Bright Spring

The Ouchi family seemed a little annoyed, but because the Shiba family came from the family governor, and their identities were different, the Ouchi family held back his tone and said: "If the Ming army really attacked in a big way, our country will change its national policy when the war is not good. , the situation will get worse. Not only will it damage the reputation of the general, but the national policy will be changed every day, and the trust of the world will be lost."

Shibo Yizhong said: "The people sent by the Ouchi family are as cowardly as a mouse! Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty once sent a letter of war, threatening to attack our country. If the people before were so cowardly, they would have surrendered long ago. Why don't the soldiers come to stop us?" Is there any fear?"

Ouchi said: "Guan Ling doesn't seem to understand the enemy's strength. The Ming army who attacked Tsushima was well-dressed and well-trained, and they used powerful artillery and firecrackers. Although Zong's number was small, they He has elite soldiers capable of fighting under his command, and he used to march across Kyushu with dozens of people. Have you forgotten? But Zong’s elite troops were still vulnerable to the Ming army. Hey, the enemy our country will face may be stronger than the former Yuan army."

Ashikaga Yoshichi finally said: "The countries should be prepared. In case the Ming army comes to invade, all people should unite to repel the enemy."

The two stopped their quarrel immediately, and everyone present knelt down and bowed to the general.At this time Ashikaga Yoshichi stood up and left through the side door.

Although the general didn't say it clearly, Yoshishi Akamatsu, who was present at the scene, had already realized that the general would not be easily intimidated by Ming.The advice of the Ouchi family seems to be a futile attempt.

Chi Songyi, apart from reporting official duties, did not say a word about state affairs today, and it was also because he had his own judgment.There is a lot of inside information in it, and it is impossible for the general to be willing to tell it in public.

First of all, the former general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu died in a strange manner, and it was rumored that he died of an assassination.One of the suspicions is that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu killed his father to keep the throne; the second is that the ministers of the Kamakura government are behind the scenes, thinking that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu has the ambition to usurp the emperor, so they assassinate | eradicate.At this time, Ashikaga Yoshichi did not dare to show his weak side, otherwise he might be assassinated by the opposition forces.

Secondly, when Ashikaga Yoshichi first took office, under the request of the powerful guardian and "confidant general", he rejected the request of the Ming Dynasty to entrust him, and established a national policy of not proclaiming himself a vassal to the Ming Dynasty.If one is slightly threatened at this time, if the national policy is changed immediately, it is a manifestation of changing orders and losing authority.

In fact, General Ashikaga Yoshichi is now in trouble, so he can only continue to be tough.That's why the Muromachi Palace ordered the arrest of the envoys of the Ming Dynasty and others.

From Ashikaga Yoshimitsu to Yoshichi, the two generations of generals are trying to weaken the guardian daimyo who is too powerful, and want to strengthen the prestige of Muromachiden.If it is too easy to succumb to foreign enemies now, many years of management efforts will be wasted, and Ashikaga Yoshichi, who has worked hard to manage, will definitely not be reconciled.

Chi Songyi believes that the general's determination may be correct.

Even if the superior makes a wrong decision, as long as he sticks to it wholeheartedly, he may be able to maintain the rule of the country better than swinging left and right.

Chapter 795 New Enmity and Old Debt

After the Ming army wiped out the Zong family and the Japanese pirates on Tsushima Island, Qian Xili and other envoys went missing.After that, there will be no exchanges between the two countries tomorrow.

If we look at the exchanges between Daming and Japan in the second year of Taketoku according to past experience, one can speculate that most of these things will end up being nothing.During the Hongwu period, because the Japanese mission was suspected of participating in the case of Hu Weiyong, the relationship between the countries was once tense, but there was no result.

Because the water is far away and the road is far away, it is inconvenient to travel; and it is difficult for the imperial court of any country to go to war just because of right or wrong in reason and the joy and anger of the upper class.After all, the cost is too high, and the price is too high.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Annan Kingdom, Japan, and various chieftains in the southwestern border have provoked the Ming court many times, but they have never done anything.Only Emperor Taizong urgently needed to show his martial arts, and judged that there was an opportunity to take advantage of the Hu clan's turmoil in An Nanguo; because of the attack on the troops escorting Chen Tianping, he launched a large-scale campaign to conquer Annan Guo.

