Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third-generation general of Japan's Tokugawa shogunate who was born in the 9th year of Keicho and is only 32 years old this year, likes to climb the tower of Edo Castle, which is more than 20 feet high, every afternoon. Pavilion, overlooking the sun-drenched Edo Castle and Edo Bay in the distance.
Since the "Samurai Laws" were revised this year, it was listed as the obligation of all Japanese feudal lords to attend the ceremony. Therefore, there are countless busy construction sites under the Edo Imperial Castle. Seeing these construction sites, the Tokugawa family Guang’s mood is so good! It was not because of the booming real estate market in Edo, but because nearly three hundred feudal clans were busy expanding their feudal residences under the Edo Imperial Castle.
In the future, the Edo feudal residence of each feudal clan will become the center of power of each feudal clan, just like the feudal castle and the feudal Jinya (not all feudal clans can build castles, and feudal clans with lower stone heights will only have the main stronghold called the Jinya). . Because according to Tokugawa Iemitsu's regulations, one of the feudal lord or the feudal lord's heir must live in the feudal residence in Edo, and a considerable number of important officials from the feudal clan will stay in Edo with the feudal lord or the feudal lord's heir.
In the eyes of the world, General Iemitsu's insistence on attending the meeting was to completely eliminate the risk of the collapse of the strong domain. Nearly half of the important figures in the domain stayed in Edo Castle, and the remaining half were not necessarily all in the domain. They still have to hurry! These days, transportation is mainly by road. Although Japan's territory is not large, it is not very neat. It is a long and narrow island country. Therefore, the vassals located in Kyushu, Kansai, Shikoku, Mutsu and other places spend a lot of energy on pilgrimage meetings every year. and financial resources were enough to wear them down... But when had General Iemitsu ever worried about the collapse of the strong feudal clan?
If any of the feudal lords really jumps out, the General will only wish for it! That means someone doesn't want the fiefdom. How could Tokugawa Iemitsu be unhappy? At the funeral of his father Tokugawa Hidetada, he publicly declared: Anyone who wants to be a general should sign up!
In Japan today, is there any other powerful vassal that can compete with the Tokugawa Shogunate? Shimazu, Mori, Nabeshima, Hosokawa, Uesugi... they all jumped out to rebel and let the shogun deal with them!
It's a pity that those guys are very well-behaved. The feudal lords or successors of each of their families are now directing the construction of houses in Edo Castle!
When they go to see each other among the thousand birds, they are called loyal and obedient! Iemitsu-sama always used a magnifying glass to find mistakes, but he couldn't find any flaws.
Therefore, the real purpose of General Iemitsu's implementation of the pilgrimage transfer was not to prevent strong feudal lords from rebelling, but to establish a truly unified Japan.
He wants to turn all the feudal lords in Japan into "Edo people"... Let all future feudal lords be born in Edo, grow up in Edo, and preferably die in Edo, with only a small number of children in their lives. Part of the time he went to work in this domain. In this way, they will change from the local snakes of the vassals to the strong dragons "sent" by the shogunate to take office in the local areas.
Only at this point will Japan become a true whole, with power and favor coming from above, and power also coming from above. At that time, the general who conquers the barbarians will become a general who can truly "conquer the barbarians", instead of a general who puts all his energy into "suppressing peace" internally.
At that time, Japan can truly be a nation, spread its national prestige to the world, and spread its military fame to all directions!
Now, the policy of participating in the transfer of power is being implemented very smoothly, and the day when we can show off our power overseas is probably not too far away, right?
Thinking of this, Tokugawa Masami took a step forward and walked to the other west-facing window of the Edo Castle Tower.
The west is where North Korea is and where Luzon is!
As a heroic leader of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa Iemitsu was certainly not willing to be trapped on the narrow Japanese archipelago for life.
He also has the heart to open up new territories and make achievements!
It's just that the old monkey Toyotomi Hideyoshi fell into disgrace on the Korean Peninsula in his later years. Isn't the demise of the Toyotomi family somewhat related to the Korean War?
And Tokugawa Hidetada's exploration in the Pacific was hit in the head by the Spanish, which made Tokugawa Hidetada discouraged and inclined to seclusion - if Japan does not play with Japan, then Japan will not play with it and closes itself off. Just live your own little life.
