Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

As soon as Jiang Xinghuo heard the word "Japan".

Combined with Zhu Gaoxu's twinkling eyes.

Having already known Zhu Gaoxu's true identity, he knew that the previous events about Ishimi Yinshan and Sado Jinshan had probably reached the ears of the upper echelons of the Ming Empire.

Perhaps, if Zhu Di had better execution ability, he would have sent an envoy to Japan to check it out at this time.

Etc., etc

messenger?

Past memories began to appear in Jiang Xinghuo's mind.

Li Jinglong, this guy, wouldn’t lie to me and say he was going to Ryukyu. He was actually going to Japan, right?

Thinking about it this way, many details that I had never paid attention to in the past were instantly connected.

Thinking of Li Jinglong's state of mourning before departure, Jiang Xinghuo couldn't help but cross his hands in embarrassment and rubbed his fingers.

If I don't mention Japan's gold and silver, according to the original development of the historical line, Li Jinglong should not have been sent to any foreign country, so there is a high probability that he really went to Japan.

But fortunately, the old fox Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was in power at this time. Because he coveted the Kanhe trade, his attitude towards the Ming Dynasty was very friendly, so there should be no danger to his life.

However, Japan at this time seems to be a very suitable example.

After all, for things like geographical temples, it is necessary to give examples of countries that students can understand. Otherwise, if you use Dai Ying as an example, others will not understand, right?

Although Jiang Xinghuo's elective course on Japanese history was not very good, he still vaguely remembered that Japan's Warring States Period began with the famous Onin Rebellion of the East-West Army.

The Yingren Rebellion is more than sixty years from now.

In other words, Japan, which had just ended the confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, had actually already laid the seeds of unrest for the rebellion between the Eastern and Western armies.

So if you follow the theory of geopolitical balance, can you ignite the fuse of unrest in Japan in advance and rekindle Japan, a powder keg with deep conflicts among all classes that was only temporarily suppressed by the powerful Ashikaga Yoshimitsu?

Jiang Xinghuo thought for a moment and felt that it was possible!

When Jiang Xinghuo thought that he might be able to bring Japan into the Warring States Period more than sixty years earlier, Jiang Xinghuo felt that his merits were immeasurable.

After all, if we follow the derivation of the unipolar tube, it would be impossible for the Monkeys to invade Lee's Korea without ending Japan's Warring States Period. Without this, Shi Wanli would not have resisted Japan and aided Korea. Without resisting Japan and aiding Korea, the Liaodong Frontier Army of the Ming Dynasty would not have The Liaodong frontier army will be seriously injured. If the Liaodong frontier army is not seriously injured, it will not be able to take advantage of the situation.

In short, even if this unipolar theory were not used to provoke a civil war in Japan, it would indeed reduce a lot of trouble for China.

Just when Zhu Gaoxu was feeling quite uneasy, Jiang Xinghuo finally spoke.

"Japan is a good example."

"Do you know anything about the temple situation in Japan?"

Although Zheng He had also seen the intelligence sent back from Japan by spies, his role at this time was that of a bandit, so it was hard to say that he had that much knowledge, so he looked at Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu had no idea, but he was the one who asked the question, so he had no choice but to put it on the shelf.

"Have heard a little bit, a little bit."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said, "Well, it doesn't matter, let's just talk."

"We analyze specific issues in detail, and follow the theory of geopolitical balance, and apply them to Japan one by one to see which ones are suitable for Japan today."

"Principle one, divide and conquer."

"First of all, Japan at this time had the basis of divide and conquer. Why? The reason is also very simple, because Japan has just ended their Northern and Southern Dynasties era, which is somewhat similar to the unification of the Sui Dynasty in China, but there are still deep-rooted local Conflicts among various forces.”

At this point, Zhu Gaoxu finally understood.

