prosperous age

Japanese country, under Daejeon City.

At this time, the piles of Japanese soldiers' remains had been collected.

After the first contact between the Japanese and Ming armies, the Ming army tried to make a request to the Japanese to dispose of the corpses below the city.

So, the area around Daejeon Castle was now clean, although the ground was still covered with red soil stained with blood, it was at least much better than it had been a few days before.

Ming soldiers could also hold their rifles, look at the scenery outside the city, chat and joke around.

At this moment, two miles below the city, a wooden house appeared, with Ming soldiers and Japanese soldiers, each numbering around a hundred, stationed on either side of the house.

The wooden house has doors at the front and back, and Ming soldiers guard the wooden door on the inner side of the city.

On the other side of the wooden door, Japanese soldiers stood guard.

Clearly, this is where talks were held between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.

"Our demands are simple: if we want a ceasefire, we must clear the area fifty miles east of the existing border, and Japan must not station more than a hundred troops within this area."

If your king agrees, and sends troops to patrol and confirm your stance, then we will consider holding peace talks here.

Inside the wooden house, Liu Ting's loud voice carried from inside to outside.

Although it was difficult for the Ming army to hold on, at this moment, he absolutely could not back down.

They could only speak confidently to the Japanese military commander opposite them, demanding a ceasefire and peace talks.

The existing defense line is cleared fifty li to the east, and the Ming army can send troops to patrol there to ensure that no Japanese army of more than a hundred men is stationed there. This will ensure that the area currently controlled by the Ming army will not be attacked by the Japanese pirates before they do.

This was also the precondition for peace talks proposed by Wang Xijue and Qi Jiguang after discussion.

Wang Xijue's statement, "Those who are not of our race will surely have different hearts," made them hesitant to easily believe the proposals of the Japanese and demand to first see the attitude of the Japanese.

"General Liu, we will report your country's request to the General upon our return. However, shouldn't your country also demonstrate its sincerity?"

Sitting opposite Liu Ting were Kobayakawa Takakage and Tokugawa Ieyasu; Hashiba Hideyoshi did not come in person.

At present, Hideyoshi Hashiba is the de facto ruler of Japan. Neither Katsuie Shibata nor Nobuhide Oda have the same influence in the Oda family or among the daimyo of Japan as Hideyoshi Hashiba.

Even at this time, although Tokugawa Ieyasu had already begun to collude with Shibata Katsuie, the Tokugawa family's power was still only considered mid-tier among the Japanese daimyo, and they did not possess the strength of a top-tier daimyo.

It is worth mentioning that Tokugawa Ieyasu's rise in power was largely facilitated by Hashiba Hideyoshi.

Initially, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was also on guard against Tokugawa Ieyasu, perhaps because he vaguely sensed Ieyasu's ambition. However, Tokugawa Ieyasu was always very good at acting, and he always appeared submissive to both Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, making it difficult for anyone to find an opportunity to attack him.

Therefore, after completing the unification of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose to change the Tokugawa family's fiefdom, moving them from Okazaki Castle in Mikawa to the Kanto region.

Although he lost his long-standing base of operations by being transferred to Kanto, he gained the largest territory among the outlying daimyo under the Toyotomi regime.

The expansion of territory and population did not lead to the decline of the Tokugawa clan; on the contrary, it became unstoppable, making them even more powerful and ultimately destroying the Toyotomi clan.

In the eighth year of Keicho, he was appointed Shogun and established the shogunate in Edo.

Therefore, if Toyotomi Hideyoshi had not moved Tokugawa Ieyasu to a different domain, his power might not have increased so rapidly, allowing him to quickly eliminate the Toyotomi clan and take their place.

However, at present, Toyotomi Hideyoshi still trusted Tokugawa Ieyasu, so he arranged for him and Kobayakawa Takakage to come to Ota Castle as representatives of Japan to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty.

Kobayakawa Takakage clashed with Liu Ting several times, and although he lost every time, he eventually found a way to deal with the Ming army.

Yes, at that time, Kobayakawa Takakage's hilltop defense and step-by-step strategy were the best way for Japan to deal with the fierce attacks of the Ming army.

Given that the Japanese army's firepower was inferior to that of the Ming army, this was the only countermeasure that could effectively delay the Ming army's offensive.

Otherwise, if the Mōri clan lost their territory in just half a month, at that rate, Japan would have been conquered by the Ming army in less than six months.

Meanwhile, Liu Ting, who was facing them, still maintained a nonchalant attitude and said indifferently, "Our sincerity is that we will not attack eastward within a month."

His statement was clearly meant to deceive people.

Although the weather is starting to warm up, it is still cold in the wild.

The current weather doesn't indicate whether the Ming army has the strength to continue its eastward advance. Even if it does, it certainly wouldn't set off now, but would wait until spring arrives before taking action.

However, Japan still had concerns about the strength of the Ming Dynasty.

