Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 152 Seven Treaties Exposed! The despair of Princess Ming!
In the twenty-first year of Wanli, April 20th.

"My God..."

Looking at the 'huge' accounts submitted by the Ministry of Accounts, Zhu Yijun was stunned.

Although Zhu Yijun has always known that fighting is expensive, after all, he is helping 'outsiders' fight the war!

Moreover, the war to aid Korea lasted less than half a year! This has already cost so much money! ?

Looking at those horrifying numbers, His Majesty the Emperor, who is 'as rich as any country', couldn't help but take a breath...

Just when Zhu Yijun lamented that he had to "burn money" to fight for "helping outsiders", Chen Ju brought some good news.

"Your Majesty, I just received the urgent report that all the Japanese troops retreated to Busan yesterday, and Wang Jing has been restored!"

Yes, this time, the Japanese troops "actively" retreated from Wangjing.

Because Li Rusong ordered Cha Dashou to lead his men to the Japanese army's granary in Yongshan overnight. The purpose was also very simple and crude, that is - to set it on fire!

Moreover, at this time, Zhu Yijun was still immersed in "feeling sorry for money". After all, in his opinion, the money from the national treasury was also the money from his old Zhu family!

Therefore, the Japanese army had no choice but to abandon Wangjing and retreat one after another to Busan in the rear.

It’s just a matter of learning Japanese and practicing calligraphy. Recently, Zhang Chonghui actually learned Bagua fortune-telling, and occasionally even practiced carpentry...

"Hehe...hehe..." Zhu Yijun sneered several times and sneered: "As expected of him, it turns out that the 'escape' has been prepared a long time ago!"

Although His Majesty the Emperor's words were very strong, when His Majesty the Emperor saw Song Yingchang's letter saying that he would have "pretend negotiations" with the Japanese slaves, he did not make the slightest objection!
After some thinking, Chen Ju's mind was almost clear.

Therefore... we can try to send envoys to discuss with the Japanese to see if we can negotiate peace.

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but exclaimed in distress.

Without food, who will help you fight the war if you don’t have enough to eat?

And most importantly, Chen Ju knew that the 'that person' who negotiated peace last time was disliked by His Majesty the Emperor, and His Majesty the Emperor would never send 'that person' as an envoy to a foreign country again.

"Negotiating peace?" Zhu Yijun frowned and asked in confusion: "What is negotiating for peace?"

This also means that this 'battle' is not over yet!

Seeing His Majesty the Emperor's "attitude" was so resolute, Chen Ju had no choice but to bow his head and admit his mistake and put down this suggestion.

As for the Jinyi guards responsible for monitoring Zhang Chonghui, they don’t understand it even more...

In Zhang Chonghui's words, this is called - having too many skills to overwhelm your body!

Chen Ju actually didn't quite understand what Zhang Chonghui was worth monitoring, although this teenage boy was indeed restless. Not only did he go in and out of the palaces of ministers from time to time, but he also liked to learn some weird things.

"My money..."

Sure enough, when he mentioned this 'last time', Zhu Yijun's face darkened, and he snorted coldly:
"Negotiating peace with a mere Japanese slave! It is really damaging to our great power! Last time, we had to do it as a last resort! How can we do such an insult this time!"

"Getting married?" Zhu Yijun's face became strange, and he even said a little embarrassed: "Is he really willing to be a son-in-law?"

"Talking." Zhu Yijun put down Song Yingchang's memorial and turned to ask Chen Ju, "What has the boy done recently?"

After all, for the aloof Ming Dynasty, negotiating peace with the uncivilized Japanese slaves was really a "loss of face".

——His Majesty the Emperor...could he really mistake Zhang Chonghui for Zhang Juzheng?

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the Secretary of the Ministry of War, Shi Shangshu, is promoting the idea of ​​'peace negotiation'."

In short, Zhang Chonghui seems to be planning to learn a little bit about other messy things besides studying and studying.

Chen Ju was really at his wits end, so he told the Ministry of War Minister Shi Xing's suggestion.

