On October 19, the twelfth year of Wanli, after the Shimazu family completely consolidated Kyushu, Ling Yunyi led his army across the Xiaguan waterway and entered Honshu. Shimazu Yoshihisa had already written a letter and secretly sent a ship directly to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to ask for the title of Lord of Satsuma - this was the ultimate goal of Ling Yunyi's great efforts in Kyushu.
In the temple calculations about the Japanese strategy hosted by Zhu Yijun, keeping Japan divided is the minimum goal. Ling Yunyi's first stop was Kyushu, and he pretended not to be familiar with the major forces in Japan. It was all a trick. He just chose the Lord of Kyushu while pretending to be confused.
Otomo Sorin's original crime was not that his younger brother had been the puppet head of the Ouchi family. If Ling Yunyi chose him to take over, there would be another reason to attack Shimazu - there were samurai and ronin in his family who participated in the Japanese pirates' invasion of the southern part of the Ming Dynasty, which would be a ready-made crime.
The Dayou family actually died because of the belief of Dayou Zonglin. Zhu Yijun believes that the main reason why Japan in the original time and space was able to succeed in the Meiji Restoration was that the "Eastern Spread of Orchidism" gave birth to the four powerful vassals of Choshu, Satsuma, Hizen, and Tosa - these four were the main forces behind the collapse. The reason why they were able to grow up was indispensable to Otomo Zonglin's promotion of Christianity in Kyushu. Therefore, it became inevitable for Ling Yunyi to take Otomo Zonglin as his first step in conquering Japan.
Among the four powerful feudal lords in the original time and space, Choshu was the territory of the Maori family, Tosa was the territory of the Nagasogabe family of Shikoku Island, and Satsuma and Hizen were both in Kyushu. All four are in southwestern Japan, and it took hundreds of years to incubate the fruits of the Meiji Restoration - Satsuma being the core.
Therefore, promoting Shimazu to the lord of the country, who is a Chinese vassal together with the Japanese lord of Honshu, naturally became Ling Yunyi's first choice. In order to maintain its independent status in the future, Satsuma must rely on the Ming Dynasty to compete with Honshu. If the Ming Dynasty controls Kyushu, it will be like holding the key to the Japanese archipelago.
But how the court will make a specific decision depends on the development of Ling Yunyi's strategy in Japan. Currently, Ling Yunyi has only completed the first small goal.
Because Shimazu Yoshihisa wanted to take charge of his family and no longer follow Ling Yunyi's army, he sent Shimazu Yoshihiro to follow Ling Yunyi. At the same time, the Shimazu family also sent a large number of retainers familiar with Sinology to serve as guides and translators for the army.
After the army passed through Shimonoseki, the first place they entered was Nagato - the territory of the Mori family who joined forces with the Otomo family under Tachibana Castle. Although Kobayakawa Takakage ran away early in the battle of Tachibanayama Castle, he was still bitten off by the Shimadzu family and lost two thousand troops, which caused the Mori family to suffer from bone marrow pain.
After Mori Terumoto returned from Kyoto, the details of the Tachibana Castle battle were known to the world. At this time, except for the Hideyoshi family who issued the "Complaint to the Ming Dynasty", the other samurai families were frightened by the exaggerated combat power of the Ming army. Like quails, they turned a blind eye to the troop deployment order issued by the alliance leader. Hashiba Hideyoshi, the "alliance leader" "has become a laughing stock.
The reason why this effect can occur is that in addition to the Ming army's illustrious reputation in the Battle of Tachibana Castle spreading throughout Japan, Ling Yunyi's announcement to the world about his intention to send an envoy also played a large role. The Ming army also showed its attitude in its previous actions - it did not annihilate the Changzong family's troop transport ship in the Bungo waterway, which fully demonstrated that Ling Yunyi came here with no intention of occupying the country and seizing land.
What is even more convincing is that after finishing the crusade against Dayou Zonglin, Ling Yunyi slapped his butt and left without leaving a single cloud behind except for himself who spread his crops across Kyushu. Now all the big names in Japan understood that this guy was here to promote the country's prestige - which is in line with the characteristics of the Chinese nation who are obsessed with face and money.
If Japan has a unified shogunate at this time, of course Ling Yunyi cannot be allowed to pretend to be 13. However, Zhu Yijun intervened in the Honnoji Incident, and Hashiba Hideyoshi's process of unifying Japan was interrupted. The islands that were still divided were unable to resist the Ming army with super strong combat effectiveness.
