Chapter 456 People’s hearts are different
In the province of Nagato, people in Ogi Castle, which is located by the sea, were feeling uneasy.

Although Ming warships are now mainly seen in Kyushu, Ogi Castle, located on the northern coast of Sanyin Road, is not necessarily very safe – even if the enemy headquarters is hundreds of miles away in the west on Tsushima Island, and Lord Terumoto is living in the Shibonmatsu residence in Ogi Castle.

The decision to build Ogi Castle was made thirteen years ago, and it was completed just ten years ago.

Now in the Shibonmatsu residence, Mori Terumoto is thinking about twenty years ago.

At that time, the Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi was about to die. Tokugawa Ieyasu, Mori Terumoto, Kobayakawa, Maeda Toshiie, and Ukita Hideie were appointed as the Five Elders. Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s wish was for them to assist the young Toyotomi Hideyori together until he came of age.

But two years later, the situation evolved into a dispute between the civil officials and the military officials.

The essence is actually very simple: the expedition against Korea did not achieve the expected results, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, and why should his young son make the heroes bow down to him?
It was originally unified, but soon split into two camps led by Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari.

That was the most influential decision Mori Terumoto had ever made in his life: he eventually joined Ishida Mitsunari’s faction and became the general-in-chief of the Western Army.

Then came the Battle of Sekigahara, where Kobayakawa Hideaki defected and the situation became irreversible in one day. Afterwards, the Mori family, which had once been the overlord of the western region and controlled the ten provinces of Sanin and Sanyo, only had the two rei-shaku provinces of Nagato and Suo left.

In October of the same year after the Battle of Sekigahara, he shaved his head and abdicated the throne, and from then on he called himself Genan Sozui.

Mori Terumoto could not forget the fear and humiliation he felt when he went to Tokugawa Ieyasu to apologize fifteen years ago.

Sitting under the eaves, he looked out to the sea to the north.

More than ten years have passed, and he has lost count of how many times he has thought about the gains and losses in his life.

“Lord Huiyuan, the sea breeze is a bit strong, please take care of yourself.” An old man in the room behind him spoke to him.

Maori Terumoto did not move, but slowly said: “… because you do not have the ability to rule the world. Mitsutoshi, it is just as grandfather said. You did not keep your distance, and in the end you almost lost everything and endangered yourself.”

His retainer Fukuda Mitsutoshi remained silent, knowing that the former head of the Mori family still had not let go of the Battle of Sekigahara.

The defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara was inexplicable, but as the family elder of the Mori family, he certainly knew the considerations of his lord at that time. The leaders of both sides were Ishida Mitsunari and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lord Terumoto, who was elected as the general of the Western Army, did not personally participate in the battle in Osaka Castle because Toyotomi Hideyori was in Osaka Castle. Since the forces of both sides were close, wouldn’t it be the best choice to let Ishida Mitsunari and Tokugawa Ieyasu consume each other first?
But no one expected that Xiao Zaochun Xiuqiu, who commanded an army of 15,000, would turn against his side in the battle.

“Yuan Nao, he…” Mao Li Terumoto spoke again, paused and sighed, “Have you ever paid your respects properly in all these years?”

“Master Huiyuan, you had no choice at the time.”

Fukuda Mitsutoshi recalled the horrific situation at that time. After the defeat and the reduction of territory, the retainers of the Mori family were in chaos. In the end, Mori Terumoto killed many retainers headed by Kumagai Motonao, and asked the remaining 800 retainers to submit a prayer to swear allegiance, and the situation of the Mori family finally stabilized.

“Now you know about Yuan Sheng, right?”

Fukuda Mitsutoshi was startled when he heard this, and smiled bitterly: “Master Terumoto, can’t you even trust me?”

“How could I not trust you?”

Mao Li Terumoto slowly stood up by supporting himself on the floor, and then slowly walked back into the house.

After looking at him, he sat down in front of the screen in the room. The light was dim, and his eyes seemed bright, full of resentment and hatred.

“I have done my last loyalty to the Toyotomi family!” Mori Terumoto gritted his teeth, and then choked up a little, “Yuansheng… You are worthy of being my most loyal and brave samurai!”

