Di Ming

Chapter 436 The visitor is evil!
Zhu Yin picked up the intelligence report and took a closer look, only then realizing what had recently happened in Japan.

In early June, in order to vie for hegemony over Honshu Island, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, the two most powerful warlords in Japan, finally clashed in a decisive battle: the Battle of Sekigahara.

The Battle of Sekigahara in this timeline!
With Toyotomi Hideyoshi's power still intact, he spared no effort in drawing upon the samurai and foot soldiers of the Toyotomi clan to assemble an army of 70,000—all the troops His Highness could muster.

Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu also made great efforts to mobilize troops in the Kanto region, gathering a force of 60,000 men, so the strength of the two sides was not much different.

The combined forces of 130,000 men on both sides comprised 60% of the elite troops remaining in Japan after the complete annihilation of the overseas armies in Goryeo.

With the two powerful figures clashing at Sekigahara, the other smaller lords either watched from the sidelines or engaged in mutual warfare and annexation.

Date Masamune in the Tohoku region, Mori Terumoto in the Chugoku region, and Yan Shaoting (Hattori Shunju) in the Kyushu region—these three feudal lords, whose power was second only to Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, were also not idle.

Date Masamune was attacking Ibaraki in Hitachi Province, while Mori Terumoto was attacking the San'in region.

Yan Song's grandson, Yan Shaoting (Hattori Shunju), took advantage of Japan's current superior navy to annex Shikoku Island and attack the Shikoku route.

A fierce civil war is raging throughout Japan; even dogs are fighting tooth and nail.

However, the Battle of Sekigahara, which was significant enough to influence the course of Japanese history, remained the most anticipated. Although the feudal lords did not participate in the battle between the two sides, they all expressed their allegiance to one another.

Yan Shaoting sided with the Shogunate and verbally supported Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Date Masamune also announced his support for Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Mori Terumoto then announced his support for Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Daimyo from the Shikoku region, such as Chosokabe Motochika and Hachisuka Iemasa, also supported Hideyoshi.

Even verbal support is better than doing nothing.

On June 12, the decisive battle between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu officially began at Sekigahara.

As it turned out, as long as Hideyoshi lived, he was ultimately stronger than Ieyasu.

The battle was extremely fierce. However, after nearly a month of intense fighting, Ieyasu's army finally gave out and suffered a series of major defeats in the vicinity of Tenmansan Fortress, losing more than 23,000 men, with more than half of his trusted retainers killed or wounded, and Ieyasu himself almost dying on the battlefield.

Dejected, Tokugawa Ieyasu led his remaining 30,000 troops into Ōgaki Castle, where morale plummeted.

Hideyoshi's army suffered only 14,000 casualties.

Hideyoshi personally led an army of over 50,000 to pursue Ieyasu and besiege him at Ōgaki Castle. Seeing Ieyasu in dire straits, the newly established Tokugawa shogunate was doomed.

However, at this moment, after smoking a bottle of saffron, Hideyoshi suddenly fainted and fell critically ill. He died three days later at the foot of Ōgaki Castle!
Even more critically, the news of Hideyoshi's death could not be concealed, and the morale of Ieyasu's army in the castle soared upon receiving the news.

Overjoyed, Tokugawa Ieyasu even held a memorial service for Hideyoshi within the castle, ordering shrine maidens to sing a hymn to summon Hideyoshi to paradise. He also wore a white twig, a symbol of the samurai, and danced with a fan, composing a poem:

"Heroes fall from grace under the vast sky, Taiko perished in Ōgaki Castle. I bid farewell to my old friends with white cypress leaves, will we meet again in the next life?"

The Tokugawa samurai shouted in unison, "Return, soul!"

Tens of thousands of people shouted together, creating a tremendous roar.

When Hideyoshi's army outside the city heard this, their cries were deafening, and tears streamed down their faces.

In a single day, hundreds, even thousands, of Hideyoshi's samurai committed seppuku or other suicides!
Although Hideyoshi's adopted son, Toyotomi Hidetsugu, took over military power and inherited Hideyoshi's title, the morale of Hideyoshi's army plummeted after Hideyoshi's death.

