Ashikaga Yoshimitsu finally decided to fake peace talks to buy time for shipbuilding.
The tricks to delay time are nothing more than arguing over the location, time, candidates, and terms of the negotiation, and repeatedly asking for instructions. As long as you are determined to delay, you can talk for as long as you want.
It's a pity that the Ming Dynasty people did not follow the routine. While they sent civilian officials to negotiate, the army was not idle either. They launched a "spring offensive" against the Northern Dynasties. They went north along the west coast of Honshu Island, attacked all the ports they passed, and burned all the ports they encountered.
of all ships.
These are okay, but the terrible thing is that as a large island formed by the movement of the earth's crust, most of the flat land is on the coast, and so are the towns and population. And except for a few castles, they are basically wooden buildings. The Ming army used return cannons to throw sulfur
bomb, and then launch the rocket to ignite it, it will soon turn into a sea of fire...
In this way, more than a dozen towns were burned in a row, which made people all over Honshu Island panic. No one dared to live on the seaside. Everyone, regardless of high or low, hid in the mountains.
The guardian daimyo of various countries were helpless and could only angrily attack the shogunate, accusing the shogunate of failing to protect the country.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was unable to exert all his strength, because the Ming army was operating along the coast and did not go deep into the inland. He could only step up his efforts to urge the shipbuilding, and at the same time ask General Shiba, who was in charge of the negotiations, to express the strongest protest and demand that the Ming army stop immediately.
attack to avoid damaging the peace talks.
Han Yike, the negotiator of the Ming Dynasty, expressed his helplessness and said that in our country, the military is superior to the civil servants, and our civil servants have no control over the generals. If you want to avoid being attacked, it is better to hurry up the peace talks and reach an agreement as soon as possible.
General Si Boyi is so depressed. If we can reach an agreement earlier, why should I delay? But if I delay, the Ming army will continue to attack the coast and drive me to death.
~~
The Ming Dynasty was in a hurry to get angry, but the Ming Dynasty was not impatient. Following His Highness the King of Chu's policy of "You talk about yours, I'll fight mine. Long-range strikes, safety first", they carried out a step-by-step fire attack on the coast of Japan.
Attack, basically never made it to shore.
The only exception was the landing and occupation of Sado Island. Anyone who has played Japanese Warring States games knows the famous Sado Gold Mountain. If Iwami Ginzan supported Japan's Azuchi Momoyama era, Sado Gold Mountain supported the entire Edo period.
When this gold mountain was mined, the Tokugawa shogunate began to rule Japan. More than two hundred years later, this gold mountain gradually dried up, and the shogunate also declined. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the cornerstone of Japan's long-term stability.
But during the current Muromachi shogunate period, although there has been a history of silver mining here, it is obvious that Jinshan, which will shock the whole of Japan in the future, has not yet been discovered, and it is still famous as the place where the emperor was exiled.
Therefore, the Ming army effortlessly occupied this large island with a population of less than 10,000 people, and declared Sado Island to be the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the residents of the island automatically became the overseas subjects of the Ming Dynasty.
The people of Sado Island were originally descendants of exiles and had no feelings for Japan. Now they can actually become subjects of the Ming Dynasty. Even though they are inferior overseas subjects, it is pie in the sky and no one will agree.
The islanders competed to provide food and other services to the Ming army. When they heard that they were looking for gold mines, they actively provided clues and took the initiative to lead the way. They were ten times more enthusiastic than the ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty.
At first, the Ming army was cautious, fearing that they might hide their knives behind their smiles and attack them later. But later they discovered that they were sincere...
As if overnight, Sado Island completely severed ties with Japan.
~~
Zhu Zhen was also very concerned about this chicken that could lay golden eggs, and asked Zhu He to hire a gold-hunting master from China and send him to Sado Island for on-site inspection.
After receiving His Highness's order, Zhu He did not dare to neglect. Within a month, he recruited a hundred gold-hunting masters from all over the country and personally sent them to Japan.
His Highness the King of Chu also attaches great importance to these gold-hunting masters, and actually personally helps them to clean up the dust, and encourages them to search for gold diligently. As long as they find gold mines, they will be rewarded heavily.
These old masters who had never seen the world were so moved that they wished they could immediately find the gold mine for His Highness.
Of course Lao Liu said there was no rush, and asked them to rest in Dazaifu for a few days before assigning them tasks.
After the banquet, Lao Liu met Zhu He and Shen Rong who came with him alone.
"Can't find gold mines for so many years, are these people reliable?" Only now did he have something to say, no longer hiding it. He was mainly worried that the Ming Dynasty gold mines would be exhausted and the skills of the masters would deteriorate.
"Don't worry, Your Highness." Shen Rong hurriedly reassured him: "It's not that the skill of the master is low, it's that after so many years of digging, it's almost exhausted. Now gold can still be mined from residual mines in various provinces across the country, all thanks to these Master Xunjin’s experience is holding me back.”
"That's right." Zhu He quickly agreed: "Japan has only mined gold and silver for a few years, and the mines are very shallow. In the eyes of these gold-hunting masters who often search for tens of feet deep in China, it is still not as good as white. Give the same one? I’m sure you’ll find the right one.”
"Well, let's look for it first." Lao Liu thought about it and told Zhu He, "I'll leave the mining matters in Japan to you."
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I will search Sado Island for you and find the gold mine for Your Highness." Zhu He hurriedly patted his chest and said.
"We cannot rush for quick success, but we must take a long-term view and cultivate a strong gold-hunting team." Zhu Zhen said earnestly: "We not only want to find gold and silver mines on Sado Island, but also all over Japan, and we will continue to look for gold and silver mines in the future. world, let the gold and silver of the world be used for my use!”
"His Highness always has such a long-term vision." Zhu He praised with admiration: "I am truly lucky to be able to serve His Highness like you."
"Okay, stop flattering me." Lao Liu laughed and scolded: "I've been sick to my stomach lately. I need some scolding from scholars to moderate it."
"Hehehe..." Shen Rong and Zhuhe could only apologize, how could they dare to take this kind of trouble.
"In addition, you have to choose a site to build a large-scale metallurgical plant on Sado Island." Zhu Zhen then ordered Zhu Hedao: "Not only the gold and silver mines on Sado Island, but also the ores we mine throughout Japan will be sent to Let’s concentrate on smelting here.”
"Yes." Zhu He nodded in agreement.
"This will facilitate management, secondly it will help keep the technology confidential, and thirdly it will effectively prevent various mining areas from lining their pockets." Zhu Zhen patiently explained to Zhu He.
"Understood." Zhu He is a smart person, so he naturally understands. I won't mention the first two points, but let's just talk about the third point. In fact, gold and silver ore itself is not very valuable because the content is too low.
Generally, two thousand kilograms of silver ore contains only two taels of silver. The content of gold ore is even lower. And with Japan's primitive smelting technology, the refining is wasteful, so no one will take the idea of the ore.
.
If you ask them to steal, they won't even bother to steal.
