The viewing of Yoshino flowers lasted until nightfall, and Ishida Mitsunari, the deputy director of the administrative department, was busy with official duties and only arrived in a hurry at this time. Chacha took this opportunity to ask Toyotomi Hideji to perform Noh again, but Hideji declined to avoid being scolded again. Hideyoshi, who was already half-drunk, ignored this, but called Sanada Nobushige over and said to him: "Genjiro, come here. It’s been a long time here, and it’s almost time to grant you an official position—Ishida Harubu, what do you think?”
Ishida Mitsunari also thought it was the right time, so Toyotomi Hideyoshi planned to grant Sanada Nobunshige the fifth-ranking official position. Unexpectedly, Sanada Nobunari said: "Your Highness, I am deeply honored. I just ask you to forgive me for being presumptuous. This official position is still for granted." I refuse. I have an elder brother who is one year older and has been working hard for the Sanada family. I cannot abandon my brother and accept the official position first."
Hideyoshi's face became stiffer and stiffer as he listened, and finally he said with a serious face: "Although I am getting older, I can still distinguish right from wrong. Are you saying that it is not enough for you to get an official position yourself, and you also need to fight for an official position for your brother?"
Sanada Nobunshige naturally said that this was not the case, and Ishida Mitsunari also added: "Genjiro, you are saying that this is not in line with your status, so in order to refuse, you even moved your brother out?"
Toyotomi Hideyoshi immediately said angrily: "Don't get too carried away! Genjiro, I have already said that I will grant you an official position, so just stop talking nonsense and just accept it! It's really unfair to play tricks here and take the opportunity to win an official position for your brother. Despicable. It seems that you are very similar to your father. I really can’t be careless with you.
Hum, so-called strategists will eventually be killed by their own strategies. I already know your character, Genjiro, I will not grant you any more official positions! "
Seeing Toyotomi Hideyoshi's anger, Sanada Nobushige repeatedly claimed that he had misunderstood. Unexpectedly, when Hideyoshi was speaking, he was interrupted by Toyotomi Hideji: "Your Highness, you may have thought wrongly."
Hideji suddenly jumped out and said this. Not only Hideyoshi was stunned, but also the whole audience looked at His Highness Guan Bai.
Toyotomi Hideji said cautiously: "Your Highness, the granting of official positions is Guan Bai's responsibility. It is Guan Bai's responsibility to grant what kind of official position to whom at what time. Therefore, it is up to you to decide whether to grant Genjiro the official position. Genjiro, I grant you an official position from the fifth rank, but I don’t know your brother.”
At this time, everyone else was in shock, and no one jumped out to say anything, so Sanada Nobushige replied that his brother was a better person than him in all aspects.
Toyotomi Hideji said decisively: "Then let's talk after the investigation. If what you say is accurate, I will also grant your brother an official position from the fifth rank. Your Highness, I intend to handle it this way. What do you think?"
From an institutional point of view, Guan Bai did have such power. Hideyoshi had nothing to say for a moment and could only stare. Hideji was terrified, not knowing what would happen to Hideyoshi, but the matter was over, and the bet had to be made to the end.
Sure enough, seeing that the close inspection was ineffective, Hideyoshi suddenly burst into laughter, and then said: "Well said! As you said, this is indeed Guan Bai's responsibility, so the matter will be left to you to decide."
Hidetoshi was relieved and said that he would report to His Majesty the Emperor as soon as possible. He also expressed his intention to renovate Juletei so that he could show Japanese style when he received envoys from Ming Dynasty and North Korea in the future. Hideyoshi still smiled happily and nodded repeatedly: "Hey! That's it! By the way, this looks like Guan Bai! This is the Guan Bai of my Toyotomi family! Good, very good."
Not only did he praise him, Hideyoshi even took the initiative to propose a toast to Hideji as a sign of encouragement. Upon seeing this, the daimyo and ministers present congratulated him, and Toyotomi Hideji was deeply moved.
However, not long after, Hideji learned that Hideyoshi had added administrative locations such as the audience room and assessment room in the renovation plan of Fushimi Castle where he was preparing to live in seclusion. This was a signal that he planned to make Fushimi Castle the center of governance. For Xiuji, it also means another distrust.
Towards the end of the year, Governor Konishi met with Toyotomi Hideyoshi and said that the Ming Dynasty envoy was on his way to Japan. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was very happy: "Okay, very good! In this way, we will soon own the land south of the Han River in Korea. Toshiya, we must receive the envoys of the Ming Dynasty well and show our strength with all our strength. .”
President Konishi advised: "Your Majesty, by accepting the canonization and accepting the ceded territory of Korea, it seems that there is no need to show strength to the Ming Dynasty? Will doing so make the Ming Dynasty feel humiliated? This may affect the outcome of the peace talks."
