The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 295 Humiliation and Slavery

The first clause in this article is actually not strict.

"From now on, Japan will abolish the title of 'Emperor' and call itself 'King of Japan' instead. All changes of the King of Japan must be reported to the Ming Dynasty and conferred by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Anyone who calls himself a king without the Emperor's order will be punished by the Ming army!"

To put it bluntly, this clause actually reaffirms and confirms the vassal relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Yamato Kingdom. It must be a relationship between a suzerain state and a vassal state. The Ming Dynasty is the suzerain state of the Wa Kingdom, and the Yamato Kingdom is the vassal state of the Ming Dynasty.

In this case, the Yamato Kingdom naturally could not usurp the imperial system, and the emperor had to give up the title of emperor and regard himself as the lord of the Yamato Kingdom, or call himself the King of Yamato.

Based on this vassal relationship, starting from this year, which is the sixth year of Zhengde, all kings of Yamato must be formally enthroned by the Ming Emperor to be legitimate. A Yamato king who has not been enthroned by the Ming Emperor cannot represent Yamato and has no legitimacy.

In fact, when Brother Shengren saw this, his eyes suddenly lit up, he was slightly happy, and was quite pleased.

Because no matter whether it was the Kamakura shogunate or the Muromachi shogunate, the emperor was just a mascot worshipped after the shogunate had hollowed out its power. He did not have any power at all and relied on granting legitimacy to these powerful ministers in exchange for money and food to survive!
In other words, the current emperor has no power or influence.

But if every change of the King of Yamato had to be conferred by the Ming Dynasty, this would strengthen the Emperor's influence in Japan. At least from the Ming Dynasty's side, the Ming Dynasty only recognized the Emperor's royal family as the monarch of the Yamato Kingdom. This would also greatly strengthen the influence and presence of the King of Japan in Japan!
You have to know that the Ming Dynasty had made several mistakes in this regard before.

The first time was when Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, mistakenly thought that Prince Yoshiyoshi of the Yamato Southern Dynasty was Emperor Yamato. As a result, he negotiated with Prince Yoshiyoshi for more than ten years, but was fooled by him. He turned a blind eye to the Muromachi shogunate's active tribute, and the two sides failed to establish diplomatic relations.

The second time was during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di. He was also a man with a confused mind. Zheng He led an invincible naval fleet to the Yamato Sea, which frightened the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu so much that he immediately pledged allegiance and paid tribute. As a result, Zhu Di directly conferred the title of King of Yamato on Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and gave him a golden seal of "King of Yamato". Ashikaga Yoshimitsu wrote back and called himself "King of Yamato, your subject Minamoto Yoshimitsu". Yamato officially recognized itself as a vassal state of China.

But the key problem is that they were all wrong!
The real monarch of Yamato was not Prince Yoshiyoshi, nor Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, but the Emperor of Yamato, the descendant of Amaterasu!
Until this moment, the first clause in the clause proposed by Ming Zhongshan Hou clearly pointed out that it was Emperor Yamato who accepted the enthronement of Ming Dynasty!

This is undoubtedly to "set things right" and strengthen the influence and presence of the Emperor's lineage in Yamato!

As for other things, Brother Shengren didn't think too much about it for the time being.

Anyway, it has always been a nominal vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, so just confer the title on it. It is almost the same nature as the King of Korea. All the Kings of Korea in history were conferred the title by the Ming Dynasty, so there is no relationship. As long as these Ming troops are willing to withdraw, the first point can be accepted.

In fact, Yamato and the Ming Dynasty were separated by a vast ocean. As long as the Ming army withdrew, Yamato could remain silent behind closed doors, as long as it did not violate the imperial system in dealing with foreign countries. Katsuhito was still the emperor of Yamato, and was enthroned with the support of the Ming Dynasty!
However, after seeing the second one, Brother Shengren could no longer laugh, and his face turned pale instantly.

"Secondly, the entire territory of Japan is stationed by our Ming Dynasty all year round, including but not limited to major ports, mining areas, etc. The Ming soldiers of the Ming Dynasty can freely mobilize local materials in Japan for their own use, including local Japanese laborers. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

What does it mean?
Ming Dynasty is going to send troops to the territory of Yamato?
And they are all key places such as ports and mines!
Not only is the Ming army not planning to leave, it also seems to be planning to stay in Yamato for a long time!