Mitsutoshi Fukuda knelt in front of him and said nothing.

After the opening of Edo, the Toyotomi family became daimyo. However, many daimyo in the Toyotomi clan still regarded the Toyotomi family as their former master. How could the aging Tokugawa Ieyasu leave such a hidden danger for Tokugawa Hidetada?

Four years ago, Tokugawa Ieyasu personally led a large army to Osaka and asked daimyos from all over the country to send troops to attack the Toyotomi clan.

Mori Terumoto dragged his feet and finally claimed to be ill, letting his son Hideyoshi fight in his place, and sent his second son to Edo as a hostage.

The Mori clan was very passive in both the Winter Campaign of Osaka and the Summer Campaign of Osaka. At least the detachment led by Fukuda Mitsutoshi stayed in Hyogo, and when the Mori clan’s main force arrived in Osaka, Tokugawa Ieyasu had already won and captured Osaka.

Later, they discovered that there was a man named Sano Michika in the city, who was actually Naito Motomori, a senior official of the Mori family with a salary of 10,000 koku.

During the final interrogation, Naito Motomori gritted his teeth and insisted that it was his own personal wish to help the Toyotomi family. Tokugawa Ieyasu died before he could really get any evidence from him that Mori Terumoto had instructed him to help the Toyotomi family, and even Fukuda Mitsutoshi did not know about Naito Motomori.

“Koda-kun, Kasai-kun, Shimada-kun…” Mori Terumoto named several people in one breath. They were all retainers of the Mori family who disappeared before and after the battle. “They all went to Osaka under my secret order! However, Osaka, the most fortified city in the world, still could not hold out until Tokugawa Ieyasu died! Mitsutoshi, why have all the important decisions in my life failed to go as I wished?”

Fukuda Mitsutoshi could only say: “Master Terumoto, you have done your best…”

“I am too weak! Too weak…” Mori Terumoto muttered to himself, “I don’t have the talent to be the master of the world, nor do I have the wisdom and courage of my grandfather. Lord Oda, Lord Toyotomi, Tokugawa Ieyasu…”

The family business he took over was the foundation of the Ten Kingdoms hegemony left to him by his grandfather Mori Motonari, who was known as the wisest general.

He also knew that with the death of his grandfather, although his two uncles still assisted him wholeheartedly, the Ryokawa system of the Mori family gradually fell apart.

But this is all a matter of his ability. Just like his grandfather reminded him before his death not to dream of hegemony, he does not have that kind of ability.

In front of him were figures like Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Toyotomi Hideyori grew up and had a good reputation. Mori Terumoto decided to help him in response to his request for help, but he still couldn’t go all out, just like he didn’t go all out in the Battle of Sekigahara.

Now that Toyotomi Hideyori has committed seppuku in Osaka Castle, the Toyotomi family has become history, and it is even more difficult for the old retainers of the Toyotomi clique to unite.

It seemed that he would never see the Tokugawa family fail again, and at this moment, the Ming Dynasty came.

“Mitsutoshi, do you remember the ronin I met last summer?” Maori Terumoto suddenly stared at him sharply.

“That guy…” Fukuda Mitsutoshi said hesitantly, “Does he have any special talents? Lord Terumoto met with him alone.”

“He came from Tsushima Island, a retainer of the So family, named Yanagawa Tiaoxing.”

Fukuda Mitsutoshi was shocked: “Master Terumoto, you mean…”

Mori Terumoto leaned forward, his face exposed to the light coming in from the door, and looked at Fukuda Mitsutoshi eagerly and solemnly: “The other countries no longer have the power to fight against the Tokugawa family. However, there is power on the other side of the sea! Are you willing to go to Aki? That guy Fukushima Masanori, if possible…”

“Master Terumoto!” Fukuda Mitsutoshi said eagerly, “I am naturally willing to do anything for you, but… have you really decided?”

Those are enemies from across the sea!