The Japanese have a strong belief in fate. Their submission and obedience to the strong after defeat stems from this fatalistic view.

Hideyoshi's death just before victory dealt a severe blow to morale, but greatly boosted the morale of the enemy. They believed that fate was determined not to let Hideyoshi win any further.

Taking advantage of the situation, Tokugawa Ieyasu led his army out of the city for a surprise attack, and after a fierce battle, he defeated Hidetsugu.

Hideyoshi led more than 30,000 men, carrying Hideyoshi's coffin, and fled back to Sawayama Castle in a sorry state.

Although Tokugawa Ieyasu turned the tide after Hideyoshi's death, he also suffered heavy losses and was powerless to press his advantage against Hideyoshi.

The two sides were locked in a standoff once again.

The fatal flaw was that neither the Toyotomi nor the Tokugawa clans won; neither side managed to defeat the other. The month-long, brutal battle was essentially a waste, resulting in both sides losing half of their elite troops!
The heavy loss of over 60,000 elite Japanese troops further crippled Japan's already weakened military strength.

With this, both the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans fell from their pedestals as super feudal lords, their power dropping significantly.

Conversely, Mori Terumoto seized the opportunity of the decisive battle between the two sides to conquer the San'in region. Date Masamune completely annexed Hitachi Province.

Yan Shaoting, who monopolized Kyushu Island, lived up to Zhu Yin's expectations and successfully annexed Tosa and Iyo, thus occupying the Shikoku region.

All three forces have grown, with their military strength increasing to around 30,000 each, and Shi Gao's is about the same.

With this shift in power, the Toyotomi and Tokugawa clans, once powerful feudal lords, no longer had a military advantage over the three major feudal lords: Date Masamune, Mori Terumoto, and Yan Shokaku.

After the war, the political landscape of Japan changed dramatically, resulting in a situation where five major powers coexisted.

Kanpaku Toyotomi Hidetsugu, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, Chugoku Tandai Mori Terumoto, Oshu Tandai Date Masamune, and Kyushu Tandai Yan Shaoting (Hattori Shunju).

Of the five, the one with the highest reputation and the highest official position was undoubtedly Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The strongest force was still Toyotomi Hidetsugu, who occupied the Kinki region. However, his strength was only limited; he had only a few thousand more troops than the other four families.

With such a five-way power struggle, no single force possessed the strength to unify Japan.

The most frustrated was, of course, Hideyoshi's adopted son, Hidetsugu.

If only my father had killed Tokugawa Ieyasu before he died! Then he could have taken over a Taiko regime that would have once again dominated all of Japan and unified the country.

pity.

Secondly, the most frustrated was Ieyasu. Although he outlived Hideyoshi and escaped a catastrophe, the Tokugawa clan also lost the strength to unify Japan.

After learning about the recent situation in Japan, Zhu Yin couldn't help but laugh.

"The five powers are now evenly matched. Very well, then let's continue to divide them. Japan's elite troops are almost all dead, and its famous generals are few and far between. In three years, when our new army is fully formed, we will destroy Japan!"

Ning Caiwei also laughed and said, "Japanese business families are all very stubborn. Our trading company has not made much progress in Japan in recent years; we can only be considered to have established a foothold. If we want to monopolize Japan's commercial lifeline, we still need to pave the way with force and politically destroy the various samurai regimes."

Zhu Yin nodded: "Wait two more years. After two years, launch a large-scale military campaign against Japan. There's no need for this country to exist anymore."

Zhu Yin was determined to annex Japan.

The time was actually ripe for destroying Japan.

Several years ago, he and his adoptive father led 130,000 Ming troops and in just four months, they recovered Goryeo, annihilated the invading Japanese army, killed over 100,000 of the 210,000 Japanese pirates, and captured 80,000. One by one, the daimyo who were famous in Japan fell under the iron cavalry of the Ming army, becoming a glorious achievement of the Ming Dynasty.

When the news reached Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was so enraged that he vomited blood again. The feudal lords, including Tokugawa Ieyasu, were also terrified.

