Although Lao Liu vowed that he would immediately send a fleet to the coast of Japan to retaliate against him, he seemed eager to destroy this imperial eclipse.
But the military is a major event for the country, not to mention it is the first time the Ming Dynasty has fought against a vassal state. Failure is absolutely not allowed. Otherwise, it will not be a show of authority, but a loss of reputation.
This is the season when typhoons are prevalent. Lao Liu does not want to repeat the mistakes of the Yuan Dynasty, so he must wait until after the typhoon season, that is, after October, before he can go to sea to fight.
Moreover, according to the latest information collected by the Intelligence Department of the Maritime Administration, Prince Huai Liang of Nari Dog has issued a mobilization order since July, asking the local tycoons of Kyushu to obey the unified command of the Zhengxi General's Mansion and challenge the Ming Dynasty's army.
Obviously, Huailiang also knew that his assassination operation would probably end in failure, and he had already been making preparations. In addition, Japanese pirates were everywhere on the sea, making it impossible to conduct a surprise attack.
So bragging to Boss Zhu was one thing at the time, but when it came time to actually do it, there was no rush at all. After discussion, Lao Liu finally decided to set the battle time in winter.
But the war machine has been started immediately, and full and detailed pre-war preparations must be made. The warships participating in the war must be overhauled, ammunition, military supplies, food, grass and other materials must be prepared, the combat personnel must be assembled in place, and pre-war training must be done...
It is also necessary to investigate the hydrological conditions and climate conditions of the target sea area, and collect the latest intelligence on the enemy, all of which require sufficient time.
And they have to issue an ultimatum... This is not a bandit suppression, but a sneak attack. This is a punishment battle between the superior kingdom of heaven and the subordinate nations of foreign countries. It must be famous and upright, and the opponent must be convinced of the defeat in order to achieve the effect.
So early in the Ming Dynasty, envoys were sent to Japan and scolded them in front of Emperor Changqing of the Southern Dynasty.
No matter how cowardly they were at home, the officials of the Ming Dynasty were all very successful when they went abroad. The sense of superiority of "You are a barbarian and I am an envoy of the heaven" permeated the entire Ming Dynasty. It was at the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
These tough guys set the tone.
Zhao Zhi, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites who was ordered to go on an envoy, had been entrusted by Liu Xiu to become a Japanese slave country since the Eastern Han Dynasty when Japan sent an envoy to China to ask for canonization. Since then, Japan has sent envoys to the Japanese dynasty to become ministers in all dynasties, and they were as respectful to the heaven as a son to his father.
The Celestial Empire also gave generously to Japan just like a father does to his son, imparting its own culture and civilization to Japan, so that Japan could emerge from the barbaric wilderness, grow like a monkey, and become a decent person.
However, your generation has forgotten its ancestors and is ungrateful. Instead of repaying filial piety, it has continuously sent Japanese pirates to plunder and harass the Ming Dynasty's coastal areas, and even killed and detained the envoys sent by the emperor.
Later, you sent an envoy to apologize and explain that the emperor was merciful and willing to give you another chance. Who knew that you didn't want to repent, and went even worse? You also sent assassins to participate in our country's coup in an attempt to murder the emperor. You are really capricious and extremely vicious, even though you are a beast.
Incomparable!
Then there was a quarter of an hour of extreme bad breath. Do you know why Emperor Guangwu called you the Japanese slave country? Because you have short legs and are short. The Han Dynasty records that "there are dwarves coming to court on the Lelang Sea", so you are called "Japanese".
More than a thousand years have passed, and you are still so small and insignificant. You are still arrogant and dare to call yourself the emperor. You really don’t know how high the sky is! Why don’t you indulge yourself? See if you are worthy? How worthy!
Finally, three demands were made: first, the culprit Huai Liang should be kidnapped and sent to the Ming Dynasty, and handed over to the emperor of the Celestial Dynasty; second, the emperor should go to the Ming Dynasty to plead guilty; third, the emperor should cede territory and pay compensation, with an annual loss of 10 million yuan.
, ceded all the Huai Liang fiefdoms to the Ming Dynasty as compensation...
At the end, Zhao Zhi presented the fan with the handwriting of Boss Zhu and said: "My emperor got a Japanese fan from Monk Na Ruyao, so he wrote a poem on the fan and gave it to the king, so that you can do your best."