After all, 'last time', we successfully negotiated peace with the Japanese slaves. "

The war is not over yet, which means that it will continue to be fought, and it also means that it will continue to 'burn money'!
Therefore, in Zhu Yijun's view, it was just a mere recovery of Wang Jing, which was really nothing to be happy about.

Although Chen Ju didn't quite understand the meaning of His Majesty the Emperor's words, he actually had a guess in his mind -

His Majesty the Emperor, who always wants to save face...

Moreover, the Japanese army has only retreated to Busan, and has not completely withdrawn from North Korea.

Chen Ju didn't understand Zhang Chonghui's strange 'interests', and neither did Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun.

"Your Majesty, the Queen is here."

This fire directly destroyed nearly hundreds of thousands of koku of food belonging to the Japanese soldiers!
This fire directly destroyed the Japanese army's dream of "defending the city"!

"It's like this. Shi Shangshu believes that the war to aid Korea has really cost a lot of money so far.

Zhu Yijun was still not very happy after hearing this 'good news'. After all, it was necessary for him to regain Wang Jing.

Thinking back to these years, he insisted on opening up the mine despite all the opposition. As a result, the mining taxes he had worked so hard to collect from the local government were not even a fraction of the cost of this war... Zhu Yijun felt even more uncomfortable... …

However, next, something surprising happened to Chen Ju.

"Return to your Majesty." Chen Ju cautiously tried and said:

"Go back to your lord." Chen Ju replied: "That boy has been busy planning his marriage recently, and he has done nothing restless."

Chen Ju replied jokingly: "After he is a criminal, it is good to have a wife, not to mention that Zhao Shizhen is such a daughter. And it is said... that girl's brain is still a bit stupid. When Zhao Shizhen gets old in the future , can't move, the entire Zhao family belongs to Zhang Chonghui, who wouldn't want to be a son-in-law like this? "

Chen Ju didn't know what His Majesty the Emperor's true thoughts were, and he didn't dare to ask. He only knew that in the past few years, His Majesty the Emperor had been letting people follow and monitor Zhang Chonghui all the time.

Chen Ju on the side felt uncomfortable when he saw His Majesty the Emperor being so uncomfortable. He, who was dedicated to serving the Lord, also felt uncomfortable. After racking his brains for a while, he thought of a way that might help His Majesty the Emperor 'save money'.

An announcement brought back the confused thoughts of the master and servant. Zhu Yijun also sat upright and nodded to let the queen in.

……

Queen Wang Xijie came in, dragging her sick body, but she still wanted to kneel down and salute her emperor husband.

Logically speaking, since his wife was so sick and haggard, Zhu Yijun should have spared her the courtesy of kneeling down. After all, Concubine Zheng usually didn't even need to bow when she saw him.

However, Zhu Yijun did not stop him at all, and asked a rather strange question before he even let the other party stand up.

"Why did the Queen think of coming to see me?"

Zhu Yijun's question is very strange. After all, it is normal for the queen to meet the emperor and the daughter-in-law to meet her father-in-law.

Asking this, it is obvious that the relationship between the two is very unfamiliar.

This is indeed the case. After all, after more than ten years, this is the first time that Sister Wang Xi has truly taken the initiative to pay regards to the emperor's husband.

Seeing that the other party looked embarrassed and did not answer for a long time, Zhu Yijun asked again: "Did the Queen Mother ask you to come?"

This time, Sister Wang Xi shook her head desperately: "No, Your Majesty, I came here myself. I...I...cough cough cough..."

Looking at the queen's wife who was speechless and sick, Zhu Yijun waved his hands helplessly and said: "Forget it, get up and sit down first."

"Ahem... Thank you, Your Majesty." Sister Wang Xi stood up with a weak body. If the palace maid at the side hadn't supported her, she would have almost fallen.

Zhu Yijun withdrew the hand he was about to extend to help, and turned to business as usual, proactively asking: "What's the matter with the queen?"

Sister Wang Xi, who just sat down, seemed not to be prepared to talk nonsense with Zhu Yijun, and said directly:

"Back to Your Majesty, I have something to do with my concubine. It's... our concubine is not young anymore. Is it... time to look after her?"

Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, and then said with a wry smile: "My wife is only thirteen, are you so eager to betroth her to someone else?"

Sister Wang Xi said anxiously: "Your Majesty, I just think that I can take a look first. If there is a good candidate for the consort, I can also make a decision first! Ahem..."

"Okay, okay." Zhu Yijun couldn't bear to see the other party coughing like this, and comforted: "Don't worry and take good care of your health. You don't have to worry about my wife's marriage. She is our legitimate daughter. I can do it without you saying it." Choose a good family for her.”

With such a guarantee, Sister Wang Xi smiled happily and said weakly and contentedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty. With your words, I can rest assured."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Zhu Yijun suddenly became angry and scolded: "Crow's Mouth!"

If the other concubines had seen the emperor so angry, they would have been so frightened that they would have knelt down. However, this unloved queen was not too scared. Instead, she smiled bitterly:

"Your Majesty, I know that my time is running out. The only thing I can't let go of is our only daughter. I only hope that she can live a safe and happy life in the future."

This time, Zhu Yijun's tone actually softened, and he said with a complex expression: "Don't say depressing words, you are still young, it is important to take good care of your health."

Sister Wang Xi didn't explain anything anymore, she just nodded as usual and said, "Yes, I understand."

For a moment, the atmosphere became quiet.

This couple, who have been married for more than ten years since they were young, seems to have nothing to talk about. It seemed that the intense love and affection that they had when they were newlyweds had long since disappeared.

In fact, both of them still remember the friendship they had when they were young, but neither of these two good-looking people is willing to compromise. After all, one is a lofty emperor, and the other is a dignified, virtuous and accustomed queen.

His Majesty the Emperor cannot tolerate the fact that his wife, the Queen, disobeys her husband, who is a bit 'interesting' in some aspects, but instead listens to his mother, Queen Mother Li, who is too 'dignified'. As for the queen, as the mother of a country, she can only be dignified and solemn, even at 'certain' times. If she were like Concubine Zheng, who obeyed her husband in everything, she would not be worthy of the position of queen.

The middle-aged couple just looked at each other, speechless, even though they still had each other in their hearts, even though they were the first person in each other's hearts.

But a broken mirror cannot be reunited. Things like feelings are gone when they are gone, and there is no going back.

After being embarrassed for a long time, Sister Wang Xi took the initiative to say that she was leaving. Zhu Yijun did not try to stop her, but before she left, he still said:
"Take good care of yourself."

Although Zhu Yijun once thought about killing the queen and making Concubine Zheng the queen. But when the queen was seriously ill, he still couldn't bear the Queen's death.

After all, this was his first wife, the empress who would always be buried underground with him, and the first person he fell in love with when he was young.

Looking at Sister Wang Xi's weak and leaving figure, Zhu Yijun suddenly remembered what 'that person' had said to him.

"Your Majesty, you are too soft-hearted. It is not a good thing for an emperor to be soft-hearted!"

After shaking his head quickly to get this annoying voice out of his mind, Zhu Yijun ordered someone to find a booklet, read it and selected it himself.

Recorded in this book are the names of some young talents, as well as their respective detailed information, family status, etc.

Yes, this old father had long thought about choosing a good husband for his only eldest daughter, but after so many years of choosing, he always felt that no one was worthy of his daughter.

The Ming Dynasty chose consorts, except for the princesses in the early Ming Dynasty who were betrothed to heroes and then used for marriage. Most of the princesses in the middle and later periods were selected to be given to the children of common people without official positions.

Especially since Princess Renhe, the eldest daughter of Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Dynasty, married the consort Qi Shimei, all the subsequent princesses of the Ming Dynasty married common people.

Zhu Yijun didn't want his precious eldest daughter to marry a commoner who was nothing. He wanted to find his daughter a son of a distinguished family with some ability.

But all the noble disciples who have some ability are arrogant and arrogant people.

How can these people be willing to give up their vast career and the charming people outside, and just become a prince-in-law who is even more frustrated than a 'son-in-law'?
Zhu Yijun couldn't help but sigh when he thought of this.