Therefore, the upper echelons of Japan may also think that there will be no war.However, Japan seems to have misjudged the situation this time.Zhu Gaoxu's decision to launch the war against the sun was not mainly because of issues such as the detention of envoys. His reasons are difficult for the world to understand.

Nearly a month has passed since the second court meeting.

Under the emperor's determination, another group of confidants supported Zhu Gaoxu and made suggestions for him, so the court finally decided to start a war against Japan.

There are still many voices of opposition in the court. Some ministers advocate that the focus of military affairs should be placed in the direction of Mongolia, and wars should not be fought on all sides;

The imperial edict was also promulgated, which accused Japan's Muromachiden of twenty major crimes, old and new.Including covering up Japanese pirates to plunder soldiers and civilians, illegally detaining Daming envoys, massacring |

At the same time, the imperial court sent envoys to Seoul, North Korea, and ordered the king of North Korea, Li Fangyuan: at the latest, before the first day of April in the third year of Takede, he should stockpile food and grass for an army of [-] troops in Busan Town for March.And before July [-]st, continue to dispatch another March grain.And the Ming court will reward the Korean king with gifts.Both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households sent officials to North Korea to supervise the actual implementation of this matter.

Then the Ministry of War issued a military order to deploy the naval fleet to capture Iki Island before the end of Taketoku [-], and build bastions and warehouses in the port.

After the eunuch Wang Jinghong's sea-going fleet returned to Beijing, the existing main fleet of the Ming Dynasty has been gathered in Liujia Port and Longjiang Port in Taicang.The imperial court expects that the main land and water force to conquer Japan will set sail in early March next year.

The ministers summed up the reasons for the failure of the Yuan army's expedition to Japan many times, and chose to start in early March. One is because the monsoon is favorable for sailing, and the other is because there are few typhoons on the west coast of Japan in March and April.

In terms of food and grass supply, the Ming court joined forces with North Korea to take charge of food and supplies, and made long-term and adequate preparations.

Compared with the Yuan army's hasty dispatch, underestimating the enemy hastily, and the conquest army composed of a large number of captives and surrendered troops, and the sea ships made up of flat sand ships, their ability to withstand wind and waves is very poor; this time the Ming army is obviously not good at coming.

The warships of the Daming navy are all kinds of excellent sea ships specially used for navigation. The sharp-bottomed ships are stable and strong; the navy has sailed several times, has rich sailing experience, and has navigation techniques including star positioning, chart drawing, etc. .The [-] soldiers of the Lu Division are also the elite of the Beijing camp; they also had experience in landing operations when they attacked the Qinghua Mansion of An Nanguo.

Now the imperial court is going to choose a well-known good general to lead this army, so that they can launch a well-prepared attack on Japan.

Of course, Zhu Gaoxu would not personally conscript. This time he didn't need the minister's persuasion, and he himself didn't want to take risks.Zhu Gaoxu dared to go deep into the grassland to march north, but he was unwilling to go to sea.Even though the ships of the Ming army were large and stable, in this era, the risk of sailing was still very high, because from Zheng He to Wang Jinghong, the ships and men were damaged every time they went to sea.

Wang Jinghong, who returned to China this year, even brought back a group of Ming army officers and soldiers who disappeared several years ago.It was a few sea ships from the Yongle era. After being lost and capsized in the wind and waves, people floated to a small island off the coast of Siam.When Wang Jinghong's fleet found them, those Ming army officers and soldiers almost became savages, and some even married natives on the island and gave birth to children, and they were all taken back to the capital.Most of the soldiers have families in the country, and the native women have no choice but to be concubines.

Now that the court's decision has been completed, what Zhu Gaoxu can do is to wait for the progress of the matter.

Only then did he start to do what he promised before, promise Qin and Concubine Xian, and find a way to redeem Yao Fang and others.