Zheng He also answered: "That is to say, just like the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, and the Sui Dynasty inherited from the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Southern Chen Dynasty, although the country was destroyed, due to the long-term war, culture and customs The differences in the country make it appear to be a unified country, but the seeds of internal division have been sown long ago, or in other words, they have never been bridged."

Zhu Gaoxu twisted his beard and said: "I heard Mr. Shu's Pinghua. The story of the heroes in the late Sui Dynasty is that the Guanlong clan gained power and vigorously suppressed the nobles of the Northern Qi and Southern Chen. The aristocratic families that had been prime ministers in Hebei and Jiangnan in the Sui Dynasty At that time, he could not even be a minor official. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty dug the Grand Canal and conquered Goguryeo three times, which exhausted the people and material resources of the Northern Qi and Southern Chen hometowns, so the trend of disintegration was already there."

"exactly."

Jiang Xinghuo continued: "Moreover, not only were there conflicts between the forces of the Southern and Northern Dynasties before, but if the three islands of Japan (Hokkaido has not yet been developed) are considered as a whole, then the conflicts between the west and the east on many issues are also very profound. , for example, their attitude towards Ming Dynasty is completely different."

"Why?"

"Because the specific conditions in the east are different from those in the west. The west is close to the Ming Dynasty, Korea, and Ryukyu. They hope to do business more. The daimyo in the west, such as the Matsuura clan, Otomo clan, Ouchi clan, Kono clan, etc., if they use the divide and rule method method, then they are all candidates to win over, because they know deeply about the power of the Ming Dynasty and the huge profits from ocean trade."

"As for eastern Japan, the Uesugi, Ogasawara, Hojo, and Takeda clans know little about the Ming Dynasty, or they are more willing to obtain wealth from Japanese farmers rather than carry out maritime trade, and their autonomy is relatively strong .”

"Or in other words, the east and west parts of Japan are suitable for dividing and conquering, while the middle area is suitable as a battlefield for them to strangle."

——————

"record!"

Zhu Di ordered in a deep voice.

Currently, spies belonging to different espionage systems in the Japanese mission are continuously delivering messages through ships between Ningbo Port in the Ming Dynasty and Hirado Port under the jurisdiction of the Matsuura clan in Japan.

A big name like the Matsuura family, who relied on piracy to maintain their wealth and income, now had legitimate trade, and instead became the most active in combating piracy.

No one has trouble with money, especially Mr. Matsuura who knows that if he doesn't do something, others will do it, and then the benefits will not be his.

It’s such an honor to be Ming Dynasty’s dog!

Therefore, Zhu Di's understanding of Japan began to gradually increase.

"Mr. Jiang is right, and judging from the size of the population, it is almost impossible for the Ming Dynasty to conquer Japan at once. If it is possible to achieve it, divide and conquer is indeed a good way."

What I want to say here is that the population of Japan at this time exceeded 10 million, and the Ming Dynasty, which had gone through four years of war and chaos, had a population of 66 million. Of course, there were many runaways and hermits. Yes, perhaps the real population number can reach about 80 million.

But can Japan's land area be compared with that of Ming Dynasty?

Therefore, the population density of Japan is actually far higher than that of the Ming Dynasty, and these tens of millions of people, not to mention tens of millions of people, even tens of millions of pigs cannot be killed!

Once the group rebels, Zhu Di will have to weigh whether the hundreds of thousands of troops under his command are enough.

Moreover, Zhu Di could not send too many troops to conquer Japan, otherwise the country would be unstable.

What's more, Japan at this time was different from the Ming Dynasty in terms of race, culture, customs, language, etc., and it was even more impossible to assimilate in a short time.

Therefore, divide and conquer is indeed a good approach.

"Divide and conquer the east and west, Li Shangshu, I will teach you how to prepare for this. The Ministry of Rites will come up with a strategy and the relevant information will be sent to you."

Li Zhigang's expression perked up. His character was his character and his ability was his ability. Li Zhigang still had the ability to do things, especially things that could greatly reveal his face and greatly increase his power.

