Chapter 483: Hongwu twenty-sixth year, September eighteenth
One month later, the Japanese King's Palace.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu looked at the conditions in front of him that were sent by Japanese envoys to Ming Dynasty for an armistice.
His face was gloomy.
He originally thought that as long as he expressed his willingness to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, this matter would stop.
I didn't expect Daming's appetite to be so big.
We also want to occupy the four countries of Japan.
Even that 90 million silver was a huge sum of money that the Japanese could not afford.
Although it is said that it can be repaid in installments, how long will it take to repay such a large amount of silver?
In comparison, other conditions don't matter. The main issues are the cession of the city and compensation.
Even this condition was only given after paying more than 170 envoys and marrying the princess of Japan.
Otherwise it would be even more harsh.
At present, the main hall of the Japanese King's Palace seems a bit empty. Most of the Japanese envoys are temporarily assigned Japanese officials.
But there were also thirty or forty people who were real people in the Japanese court.
Compared with Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Emperor Gokomatsu looked much more relaxed.
This Japanese country is his in name, but the actual control has long been out of the hands of the emperor, especially the previous war between the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
What seemed like a duel between two emperors was actually a duel between two shogunates.
Moreover, the envoys sent to the Ming Dynasty this time allowed Ashikaga Yoshimitsu to seize the opportunity to weaken the faction loyal to the emperor again.
This made Emperor Gokomatsu angry and helpless.
What is the difference between the current emperor and a puppet?
He wished that there would be chaos now, because only when there was chaos, the people of Japan would think of the Emperor, and Emperor Gokomatsu would have more opportunities to recruit enough daimyo who were loyal to the Emperor.
Therefore, Emperor Gokomatsu did not have any opinions in this regard.
"What does His Majesty the Emperor think of Ming Dynasty's conditions? Should our country agree to it?"
After Ashikaga Yoshimitsu became angry, he returned to the whole body.
In his opinion, this Japanese country belongs to him, and he had originally planned to give up his position as shogun to his nine-year-old son next year.
Then he became a monk himself and served as a minister of Taizheng as a monk.
The Taizheng Minister of the Japanese Kingdom was equivalent to the position of Taishi or Prime Minister, assisting the Emperor Zuo and taking charge of the court officials.
But under the current circumstances, it is inevitable that giving up the throne will not be possible, and there is no reason to support him in giving up the throne.
This gave the emperor and his officials an excuse to stop Japan because it was temporarily unable to leave Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
But even at this time, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu still wanted to dig a hole for Emperor Gokomatsu.
At present, the Ming Dynasty's treaty only has the possibility of agreeing, but who will agree is also a problem.
Whoever agrees will be a sinner of the Japanese country.
When Emperor Gokomatsu heard Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's question, he immediately became filled with indignation:
"The Ming Dynasty really bullied people too much and actually put forward such harsh conditions. However, many people in Kyushu Island, the Japanese country, are now under the fiery rule of the Ming army."
"Every time I think about this, I toss and turn late at night, unable to sleep, and feel deeply powerless."
Emperor Gokomatsu naturally would not answer Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's question, as he would simply answer the wrong question.
After Ashikaga Yoshimitsu heard this, he continued to ask: "It seems that His Majesty the Emperor is going to agree to the Ming Dynasty's treaty."
Emperor Gomatsu continued: "The Ming Dynasty is powerful, and relying on the power of firearms, our army is completely unable to confront it head-on."
"Even the rock-solid city wall disintegrated in an instant under the Ming army's artillery, leaving no resistance."
"If our country can find a way to use the Ming Dynasty's firearms, we will definitely be able to defeat the Ming army. However, the Ming army is very careful. Even if they get some firearms now, they cannot imitate them."
"Now the Ming Dynasty occupies six countries of our country, Goryeo occupies two countries, most of Kyushu Island has fallen into the hands of others, and it is time to harvest in October. The grain produced on Kyushu Island will definitely be taken away by the Ming army."
After Komatsu talked a lot, he gave many suggestions on the current situation, secretly stating that the current Japanese country had no solution, but he refused to answer Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's question head-on.
The meaning is very obvious, I won’t say it anyway, it’s up to you to say it.
If you don't tell me, then let's wait and see if you are anxious or I am.
In this Japanese country, what really belongs to the emperor's lineage is mainly temples. The guardian daimyo in various places are nominally loyal to the emperor, but in fact they are Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's orders, and they choose to listen or not.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu also understood that although the emperor had no power, there was no point in forcing him to speak.
