Emperor Ming's grandson

Chapter 308: Wine House Dokura
Ano Gongwei felt helpless about Ashikaga Mitsukane's attitude. He was well aware of the weak position of the Southern Dynasty in this political game, but he had to do his best.

So, I can only go back and report the news.

Ano Komichi waved goodbye to Oda Takatomo, and soon, Ano Komichi returned to Yoshino Castle at full speed.

After returning, he immediately reported the situation in detail to Emperor Go-Kameyama and the important officials of the Southern Dynasty who had been summoned.

"The Kamakura shogun is indeed cunning." Rokujo Tokihiro said in a deep voice, "He doesn't want to offend the Muromachi shogunate easily, and he wants to use others to get rid of Uesugi Asamune and reap the benefits."

Ano Michi nodded in agreement: "That's true, but our goal is also to disrupt the situation in Kanto. The revenge proposed by Oda this time also provides an opportunity. We both get what we want."

Rokujo Tokihiro added: "If Uesugi Tomomune dies, the Muromachi shogunate's control over Kanto will be greatly weakened, which is beneficial to us, but we must be vigilant. Ashikaga Mitsukane is ambitious and must be guarded against."

"But how do we explain this to the Ming Dynasty?" Aye Shiwei asked.

Hou Guishan frowned. He knew very well the importance of Ming Dynasty to the Southern Dynasty, but he also understood that Ming Dynasty did not support the Southern Dynasty unconditionally. They had their own interests to consider.

"We need to handle this carefully." Go Kameyama looked at the young Ano Kouwei and said slowly, "Although the Ming Dynasty is strong, we also need to maintain a certain degree of independence and cannot be completely controlled by others. You should immediately report this matter in detail to the Ming Dynasty, and at the same time explain our difficulties and request the Ming Dynasty envoy to come to Kamakura to have a face-to-face meeting with Ashikaga Mitsukane to find out his true intentions."

Lord Ano accepted the order and withdrew, but he was secretly thinking in his heart that if the Ming Dynasty knew that the Southern Dynasty had secretly contacted the Kamakura Shogunate, the reaction would probably not be too optimistic.

But he also understood that this was the best result the Southern Dynasty could achieve at present, and he could only do his best.

Otherwise, when the Ming Dynasty sent a separate envoy to contact the Kamakura Shogunate in Kanto, the two sides would exchange messages and without the information gap, the Southern Dynasty would be in a more passive position.

However, Aye Gongwei did not meet Li Jinglong whom he met last time, but met another person he was quite familiar with - Zhu Xiongying, who is now the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.

Compared with Li Jinglong, who helped Duke Zheng Chang Mao handle miscellaneous affairs, the power of this prince was undoubtedly much greater.

In other words, Zhu Xiongying is the one who truly has the power to make decisions.

At this time, Li Jinglong and Chang Mao had already marched towards the south of the Nara Basin, to the ruins of Kofuku-ji Temple.

At this time, Zhu Xiongying was inspecting the countryside of Yoshino under the protection of his attendants. Important cities could not reflect the true level of a country, so Zhu Xiongying would rather visit the countryside.

Not only did he bring these civil officials, but also military generals like Ping An, Sheng Yong, Zhang Yu, Mei Yin and others, who crossed the sea with him. Mei Yin and Ping An were mainly responsible for leading the army, while Sheng Yong and Zhang Yu were in charge of the three guards under his direct command, which were the Three Guards of the King of Wu formed five years ago.

A small village next to Yoshino.

The rice fields glow with golden light, and in the distance there are mountains and clouds. This is a rare plain, so logically speaking, the farmers in this village should not be living too badly.

So, it’s better to go to the village at the foot of the mountain and skip this one.

Just as the group was about to move forward, a sudden burst of noise in the distance broke the silence. Zhu Xiongying frowned slightly, signaled the team to stop moving forward and head towards the direction where the sound came from.

As the distance got closer, I saw a group of ragged farmers gathering in front of a row of sturdy buildings at the entrance of the village.

The farmers were emotional, holding torches and farm tools in their hands, with anger burning in their eyes.

"Give us justice! Burn these harmful IOUs!" In the crowd, an old man with a shaved forehead and a small bun in his hair raised his arms and shouted, his voice trembling with anger.

Zhu Xiongying reined in his horse and stopped, quietly observing the scene.