They never expected the Ming army to be so powerful!
What frustrated them even more was that the person who led the army that wiped out their overseas legion was Zhu Yin, the Ming envoy who impersonated Xiushan Maru!

Toyotomi Hideyoshi and others hated him so much that they made Onmyoji perform rituals to curse him with shikigami every day.

However, this could not change the bleak reality that Japan was severely weakened and its military fortunes were declining.

Most of the elite soldiers honed over many years during Japan's Sengoku period were lost in Goryeo, the spirit of Bushido suffered a devastating defeat, and the military strength of the entire Yamato people plummeted from its peak to the abyss.

The devastating military losses and the political catastrophe of the Emperor's capture shattered Japan's backbone and destroyed the samurai's faith.

With the complete annihilation of the Japanese army in Goryeo, Hideyoshi's dream of conquering the world by force and subjugating Korea and Tang China was shattered. The alliance of daimyo temporarily established for the purpose of foreign war also immediately collapsed.

The Japanese civil war broke out again in full force, further depleting their already limited strength, leaving them at their weakest point in history.

Moreover, Zhu Yin had also deployed powerful pieces in Japan.

The best opportunity to land and occupy will be within three years!
“Yan Shaoting…” Zhu Yin said thoughtfully, “With the support of Huya and Shangshe, he has grown bigger and bigger in the past few years. It’s time for him to give back.”

Ning Caiwei smiled and said, "This long-term investment cost one million taels of silver over three years. Without our secret help, he would have been destroyed by Mori Terumoto and Toyotomi Hideyoshi long ago."

Although Yan Shaoting was ambitious, cunning, and scheming, it was impossible for him, as a Chinese, to take over Kyushu and Shikoku without external assistance.

This external support comes from Huya and Shangshe.

It can be said that Yan Shaoting's ability to become one of the top five is inseparable from Zhu Yin's manpower, money, and intelligence over the past few years.

Zhu Yin sat down, stroking his chin. "Have his disciple Wu You write him a letter, revealing that the mastermind behind his support is us!" It turned out that although Yan Shaoting received a lot of assistance, he had never known the real mastermind behind it all. He had always thought that it was the Ming Dynasty merchants who had placed their bets on him in advance.

Ning Caiwei frowned. "If we tell him the truth, will he refuse to cooperate? His ambitions are too great; can he be easily subdued?"

Zhu Yin sneered: "Having taken so many benefits from us, he has no choice in the matter. If he submits and is willing to be our weapon, then that is the right path for him. If he refuses to submit... we can support him, or we can destroy him!"

"Right now I am the regent of Nanjing, and most of the southern country is under my control. The resources I control are far beyond what his position as the Nine Provinces Inspector can compare to, and my navy is the strongest in Asia. If he resists me, he will not have a good end."

Ning Caiwei thought about it and nodded in agreement, saying, "Alright, let's lay our cards on the table now! Whether he's friend or foe, it's time for him to make a choice. What's our offer?"

She has a businessman's mindset and directly states her asking price.

Zhu Yin thought for a moment, "Let's secretly grant him a marquisate, after all, he joined the group with his own capital and 30,000 troops. We can also promise him a real fiefdom, such as Satsuma Province in Kagoshima, which is a marquisate with real land grants. That's generous enough, isn't it? However, we can't fulfill this promise now. Only if he helps the Ming Dynasty destroy Japan can he enjoy this hereditary fiefdom."

"Furthermore, although this fiefdom is a real marquisate that can govern itself, in terms of etiquette and law it must be a fiefdom of the Ming Dynasty and part of the Ming territory. The lords of this fiefdom throughout history have also been subjects of the Ming Dynasty."

"Would he agree?" Ning Caiwei was very skeptical. "He has occupied Kyushu and Shikoku, a territory of 50,000 to 60,000 square kilometers, while Satsuma is less than 3,000 square kilometers. That's a difference of twenty times."

"Is Satsuma small?" Zhu Yin shook his head. "In the Ming Dynasty, it would be the size of a county with a population of over 100,000, exceeding the rank of a marquis. Even in the Western Han Dynasty, it would be a proper marquis."

