Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 446: Our shogunate can send troops to Satsuma!
The Ming fleet fought without warning, but what made Shimazu Mitsuhisa even more depressed was that after bombing Tsurumaru Castle into ruins, the Ming fleet left without saying a word.

suffocated.

He was really frustrated.

When the Shimabara Rebellion broke out near Nagasaki, Mitsuhisa, who had just inherited the position of feudal lord, decisively chose to sit on the sidelines and watch the fight.

After that, the shogunate army suffered a series of defeats, and even the senior councilor Itakura Shigemasa was killed by a stray bullet.

Faced with such a situation, the shogunate had to mobilize a large army, but Asakusa Shiro was like a messenger from God, forcing the shogunate's special envoy Matsudaira Nobunaga to choose to besiege the city.

Perhaps it was because they knew too little about Westerners. After being trapped in Hara Castle by the shogunate's superior forces, the Catholic rebels even had the fuss to try to ask the Dutch to come to their rescue.

You have to know that in the eyes of Westerners, the word "profit" is the most important. Just like in the Thirty Years' War, it was clearly a group of Protestant countries that besieged the Catholic Habsburgs, but at the critical moment, France, which was also a Catholic country, decisively chose to be the enemy of the Habsburgs.

At this time, the rebel army led by Shiro Amakusa had close ties with Spain, and they were really foolish to expect the Dutch to come to their rescue.

In the end, the Dutch chose to bombard the original city under the lure of huge profits, but the rebels inside were thrown into disarray by the "betrayal" of their fellow believers.

After this incident, the fighting power of the rebel army dropped significantly. After the food in the city ran out, the shogunate army mobilized tens of thousands of people to launch a general attack. Then Amakusa Shiro and his rebel soldiers all died heroically in the battle, and the Shimabara peasant uprising was declared a failure.

Normally, after the uprising was suppressed, the shogunate should have had time to deal with the Shimazu family who were standing by and watching.

However, this victory was too difficult for the shogunate, and coupled with the adverse effects of seeking help from foreign forces, the prestige of the Edo shogunate suffered a severe blow after the victory. Even powerful feudal lords like the Shimazu family increasingly ignored the shogun.

Today, Southern Kyushu has become the world of Satsuma Domain, and with the submission of Ryukyu, Shimazu Mitsuhisa is like the ruler of a country.

But vanity is just vanity after all, and Daming's actions dealt a heavy blow to this bumpkin.

The Ming fleet came openly and left openly after completing its mission. Everything was so smooth and natural.

It's like casually slapping a nasty fly to death. There is no need to stop to check the fly's death, nor is there any intention to explain to the fly the reason.

And he is Mitsuhisa Shimazu.

The lord of Satsuma Domain, who controlled Southern Kyushu Island and Ryukyu, and even made the Shogun helpless, was that fly.

It doesn't feel good, but it's very real.

Facing the vast Ming Dynasty, even if the Satsuma clan did something terrible, the severity of the punishment would only be different.

How could the mighty Celestial Empire army say anything to a subordinate of a foreign country like him?
two days later

Edo Bay

This bay is surrounded by a large piece of land. In terms of importance, it is not only an excellent harbor for sheltering from storms, but also the best entrance to the sea for Honshu Island, Japan.

However, this harbor, which should have been extremely busy, had no sampans entering the sea due to the Tokugawa shogunate's isolation order. If it had not been for the arrival of the Ming fleet, it would have been unknown when it would have had the opportunity to play a role.

Speaking of the isolation order, we have to make a few excuses for the Tokugawa shogunate.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was not a complete isolationist. After establishing the shogunate, he immediately sent envoys to Korea and quickly restored diplomatic relations with Korea.

At the same time, due to the need for military supplies and raw silk trade, he was also very active in developing trade with Western European countries.

When his relations with the West were very good, he not only hired the British man Miura Yashin as a diplomatic adviser and trade affairs officer, but also acquiesced in the missionary activities of Spanish missionaries.

But he ultimately underestimated the impact of foreign civilization on this small country. Within just a decade, Catholicism spread like wildfire in Kyushu and other places. In addition, Britain and the Netherlands informed Tokugawa Ieyasu of the tragic conditions of the indigenous kingdoms in South America. The shogunate soon issued an order banning the spread of Catholicism, and the religious persecution known as the "Great Martyrdom" began.

This is the disadvantage of not having an original civilization.

