A large number of Japanese were forcibly recruited to constantly repair the city.
In addition to holding on, many Ming troops also participated.
On the city wall, Zhu Di stood on top, looking at the heated scene below.
"Your Majesty, do we need to give them so much food? The food we received from the general is only enough for us for more than a month."
"Now we have to distribute it to these Japanese people. I'm afraid they won't be able to survive for a month."
As a general under King Yan, Zhu Neng asked in confusion.
A few days ago, General Feng Sheng divided his troops into four groups.
King Zhu Di of Yan, King Zhu Fan of Jin, and King Zhu Su of Qi each occupied a city.
The center is occupied by Feng Sheng.
They did not launch a direct offensive against the Japanese state. Instead, after occupying the city, they gathered the Japanese people in the wild to form a line of defense, as if they were preparing to fight against each other.
Zhu Di occupied one of the fairly good cities.
As for this city, what it was called before is no longer important.
Zhu Neng's tone was a bit disrespectful and had a questioning feel.
Zhang Yu, who was standing next to him, immediately scolded: "How does the prince arrange it, and you still have to intervene."
"In the heart of the prince, there are rules and regulations. We don't need to think too much, we just need to do our job well."
King Yan Zhu Di waved his hand, interrupting Zhang Yu's intention to continue scolding, and explained:
"My king came to Japan not just to burn, kill, loot, and then leave like the Mongols on the grasslands."
"We may have to stay in this Japanese country for a long time."
"If you kill all the Japanese people in the surrounding area, who will farm your land, cook your food, and clean your armor?"
"If we want to gain a foothold here, we must be inseparable from the Japanese people. At least on the surface, we can't be too bad."
"Besides, you have to understand one thing. The people of Japan have been descendants of our country since ancient times. This is what my father specifically told me before leaving, not to engage in killings."
"Now, do you understand what I mean?"
Zhu Neng lowered his head in shame and could only explain: "Although the food of the brothers below is much better than that of the Japanese, I feel very unhappy when I see them eating our own food."
"These cunning Japanese have hidden all the food, and now they are still eating our food. My brothers are resentful."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Di pondered for a while and said, "Tell the brothers below that if they behave well, I can reward them with a Japanese concubine."
"In addition, I will set up a teaching department in the city, and those who have meritorious service will have a quota to enter the selection."
Zhu Neng's eyes lit up and he immediately asked, "Your Majesty, can I go?"
Zhu Di laughed: "Anyone who can go, of course, can go. However, in this case, priority will naturally be given to soldiers with meritorious service."
"Okay, go down and inform the brothers. You don't have to wait long."
Zhu Neng clasped his fists in a bow, saluted, and left quickly.
Zhang Yu frowned and asked: "Your Majesty, I will be brave enough to ask."
"The prince's intention is to win over these Japanese people, but if we set up a Jiaofang Division, it will not be a good thing for the reputation of our army."
"Although the brothers have enjoyed it, there will naturally be great resentment on the part of the Japanese."
When Zhu Di heard this, he laughed and said: "Zhang Yu, Zhang Yu, it seems that you didn't know much about the Japanese people before coming to the Japanese country."
"Before I came to the capital, I had many in-depth discussions with Duke Li Jinglong and Cao Guogong about educating the Japanese."
"The most detailed record among them is what Zhao Liangbi, the former envoy of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, recorded and heard when he stayed in the Japanese country for three years."
"Originally, I have never found this record. After some inquiries, I discovered that it had been collected by the Minister of War, Ru Yu, and kept it at home."
"Later Cao Guogong went to borrow it, and I realized that the people of the Japanese country actually had this custom."
Having said this, Zhu Di paused slightly.
Zhang Yu was already very excited when he heard it, and when he was suddenly stopped, he couldn't help but clasped his fists and bowed, "Please ask King Yan to clear up the confusion."
Zhu Di smiled and then continued: "The character of the Japanese is different from that of our Ming Dynasty. They worship the strong very much."
"Like a Japanese woman, she is eager to borrow seeds."
"Wherever there is any need for coercion, when the king spreads some news, they will naturally come to your door voluntarily."
When Zhang Yu heard this, he felt that his three views were shattered.
Could it still be like this?
This is what Zhang Yu didn't know. It has almost become a custom for the Japanese country to worship the strong men of the Central Plains.
The peak period was during the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains.
