Chapter 2129

A few days after the war began, there were no ships able to go to sea near Hirado Port, and the Hirado Strait outside the port had been occupied by the enemy's powerful ships and artillery. For the people currently trapped in Hirado City,

, the vast majority of people cannot escape this predicament.

In fact, many people have no idea who the foreign enemy is currently attacking Hirado and what caused the war. They can only believe the official statement that the enemy's purpose in launching the war is to invade Hirado and plunder it.

Wealth and population, if you don't put up a resistance, most people will be killed or become slaves after defeat, and the property will naturally be plundered by the enemy.

This kind of publicity did help the government win the support of some public opinion. Although many people still had doubts about Tagawasuke's sudden rise to power, the enemy still obeyed the official recruitment and contributed money and effort to participate in this war.

But not everyone accepts the official statement in full. Port cities like Hirado that are engaged in international trade have a large proportion of foreigners, and these people from other countries and regions may not be as well-informed as those

The locals also trust the official statement. Especially those foreign businessmen who have dealt with Haihan directly or indirectly. Naturally, they would think that Hirado would provoke the Haihan army to come all the way. This is definitely not the case.

It's as simple as the official claims.

However, in the absence of sufficient information, ordinary people have no way to speculate on who represents justice between the two warring parties. In this kind of war and chaos, they can only try to choose ways to ensure the safety of themselves and their family property. For these people who have no clear position

For outsiders, no matter who wins or loses in this war, the most important thing is that they can survive.

Yu Chengli is a fabric merchant from the Ming Dynasty. He travels between the Ming Dynasty and Japan at least twice a year, trafficking high-end textiles produced in Suzhou and Hangzhou to Japan to make a profit. The scale of the business run by Yu Chengli is not small, so in

There was also a shop in Hirado. Every time he shipped goods, he would live in Hirado for two or three months. After selling the textiles, he would buy some Japanese souvenirs from Hirado and transport them back to Ming Dynasty for sale.

Yu Chengli has been engaged in this kind of cross-border trade for some years, so he has always had a good relationship with the Hirado officials. He was even a special supplier to the former lord Matsuura family, specializing in providing high-quality textiles for the lord's family's clothing. However, not long ago, the Matsuura family suddenly suddenly

Inexplicably, he encountered a fire that destroyed his family, and Yu Chengli's business was somewhat affected by this.

Yu Chengli was no stranger to Tagawasuke who took over the position of feudal lord. After all, Tagawasuke had been the number one retainer under Matsuura Takanobu before, and he had a large group of Han generals under him, which would increase the number of merchants from the Ming Dynasty.

There is a sense of closeness. Yu Chengli even heard a rumor that Tagawa Suke's adopted son also has Han blood, and his biological father is the famous Zheng Zhilong.

Based on these reasons, Yu Chengli had a pretty good impression of Tagawasuke, so although there were many unexplained doubts about the death of the previous lord, Yu Chengli decided to deal with the relationship with the new lord as soon as possible and try to put his special

Supplier qualifications continue.

For Yu Chengli, this qualification is not only an effective advertisement, but also with the care of the feudal lord, he will encounter far fewer messy problems in business. If he wants to operate in Hirado for a long time, then he can find

Such a strong backer is still necessary.

But Yu Chengli never expected that within a few days of Tagawasuke taking over, news of a possible war would spread. Then Tagawasuke sent people to find him and without any explanation, requisitioned dozens of gauze in his warehouse for war preparation materials.

Of course, the settlement and other matters will probably have to be calculated slowly after the war.

Yu Chengli initially thought that the Hirado clan was going to war with other forces in Kyushu, but he did not take it too seriously. He knew that the strength of the Hirado clan's army in the Kyushu region should be considered second to none, and the possibility of victory in external wars was extremely high.

.When this battle is won, then I will take the initiative to give up the payment and ask Tagawasuke for the qualification of a special supplier. Presumably the other party will agree to it.

But soon more rumors appeared on the market, saying that the people who were going to war with Hirado this time were not the local forces in the Kyushu region, but the feared Haihan people.

Yu Chengli has been traveling around Suzhou and Hangzhou all year round, and has many social connections in all aspects. Naturally, he is no stranger to the various deeds of the Haihan people. He even went to Zhoushan Dinghai Port once, where he saw the Haihan people moored in the harbor from a distance.

