"Ming...Does Ming want Japan to become its vassal?"
Tokugawa Iemitsu did not dare to be happy too early, because in his opinion, Japan's peace with Ming Dynasty was not a problem, the problem was that Japan could not surrender to Ming Dynasty.
Since the time of Emperor Suiko more than 1,000 years ago, the Japanese emperor has regarded himself as the emperor at sunrise, while the Chinese emperor has been called the emperor at sunset in order to seek equal diplomatic status. From then on, Japan gradually regarded itself as the superior country of China. During the Song Dynasty, it even engaged in seclusion and tributary trade. At that time, Song Dynasty and Korean merchants who went to Japan for business often had to deal with Japan's Dazaifu in the name of tribute.
Moreover, Japan has always been unwilling to establish equal diplomatic relations with Goryeo and North Korea, because Japan regards itself as a superior country like China, and regards Goryeo and North Korea as vassal states.
Driven by this foreign policy that is unequal to national strength, Japan has always been a very isolated existence in East Asia. And this understanding of "the emperor rises from the sun" has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so it cannot be changed by the Tokugawa shogunate.
Of course, if the Ming Dynasty and North Korea were as closed as Japan, then General Tokugawa could conduct diplomacy with Ming Dynasty and North Korea in the name of the King of Japan.
But now the Ming Dynasty, Japan, and Korea have all established their own countries, and in the name of conquering Japan, the Ming Dynasty has taken control of all the territory originally occupied by Japan in Jeolla Province and Gyeongsang Province in Korea. In fact, it has become a country separated from Japan by the sea. Looking at the neighbors.
Therefore, the ambiguous space in the diplomacy of China, Japan and North Korea no longer exists! Therefore, General Tokugawa could not conduct diplomacy with the Ming Dynasty and North Korea in the name of the Japanese King, but could only conduct diplomacy in the name of "the Emperor's ministers."
Of course, the emperor's ministers could not surrender to the Ming Emperor, otherwise they would become one servant and two masters. And the emperor cannot surrender to the Ming Emperor... He has persisted for more than 1,000 years, how could he break the rules in the hands of Tokugawa Iemitsu?
"Your Highness," Matsudaira Nobutsuna reported while presenting the letter he had just obtained from Zhu Cixi's handwriting, "This is an autographed letter from His Highness the Great Nephew of the Ming Dynasty to you and His Majesty the Emperor. It was entrusted to Matsukura Shigetoshi and Kazuo who were living in the Ming Dynasty. Sent by Masuda Tokisada..."
"Nani?" Tokugawa Iemitsu was stunned, "Didn't Matsukura Shigetoshi and Masuda Tokisada become gods? How come they are alive again?"
"Your Highness Gongfang, they did not become gods, they were just captured by the Ming Navy during the Battle of Pi Island."
"Baga..." Tokugawa Iemitsu cursed, "The noble samurai have been prisoners for so long, wouldn't they kill themselves?"
"Your Highness, please calm down," Matsudaira Nobutsuna quickly explained to the two of them, "A knife is needed to commit seppuku... They didn't have knives after they were captured, so they couldn't commit seppuku."
"Without a knife..." Tokugawa Iemitsu snorted coldly, "Then they can hang themselves, they can jump into the sea, they can go on a hunger strike, they can kill them head-on..."
"Your Highness, please calm down. You'd better read the autographed letter from the nephew of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty first."
As Matsudaira Nobutsuna spoke, he winked at Tokugawa Iemitsu and asked him to quickly take the letter out of the envelope and hand it to Iemitsu.
Iemitsu hummed twice, then took a piece of letter paper and unfolded it. It was written in Chinese characters, which he recognized, so he started to read: "Ms. Emperor Xingzi's Fangjian: The waves in the sea are far away. Although there is no chance. I can see the beauty, but I also know that there is a Mingjun heroine in Japan, who is twenty-one years old and is waiting in the boudoir..."
After reading this, Tokugawa Iemitsu had already jumped up, staring at his eyes and opening his mouth. He looked at the letter for a while, and then looked at Matsudaira Nobutsuna for a while. It took him a while to react, and roared: "Baga! Emperor Ming My great-nephew wants his younger brother to marry His Majesty the Emperor... It’s really unreasonable!”
Seeing Iemitsu getting angry, Matsudaira Nobutsuna could only stammered: "Your Highness, please calm down. I heard that there are many heroines in Western countries who can be married off. Even in our country, if a samurai family only has daughters and no sons, You can also recruit a husband to inherit the family business. His Majesty the Emperor is already twenty-one years old this year, and he should have considered marriage long ago..."