Mori Terumoto’s eyes were blazing: “It’s decided! Although they came because of the Korean War and because of years of looting by ronin pirates, and I also followed Lord Toyotomi to fight in Korea, but this time I have made up my mind! A hundred years of fighting, the Ashikaga family, the Oda family, the Toyotomi family, the Tokugawa family… all of them have led to today’s situation. Do we have to let the Tokugawa family go through the final tempering and completely gain the loyalty of everyone?” He stood up, walked to the door again, and looked at the sea in the distance.

“No!” Fukuda Mitsutoshi looked at his back and heard him say excitedly, “Maybe, fate will not favor the Tokugawa family in the end! I don’t think I have such a destiny, but Mitsutoshi!”

He turned around and stared at Fukuda Mitsutoshi: “I will make the Tokugawa family fall! Absolutely!”

Mitsutoshi Fukuda only felt that his face, facing away from the light, was distorted by too much hatred.

He also stood up, and then bent down after walking over: “What are you going to do?”

“After all, Lord Hideyori is Lord Hideyoshi’s son, and the Tokugawa family was originally a retainer of the Toyotomi family!” Mori Terumoto held his arms and made him stand up straight. “This time, I can’t hesitate any longer! Let me, Mori Terumoto, carry the banner of revenge for Lord Hideyoshi! Under the laws of the military family, are all the outer daimyo willing to be used as the vanguard to resist the Ming Dynasty, and have to face the torture of reform and sankin-kotai?”

“What about the Ming army?” Fukuda Mitsutoshi asked, “Will they be the ones who benefit in the end?”

“Are they going to occupy this place?” Mori Terumoto said confidently, “The message brought by Yanagawa Tiaoxing is that the Ming Dynasty requires Kyoto and Edo to pay a price. We, the Shimazu family and the Fukushima family, can negotiate with them first. It is also in line with their expectations to defeat the Tokugawa family first. As long as we, the Shimazu family and the Fukushima family control Kyushu and Sanin and Sanyo, they can enter Seto. When we return to Osaka, the situation will be completely different. Does Hidetada have the talent and prestige of Tokugawa Ieyasu?”

“… Lord Huiyuan, what if the Ming Dynasty really wants to occupy this place?”

“I’ve said before, I don’t think I have such a destiny. As long as the Tokugawa family is defeated.” Mao Li Terumoto gritted his teeth, “Even if that’s the case, doesn’t the Ming Dynasty need the right people to help them achieve this goal?”

Mitsutoshi Fukuda looked at the crazy Terumoto Mori and knew that this time he had really decided to go all out.

If “people of the world” like Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi eventually died and their families were destroyed, and the rebellion of the lower class against the upper class would never end, then what is the difference between serving the Tokugawa family as the master and serving the Ming Dynasty as the master?
However, Mori Terumoto’s hatred for the Tokugawa family was so deep that he even dared to help Toyotomi Hideyori in the two battles in Osaka.

“If that’s the case, then all the retainers need to understand your will.” Fukuda Mitsutoshi also stared at him, “Lord Terumoto, have you realized this? How do you convince everyone?”

“All the dissatisfaction stems from the fact that we now only have two countries.” Maori Terumoto said, “Now, it’s time for me to lead them to take back the territory that originally belonged to us! Let’s fight another Battle of Sekigahara. If Tokugawa Hidetada is willing to expend all his strength on the Western Army, then we will perish together! It is the coercion of the Tokugawa family that has made the situation of focusing on defending against the enemy no longer exist! It is the cruelty and greed of the Tokugawa family that forced us to do this!”

“He must bow his head and make a choice!”

……

This was indeed a last-ditch effort by Mori Terumoto.

But this analysis of the situation is correct. Can the Edo Shogunate rely solely on the daimyo of the close vassal states and the hereditary daimyo to consume the dissatisfied outer daimyo for a round, and then resist the more powerful Ming Dynasty?
At this moment, they are still in the early stages of planning and connection, but the Ming Dynasty is not waiting for them.

After Tsushima Island, Igi Island fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty without any suspense, and they were one step closer to Kyushu Island.

To the south of Iki Island, only fifty miles away is the northwest coast of Kyushu Island.