Brother Katsuhito could no longer laugh. When he looked at Ashikaga Yoshitsugu and Ise Sadamune beside him, the two were shaking with fear.

So Brother Shengren continued to look at the third one, and then slowly began to despair.

"Third, the defense of Kyoto will be handed over to the Imperial Army, including the Imperial Guard of the Japanese ruler and the Imperial Guard of the Muromachi shogunate. There will be no more than a hundred armed forces in Kyoto, including the Japanese ruler and the shogun!"

The defense of Kyoto is handed over to the Ming Dynasty soldiers!
The king's royal guard and the shogunate's guard are all Ming Dynasty soldiers!

Furthermore, no armed forces with more than a hundred people are allowed in Kyoto...

what is this?
Doesn’t that mean Kyoto is still under the control of the Ming army?

Moreover, no matter whether the life and death of the emperor, the shogun, or the Yamato nobles were all under the control of these Ming Dynasty soldiers?
How could this be agreed to?
They are not fools. Who would be willing to leave their life and death to a group of outsiders?
Although his Imperial Guards were not numerous, they were loyal after all.

But what about these Ming Dynasty soldiers?
If they were really asked to guard his palace, Brother Shengren would not be able to sleep well, fearing that these Ming Dynasty soldiers would rush in and chop off his head at any time!

impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Brother Shengren took a deep breath and continued to look back.

"Fourth, as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, Japan must fulfill the obligations of a vassal state. Every year, the Shogun personally pays tribute to the Ming Dynasty and listens to the teachings of the Ming Emperor. As the Ming Dynasty is the suzerain state of Japan, Japan must serve the Ming Dynasty unconditionally, including but not limited to providing money, food and supplies during wartime..."

This clause was actually fine in the beginning. When vassal states came to Beijing to pay tribute, they were actually engaging in trade with the Ming Dynasty. This was a mutually beneficial thing in itself. The reason why the shogunate could call on the world before was because they controlled the power to trade with the Ming Dynasty.

As powerful as the Hosokawa and Ouchi clans were, they had no way of obtaining the silver tokens issued by the Ming Dynasty, so they secretly attacked and looted the shogunate's tribute ships returning home, and finally forced the shogunate to give up part of its profits. The three families then formed a tribute mission and shared the trade profits.

But the question is, why did Marquis Zhongshan insist that the shogun personally pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty?

Brother Shengren felt a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart. After all, he had been the emperor for nearly ten years, so he quickly realized that this was a means of checks and balances by the Lord of Zhongshan.

The first article increased the emperor's influence in Yamato, and the fourth article was equivalent to directly handing over the right to trade with Ming to the shogun!
As long as they have the right to trade with each other, the shogunate will still be the shogunate and can still call on daimyo and cultivate their own factions!

The sinister intentions of the Marquis of Zhongshan are truly obvious, and he will do anything to achieve his goal!

He was deliberately adding fuel to the fire, letting the Emperor continue to fight with the Shogun and ensuring that a unified force would not emerge in Yamato so that the Ming Dynasty could continue to control Yamato's power!

Cold sweat had already appeared on Brother Shengren's forehead, but he had to continue watching.

"Fifth, Japan enjoys the right to govern its people independently, but the garrison soldiers are not Japanese citizens. Japan cannot dispose of the garrison soldiers without authorization. The Ming Dynasty will send a minister and a general to Japan to unify the command and dispatch of the garrison soldiers. Japan has no right to interfere..."

Minister to Japan!
The general stationed in Japan!

Yamato is not allowed to deal with the garrisoned heavenly soldiers without authorization!

This is absolutely rubbish!
Simply put, this article is equivalent to directly declaring the Ming Dynasty's privileged rule over the Yamato Kingdom!
If the Zhengde Xinwei Clauses are really implemented, all power in the Yamato Kingdom will fall into the hands of the Ming Dynasty's minister and general in Japan!

Instead, the emperor and the shogun once again became mascots, and they were mascots of the outsider Ming Dynasty!

Damn it, this cannot be allowed!
Brother Shengren, filled with anger, continued to look back.

"Sixth, all minerals in Japan, including gold and silver mines, belong to the Ming Dynasty. Japan is not allowed to mine without permission. Anyone found will be killed without mercy..."

What is this?
Robbery?