The Japanese interpreter next to him was translating for Zhu Xiongying.

At this time, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader stood up, holding a yellowed IOU in his hand, and complained loudly: "We borrowed money from this wine shop because of a temporary emergency, but we didn't expect the interest to snowball and eventually become so high that we couldn't breathe! Everyone in the family, young and old, has suffered because of this!"

The surrounding farmers echoed the voice, becoming more and more excited, and the torches in their hands moved closer to the dilapidated wooden house.

At this time, a middle-aged woman also stood up, holding a tattered IOU with tears in her eyes: "My husband died of illness last year, leaving a huge amount of medical expenses and debts. We had hoped to pay it off with a better harvest this year, but the interest has snowballed and accumulated more and more. Now, not only can we not even have enough food, but we can't even survive."

The surrounding farmers nodded in agreement, becoming increasingly excited.

A young farmer clenched his fists and said angrily: "This is not just a problem for our family. The whole village and even several surrounding villages have been deeply affected. We work hard, but we can't even guarantee the most basic living. How unfair this world is!"

Zhu Xiongying remained unmoved as the Japanese interpreter translated for him with a dry mouth. He just asked, "What does Sakeya Dokura mean?"

After some explanation, Zhu Xiongying finally understood what was going on.

The so-called "Dokura" was a place used by merchants who developed during the Heian and Kamakura periods to store goods before the Northern and Southern Dynasties. As social unrest in Japan intensified during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, in addition to goods, nobles also began to hand over money to merchants to preserve and increase its value. The reason why merchants were willing to do this was because they could rely on the military force of the nobles to carry out lending activities.

Not only was it convenient to store the property of the nobles in the Dokura, but they could also use the property as collateral to obtain loans at any time. Therefore, soon all the nobles and samurai handed over their property to the Dokura owner for management. The imperial palace even established a "Kinri Imperial Storehouse", which gave the Dokura tax-free privileges and required the Dokura to keep the annual tribute rice.

The same was true for the Muromachi shogunate. Ashikaga's Muromachi shogunate not only organized the big warehouse owners as part of the shogunate's financial organs, but also recruited a group of "gokura" who were qualified to be elected as the payee to manage the shogunate's finances. All the shogunate's treasures such as gold, silver, and copper coins were entrusted to them for management, and the warehouse owners had become an important pillar of the shogunate's finances.

The term "Sake House Dokura" came about because around the Muromachi period, many small taverns in rural areas also ran pawnshops. Farmers relied most on these small taverns in their economic activities, so they habitually referred to the usury industry as "Sake House Dokura."

There is a clue here that the contradiction is becoming more and more profound.

At the beginning, most of the "sake houses and warehouses" were capillaries in the economic system controlled by Buddhist temples and shrines that were more rooted in the countryside. The main method adopted by the Muromachi shogunate was to use the name of the imperial court to issue orders to collect taxes or exempt taxes, and intervene in the control of the taxation rights of the sake houses and warehouses. For example, the Muromachi shogunate collected taxes from the sake houses in Kyoto fifty years ago, and forty years ago it exempted the sake house and warehouse taxes of the sake houses near Rinchuan Temple and the sake taxes of the shrine residents of Kasuga Shrine. Twenty years ago, this contradiction intensified, and the Ashikaga Yoshimitsu shogunate forced the Northern Court to issue an order to publicly deny the taxation rights of temples and shrines over the sake houses and warehouses. In return, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu collected "Gojokokuryoshi" from the Kyoto warehouses to supply the emperor's expenses.

Five years ago, with the signing of the armistice agreement between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was determined to make great efforts to make up for the financial deficit caused by the previous years of war, so he promulgated three measures. First, he did not recognize the tax-free privileges that the sake house and Dokura had obtained in the past. Except for the koji tax collected by the court through the "Zosakesho", only the shogunate could collect taxes; second, a tax of 6,000 kan was collected every year, and there was no additional tax; third, the shogunate set up a "Warehouse Bugyo" to be responsible for keeping the tribute in kind from the directly affiliated territories, and a "Tax Money Office" to be responsible for collecting taxes from the sake house and Dokura, and stipulated that the candidates for the tax money office would be appointed from among the big Dokura owners, giving these big businessmen official status.

The Northern Dynasty did this, and the Southern Dynasty naturally followed suit, but the specific amount of tax was reduced.