"I didn't expect that this prince-in-law would be harder to find than a door-to-door son-in-law..."

……

Yu Mansion.

Yu Shenxing has resigned from his job for a long time, but he has never returned to his hometown in Shandong. It's not that he doesn't want to go back, it's mainly because he can't leave...

He had no choice but to hold no official position. At nearly fifty years old, he not only had to support his own family, but also had to help his former 'mentor' Zhang Juzheng raise his youngest son Zhang Jingxiu.

Fortunately, Shenxing has a strong family background. Even if he has no salary, he is not short of money to spend. It doesn't matter that Zhang Jingxiu talks so much.

However, Yu Shenxing was under a bit of pressure because he had to teach Zhang Jingxiu how to read and write.

In the words of 'that person', the 'sixth' of his family will definitely pass the Jinshi exam in the future!
"What? You don't want to learn the Four Books and Five Classics? Then what do you want to learn?"

At this moment, Zhang Chonghui, a nephew, was scolding his elder uncle who was 'the same age' as him.

This scene of betraying Tiangang may be outrageous in the eyes of outsiders, but in the eyes of Yu Shenxing and even Zhang Jingxiu himself, it has become a habit.

Zhang Jingxiu is already fifteen years old this year. Although the young man is not as fast or as tall as his eldest nephew, he is already the height of a normal man.

The young man has good-looking features. In Shenxing's words, Zhang Jingxiu is the one who looks most like Zhang Juzheng among their six brothers.

However, Zhang Jingxiu's character is such that he doesn't know who to follow. Not only does he act carelessly, but he also doesn't do anything right.

Being reprimanded by his eldest nephew, Zhang Jingxiu was quite unconvinced and even dared to talk back:
"I don't want to learn these things. The principles of saints are for reading. In reality, they are useless! Anyway, I am not qualified to take the imperial examination, so what is the use of learning these things? Besides, why should I learn these things? It makes no sense, why don’t you learn it?”

Zhang Jingxiu knows what it means to "stop until you click". As soon as he finished speaking, he ran away immediately!

Because Zhang Jingxiu knew very well that if he didn't run away, his eldest nephew would be like a man possessed by his father, nagging him a lot of nonsense! Finally, he called out his fourth brother and used force to force him to study hard!
In order to prevent his eldest nephew from complaining to his fourth brother Zhang Jianxiu first, Zhang Jingxiu planned to complain to Zhang Jianxiu first!
Zhang Jingxiu just ran away, and Zhang Chonghui was too lazy to chase him. He could only look at his back and said helplessly:

"Well, it seems that there is no hope for this son."

Yu Shenxing thought for a while, then came out and comforted him: "Jing Xiu is the age when he is rebellious. The more you ask him to do something, he won't do it. Don't blame him too much."

"I don't blame him." Zhang Chonghui directly changed the topic and asked instead: "I heard that Wang Yuanyu was almost dying of illness and the emperor wouldn't let him leave? Is he really sick or is he pretending to be sick? "

Yu Shenxing suddenly became vigilant: "You are going to be your son-in-law, why do you still care about this?"

"Ke Yuan." Zhang Chonghui pretended again and said directly: "Why are you even guarding me? You know, if Wang Yuanyu doesn't leave, you will never be the chief assistant!"

"Stop talking!" Yu Shenxing gritted his teeth and whispered: "The Jin Yiwei is nearby, are you saying this is crazy?"

"What are you afraid of!" Zhang Chonghui opened his voice and shouted deliberately:

"The emperor doesn't even dare to see me! But he sends people to keep an eye on me all day! He just wants to hear! What am I telling you people!"

At the same time, in a corner, the Jin Yiwei who was following him almost dozed off. After hearing these words, he suddenly became energetic and hurriedly recorded this words!
Because the recording was too serious, this time, the Jin Yiwei who was monitoring Zhang Chonghui alone did not hear it, let alone know about it.

Zhang Chonghui had already reached Yu Shenxing's ear and whispered something that only the two of them knew.

……

At the same time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was far away in Japan, received news from Yukinagako Konishi that the Ming Dynasty wanted to negotiate peace again.

This time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi laughed, angrily.