The Shimazu family made a successful bet, which made other famous people envious. At the same time, they also had some thoughts of imitating cats and tigers - since Ling Yunyi can be bribed, why don't he spend some money? It's a bit expensive, but compared to the benefits, that little gold is nothing.
So before Ling Yunyi left Satsuma, many daimyo had already contacted the Imperial Envoy of the Ming Dynasty through Shimazu. Ling Yunyi always took the time to meet each other and took all the gifts according to the order - after all, after returning to the court, he had to give gifts from top to bottom.
As for the Maori family, under the strong insistence of Yoshikawa Motoharu, Maori Terumoto personally came to visit Ling Yunyi on the first day he entered Shimonoseki and expressed his apology for sending troops to help Otomo Sorin.
According to Zhu Yijun's plan, Ling Yunyi had no interest in assisting Hideyoshi Hashiba in attacking other daimyo. Therefore, he restrained his sharp edge, only lightly criticized the Maori family, and then lightly exposed the alliance between him and Otomo Zonglin - Maori Terumoto was overjoyed and almost flattered Ling Yunyi to the clouds.
Because there is the famous Chuanpeng Hot Spring at the foot of the Guigeliancheng Mountain in Xiaguan City, the Maori family built a large manor there. After Ling Yunyi accepted a large sum of money as a gift, he was begged and begged by Maori Huigen to stay here.
After the banquet, the imperial envoy must of course experience a hot spring bath. Mouri Terumoto led a group of beauties to personally flatter him. After Lingyunyi entered the water, Mouri Terumoto fell on the ground by the pool and said in tears: "Uncle Kobayakawa Takakage did not realize the power of the tiger and offended the imperial envoy. His crime is not a light one. He should have had a caesarean section to apologize - —”
Ling Yunyi, who was soaking in the hot spring pool and was being taken care of by two beauties, interrupted: "That's all. You Japanese samurai families have been fighting against each other for many years, so it's possible that you don't understand the purpose of this commander's visit. Anyone who doesn't know is not guilty."
After Mouri Terumoto kowtowed and thanked him, Ling Yunyi said with a smile: "Besides, why do I want Kobayakawa's head? The emperor doesn't know that there is such a person in Japan. He can be carried in a sedan chair by everyone. Why should he pursue his death?"
Speaking these words, which were well versed in the ways of officialdom, made Mouri Huiyuan feel relaxed all over, and he felt so comfortable that he wanted to cry out. After he thanked him again, Ling Yunyi waved his hand and said: "Get up. There is a weird eyesore lying there naked." Maori Huiyuan laughed loudly, followed the instructions and slid into the pool, and asked his wife Nan Zhifang Peel the grapes for Ling Yunyi to eat with your own hands.
Minami no Fata is the eldest daughter of the Shishido Takashi family, the lord of the Goryu Castle of the Maori family. Although she is young and beautiful, Ling Yunyi is not interested in married women. Moreover, although Nan Zhifang was waiting by the hot spring pool, he was wearing clothes and did not enter the water. On the contrary, Ling Yunyi, who was only wearing a cotton towel, felt uncomfortable.
I originally wanted to let Mao Li Huiyuan send Nan Zhiyuan away, but I couldn't persist because of Mao Li Huiyuan's eager plea, so Marshal Ling had to suffer. Terumoto Mori explained to him: "In the tradition of our country, when the shogun is living and bathing, the daimyo's wives have to take turns waiting on him. When the daimyo is living and bathing, the same is true for the wives of retainers. They all express the meaning of submission. Don't feel uncomfortable, sir. , Just do as the Romans do. Of course, it’s not okay for a superior to ask his subordinate’s wife to sleep with him.”
Ling Yunyi expressed his understanding of this shameless custom, then changed the subject and said: "There is something I want you to do."
After hearing the imperial envoy's instructions, Maori Huiyuan immediately cheered up and said that he would go through fire and water. Ling Yunyi said: "The territory of the Maori family, Sanin, is also called 'China' in Japan. This can be used indiscriminately and disrespects the Ming Dynasty. It must be changed immediately. You have to repay the lord of your family. From now on, the country It is no longer allowed to be referred to as such in documents.”
When Mouri Terumoto heard that it was such a trivial matter, he was relieved but felt disappointed at the same time, and he agreed wholeheartedly. Ling Yunyi smiled and said: "I have told Shimazu before, how dare you call Kyushu a small island? That's too loud. From now on, Kyushu Island will be called Satsuma."
