Kyoto.
Early spring has just arrived, and the cherry blossoms in and around Kyoto are already in bloom.
This has been the political center of Wajima since ancient times. From the time of Queen Hima, a political group headed by Kyoto began to form on Wajima.
When it came to the Tang Dynasty, Wadao used Luoyang, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, as a template to build an identical Luoyang, except that the scale was like a mini version of Luoyang.
This even led to the formation of a special official position, Shangluo.
An official position representing the powerful officials of the Wajima court. Generally, the people in power in the shogunate usually hold this official position.
It was not until the Muromachi shogunate, that is, the shogunate established by Ashikaga Takauji, that the post of Kamiro gradually disappeared and was replaced by the general who conquered barbarians.
Today, the general who conquers the barbarians in Wajima is Ashikaga Takauji. It was he who defeated the Kamakura shogunate of the Hojo family. It was also he who deposed Emperor Daigo as emperor and established Emperor Komei on the throne.
Accordingly, Ashikaga Takauji finally got his wish and became the general who conquered the barbarians of Wajima, opened a shogunate, and was known as the Muromachi shogunate.
At this time, Ashikaga Takauji was discussing with his retainers about the petition against thieves.
"Everyone, there is a lot of commotion in the country today about the thief appeal. It has been so long now, and the situation in the country has changed more and more intensely."
Ashikaga Takauji is already an old man in his sixties, but the sharpness in his eyes is still breathtaking.
"Now, what should we do? Do you have any ideas?"
"General, I think this matter will be of great benefit to us."
A middle-aged man spoke first. This man was wearing a loose kimono, but his face showed a majestic look.
This person is none other than the second-generation powerful figure of the Ashikaga family, Ashikaga Yoshihan.
"Previously, the puppet North Korea in the south had a strength advantage. Although our army fought hard, it still could not reverse the disadvantage."
"Now that the memorandum has just been released, some people in the enemy camp have begun to switch sides. I think it won't be long before we can reverse the situation, gain the upper hand, and eliminate the puppet dynasty in one fell swoop."
Ashikaga Yoshiki is the son of Ashikaga Takauji, and he is also the first successor of Ashikaga Takauji. In his early years, he accompanied Ashikaga Takauji in the north and south, and he made numerous military exploits.
Nowadays, most of the military power of the Ashikaga family has been handed over to him, and Ashikaga Takauji concentrates on being in charge of the court.
He was also responsible for the war against the Southern Dynasties.
Although there are still some disadvantages, Ashikaga Yoshiki still often wins many battles with less.
But as he just said, the strength gap between the Southern and Northern Dynasties was too big. Even if they won the battle, they would still be at a disadvantage.
Now that the cry against thieves has come out, he can clearly feel that his side's strength has greatly increased, and it will soon surpass the Southern Dynasty.
After Ashikaga Yoshiki finished speaking, everyone around him nodded in agreement. Only his son, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, frowned with some concern.
Ashikaga Takauji noticed that his grandson seemed to have something to say, and gave a gentle glance to encourage Ashikaga Yoshimitsu to speak.
"Sir General, I feel that the origin of this letter to punish thieves is very suspicious."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu thought for a moment, and finally stood up and said:
"This memorandum is signed by Uncle Yoshinaga and General Saito, but why was this memorandum published during their mission?"
"Now their whereabouts are unknown, and even the people we sent to Ming Dynasty to find them have lost news."
"This phenomenon is so weird. I suspect that this letter was probably concocted by people from the Ming Dynasty."
"If this is the case, then the paragraph at the end of the appeal, asking the Ming Dynasty to send troops to attack the rebels, becomes very intriguing."
"If the Ming Dynasty really sends troops, I believe that blessings and disasters are unpredictable."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu has loved reading books since he was a child, especially the books imported from the Central Plains, which he couldn't put down.
Therefore, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu has very high attainments in Central Plains culture.
At the same time, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu also had a preliminary understanding of the power of the Central Plains Dynasty.
