In the late spring of the thirty-sixth year of Chongzhen (1664), an envoy came to report that the new general Tokugawa Ietsuna was unable to travel far, so a certain new emperor visited Japan on an armored ship.
This can be regarded as the first time he has visited a neighboring country since he became a prince and emperor. It can also be said that he has no regrets about going there when Tokugawa Iemitsu was on the throne.
Unlike merchant ships that had to arrive at many trading ports first, a certain new emperor's fleet sailed directly to Edo Bay. It had been notified before, so it was not considered a rude move.
The fleet is not large either, with only one Yoshino, two Zhiyuan, and sixteen wooden warships, that's all, and there are a lot of gifts on board.
The purpose of this new emperor's visit this time was to see if Tokugawa Ietsuna was stupid, or to what extent he was stupid. He had to know it well.
Regardless of whether he is stupid or not, it cannot affect the cause of the Northern Expedition. As long as Tokugawa Ietsuna agrees to continue to provide hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops, a certain new emperor will naturally meet his reasonable requirements.
There is no doubt that the Japanese army is now the main force of the Northern Expedition, and the troops dispatched every time will account for half, or even more than half, of the total force.
Of course, a certain new emperor liked this kind of troops that did not need military pay and could be satisfied by just feeding them rice. There was no doubt about the cost-effectiveness.
Once someone in the Japanese country interferes with the dispatch of troops to the Northeast, a certain new emperor will find a way to help this useless general to completely eradicate this scourge...
At Edo Port, a certain new emperor received a warm welcome. Tokugawa Ietsuna led all the civil servants and military generals he could summon, as well as many daimyo living in Edo, to welcome the arrival of the Ming Emperor.
This was also because it was a sunny day when the fleet arrived in Edo. If a storm had passed through, not even a single person would have been seen at the port.
In order to express his gratitude for such kindness, a certain new emperor specially made a speech with a loudspeaker at the port. The content was to emphasize that Japan-Japan friendship is a mutually beneficial act and will surely become a model for the world.
It didn't take long, otherwise everyone would get tired of hearing it and get tired of standing there. The rest of it would be enough to finish the rest of the story when the cheap general holds a banquet to entertain him.
Through the research of Zhou Youwei, the ambassador to Japan, the new emperor got the basic information about the daimyo living in Edo. When he came this time, he also prepared a gift for each of them.
Zhou Youwei was one of the orphans adopted by a certain new emperor. He was outstanding in style and experienced many ups and downs when he was young. He was not only hard-working, but also had extraordinary courage and courage comparable to that of ordinary scholars.
He was first admitted to the Hanlin Academy, then sent to the Ministry of Rites for gilding, and participated in the compilation of newspapers. Before that, he was sent to Qiu Minyang, the former ambassador to Japan. After several years of training, he took office as his successor.
When he became the ambassador to Japan, Zhou Youwei was already in his early forties, but this was a good time for him to be in the prime of his life. He could eat, drink and have fun in Japan while sacrificing his life for the country at night...
As a senior and quasi-master, Qiu Minyang, who was already old and ready to return to his hometown for retirement, passed on all the experience he had accumulated over the years to this junior.
All in all, it’s just one sentence – wine and meat passed through the intestines and stayed in the Ming Dynasty’s heart!
Wine refers to all kinds of social interactions, meat...you know!
Only in this way can the position of ambassador to Japan be stable and last for a long time!
This is considered to be the second most lucrative position for foreign dispatch after the special envoy to Europe. The annual funding alone is only 20,000 taels of silver. If there are special circumstances, you can apply for additional portion.
The reason for being "fat" is not only that there is a lot of oil and gas in the position, but also that the trade between Japan and Japan can amount to tens of thousands of taels of silver, all of which falls into one's own pocket.
Qiu Minyang was not considered a worm before, but after he came to the Japanese country and was influenced by it, he made more or less eighty thousand taels of silver every year.
This is authorized by Emperor Haojing. As long as the amount is not too large and does not affect the trilateral transaction between the General, Zhenhai Gong and Emperor Haojing, then there is no problem at all.
How comfortable it is to retire with one hundred thousand taels of silver, no need to worry about tracing, and no need to pay taxes at all!
Of course, you have to collect some money whether you want it or not.
For example, every year before New Year's Eve, Zheng Zhilong would politely send someone six thousand taels of silver as a New Year's red envelope.
The reward is not high, just let him know in advance if there is any trouble.
To Zhen Haigong, six thousand taels of silver was really just a drop in the bucket.
But if he had not sat in this position, Qiu Minyang would never have received this money.
In addition to the generals, daimyo from all over the country would also take advantage of the banquet to curry favor with him.
If he had a fair-skinned and beautiful woman in his hand, he would find an opportunity to offer it to her, just to get more of Ming Dynasty's novel products.