Anyway, when a treaty is signed, it must be stamped with the emperor's seal.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu looked at the ministers in the court who had no intention of speaking, and then said:
"At a time when our country of Japan is in trouble, the Ming Dynasty and Korea invaded our country. The Ming army had firearms to help us. How could our warriors resist with their flesh and blood?"
"There is an old saying in the Central Plains Dynasty that misfortune will lead to good fortune. For our country, the current situation seems to be a huge crisis, but in fact it also contains many opportunities."
"When the Ming Dynasty stationed troops on Kyushu Island, it would inevitably strengthen the connection between our country and the Ming Dynasty. Now the Ming Dynasty, at least in the tribute trade, our country can make a lot of profits."
"Besides, after this, we, the Japanese, can justifiably follow the Ming Dynasty. The secret of firearms will one day be born in our Japanese country."
"At this point, everyone encourages you!"
Finally, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu stood up and bowed to the officials from afar.
These words and actions, with a strong sense of sadness and a longing for the future, immediately won the favor of all the ministers present.
When Emperor Gokomatsu saw this, his eyes flashed with deep fear and helplessness.
After that, Emperor Gokomatsu took out the jade seal, and in the presence of many officials of the imperial court, wrote the conditions for surrender on the credential, and then stamped it with his seal.
This credential will be sent to the capital of the Ming Dynasty as quickly as possible by specially dispatched envoys, accompanied by a large number of warriors.
For Japan, the sooner the better.
The faster the time, the faster the war ends and the sooner the people of Kyushu Island can return.
It is now the end of August, and we will see if we can recover some rice in time by mid-October.
...
Hongwu twenty-sixth year, September 18th.
In the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Ying stood on the Jinluan Hall, and behind him was Zhu Yuanzhang sitting on the dragon chair.
Below, there are many civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty.
Outside the Fengtian Gate, there were Japanese envoys holding letters of credence and reaching the capital of the Ming Dynasty as quickly as possible.
This time, after traveling day and night, plus the transportation from the Daming Station, it only took twenty days to arrive at the capital of the Ming Dynasty last night, September 17th.
According to normal circumstances, the Ming Dynasty should wait for a few days before holding the signing ceremony.
However, after knowing that the Japanese envoys had arrived, Zhu Ying decided to accept the Japanese surrender on the next day, September 18th.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't understand why the great grandson came to him overnight and said that tomorrow was a good day, he directly arranged for the Japanese country to conduct a surrender ceremony.
But this little matter was left to him.
Only Zhu Ying knew clearly in her heart, as a person from the previous life, what this special day of September 18th actually meant.
This is to remind ourselves all the time of the sufferings the Central Plains nation suffered on another tributary of history.
And, one should not have any weak thoughts towards the Japanese country.
This is a group of white-eyed wolves. No matter how nice you are to them, it doesn't make any sense. They will never be fed enough.
The only thing that should be done is to educate them and let them integrate into the Ming Dynasty, to be proud of themselves as the people of the Ming Dynasty and to be ashamed of their status as a Japanese country.
As for those with evil intentions, just throw them into the sea to feed the fish.
Outside Fengtian Gate.
Minamoto Yushin held a wooden plate with both hands, and on it was the Japanese surrender certificate.
At this moment, his face was full of excitement.
If one had seen his expression without knowing it, one would have thought that this was not a surrender ceremony, but that he had accomplished some merit and was preparing to receive a reward.
Not only Minamoto Tomonobu, but also the other five Japanese envoys following him looked happy and excited.
Their excitement had nothing to do with Japan's surrender, it was just because their lives had been saved.
Who could know the gloom that has shrouded Tianjie Temple and the Japanese envoys these days.
A few days ago, before the Japanese princess was not valued by His Highness Taisun, the bodies of all the Japanese envoys who were executed by Zhan Hui's order were placed in the residence of Tianjie Temple.
Moreover, they were strictly prohibited from being buried in the Ming Dynasty territory.
This also caused the place where the Japanese envoys lived to be filled with corpses. After only a few days, the smell became unbearable.
It was a complete torture both physically and mentally.
Later, it was Yuan Yuxin, after Princess Xiangzi of the Japanese Kingdom entered Kunning Palace, and then proposed to His Highness Taisun that he hoped that the Japanese envoy could be cremated and the ashes could be brought back to the Japanese Kingdom.
Only after getting permission from His Highness Taisun did we get out of this situation.
The Japanese envoy on the left subconsciously looked at Minamoto Yushin, as if he was asking for something.
Yuan Yuxin nodded slightly, and the Japanese envoys who had been paying attention almost burst into cheers.