Although the Japanese monarchs and ministers had their noses twisted with anger, they were still very curious after hearing this. Changqing ordered someone to take it and unfold it. It was just a broken Japanese fan with the inscription of Monk Ruyao on it and stains of blood. It was obviously his
Used when commanding operations.
Changqing turned over the fan, and saw that there was a silver hook and iron painting on it, which was inscribed with a poem called "Japanese Fan Xing". The stanza read:
‘…The king’s unruly people are thieves, and they disturb living beings, and the gods and ghosts are resentful. How can you know when you are sitting in a well looking at the sky, with your hair cut off and your striped clothes just for the sake of convenience?’
‘…The king and his ministers are barefooted, talking to frogs, and leaping from beams to carry out the constitution of heaven. Now I know that with one wave of control, the Japanese slaves will change like this in the future.’
"Baga!" Chang Qing threw the fan to the ground angrily, with veins pulsing on his shaved forehead.
Huai Liang, the general of Zhengxi, picked it up and looked at it. He screamed angrily and drew his sword to kill the envoy.
Zhao Zhi sat upright on the mattress, showing no fear.
Seeing that the knife was about to be cut down, there was a clanging sound but Guan Bai Ertiaojiao Lai held it with his knife, and then the two of them chatted in frog language. Huai Liang dropped the knife and left angrily.
Then Zhao Zhi was asked to go down to rest. A few days later, he was summoned by Changqing again and told him that the matter was too difficult and that he needed time to think about it.
Zhao Zhi told him that before the end of the deadline, he must take Huai Liang to Nanjing to plead guilty, otherwise the Chinese Empire would immediately launch an army as soon as the New Year was over, and by then it would not be as simple as asking for forgiveness, but the country would be destroyed.
After saying this, Zhao Zhi refused to stay, left Japan directly, and returned to the Ming Dynasty.
~~
However, neither Lao Liu nor Boss Zhu had any hope that Japan would surrender obediently. Because the contacts over the past few years have proven that the Japanese slaves are a group of capricious and cunning villains who will not shed tears until they see the coffin.
Moreover, Lao Liu knew that the political system of Japan's Southern Dynasties was similar to that of the Northern Dynasties. It was the generals who made decisions, and the emperor was just a decoration. The one who really had the final say in the Southern Dynasties was Huai Liang, the general who conquered the west. How could he hand himself over on his own?
Isn’t it surprising that the Ming envoys were not chopped off and sent out of the country with gifts like before? This proves that the situation of Huai Liang and even the Southern Dynasty is really worrying, so we try our best to avoid further angering the Ming...
Sure enough, until New Year's Eve, not a single Japanese official ship arrived in Ming Dynasty. By this time, the huge Japanese expedition fleet had been prepared for war and was ready to go.
As soon as the New Year passed in the 14th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang sent Grand Master Li Shanchang and Grand Protector Li Wenzhong to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth respectively, informing him of the legitimacy of sending troops to Japan, asking for blessings from heaven and earth, and personally presided over the swearing-in ceremony and awarded the seal sword to General Lao Liu for conquering Japan.
, ordered him to lead the army on an expedition!
Nan'an Hou Yu Tongyuan was appointed as the left deputy general, Dingyuan Hou Wang Bi was the right deputy general, Zhoushan Bo Liao Dingguo, Wuchang Bo Hu Bo, Nanchang Bo Hu Quan, Yu Tongjiang and others were appointed as deputy generals to accompany the army.
Then Zhu Yuanzhang led hundreds of officials to Longjiang Pass to see off the Japanese expedition fleet. On the broad river, they saw masts like a forest, white sails like clouds, and more than 200 large and small warships parked densely.
Half of the battleships belong to the Municipal Fleet, and the other half are from the Biwa Navy. After so many years of adjustment and adjustment, the officers and soldiers of the two fleets have frequently exchanged warships, and they are no longer distinguishable from each other.
Thirty thousand officers and soldiers lined up neatly on the deck to pay the highest respect to Emperor Hongwu on the shore. Zhu Yuanzhang had never seen such a huge fleet since the Poyang Lake water battle. He was also full of enthusiasm and loudly wished the soldiers a triumphant return.
, immediately announced the dispatch of the fleet!
"Yes!" The mighty and majestic King of the Sea, dressed in golden armor and with the Emperor's Sword hanging from his waist, responded with his fists clasped, then turned around and shouted: "Set sail!"
Amidst the rumbling drums, the soldiers shouted long live the mountains, then unloaded anchors and raised sails, skillfully maneuvered the warships, formed two columns, and sailed down the river into the East China Sea!