In Dongnuan Pavilion, Zhu Gaoxu summoned Hu Wei alone, and ordered Hu Wei to take charge of one thing.

"This matter cannot be done in the name of the imperial court, and the Yao family is not appropriate. Hu Butang went to meet with the Qian family and asked their family to send a few people to Hakata Port by boat to deliver the letter of redemption to the Japanese government. You tell the Qian family that the ransom will be raised by the scholars in the court. But in fact, there is no need for everyone to contribute money, if the matter is settled, I am willing to allocate the money from the inner government."

Hu Wei said: "I will definitely settle this matter."

At this moment, the eunuch Wang Gui walked to the side of the screen and stood there bowed.Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu beckoned.

Wang Gui stepped forward, presented an envelope, and said, "My lord, the General Secretary has received the official document from the prefect of Laizhou Prefecture, and the letter inside is signed by Yao Fang. The slave thinks that the lord may want to read it as soon as possible." to this letter."

When Hu Yan heard this, he also looked sideways.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately tore open the envelope, and took out the letter paper from inside to read.

Yao Fang's letter was sent from Busan Town, and was sent to Wendeng County, Laizhou Prefecture by sea via Korean officials, and then passed on to the capital by officials of Laizhou Prefecture.

It turned out that Yao Fang was not arrested.After the group of them arrived in Hakata Port, they went to Kasuya County. Yao Fang sensed something was wrong at that time, but persuaded Qian Xili to no avail.Yao Fang tried her best to find the Japanese Ouchi Sheng she knew before, got a warning from Ouchi Sheng, and accepted Ouchi Sheng's asylum and hiding.

After Yao Fang promised Da Nei Sheng 200 million copper coins, she went to Busan Town, North Korea after several twists and turns.

Although the friendship between Yao Fang and Ouchi Sheng is limited, it is a fact that Ouchi Sheng saved Yao Fang.Therefore, Yao Fang intends to keep his promise and try to raise 200 million copper coins, which will be brought back by Da Neisheng.

Because Yao Fang had to raise money, Yao Fang didn't go back to China right away, so she wrote a letter back first.

Yao Fang is going to seek to see Concubine Zhuang's father, Li Fanggan, through Daming's officials in North Korea, and to borrow money from Li Fanggan.After returning to China, they will raise money to return the debt to Li Fangqian.

After reading the letter, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help showing a gleam of joy on his face.He glanced at Hu Wei who was still in front of the case, and then handed the letter to Hu Wei.

Although Yao Fang has caused troubles for Zhu Gaoxu, somehow Zhu Gaoxu does not dislike this person; besides, Yao Fang is still Yao Ji's elder brother, and he has been busy with Zhu Gaoxu's affairs before and now.

"Yao Fang is still very alert, she deserves to have worked in Jinyiwei for many years." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Hu Wei echoed: "What the Holy Majesty said is very true." After he finished speaking, he still didn't intend to leave, as if he was waiting for something.

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly said: "The thing that I just said just now still has to be done. Qian Xili is my disciple, and he is also in danger for the Ming Dynasty. He should try his best to rescue him."

Hu Yu bowed and said: "I obey the order, thank you for your resignation."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Wang Gui, handed the letter over and said, "Send it to Xianfei Palace, so that Xianfei can feel at ease earlier. Then send an eunuch to Pingyihou's Mansion and tell Qin."

Wang Gui held Fuchen in his arms and said, "Your maid obeys the order."

...In Concubine Xian's palace, after Yao Ji finished reading the letter, her heart felt as if a big stone had fallen from her heart, but she said to Wang Gui: "My elder brother never lets me worry."

Wang Gui accompanied him with a smile and said: "Finally, the danger has been saved. This matter is better than anything else. It is also his blessing that Yao Fang has a sister like Xianfei. The Marquis of Pingyi is reporting safety, please be at ease, Concubine Xian."

Yao Ji said: "It's also thanks to Concubine Zhuang's father. Even if it's thousands of miles away, it's a good thing to have someone to take care of you."

Yao Ji sent someone to send Wang Gui, the eunuch who was in charge of ceremonies, away, and then walked around Xianfei Palace for a while.