It can be said that the fighting strength displayed by the Ming army has greatly exceeded the expectations of the Japanese daimyo.

In their early years, they looked down on the Ming Dynasty, after all, the victories of the Japanese pirates were also known in Japan.

A few dozen Japanese samurai, even those who were down on their luck, were able to roam freely across thousands of miles of Ming territory, even marching into their capital to show off their power.

They will never believe that the Chinese army has combat capabilities.

However, they were too busy with their civil war to cause trouble for the Ming Dynasty, but unexpectedly, the Ming Dynasty came looking for trouble for them.

Then, the Mori army suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Ming army, overturning the preconceived notions in the minds of the daimyo.

The shock was so great that they were stunned for a while.

After the battle at Daejeon Castle, the Ming army's formidable firearms finally convinced the Japanese that the Ming regular army was incredibly powerful and far beyond what the Japanese could withstand head-on. This led to the formal peace talks.

"General Liu, we have come with sincerity and hope to understand the reasons for your country's military intervention through peace talks."

If there is anything that my country, Japan, has done poorly, please point it out, General Liu.

Your country's army attacked and captured cities and strongholds after arriving in our country, showing no sign of being a great power.

China has always considered itself a land of propriety and etiquette. Is this how a land of propriety treats its foreign vassals?

Kobayakawa Takakage continued, saying that what they hoped for was that during the peace talks, the Ming army would guarantee not to continue its eastward advance and attack other places.

They were unsure how many Ming soldiers had arrived, what their purpose was, or whether they would continue their advance into other mines in Japan.

In fact, Japan has far more than just the Sado Gold Mine and the Iwami Silver Mine; there are gold and silver mines along almost the entire coastal area of ​​Japan.

If the Ming army had only come to loot and leave, they would have preferred to pay money rather than resort to war.

"I've come all this way, how can you say I have no sincerity?"

Liu Ting retorted sharply, "Furthermore, if I remember correctly, Japan once killed an envoy sent by our Great Ming Dynasty to Japan."

At the time, it was only because of the Emperor's mercy that no punishment was imposed, but what happened afterward? The Japanese pirates were allowed to burn, kill, and plunder in southern China.

We've come here to settle both old and new scores.

"You call yourselves vassals? Your king has never come to the capital to pay homage to my emperor. You dare call yourselves vassals? You are nothing but barbarians."

"General Liu, to be honest, our coastal areas are also harassed by pirates. The so-called Japanese pirates are really a misunderstanding of our country."

Kobayakawa Takakage quickly spoke up to defend himself.

"Hehe, but when we were suppressing the Japanese pirates, we killed countless Japanese pirates. They were real Japanese, not imposters."

Liu Ting replied coldly.

"Those were defeated warriors who became outlaws after their master fell from grace."

They only went to sea and became pirates when the government pursued them closely. They not only harassed your country, but also caused a lot of trouble to my Japan.

"Indeed, your country's suppression of the Japanese pirates helped our country eliminate the threat of sea pirates, and our country is willing to provide a sum of money as a token of our gratitude."

At this moment, Tokugawa Ieyasu also spoke.

Based on the attitude currently displayed by the Ming Dynasty, the Japanese daimyo generally believe that the Ming's visit to Japan to demand an explanation is a pretense, and their real purpose is to seize their mines. Since the mines can provide a long-term source of gold and silver, they naturally do not want to give them up.

They would be more than happy to pay a lump sum to resolve the issue and reclaim the territory.

If we really can't beat them, what can we do?

In fact, while the Japanese pirates were ravaging the southeast, the Japanese sea pirates were also causing great trouble, and the coastal daimyo were having a very hard time dealing with them.

"Yes, yes, your country has eliminated these bad apples for Japan, so we should do something to show our appreciation."

Takakage Kobayakawa echoed this sentiment.

Liu Ting came here today mainly to see what the Japanese envoy had to say.

Qi Jiguang sent him a letter, asking him to see if the Japanese really didn't want to fight anymore.

Despite having a significant advantage in the battle, the Ming Dynasty has suffered enormous losses during this period.

War is not something that can be won by simply deploying a large number of troops.

With nearly 100,000 troops on the expedition, various forms of attrition were occurring every moment.

However, the soldiers' pay would definitely be embezzled in various ways while they were stationed at their posts.

However, when going out to fight, the military pay was not only paid in full, but doubled, and the imperial court bore the burden of this.

In addition to food, drink, and sanitation, the consumption of military equipment during this period was astronomical.

The strategic objective has been achieved; Sado Island and the Iwami region have been occupied. The next step is to end the war as soon as possible and force Japan to cede territory and pay reparations.

Only when everything is over can the enormous military spending stop.

The Ming Dynasty is now burdened by two money-devouring beasts: Burma in the southwest and Japan in the east. Its finances are truly under immense pressure.