Has the robbery started?
Why did my Yamato's mineral resources become your Ming Dynasty's?
Not only are they not allowed to "mine without permission", they are also required to "kill without mercy"!
It's simply robbery!
Do they break into your house, take control of you, and then start robbing you?

Is this the broad-mindedness, benevolence, forgiveness and courtesy that the Celestial Empire should have?

"Seventh, the daimyo of each region of Japan are not allowed to have an armed force of more than a thousand people. If they are found, their property will be confiscated and their clan will be exterminated and killed without mercy..."

This... this... is simply outrageous!
Local daimyo may not have more than a thousand armed men!

This is simply impossible!
A big family has hundreds of family members alone!

If we recruit some local samurai and ronin, we can easily have over a thousand people!
and then?
The soldiers will appear tomorrow!
I will confiscate your property and destroy your clan, kill your entire family, and massacre all your people!

"Eighth, from now on, Hyogo-jin will be the port of the Ming Dynasty and the base of the Ming Dynasty navy stationed in Japan. No Japanese ship is allowed to leave from Hyogo-jin..."

This one is even more outrageous!
Hyogozu became the Ming navy base!

Don’t forget that behind Hyogo-zu is Yamato Kyoto!

Isn't this a disguised way of handing over Yamato Kyoto to the control of the Ming army?

It is not enough to station troops in Kyoto, but we also need to build a naval base in Hyogozu!
"Ninth..."

Three full pages of densely packed terms and conditions!
After Brother Shengren finished reading it, the anger in his heart had already reached its peak!

To sum it up in one sentence!

frenzied!

God damn it!

Losing power and humiliating the country! Once the three of them agree to the "Zhengde Xinwei Clauses", Yamato will instantly become a slave state of the Ming Dynasty, without any power at all!

Not only will high-ranking figures such as the emperor, shogun, and Yamato nobles be monitored and controlled by the Ming army, but even the lower-class Yamato people will be exploited and enslaved by the Ming army and turned into labor slaves to mine minerals for them!

In other words, these densely packed clauses were aimed at turning Yamato into a slave state of the Ming Dynasty!
These unscrupulous Ming people not only want to plunder Yamato's minerals, but also enslave Yamato's people. They want to take away everything from Yamato!
Brother Shengren couldn't stand it anymore, and just when he was about to speak out against it, the words of Ming Zhongshan Hou reached his ears.

"Of course, you don't have to agree."

"If you really have the guts, I will lead the Ming soldiers to slaughter all of you Japanese, starting with a bloodbath in Kyoto!"

"As for the three of you, your entire clan will be slaughtered and your heads will be cut off as a sacrifice to the heavens!"

The entire clan was killed and their heads were beheaded as a sacrifice to the gods!
Just a few words directly broke down the psychological defenses of the three people.

Either you agree obediently and become the mascot of the Ming Dynasty and continue to enjoy your life.

Or you can firmly oppose it and then kill the entire clan and behead them as a sacrifice to the gods!

The Ming army will then select one or two obedient nobles from the remaining nobles and continue to implement their insane plan to enslave the country!

In the final analysis, the three brothers Ashikaga Yoshihide, Ise Sadamune and Katsuhito sadly discovered that even though they knew about the Ming army's plan to enslave the country, they could do nothing, or they could not stop it at all!
How to stop it?

Not to mention that the three of them are still in the hands of the Ming army. Even if they risked their lives to pass on the news, what would that do?
The Ming army slaughtered 40,000 to 50,000 Yamato samurai this time, which was all the troops that the Yamato Kingdom could mobilize!

To put it bluntly, when the Ming army slaughtered these warriors, there were only 10,000 of them, and they suffered almost no casualties. With such high combat power, even if the daimyos from all over the country gathered 50,000 troops again, could they really win?
Can't beat it!

The Ming army’s terrifying firearms are enough to intimidate all disobedients!
So, there is no hope of resistance.

The three of them looked at each other, and then fell into a daze.

They don't want to sign, because if they do, they will become eternal sinners of the Yamato nation!
But they don’t want to die either. If they don’t sign, they will die, and this beastly Marquis Zhongshan wants to “kill the entire clan”!
So what to do now?
The three of them were completely stunned.

Tang Hao watched this scene quietly, without urging him, but was filled with emotion.

