On the sixth day of May, King Joao IV looked at Mitsuhisa Shimazu, who was sitting cross-legged in front of him, feeling a little uncomfortable.
Because Shimazu Mitsuhisa was sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor of the conference room, João IV was too embarrassed to sit on the chair and had to sit on the floor like Shimazu Mitsuhisa.
Fortunately, the floor of this state hotel is very clean, so it's not a big deal if you sit down.
João IV claimed to be Li Zhi's ally, but after three days in Tianjin, he saw all kinds of new things that transcended the times and saw Li Zhi's factory, but he was never able to meet Li Zhi. On the contrary, Li Zhi arranged for himself
When I met the Japanese Shimadzu clan, a retinue force in one town and nine provinces, I didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in the gourd.
But no matter what, by letting the Shimazu clan, a subordinate force, come to see him first, Li Zhi obviously did not regard Portugal as an equal ally.
In this regard, John IV was very disappointed.
Raphael was even more angry. He sat behind Joao IV and glared angrily at the low-level civil servants of Fanjiazhuang who came with Shimazu Mitsuhisa from beginning to end, as if he was about to burst into curses at any time.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa looked at John IV with a smile and said, "Let me introduce the situation of the Shimazu family to His Highness."
"Before His Highness King Qi attacked Japan, the Shimazu family was a small prince in southwestern Japan, ruling a territory of more than 300,000 people. Although these territories were managed by the Shimazu family, they had many obligations to the Tokugawa shogunate and were often subject to
Recruited by the Tokugawa Shogunate to complete various tasks for free."
"So the Shimazu clan was in a semi-independent state at that time. Because of the difficulties imposed by the Tokugawa shogunate, the finances were very difficult, and the feudal government's expenses almost all depended on borrowing money."
"After His Royal Highness King Qi attacked Japan for the first time, the Shimazu family received awards for their active response. The territory expanded, and the population under their rule increased from more than 300,000 to more than 600,000. Their independence was also greatly improved.
Basically, it is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Tokugawa Shogunate."
After hearing Shimazu Mitsuhisa's words, John IV began to re-examine the Japanese princes opposite him.
If the Shimazu family controls a population of more than 600,000, they are indeed qualified to talk to John IV. After all, Portugal is also a small country in terms of population. The total population of the country is only more than one million, and it is just an island.
It's only twice as long as Tsumitsu.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa continued: "After King Qi attacked Japan for the second time, he abolished the subject of Japan and turned Japan into a province of Japan. We, the Japanese princes, also lost our territory and were no longer in the local area.
Serve as a prince."
Hearing this, João IV's heart tightened.
Mitsuhisa Shimazu said with a smile: "But with the loss of territory, there is also an improvement in position."
"The samurai of the Shimazu Satsuma Domain, as meritorious generals of the vassal state, were recruited in large numbers by His Highness King Qi, or His Highness King Qi's subordinate Pingdong Bo Zheng Kaicheng. A large number of officials in the Japanese Provincial Military Administration are composed of feudal warriors from the Shimazu Satsuma Domain.
Responsibility. A young samurai who used to manage a village may now be responsible for a castle town. A monk who used to manage a castle town may now be responsible for the government affairs of a country."
"The samurai of Satsuma have become important figures in Japan, and their salaries have also been greatly increased."
The administrative divisions of Japan are different from those of the Ming Dynasty. A Japanese castle town is equivalent to a rural town of the Ming Dynasty, and a "country" in Japan is equivalent to a county of the Ming Dynasty.
"I, Shimazu Mitsuhisa, also became the governor of the entire Kyushu at that time, assisting King Qi in managing the population of more than one million people in Western Japan. Although these populations are no longer my territory, the salary given by King Qi is very considerable, and I have a guard of honor when traveling.
The atmosphere is even more grand than before."
"And with the expansion of King Qi's career, people like us are being used more and more."
“After King Qi captured the Indochina Peninsula, the feudal lords from the Satsuma Domain received great trust and were assigned in large numbers to the Indochina Peninsula to manage the mountainous areas. In Southeast Asia, the King of Qi used feudal lords from the Tokugawa Shogunate and other feudal lords as grass-roots managers, and Satsuma Domain
, the Choshu clan and other retinues served as middle-level managers with feudal officials from the country.”
"My son Shimazu Ienanobu became the manager of the entire Siam mountainous area. The population under his jurisdiction exceeded two million, and his annual salary was as high as more than one thousand taels. And I, Shimazu Mitsuhisa, was recruited to fifty thousand people.
For those who serve as generals in the samurai army, their annual salary is three thousand taels of silver."
"These three thousand taels are my personal salary. My former subordinates, family members, and those who are somewhat capable are now in important positions and receive generous salaries."
"Our status and wealth are far beyond what we were when we were just a small lord in Satsuma Country."
After saying these words, Shimazu Mitsuhisa looked at Joao IV, as if waiting for the Portuguese king to digest everything he said.
John IV frowned and did not speak for a long time.
He came to Tianjin this time to express his loss and dissatisfaction to Li Zhi. Portugal fought side by side with Li Zhi's one town and nine provinces for three years, and finally got nothing. In any case, Portugal faced this
The result was very disappointing, and he hoped that Li Zhi could share some of the benefits with Portugal.
However, it was obvious that Li Zhi had no intention of distributing the benefits to the Portuguese.
Li Zhi sent a leader of the retinue force to talk to Joao IV, which seemed to be showing Joao IV another way. It seemed to be hinting to Joao IV that the Portuguese could become one town and nine countries like the Satsuma clan in Japan.
The vassal state of the province became Li Zhi's subordinate and peripheral force.
John IV had never considered such a problem.
But before he could respond to Shimazu Mitsuhisa, Raphael behind him spoke.
"Could it be that the purpose of Your Highness the King of Qi in sending Your Excellency to see the King is to make the Portuguese give up their country and become second-class citizens under the rule of the Han people?"
Shimazu Mitsuhisa listened carefully to the translator's translation and looked at Raphael.
Raphael sneered and said: "The fact I heard from His Excellency Shimazu is that His Highness King Qi not only has no intention of sharing profits with his allies, but also tries to annex the countries of his allies and turn the allies who fight side by side into those who listen to him.
Driven subordinates.”
Shimazu Mitsuhisa smiled.
After a while, he slowly said: "There is one thing I want to emphasize: King Qi's career is by no means comparable to anyone before. Neither the sea nor the mountains can stop King Qi. The sooner you join,
The greater the achievements we can achieve in King Qi's career, the more benefits our descendants will receive."
"If His Highness the King could figure this out earlier, His Highness's future would be as limitless as one town and nine provinces."
Without waiting for John IV to respond, Rafael said loudly: "Your Majesty, General, we came to Tianjin this time to request the distribution of benefits from the King of Qi, not to accept annexation. We Portuguese don't like your words very much.
"
Shimazu Mitsuhisa nodded and said: "You have not fully understood the power of King Qi."
"Three days later, Zhenbei Bo Zhongfeng will have a military exercise in the west of Fanjiazhuang. His Highness the King must come and watch it. After watching this exercise, His Highness the King will have a new understanding of the strength of one town and nine provinces. What he said to me
You will definitely have a new understanding of the problem.”