Even though Myanmar has some output, it is still insufficient to offset consumption, and provinces such as Yunnan need to allocate some funds to make up for it.

Of course, these problems could actually be fixed, but the capital city has a lot of influence in Myanmar.

It can be said that whenever there was a war, the nobles and powerful officials in the capital would gain something, more or less.

When the Jurchens of Liaodong rose to power at the end of the Ming Dynasty, their strength was still weak. But why did the Ming Dynasty not take swift and decisive action to suppress them after the Battle of Sarhu?

Did the Wanli Emperor really run out of money to recruit soldiers?
Of course not. While the national treasury was indeed empty in the later years of the Wanli Emperor's reign, the imperial treasury was abundant, a stark contrast to the Wanli Emperor's decisiveness during the Korean War.

Many people believe that the corruption of the court and the collapse of the garrison system during that period of history made it impossible for the court to regroup its troops and suppress the rebellion. However, the real situation should be the internal strife within the Ming court.

The emperor's decisions were first and foremost carried out by his ministers.

But if the ministers each have their own agendas, how can this war be fought?
With incompetent commanders and obvious strategic errors, even if Emperor Wanli were willing to ask for money under such circumstances, it would likely be like throwing good money after bad.

Essentially, it was the decline in the overall quality of officials in the late Wanli period and the intense factionalism that led to missed opportunities.

Liu Ting could now see that neither of the two people in front of him were powerful figures in Japan.

While it's difficult to ascertain the sincerity of Japan's peace offer, their true intention was likely to probe the strength of the Ming army.

Under such circumstances, there's naturally nothing to discuss.

So Liu Ting said, "Alright, alright, whether the Japanese pirates were sent out by you or not, I don't know and I'm too lazy to care."

But I know that the Japanese pirates are Japanese people who come to my Great Ming territory to plunder. This time, we are here to punish them on His Majesty's orders.

I cannot make the decision for you to sue for peace now, but I can report your intentions to Commander Wang and General Qi.

But what I just said, go back and tell your king.

Retreating fifty li demonstrates your sincerity.

Three days later, I will send troops out to scout; I don't want them to be attacked.

On the distant hills outside the city, Ming scouts had already discovered that Japanese troops were stationed, just like before.

This kind of layered interception tactic is definitely not a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

After all, they had gone on a long and arduous journey, and they were more eager for a quick victory.

Being stuck here is definitely not a good thing.

Therefore, what Liu Ting wanted was to clear out the surrounding area.

Whether the fighting continues or peace talks are held, the Ming army will be able to handle the situation with ease.

"General Liu, I can make the decision to withdraw troops within a 20-mile radius outside Daejeon City."

Fifty li (approximately 25 kilometers) is absolutely impossible to accomplish without the King of Wa's (Japan's) consent.

Kobayakawa Takakage began to speak.

The troops stationed outside Ota Castle are now under the command of Kobayakawa Takakage, because Hideyoshi Hashiba has enough trust in this opponent.

It's not just about believing in his military talent, but also about trusting his character.

At this point, with the downfall of the Mori clan a foregone conclusion, he did not believe that Kobayakawa Takakage would continue to rely on Mori Terumoto and follow his lead.

Therefore, decisively handing over the military power around him and showing trust in him is a good way to win him over.

Kobayakawa Takakage was also very receptive to this, feeling that Hashiba Hideyoshi understood him and that he had met a wise ruler.

However, at this moment, he used the power at his disposal to make concessions for today's peace talks.

Liu Ting frowned slightly, but quickly nodded and said, "Alright, I will send people to patrol twenty miles outside the city in three days."

If you show sincerity, I will report this to Wang Jinglue for a decision.

As for whether to fight or make peace, those who can make up their minds will have to come here at that time.

This will remain the way it is for now. We'll each send a small team to garrison here and exchange information.

"That's how it should be."

Kobayakawa Takakage and Tokugawa Ieyasu exchanged a glance, nodded in tacit agreement, and then Tokugawa Ieyasu spoke.

Soon, Liu Ting left the hut and rode back to Datian City.

Here at the wooden house, a small flag was left, which was rotated regularly every day, thus establishing a communication channel with the Japanese.

Liu Ting couldn't control what Tokugawa Ieyasu and Kobayakawa Takakage did upon their return, but after returning to the garrison headquarters, he immediately summoned the clerks accompanying him and ordered them to begin writing military reports, detailing the day's meeting with the Japanese.

"Trying to spy on the situation? You're dreaming."

After reading the military report, Liu Ting stamped it with his general's seal and immediately sent someone to report back.

He also reviewed the exchanges between the Japanese today in his mind, guessing that what they really wanted was to find out the details of the Ming army.

"General, this is a gift from the other side. Look."

His personal guards brought over two trays, one filled with Japanese gold coins and the other with silver coins.

"Take it, there's no harm in taking it, they have plenty of these."

Liu Ting said casually. (End of Chapter)