Tang Ding led his army to rampage through the Japanese country. The Japanese he encountered were just some ronin, a small group of Japanese soldiers, and they did not encounter any decent resistance at all.
As time passed, although Tang Ding still remained wary of the Japanese, the soldiers below began to ignore the Japanese.
Indeed, since the Ming army entered the Japanese country, the Japanese they encountered had long been starved to the skin and bones. They were extremely weak and had no strength at all. How could they be taken seriously by the Ming army soldiers?
The Japanese country has many mountains and hills, and Tang Ding's army did not carry many war horses, resulting in a slow march.
Tang Ding was leaning over the map on the table. The map of Japan was not detailed, and many places were marked very vaguely. There was no way, even the Japanese court didn't have a detailed map. The map in front of him was specially found by Han Du.
The deputy general came in with a report.
Tang Ding didn't even raise his head and said, "What's the matter?"
Since entering the Japanese country, Tang Ding felt as if everything was not going well, and he naturally became a little angry when he spoke.
"To the great governor, we have found the reason why the Japanese state has become what it is now."
"Oh? Let me tell you what happened." Tang Ding quickly gave up the map in front of him and looked up at the deputy general.
The deputy general was shocked and said quickly: "It's like this. Two months ago, there was a mutiny in the Southern Dynasty of the Japanese Kingdom. Princess Reiko Komatsu led the Hosokawa clan to surround Rongshan Temple. The title of the leader of the Southern Dynasty changed hands. Reiko Komatsu was there. A few days later, he ascended the throne and became the new ruler of the Southern Dynasty."
"Isn't Komatsu Reiko a woman? How can she inherit the throne of the country?" Tang Ding was surprised. He had met Komatsu Reiko in the capital, so he was naturally very surprised by this.
The deputy general said quickly: "The information I got from other spies seems that Komatsu Reiko has a lot of food in her hands. She used this to gain the surrender of the Hosokawa clan, and then took control of the entire Southern Dynasty."
"This woman... is really not simple." Tang Ding couldn't help but sigh after hearing this. He never imagined that Komatsu Reiko, who was like a butterfly in the capital, would have such decisive means of killing.
"Then where is Xiaosong Lingzi now?" Tang Ding asked in a deep voice.
In his opinion, whether Komatsu Reiko kills his father and seizes power, or whether it is a smooth transition, it has nothing to do with him. What he wanted to do was to take advantage of the current turmoil in the Southern Dynasty to calm down and kill her directly to catch her by surprise.
"It should be in Yoshino, where the capital of the Southern Dynasty is located."
"Should?" Tang Ding frowned upon hearing this.
The deputy general quickly explained: "The spies only heard about the mutiny in the Southern Dynasty, but they did not know the whereabouts of Komatsu Reiko."
Tang Ding raised his eyes to look at the deputy general and said dissatisfied: "Do these spies still want to get the Ming Dynasty household registration? They can't even find out about such an important matter."
The lieutenant general paused and said with some reluctance: "In fact, the Governor does not blame them. Their status in the Japanese country is just the middle and lower classes. It is difficult to know the whereabouts of Komatsu Reiko."
Tang Ding thought for a moment and agreed with the deputy general's words. Xiaosong Lingzi suddenly returned from the Ming Dynasty. Tang Ding didn't know what happened, but he had an idea in his mind that Xiaosong Lingzi's sudden return to the Japanese country might be related to his attack on the Japanese country.
In this case, as long as Komatsu Reiko is not stupid, she will definitely keep her whereabouts extremely secret, and it makes sense that the spies will not be able to find her. On the contrary, if those spies could obtain such important information, then Tang Ding would have to consider whether it was a trap.
"And..." the deputy general paused, then continued: "There is also news that there are signs of alliance between the Japanese and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It seems that they want to join forces to resist us."
Tang Ding nodded slightly and said: "The Japanese are not stupid either. They will not remain in civil strife when facing our attack. It is expected that they will unite to resist us. If they had not had this scruple at the beginning, Ming Dynasty would have been a few years ahead of schedule. Even if we send out troops, we won’t delay it until now.”
The deputy general also smiled and agreed, "But now the situation is over, even if they unite, they will inevitably
A road to failure. "
Tang Ding nodded, and then said seriously: "Send the order and let the spies do their best to find out the news about Komatsu Reiko and the Ashikaga clan. It is best to find out their next plan."
"yes."
...
Han Du was in the cabinet and received Tang Ding's report again.
After a quick glance, Tang Ding reported that after General Komatsu Reiko returned to Japan, he immediately launched a mutiny and directly seized the power of Houguishan. He also made peace with the Ashikaga clan and prepared to unite against the Ming Dynasty.
Han Du couldn't help but feel his heart sink when he saw the report. He had already estimated Xiaosong Lingzi, but he didn't expect that he underestimated her in the end. This woman dared to directly launch a mutiny, and even her father didn't know whether she had killed him or imprisoned him. The ruthlessness of the mind can be seen in general.