"Then, that's the emperor!" Tokugawa Iemitsu roared, "If she marries Prince Ning of the Ming Dynasty, what will I do?"
"You..." Matsudaira Nobutsuna was shocked, "Do you also love His Majesty the Emperor?"
"Baga..." Tokugawa Iemitsu stroked his forehead and stamped his feet, "If the emperor marries the prince of Ming Dynasty, will the Tokugawa shogunate still exist? The nephew of the emperor of Ming Dynasty said in the letter , His younger brother King Ning will own a total of 2 million stone seals in Jeolla and Gyeongsang Provinces of Korea. And King Ning also has 18,000 samurai under his command! If His Majesty the Emperor has such a husband, he will also need the shogunate assistant. Politics?"
"His Majesty Kōkata is worrying too much," Matsudaira Nobutsuna said with a smile. "His Majesty the Emperor has no interest in government affairs. He gave up his throne to Prince Sogomiya more than a year ago...but because of His Highness Kōkō's objection, he still remains so. Emperor."
In the original history, Emperor Meisho was now the emperor. But right now, because the Tokugawa shogunate's Korean campaign is not going very smoothly, an emperor with Tokugawa blood is needed to sit in the court in Kyoto. Therefore, Tokugawa Iemitsu did not allow his niece Emperor Meisho to abdicate, but allowed her to continue to be emperor.
However, because Emperor Meisho was a female, and his father Gomizuo had a son with his concubine after abdicating the throne, he always wanted to pry off his daughter's throne and let his son, Prince Sogomiya, become emperor.
Matsudaira Nobutsuna said: "As long as His Majesty the Emperor is allowed to give way to Prince Sogomiya before getting married, His Royal Highness Prince Ning of the Ming Dynasty will only marry an abdicated emperor."
Tokugawa Iemitsu frowned, "Is this really possible?"
"Your Highness," Matsudaira Nobutsuna said, "This is the only way to avoid the Ming invaders... If a marriage cannot be formed, then the shogunate must prepare for a decisive battle with the Ming troops who landed!"
Tokugawa Iemitsu snorted: "Kita Kyushu's defenses have been completed for a long time. If the Ming invaders dare to land, they will suffer the same disastrous defeat as the Yuan invaders!"
Matsudaira Nobutsuna whispered: "But where is the former Hojo clan now?"
Tokugawa Iemitsu was speechless. Although Yuan Kou was defeated by the Kamakura shogunate, Hojo Tokimune. However, the war with the Yuan Dynasty also exhausted the financial resources of the Kamakura shogunate. After repelling the Yuan invaders twice, the Kamakura shogunate could not provide land to reward the imperial family for their meritorious service, but it also had to continue to prepare for the third invasion of the Yuan invaders. , so it turned from prosperity to decline, and perished after persisting for less than 50 years. The former Hojo clan in charge of the Kamakura shogunate was also completely destroyed!
"Moreover," Matsudaira Nobutsuna said, "and the current situation is more critical than when the Yuan invaders invaded... The Ming Dynasty's navy is more powerful than the Yuan invaders' navy, and it cannot be destroyed by the Japanese kamikaze. .
In addition, the Ming Dynasty's navy can also send the Ming Dynasty's land division to land outside Kitakyushu! "
"Outside Kitakyushu?" Tokugawa Iemitsu's heart twitched, "Where could it be?"
"For example...Sado Island!" Matsudaira Nobutsuna said slowly, "Without the gold and silver from Sado Island, the shogunate's financial resources will be greatly reduced!"
Tokugawa Iemitsu was silent. He was not afraid of the Ming army landing in Kitakyushu...Kita Kyushu was not the territory of the shogunate. The shogunate could let the southwestern vassals resist the Ming army while he hid behind and watched the situation.
But what if the Ming army lands on Sado Island? How much gold and silver did the shogunate lose in a year? Moreover, we have to set up defenses along the Hokuriku coast, which costs a lot of money!
"But the matter of the emperor's marriage..." Tokugawa Iemitsu still shook his head, "Can the shogunate make a decision?"
"Your Highness," Matsudaira Nobutsuna said, "you just used this as an excuse to leave Nagoya and go to Kyoto to report this matter to His Majesty the Emperor."
"Leave Kitakyushu..." Tokugawa Iemitsu's eyes suddenly lit up. This is a good excuse! He is now trapped in Kitakyushu and cannot leave decently. Once the Ming army lands, it is possible that he will be surrounded in Nagoya Castle.
"Okay!" Tokugawa Iemitsu nodded heavily, "Then arrange for me to go to Luo as soon as possible to report to the emperor for his decision!"
