In addition, here in Nanyang, in the original history, the 20th year of Chongzhen was the end of the Battle of Lilac Tree, which was the failure of the first Anzai Uprising.
However, in this dimension, the Dutch did not have enough troops to suppress the Ambon people because their entire army was annihilated. And after the Ming army captured Luzon Island, Batavia, which felt the pressure, did not dare to divide its troops anymore and was fully on guard against possible Ming army attacks.
Of course, the ones most affected by the flapping of butterfly wings are the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Japanese Kingdom.
There is no need to say more about the Ryukyu Kingdom, let’s just talk about the Japanese Kingdom.
Its actual ruler is Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third generation general of the Tokugawa shogunate. Originally, his life was really comfortable and satisfactory.
Since he took power, he has been committed to consolidating the rule of the Tokugawa family. Through various means, he has achieved his wish.
In the 20th year of Chongzhen and the fourth year of the Japanese Zhengbao period, except for a few minor things that didn't go well, the princes surrendered. It can be said that they were really satisfied.
This little thing is the newly succeeded Emperor of Japan, Emperor Hou Guangmei.
According to reports from informants in Kyoto, the new emperor has a very fierce personality and is quite resistant to the shogunate. On the other hand, he was a man who loved learning and actively introduced Zhu Xi's studies.
Regarding literature, Tokugawa Iemitsu didn't care, because he actually used Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as his ruling ideology. It was Emperor Gomitsu's hostility towards him that made him a little unhappy.
But this matter is not a big deal, because now he has great power. How can an emperor without military power be able to make a difference.
Against this background, just when Tokugawa Iemitsu was beginning to enjoy his good time, he suddenly received a report from Satsuma Domain's Shimazu Nagasaki, explaining that the army had appeared in the Ryukyu Kingdom.
He was really surprised by this. Because the Ming army appeared in Ryukyu, this was unprecedented!
He was a little nervous and immediately summoned his ministers to discuss the matter.
The final outcome of the deliberations remains to be seen. Because Tokugawa Iemitsu's original intention was not to change the stable situation he had finally achieved, as long as it did not affect the Tokugawa family's rule of Japan.
For him, the Ryukyu Kingdom is the Ryukyu Kingdom, and he has not gained much benefit from Ryukyu. Even if the Satsuma clan, one of the powerful vassals of Kyushu, lost the financial source of Ryukyu, it was really what he wanted to see.
To him, this Satsuma clan daimyo Shimazu Mitsuhisa was a bit restless. Previously, the shipbuilding task assigned to the Satsuma Domain was delayed in completion;
Also, privately mining gold mines in order to strengthen their finances. What do they want to do when they have money? Want to rebel? For this reason, he sent people to prevent the Satsuma clan from mining gold mines.
Later, I heard that he had robbed two Ming Dynasty cargo ships and made a lot of money. When I asked him face to face, he plausibly said that he was following his policy of seclusion and only handed over a small amount of goods to him.
For all these reasons, Tokugawa Iemitsu was dissatisfied with the Shimazu family of Satsuma Domain. Therefore, regarding the sudden arrival of the Ming army in the Ryukyu Kingdom, he was more just waiting to see what would happen.
Unexpectedly, after a while, as the end of the year was approaching and the New Year was approaching, news about the Ming army came again.
According to news from Satsuma Domain's informants, Satsuma Domain has assembled heavy troops and sent troops under the name of Amami Island's Puna Pass to attack the Ming army in Ryukyu.
Tokugawa Iemitsu was a little angry about this. He saw through this little trick at a glance. Shimazu Mitsuhisa didn't want to lose Ryukyu's financial resources, so he found an excuse to start a war.
According to the news, there are not many Ming troops in Ryukyu, so Shimazu Mitsuhisa should be confident before sending troops. Therefore, Tokugawa Iemitsu was waiting for the next news, and was ready to beat Shimazu Mitsuhisa. No matter what name he used, he dared to go to war with foreign countries, especially the behemoth Ming Dynasty. This kind of culture must not last long.
Otherwise, I don’t know when it will cause him unnecessary trouble! This trouble does not mean that he is afraid of the Ming army, but that he is afraid that if the war breaks out, some big names will imitate his Tokugawa family and replace him in the war.
After all, during the Toyotomi Hideyoshi era, if Toyotomi Hideyoshi had not launched the Korean War, it would have been impossible for his Tokugawa family to finally dominate the world.
However, what Tokugawa Iemitsu never expected was that when he heard the news about the Satsuma clan again, it was not that the Satsuma clan sent troops to defeat the Ming army, but that the Ming army suddenly attacked with overwhelming force. The Satsuma Domain occupied the Satsuma Domain, and Shimazu disappeared for a long time.
After hearing the news, Tokugawa Iemitsu was shocked.
He immediately convened an enlarged meeting, which not only included his trusted ministers in Edo, but also trusted daimyo who were guarding other places, as well as other daimyo from other places who happened to be in Edo to attend the meeting. They all participated in the meeting to discuss how to respond.
It was unprecedented for a foreign army to attack the Japanese mainland, especially the Satsuma Domain, which was something that even the most powerful Yuanbing failed to do.
Kamikaze did not help, and the Satsuma clan was completely defeated. What would the Ming army do next? Continue to attack other parts of the Japanese country, or stop here. These Japanese people attending the meeting started a heated debate.