The Central Plains dynasties had always treated various religious sects with one decree: if you were allowed to spread, then it would be allowed; if you were not allowed to spread, it would also be allowed to not spread, and even the most extreme actions to destroy a religion were merely to force the people not to worship it. Large-scale persecution and massacres like those in Japan rarely occurred.

It is not difficult to imagine that such extreme behavior soon spread to diplomacy and trade. In the end, the Tokugawa shogunate directly cut off contact with the outside world except for allowing Ming and Dutch merchant ships to dock in Nagasaki, and the "isolation order" was gradually implemented.

Such behavior is essentially the implementation of a policy of keeping the people ignorant in the country in order to maintain their own rule, which is no different from the Tatars' policy of isolation.

In the original history, the Qing Dynasty had its gates opened by the British using artillery, while the Japanese were scared into opening their gates by the Americans using several warships.

But not in this time and space.
"General, the Japanese envoy has arrived."

Zhang Pengyi was watching his soldiers catching sea fish with great interest just a moment ago, but when he heard the report, he immediately turned his attention back.

At this time, he had already understood the significance of what Shen Tingyang said. He was full of energy and vigor, without any trace of the dejected look he had when he was about to arrive in Taiwan.

The day before yesterday, he led the navy and used a small amount of ammunition to bombard the Tsurumaru Castle to pieces. Today, they have blocked the gate of the Japanese shogunate.

Although this is still a far cry from the frequent destruction of nations during the Han and Tang dynasties, leading a large army overseas to demand punishment was something that even Taizu had never done. As a military commander, he will definitely leave a lot of scars in history books.

Compared with this, money and official positions do not seem to be so important.

"Oh? What about people?"

"Reporting to the commander, their ships dare not come in."

Hearing this, Zhang Pengyi looked towards the coast, and after careful identification, he found a "small sampan" in the gap between the outer warships.

As a general of the Celestial Empire, he was in no mood to laugh at the shabby Japan. After a moment's thought, he allowed the Japanese envoy to come closer and walked to the center of the deck.

The order given by His Majesty was very clear. Punishing the Satsuma Domain was only incidental. The real purpose was to cut off a layer from the shogunate.

Therefore, the envoys he sent only said that they were going to read the will of the Ming Emperor to the King of Japan, and as for why they came to Edo, they were just passing through.

After a while, a middle-aged man in Japanese official uniform stepped onto the warship with his head held high. When he saw Zhang Pengyi, the big horse and golden sword sitting in the middle of the deck, he bowed and saluted.

"Ii Naomasa's son, the elder councilor of the Japanese shogun's office, Ii Naotaka has met with the Great Ming general."

After he finished speaking, Zhang Pengyi did not give a response. When Ii Naotaka's face turned red, he said in a deep voice: "I am the deputy governor of the Ming Dynasty's front army governor's office. You are so rude to meet me as an official of the shogunate. Do you want to see how powerful my warships and artillery are?!" Hearing this, Ii Naotaka was stunned. Obviously, he did not expect that the Ming army general would be angry about this. However, the people of Japan have always been very familiar with the Central Plains dynasty, and it only took them a moment to understand the reason why the other party behaved like this.

"General, Japan has a different system from the Ming Dynasty. The ruler of the country is just a figurehead, and the Shogun is the actual ruler. My position in the country as the shogun's elder minister is similar to that of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet scholar. I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

"Oh? Similar to the elder?"

"Exactly."

Although the meaning of Ii Naoki's words was gentle, his tone was a little tough. Zhang Pengyi was a little disapproving after hearing his words, and only changed his attitude after three or two breaths.

"Come, take a seat."

"Thank you, General."

The soldier brought a chair from somewhere, and Ii Naotaka sat on it calmly while secretly looking at the things on the boat.

"Okay, let's get down to business," Zhang Pengyi waved his hand carelessly in response to Ii Naotaka's thanks. After he sat down, he turned the topic to the point: "The people I sent should have explained that Shimazu Mitsuhisa hijacked Ryukyu to steal the tribute quota. The Emperor of the Great Ming was furious and sent me here to question him."

At this point, Zhang Pengyi glanced at Ii Naotaka's expression, and when he saw a slight change in his expression, he continued, "I have already imposed a slight punishment on the Satsuma Domain on the way here. What remains is to go to Kyoto to announce the decree to your ruler."

Declare the decree.

What is the announcement?

What else could the purpose be other than to say that your kid is disobedient and I have taught him a lesson.

If one were to think in ordinary terms, such a humiliating thing should be dealt with by the people from the Ming Dynasty who had to go to Kyoto. There were a large group of nobles there, and letting them bear the scolding would be considered as a way of justifying the money and food given by the shogunate.