In ancient times when information exchange was greatly restricted, one of the key factors that enabled the Japanese state to carry out "great reforms" was the presence of envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty.
It was precisely because of the continuous dispatch of envoys to the Tang Dynasty that the Japanese state was able to cut the Central Plains culture into pieces in a planned manner and transport it back to the Japanese state in one ship for assembly.
The existence of the envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty allowed the Japanese country to learn about the Tang Dynasty in a timely and accurate manner.
During the peak period when the Japanese country was studying the Tang Dynasty, whenever the Tang Dynasty issued any new laws or took any new measures, the Japanese country would usually respond quickly.
For example, the Tang Dynasty changed the Zhongshu Province to the "Ziwei Province", and the Japanese also established the "Ziwei Zhongtai" a few years later.
The Tang Dynasty changed the original "year" to "zai", and the Japanese country also changed "year" to "sui" eleven years later.
Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty issued an amnesty order that every household in the Tang Dynasty must have a copy of the "Book of Filial Piety", and the Japanese country quickly followed suit.
From the era of Emperor Shumei of Japan to the era of Emperor Uta, Japan appointed envoys to the Tang Dynasty nineteen times in 264 years.
Excluding the three missions that did not take place, the number of envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty in the real sense was sixteen.
It is precisely because of this that although the Tang Dynasty did not have imperial enfeoffment, the Japanese country has always regarded itself as a tributary of the Central Plains.
Including the Song Dynasty, he was always respectful.
The fundamental significance of the two expeditions against the Japanese by the Mongolian Yuan was that the Japanese believed that the Mongolian Yuan was not qualified to live in the Central Plains.
Even though he was so strong, he still had great disapproval of the Mongolian and Yuan envoys.
This caused Kublai Khan to become furious.
So when Zhu Yuanzhang arrived, the Japanese felt that they had defeated the Meng Yuan and were closer to the Central Plains culturally than the Ming Dynasty, so they refused to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
The first appearance of Japanese pirates was not in the Ming Dynasty, but in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
It's a bit funny to say that the original Japanese pirates appeared with the mentality of attacking the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties and helping the Song Dynasty.
From a certain perspective, he is a teacher of justice.
However, after feeling the thrill of robbery, he gradually went astray.
Even after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese pirates could no longer resist the temptation of wealth.
Of course, the worship of the strong was the same from top to bottom in Japan.
It was precisely because Zhu Di saw these records and observed them that he had such thoughts.
"The prince is a great talent, but he will be far inferior to him in the end."
Zhang Yu's flattery arrived at the right time, which made Zhu Di particularly proud.
If it was just an ordinary battle, Zhu Di would naturally not think too much about the emotions of the soldiers.
But it is different now. Now it is a concept similar to stationing troops. Moreover, in a foreign country, the emotions of the soldiers can easily cause problems.
In this case, the simple and crude Jiaofangsi is the best place to vent the emotions of the soldiers.
At this time, a soldier suddenly came up and reported: "To report to the prince, there is a Japanese who wants to meet the prince. The Jin Yiwei said that they seem to know the place where the food is hidden."
Zhu Di raised his eyebrows and said, "Let him come over."
Soon, an old Japanese man who looked relatively clean and decent came to Zhu Di under the escort of a sergeant.
Zhu Di naturally did not understand the Japanese language, but before he came, he had obviously anticipated such a situation. Zhu Yuanzhang arranged for a large number of translators from the Jinyiwei side who understood Japanese language to accompany him.
When the old man saw Zhu Di and how he was dressed, he immediately lay on the ground respectfully and began to chatter.
Zhu Di frowned and asked, "What is he talking about?"
Jin Yiwei quickly translated: "Back to the prince, he said that his name is Ishihara Tofu, he is the head of the Ishihara family, and he would like to say hello to you on behalf of the Ishihara family."
Zhu Di nodded and said, "Tell him, I am very good. He said he knew where the Japanese army hid their food. This is true."
Jin Yiwei quickly translated what King Yan said.
Hearing this, Tofu Ishihara nodded repeatedly.
Jin Yiwei translated: "He said the food was hidden in three caves not far away."
Zhu Di asked: "Why should you tell me this news?"
The old man babbled and spoke quickly, with a cry in his tone.
Jin Yiwei also felt a little overwhelmed after listening to it, so he had to translate briefly: "Your Majesty, what he means is that they have never met a monarch as good as Your Majesty."