You want to play tricks on them again, right?
There is a reason why Toyotomi Hideyoshi believed that the Ming Dynasty wanted to 'play tricks' again.

Every time I think about the experience of being cheated 'last time', Toyotomi Hideyoshi becomes so angry that his teeth itch!
Toyotomi Hideyoshi also didn't expect that the Ming Dynasty had even established an 'official document' to make the promise, yet they dared to break the contract so openly!
What about the promised land of etiquette? What about the promised kingdom of heaven?
All that bullshit!

Perhaps he was so angry that when Toyotomi Hideyoshi learned that he had been deceived, he tore up the 'document' that was 'personally' handed over by the envoy of the Ming Dynasty!

I think at the beginning, the reason why Toyotomi Hideyoshi believed that the Ming Dynasty really wanted to negotiate peace was because the document handed over by the Ming Dynasty's deputy diplomatic envoy was so 'real'!

I think back then, in order to confirm the 'authenticity' of the peace agreement, Toyotomi Hideyoshi specially brought in several senior officials who were captured from North Korea to check the documents repeatedly!

After repeated inspection and confirmation, Toyotomi Hideyoshi learned that this document indeed belonged to the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty!

Moreover, among the large red seals stamped on the document, one of the large seals actually symbolized the emperor of the Ming Dynasty himself, the seal of the Supervisor of Ceremonies!
In this way, Toyotomi Hideyoshi really believed that the Ming Dynasty really wanted to negotiate peace with the Japanese!
After all, the Ming Dynasty has always called itself the Celestial Kingdom, and the emperors of the Ming Dynasty have always boasted that 'once a word is spoken, it is hard to chase it back'!

It was precisely because of these that Toyotomi Hideyoshi agreed and asked Konishi to suspend the war for a few months.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi believed it. He 'finally' believed the 'seven' rather 'dreamy' conditions in the document.

However, reality told Toyotomi Hideyoshi that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was not trustworthy at all.

Now that peace talks have come 'again', Toyotomi Hideyoshi would be an idiot if he still believed this nonsense.

Facts have proved that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was not an idiot, and he never gave up his ambition to annex North Korea, and would also annex Ming Dynasty in the future!
Recalling the Ming Dynasty document with seven "generous" conditions written on it, Toyotomi Hideyoshi could not help but reveal his greedy smile again.

Those seven conditions are as follows.

First: Marry Princess Daming and become the Queen of Japan.

Second: Develop Ming-Japanese trade.

Third: The two countries of Ming Dynasty and Japan vowed to be a good alliance forever.

Fourth: The four northern provinces of Korea are returned to North Korea, and the four southern provinces must be ceded to Japan.

Fifth: North Korea sent a prince to Japan as a hostage.

Sixth: Return the captured Korean princes and other Korean officials.

Seventh: North Korea must swear an oath to never betray Japan.

Thinking back on these seven conditions, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was so beautiful that he couldn't sleep for several days. He dreamed that the Ming Dynasty would send an envoy early to fulfill the seven promises above.

However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was looking forward to a result of not respecting martial ethics...

The princess is gone, and everything is gone. Even North Korea is almost gone...

The more Toyotomi Hideyoshi thought about it, the angrier he became, but the current situation was really not conducive to Japan, so he had no choice but to agree to negotiate first.

People's desire for satisfaction is often more inclined to upward compatibility, but less willing to accept downward compatibility.

People who have smoked good cigarettes, drank good wine, and visited good prostitutes often only want to smoke better cigarettes, drink better wine, and visit better prostitutes.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi has already seen these seven 'dream' conditions, so he can only accept the Ming Dynasty's peace negotiation conditions, more, better! And not less, worse!

But considering the current predicament of the Japanese side, and in order to negotiate a peace more smoothly, this time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided that he would not 'increase the price' as much as possible.

If you want peace, just stick to these seven conditions!

Toyotomi Hideyoshi believed that this was considered a sign of "loyalty" on the part of the Japanese!

After all, these seven conditions were all proposed by the Ming Dynasty's 'officials' on their own initiative!

(End of this chapter)