In the evening, the rain that had been holding for many days finally fell. Thousands of raindrops washed away the sweltering heat of the past few days, falling on the river and splashing millions of water splashes.
Experienced boat owners all know that this is just a prelude to heavy rain. It has been cloudy for so many days in this season, and there will definitely be a heavy rain. So they all drove their boats to the shore, and no one dared to sail on a night of heavy rain.
Soon, there were almost no boats on the busy river, and there was only an inconspicuous official boat of 400 materials, still sailing upstream in the wind and rain without knowing whether to live or die.
The passengers on the official boat were even more strange. Except for the two Ming Dynasty officials wearing green official robes, everyone from the boat driver to the boat passengers were short Japanese with long hair and clogs...
They were a tribute mission sent by the Southern Dynasty of Japan to the Ming Dynasty, led by a monk named Ruyao. The tribute mission entered the country from Ningbo, and with the help of Zhejiang Chief Envoy Peng Geng, they obtained a survey issued by the Hai Zheng Yamen.
Under the arrangement of Lin Xian, the commander of the Ningbo Guard, he transferred to the official ship of the Ming Dynasty, led by two officials from Zhejiang, and came to Nanjing to pay tribute.
There were many irregularities in the whole process. For example, according to regulations, the number of foreign missions entering the country could not exceed fifty people, and the rest had to wait at the port of entry.
The Japanese mission exceeded the stipulated number by an unknown number of times, but it still entered the country safely. This was the role of Hu Weiyong in sending Peng Geng to Zhejiang.
Moreover, the five hundred Ming troops who were called escorts but were actually monitoring the mission were all Lin Xian's subordinates. Not only would they not stop them, they would also act with them.
Seeing that the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty had arranged things so well, Monk Ruyao's heart was relieved a little.
Although the two divine winds during the Yuan Dynasty eliminated Japan's deep fear of the Celestial Empire, this was the first time since Japan became a state that it sent troops deep into the Celestial Empire and participated in a coup against the Celestial Emperor.
If things go smoothly, he and these five hundred warriors will naturally go down in history and become Japan's national heroes. But if they fail, not only will they all die, but even Prince Huairiang who sent him will die.
The entire Southern Dynasty would suffer disaster.
~~
Perhaps in the eyes of the people of the Ming Dynasty, four to five hundred assassins were not too many. Even if the conspiracy was exposed and the entire army was wiped out, it would not be a great loss to a country.
But in Japan, especially in the struggling Southern Dynasties, these four to five hundred assassins would definitely cost them everything.
Although Japan has a large population, its productivity is very low and it cannot afford to support many professional soldiers. Therefore, it implemented a military system of "integration of soldiers and farmers". Ordinary soldiers are actually farmers. They usually plant rice and farm in the fields.
To join the front line, you have to bring your own weapons, which are purely consumables.
There is no training at all, the combat effectiveness is very low, and they are completely unqualified for such a difficult task.
Therefore, the five hundred 'warriors' in the mission are all well-trained professional warriors who are not afraid of death. Although most of them are low-level warriors, they serve as low-level officers who lead the charge during wartime, and their number is very limited.
Also extremely valuable.
Especially for the Southern Dynasty, which retreated to the barren Kyushu, these five hundred warriors were almost half of their family wealth. If they never returned, it would be a devastating blow to the Southern Dynasty.
But why did Prince Huai Liang go bankrupt and support Hu Weiyong's rebellion?
Because the confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties in Japan has reached its final stage, the Muromachi Shogunate of the Northern Dynasties, led by the contemporary general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, is flourishing and has unified Honshu and Shikoku, forming an absolute advantage over the Southern Dynasties.
On the contrary, the talents of the Southern Dynasty were withering, everyone was rebellious and separated, and there was no way to save the day. Therefore Ashikaga Yoshimitsu did not rush to cross the Kanmon Strait, but hoped that the Southern Dynasty could recognize the situation and surrender voluntarily. According to the Japanese, it is called 'peace'
fit'.
After all, Japan’s orthodox royal family was in the Southern Dynasties.
This caused the power of the "peace faction" in the Southern Dynasty to rise rapidly, and even the "Crown Prince" began to discuss surrender in private.
The situation of Prince Huairiang, the leader of the 'arbitrary faction', is extremely dangerous. The Emperor of the Southern Dynasties is still hesitating. Once the 'Emperor' cannot withstand the pressure, he will give way to the 'Crown Prince'. The first thing the Crown Prince will do after he ascends the throne is
Just order him to commit suicide and then seek peace with the Northern Dynasty.
At this time, Hu Weiyong sent Lin Xian to find the Southern Dynasty, hoping that they would send troops to help assassinate the emperor. He promised to vigorously assist the Southern Dynasty after the incident was completed, and to send troops to help the Southern Dynasty resist the "Northern invaders".
Other countries may sneer at this proposal, but it is a great temptation for the Japanese who have extreme adventurism in their hearts. Especially the desperate Prince Huairiang, not only agreed, but also carefully selected five hundred samurai to gamble.
Trying to make a comeback in the National Games in one fell swoop!
One can imagine the pressure on Monk Ruyao's shoulders. After entering the country, he had been very nervous and kept asking Ming officials when they would land ashore, what the strength of the Ming army was, and their specific action plans, etc.
In fact, the two officials were equally nervous. They kept staring at the shore and ignored Ruyao.
"I saw it." One of them said solemnly.
"Yes." The other person also nodded. Through the rain curtain, he saw the "pin" shape on the shore, and three lights were set up, which was the agreed response signal.
"Get to the shore!" the leader ordered to Ruyao.
Ruyao nodded, gave instructions in Japanese, and asked in fluent Chinese: "How far can we go after we get ashore? The poor monk has to tell the warriors."
"After landing, those who followed us will arrive at the hot spring palace almost twenty miles south." At this time, the other party was willing to answer his question: "It's only half of the mountain road, so we have to hurry up and reach the Hot Spring Palace before the third watch.
On the mountain outside, we launched an attack at the fourth watch and ended the battle before dawn."
"I don't have any special plan. I just rush into the palace and kill everyone I see, leaving no one alive." The other one said fiercely.
"How many guards are there outside the palace, and how effective are they in fighting?" Although Ruyao is a monk, she is the leader of the monk corps. She has been fighting for half her life, so she naturally knows that she needs to know herself and the enemy.
"There are four guards and horses, approximately more than 22,000 people." The first official replied: "They are all the most elite soldiers of the Emperor of Ming Dynasty."
"..." Ruyao asked solemnly: "What about us?"
"There are one thousand people here, and there are two thousand people meeting at the front." Another official replied. This was also the reason why they did not reveal the truth to Ruyao before, because they were afraid that this bunch of little Japanese would retreat.
As expected, Ruyao was immediately silenced, so she asked someone to bring her Ji Dao and chop these two Ming Guo bastards.
"I know you are in a hurry, but don't worry yet." The leading official said quickly: "The four guards are guarding the Hot Spring Palace on all sides. There are not many people in the palace. The commander of one of the guards is ours.
, he will open a passage for you tonight, allowing you to sneak in without anyone noticing, and kill everyone in the hot spring palace."
