1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3629

Shi Diwen didn't mind adding more fuel to the already chaotic situation in Japan and making the fire burn even more fiercely.

However, not just anyone is qualified to gain Hai Han's support. Even the nominal ruler of Japan, the so-called Emperor of Japan, must first prove that he has enough strength before he has the chance to become Hai Han's partner.

What he was worried about was that under the long-term suppression of the Tokugawa shogunate, the royal family had lost the ability and determination to fight. Even if Hai Han was willing to provide support, the royal family would not be able to become a resistance force like the Kyushu feudal lords.

Shi Diwen couldn't confirm whether the cautious Emperor Go-sai in the Kyoto Imperial Garden could take on the responsibility of fighting against the shogunate. Moreover, given his status, it was inconvenient for him to visit Kyoto in person. Doing so would only focus the shogunate's attention on the royal family, which would not be conducive to the royal family accumulating strength to start an uprising.

As for the impending food shortage on the East China Sea voyage, Shi Diwen's solution was simple. He asked Yang Tianlei to draft a telegram immediately to mobilize food, medicine, tents and other relief supplies from the Sasebo base. In this way, Yang Tianlei didn't have to make another special trip. He could take a ship to Kyoto when the fleet arrived in Fukuoka.

As for the safety of the fleet, Shi Diwen will personally notify the shogunate to let it go.

Although the armed fleets of both sides in the civil war were fighting fiercely in the Kanmon Strait, they did not dare to make any infringement on the Hai Han ships that needed to pass through this sea area.

Tokugawa Iematsu's return to the front line did boost the morale of the shogunate army to a certain extent, but it did not help much in solving the predicament of the trapped troops in the Kitakyushu camp.

Not only did Tokugawa Iematsu fail to raise any money or food when he returned to Kyoto this time, but he was forced to spend a lot of money to quell the rebellion, so the supplies and personnel on the front line could not be replenished.

Seeing that the supplies in the Kitakyushu camp were about to run out, Tokugawa Ietsugu had no choice but to withdraw food and fodder from the rear and transport them to the other side of the strait at night so that the garrison there could hold out for a few more days.

Originally, the shogunate army relied on a rear area that was several times larger than the enemy's to supply materials, so even if they were at a loss, they could slowly wear down the opponents on Kyushu Island. But now chaos has begun to break out in the rear area, and part of the materials that should have belonged to the shogunate army have been forced to be transferred to Kyoto, leaving a huge gap in demand.

The shogunate requested that various places urgently recruit money, food, and soldiers, but many places began to disobey and keep dragging their feet. I think they were waiting to see how the situation would change and were unwilling to serve as the shogunate's granary and treasury in vain.

Once supply problems began to arise, the shogunate army would have little time to act.

Tokugawa Iematsu knew that he only had two choices at this time. One was to withdraw his troops voluntarily and suspend the expedition against Kyushu. The other was to achieve a great victory as soon as possible to boost the morale of the army while also deterring the daimyo who were watching the situation in the rear, so that they would stand firm and continue to provide support to the shogunate.

Withdrawing troops at this time would be tantamount to admitting the failure of the expedition to Kyushu, which would not only damage the reputation of the shogunate, but would also give the Kyushu rebels a chance to breathe, a situation that Tokugawa Ietsugu did not want to see at all.

More importantly, he was worried that once the shogunate army voluntarily withdrew and ceased fighting, it would affect Hai Han’s perception and confidence in the shogunate, so he chose to increase his support for the Kyushu coalition.

Therefore, Tokugawa Ietsugu chose the latter approach and prepared to organize a new round of offensive as soon as possible. He did not seek to destroy the Kyushu coalition forces, but at least to open up the strait waterway to ensure that the Kitakyushu camp could continue to operate and continue to exert pressure on the Kyushu feudal domains.

When Hai Han informed the shogunate that Hai Han merchant ships would pass through the Kanmon Strait to Kyoto, Tokugawa Ietsugu took the initiative to express his wish to arrange an emergency meeting with Hai Han's top brass.

"Tokugawa Ietsugu sent this invitation, didn't he know I was in Fukuoka Castle?" Shi Diwen was a little surprised after reading the invitation letter from the shogunate. Although it didn't mention any names, it was clear that only he was worthy of the title of this high-ranking figure.

Shi Chengxin said: "If father has any doubts about this, why not let me go and see what tricks Tokugawa Ietsuga can play!"

Shi Diwen shook his head and said, "That's not necessary. I don't think he would dare to target me... I think the shogunate is probably planning to purchase equipment again!"

Shi Chengxin said: "The shogunate buys equipment from us so frequently, can it really pay real money?"

Shi Diwen smiled and said, "Don't underestimate the shogunate. After all, there are gold and silver mines under its rule. As long as we squeeze them hard, we will definitely be able to squeeze out some more money."

From last year to this year, the shogunate has carried out three major arms purchases from Hai Han, and the frequency of placing orders far exceeds the speed at which Hai Han delivers equipment.

During the Zhoushan Forum in the first half of the year, at least half of the orders placed by Masatoshi Masuyama on behalf of the shogunate to various arsenals and shipyards in Haihan have not yet been delivered. For projects with a long construction period, such as warships, the delivery time is mostly set at one year or even longer.

In fact, the shogunate's previous military procurement projects had already encountered the dilemma of being unable to pay the money all at once. Fortunately, Hai Han had rich operational experience in such arms export projects and took the initiative to provide special loans to the shogunate. The collateral required by Hai Han was mineral deposits such as the Sado Gold Mine and the Iwami Silver Mine.

As long as the shogunate does not collapse and these mines do not change hands, these loans can be repaid sooner or later.

If the civil war leads to a change of ownership in Japan, whether it is the Emperor of Japan, the Kyushu feudal lords, or someone else coming to power, Hai Han has the written contract in hand and will be able to take over these mortgaged properties.

Therefore, Shi Diwen was not worried that the shogunate would not pay back the debt. If Hai Han had not intentionally controlled the scale of arms sales to the shogunate in order to maintain balance, Tokugawa Ietsugu's overdraft purchasing would probably be even greater than it is now.

Three days later, Shi Diwen met Tokugawa Ietsugu at the Mori mansion on the north side of the Kanmon Strait.

Just as Shi Diwen expected, Tokugawa Ietsugu took the initiative to propose a new batch of military procurement plans to him, preparing to purchase at least forty more warships and matching naval guns from Hai Han.

"The shogunate needs a stronger naval force to keep the Kyushu rebels suppressed."

Tokugawa Ietsugu frankly admitted his plan. He believed that one of the main reasons for the current stalemate in the war was that the shogunate's naval power was not strong enough to form an absolute advantage over the Kyushu rebels. This led to the two armies still fighting back and forth for control of the Kanmon Strait half a year after the war began.

Tokugawa Iematsu finally realized that without gaining control of the sea, he would not be able to advance the land offensive to all parts of Kyushu, let alone eliminate the Kyushu rebels.

Once the Kyushu rebel fleet was destroyed, the rebel forces hiding on the island of Kyushu would be caught in a jar for the shogunate army.