The armed fleet was very impressive.

As far as Yu Chengli knew, the Haihan people started by occupying Qiongzhou Island in the Ming Dynasty. Over the years, they have continued to expand outwards by means of conquest. Even Zhoushan Island in Ningbo Prefecture was also occupied by Haihan people by military means. The local officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang were afraid.

They were so strong that they did not dare to send troops to expel them. Over time, Zhoushan Island became the territory of the Haihan Kingdom. Moreover, Yu Chengli also heard that the Haihan people captured Jinzhou from the Qing Dynasty in Liaodong, and they also took it as their own.

, and has no intention of returning it to Ming Dynasty.

The Haihan people, who were so powerful that even the Ming Dynasty did not dare to stroke their beards, now wanted to send troops across the sea to attack Hirado. Yu Chengli's expectations for the official government of Hirado suddenly dropped greatly. No matter whether the Haihan people came to burn, kill, and loot.

, no matter whether he seizes Hirado Island, he believes that the chance of the Hirado clan winning will be extremely slim.

Of course, although Yu Chengli was not optimistic about the prospects of the Hirado clan in this war, he believed that he at least had a way out and did not have to stay in Hirado to wait for the war to happen. But when he was about to leave here and return to the Ming Dynasty,

However, Tagawasuke ordered the implementation of military control over Hirado. All personnel were not allowed to leave the island, and young men and women of appropriate age were to be recruited as peasant soldiers and civilian husbands to participate in the upcoming war.

Not only could Yu Chengli be unable to leave, but his cargo ship was temporarily requisitioned by the Hirado Navy. In desperation, he could only spend another sum of money to bribe the officials responsible for recruiting young people and skip the shops under his name.

, in order to prevent himself and his men from being captured by the Japanese and used as civilian husbands. When the time comes, they are involved in the war, and they really don’t even know how to die.

As for ordinary people in Hirado, only a handful of them have Yu Chengli's methods. Most of them have to perform labor and military service according to official arrangements, and there are many situations where the feudal army needs to be dispatched to forcibly take people away. During this period, they live and die.

Those who were unwilling to serve, those who took advantage of the situation for profit, and those who fled into the mountains and forests for refuge, all kinds of situations emerged one after another, and the whole city inevitably became chaotic.

Next door to Yu Chengli is a Portuguese trading house. The owner is named Gonzalez. In his early years, he also did business in the southern coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty. Later, he settled in Pingdo, which was earlier than Yu Chengli. This Gonzalez

Si has been in the East for a long time and can speak both Chinese and Japanese, so he usually has a lot of contact with Yu Chengli.

Both of them were outsiders in Hirado, and their similar situation meant that they had a lot in common. In addition, Gonzalez was an extrovert, so they got along quite well as neighbors. But after Tagawasuke ordered the city to be closed down to prepare for war, Oka

Sares came to find Yu Chengli and asked him if he planned to leave Hirado.

"If you want to leave, you have to be able to do so!" Yu Chengli smiled bitterly and said, "My ship has been requisitioned by the government. Did they make you an exception?"

"There is no exception, my ship has also been requisitioned." Gonzalez shrugged: "It seems that if we don't plan to swim out, we will have to stay on the island until the war is over!"

Of course, it is impossible to swim out. They have been operating industries in Hirado for many years. How can they just give up? And before the war swept this place, there must still be a sense of luck, thinking that it is still possible to get through this safely.

Disaster.

The two exchanged the amount of money spent to bribe officials to be exempted from labor, and found that each of them had been severely ripped off. However, at this time, there was no way to bargain with the officials, even if they knew they had suffered a loss, they could only

I can bear it for now.

As for the purpose of Haihan sending troops to attack Hirado, Gonzalez seemed very optimistic: "The Haihan people did not come to occupy this place. It is too far away from the Ming Dynasty, and there are no valuable local products, and

Look at the topography of Hirado Island. The area suitable for construction is too small. This is not a place that the Haihan people would be interested in. They must come here for other reasons!"

Yu Chengli nodded and said: "The government said that the Haihan people are coming to loot Pingdo. I guess this means they will leave after looting?"

Gonzalez said disapprovingly: "This statement is even more ridiculous. The Haihan people are much richer than the Japanese. Do they need to cross the sea to rob the households? I'm afraid the wealth they rob is not enough for their military expenses!