The direct consequence of doing this was that the two courts collected taxes from the large warehouse owners, who in turn collected taxes from the small tavern owners, who in turn increased the interest rates of usury borne by the farmers.

Therefore, the first and second years were still bearable, but in the third year, riots broke out in various places. In the fourth year, there was a peasant uprising. Now it is the fifth year, and this large-scale uprising of peasants burning debts has begun to spread throughout Japan, regardless of whether it is the Southern or Northern Dynasties.

It’s just that war is the most important thing on the table now, so many people subconsciously ignore the peasant uprising.

The farmers and the ronin under the tavern owner stopped arguing when they saw Zhu Xiongying and his group. They were very afraid of the large number of fully armed cavalrymen.

But soon they found that the cavalry were no longer paying attention to them, but turned away.

So, after enduring for a moment, the conflict finally broke out.

In Japan, the term ronin originated in the Kamakura shogunate period. It refers to down-and-out samurai who lost their fiefdoms and left their masters to wander around. These ronin, hired by tavern owners with money, were professionally trained after all. After they had no scruples, they drew their samurai swords and tried to intimidate the peasants.

As the ronin drew out their gleaming samurai swords, the tense atmosphere instantly froze.

The farmers' anger and fear were intertwined, but they did not retreat. The torches and simple farm tools in their hands became their only weapons.

"For our livelihood, and to no longer be oppressed by usury, we cannot retreat!" The old man with a shaved forehead shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed in the air, inspiring the farmers' fighting spirit.

The Ronin pressed forward, evidently no strangers to such conflicts.

Generally speaking, as long as it was just a scare, at most two people would be injured. These farmers would be scared when they saw the blood, and it would not be uncommon for them to become incontinent due to fear.

At this moment, a young farmer was retreating without looking at his feet. The ronin's samurai sword chopped at him in a threatening manner, and he was accidentally hit by the ronin. His clothes were stained with blood. He fell to the ground in pain, and the torch in his hand rolled to the side, instantly igniting the nearby haystack, and the fire spread rapidly.

Ah, a fascinating moment of mob psychology.

When the first farmer dared to take action, these Japanese farmers became excited. In the firelight, the flashes of swords and shadows of sabers were intertwined, screams and roars were heard one after another, and the air was filled with a strong smell of burning and blood.

The sudden conflict quickly escalated into a brutal bloodbath.

Amidst all this chaos, Zhu Xiongying and his team remained remarkably calm.

They did not intervene in the fight, but watched from afar, assessing the deeper meaning behind this conflict as a microcosm of contemporary Japanese society.

If this was the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Xiongying would definitely have taken action.

But this is Japan, what does it have to do with him how many Japanese people die?
You have to know that Zhu Xiongying's purpose of coming here this time is to obtain the greatest benefits for the Ming Dynasty. From any perspective, it is a good thing to divide Japan as much as possible and let the Japanese bleed more.

"It's not just a problem of usury," Zhu Xiongying said, "it's also the inevitable result of land annexation and the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Solving these problems is not a one-day job. Japan still has the foundation to continue to be in chaos, even for decades, hundreds of years, or even centuries."

Zhu Xiongying's eyes are deep, as if he can see through the future development of the world.

On the side, Xie Jin and other civil officials listened quietly.

Xie Jin stroked his beard gently and spoke slowly: "Your Highness is right. The chaos in Japan did not happen overnight."

Hu Yan sighed: "The people here live a much harder life than the people in the Ming Dynasty."

"Don't have any sympathy for the Japanese."

Zhu Xiongying's eyes flashed with a complicated look, and he only said: "It may be a bit cruel to say this, but you must understand that the interests between Ming Dynasty and Japan are in conflict. Our purpose of this trip is to seek long-term benefits for Ming Dynasty, not to blindly give sympathy."

Xia Yuanji also spoke at this time. He looked at it from the perspective of financial management: "The Japanese financial system is really strange, entrusting finances to businessmen."

"It is indeed strange. Now that I see it, everything is different from our dynasty."

Tie Xuan added: "Japan's chaos also reflects the shortcomings of its system. Although the Ashikaga shogunate is strong, it is difficult to quell the resentment of the people and may not last long."

"What you all said is spot on."

Zhu Xiongying nodded in agreement.

And just at this moment, Aye Gongwei finally caught up here.