"If he were truly intelligent, he would obediently submit."

Ning Caiwei asked, "After we conquer Japan, will we be able to divide the spoils among the people?"

This was the first time she had asked this question.

Zhu Yin had clearly considered this issue long ago, and answered without hesitation: "Of course not. Two-thirds should be used to establish prefectures and counties, and one-third should be used for enfeoffment. But the lords enfeoffed in Japan must all be truly meritorious officials."

"Moreover, even if the country were to be divided into fiefdoms, its strategic locations and fertile lands could only be established as prefectures and counties."

Ning Caiwei suddenly thought of Nurhaci and laughed, "Where is your brother Wild Boar Skin? He has suffered great losses in the past few years, and only has six or seven thousand soldiers left. The Jianzhou tribe is already crippled and has no hope of unifying the Jurchen tribes. The entire tribe's population is only forty or fifty thousand."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin felt somewhat moved.

In recent years, Nurhaci has shed blood and sweat for the Ming Dynasty, and he can be considered loyal and devoted.

However, the losses suffered by the Jianzhou Jurchens were truly devastating. First, they fought fiercely against the Japanese pirates, then against the Haixi Jurchens and the Khorchin Mongols, and now they had to deal with the Solon people to the north.

With a large number of able-bodied men dying, the tribe's strength dwindled rapidly, and the morale and spirit of the entire tribe collapsed.

Historically, Nurhaci won the Battle of Gule Mountain three years earlier, becoming the dominant force among the Jurchens. In the 24th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, he commanded over 30,000 elite troops, becoming a major power in Liaodong.

But now, he only has six or seven thousand soldiers, and his strength and population are only one-fifth of what they were at the same time in history.

Of course, the Haixi Jurchens, mainly composed of the Yehe and other Hulun tribes, also suffered greatly.

The Yehe tribe was once a powerful tribe, but in recent years it has suffered heavy losses, with its army numbering less than 10,000.

The Jurchen tribes, who fought each other to the death under Huya's meticulous planning, were nothing more than unfortunate brothers who were killing each other.

In just a few years, the Jurchen tribes lost 70% of their elite troops and most of their able-bodied men. The entire Jurchen tribes probably couldn't even muster 30,000 soldiers.

However, the more the Jianzhou tribe was weakened, the more dependent they became on Zhu Yin, and the more loyal they were to the Ming Dynasty.

Because there was no other way. At this time, the Jianzhou tribe had to rely on the strong to continue to survive.

As the "I like Beile" of the Jianzhou tribe and Nurhaci's "little tiger brother", how could Zhu Yin bear to ignore it?

So in recent years, he has provided the Jianzhou tribe with a lot of supplies through trading companies and smuggling. These included iron pots, salt, oil, grain, cloth, as well as fine things like porcelain, silk, and milk candy.

These selfless supports have deeply moved the people of Jianzhou. They pray to Mother Foduo and Lord Cuohazhan to bless me, the beloved Prince, who has selflessly dedicated himself to the people of Jianzhou who are suffering greatly.

Zhu Yin sighed softly, feeling both pleased and sorry for them, and said, "We can't let the Jurchen tribes fight each other anymore. Let's stop here..."

Ning Caiwei thought the little tiger had softened his heart, but then she heard him continue, "If the Jurchens are too weak, the Mongols will invade the east. The Northern Yuan Khan of Chahar is also eyeing Liaodong, and the Khorchin also wants to conquer the Jurchens."

"Now is the time to use the Jurchens to contain the Mongol tribes."

"I need to order Huya to stop planning the Jurchen civil war and let the Jurchens hold off the Mongols, or at least contain their southward advance."

After Zhu Yin finished speaking, he immediately wrote a letter and asked Kangxi to send it out.

Tiger Fang has been established for eight years, making it a well-established intelligence agency. Over the past eight years, Tiger Fang has cost Ning Caiwei three million taels of silver in funding, making it a veritable money-devouring beast.

