The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Okubo Tadashi's expression changed immediately. Kondo Yoshiyuki didn't say anything, but his hands were already clenched into fists, and the veins on the back of his hands were slightly bulging.

As powerful officials in the shogunate, what status would they have if the shogunate didn't have military and political power? They might as well commit seppuku!

"Thank you, sir," Okubo Tadachiro barely maintained his courtesy. "The shogunate is willing to become a vassal state and pay tribute, open its ports for trade, and acknowledge the Great Han as its suzerain. However, the title of shogun was bestowed by the divine lord, and military affairs are the foundation of the shogunate. If we hand over military and political power, the shogunate will cease to exist. We absolutely dare not agree to this."

Upon hearing this, Xie Bo'an shook his head and said nothing more. He had already offered the emperor a way out; now it was up to Emperor Liu Mu to put on a show.

Sure enough, Liu Mu suddenly laughed, slamming the palm-leaf fan he was holding onto the table with a snap, the fan ribs breaking with a crisp sound. "Since Tokugawa Ietsuna is a smart man, he should understand that between the Han Dynasty and Japan, there are only two words left—fight or kneel."

"Since you've chosen to kneel, you have to hand over your military power. Otherwise, keep fighting. Go back and tell Tokugawa Ietsuna to cherish the days ahead. When he has no soldiers to send and no food to levy, it won't be so easy for him to kneel again."

"Take these two out."

Zhao Fengnian shouted in a shrill voice, "Get out!" Several imperial guards standing outside the hall rushed in. Before Okubo Tadachika could explain, he and Kondo Yoshiyuki were dragged across the threshold with their arms held by their sides and their feet barely touching the ground.

Kondo Yoshi instinctively reached for the non-existent sword at his waist, but his fingers found nothing. He was then dragged out of the side door by the Imperial Guards.

The two men's black hats rolled off as they struggled, rolling over the gold bricks before finally stopping at the corner of the threshold.

……

After the Japanese envoy was led away, Liu Mu lay slumped on the soft couch, idly fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the outside of the hall.

He glanced at the other offerings on the gift list and put them down, but the line "Ten Kyoto Shimabara Geisha" made him look at it for a few more moments.

Zhou Peigong stood up first, gathered the documents on the table, bowed and said, "Your subject takes his leave."

Li Guangdi and Xie Bo'an also stood up at the same time. The three of them exchanged a glance, said nothing, and filed out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Xie Bo'an was the last to leave, and closed the hall door behind him.

Zhao Fengnian served Liu Mu closely, and he knew better than anyone when the emperor wanted tea, when he wanted to be alone, and when his mind wasn't on the memorials. He had already figured out seven or eight parts of it from the pause Liu Mu made when he looked at the gift list.

"Your Majesty, the ten dancers that the Japanese envoy brought today are housed in the west wing of the side hall." Zhao Fengnian bowed, his voice carefully chosen so that Liu Mu could hear him clearly without sounding abrupt. "This old servant just went to see them, and there are several with good looks. One of them, named A Xue, is only sixteen years old and plays the zither beautifully. If Your Majesty would like to see Japanese song and dance, this old servant will go and summon her immediately."

Liu Mu placed the palm-leaf fan on the table and sat up straight. "Then let's see, I'll also see what's so special about the dancers sent by Tokugawa Ietsuna."

Zhao Fengnian responded, retreated to the palace entrance, and gestured to the eunuch waiting in the corridor.

Before long, several candles in the side hall were extinguished, and the light dimmed, leaving only a few gauze lanterns in the corner of the hall. The dim yellow light shone through the thin gauze onto the gold brick floor, somewhat like the ambiguous lighting in a bathhouse during a karaoke session in later generations.

"Zhao Fengnian, now that he's a eunuch, he's actually become quite romantic!" Liu Mu shook his head and chuckled as he watched the eunuchs and maids' little antics.

Before long, amidst the soft footsteps, ten Japanese dancers filed in. They were all dressed in blue jackets, with Nishijin-ori belts around their waists, their hair tied up in high buns, adorned with coral hairpins and silk flowers.

The white powder on her face was applied evenly, leaving only a small patch of unpowdered skin on the back of her neck. That was the unique charm of Shimabara Maiko, which was more alluring and knew how to control the degree of exposure than any exposed part of her body.

The lead dancer, who resembled Akina Nakamori, knelt on a futon in the center of the hall, holding a shamisen in her arms, and plucked the strings with her fingertips.

As she played the piano, she parted her lips slightly and sang something Liu Mu didn't understand, but the tune was wrong, extremely wrong.

The remaining dancers began to dance slowly to the accompaniment. Each of them held a cypress fan in their hand. Their dance was completely different from the court dance of the Han Dynasty. Their movements were extremely small. Each step involved moving only half a foot. Their waists swayed gently, and their wide sleeves trailed on the ground as they turned.

The most alluring thing is not the grand and sweeping movements, but the angle of the head lowered, the pause when looking back, and the arc of the fingertips tracing the air. This is quite similar to the Han style, which emphasizes restraint without losing its charm.

The dancer playing the shamisen sang as she played, but her gaze swept across the strings of the shamisen and gently swept toward Liu Mu.

Is this a test of my resolve?

Which emperor could withstand this test?

Liu Mu immediately placed the teacup back on the table and leaned back into the soft couch. "Zhao Fengnian, keep this musician; the rest, dismiss them."

Zhao Fengnian waved to the dancers and led them out of the side hall silently. When the last one left, he gently closed the door, leaving only two figures, one tall and one short, by the gauze lantern.

The cicadas chirped incessantly outside the hall. Even after walking a distance, Zhao Fengnian was still pondering. He glanced back at the tightly closed door of the side hall, then wiped his sweat with his sleeve and muttered to himself, "I'm afraid we'll need to add two more vats of ice today."

……

Three days later, Deshengmen was opened wide.

After the founding of the Han Dynasty, Liu Mu designated this city gate for military use, so it was locked year-round.

With the sound of hooves, eight hundred Imperial Guards rode white horses to lead the way. They wore crisp military uniforms, armor with mountain patterns, phoenix-winged crowns, and goose-feathered swords at their waists. Their horseshoes trod in perfect unison on the stone road.

Compared to the previous fish-scale armor, this mountain-patterned armor, though more expensive, exudes a more royal air. In other words, it's for showing off. If it really comes to war, they'll switch to cloth-covered iron armor.

Following behind were 108 black slaves, each tall and strong with dark skin, carrying thick wooden bars on their shoulders.

A mobile palace was mounted on a wooden pole, covered with bright yellow silk. A gilded wind chime hung in the west corner, tinkling in the breeze. The procession crossed the moat and headed west along the official road.

Inside the palace, Persian carpets were laid out, and a small bronze censer with ambergris burning was placed in the west corner. Liu Mu lay on a soft couch, while Nakamori Akina knelt beside him, massaging his back.

The dancer who stayed three days ago was her. Her original name was Yukinako, but Liu Mu thought it didn't sound good, so he changed it to Nakamori Akina.

The Ministry of Rites discussed the matter and concluded that Japanese women were not as good as Korean women.

Koreans have intermarried with the royal families of the Central Plains for generations, but there was no precedent for this with Japanese women; they were only given the title of "Talented Woman".

Akina Nakamori was quite satisfied. Three days ago, when she was playing the shamisen in front of the emperor, she deliberately glanced at him more than once, just for this reason. Whether she became a concubine or a royal consort, she was already the woman of the most powerful man in the world.