But just as the people of the Tokugawa family began to gradually adapt to the seclusion of the country, the Ming Dynasty, which had practiced seclusion for more than two hundred years and only officially opened a small door to the country a few decades ago, suddenly came to the great founding of the country. What they wanted was the four major commercial ports and 500 "red seals", and they also allowed Chinese-style sailing ships with smaller loads to "enter and exit" the four major commercial ports without a license.
What surprised the Tokugawa family the most was that Zheng Zhilong, the great pirate whom Tokugawa Hidetada supported, was promoted to admiral of the navy by the Emperor of Heaven. He was also fully responsible for Shanghai Commercial Port, the largest of the four major commercial ports, and his daughter also became Candidate for the great nephew of the Ming Dynasty!
This shows that the maritime merchant power of the Ming Dynasty has reached the core of power!
This is undoubtedly because the Ming Dynasty wanted to fully establish the country, spread the country's prestige all over the world, and spread its military reputation in all directions (Zhu Youjian just wanted to make a living abroad, but the Japanese interpreted it as being so arrogant)!
Such efforts in founding the country made those in the Tokugawa shogunate who favored founding the country suddenly feel emboldened.
Although the Japanese have always been dissatisfied with Greater China, in the 17th century, the Ming Dynasty was still an indicator for Japan on the issue of founding and closing the country.
Of course, Zheng Zhilong "turned to the Ming Dynasty" and was reused by the Ming Dynasty in such a way, which also made the Tokugawa family angry - this Zheng Zhilong was obviously a royal businessman supported by General Hidetada, but now he has become an in-law and important minister of the Ming Emperor. ?
The Zheng family pirates have been in and out of Japan for so many years, and they have long been familiar with the sea lanes between China and Japan. They also have many of your ships. What if they help the Ming Dynasty attack Japan?
Japan and Ming Dynasty are still in a state of hostility because of the Korean War! The war ended due to the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the two sides did not sign a formal peace treaty.
Therefore, it is understandable that the shogunate refused to let Zheng Zhilong's wife and second son leave.
Another factor that prompted the Tokugawa shogunate to turn around on the issue of founding and seizing the country was the series of battles between the Ming and Qing Dynasties (later the Jin Dynasty) on the Korean Peninsula... and the "Jin Yi Arrival" incident that occurred last year.
This incident allowed Tokugawa Iemitsu to see the possibility of occupying a territory in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Although many people in the shogunate opposed it, Iemitsu was not afraid of these objections. All he has to worry about is the success or failure of sending troops to North Korea and the price he has to pay.
Even if he can only occupy a few pieces of land on the southeast coast of the Korean Peninsula, as long as he pays a small price, Tokugawa Iemitsu can gain great prestige.
Because he accomplished something that His Highness Taikaku failed to accomplish and that Lord Ieyasu and Lord Hidetada did not even dare to do... This proves that Tokugawa Iemitsu is comparable to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Tokugawa Hidetada's wise and heroic hero!
Tokugawa Iemitsu was squinting his eyes, imagining the glory that opening up new territories might bring to him, when a soft footsteps sounded, and then came the soft voice of Tokugawa Iemitsu's favorite nickname, Matsushita Ryunosuke: "In the public hall, senior middle school student Matsudaira Nobutsuna and university leader Lin Luoshan have arrived at Chidori."
Matsudaira Nobutsuna also served as Iemitsu's nickname and was a close confidant of Iemitsu. After the death of Tokugawa Hidetada, he was promoted to the shogunate.
Lin Luoshan, on the other hand, is a 300-koku bannerman. Although his status is not high, he holds positions such as the shogunate's Confucian servant and the head of the university. He is the Confucian teacher of the shogun and the sons of the shogun. He is also the think tank of the shogunate in foreign affairs and internal affairs. , directly responsible for drafting diplomatic documents with North Korea and Houjin, and also responsible for revising the "Samurai Laws". He was also Tokugawa Iemitsu's confidant.
Not long ago, these two confidants went to Echigo Naoe Town with secret orders from Tokugawa Iemitsu, where they received the "Jurchen envoys", that is, Sony, Nikon, Sharp, Li Kanon and others - according to the Tokugawa family Hikaru's secret order and the arrival of the Jurchen envoys were a secret of the shogunate. The fewer people knew about it, the better, so they were not allowed to land in places like Nagasaki and Hirado. Instead, they landed from the remote Echigo.