Mouri Terugenshin said that these are all trivial matters that you are concerned about. No wonder he was tricked by Shimazu and used as a knife to destroy the Otomo family. Seeing that Ling Yunyi had exposed the Maoli family's sins, his mind became itchy again, and he couldn't help but provoke:
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Envoy, among all the martial arts families in the world, only the Hashiba family has not expressed its acceptance. I wonder how you will punish me? The Maori family is willing to attach Jiwei."
Ling Yunyi closed his eyes slightly and thought quietly for a while before saying: "Because the head of your family worships me, I heard that the Yushiba family has stopped paying tribute to the Kyoto court, and the disobedience is obvious. I want to bring order to the chaos. , I must teach Hideyoshi Hashiba some lessons."
When Terumoto Mouri heard that there was a way out, his breathing became heavy, and he quickly said: "Mouri's family has been blessed by the country, and he is unworthy of receiving 1.2 million stone territory. He is willing to send troops to assist you in conquering Hideyoshi Hashiba!"
Ling Yunyi nodded first to express his approval, then changed the subject and said: "Before, I wrote the imperial edict too quickly. I only said that I wanted to bring order to chaos, but it is difficult to think about it carefully! As you said, nowadays, every famous person has his own territory, but the royal family does not. It’s just an empty shell, worse than the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.”
"But if we want to cut branches and strengthen our branches, the political system of this country must be changed. We must first cut off the vassals, and then the counties and counties - can the Maori family bear this?"
When Maori Huiyuan heard this, he lost more than half of Sanhun Qibo, and said quickly: "I can't do it, I can't do it! This is an earth-shaking change, and it is not something we should do urgently!"
Ling Yunyi sighed and said: "But the imperial envoy's reputation has been blown out, but this is difficult to handle. You can't station troops in Japan for a long time to protect the authority of your family and the country." After saying this, he wiped his forehead and wiped his face with a sad look on his face.
When Maori Huiyuan heard this, his eyes lit up. Based on the mentality that he could not go to Luo and would not let the "monkey" take advantage, he immediately said: "Why not? The Maori family is willing to contact the martial arts families all over the world to support the Ming Dynasty in stationing troops in Kyoto. Please think deeply!"
"If the authority of the country's leader is not established, the imperial envoys of the superior country will raise their arms and the whole country will fight against it. In this way, we can have the best of both worlds, maintain the existing political system, and restore peace to the world. The Japanese people are very lucky!"
Ling Yunyi still shook his head and said: "No! Before coming to Japan, my emperor repeatedly warned that this is a 'country without conquest' designated by Taizu. If we station troops in Japan for a long time, it is no different from occupying it! Besides -"
Before he could finish speaking, Maori Terumoto plunged into the water and plunged his whole body into the pool. Ling Yunyi felt strange and stopped talking.
Mouri Terumoto, who was in the hot spring, realized something was wrong, and got out of the pool again. He apologized with a wet face: "I was so excited just now." He climbed to the wooden floor beside the pool, knelt down firmly, and leaned over and said: " Sir, please listen to Huiyuan!"
Ling Yunyi signaled him, and Maori Terumoto made an impassioned speech: "The Ming Dynasty's garrison in Japan is different from occupying it! To control the country, it is necessary to set up a governor, send officials, depose the king, etc., and bring the people of our country to the country. Becoming a Chinese citizen—will Ming Dynasty do this?"
Ling Yunyi shook his head. Maori Huiyuan said excitedly: "Yes! If the Ming Dynasty imperial garrison is only to protect the king and has nothing to do with the state affairs, what's wrong? I think the emperor, no, after the king pays homage, if he can persuade you to stay, He is willing to pay any price to defend Kyoto!"
After hearing this, Ling Yunyi seemed to suddenly realize it, and sat there in deep thought. Maori Terumoto's heart was pounding, and he eagerly expected him to make a decision that would allow the Maori family to control the 1.2 million stone territory for generations to come. Ling Yunyi thought for a while and said: "This...this time the army comes to Japan, it is expensive, the military expenditure alone is more than one million. If the army is stationed for a long time, the emperor will not agree."
Seeing that Ling Yunyi had actually started to consider the issue of military expenditures, Maori Terumoto was overjoyed and tried his best to persuade him: "Why go to the country to pay for the cost of garrisoning the army! If Japan cannot afford a war, each family can spend less than half of the current military expenditures, which is enough. Raise tens of thousands of troops for the Great Kingdom!"
Seeing that Ling Yunyi was still hesitant, Mao Li Huiyuan kowtowed to the ground: "Sir, please make a decision! The Mao Li family is willing to contact the leader of the country and the martial arts families to make every effort to promote this matter. I respectfully request you to lead troops to Luo!"