A real man cannot live without power for a day. Who would despise himself for having more power?

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Li Zhigang looked at the wall with burning eyes.

This inexplicable journey to prison was really the right time.

The prisoner named "Jiang Xinghuo" on the other side of the wall is really the savior of his career!

Thinking of this, Li Zhigang actually felt a little grateful to Jiang Xinghuo.

——————

Jiang Xinghuo didn't know that across the wall, the Minister of Rites of the Ming Dynasty was feeling grateful for him.

Jiang Xinghuo continued: "The second point is to cut the flesh with a knife."

"The cutting of meat here is naturally not cutting one's own flesh like Buddha cutting meat to feed to eagles, but cutting other people's flesh!"

Naturally, there was no meat on hand, but that didn't stop Jiang Xinghuo from picking up a few branches, gathering them together and placing them on the ground.

"For example, you are two forces, and in the middle is a force destined to be slaughtered, which is the fish on your chopping board. So if there is no external intervention and you are allowed to fight and rob, what will be the result?"

Zhu Gaoxu answered honestly: "Whoever grabs it belongs to whomever, or whoever grabs it will count as much."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and said: "For the forces within an enemy country, or between different enemy countries, it is naturally like this. If there is a piece of fat, everyone will salivate, so everyone can rely on their own abilities. But for the geographical balance of power, That’s not the case.”

"What should we do?" Zheng He felt as if he was about to have an enlightenment.

"Of course to be this high-status meat-carver."

Jiang Xinghuo said calmly: "There is a prerequisite for being a meat cutter, and that is to have a sharp meat cleaver in your hand."

"This meat cleaver is military power."

"In other words, I don't want this piece of meat, and it will not directly harm your interests, but this does not mean that you can arbitrarily fight for this piece of meat that I don't want. The meat cleaver is in my hand, and you must follow my wishes. When you come to divide this piece of meat, you must strive to please me and please me. Otherwise, I will be unhappy and I will give you less meat. If you are not convinced, then you must know that this meat cleaver in my hand can not only cut The meat on the chopping board can also cut your flesh."

Even Zhu Gaoxu understood this easy-to-understand explanation.

"I understand!"

Zhu Gaoxu's eyebrows were dancing and he said: "Mr. Jiang means that if some forces in Japan are weak and want to be attacked by a group, then Ming Dynasty does not need to participate in taking the meat, but how to divide this piece of meat must be decided by Ming Dynasty!"

Jiang Xinghuo also smiled and asked: "Then who do you think is the biggest piece of meat in Japan?"

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned and suddenly woke up.

"It's the shogunate!"

Jiang Xinghuo just held his hands and said nothing.

"We are just talking on paper, but we might as well think about it."

Jiang Xinghuo's eyes were distant: "If Japan is really divided and ruled from east to west, and even divided into countless small countries from east to west, and then the big piece of meat of the shogunate is also distributed by the Ming Dynasty, what will happen next?"

Zheng He pondered for a moment and said: "These small countries in the east and west of Japan will probably fight against each other endlessly, just like the Warring States Period in China."

"you are right."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "So the third article comes in handy, arms balance."

“What is an arms balance?”

"Arms balance is actually the most important part of the geopolitical balance of power diplomatic strategy."

"Because national power comes from military power, if you want to maintain the balance of power among geopolitical countries, you must maintain the balance of their military power."

"So, the real meaning of Article 3 is that Ming Dynasty will provide weapons and equipment to Japanese countries to maintain the balance of their military power."

"And this kind of provision should not be provided for free. On the contrary, it should be limited and at a high price!"

"At the same time, weapons and equipment should be sold as an expensive temple resource. It doesn't matter if you don't have money. You can use various powers to mortgage it, such as part of future taxes, tariff reductions and exemptions for Ming products, free navigation of Ming ships, and free shipping from all countries in Japan. The right to deal with Ming personnel and so on."

Well, does all of the above sound familiar?

