Whether it can influence national decision-making is a matter of debate, but discussing national affairs must be a temptation that no man can refuse.
Well, except for the kind that feels cool when you eat a peach!
…
Zhu Zhiyu landed in Shanghai together with the Japanese mission to Ming Dynasty.
After the fleet docked at the port, the mission submitted an application for entry into the Ming Dynasty to the Ming Customs in Shanghai.
And he also handed over the credentials given by the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Ming Dynasty!
Then, they were allowed to land in Shanghai.
The mission's fleet was also allowed to sail into the Yangtze River waterway, but it would be accompanied by Ming army warships responsible for defense and vigilance.
Zhu Zhiyu had no plans to go to Beijing with the mission, but planned to return to his hometown in Yuyao with his disciples and son.
The moment his feet stepped on the land of Ming Dynasty again, Zhu Zhiyu burst into tears.
Drops of turbid tears poured out directly from the eyes, and they couldn't stop them.
Tears continued to flow down the ravines on his face.
Listening to the soft words of Wunong that belongs to the south of the Yangtze River among the passers-by around him, and looking at the Chinese clothes worn by the passers-by around him, tears directly filled his eyes.
Zhu Zhiyu really wanted to burst into tears!
I had been staying in Japan before and didn't think it was anything.
After he returned to his hometown, the moment he stepped on the land of the Ming Dynasty, his emotions couldn't be restrained.
He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said to his son beside him.
"Let's go home, go home now!"
Zhu Zhiyu's son also nodded vigorously, supported his father, and walked out of the pier.
"go home!"
"Let's go home!"
Members of the Tokugawa Shogunate's envoy also went to see Zhu Zhiyu off before preparing to go up the Yangtze River and Shuo River to Nanjing.
The mission envoy Yoshida Takayoshi was standing on the bow of the ship, looking at the busy Yangtze River waterway in front of him.
There was a look of envy and greed in his eyes.
"How wonderful would it be if such a prosperous land came from Japan?"
Japan was a small country with a dense population and frequent volcanoes and earthquakes. It was full of envy and greed for the wealth and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.
The Japanese nation has always been a wolf cub, a wolf cub that is not well fed.
One hundred pounds of weight contains ninety-nine pounds of bone!
Even though it seems that later generations of Yingjiang domesticated Xiaoli into a loyal dog, in fact, it was only temporary, and the wolf nature in Xiaoli was still there.
As long as Yingjiang dares to loosen his grip on Xiaozi, Xiaozi will dare to give Yingjiang another Pearl Harbor.
Sooner or later!
Do you really think you don’t hold grudges in your childhood?
As long as there is a chance, the revenge of the two orphaned mushroom eggs will be unavoidable.
Although Yoshida Takayoshi is greedy, he is not a fool.
The lessons of the Wanli Korean War are still before our eyes. Japan has just been taught a lesson by the Ming Dynasty not long ago, and it is still full of hope.
Although he coveted the wealth of the Ming Dynasty, he only paid lip service to it.
Now in the entire Japan, no one dares to really take any action against Ming Dynasty!
In the early days of its founding, the Central Plains Dynasty was invincible throughout East Asia. This is basic common sense and is known to the whole world.
The Tokugawa shogunate would not dare to provoke the Ming Dynasty at this time!
If the Ming Dynasty is offended, the Tokugawa shogunate will not be able to bear the virtue and just walk around.
After all, Zhu Hongyu is much tougher than Zhu Yuanzhang back then in terms of external relations.
The fleet continued to move forward, and for the next few days, Yoshida Takayoshi stood on the bow, looking at the prosperity on both sides of the Yangtze River.
Everything impressed him deeply!
This is the Ming Dynasty!
It is indeed a heavenly kingdom!
On this day, Yoshida Takayoshi was standing on the bow of the boat blowing the river breeze. Suddenly, his eyes froze.
At the end of his sight, a blue-grey fortress-like building appeared on the shore.
Just looking from a distance, you can feel the pressure.
The main body of the building is built against the mountain, and what is visible to the naked eye is the masonry and cement used in the building materials.
There are also trenches, bunkers, and large and small firepower points arranged around the fortress.
Three forts form a triangle surrounding the main body of the fortress, and the fortress is full of dense crenellations and shooting holes.
Able to form crossfire with the forts surrounding the fortress!
Heavy cannons were arranged in the forts and fortresses one after another, and there were even heavy cannons weighing thirty kilograms and fifty kilograms.
The main gun of the fortress is a big one that can shoot 100 kilograms of shells!
Full of deterrence!
If he could be hit by such a shell, even a first-class sailing battleship would probably be able to sink him with one shot.