But things are far from that simple.

When the Tokugawa shogunate was first established, it needed the authority of the imperial court as a backing, while the imperial court needed financial assistance from the shogunate, so the two sides had a period of cooperation.

During this period of cooperation, the Tokugawa shogunate gradually gained a firm foothold, but the Kyoto court, which had become a puppet, also gradually strengthened its power.

There is no need to go into detail about what happened next. In short, the Kyoto court tested the shogunate through a series of small incidents, and the shogunate also used some small incidents to suppress the Kyoto side.

In the end, Emperor Go-Mizunoo abdicated the throne without any warning to Princess Okiko, who was less than seven years old, and the shogunate's plan to enthronize its grandson came to nothing.

At this time, the game between Kyoto and the shogunate was at a white-hot stage. Even facing the huge Ming navy, Japan was powerless to fight back. However, in order to maintain its diplomatic power, the shogunate could only try its best to keep the qualification of being scolded in Edo.

"General, as I said before, all power in Japan is in the hands of the Shogun. If the Ming wants to negotiate, it still has to operate in Edo."

"What kind of negotiation? I am here to announce the decree to your ruler. If that damn general dares to stop me, let's see if Edo can withstand the artillery of our Ming Dynasty!"

Zhang Pengyi's attitude was so arrogant that it made Ii Naoko blush.

If it had been earlier, he would have certainly had a good fight with the Ming army, but the tragic situation in Tsurumaru Castle had already been reported this morning, and the Dutch, who had always been relied upon, also made an excuse to avoid the battle.

Under such circumstances, even if he was furious, he could only vent it in secret.

"General, please calm down. Let's talk about the announcement later. My general feels deeply ashamed when he heard about the Satsuma domain's perverse actions. This time he wants to make some compensation to the Ming Dynasty." Having said that, Ii Naotaka glanced at Zhang Pengyi's face, and when he saw that the other party seemed to be interested, he poured out all his solutions in one go.

According to Ii Naotaka, the shogunate was willing to pay 500,000 taels of silver and local specialties as compensation to the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming emperor was still not satisfied, they were even willing to send troops to Kyushu.

Faced with such conditions, Zhang Pengyi was stunned.

In his opinion, paying some money as compensation was probably the limit, but he never expected that the shogunate would be willing to take action against its own family just for an order from His Majesty.

But calculations are always mutual. When you are calculating that little bit of compensation, the other party may be plotting for greater benefits.

"It's just that the Satsuma Domain has been paying tribute to Ryukyu for many years. Even though it is like a chicken or a dog against the Ming navy, my shogunate is still unable to take it down."

"Not up to the task? Then why are you saying this?!"

"General, you have misunderstood. If the Ming Dynasty can restore our country's tribute status, then my general will definitely punish the Satsuma Domain on behalf of the superior country."

As the conversation progressed, Zhang Pengyi roughly understood Japan's thoughts.

Although he behaved rather arrogantly when facing Ii Naotaka, his heart was as clear as a mirror.

Although Japan issued a national isolation order due to those incidents, the southernmost Hirado and Satsuma domains maintained foreign trade, one openly and one secretly.

You must know that although Japan has a small territory, it has a large population. The huge amount of money flowing in a year has made the two feudal domains a force that even the shogunate has to be wary of. The arrival of the Ming fleet has given the shogun hope of regaining foreign trade.

Hiss~~~~~~.

As his thoughts turned, Zhang Pengyi suddenly took a breath of cold air.

Earlier, he thought that this trip was only to punish disobedient people and show the power of the Ming Dynasty, but after understanding the shogunate's intentions, he realized that his majesty's plan was not as simple as it seemed.

Is Your Majesty just trying to restore the tribute to Japan? Or is there something else going on?
Thinking of this, Zhang Pengyi was suddenly unsure of how to respond, but the expression on his face looked completely different in the eyes of Ii Naoki.

really!

The general was right!
The Ming Dynasty has always attached great importance to face, and Japan is a powerful country in the surrounding area. If our country can pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty again, it will certainly greatly increase the majesty of the Ming Emperor who has succeeded to the throne!

As time went by, the important officials of the two countries sitting opposite each other were thinking about their own affairs in their hearts.

After more than ten breaths, Zhang Pengyi still couldn't decide how to respond. He glanced at the Japanese visitor with a calm expression and said something indifferently.

"This is a big deal. I will have to wait for your majesty's decision."

(End of this chapter)