Hideyoshi disapproved of this and waved his hand: "It was the Ming Dynasty that proposed peace talks because they could no longer continue fighting. Isn't that what you said? In this case, we naturally have to show our posture. Let them know how powerful we are, even if it means humiliation. , that’s what they asked for themselves.”
Seeing Hideyoshi's refusal, Konishi Yukinaga had a thought in his mind and turned to persuade: "Your Majesty, at this moment, the Ming Dynasty is also resting. I am worried that the two countries will start war again because of this trivial matter. If I can try to avoid it, I will sit on it." Income, wouldn’t that be better?”
Hideyoshi chuckled and said: "Xiaoxi, you really can't change your temper as a businessman. You always want to reduce losses and reduce risks. Well, if one thing more is worse than one thing less, then you can make arrangements for it."
President Konishi breathed a sigh of relief and immediately thanked him: "I'm very grateful. In addition, when I confer the title, I asked His Highness Taige to wear Ming Dynasty clothes as a courtesy, so that we can enjoy the success."
Hideyoshi didn't care about this, nodded and replied: "It's all fine, as long as we can take over Korea south of the Han River as soon as possible, why is it so difficult for me to just act on the occasion? Xiaoxi, you have worked hard this time, and you have worked hard both in war and diplomacy. I will give you another reward after you succeed." President Xiaoxi thanked him again.
At this time, Maeda Toshiie asked: "Your Highness Taikaku, I have something unclear. This meeting with the envoy is a state matter. Why don't we go to Kyoto? Didn't His Highness Guanbai say last year that he was going to renovate Juletei in preparation for this? Are you going to receive the envoys from Ming and North Korea?"
Hideyoshi casually replied that he didn't do it in Kyoto last time and there was no need for it this time. Maeda Toshiie objected to this, saying: "Your Highness Taikaku, last time it was just a discussion, but this time it was a formal meeting, so it is appropriate to go to Kyoto to hold an audience. There are also details about the interview room and meeting room in the construction drawings of Fushimi Castle. The evaluation time also made the junior high school think that His Highness Tai Ge was dissatisfied with Guan Bai."
Hideyoshi waved his hand and said: "No, no, I just think that he is too busy, and as an uncle, I always want to help. Anyway, my legs and feet are inconvenient, so why not just ask the messenger to come here."
Seeing Hideyoshi's insistence, Maeda Toshiie had no choice but to step back and ask: "But is it okay that His Highness Guan Bai is not present? General Guan Bai is in charge of national affairs. On such an important occasion, it is natural that Guan Bai should be present."
Hideyoshi thought for a moment, nodded and said: "That's right, it's Guan Bai after all. However, I can't bear to force him to leave his government affairs and come here... Well, if he wants to come, just let him come. .”
Konishi Xingchang added: "I have also heard that His Highness Taige seems to be at odds with His Highness Guan Bai. I believe this is just a rumor. It's just that His Highness Taige intimidates everyone and imposes orders and prohibitions. It seems that His Highness Guan Bai sometimes has difficulty understanding the various things that His Highness Taige does. After all the hard work, I will inevitably fall into anxiety sometimes, so please give me more comfort, Your Highness."
Hideyoshi stood up in displeasure, and said with a stern face: "No need to say anymore, who told him to always be so weak! No, in my opinion, he has scheming intentions. I only hope that he can be tempered, upright, and worthy of the position of Guan Bai , don’t always be suspicious and ask for trouble." After saying this, Hideyoshi turned and left.
On the other side, upon the recommendation of Zhou Yong, the Minister of War, the approval of the cabinet, and the appointment by the emperor, the Ming Dynasty canonization mission was led by the envoy Li Zongcheng and the deputy envoy Yang Fangheng, accompanied by Shen Weijing. The canonization mission first stopped in Busan, but during the The envoy Li Zongcheng contracted an inexplicable illness, which caused the mission to be delayed in Busan for nearly a month.
Japan was quite impatient, and Kato Kiyomasa even nearly broke into the mission's residence. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty temporarily changed the appointment of Yang Fangheng as the chief envoy and Shen Weijing as the deputy envoy. This incident has similarities and differences with the original history. The same thing is the selection, but the difference is the reason why Li Zongcheng did not go to Japan.
In the original history, Li Zongcheng met two Fujianese in Busan. These two people, one named Xiao Heming and the other Wang Sanwei, both served within the Japanese army. They came specially to report the terrible news to the Ming envoys.
Xiao Heming and Wang Sanwei told Li Zongcheng that Hideyoshi had no intention of begging for peace and planned to send troops to arrest the two envoys, ask for bribes from the Ming Dynasty, and start another war. They even found out the detailed terms of the "Seven Shows" and told Li Zongcheng everything.
Hideyoshi's tough attitude has never been a secret in Japan, and it has been rumored in the military for a long time. It is not surprising that Xiao Heming and Wang Sanwei know this. I just don’t know whether they took such a huge risk to inform the Ming envoy out of patriotism, or because they hoped to make atonement and return to the Ming Dynasty.
