In Europe during the Age of Discovery, medieval elements still dominated.
Religious issues are far above all else and affect the decision-making of various countries and nations.
In the original history, the Dutch chose to help the Tokugawa shogunate and dispatched gunboats to deal with the revolting Catholics.
It can be said that the Dutch played a rather disgraceful role in the failure of the Shimabara Uprising.
But in the original history, the Dutch had no other choice.
As a relatively closed country, Japan has weak geographical connections with surrounding areas. Even if it wants to exert influence, it does not have many ways and means.
In order to maintain trade and interests in Japan, the Dutch had no choice but to comply with the requirements of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
But in this life, everything is different.
Xia Guo is coming!
And decided to strongly intervene in the Shimabara Uprising.
Xia Guo's goal was very clear from the beginning.
That's the whole of Japan.
The Xia Kingdom will never allow threats to exist on the first island chain, and it will definitely not allow any force to block the Chinese nation from heading towards the sea of stars.
The navy that defeated the Satsuma Domain before was equivalent to extending its hands and feet to Japan.
But these are not enough.
The interior of Japan is still very strong, and it is not at all strong enough for Xia to harvest its fruits.
The Shimabara Uprising that broke out now allowed Xia Guo to see new opportunities.
This uprising was not only a just battle for the people of Kyushu to resist the oppression of the feudal lords, but it was also a God-given opportunity to weaken Japan's national power.
After learning from Skrtel that Shen Yuan was directly responsible for dealing with Han merchants who transported and sold religious supplies, Shen Tingyang became interested.
He asked Guo Zheng to investigate and quickly discovered that Kyushu was about to erupt like a volcano.
Shen Tingyang quickly reported the situation here to Jeju Island.
On Jeju Island, there is the hub agency of the Xiaguo Intelligence Department.
In view of the urgent situation and the opportunity that could not be missed, the Ministry of Intelligence issued instructions to Shen Tingyang before even having time to report it to the country.
Let him take action immediately to make the Shimabara uprising become as big as possible.
After receiving the authorization, Shen Tingyang quickly contacted Busan and asked for all the flintlock guns and bronze artillery.
In order to consider the war situation in Korea, Xia State built the Korean army and distributed a large number of flintlock muskets and bronze artillery.
Nowadays, the North Korean army has been abolished and completely integrated into the Xia army system, and its weapons and equipment have also been comprehensively upgraded.
The military doesn't know what to do with these obsolete flintlocks and bronze artillery.
Now it can continue to shine, which is really great.
In addition to urgently preparing weapons, Shen Tingyang also asked the military to dispatch capable officers.
The farmers in Shimabara do not have much military knowledge, and they can only be regarded as a mob when fighting. In order to produce greater destructive power, they must be trained to a certain extent.
Furthermore, Shen Tingyang must reach an agreement with Scott.
The Dutch must understand what this chaos means.
"The weaker the power of the Tokugawa shogunate, the greater our hope of exerting influence on Japan. I believe that the East India Company is also willing to see a fully open Japan, don't you think so?"
Skrtel has come out of his surprise.
Since he was a representative of the East India Company, he was naturally an experienced businessman.
When it comes to profit, no one knows it better than businessmen.
What kind of Protestantism, what kind of Catholicism, what kind of pagan...
Compared with interests, what is it?
Once Japan's market was fully opened, Scott could only understand what it would mean for the East India Company.
He was convinced that once this goal could be achieved, perhaps in the near future, he would be the governor of the East India Company in Batavia.
Skrtel, who had completely figured it out, unleashed his full potential.
He even took the initiative to send Dutch merchant ships to help Shen Tingyang transport weapons.
Ever since Satsuma Domain's navy was defeated by Xia Kingdom's navy, Japan's maritime power has become extremely weak.
Almost everyone who walks in the sea here can feel that the environment is much more relaxed than before.
However, in order to avoid the Japanese search and successfully deliver the weapons to Amakusa Tokisada, the Dutch Galen ship is better.
On the vast sea, even if the Japanese were discovered, they would not be able to catch up.
This way, there is no risk of exposure.
At this time, Amakusa Tokisada has returned to Amakusa Island.
His return immediately gave everyone a backbone.
After understanding the situation in detail, Amakusa Tokisada immediately made arrangements.
"Youemon, you rush to Shimabara immediately and contact the church members who are revolting. Only if we unite can we fight against the evil lord."
One of his subordinates left immediately, crossed the strait by boat, and got in touch with the Shimabara uprising people who were at a loss.
Finally hearing the news about Amakusa Tokisada, the people of Shimabara were completely overjoyed.
On Amakusa Island, Amakusa Tokisada quickly mobilized everyone.
After wiping out the feudal officials on Amakusa Island, the Sadatoshou gathered all the ships and crossed the strait in the dark night to support Shimabara's operations.
After learning that the villagers of Kouzu Village and Arima Village were rioting, Matsukura Katsuie did not take it seriously.
In his opinion, these unarmed, timid and cowardly lambs do not threaten his rule at all.
He rashly sent feudal soldiers to suppress it.
The Shimabara rebels set up a formation outside the entrance of Arima Village to meet the attacking feudal soldiers.
The leading generals on the side of Tangjin Domain particularly underestimated the enemy. Seeing that the rebels only had farm tools and not even a pair of armor in their hands, they immediately mobilized their entire army, intending to engage in a hearty massacre.
However, the Shimabara rebels shared the same enemy and blocked the attack of the feudal soldiers.
Just as the battle was stalemate, Amakusa's rebel army led by Amakusa Tokisada suddenly came out from behind.
The vassal soldiers were attacked from both sides and immediately fell into chaos and collapsed on the spot.
Amakusa Tokisada wields a sword, and her tall body is particularly eye-catching.
His bravery gave the rebels unparalleled confidence.
The two rebel armies joined together and killed the feudal soldiers until they were completely defeated.
Amakusa Tokisada took the lead and led the rebel army in pursuit all the way to Shimabara Castle.
Only then did Matsukura Katsuie understand the seriousness of the matter. While organizing troops to defend, he quickly sent a message to the shogunate for help.
Although in the field battle, the rebel army easily defeated the feudal soldiers.
But now they were facing the fortified Shimabara Castle, which the rebels had attacked several times in succession. Apart from heavy casualties, they had not made any progress.
Looking at the flag still waving on Shimabara Castle, Amakusa Tokisada's eyes turned red.
At this moment, he finally understood the importance of weapons.
"The Tokugawa shogunate will definitely not sit back and watch you cause trouble. An endless stream of armies will definitely come one after another. Without weapons, you will not be able to hold on for long."
On a Dutch merchant ship off Shimabara, Shen Tingyang demonstrated the power of flintlock guns and bronze cannons to Amakusa Tokisada.
Amakusa Tokisada and the samurai looked at the shattered target hundreds of meters away, and their hearts began to beat unsatisfactorily.
With these weapons, Shimabara Castle will no longer be an obstacle in front of them.
The situation is stronger than the people.
Amakusa Tokisada, who fully understood the reality, signed an agreement with Shen Tingyang and formally accepted Xia Guo's funding.
Then two thousand flintlock muskets, fifty bronze cannons, and twenty Xia army instructors were transferred to the small boat. They then returned to Shimabara Castle under the dim light of the east.