"The general's warriors always bully them, eat the worst food, and do the most work."
"After the prince came, he did not treat them as slaves. Instead, he used his own grain to share with them as food."
"So they decided to tell the prince where the Japanese soldiers hid their food."
Hearing what Jin Yiwei translated, Zhang Yu on the side was stunned.
He couldn't help but say: "Your Majesty is really clever."
Although Zhang Yu scolded Zhu Neng before, he was actually thinking that it was not a good thing to distribute the soldiers' food to the Japanese people.
Who knew that the reversal would happen so quickly? In just two or three days, the Japanese would reveal the hiding place of the grain.
I have tried so many Japanese people rigorously before, but to no avail.
Regarding this incident, Zhu Di was actually very surprised. He didn't expect that the flowers he planted would not bloom, but the willows that he planted unintentionally would create shade.
This is how the food problem arises.
The warriors of the Japanese country were, among other things, very hard-boned and could be beaten to death without saying a word.
Maybe some of them really don’t know.
Anyway, now that I have it, it’s not a big problem.
"Tell him that if he can find enough food, I will give him special permission to enter my Ming Dynasty household registration."
Zhu Di was happy and said to him.
The translator Jin Yiwei told Ishihara Tofu what King Yan said.
After Ishihara Tofu heard this, he bowed his head and kowtowed repeatedly.
In fact, for the common people, whether they are the people of Japan or the people of Ming Dynasty, they do not have a strong concept of country.
It doesn't matter who rules you, what matters is whether you can have a full meal.
Ishihara Tofu said that he was a family head, but the distinction between nobles in the Japanese country was the Central Plains Mandarin.
Those who cannot speak Mandarin are naturally at a very low level.
After Toshio Ishihara kowtowed, he did not leave directly, but continued to chatter a lot.
Zhu Di frowned and said, "Is it possible that this guy still wants to make conditions with me?"
Jin Yiwei quickly translated: "Reporting to the prince, he is talking about the construction of the city wall. He hopes that the prince can stop the construction of the city wall."
Zhu Di wanted to scold him, but suddenly he remembered that the city wall here seemed a little special, so he suppressed it and said, "Let him tell you why he stopped building the city wall."
After Jin Yiwei translated the words, Ishihara Tofu began to tell the reason.
It turns out that in the early days of the Japanese Empire, there were no city buildings, but fortifications similar to strongholds or settlement trenches. This was the prototype of the Japanese city walls.
After the Dahua reform, successive emperors learned from the emperors of the Central Plains in building palaces and began to embark on the path of a true city wall.
Capital cities of various sizes similar to palaces were built, such as Kokenda Palace, Okamoto Palace, and Baekje Palace.
These buildings were influenced by the Tang Dynasty and almost completely replicated the Tang Dynasty period.
This includes city walls and capitals.
For example, the city currently occupied by Zhu Di is no different from the Ming Dynasty in appearance.
The Japanese country has many hills and few plains, and it is located in an earthquake zone. The tall city walls may collapse if an earthquake occurs.
That's why it's so low.
Ishihara Tofu just wanted to tell Zhu Di not to waste too much labor on building tall city walls.
Hearing this, Zhu Di's face became serious.
In his many years of career, he has experienced earthquakes.
From the translation, he also heard that the Japanese country itself was a place prone to earthquakes.
Even slightly higher city walls cannot withstand earthquakes, which shows how dangerous they are.
This is very important news.
Very important.
The reason why Feng Sheng wanted to divide his troops into four groups was to station troops first.
Just to find out the situation in Japan.
Except for the early Mongol and Yuan Dynasties, it was the first time in the Ming Dynasty and the second time in history that Feng Sheng and others used troops against the Japanese in the Central Plains.
In the eyes of the people of Ming Dynasty, apart from knowing that Japan was an island country, they knew nothing about it.
Even the map is only a very rough map.
This is a big taboo for using troops, because you are not even familiar with the roads. In such a big place, you may not even be able to find the location of the Japanese army.
The Japanese country is also a country with many islands. If you don't advance carefully, you may be ambushed.
For example, the troops at the front, including Feng Sheng, had no idea about the news about frequent earthquakes.
In fact, Zhu Ying also explained it, but no one felt it at all. Even now that they have come to Japan, they have never paid attention to this issue.
Zhu Di was also like this, so he built the city wall first.