When Qiu Minyang left office, he had already married eight people as concubines, in addition to twenty-six maids...
These Japanese girls gave him a lot of children. Fortunately, he made a lot of money during his years as a father, so they would not starve their mother and children.
Qiu Minyang also thought of a way out for his descendants. Since his mother was a Japanese girl, his children would naturally be able to speak Japanese.
When they grow up, they can engage in trade between Ming and Japan.
Emperor Haojing attached great importance to commercial development, and businessmen were no longer despised as before.
Qiu Minyang had worked as an errand in Tianjin and had some connections. With the emperor's grace, he could let his older children engage in trade first.
Even if the house near the water gets the moon first, the emperor squeezes a little from the cracks of his fingernails, which is enough for the Qiu family to eat and drink.
Although Qiu Minyang has been eating, drinking and having fun in the Japanese country all year round, he has not made any major mistakes in his work and has been working conscientiously.
Therefore, after retirement, this remaining favor can be spread to the heirs, thus benefiting the whole family.
Zhou Youwei does not need to pave the way like his predecessors for the time being. It will not be too late to do this kind of thing ten years later.
The Japanese country is very close to the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. If something happens, send someone to report it and you will get a reply soon.
Zhou Youwei can solve small things by himself.
There is no need for him to worry about big things.
Unlike Qiu Minyang, Zhou Youwei can already speak fluent Japanese, which is of great help to his work.
When a certain new emperor visited Japan, he asked Zhou Youwei to serve as a senior translator, which at least was of sufficient quality.
Regarding the Japanese language, a certain new emperor's level of understanding is still at the stage of Baga, Nani, Iku, Yamidie, etc...
At the subsequent banquet, a certain new emperor expressed his attitude in public.
That is to support the Tokugawa family to become a general, support the Tokugawa family to manage the Japanese country, and support the Tokugawa shogunate to cooperate with the Ming Dynasty.
At the moment, the word "Tokugawa" is more important than the Japanese state. Without the control of the Tokugawa family, the Japanese state will surely repeat the chaotic scenes of the Warring States Period.
No matter how stupid a general is, he is still a general. What's more, with the support of the Ming Dynasty, there has been no trouble in history, and it will not happen now, and it is not allowed to happen.
Some words were inconvenient to be said in public, so a certain new emperor handed Tokugawa Ietsuna a list of military aid on the carriage when he arrived.
It mainly includes ten airships, one hundred bronze cannons, one hundred steam tanks, ten thousand flintlock muskets, one thousand revolver rifles, five hundred revolver short guns, as well as supporting ammunition, fuel and spare parts, plus ten thousand barrels of oil.
After receiving this batch of military assistance, the combat effectiveness of the Tokugawa Army will be raised to a whole new level, and it will become easier to suppress the strength of all parties that are ready to move.
If a war really breaks out on the Japanese mainland, a certain new emperor will provide the second and third batch of aid to the second-rate general to ensure the final victory of the Tokugawa army.
After seeing the list, Tokugawa Ietsuna was very happy. With the verbal and practical support of the Ming Emperor, he would be able to stabilize his status as a general.
No matter the famous people from various places, the middle-aged men, or even my own brothers, no one dared to attack him easily now.
Although he has only obtained a list for the time being, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty never talks empty words and practices what he says.
Some weapons and equipment have arrived in Edo on the ship, but it is too obvious during the day and can only be unloaded at night.
What was unloaded at the dock during the day were all kinds of merchandise as gifts. Even so, hundreds of thousands of people came to watch.
Tokugawa Ietsuna could not stop this. The most he could do was set up a cordon at the port to avoid giving an excuse to alienate the people.
A certain new emperor had already planned that any ship that could dock would naturally be the one that could be unloaded first.
Ships carrying munitions are all lined up at the back and unloaded at whatever time is convenient.
After staying in Edo for half a month, a certain new emperor visited Mount Fuji accompanied by Tokugawa Ietsuna.
Not only can you enjoy the cherry blossoms, but you can also take photos. This time, a certain new emperor even brought his camera.
Everyone in the entire mission had a share, and even the guards around a certain new emperor had the opportunity to pose for photos.
Mount Fuji, the most famous scenic spot in Japan, is still in an undeveloped stage.
A certain new emperor suggested that the Tokugawa Ietsuna could appropriately relax management, which would not only benefit the local people, but also create certain profits and taxes.
Because foreign tourists are unable to travel, even under Mount Fuji, the lives of the people are very poor.
As long as Tokugawa Ietsuna said a word, within five years, the local people would be able to live a life without worries about food and clothing.
A certain new emperor introduced the Yujiale in the Dengzhou area to this useless general. This is a good example to follow.
