Ashikaga Yoshimochi is the eldest son of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and the legitimate successor.
But in fact, Ashikaga Yoshimochi knew that his status was unstable, because his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshiji, like his father Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, both liked music, painting, and especially the flute. He was very good at playing the flute and was favored by all.
The emperor came not long ago, and the person accompanying the emperor was not Ashikaga Yoshimichi, but his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshitsugu!
On ordinary days, Ashikaga Yoshimachi would never want to go to war with the Ming Dynasty. Instead, he wanted to seal off the sea, live his own peaceful life, and live comfortably in this life, leaving other matters to the ministers.
But now, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty has sent a letter of credence, a letter of credence that is life-threatening!
The Ming Dynasty has shown its sword, and the sea cannot protect the Yamato nation. The only result of sitting still and waiting for death is death.
Cede the land and pay silver?
Ashikaga Yoshimochi has no objection to this, provided that real peace can be achieved. Unfortunately, monk Manji was right. Even if Ming Dynasty's conditions were met, long-term peace would not be possible.
Emperor Zhu Yunwen of the Ming Dynasty was an ambitious man. He adopted a strategy of conquest of the sea. Chen Zuyi's pirate group was destroyed, and Nanyang and Ryukyu fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty.
The only islands within the East China Sea are North Korea and Japan.
North Korea surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and was a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty would probably not attack North Korea.
Japan cannot escape.
Cowardice and retreat will only make you lose more political capital and lose people's hearts.
Thinking of this, Ashikaga Yoshimochi stood up and shouted firmly: "The Ming Dynasty insulted the shogunate, humiliated Yamato, and tortured too much. For dignity, honor, and survival, we should mobilize all samurai, all armies, and all men , plunge into this battle, completely eliminate Ming Dynasty, and teach them a bloody lesson!"
Although Ashikaga Yoshitsugu was very reluctant, anyone who dared to say a word of opposition in this situation would be despised, so he had no choice but to express his position: "If there is only one war, then we should use all our strength to prepare to conquer the Ming Dynasty and strive for three years." Within, seize the entire Ming Dynasty!"
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu looked at his two sons who supported the war and nodded with satisfaction.
At this moment, the old monk Zhongjin came out and sighed: "I am not against the conquest of the Ming Dynasty. I just hope that the Minister of Taizheng and everyone understand that a war with the Ming Dynasty will probably lead to the destruction of the shogunate. If we can send envoys It is not a bad thing to go to Ming Dynasty to resolve disputes and leave peace."
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu shouted: "As a member of the shogunate, are you so weak and incompetent?"
Nakatsu was old and knew that he would not live for a few more years, so he simply let go and said: "If the conquest of the Ming Dynasty can make the shogunate stronger and last for a hundred generations, I support the conquest. If the conquest brings the death of countless people and the decline of the shogunate, even It is the disappearance of the Yamato nation, I refuse! Minister Taizheng, know yourself and your enemy and you will be victorious in any battle. We have no idea how powerful the Ming Dynasty is!"
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was angry. Over the years, no one had ever contradicted him like this. He shouted angrily: "You are old and you shouldn't live here anymore."
Zhongjin understood that leaving would mean death, so he said: "The most important thing now is to send envoys to the Ming Dynasty to explain the situation and strive for peace. It is a fatal battle, so let's not fight it!"
"go out!"
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu drove away Nakatsu and looked at everyone and ordered: "I am determined to destroy the Ming Dynasty. Now we can only fight! Yoshimochi, you are responsible for mobilizing the shogunate, samurai and army. I want you to mobilize all your strength, no matter where it is. , as long as they surrender to the shogunate, they must send troops to participate in the war. If there is a place where the guards are dissatisfied and refuse to obey, we will attack and destroy them first!"
"Since I unified the north and the south, no one has ever dared to bully me like this. The Ming Emperor wants war, so let's fight to show them. The majestic shogunate, I don't believe we can't conquer North Korea and the Ming Dynasty!"
Ashikaga Yoshimachi accepted the order with a heavy heart.
war!
This is the only way.
Then get ready.
Ashikaga Yoshimochi and others left Kitayama, and documents and orders were sent from Kyoto to various places. Food, weapons, men, and guards all needed to be mobilized and coordinated. This was not something that could be accomplished in a short time.
Shiba Yoshige, Hatakeyama Mitsuke, Hosokawa Mitsurugi, and Mitsuji became Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's most capable assistants. Manji made a decision in planning and believed that local guards needed to provide troops, food and weapons to the vicinity of Kyoto within ten months, and actively prepared naval forces to prepare for crossing the sea and heading north.
According to the timetable given by Mitsui to Ashikaga Yoshimochi and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the shogunate will cross the sea and land in Korea in May of the eleventh year of Kenbun, then spend three months to occupy the entire territory of Korea, and then use three months to occupy the northeast and open the entrance Passage to Peiping...
Japan began mobilization, the general mobilization of the war.
Although some local guards were dissatisfied, they had to submit to the powerful shogunate. The supply of food and the recruitment of people to build ships day and night all aggravated the conflict between the shogunate and the people.
The Ming Dynasty's army has not yet arrived in Japan, and it is already like a three-layered world. The upper-level nobles and monks are enjoying themselves and living extravagantly. The middle-level generals, samurai, and troops are gathering, but because they come from all over the world, there are many conflicts between them. It was difficult to manage uniformly and fell into chaos; the people at the lower level became victims and were constantly oppressed and squeezed. Some people even had to risk going to sea and flee overseas.
