Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 299: Japan Intends to Invade Korea (Part 3)
The meeting was over. When Date Masamune left the table, he glanced at Mori, Maeda, and Uesugi, and the three of them nodded slightly in response.
Then, shortly after leaving Edo Castle, these people went to the Date family's mansion in the castle town without any prior arrangement.
In a tea room, Date Masamune was concentrating on boiling water and brewing tea, while the other three also sat leisurely, watching Date Masamune's operations intently.
"Huh~" He let out a long breath and brought the tea he had prepared to Mori Terumoto who was sitting at the top. Date Masamune grinned and said, "Tohoku is a poor place. The samurai there simply don't have the financial resources to practice the tea ceremony. I only started learning it in the past two years. I'm sorry that I'm not very skilled."
"No, you are too modest."
Looking at the old foxes who were so steady, only talking about tea and never mentioning anything else, Date Masamune smiled slightly: "Everyone, our current prince is very resolute and resolute. Since he has set the tone for another invasion of Korea, there will basically be no reversal. In this way, it is possible that everyone here will take care of each other on the battlefield in the future."
"That's what the Chunagon said."
"Haha, Mr. Councillor, although your family has moved to Yonezawa now, the main warriors in your family were all trained by Lord Kenshin in Echigo. I'm sure you will have to rely on me a lot when I go to the battlefield in the future."
"Ah~" he sighed helplessly, "I am ashamed. When the Uesugi family was in the hands of my adoptive father, the actual koku in the country was close to two million. Now the Yonezawa domain has no more than 300,000 koku. Many of my Echigo samurai took the initiative to flee to ease the difficulties of their master's family." After saying this, Uesugi Kagekatsu said with a firm face, "You don't have to test Date Chunagon anymore. My Uesugi family is one of the families that was most severely reduced in fiefdom after Sekigahara. For the sake of those loyal and brave samurai who took the initiative to flee, we will do our best to participate in this expedition to Korea. If we win, we will take over the new fiefdom and settle them. If we lose, it's all over, which is better than being like a beggar now!"
"Counselor Uesugi said the truth!" Mori Terumoto next to him jumped up and said, "My Mori family had 1.2 million koku of territory before Sekigahara, but it was reduced to 370,000 koku after Sekigahara. There were also countless loyal and brave warriors who were forced to flee... It would be fine if the shogunate still liked to live on the four islands of Japan like Tosho Daigongen (the divine title after Tokugawa Ieyasu's death). Now that His Majesty has decided on a national policy to conquer Korea again, if I don't actively follow, I will be too sorry for my subjects."
"Haha, although my Maeda family stood on the side of the Eastern Army during the Battle of Sekigahara, our territory was not reduced after the war. But I have five brothers and nine sisters..." Maeda Toshitsugu stood up and said, "As His Majesty the Lord said, Japan has limited land, but unlimited population. If we don't fight, we will starve to death sooner or later! So, even if I don't want to participate, my relatives and retainers will force me to participate. Don't worry, under the premise of the agreed rewards, the Maeda family will definitely send out all its elite troops this time."
"I see. I feel relieved now. Please rest assured, everyone. Although the Date family is far away in the northeast, the country is now unified. It will only take two months to send our elite troops to Kyushu Island in the west..."
Uesugi and others left, and Date Masamune's face, which was cheerful at the beginning, suddenly became gloomy.
With a "crash", a door nearby was opened, and a thin-faced old man in his sixties walked in.
"Tougoro, did you hear what those guys said just now?"
"I heard it, I heard it. That Maeda Toshinori is really young and his words are full of energy. I was almost deafened when I was sitting next to him!"
"Humph, these guys are busy showing their loyalty to His Majesty . It's a pity that no matter how powerful Hattori Hanzo is, he can't place ninjas here. After all, our Haguro ninjas are no pushovers."
"Well, although it is a show of loyalty, it is indeed a practical need of their respective fiefdoms."
"Yes." At this point, Date Masamune's expression became serious. "The new shogun proposed to conquer Korea as soon as he took office, which really met the demands of many samurai in the country. This is much easier than suppressing the calls for expansion at home and abroad when the power was in power. But... Korea is a small matter, and we can fight it, but what if the Ming Kingdom behind him takes action again?"
"Haha, isn't that good? If we can win the battle, we can take advantage of the situation to swallow up Korea. If we lose the battle, we can retreat. If the Ming Kingdom is still relentless and wants to attack the Japanese mainland, we are the Daimyo of the Northeast! Even if we have to fight, we will be the last one!"
"Hahaha~ That's it! Fujigoro, we in the Date family have Katakura Kagetsuna for literature and Date Narimiza for martial arts. Kagetsuna passed away last year, and this time when we go to Korea, in order to reassure the current shogun, at least one of us must go. Since you've already thought through how to deal with various situations here, then please!"
"Hi, my lord, please rest assured. I dare not say that I can bring back every samurai of the Date family safely, but at least I can guarantee that most of them are safe and sound."
"Well, the warriors of our Ida family are the foundation of our family business. As long as people are still here, everything is hopeful!"
…
Apart from the Date family, in Edo Castle, Tokugawa Yoshinao was also having a duet with Yagyu Kanbei.
The Imperial Palace in Chiyoda District, Tokyo, Japan in the 21st century is actually the residence of the shogun in the Edo period. Various "Oku" fully demonstrate the magnificence of this place. However, these things are actually useless to the time traveler. Therefore, even though he has lived in Edo Castle for many years, Tokugawa Yoshinao's residence can only be called "simple".
"Your Highness, there is only one shipyard in the country right now, in Edo. Even if it works day and night, it can only build six large ships a year at most. Once the war starts, the navy will have a heavy task. Therefore, my first request is to open two more shipyards in Osaka and Echigo."
"Well, what you said makes sense. I agree. Honda Masazumi?"
"Hi Yi!"
"Immediately mobilize money and grain to handle this matter. I want to see output within half a year. Within a year, we must be able to build 700-ton warships. After a year, we will start trying to build 1,500-ton warships."
"Hi, I understand, your Excellency."
"Well, then, Kanbei, what else do you want?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I believe that once we confirm that Siam has declared war on the Ming Dynasty, we will immediately mobilize the existing fleet to capture Ryukyu first, and then Taiwan!"
"Well, you mean that we should first establish contact with Siam and even Spain, and then unite the fleets of the three countries to seek a decisive battle with the Ming fleet?"
"Hi, Your Highness. In the battle of Osaka Bay last year, although we lost due to our small number of ships, the level of Ming's ships and commanders was not much higher than ours. However, Ming's production capacity is much stronger than ours. When the naval battle level of both sides is similar, it is easy to turn it into a war of attrition, and in a war of attrition, we will definitely lose! And if the navy loses, no matter how glorious the victory of the army in Korea is, we will still lose in the end."
"Hmm... what you said makes a lot of sense. This time, if Siam and Spain don't come up with something real, I'd rather not move!"