The Qing Dynasty signed countless humiliating treaties, including the Sino-British "Guangzhou Peace Treaty", the Sino-British "Nanjing Treaty", the Sino-British "Five Ports Trade Regulations", the Sino-British "Humen Treaty", the Sino-US "Five Ports Trade Regulations", the Sino-French "Five Ports Trade Regulations", the Sino-Russian "Aihui Treaty", the Russian-American-British-French "Tianjin Treaty", the British-French-Russian "Beijing Treaty", the Sino-Japanese "Treaty of Shimonoseki", and the most famous "Xin Chou Treaty"...

Behind each of these humiliating treaties, there is the blood and tears of countless Chinese men!

Now the offensive and defensive situation has changed, because of Tang Hao's unexpected arrival, the fate of the Ming Dynasty has changed!
Thanks to the efforts of Tang Hao and Zhu Houzhao, the Ming Dynasty took the first and most critical step - colonizing overseas!
That’s right, we want to colonize Japan!

This despicable nation of "a king who is unjust and whose people are thieves" has displayed their northern nature to the fullest since the founding of the country, and later caused indelible and huge pain to the Chinese nation!

Tang Hao had no mercy on such a despicable nation.

If it weren't for the fact that mining still requires hard labor, and that these Japanese people could be transported to the Ming Dynasty to perform corvée labor and free the people of the Ming Dynasty to farm the land in peace, Tang Hao would even have thought about completely wiping them out of this world!

Considering the overall situation, leaving these Japanese behind is the best option.

As long as the Ming Dynasty firmly controls Japan and further develops this place into a naval base, it will not only be able to improve the maritime trade routes in the East China Sea, but also continue to expand southward based on this place, such as the South Seas and the West.

Utilizing the Ming navy and the profits from maritime trade, he gradually changed the increasingly corrupt Ming Dynasty, until finally... the revival of the Ming Dynasty!
Time passed by minute by minute, and the three Japanese "heads of the family" took too long to consider, so Lord Zhongshan became a little impatient.

"how?"

"Sign or not?"

"It seems like you really want me to be a bad guy for once!"

Tang Hao sneered and shouted: "Bring their families and children up here!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the brothers Ashikaga Yoshihide, Ise Sadamune and Katsuhito suddenly changed.

The three of them looked at Tang Hao in panic, wanting to plead for mercy, but still remained silent.

It was not until the families and children of the three men were brought up that the three men could no longer bear it and spoke out to beg for mercy.

"Zhongshan Hou, why is it so?"

"Lord Tang, please release my children!"

"Master, my wife is pregnant, Master!"

The three of them screamed and shouted wildly, hoping that Tang Hao would show mercy.

However, when facing the Japanese, Tang Hao never had any mercy.

"kill!"

"Kill them until they are willing to sign!"

Marquis Zhongshan gave the order and the soldiers took action immediately.

The first person to die was a daughter of Ise Sadamune. She was in her prime and quite pretty, but she was ruthlessly destroyed by Chang Kuohai, who chopped her in half with an axe in front of Ise Sadamune.

The old Japanese noble went crazy in an instant, his face covered with his daughter's blood and bone fragments.

"Tang Hao, you lunatic! You butcher! You executioner!"

"You want to overthrow my Yamato country, you are simply a beast..."

Before Ise Sadamune could finish his curse, Chang Kuohai punched him and he fell to the ground in pain, unable to utter a single word.

Chang Kuohai pointed the axe at his youngest son, who was also Ise Sadamune's favorite son.

"No! No!"

"I'll sign it, I'll sign it right now!"

The first person to surrender appears, and the second will follow.

When Ashikaga Yoshihide saw his pregnant wife begging him for mercy, he immediately signed his name as the shogun.

The last one is the Emperor of Japan, the descendant of the Rising Sun God, Brother Katsuhito.

The Japanese emperor still had some backbone. Even though Lei Xiong killed his two children, he still refused to sign.

Finally, it was Tang Hao who spoke up, "If you don't sign, I will kill all the royal family members and make you extinct!"

Hearing this, Brother Shengren was completely despaired.

He signed his name with trembling hands, stamped it with the emperor's golden seal, and then knelt on the ground and cried loudly.

From then on, Yamato became a slave state of the Ming Dynasty!
The Yamato people are finished!
(End of this chapter)