Zhu Yunwen did not expect that his letter of credence would intensify the situation, causing Japan to enter war preparations, and formulate a huge combat plan, so ambitious that he wanted to annex the entire Ming Dynasty.
At the end of March, Zhu Yunwen arrived in Qindao. He visited Jiaozhou, Gaomi, Anqiu, and Changle to visit the public sentiment, and arrived outside Qingzhou on April 20.
Huang Huai wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Zhu Yunwen, "Master, the weather is getting a little hot."
Zhu Yunwen nodded, walked to the field, said hello to the old man standing on the ridge, and then asked: "Old man, how many people do you have in your family and how many acres of land do you have? It looks like the wheat is growing well. It's a good year."
The old man put on the bamboo hat he was carrying. Seeing Zhu Yunwen dressed as a businessman, he smiled and replied: "There are six people in the family, and the twelve acres of land here belong to my family. Look at these wheat ears, they are big in grain. You are a businessman." Want to collect grain? Hehe, you're late, but all our grain was sold in advance."
Zhu Yunwen was a little surprised and asked: "This wheat has been sold before it is harvested. What's the reason?"
The old man sat down and said, "The emperor sent a good prefect to Qingzhou. The prefect knew that the people in Qingzhou were in poverty and some people had no food to eat, so he issued an announcement to purchase this year's summer grain and gave us money in advance. These grains now all belong to the prefect’s Yamen, and if merchants want to buy them, they can only go to the Prefect’s Yamen to buy them."
Zhu Yunwen thought for a while and realized that Guo Lian was using grain as collateral to lend money to the people. If the harvest was good, it would be okay for the people to pay back, but if the harvest was bad and the people couldn't produce much grain, what would happen?
The prefect's Yamen can't keep the truth to so many people. Even if it's one time, it can't keep the truth.
Seeing that the old man was very interested, Zhu Yunwen asked, "How is Magistrate Guo doing?"
Seeing that the old man was talking about the prefect, he talked even more non-stop, and even mentioned that the former prefect Huang Zicheng gave him a slap in the face, and finally said: "If the imperial court had selected some good officials to come to Qingzhou Prefecture earlier, we wouldn't have been so wronged. Fortunately, the emperor was not deceived and sent Master Qingtian, which gave us some way to survive."
Zhu Yunwen was a little ashamed.
Huang Zicheng is a former official of the East Palace. If he is not careful when dealing with the people around him, he may break the official's heart. But he has not touched Huang Zicheng for a long time, but he has suffered countless people.
It seems that in the future, the appointment and evaluation of officials can no longer be limited to three years. It is necessary to increase the annual evaluation and investigation of local officials. Officials who have bad folk customs, do not do practical things, are corrupt and bend the law, and bully the people should be punished. , and ordered officials to take up their posts.
It is in this way that Zhu Yunwen constantly reflects on and corrects his governance.
Huang Huai looked at Zhu Yunwen, who was laughing and chatting with the old man, and shook his head helplessly.
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty almost never smiled in the court, and would occasionally laugh in the Wuying Palace. However, after leaving the palace, Zhu Yunwen's hearty laughter could be heard from time to time. It seemed that he preferred to walk among the common people.
"Old man, let's ask something."
Suddenly, Zhu Yunwen lowered his voice and looked around, somewhat mysteriously.
The old man asked Zhu Yunwen to speak.
Zhu Yunwen stared at the old man and asked in a low voice: "When the red sun rises, the darkness will disappear. The sun and the moon will always shine, and the lotus will bloom. To be honest, I came here to find my separated relatives..."
The old man's expression changed, and he stood up tremblingly. He looked at Zhu Yunwen and others with fear on his face, grabbed the hoe and ran away in a hurry.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Tang Buping, frowned and asked: "Is the White Lotus Sect slogan you gave me correct? Why is it that after using it all the way, no one can connect with it?"
Tang Buping wanted to vomit blood. Uncle, this is the most powerful area to suppress the White Lotus Sect. Although Huang Zicheng did nothing, he really did pursue the White Lotus Sect. With the security bureau running back and forth, who dares to talk about it publicly? White Lotus Sect?
If you take the code, it would be a good thing if you are not sent to the government for legal action.
No, there's a crowd coming from afar. It's the old man who just ran away. He must be arresting us and sending us to jail. Looks like I need to stretch my muscles today...
"run."
Zhu Yunwen saw the posture clearly and ran towards Qingzhou City first without caring about his identity.
Huang Huai couldn't help but feel happy when he heard Zhu Yunwen's laughter. This was good. At least the people knew that people from the White Lotus Sect should be beaten, arrested, and sent to the government.
Good things are worth being happy about.
Tang Buping and Gu Yun felt a little aggrieved. As members of the Security Bureau, this was their first time to "escape".
King Zhu Su of Qi oppressed the people, built the palace wantonly, the White Lotus Sect caused chaos, and the army fought in battles. These can no longer be seen in Qingzhou City. Shops are open along the street, people are coming and going, and the sound of hawking is endless.
Zhu Yunwen, Huang Huai and others walked into the street.
A middle-aged man emerged from the alley nearby, stroking the head of an eighty-nine-year-old girl. He looked at the backs of Zhu Yunwen and others and said, "See, this must be a businessman from other places. He has a lot of money. Let's take them today." Try your skills."