I heard that Boss Yu once went to Zhoushan, so he should know something about it, right?"

Yu Chengli thought about it and felt that Gonzalez's statement made some sense. Since Haihan wanted to cross the sea to defeat Hirado, he must have made a large-scale campaign to ensure victory. Although Hirado is a regional trade center, it seems to be far from it.

Wealthy enough to attract the Haihan people to go to war over it, otherwise wouldn't it be much more cost-effective for them to directly loot the rich lands in Jiangsu and Zhejiang adjacent to Zhoushan than to attack Pinghu?

Yu Chengli also knew that the Portuguese and the Haihan people maintained close trade relations, so he immediately lowered his voice and asked tentatively: "Does Boss Gang know the inside story of the Haihan people's attack on Hirado?"

Gonzalez was accustomed to Yu Chengli's nondescript name, and he didn't bother to correct his surname. He just shook his head and said: "I don't have any inside information. I just think what the government said is unreasonable. I think the government should be hiding it."

There were certain situations and the truth was not disclosed to us."

"But what can we do even if we know the truth? Can we still mediate and make them give up the war?" Gonzalez said helplessly: "All we can do is find ways to protect ourselves and not be involved in the war.

.At least when the Haihan people invade Hirado, don’t be treated as enemies by them.”

This was exactly what Yu Chengli was thinking. He actually believed that the Hirado clan army would be defeated, but it was difficult to predict how the war would progress, and he had not thought about how to protect himself if the Haihan army invaded Hirado.

is the most appropriate.

"Boss Gang, what are you going to do?" Yu Chengli thought that Gonzalez had a lot of insight into the current situation, so he wanted to hear his opinion.

Gonzalez was silent for a moment, but then he asked a question that left Monk Yu Chengli Zhanger puzzled: "Boss Yu, do you still have cloth in stock here?"

"Yes, yes...but what's the use of holding cloth at this juncture?" Yu Chengli asked rhetorically.

Gonzalez refused to tell the truth immediately, but asked Yu Chengli to take him to see the things. Yu Chengli didn't know what he meant, but he still complied with the other party's request and took him to the store warehouse to check the inventory.

"That's all the goods are. They are all good things shipped from Hangzhou at the beginning of the year! However, the best quality goods have been sold to merchants in Kyoto, and these in stock are relatively ordinary." Yu Chengli pointed to a number of them placed in the warehouse.

There were more than two hundred pieces of fabric, and Gonzalez was motioned to check them out on his own.

If Gonzalez planned to lower the price and eat this batch of goods at this time, Yu Chengli didn't mind taking a small loss. It would be better to exchange these goods for gold and silver and bury them underground instead of leaving them in a warehouse.

It was confiscated after the war.

Gonzalez stepped forward to pick and pick, but in the end he only picked out two pieces of fabric. He put them under his arm and saluted Yu Cheng, "That's all."

"That's it?" Yu Chengli was slightly surprised. This was obviously not about packing up his inventory. He didn't expect that at this juncture, Gonzalez could still have the leisure to shop.

Before Yu Chengli opened his quotation, Gonzalez said again: "If you and I can save the store after the war, we will settle on this thing!"

Yu Chengli asked in confusion: "What does this mean?"

Seeing that there were Yu Chengli's men next to him, Gonzalez just winked at him but did not answer. Yu Chengli understood, so he asked someone to take the two pieces of fabric, and returned to the flower hall together, and then backed away from his men.

Ask Gonzalez again about his intentions.

"The Haihan Kingdom uses a red and blue flag as its national symbol. As long as we make the flag in advance and hang it at the door of the store when the Haihan Army enters the city, we should be able to stay safe!" Gonzalez explained, speaking softly.

Gently stroke the two pieces of fabric lying on the table.

One is as red as blood, and the other is as dark blue as the sea. Perhaps because the colors are too bright, these two pieces of silk have been kept in the warehouse without being sold since they were shipped to Japan this year. However, Yu Chengli never expected that they could still be sold.

It has such an effect.

In fact, regarding Haihan's two-color flag, he had seen it before when he went to Zhoushan. It was only now that he heard Gonzalez remind him that he remembered this detail. Whether this method will work has not yet been confirmed, but at the moment

How can I care about so much at this time? I must try every way to save my life.
Chapter completed!