Nan Ming Sun Never Sets

Chapter 397 Negotiations of the Shogunate

The Ming army occupied Nagasaki and blatantly unfurled the flag of Ming Dynasty in Nagasaki, which shocked Japan greatly.Whether it is the famous people in Kyushu Island, or the Tokugawa shogunate in Tokyo far away, they are all very surprised by the sudden enemy.As an island country, Japan is isolated overseas and rarely encounters foreign invasion.That is, during the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan army invaded, and the war was finally won by Japan's convenience in terms of subjective and objective conditions.Therefore, in the traditional concept of the Japanese, they are the only ones who invade other countries, and it is impossible for them to be invaded by other countries.

However, with the rise of the Ming Dynasty, various new weapons emerged one after another. Even in Japan, we have heard many stories about the Ming Dynasty's restoration army defeating the Qing army and winning more with less.Even when the Ming merchant ship arrived in Japan later, the Japanese were astonished by its huge size and fast speed.Japan was already lagging behind Ming Dynasty in many technologies, and many Japanese people did not fully understand the advantages of technology, so they were only shocked and did not have any consequences.

A few people of insight proposed to make good friends with Ming Dynasty, imitate the old example of sending Tang envoys to learn various advanced culture, weapons and shipbuilding technology of Nanming, but basically no Japanese, from top to bottom, would think that one day Daming will come to Japan.

For two to three thousand years, the impression given to the Japanese by the Han people is that they are graceful and grand, a powerful nation that doesn’t like to fight easily, and it’s easy to get along with such a nation, taking advantage of it when it’s weak, and admiring it when it’s strong. Cowardly, coupled with his unique geographical location, this method can be said to be tried and tested.

But no one really thought that Daming really came to Japan. Although there were not many troops, he was very determined. After occupying Nagasaki, he would not leave.

Before the Ming Dynasty warned the Tokugawa shogunate about the Ryukyu Kingdom, neither the shogunate nor the Satsuma clan took it seriously, but now, the Ming Dynasty regained the Ryukyu, set up the Ryukyu Propaganda Department, and landed in Nagasaki, defeating the Hundreds of shogunate troops.

The current fourth generation general of the Tokugawa shogunate, Tokugawa Iezuna, actually has some intellectual problems, and is weak and sick, and rarely able to take care of things. The current power of the shogunate is controlled by the elder Sakai Tadaki.Tadaki Sakai handles government affairs, basically discussing with several veterans of Tokugawa Ietsuna, and the general himself is more like a rubber stamp.

In the Edo shogunate, Sakai Tadaki invited another veteran, Abe Tadaaki, to discuss.Abe Tadaki was a highly trusted retainer from the time of the previous shogun Iemitsu. After the fourth shogun succeeded to the throne, he also brilliantly solved the attempted ronin rebellion.Abe Tadaki's knack for handling affairs and his unique approach are discussed in many notebook novels from Japan's Edo period.

"My lord Zhongqiu, the Ming army attacked suddenly, nominally to attack the shogunate and seize Ryukyu, but I'm afraid it has malicious intentions in its heart. According to the information collected by some wealthy merchants in Kyoto, the Ming country has become very powerful. He raised troops overseas, conquered the whole land in two years, and was admired and loyal by all the people of the Ming Dynasty. He was extremely capable. Not only did Ming regain his own land at this time, but he also defeated the Dutch and Spaniards in Nanyang successively, and occupied a large amount of territory. From Burma to Luzon in the east, it has become the territory of the Ming people. Now the Ming country is strong in military power and has a great ambition to expand. When I came to Japan this time, I couldn’t help but want to repeat what Kublai Khan wanted to occupy Japan.” Sakai Chuqing came up and expressed his biggest worry.

Abe Tadaaki's face was serious, he was not young anymore, he was already relatively far away from the center of power, he did not compete with Sakai Tadaki for power, and was preparing to retire in peace, but he did not expect such a thing to happen at this time.

"Lord Zhongqing, what you fear most may be the truth. The person who led the Ming army to Japan this time is none other than Zheng Chenggong. He was born in Japan. The Zheng family has been operating in Japan for many years and is very familiar with the situation. What is most concerning is that from King Yanping to Prince, his title is King Ying, which reminds people of very bad things."

"At that time, Akito wants to invade Japan, right?" Sakai Tadakiyo said with an incredulous expression on his face.

"In any case, we all need to properly resolve this matter."

Sakai Tadaki asked: "Does Tadaki-sama think we should negotiate with the Ming Kingdom?"

"Negotiations are necessary, but we can't fully hope for them. If the intention of the Ming Dynasty is to conquer Japan, Japan must show the courage and determination to resist the Mongol attack when it was young, and maintain the shogunate with jade pieces. Face with the Emperor. Therefore, it is necessary to mobilize the forces of each domain and prepare for war." Abe Tadaki expressed very seriously.

Sakai Tadakiyoshi asked again: "So, who should be the suitable candidate for negotiation?"

"I understand Mr. Zhongqing's worries. The negotiators must be mature and prudent, and able to control the situation, so the old man is more suitable. Mr. Zhongqing needs to sit in Edo, so I, Abe Tadaaki, will go to Nagasaki in person to negotiate with Zheng. .”

After Sakai Tadaki heard this, he deeply admired Abe Tadaki's action and sense of responsibility. He knelt down and bowed to Abe Tadaki.

"Sharing the worries of the shogunate is originally the duty of the retainers."

Abe Tadaaki left Edo and went to Nagasaki with a very light luggage and a team. He went to Nagasaki to negotiate in person. On the one hand, he did not believe in the abilities of others, and on the other hand, he hoped to collect enough information about Daming.But when he came to Kansai, one piece of bad news had already arrived, casting a huge shadow on his negotiations.

"My lord, the military situation from Kyushu. The Ming army defeated the 4000 army of the Hizen Domain in Saga. The daimyo Nabeshima Mitsushige died in battle. The Nabeshima family set themselves on fire, and Kyushu was shaken."

"Did the Saga Clan fail?" Abe Tadaaki was shocked when he heard the news.In Kyushu Island, the Saga clan is already a powerful clan, not only controlling a lot of territory, but also having a lot of troops.

"How much power does the Ming army have?"

"Uh...the information is very confusing. Some say there are tens of thousands of troops, while others say that the army actually only has a few hundred."

Abe Tadaaki's brows were furrowed. If such basic information cannot be ascertained, then it will be very troublesome.

"The navy of the Ming army has blocked the waterways of Kyushu Island and other places, and many ships have been detained by the Ming army. Now people in Kyushu Island can't escape, and people outside can't get in..."

(End of this chapter)