the perspective of the Ming Dynasty, the feudal states that spread throughout the Wa Kingdom were actually equivalent to a prefecture of the Daimyo, and although the wars between the feudal states were frequent, the scale was not large, and the number of troops reaching several thousand was already considered a major war.

As for the battles with more than 10,000 troops, they were already "battles" in the Wa Kingdom, so even if Shimazu Naruto gathered all the troops of Satsuma Province, Osumi Province, and Hyuga Province, it would be difficult to exceed 20,000 people, half of whom were recruited farmers.

However, it was naturally impossible for Matsuyama to expose the lie of the retainer, which would only make the two sides more embarrassed, and his questionable words of "50,000" had already shown the outside world that he did not believe that the Satsuma Domain had so many troops.

Due to Shimazu Naruto's tough attitude, this made Sakamoto Yoshigen's meeting with him unhappy, because it was getting late, Sakamoto Yoshigen had to live in Shimizu Castle, and planned to return to Kyoto the next day to return to Ashikaga Yoshihito, and it was also the choice to tell Li Yuntian Shimazu Naruto in Demizu Castle.