After Sakai Ieji said this, Tokugawa Ieyasu looked at him: "But are we opponents of the Ming Dynasty? Can we stop it by breaking the jade?"
Sakai Ieji didn't answer, he just clenched his fists.
Masuda Nagamori couldn't help but replied: "No!"
Keng!
A wine bottle in front of Tokugawa Ieyasu suddenly flew out and broke outside the door.
All the retainers were stunned on the spot and did not dare to speak any more.
At this time, Tokugawa Ieyasu himself said solemnly: "What a shame!"
Masuda Nagamori and others could not help but lower their heads.
"Since the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty asked us to abandon the shogunate we established, how about we act in accordance with his decree."
Tokugawa Ieyasu then smiled and asked again.
Sakai Chuji, the veteran hero of the Tokugawa clan, said at this time:
"But now, we have finally eliminated the Toyotomi clan and conquered the hearts of all the vassals. Today, because the Emperor of Ming Dynasty does not agree, we have to give up the power we have obtained. Even if the general is willing, the retainers below will not be willing. .”
"But what else can we do?"
Tokugawa Ieyasu asked with a wry smile.
Sakai Tadashi said: "Strengthen war preparations! If the Ming army really wants to attack, we will fight with them. No matter whether we win or lose, we will have an explanation for the warriors."
Tokugawa Ieyasu nodded: "You have full authority to handle this matter."
Then, Tokugawa Ieyasu said to Masuda Nagamori: "Follow me."
Masuda Nagamori followed Tokugawa Ieyasu into a secret room.
Tokugawa Ieyasu asked Masuda Nagamori: "You have always been familiar with Chinese and Chinese rites. This time, did the Ming Dynasty send spies from the Imperial Guard around you?"
Masuda Nagamori was shocked when he heard this and said hurriedly: "No!"
"How could it not be?"
Tokugawa Ieyasu asked.
Masuda Nagamori was stunned for a moment: "This..."
"It seems that the imperial guards of the Ming Dynasty are not alert. In other words, their emperor only knows how to protect his so-called etiquette and does not know how to keep an eye on me. In other words, he does not put me, the Tokugawa clan, at all. In their eyes, they really think that we are just ordinary barbarian bandits who can be destroyed with just one hand, so we don’t send them!"
Tokugawa Ieyasu said this and looked at Masuda Nagamori with a sinister smile on his face: "You are saying yes or no?"
Masuda Nagamori was sweating profusely for a while, and he crouched on the ground: "The general said yes, that's it!"
"In any case, even if they don't send one, we still have to have someone to communicate with them and act as an informant for the Ming Emperor."
Tokugawa Ieyasu's expression became solemn at this time, and then he looked at Masuda Nagamori: "You will be the spy! Just you!"
Masuda Nagamori looked shocked.
"Find a way to send the children of your family to the Ming Dynasty and let the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty know that we are not going to the shogunate and are still resisting. It is not because Tokugawa Ieyasu is unwilling to observe etiquette. It is the Toyotomi clan of the civil and military factions. The remnants are unwilling to abide by the etiquette. They may accept the throne as the Tokugawa clan, or the Toyotomi clan, or even the Oda clan, but they will not be willing to let the Ashikaga clan be king, and they think that in this case they will follow the Ashikaga clan. They are still controlled by the Celestial Empire, but they do not represent the wishes of my Tokugawa clan."
"I, the Tokugawa clan, are actually willing to serve as a lackey for the Celestial Empire. Therefore, I ask the Ming Emperor to be considerate and not to punish me, the Tokugawa clan, if I really want to succeed in protecting the rituals in the future. I, the Tokugawa clan, did not want to be a shogunate in the first place. It’s all forced by the people below, but you, the Masuda clan, are the only ones who don’t.”
After Tokugawa Ieyasu finished speaking, he asked Masuda Nagamori: "Do you understand what I mean?"
"Understood!"
Masuda Nagamori nodded and replied.
After Masuda Nagamori returned home, he invited Shi Shigong, the commander of the Kinyiwei who was temporarily living in his home, and relayed Tokugawa Ieyasu's words to Shi Shikong.
"This governor of yours is really smart."
Shi Shigong then said something and added: "Then let him cooperate well, and I will convey his intention to His Majesty."
…
"Has the Tokugawa replied?"
Xiyuan, Shi Yusi.
Zhu Yijun also asked about Qi Jiguang because he asked Tokugawa Ieyasu not to establish his own shogunate.
Qi Jiguang replied at this time: "Your Majesty, there is no news yet."
Zhu Yijun nodded after hearing this, and then asked: "How did Qi Baoguo and Li Rubai go where they were sent, how did their experience go?"
"I haven't received the news yet."
Qi Jiguang replied.
Zhu Yijun said: "I hope they can make progress."
"I hope so too."
"However, Your Majesty, although there is no news about Quanzi and Nephew Rubai yet, Quanzi Qi Changguo and Zhao Shilang of Jiangzuo Temple do have good news to report to Your Majesty."
Qi Jiguang played at this time.
After hearing this, Zhu Yijun stood up and asked, "But has there been progress in the steam engine?"
"Your Majesty is wise, this is indeed the case."
"They improved the steam engine based on the piston in the bellows given to Quanzi by Lin Guogong and the principle of air cold and heat exchange mentioned by Wan Prince Consort. Finally, the steam engine can be used not only to pump water, but also to pump water through the piston and linkage rod. , turned the crank wheel and used it on the spinning wheel, and now they are beginning to realize His Majesty's proposal of using the power of steam to propel the vehicle forward instead of horses."
Qi Jiguang replied.
After hearing this, Zhu Yijun said: "Very good! If you can achieve such results, you should be knighted."
What Zhu Yijun said surprised the ministers present.
"Why, you don't think that such a technical achievement deserves a knighthood?"
"You are all sensible people, and you should know why the barbarians in the world are afraid of me, the Chinese. The reason is that I, the Chinese, have always mastered the principles of the world better than them, and what this principle reflects is the progress of utensils. "
"Once an artifact has made great progress, it can bring peace to the common people internally and deter barbarians externally. This is what Mr. Xiang concluded after pragmatically examining the progress of his own civilization in his suicide note. Whether it is the emergence of iron, it makes farming and fighting easier. , so that the Xiongnu were finally destroyed, the emergence of the Quyuanli turned the south into a land of wealth, and the emergence of firearms allowed the Ming Dynasty to finally ride and shoot without fear of the Hulu, all of which show that this great progress in technology can be achieved It will bring great merit to the country."
Zhu Yijun started talking eloquently at this time.
All the ministers could only reply: "Your Majesty is wise!"
However, at this time, Wang Xijue still stood up and said: "As your Majesty said, the advancement of skills is a great contribution to the country and the people, and it should be demonstrated. This is why the country today promotes new etiquette, because the old etiquette does not follow reality. , despised skills and regarded them as the last skills; but the population of this dynasty is too large, so most of the products produced in workshops and workshops are still entrusted to the people's human production, and the people are now finally free from corvee and labor because of Your Majesty's kindness. By reducing taxes, we can start to accumulate wealth through hard work, so if this steam engine is suddenly used to replace labor, I am afraid that it will not be conducive to the purpose of benefiting the people."
(End of chapter)