Generally speaking, every daimyo in Kyushu emphasized that the Ming army would probably continue to attack Japan, and asked Tokugawa Iemitsu to send troops to drive the Ming army out of Japan or destroy the Ming army.
However, those daimyo who were not in Kyushu all condemned the Satsuma clan, saying that the Satsuma clan had annexed the Ryukyu Kingdom, a vassal state of the Ming Kingdom, and persecuted the Ryukyu King, which caused the Ryukyu King to write a blood letter to the Ming Kingdom Emperor. Not only that, he also sent troops to attack the Ming army in Ryukyu. As for the Ming army, there will definitely be a counterattack.
According to their speculation, the Ming army just wanted to teach the Satsuma clan a lesson and would definitely not dare to go to war with the entire Japanese kingdom. Don't worry about it unfounded!
The reason why they think so is not that they are afraid of the Ming army. Instead, they sent troops to encircle and suppress the Ming army in Satsuma Domain, which was of no benefit to them.
Doesn't it cost money to fight? They were already being tortured by Tokugawa Iemitsu. They were not allowed to mine or trade, and they had to implement the regulations on attendance and duty. If they had to send troops to fight, the territory would be even more impoverished, which would affect their rule.
The Shimabara Rebellion of that year is a good example. Under natural disasters, the poor couldn't survive, so they rebelled one after another. If they are impoverished due to war and have no money, this kind of thing is likely to happen in their territory.
Suddenly, Tokugawa Iemitsu's meeting was full of quarrels, and no consensus could be reached at all.
Tokugawa Iemitsu has been in power for many years, how could he not understand what each of these great names is planning.
So, he stopped listening to their arguments, and turned to look at his trusted minister Lao Naka Matsudaira Izu Nobutsuna.
The official position of Laozhong was first created by Tokugawa Iemitsu. It is somewhat similar to the cabinet ministers of the Ming Dynasty, but the power should be more important. If you enter, you will be a prime minister, and if you emerge, you will be a general.
When the Shimabara Rebellion broke out before, the general of the army sent by the shogunate to suppress it was Itakura Shigemasa. As a result, this guy was incompetent and was beaten to death by the rebels.
In this case, it was Matsudaira Izu Morinobu Tsuna who took over as the general of the shogunate army and suppressed the Shimabara Rebellion.
Subsequently, he took measures to strengthen the ban on Catholicism, expelled the Portuguese, restricted the activities of the Dutch to Nagasaki Dejima, and assisted Tokugawa Iemitsu in completing the seclusion system.
On the other hand, he organized the duties of the shogunate and formulated the system of temple administration, designation administration, etc. It can be said that he was a very important helper to Tokugawa Iemitsu.
If the original historical development were to follow, he would have suppressed the "Qing'an Rebellion" that attempted to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate a few years later.
Matsudaira Nobutsuna saw the look in Tokugawa Iemitsu's eyes and understood it. He immediately went out and said: "Now that there are all kinds of news, I think it is not too late to investigate the real cause of this incident first and then make a decision. On the one hand, we need to find Shimazu Mitsuhisa and ask clearly. On the other hand, we must send people to contact the Ming army of Satsuma Domain to see what they say and find out whether they will retreat or occupy Satsuma Domain for a long time. Is it to teach the Satsuma clan a lesson or is it for the whole world?"
Seeing Tokugawa Iemitsu nodding, Matsudaira Nobutsuna continued in detail: "As for the Ming Dynasty, we are not afraid of trouble, but we do not cause trouble. If this matter can be resolved peacefully in the end, that would be the best. If it cannot be resolved peacefully, it is really If there is a fight, then we will accompany you. For this reason, Wei Chen suggested that on the one hand, the daimyo of Kyushu can return to their territory to prepare for the war, and on the other hand, it is best to figure everything out first!"
His words are indeed in line with Tokugawa Iemitsu's meaning. It would be best if we could avoid fighting. Because once a war breaks out, there will be too many unstable factors.
As for face, the Ming army can retreat and apologize or something. As for the loss of the Satsuma clan, it is well deserved. It can also further weaken the Satsuma clan, and even take this opportunity to surrender the Satsuma clan. Outlawed.
But even though he was thinking this, just to be on the safe side, he turned to Date Tadamune, the second generation lord of the Sendai clan, wanting to hear his opinion.
The Sendai clan was also a die-hard loyalist of the Tokugawa family, and their opinions were very important. The advice given by Date Tadamune was similar to that of Matsudaira Nobutsuna. However, in order to maintain the majesty of the Tokugawa shogunate, he suggested that the shogunate also ask Akito to come to Edo to apologize.
As for the other daimyo, after they both expressed their opinions, they did not dare to have other opinions.
So, just like that, the daimyo of Kyushu immediately rushed back to their territory to prepare for the war. The other daimyo still had to stay in Edo.
When Tokugawa Iemitsu was thinking about whom to send to Satsuma Domain to meet the Ming army, Shimazu Mitsuhisa appeared.
Originally, I was thinking of asking Tokugawa Iemitsu to send troops, but I had already thought of many reasons.
For example, the Ming Dynasty did not give the Tokugawa family any face, and said they would attack the Japanese country. Once this kind of thing sets a precedent, the Ming Dynasty will see that the Japanese country is easy to bully, and there will never be peace.