It is said that there is news that His Highness the Grandson was favoring Princess Xiangzi last night.
It was at this time that news about the Japanese credential arriving in the capital reached the palace.
Under Princess Xiangzi's gentle prayers, His Highness Taisun issued an edict late at night, confirming that the surrender ceremony to the Japanese country would be held today.
"The auspicious time has come, let the Japanese envoys enter the Fengtian Hall to meet the saint!"....
Following the loud shouts from the eunuchs, the Fengtian Gate slowly opened.
Yuan Youxin quickly placed the wooden tray on the ground, knelt down and kowtowed and shouted: "The envoys of the small country obey the imperial edict of His Majesty the Ming Emperor."
Then he picked up the wooden plate and stood up, led by the eunuch, and walked all the way forward.
In the Fengtian Palace.
The officials were excited.
No one expected that His Highness Taisun would actually achieve such a great victory in the war against Japan.
You must know that in past wars, winning was a victory, which would place a huge burden on the national treasury. Every time a war was fought, a large number of people died, and large amounts of pensions were required.
The Japanese country, a country that even failed twice during the founding period of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, is located on the vast sea.
In fact, most of the courtiers were not very optimistic about the war against Japan, and felt that it was a waste of people and money for His Highness Taisun.
The army of 500,000 is 200,000 more than the 300,000 troops of Meng Yuan. If it fails, it will greatly shake the foundation of the entire Ming Dynasty's rule.
That is to say, His Majesty now shocks the world and dotes on his grandson. If it were any other dynasty in history, the transfer of so many sergeants would definitely be opposed by all the ministers.
Moreover, back then, even His Majesty was dissuaded by Liu Ji.
However, current facts have proven that His Highness Taisun's decision-making and policy are very correct.
Although the Ming army suffered some damage, compared with the national war, the damage was maintained at a very low level.
Needless to say, there is a burden in terms of food and salary, but compared to today's prosperous Ming Dynasty, this burden is really nothing. At most, it is just one year's income in previous years.
Today's Ming Dynasty has reached a new height in terms of taxation, especially the increase in commercial taxes, and the profits created by His Highness the Grand Sun Qunying Chamber of Commerce are nothing.
The most important thing is that in this negotiation with the Japanese state, His Highness Taisun advocated receiving 90 million silver compensation from the Japanese state.
Although it was paid off in twenty years, for the Ming Dynasty, it was equivalent to passing all the consumption of the war onto the Japanese country.
In comparison, the three cities ceded by Japan did not seem so important.
The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty didn't care much about other trade rights.
As for consular rights, it goes without saying that they are matters related to the common people, or to be precise, businessmen.
Even now, merchants have an extremely low status in the eyes of court officials. That is to say, His Highness Taisun will seek some benefits for them because of his status as a former merchant.
When the envoys of the Japanese state, holding the Japanese credential in their hands, knelt three times and kowtowed nine times outside the Fengtian Hall and slowly entered the court, this also meant that the subsequent wars gave Ming officials a new perspective.
That is sufficient compensation.
It seems that some saints say something about generosity, tolerance, etc. It seems that there is no compensation to make people feel more comfortable.
That's 90 million silver.
Such a huge amount made every courtier feel suffocated.
"Today is really a special day." Zhu Ying couldn't help but sigh with some meaning.
Behind him, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly.
He thought that Da Sun was talking about how the bad breath he had when the Ming Dynasty was founded was finally completely cleared today, so he smiled and said:
"Today is indeed a special day."
Seeing that the Japanese envoy had knelt down in the Fengtian Hall, holding up the Japanese credential on a wooden tray with both hands, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded lightly to Liu He, the eunuch and eunuch in charge of the ceremony.
Liu He immediately took out the jade seal, carefully opened the silk wrapped on it, and respectfully presented it to His Highness Taisun.
Zhu Ying picked up the jade seal, walked down from the Jinluan Hall, and walked step by step in front of the Japanese envoy Yuan Youxin.
Open the Japanese credential above and you will see the specific compensation conditions written in Japanese and Chinese.
On the lower right, the seal of Japan has been stamped.
When Zhu Ying picked up the jade seal and stamped it on the Japanese credential, it meant that this historic scene had been completed.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face showed no trace of excitement at this moment.
Many ministers all knelt on the ground and shouted three times:
Long live the Ming Dynasty, long live your Majesty!
!
No matter how kind-hearted Zhu Ying is, no matter how big things happen, she is calm and calm. When she heard this call, her face became a little flushed.