Seeing Zhu Cijiong's cavalry, Tokugawa Iemitsu's brows gradually knitted together. Although he commanded a war that ended in a draw with the Ming Dynasty, he was strategizing in the Nagoya Castle on Kyushu Island from the beginning to the end and never killed the enemy on the battlefield. So today is the first time for the Tokugawa family to see the Ming army's iron cavalry that once terrified countless Japanese samurai!
Although the Japanese samurai left many heroic deeds that greatly increased their reputation during their long-term struggle with the Ming Dynasty. But they could not deny the fact that even the most powerful Japanese samurai army had never defeated the Ming Dynasty's Nine-sided Iron Cavalry.
And once the more powerful Ming Dynasty cavalry lands in Japan, regardless of whether they can conquer Japan, the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate will come to an end - Japan now has about 300 vassals whose military strength is not weak, and There are more than 400,000 warriors with salaries and countless rogues. The military power that the Tokugawa shogunate could mobilize only accounted for a small part of Japan's overall military power.
Therefore, defeating the Tokugawa shogunate does not mean conquering Japan, and Japan without the shogunate can easily become a mud pit that makes it difficult for foreign invaders to extricate themselves. Therefore, it is very difficult to conquer Japan, and the gains outweigh the losses - Japan has nothing good. If you want Japanese gold, just conquer Sado Island, and you don't need to conquer the entire Japan.
But Tokugawa Iemitsu also understood that it would be very easy for the Ming Dynasty to destroy the Tokugawa Shogunate!
Because the Tokugawa shogunate engaged in power-minister politics with the emperor and the princes under their control. Only the military power sufficient to protect Japan can govern. If the shogunate loses its military strength, or if the shogunate's army proves unable to protect Japan, the end of the shogunate will come.
In order to maintain the illusion that the shogunate was strong enough to protect Japan, the Tokugawa shogunate had to fight hard with the Ming army when it invaded. If you just pass it, you will be over, and if you just pass it, it is not necessarily better... Wasn't it true that the former Hojo just passed the Yuan Dynasty, and then his prestige was ruined because he had no financial resources to reward the merits, and finally he was completely finished?
So Tokugawa Iemitsu has had a very difficult time in the past two years, and he feels miserable! Even though he knew that Zhu Cijiong had bad intentions in marrying the Xingnu Emperor, he still had to arrange the marriage. At the same time, he had to give his adopted daughter Tong Ji, who was drooling at the sight, to Zhu Cihong as a concubine, and even called it a marriage...
When Tokugawa Iemitsu was feeling miserable, the Koko Empress pursed her lips and tried hard not to laugh. Because she had already seen the boy galloping at the front of the team with the golden dragon flag on a white background fluttering.
This young man should be His Highness Prince Ning of Ming Dynasty! Emperor Xingzi thought to himself: He is so handsome! Wearing a shining silver "Southern Barbarian Footgear" and riding a giant war horse (Persian horse), he is simply like a god from heaven descending to earth.
What makes the emperor even more satisfied is that all the warriors who follow Zhu Cijiong are wearing shiny Nanman footwear, and everyone is riding a tall war horse (Mongolian horses are also big horses in Japan)... .This shows that His Highness Prince Ning is really rich!
In Japan, except for the shogun's family, no feudal lord has the financial resources to equip such an armored cavalry, not even Maeda's million stone.
The elder Tadakatsu Sakai's memorial also said that in order to recruit samurai from the north, His Highness Prince Ning gave a reward of 100,000 one-tael silver coins at Tsuruga Port at one time!
Moreover, the three large sailing ships that sent Prince Ning to Tsuruga Port, in addition to boxes of silver coins, also carried many gorgeous silks and valuable jewelry and goldware... These were all belonging to His Highness Prince Ning. A gift to His Majesty the Emperor!
Being able to send so many gifts at once, doesn't it show his love for the emperor?
When Xingzi saw such a handsome young man who loved him so much, of course he immediately fell in love... Just when Emperor Xingzi couldn't extricate himself from the love, there was a sudden sound from the cavalry team led by Zhu Cijiong. There was a long suona sound. Then I saw all the armored cavalry, including Zhu Cijiong, reining in their horses at the same time. Thousands and hundreds of war horses neighed one after another. Some of them did not stop at once. The horses' hooves turned and the clods of soil flew around.