However, regardless of this, the news brought by Xiao and Wang frightened Li Zongcheng to pieces. As an honorable nobleman, he is just a playboy, and he can barely cope with reciting poems and writing poems. Now he suddenly has to face swords and weapons, and his mentality suddenly changes, and he feels that everything around him is surrounded by soldiers.
As a result, every subtle move of the Japanese army became very suspicious in Li Zongcheng's eyes, so he was in panic all day long in Busan, feeling that fierce Japanese pirates would break into the camp at any time. After just one night of suffering, Li Zongcheng made a very stupid decision: to run away.
A dignified envoy of the Ming Dynasty, who was born in a noble family and personally appointed by the emperor, actually escaped from the battle! This is really a big joke in the history of diplomacy. At the second watch that night, Li Zongcheng did not alert Yang Hengfang. Instead, he secretly called a few of his close servants to flee, carrying their baggage, wearing veils, and dressing up like ordinary officials.
He told the Japanese guards guarding the Pusan City Gate that he had an urgent document to send. These Japanese guards actually believed it, so they opened the city gate and let them out.
Li Zongcheng left Busan City and headed all the way to Gyeongju. As a result, he got lost because of the darkness and accidentally bumped into Ulsan. Ulsan was Kato Kiyomasa's defense area. Li Zongcheng didn't dare to stay any longer. He ran and jumped into the nearby mountains, and then... this guy got lost again.
He wandered around for three full days and was hungry for three days. Finally, he encountered a North Korean patrol before he finally arrived in Gyeongju. After Li Zongcheng left, he was not discovered by the Japanese until the next morning. At that time, Governor Konishi had already returned to Japan, and Souichi was acting as agent for the Busan War. When Zong Yizhi heard that his envoy had run away, he was immediately shocked and sent heavy troops to surround Yang Fangheng's residence.
Yang Fangheng was born in martial arts and was much more courageous than Li Zongcheng. When he heard that the envoy had escaped, he was very calm and continued to sleep surrounded by strong soldiers.
When Zong Yizhi saw that the deputy envoy was so calm, he felt that the situation was a bit strange, so he ordered the guards to be removed, walked into the house himself, and told Yang Fangheng: "Your envoy has escaped."
Yang Fangheng had an unimpressed expression: "That fool has never seen much of the world, and he stayed in the military camp for too long. He was extremely bored, so he ran away. These nobles are like your Japanese ministers, who can't do things well. A bad thing is a good thing."
Hearing this, Zong Yizhi felt that it seemed to make sense, so Deputy Ambassador Yang made two requests: first, Japan should not use violence against the mission; second, it was pointless not to pursue Li Zongcheng.
Zong Yizhi agreed, and Yang Fangheng called all the people in the mission over and said that now I was the highest officer of the mission and they would all obey my command from now on. His calmness brought the chaotic mission back to normal.
After handling all this, Yang Fangheng went to Li Zongcheng's residence and found that the emissary left in a hurry, leaving even the most important gold seal in the house. Yang Fangheng held the golden seal in his arms and showed it to the Japanese around him. Zong Yizhi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the seal was still there, and admired Yang Fangheng's calm attitude in dealing with changes.
However, the above is only one version. In another version, Li Zongcheng saw a beautiful woman at a banquet, so he molested her on the spot. It turned out that the beautiful woman was Zong Yizhi's wife and the daughter of President Konishi. , this was a big blow, so he escaped overnight.
However, the credibility of this statement is too low. It's just that people like this kind of erotic story, so it is quite popular. There are even erotic pictures based on it... uh, I'm going too far.
Besides, Li Zongcheng fled back to Seoul and reported to the court the "Seven Shows" reported by Xiao Heming and Wang Sanwei. When Wanli heard about it, he was naturally furious. He was both annoyed at Li Zongcheng's humiliation and hated the Japanese for going back on their word. So Li Zongcheng was directly arrested and imprisoned by Jin Yiwei, and was escorted back to Beijing for slow interrogation.
The announcement of the "Seven Shows" caused an uproar in Beijing. All the officials in the Ming Dynasty were in an uproar, scrambling to impeach him, and asked him to stop the matter. The climax of the impeachment was the publication of Cao Xuecheng, the censor of Youqiandu.
In this memorial, Cao Xuecheng directly pointed the finger at the then Minister of War, Shi Xing, and the Chief Assistant, Zhao Zhigao (not in this book, referring to the original history), scolded the two ministers bloody, and demanded that they take full responsibility.
However, Emperor Wanli's reaction was unexpected. He put Cao Xuecheng in prison but prohibited any further discussion of the matter. Emperor Wanli had three reasons for doing this, but they have nothing to do with this book, so I won’t go into details.
So the question is, what happened to Li Zongcheng this time? He fell ill as soon as he arrived in Busan, and his illness lasted for a month. How could it be such a coincidence?
Of course it's not a coincidence, but a highly pragmatic arrangement.
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