The great powers are myself!

I didn’t expect it.

As soon as he started talking, Jiang Xinghuo continued speaking in one breath without stopping.

"Since according to our deduction, Japan has been divided into east and west, and the shogunate has been demolished, and the Ming Dynasty has also provided weapons and equipment with additional temple conditions to the Japanese countries, what should we do next?"

"The next step is the fourth one, combining vertical and horizontal lines."

"In other words, Ming Dynasty wanted to encourage the Japanese countries to form alliances and fight with each other, and while forming alliances, it also used blackmail, intimidation, support, exchange and other means to continuously break up alliances that had been maintained for too long. In this way Come, the seeds of distrust will naturally be planted in the hearts of the Japanese countries. As time goes by, the blood feud caused by mutual betrayal will become deeper and deeper until it is irreconcilable."

"After all, betrayal of allies is much more hated than enemies."

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but secretly smacked his tongue. He used to think that Mr. Jiang was a weak scholar, but now he really didn't expect that he could be so ruthless in playing diplomacy!

However, Zhu Gaoxu felt relieved when he thought of Iwami Yinshan's previous class, Mr. Jiang's hatred of Japan, and the terrible prophecy about Nanjing.

Since Mr. Jiang came to this world as a banished immortal, he naturally had his eyes opened. Knowing five hundred years in the past and five hundred years in the future is an ordinary ability. It is not impossible to understand what he sees in the future, which makes him gnash his teeth and hate him.

As Jiang Xinghuo's chief disciple, Zhu Gaoxu supported Jiang Xinghuo's idea almost unconditionally.

"Looking back, I must write down these strategies to check and balance Japan and dedicate them to my father, to fulfill Mr. Jiang's dream, so that the two junior officials will not forget what happened." Zhu Gaoxu thought silently in his heart.

"Article 5 is to support the weak."

"In other words, the core of geopolitical balance diplomacy lies in this - maintaining the balance of power!"

Jiang Xinghuo asked: "If any weakling in the melee among the Japanese countries cannot hold on, Ming Dynasty can intervene and send troops to ensure that the daimyo will not die and the country will be destroyed. Guess what are the benefits of doing so?"

Zhu Gaoxu and Zheng He thought about it for a moment, and Zhu Gaoxu said, "Maintain the balance of power?"

"It's not just that."

Zheng He thought a little deeper: "Penetration!"

"right."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "To be more precise, it's called cannibalization."

In the era of cold weapons where machine guns are not available, if you want to rely on hundreds of thousands of troops to kill all 10 million indigenous people, it is technically impossible to achieve, so you can only use cannibalization.

Well, it is not impossible to engage in some trade related to "volunteer overseas employment" in Japan, so as to alleviate the conflicts between people and land for the daimyo.

"For a country with a population of tens of millions, it is completely impossible for Ming Dynasty to swallow it in one go. It will only burst its stomach."

“But just because whales can’t swallow them doesn’t mean they can’t cannibalize them.”

"As long as we continue to support the weak and continue to station Ming troops on the soil of various Japanese countries, slowly, the upper-class nobles of the various countries will understand, and the bottom will gradually understand."

"Perhaps ten years or twenty years are not enough, but eighty, ninety, one hundred years, a few generations later, the cultural change will be completed. The local people will speak Chinese with Chinese characters from elementary school and worship Chinese culture. , eager to become a wise man.”

"And this kind of cannibalization has been carried out more and more. Slowly, the forces leaning towards the Ming Dynasty are getting stronger and stronger. Even if other countries realize it, they have abandoned the blood feud that led to the betrayal of their allies and joined forces to resist the Ming Dynasty. , I’m afraid it’s too late.”

"It's like putting a frog in hot water and the frog will jump away immediately; if you put it in warm water and burn firewood under it, the frog will be cooked before you know it."

Looking at the distant east, a frog seemed to appear in Jiang Xinghuo's eyes.