Chapter 787 New Situation
Ancient Palace City. Read М
When the Hojo father and son met Zhao Xu in Yancheng.
A samurai hurried to the lord's house and said a few words to Ono Town.
Ono Town's face darkened when he heard this.
At this moment, he was discussing the future of Luzhong Domain with members of the Ono family.
"Everyone, the Hojo father and son have already brought heavy gifts to Yanzhou. We can't hesitate any longer. I have seen the steam industry in Yanzhou with my own eyes. If the Hojo family gets the support of the King of Yan, it will only take half a year for him to have an army that is invincible in Japan, not to mention that the King of Yan will provide them with convenience everywhere." Ono Town said solemnly.
In the hall, the twelve core members of the Ono family knelt opposite Ono Town, looking at each other.
Ono Kuroki, Ono Town's younger brother, said, "The Hojo family has always been at odds with our Ono family. If we let him become stronger, how can our Ono family live a good life? We can't delay any longer. We must go to Yanzhou immediately to visit King Yan and get the same support."
"That's right. The northern lords have been dissatisfied with the Watanabe case during this period. King Yan plundered the north, and he, Watanabe, has only cared about his southern vassal states so far, and ignored us in the north. Why do we follow such a conscienceless person?" said another person.
This resonated with the others, and they nodded one after another.
Another person said, "It is said that King Yan left a fleet on Wufeng Island to patrol the coast of Japan. From now on, Japan will be a bird in a cage locked by King Yan. How long can the Watanabe case last?"
"That's right, and King Yan's army is still harassing the south. The Watanabe case is overwhelmed. Even if we become independent, they have no intention of taking care of it."
"..."
Everyone said something, and basically agreed to the idea of going to Yanzhou to meet the king.
Of course, the main reason for this is still from the Hojo family.
The second is dissatisfaction with the Watanabe case.
The next day, Ono Town took a merchant ship and went to Yanzhou with heavy gifts.
The people of the Oda family and the Mori family returned from Yanzhou and were still in a state of anxiety. They were hesitant about meeting the King of Yan and continuing to follow the Watanabe case.
But the news that the Hojo and Ono families went to Yanzhou came one after another, and they could not sit still.
If these two northern big vassal states rise, they will definitely devour the small vassal states.
They and the small vassal states between them were devoured, and it was their turn.
Seeing the strength of the King of Yan, they knew that the Watanabe case could not protect them, so they also went to Yanzhou to seek support.
...
Yanzhou.
The Hojo father and son stayed in Yanzhou for two days and then returned to Japan.
Zhao Xu gave the two an order and asked him to hand it over to Zhou Yi, asking Zhou Yi to withdraw 2,000 marines from Wufeng Island to station in Andong City.
In the future, the stationed troops will be rotated every two years to prevent the soldiers from homesickness. At the same time, some military pay subsidies will be given to soldiers stationed overseas, and this part of the subsidy will naturally be provided by the Hojo family.
After receiving the order, the Hojo father and son thanked him profusely and went back.
They also went with the merchants of the Yanzhou Trading Company.
Since conquering Goryeo, the merchants of the trading company have tasted the sweetness and paid more and more attention to overseas interests.
As soon as the Japanese army was used, they were eyeing it, and they ran to Yang He's house one by one, asking Yang He to visit the palace more often and propose trade terms with Japan.
Now that the Yuzen clan has agreed, they can't wait to go. After all, the first one eats meat, the second one drinks soup, and the third one can only lick the bowl.
And the profits of the merchants who joined the trading company need to be shared with the palace, which is considered official business.
So, Zhao Xu let them go.
After they have developed the market, it will not be too late for private merchants to go, after all, the first one to eat crabs also takes a big risk.
A few days after the Hojo father and son left, Ono Town arrived in Yanzhou, followed by Oda Yamazawa and Mori Arikatsu.
The four lords arrived one after another, and Zhao Xu was satisfied.
Originally, he thought that he had only provoked one of the four lords, but in the end, all four were in place.
Facing the three lords, he just gave them the conditions given to the Hojo family.
They could choose whether they agreed or not.
Knowing that the Hojo father and son accepted everything, they naturally had no reason to refuse.
They also learned that the Hojo father and son requested the King of Yan to station troops, and they also made this request.
They are not fools. The presence of the King of Yan stationed troops in the domain is equivalent to guaranteeing the safety of the domain.
In the future, their original domain is the capital, and no one can move the original domain of the other.
As for how many small domains they can annex, it depends on their own abilities. If they make a big move, they can only do it on the land of other domains.
They are also very satisfied with this.
It's like four people in a village, no one can move the old house of the other.
As for fighting for other houses in the village, no matter how badly they were beaten, they would at most lose other houses and be able to return to the old house to recover, which would not hurt the foundation.
After another month of tossing, Ono, Oda, and Mori each returned to Japan.
Zhao Xu also ordered Zhou Yi to send a thousand garrisons to him.
Then, he ordered the military department to produce smoothbore guns.
The quality of smoothbore guns made of converter steel can carry more black gunpowder, which can make smoothbore guns reach the peak range.
Such smoothbore guns are equipped with Hojo and other feudal lords, which are enough to deal with the Watanabe case.
As for field artillery, he only needs to give gray iron cannons. With the current industrial level of Yanzhou, wrought iron cannons can also reach the peak level.
After all, during the Opium War, most of the British artillery was still wrought iron cannons.
The most important thing is that with the blessing of the steam industry, the cost of producing these two firearms has been reduced a lot.
By selling to the Hojo and other feudal lords, the Armed Forces Department can earn a huge profit.
In this way, the Armed Forces Department will no longer be just a big money-eater in the future, and will be able to slowly transform into a big money-maker.
"When the Hojo, Ono, Oda, and Mori families get firearms and train their troops, Japan will usher in a reshuffle of forces. I want to see how Watanabe hides. At that time, without spending a single soldier, Japan can surrender to Da Song."
The situation in Japan is under control. Zhao Xu called Chang Wei that day.
He briefly told him about Japan, and he handed him a piece of intelligence.
This time he called Chang Wei not for Japan, but for the matter of going south.
Xu Ke sent intelligence. During the time he dealt with Japan, Britain seemed to change the focus of support from Japan to Wu.
Presumably Britain also knew that Japan was powerless to turn the tide.
Therefore, British Governor Bolt met with Frankish Governor Markwen and made the news public.
It seems that they have reached an agreement on some issues, or there is an exchange of interests.
Afterwards, firearms from the Western Land entered Jinzhou, which was controlled by the Wu Kingdom, through Jiaozhi, which is the contemporary Guangxi.
The number of mercenaries in the Wu Kingdom also increased from 8,000 to 20,000.
This situation surprised him a little. Frank and Britain were also old rivals in the Western Land. Britain must have cut a lot of meat to Frank in exchange for the other party's support.
However, this also shows from another perspective that Britain will not give up.
After all, a superpower was destroyed by him. They can't swallow this breath.
For Zhao Xu, it is more necessary to take Jiangnan as soon as possible, otherwise, Jiangnan will always be a bleeding wound of Dasong, and will be stabbed from time to time by the Western Land countries.