Just looking at that fortress, Takayoshi Yoshida felt a little hairy on his back.
If a war breaks out for such a fortress, how many people will have to die before it can be conquered!
"Master Wang, what is the name of that fortress?"
Yoshida Takayoshi opened his mouth wide and couldn't help but ask a Ming official next to him.
Such Ming officials were officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who boarded the ship in Shanghai. They were responsible for accompanying the Japanese mission to Beijing along the way and communicating with relevant officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital.
Looking at Yoshida Takayoshi, who looked like he had never seen the world, the Ming official said.
"Well, that fortress is called Zhenjiang Fortress. It is one of the most important fortresses around Nanjing City!"
"It can be called the emperor's portal!"
Hearing this, Yoshida Takayoshi was speechless for a while, but he still opened his mouth and continued to ask.
"How many artillery pieces and how many garrisons are there in that fortress? At a glance, you can see that they are all densely packed with cannon muzzles."
When the official named Wang heard this, his face darkened and he shrugged.
"I don't know!"
"But I advise the envoy not to pry blindly. The garrison matters are related to the military secrets of the Ming Dynasty. If anything goes wrong, the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion will investigate it, and the identity of the envoy will be useless."
Some of what he just said had nothing to do with confidential matters.
It’s just the name of the fortress, it’s not a secret at all!
But issues such as the size of the garrison and the number of artillery cannot be discussed casually.
Don't say he doesn't know, even if he knows, he won't say anything.
Hearing this, Yoshida Takayoshi's face turned ugly for a while, he forced a very forced smile on his face and said.
"Haha, I'm very sorry. I was rude!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Then there is the "craftsman spirit" of bending at 90 degrees and bowing.
The fleet continued up the river, passing by the Zhenjiang Fortress and heading towards Nanjing.
…
"Your Majesty, the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan has sent an envoy to visit! The envoy is about to enter Beijing now!"
After receiving the news, Foreign Minister Ma Hongbo immediately ran to Zhu Hongyu to report it.
As soon as the Japanese Tokugawa Shogunate's mission landed, Shanghai reported the matter via telegram and quickly requested instructions from Nanjing.
Then the towns the mission passed along the way were also constantly reporting!
When Zhu Hongyu heard this, he nodded slightly and said.
"Order people to prepare for the reception. After the delegation enters the city, arrange for them to stay at the Lifan Courtyard!"
Back then, Japan was very unruly.
When the Ming Dynasty was just founded and people's livelihood was in decline, Lao Zhu sent an envoy to Japan, asking Japan to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty and become a vassal of the Ming Dynasty.
As a result, the Japanese rulers said that no one will love him if he touches it with his little hands!
He turned around and killed the envoy sent by Comrade Lao Zhu!
At that time, if the main energy of the Ming Dynasty had not been restrained by the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Japan would have been damned long ago.
Then, for more than a hundred years, Japanese pirates harassed the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty!
Therefore, you cannot give Japan a good face as a nation.
Whenever you give him some good looks, he will think that you are afraid of him!
Then it’s time to kick your nose into the face!
If the envoy had been killed and Lao Zhu had directly sent troops to beat up Xiaoli, it is estimated that the southeastern coast of the Ming Dynasty would not have been frequently harassed by Japanese pirates in the years to come.
Wanli Korean War, the Ming Dynasty frightened Japan in the first battle in Korea!
Later on, although the Ming Dynasty suffered from internal and external troubles, the Japanese pirates never appeared again. This is an example.
However, after the Wanli Korean War, Japanese pirates no longer caused trouble.
Although it is also related to the fact that the Tokugawa shogunate replaced Toyotomi Hideyoshi as the ruler of Japan, Japan's internal situation returned to stability, and the Tokugawa shogunate adopted a policy of isolation from the country.
But the Ming Dynasty frightened Japan in Korea, which is definitely one of the important reasons!
Since the envoy sent by Comrade Lao Zhu was killed, Ming Dynasty did not respond.
Therefore, Japan has never recognized it as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and it belongs to the kind of treasonous son of the Chinese dynasty.
It was not until after the Wanli Korean War that China, Japan and North Korea negotiated peace talks, and Emperor Wanli canonized Toyotomi Hideyoshi as King of Japan, that Japan became a vassal of the Ming Dynasty in name only.
Of course, it's just a name, and Japan may not recognize it or not.
After all, the nominal head of state of Japan is still the Emperor of Japan, but the King of Japan canonized by the Ming Dynasty is Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Moreover, shortly after the Wanli Korean War ended, the Tokugawa family replaced Toyotomi Hideyoshi and established the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Therefore, it is actually quite far-fetched to say that Japan belongs to the Ming Dynasty!