"Your Highness, the Crown Prince of Ming Dynasty."

Aye Gongwei quickly stepped forward and saluted Zhu Xiongying, with a look of trepidation on his face: "Your Highness, I, the foreign minister, have an urgent matter to report to you."

Zhu Xiongying nodded slightly, motioning Aye Gongwei to continue.

Lord Ano took a deep breath, calmed himself, and began to state: "Your Highness, this is about the matter between our dynasty and the Shogun of Kamakura in Kanto, Ashikaga Mitsukane. Foreign ministers took the initiative to make initial contact with Ashikaga Mitsukane, intending to disrupt the situation in Kanto and buy a breathing space for our dynasty. Although this move was out of helplessness, it was not permitted by the Ming Dynasty. I have come here to apologize and explain the whole story in detail." Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiongying did not become angry immediately, but smiled faintly, with a profound meaning in his smile.

"Aye Gongwei, you are quite interesting to talk about."

Upon hearing this, Aye Gongwei felt relieved, but he still maintained a humble attitude: "Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."

Afterwards, Aye Gongwei explained the whole process in detail.

Zhu Xiongying nodded slightly, then changed the subject and his tone became serious: "Forget it this time, but there is one thing you must remember. For matters of this level, no matter what actions you take in the future, you must communicate with Daming in advance to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. There will be no next time, understand?"

Aye Gongwei quickly agreed: "I understand, Your Highness, and I will follow your instructions."

Aye Gongwei, feeling relieved, left. Zhu Xiongying looked at his back and asked the officials around him, "Tell me, what do you think about this matter?"

Xie Jin was the first to speak: "Your Highness, although the Southern Dynasty's move is for self-preservation, it is also a risky move. Ashikaga Mitsukane is ambitious. If he can really join forces with the Southern Dynasty, he can indeed disrupt the situation in Kanto for a while. As for the Ming Dynasty, it may be able to take advantage of this chaos."

Tie Xuan was more direct. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "Nan Chao acted on his own. He was panicked this time. Who knows how many tricks he might have done behind the scenes. We should not trust him too much."

After hearing this, Zhu Xiongying nodded slightly.

The Southern Dynasty is indeed not worthy of too much trust, but this is also the entry point for the Ming Dynasty to intervene in Japanese affairs, and it cannot be lost.

"Let's wait and see."

"If there is really chaos in Kanto, send another envoy to Kamakura with Ano-kun to find out Ashikaga Mitsukane's true intentions."

At the same time, Oda Takatomo was also preparing for the assassination. He secretly contacted his old subordinates, selected a group of loyal and reliable samurai, and formulated a careful plan.

In Kamakura Castle, a storm is quietly brewing.

Finally, the night of the assassination arrived.

There is a grand banquet at the residence of the Kamakura Shogun tonight. It is to celebrate the birthday of the mother of the Kanto Shogun Ashikaga Mitsukane, so all the prominent nobles in Kanto are coming to the banquet. Oda Takatomo personally leads the samurai to lurk on the road that Uesugi Atomune must pass.

The moonlight is like water and the night is like ink.

Under the clear light, everything seems so peaceful.

As Uesugi Tomonari's convoy slowly approached, Oda Takatomo's hand holding the sword trembled slightly. He took a deep breath, and a look of determination flashed in his eyes.

Oda Takashi nodded to the warriors behind him, and they all responded with firm eyes.

Just as the convoy was about to enter the ambush circle, suddenly, a burst of hurried horse hooves broke the silence of the night.

Several cavalrymen rushed out from the darkness, shouting "alert". It was not known where the clues were exposed, but it was obvious that Uesugi Tomonari's guards had noticed something.

Oda Takatomo's heart tightened, but he remained calm and quickly adjusted his tactical deployment.

"Act according to the plan!" He shouted in a low voice, and the warriors immediately dispersed, quietly blending into the night, preparing to launch a surprise attack from different directions.

Uesugi Tomonari's convoy was forced to stop, and the guards quickly formed a circle and looked around vigilantly.

However, at this critical moment, a short ninja wearing a black nightgown crouched and took the opportunity to get close to the convoy and threw out a smoke bomb. Suddenly, thick smoke spread, blocking the vision and providing excellent cover for the assassins.