The Saga Domain was located here.

The cape southwest of Saga is Nagasaki.

Although the five islands west of Nagasaki can form a checkpoint with the cape in its northwest corner, what significance does this checkpoint have for the Ming warships?
Besides, the next step might be Goto.

Who actually controls the Five Islands? The Han Chinese in Nagasaki.

The hereditary daimyo Naoshige Nabeshima, who was based in Saga, was the vanguard general, and his authority was further enhanced at this time.

“Communication” with the Soto Daimyo on Kyushu Island continued, and he demanded to take over Nagasaki and Goto in order to control the Ming army north of Saga.

It was at this time that Shimazu Yoshihiro received the letter from Ogijo.

He was already eighty-three years old. Although his son Shimazu Tadatsune also had the merit of sending troops to Ryukyu, what was Ryukyu at that time?
Shimazu Yoshihiro was dying. If he died in the face of the aggressive shogunate, Kyushu would be lost. Would Tadatsune be able to return here? Or where would he be exiled?

“Tell them that if they want to get the protection of the Shimazu family, they must first stop the Ming army in Goto and achieve victory. This way, I can have bargaining chips to negotiate with the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army.”

Shimazu Yoshihiro did not quite believe in Mori Terumoto’s determination this time, nor was he optimistic about his abilities.

However, only when everyone on Kyushu Island is their own people can they continue to gather the strength for resistance. If the shogunate takes control of Kyushu Island, they can give it up at any time.

If the shogunate could be made to feel pressure and the Shimazu family could be allowed to serve as the vanguard general, there would be more room for subsequent decisions.

Those Han Chinese sea merchants…

Shimazu Yoshihiro didn’t know how the Ming Dynasty would view his actions in Korea and his son’s actions in Ryukyu. In those days, he attacked the Ming army’s arsenal in Sizhou, and the Ming army suffered heavy casualties in that battle. Later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died of illness, and the Ming army blocked the main route to the sea. It was also he who barely opened up the sea route in Ruyang, allowing Konishi Yukinaga and his troops to evacuate.

If the Ming Dynasty was determined to eliminate the Shimazu family, he would have no choice but to stay in Kyushu, which would earn the Shimazu family more prestige and more bargaining chips.

The Shimazu family’s decision soon reached Li Dan, who was now in charge, and he could only concentrate and think hard about a solution.

With the pressure of the purchase order and Naoshige Kojima’s aggressiveness, where will these Han Chinese “sea merchants” based in Nagasaki go?
“Second Commander, how about… contacting the high-ranking officials on Tsushima Island again? I think the Shimazu family seems to want to recruit us as a navy. If we act like a show, we might become naval admirals. Anyway, the first batch of warships that arrived at Iki Island have escaped a little bit…”

“It’s not that easy to sneak in.” Li Dan shook his head. “If the fleet of Marquis Fu Bo arrived, we could serve as a guide. But now…”

“Try it.”

After thinking about it, Li Dan looked at Yan Siqi.

“Brother Yan, how about you go again?”

Yan Siqi’s eyes lit up: “I’m not afraid. It’s just a one-way trip. Don’t wait until I come back to find that our nest has been emptied out.”

Li Dan said confidently: “After all, we have been operating here for so long, we can still hold out for a month or two. It is not difficult to guess what the Shimazu family is thinking. Since they want to protect us, it means that they are pretending to obey the shogunate but secretly disobeying it. As long as the adults on Tsushima Island are determined to achieve their goals, they will not force us too much. Now that Iki has fallen into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, Naoshige Kojima will have to worry about the northern coast next. This is a good opportunity!”

Being on the Five Islands, it is relatively hidden because it is located offshore. In the past, it became a private port for them to secretly trade with merchant ships from other parties.

Even if the shogunate wanted to take out the wealth they had accumulated over the years, would they have the courage to gather naval forces to attack?

Li Dan just didn’t want to cut off his own retreat.

However… the Ming Dynasty made another move, and its determination seemed even clearer.

He wanted to take another look at what was happening on Kyushu and Honshu.

(End of this chapter)