However, in order to confirm the fact that Japan is a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Hongyu directly instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to let the Lifan Yuan contact the Japanese envoys.
Not Honglu Temple!
If Japan did not accept it, Zhu Hongyu would sell a batch of arms to the Qing army.
If Japan accepts it, then Ming Dynasty will take another look at the evolution of the war situation in Japan before deciding whether to sell the arms or not!
When the time comes, the Japanese will definitely make the wisest choice.
Zhu Hongyu: I still like the way you used to be unruly!
Upon hearing this, Ma Hongbo clasped his fists and accepted the order and left, preparing to implement Zhu Hongyu's order.
Zhu Hongyu continued to handle government affairs.
After looking at the report sent back from Xi'an about Wu Zhou's request to use horses to trade arms with the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Hongyu pondered for a while and approved it.
He also ordered the Fifth Army Governor's Office to prepare a batch of second-hand weapons from the army, and then pack them into boxes for transportation to the Western Regions.
Well, Zhu Hongyu is ready to clear out his inventory!
In the Ming Dynasty's ordnance warehouse, there are a large number of second-hand ordnance, various guns and artillery, armor and swords, and the quantity is huge.
Some of them are second-hand goods that were eliminated by the Ming army themselves, and many were captured on the battlefield.
The Ming army did not use those weapons, and it would be a pity to throw them away.
Zhu Hongyu then decided to keep it in the arsenal for now, maybe it will be used when.
No, it’s used!
These used weapons can be exchanged with Wu Sangui for some horses, which can be regarded as waste utilization.
Well, the worst thing is that the quality of old weapons is not good, just buy them cheaper!
Anyway, no matter how old the weapons of the Ming army are, they are definitely better than those made by Wu Sangui.
Arms is a seller's market, and buyers have no choice.
…
Yoshida Takayoshi had just disembarked from the dock outside Nanjing. Under the leadership of officials from the Damingri Domain, he and the members of the mission headed towards Nanjing.
Then, on the way, he heard the newsboy yelling at the roadside.
"Extra number! Extra number!"
"The remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty crossed the sea to conquer the Japanese, and the Japanese fell to Tsushima, and the two feudal lords of Hizen were defeated!"
"Extra number! Extra number!"
"Tokugawa Ietsuna, the Japanese general of the Tokugawa shogunate who conquered the barbarians, organized a coalition to prepare for a decisive battle with the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty on the Japanese island of Kyushu."
"..."
Amidst the loud calls, several teenagers carrying bags full of newspapers were hawking in the crowd.
Whenever they see a well-dressed pedestrian, they will take the initiative to sell them.
As the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing has no shortage of rich people and literate people, but not everyone will spend money to buy newspapers and read them.
Especially newspapers like Daming Daily, which are more serious and solemn. They contain content about the court's policies and changes in domestic and international situations, but they lack interesting newspapers!
Generally only the middle class will buy it!
Because the middle class has a certain economic foundation, but does not have enough information channels.
For them, buying a newspaper is the best source of news!
Takayoshi Yoshida had a confused expression on his face as he listened to the newsboy's call.
what's the situation?
Japan was invaded?
Tsushima Domain and Hizen Domain are gone?
What the hell is going on?
How come he, the Japanese envoy and retainer of the Tokugawa shogunate, didn't know anything, but it was already reported in the newspapers in the Ming Dynasty?
"My lord, can I buy a newspaper now?"
Yoshida Takayoshi asked the Ming officials accompanying them.
The Ming official nodded and said.
"Of course it's ok, I'm just responsible for receiving the mission!"
"The Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette and will not restrict the freedom of the envoys."
Yoshida Takayoshi nodded gratefully, and then asked his followers to buy a newspaper from the newsboy on the street.
"Hi!"
The attendant received the order, obeyed, and trotted off to buy a newspaper.
The entourage wore wooden clogs and stepped on the bluestone, making a clicking sound. He trotted up to the newsboy and spoke.
"Child, please bring me a newspaper!"
The newsboy was not afraid when he saw a Japanese man running towards him wearing wooden clogs and carrying a samurai sword at his waist.
This is the Nanjing City of the Ming Dynasty. I have never seen any foreigners dare to do evil in Nanjing City.
Hearing that the Japanese in front of him wanted to buy a newspaper, the newsboy took out one from his backpack, handed it to the Japanese in front of him, and said very politely.
"Chenghui, five copper coins!"
The Japanese got the newspaper, took out a silver dollar from his pocket, gave it directly to the newsboy, and said very generously.