Now Ashikaga Yoshimitsu heard that the Ming Dynasty was actually taking the initiative to intervene in the internal affairs of Wajima, which made him a little worried.
If the Ming Dynasty really sent troops to the Japanese island, even if the Japanese island is unified, can it still be the opponent of the Ming Dynasty?
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu didn't care about Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's worries and said:
"The Ming Navy has declined a few years ago, and even the warriors we sent out can't solve it."
"Even if they want to send troops, who can they send to our Japanese island?"
"It's just a pretense in the slogan, as if the country is in heaven, aloof, and set an example for other vassal countries."
"What we need is the support of the Ming Dynasty. As long as we get the recognition of the Central Plains Dynasty, then some of the wallflowers on the island will have to weigh which side to stand on."
"But, have you forgotten that the Ming Dynasty has now wiped out the warriors we sent out?"
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu argued vigorously and said:
"Their current navy strength cannot be underestimated."
"We cannot take it lightly, but should re-send envoys to explain to the Ming Dynasty that there is no need for the Ming army to send a large army."
"We only need Ming's recognition, and with the help of Ming's power, we can also gain an advantage in the confrontation with the puppet dynasty."
"absurd!"
When Ashikaga Yoshiki was contradicted by his son, he couldn't help but yelled loudly:
"Then the Ming navy has just risen, how powerful can it be?"
"They can transport a few thousand people at most."
"Besides, their suppression of pirates was just a coastal battle, but we are separated from the Ming Dynasty by thousands of miles of ocean."
"The hardship involved in fighting deep into the ocean is far beyond your imagination. No matter how powerful the Ming Dynasty is, it is still a fool's errand to send an army across this endless ocean."
"What is there to worry about when the Ming army only has a few thousand people?"
"Just let these people be cannon fodder for us to consume the strength of the puppet government."
Seeing that his father was angry, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu couldn't help but lower his head and said nothing.
But he still had a sullen face, looking very unconvinced.
Ashikaga Takauji saw this, coughed slightly, and then said:
"Yoshimitsu said there is a way. Japanese Island is our Japanese Island and has nothing to do with Ming Dynasty."
"Even if it's a life-and-death fight, it's just us Japanese fighting against each other. What does it have to do with them?"
"Immediately send an envoy to the Ming Dynasty and tell the Ming Emperor that we accept their wishes, but Japan Island does not need their intervention."
Hearing this, Ashikaga Yoshiken's eyes widened immediately and he said eagerly:
"Father, this is inappropriate."
"If we refuse rashly, I'm afraid that the Ming Emperor will become angry and it will be self-defeating and make Ming support the puppet dynasty in the south."
Ashikaga Takauji raised his eyes slightly and said calmly:
"Send more gold and silver to show our sincerity to Japan, but we will never allow the request for reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty."
"The scene of the Yuan Dynasty's conquest of Japan is still clearly written in the history of Japan."
"If it weren't for the help of the divine wind, our Japanese island would even be in danger of overturning."
"Now the Ming Dynasty has replaced the Yuan Dynasty, but no one can guess the ambitions of the Central Plains Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty really sends troops, it will be a disaster rather than a blessing."
"No matter what, we must not give the Central Plains Dynasty a reason to intervene in Japan's internal affairs."
Ashikaga Yoshiki believed that his son still had a father, so he was really afraid of the Central Plains Dynasty.
There is a huge difference between the two. When the Yuan Dynasty occupied North Korea and sent troops from North Korea, they could not capture the Japanese island at such a close distance.
Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty now sends troops from the south of the Yangtze River and even crosses the ocean. It is already extremely difficult to reach the Japanese island alive.
"Father, I thought you were making a fuss out of a molehill..."
"Report!!!"
Before Ashikaga Yoshiki finished speaking, a shrill emergency call came from outside the door:
"The Ming army landed in Shijian Kingdom the day before yesterday, and the leader of Shijian Kingdom led his army to meet the enemy."
"We were defeated and killed by the Ming army at Shijian Port. The entire 10,000-strong army was wiped out and no one survived."
"Ishijian Country has fallen!!"
