Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 855 Seeing Sado Island

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu finally decided to fake peace talks to buy time for shipbuilding.

The tricks for delaying 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 people of the Ming Dynasty did not play their cards according to the routine. While they sent civilian officials to negotiate, the army was not idle either.They launched a "spring offensive" against Northern Dynasty, moving north along the west coast of Honshu Island, attacking all ports they passed and burning all ships they encountered.

These are okay, but the terrible thing is that as a large island formed by crustal movement, most of the flat land is along 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 bombs, and then fired rockets to ignite them, which would soon turn into a sea of ​​fire...

In this way, more than a dozen towns were burned in succession, 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 government of failing to protect the country.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was unable to exert any strength, because the Ming army was operating along the coast and did not go deep into the interior at all. He could only step up efforts to build ships, 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 so as not to undermine the overall peace talks.

Han Yike, the negotiator of the Ming Dynasty, expressed his helplessness, saying 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.

Si Boyi is so depressed about this. If we can reach an agreement earlier, why should I delay?But if we delay, the Ming army will continue to attack the coast and drive me to death.

~~
The people on the side of the curtain were anxious to get angry, but the Ming Dynasty was not impatient or impatient, adhering to the principle of His Royal Highness the King of Chu: "You talk about yours, I'll fight mine."Long-range strike, safety first'[-]-word policy, fire attack on Japan's coast step by step, basically never went ashore.

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.

While this gold mountain was being mined, the Tokugawa Shogunate began to rule Japan. More than 200 years later, this golden mountain gradually dried up, and the shogunate also declined.It is no 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 [-] 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 the descendants of exiles and had no feelings for Japan. Now they can actually become the 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 catering 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 search.They are ten times more enthusiastic than the ordinary people of 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 I found out 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 specifically asked Zhu He to hire a gold-hunting master from China and send him to Sado Island for on-the-spot investigation.

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. He 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 say something, no longer hiding it.He is mainly worried about the depletion of the Ming Dynasty gold mines and the degradation of the skills of the masters.

"Don't worry, Your Highness." Shen Rong hurriedly reassured him: "It's not that the master's level 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 hurriedly agreed: "Japan has only mined gold and silver for a few years, and the mines are very shallow. In the eyes of these gold-seeking masters who often search for tens of feet deep in China, it is still not as good as white gold." Are they the same? I’m sure I’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 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 also go to the next direction in the future. World, let the gold and silver of the world be used by me!”

"His Highness always has such a long-term vision." Zhu He praised with admiration: "I am truly lucky to be able to serve such His Highness."

"Okay, stop flattering me." Lao Liu laughed and scolded: "It's made me sick to my stomach lately. I need some scolding from scholars to moderate it."

"Hehehe..." Shen Rong and Zhuhe could only apologize, how dare they accept such trouble.

"In addition, you have to choose a site to build a large-scale metallurgical plant on Sado Island." Zhu Zhen then told Zhu He: "Not only the gold and silver mines on Sado Island, but also the ores we mine throughout Japan will be sent to Come here to concentrate on smelting.”

"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 understands things naturally.Let’s not talk about the first two points, let’s just talk about the third point. Gold and silver ore itself is actually 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.Moreover, with Japan's primitive smelting technology, the refining process is much more wasteful, so no one will take the idea of ​​the ore.

You ask them to steal, but they are too lazy to steal.

(End of this chapter)