The people in Dengzhou opened restaurants to make money using various seafood. Because the prices were affordable, they were favored by passing merchants and locals.
On the Mount Fuji side, except for the scenery, everything was at zero. Even if Tokugawa Ietsuna came, he could only stay in the nearby government office.
It would be great to build a five-star hotel in such a good location!
By the way, you can also take a bath in the hot springs, so the money spent is well worth it!
After listening to the Ming Emperor's introduction, Tokugawa Ietsuna was naturally more excited.
The investment is not high, but the returns are huge, and the returns are long-term, which is very attractive.
Since you can earn tens of thousands of taels or even hundreds of thousands taels every year, why not start this project?
After hearing what the Emperor of Ming Dynasty said, he seemed to be very knowledgeable, so Tokugawa Ietsuna concentrated on asking for advice.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't ask for advice, a certain new emperor directly took out a business plan.
Of course it was much simpler than the later ones, but it was enough to shock the general.
Of course, this thing is scientific, reasonable, and rigorous. As long as the tourism project is concerned, it is enough to go one step further.
Tokugawa Ietsuna got the information, browsed it for a while, and felt that it would take a while to digest it.
The new emperor is not in a hurry, just treat this as a gift to the other party, and there is no need to reciprocate.
I originally wanted to visit Osaka, but since it was outside the Tokugawa Shogunate's sphere of influence, I had to give it up temporarily in order to save some face for the useless general.
On the way back, in view of the fact that it was just summer, a certain new emperor decided on a whim to take a boat to Xilewen River Guard to see how the battle was going and to escape the summer heat.
No matter how bad the situation in the Northeast is, it is still cooler than inside the pass. Just waiting by the sea will not affect Zhou Yuji's efforts to lead his troops to carry out horizontal push operations in the interior of the Northeast.
After arriving at the destination, a certain new emperor got a brand new military information, that is, all the braids were gone!
Because the territory that needed to be recovered was too large, Zhou Yuji was in a dilemma whether to pursue the enemy.
According to Baoyi, some former Ming people who fled south and came to surrender, Shunji took everyone to the grassland.
Zhou Yuji couldn't understand why his opponent could make such an arrangement at this time. Whether it was intentional or a trap was unknown for the time being.
In order to avoid falling into the trap, we can only choose to lead our troops to fight steadily. It would be better to recover the entire Nurgan Dusi first, and then send people to report to Beidu quickly.
Even not counting the land occupied by the Beidi vassal state, the area of Nurgan Dusi exceeded the four provinces of Beizhili, Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan combined.
Zhou Yuji was not very happy about this amazing feat, because the enemy escaped, not counting the lost territory, the results were almost zero, and the three to five thousand coated slaves captured did not count at all.
But after a certain new emperor learned about it, he was still very happy. It was only right that Lao Zhoutou didn't send troops to pursue him.
After autumn, when Zhou Yuji led his troops back, a certain new emperor held a banquet in Xilewenhewei to entertain meritorious ministers.
As for chasing braids, a certain new emperor has no intention of thinking about it for the time being.
Why?
It's very simple, braids either flee north or jump west.
No matter which path you take, you'll end up somewhere new.
When the Ming Dynasty King's division is ready and then sends troops, the situation will be completely different.
Many generals were puzzled by this, and a certain new emperor gave an example.
If you snatch the same batch of goods directly from a merchant, that's called looting.
After the bandits have robbed it, you then rob it from the bandits. That is called seizure!
Can I, the Ming Dynasty King, rob merchants of their property?
Absolutely not!
But I, Master Wang of the Ming Dynasty, have always upheld justice for heaven and fought against bandits as part of my duty.
Therefore...
A group of warriors shouted in unison - My emperor is wise!
A certain new emperor returned to the northern capital with this good news. After announcing it in public, the entire northern court had a three-day holiday.
The whole city of Beidu was filled with thunderous cheers, gongs and drums were roaring, firecrackers were blasting, and the streets were crowded with people. Everyone played their hats to celebrate and drank and talked happily.
It’s really not easy to wait until this day finally comes.
It took twenty-five years to regain the entire Liaodong and even the Nurgan capital, which was indeed the most difficult task since the founding of the dynasty.
Not only do we have to fight against the frequent knocks of the Donglu, but we also need to develop the economy and resist the invasion of natural disasters. This is a great responsibility from heaven.
However, Emperor Haojing did it. This was a generation of wise emperors who far surpassed Emperor Qin, Han Wu, Tang Zong, and Song Zu, and ranked first in the world's civil and martial arts!
To celebrate this milestone of reviving the Ming Dynasty, restaurants, restaurants, teahouses, and various clubs in and outside the city were all full.
What else can a certain new emperor say?
My Ming Dynasty is not rich in anything but plenty of food!