After a commotion, thousands and hundreds of riders stopped, and then they saw the handsome young man who was suspected to be Ning Wang Zhu Cijiong dismounted from his horse. Surrounded by more than a dozen soldiers who also got off the horse, he headed towards Emperor Xingzi. Come swaggering over. Tadakatsu Sakai, the elder of the shogunate, followed him at a trot and arrived in front of Zhu Cijiong. Then he led him to the emperor and introduced the emperor to him.
Zhu Cijiong stood in front of the emperor's royal banquet, then raised his hands and saluted, saying: "Zhu Cijiong, Prince Ning of the Ming Dynasty, is here to see His Majesty the Emperor of Japan, and I respectfully wish His Majesty the best."
The etiquette he is using now has been agreed upon by both parties. Before he and Xingzi could consummate their marriage, they had to use the courtesy of an audience from foreign envoys. After he and Xingzi got married, he became the head of the family and the husband of Emperor Xingzi. Emperor Xingzi must fulfill his wife's duties and obey Zhu Cijiong's instructions.
Emperor Xingzi nodded with a smile and said to Zhu Cijiong in Chinese: "Pingshen, it's hard for Prince Ning to come from afar, so you should come to the city with me and settle down as soon as possible. I have already held a banquet for the king in the imperial palace to welcome the king and wash away the dust."
Xingzi's Chinese is much better than Zhu Cijiong's Japanese. Zhu Cijiong only started learning Japanese after preparing to marry Emperor Xingzi. He speaks fluently, but there are many grammatical errors and his pronunciation is not very accurate. And Xingzi has a very good foundation in Chinese studies. She is an emperor who "prioritizes learning and learning"! In this era, it is impossible to learn Japanese knowledge well without knowing Chinese. For example, the God of Japanese Learning Sugawara Michizane's "History of the Republic of China" and "The Legacy of the Suga Family" were all learned in standard Chinese.
But Xingzi is not stupid, learns things very quickly, and is particularly good at learning languages, so he speaks Chinese very well.
Zhu Cijiong straightened up and looked at the emperor in front of him with a smile... He looked okay, his eyebrows were curved and a little upside down, but his eyes, nose and mouth were still straight, especially the cherry-shaped mouth, which looked quite cute. In addition, the emperor's skin is very white, which covers all his ugliness!
After seeing the appearance of Queen Xing'er in a Tang suit, Zhu Cijiong smiled and cupped her hands, "Then it's better to be respectful than to obey!"
Then the group of people waited, followed Emperor Koiko into the non-existent Rashomon Gate, and then walked along Suzaku Street towards Suzaku Gate. After entering Suzaku Gate, not far away was the Kenreimon Gate of the Imperial Palace. Inside the Kenrei Gate is the Emperor's Imperial Garden, which was first built during the Kanmu period and rebuilt during the Onin period.
Although the Emperor's Garden is dilapidated, it occupies a large area. The total area is even larger than the Forbidden City in Beijing. However, there are not many buildings inside. The greening is very good, trees and weeds are everywhere, and a large dug The fish pond is called Yuchi Pavilion.
In addition, there are a lot of open spaces in the imperial garden. After entering the Jianli Gate, there are large open spaces to the left and right. The guards and northern warriors brought by Zhu Cijiong were temporarily placed there.
Zhu Cijiong's own residence is within the imperial palace. The Emperor lived in the Gojo Palace to the north of the Gotsunei Palace, and he was placed in the Gohana Palace to the north of the Gojo Palace.
This was originally the residence of the Japanese crown prince. The location is very good. The Imperial Palace is very close and connected by a corridor. You can walk there quietly at night...because Japan has not had a crown prince for many years, so It had always been abandoned. Because the Imperial Flower Palace was not large and relatively cheap to repair, it was renovated for Zhu Cijiong to live before his marriage to Emperor Xingzi.
After Zhu Cijiong and Emperor Xingzi get married, Emperor Xingzi will abdicate and become the emperor. She and Zhu Cijiong will move out of the imperial palace and live in Guishan Villa in Xi'an, Guichuan - this Guishan Villa was built in the Zhihe period and was built in Kuan. It was just renovated in Yongnian and is very beautiful. Katsurasanso originally belonged to the adopted son of Gomizuoin, Prince Jōmiya Tomotada. Now it has been purchased by the Tokugawa Shogunate and presented to Emperor Koiko as her Sendō (the emperor's palace is also called Sendō). Zhu Cijiong will live there with Xingzi for a few months before leaving Japan together.