But Huya's money was definitely not wasted. Now, it has become a huge intelligence agency with a tight organization, a sound system, two thousand professional agents, and tens of thousands of informants.

From Mongolia in the north to Japan in the east, from the Khanate of Bukhara in the west to the East Indies of foreigners in the south… Tiger Tooth spies were active everywhere.

Zhu Yin's single order could prevent the Jurchens' situation from deteriorating further, and instead make the Mongols even more miserable.

In recent years, Huya's influence on the tribes beyond the Great Wall has deepened, and its impact on the Mongol and Jurchen tribes has also grown.

Today, Huya has also made great progress in penetrating the newly emerging "Great Tubo Kingdom" in the snowy plateau region.

Ning Caiwei said, "Tiger Fang sent more than one important intelligence report today. I only looked at one of the wax pellets. There's another one."

After saying that, he took out another one. "Little Tiger, let's guess where this intelligence is from. I guess it's from Beijing."

Zhu Yin took the second wax pellet and smiled, "I guess... it's Liaodong! Come to think of it, news of that matter in Liaodong should have arrived by now."

After saying that, he cracked open the wax pill, skillfully deciphered the code, and couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise.

"We found it! Great! Nurhaci has done another great service!"

Ning Caiwei also showed delight, "Is it the Imperial Seal of the State? Is it really in Hutubi Temple?"

Zhu Yin laughed heartily, gesturing wildly, "The intelligence was spot on! It's right at Hutubi Temple! But even the Mongols and lamas don't know! The goods have already been sent to Jianzhou, and the plan is to send them to Korea via Jianzhou, and then ship them out by sea... Haha, I reckon we'll see them soon, the Imperial Seal of the State!"

"From the Liao and Jin dynasties to the Mongol Yuan dynasty, it is finally going to return to the hands of our Han people. What a wonderful omen!"

Zhu Yin was overjoyed, as if he had won the lottery.

While Ning Caiwei was happy, she couldn't help but worry, "Little Tiger, if Nurhaci sees the Imperial Seal, will he keep it for himself?"

“Absolutely impossible!” Zhu Yin shook his head without hesitation. “What use would a tribal chief with only tens of thousands of people have for the Imperial Seal? It’s not a treasure to him, it’s a death warrant! Unless he’s tired of living.”

"Besides, it's our people who are in charge of the operation; the Jurchens are just accomplices. If Wild Boar Skin wants to seize the Imperial Seal, he can only turn against me. He can't do that; it wouldn't benefit him at all."

"However... I still need to write a letter to Nurhaci, telling him that I am now the regent of the Southern Dynasty and hold great power, so that he can follow me without worry."

Upon hearing this, Ning Caiwei couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Nurhaci.

He was used and manipulated by the little tiger from beginning to end, and in the end, he still had to feel grateful to the little tiger.

You can't trust spies. Luckily, she's one of us; we're on the same side, so there's no need to be wary of the little tiger.

Zhu Yin wrote a secret order and a heartfelt letter to Nurhaci, then ordered it to be sent out immediately.

Just as they were about to convene a military council with the Grand Commander, Kangxi and Qianlong entered carrying a stack of name cards to report:

"My lord, a group of old gentlemen have arrived outside. They are all very famous figures and want to meet with you."

Kangxi and Qianlong's expressions were somewhat strange.

Zhu Yin frowned slightly as he looked at the stack of expensive visiting cards infused with sandalwood.

Could it be those people? They should be here by now.

He took the stack of visiting cards, opened the top one, and there it was:
"Shen Shixing, a servant of the Tongjia family, bows respectfully to pay homage to Mr. Zhihu. Mid-autumn of the year Guihai in the Wanli era..."

Sure enough, it came!

When Zhu Yin looked at the visiting cards, he saw that the owners of these cards, besides former Grand Secretary Shen Shixing, included Wang Qiao, Xu Guo, Wang Yi'e, Zhou Shixuan, Chen Younian, Wang Daokun, and Guo Zizhang.

They were all retired bigwigs from Jiangnan, the highest being a former Grand Secretary and the lowest a former Vice Minister.

The person is not good!
(End of this chapter)