Also, where did the food in her hand come from? Han Du was very sure that Japan no longer grew its own food, and the food it needed every year was bought back from Jeolla Province. In order to balance the strength of the north and south of Japan, he strictly ordered Jeolla Province not to sell food at will. The grain sold to the Hosokawa clan and the Ashikaga clan must be similar.
But Han Du then remembered that since the fighting between the north and the south of Japan became more and more intense, during a certain period of time, the south and south lost more and won less. In order to prevent the Southern Dynasty from being easily defeated by the Ashikaga clan, he ordered an increase in the amount of food and ordnance sold to the Southern Dynasty.
It was originally thought that it was due to the weak military strength of the Southern Dynasty and its inability to defeat the Ashikaga clan. This was also the case. The Southern Dynasty was weaker in force than the Northern Dynasty.
But now it seems that all this is probably the layout of Komatsu Reiko. She took advantage of the fact that the Southern Dynasty was weaker, deliberately lost several battles, and defrauded herself of a large amount of food and ordnance. As long as something like this happens a few times a year, after so many years of accumulation, Komatsu Reiko will probably have a lot of food on hand.
Thinking of this, Han Du couldn't help but feel worried. It was originally thought that the Japanese country was at the end of its war, and it only needed to cut off the food supply to the Japanese, and the Japanese would starve to death on their own. But if Komatsu Reiko really has enough food in hand, then the war to destroy the Japanese may still be fought.
Han Du put down the report, looked up and looked out the window and let out a long breath. He couldn't help but reach out and press his temples, which were a little swollen and painful. There was an inexplicable feeling in his heart. He felt that Xiaosong Lingzi used to be a piece of rough jade, unremarkable and unrecognizable, but now it seemed that this piece of rough jade had been polished to shine.
After thinking for a moment, Han Du took the memorial and went out, heading straight towards Qianqing Palace.
A moment later, Han Du stepped into the high threshold of Qianqing Palace after Wang Yuetong reported it.
After the ceremony, Zhu Biao smiled and asked Han Du the reason for his visit.
Han Du sighed, took out the report in his hand, and sighed: "Please take a look, Your Majesty, this is the report from Duke Xin."
Zhu Biao took the memorial in confusion, opened it and read it carefully. A wry smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he sighed: "I didn't expect that Xiaosong Lingzi had such ability. How could she, a female, have such a character? This decisiveness in killing is probably better than that of ordinary men. And nothing less.”
After reading the report again, Zhu Biao couldn't help but darken his face and said, "I regret letting her go back."
Let the tiger return to the mountain... Han Du subconsciously thought of this.
But Han Du did not blame Zhu Biao. Instead, he changed the subject and said: "The serious issue now is not this, but the question of how much food Xiaosong Lingzi has hidden and how long the Japanese country can hold on."
After hearing this, Zhu Biao nodded slightly, and then asked, "Where did she get the food?"
Han Du thought for a moment and then told Zhu Biao about the defeat of the Southern Dynasty.
"Since the strength of the Ashikaga clan has always been greater than that of the Southern Dynasty, I thought that the Southern Dynasty was no match for the Ashikaga clan, so I increased the sales of food and arms to the Southern Dynasty..."
When Zhu Biao heard this, he couldn't help but not worry at all. Instead, he looked at Han Du and joked: "You have been playing with an eagle all your life, and in the end you were blinded by an eagle."
"Her skills are indeed very concealed and hard to detect." Han Du sighed and had to admit that he was indeed tricked by Komatsu Reiko.
Zhu Biao's expression became solemn and he nodded: "Yes, she could deliberately defeat, lose so many sergeants and land, and also get a large amount of food and ordnance. If it was just a coincidence, it would be nothing more. If she had expected it, Today, if we had made preparations in advance, this person would be a bit scary."
Han Du nodded in agreement, this was what he was worried about. And in his heart, Han Du believed that this incident was not a coincidence, but that Komatsu Reiko did it deliberately.
"Come here." Zhu Biao shouted loudly.
"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions." Wang Yue came over quickly.
Zhu Biao thought for a moment, and then said: "Send an order to Tang Ding, asking him to be careful of the woman Xiaosong Lingzi. In addition, this woman must not be let go. She will live and die, and she will see her corpse."
"My slave obeys the order."
...
With the incident involving Komatsu Reiko, Han Du's eyes have been closely focused on the current war on the land of Japan. He also ordered that as long as it is a report from Duke Xin, he must report it to himself immediately no matter when it is.
"...On the seventh day of June, I learned that the head of the Ashikaga clan, Ashikaga Yoshinori, was preparing to lead his troops south to join Komatsu Reiko. He immediately led 30,000 troops from Tamba to Kyoto. In the battle of Kyoto, he defeated three Japanese soldiers. One hundred thousand, more than one hundred thousand were killed by the formation, and there were no prisoners..."
When this happened, Zhu Biao's imperial edict had not yet reached Tang Ding's hands.
Even Han Du did not expect that the war between Ming Dynasty and Japan would break out so quickly.
"...In the battle of Kyoto, I did not find Ashikaga Yoshinori. Later I learned that he had already led his troops south to Yoshino, and what was left in Kyoto was only the remnant of his troops. So, on the third day of July, I led my troops south to prepare. Attack Yoshino..."