Crossbow arrows flew everywhere from the surrounding buildings, shooting the carriage like a hornet's nest, and there were gaps in the protection circle of the Uesugi guards.

Oda Takatomo and others seized this fleeting opportunity, and their figures shuttled through the smoke like ghosts, heading straight for the carriage where Uesugi Tomomori was.

The sword in Oda Takatomo's hand flashed with cold light, and every step he took was firm and resolute.

"Protect the lord!" Upon seeing this, Uesugi Chomune's personal bodyguard immediately drew his sword and rushed forward. The two sides instantly engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand combat.

The clanging of metal, the roars of warriors and the neighing of horses were intertwined.

Relying on his rich combat experience and extraordinary martial arts, Oda Takatomo rushed left and right amid the siege of the guards, looking for an opportunity to get close to Uesugi Atomune.

Finally, he found a flaw, swung his knife, and directly cut the rope between the carriage and the guards, causing the carriage to lose control and rush to the side.

In the midst of this chaos, Oda Takatomo jumped up and landed on the carriage.

He suddenly opened the curtain and saw Uesugi Tomonari trying to draw his wakizashi to defend himself in panic, but it was too late.

Oda Takatomo's sword flashed across the night sky like lightning and accurately pierced Uesugi Tomonari's chest.

"You" Uesugi Chomune only had time to utter one word before he fell to the ground. A generation of heroes fell.

After the successful attack, Oda Takatomo did not stop. He quickly jumped off the carriage, joined the rest of the samurai, and quickly evacuated the scene under the cover of new smoke.

The news soon reached the Kamakura Shogunate's residence, where everyone was happily drinking sake and feasting.

"Lord Uesugi Asamune was assassinated?"

With a "bang", the wine glass in Ashikaga Mitsukane's hand fell to the ground and shattered.

His face was full of astonishment, and it didn't look like he was pretending at all. Although he was not a veteran actor, he was obviously a talented young actor.

After being shocked, Ashikaga Mitsukane's expression quickly turned gloomy. He stood up suddenly, his eyes sharp as torches, scanning everyone present, as if looking for any possible clues or signs of betrayal.

The atmosphere in the mansion froze in an instant. The guests looked at each other, and no one dared to make a sound.

"Seal the city gates! The entire city is under martial law!" Ashikaga Mitsukane gave the order quickly, while secretly thinking about the next countermeasures in his mind. When he learned that the assassination was successful, he felt both happy and worried.

Meanwhile, Oda Takatomo and his samurai galloped through the night, passing through winding alleys and finally stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse.

Oda Takatomo looked back and after confirming that there were no pursuers, he breathed a sigh of relief. He felt both the pleasure of revenge and uncertainty about the future.

"We succeeded." He whispered to the warriors beside him.

This assassination was not only for his revenge, but also to pave the way for the fragile cooperation between the Southern Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty and the Kamakura Shogunate.

But where will these people go next?

If Ashikaga Mitsukane really intended to kill people to silence them, then perhaps none of them would be able to escape.

After all, this is Kamakura, the headquarters of the Kanto Shogun.

At this time in Yoshino Castle, Ano Komiya was anxiously waiting for news from Oda Takatomo. He knew that the success or failure of this assassination would directly affect the relationship between the Southern Court and the Kamakura Shogunate, and even the direction of the entire situation in Japan.

After learning that Oda Takatomo had sent a carrier pigeon to the guard outside Kamakura Castle and then sent it to Yoshino by express horse, Anohami reported the news to the court while personally reporting in detail to Shu Xiongying about the assassination attempt of Uesugi Tomomune.

Although this assassination temporarily weakened the power of the Muromachi shogunate in Kanto, it also made Ashikaga Mitsukane more powerful.

"You should go to Kamakura with Jian Yi now."

After sending Ano Gongwei away, Zhu Xiongying said to Jian Yi without hesitation: "Give Ashikaga Mitsukane some conditions."

Jian Yi waited quietly for Zhu Xiongying's instructions.

"First, the Ming Dynasty recognized his rule over the Ten Kingdoms of Kanto and supported his expansion to the west (towards Kyoto)."

"Second, the Ming Dynasty supported him to become the shogun of the Northern Dynasty."

"Third, if he can break with the Muromachi shogunate, the Ming Dynasty is willing to provide him with military supplies."

Killing the Kanto Kanrei Uesugi Chomune would not completely intensify the conflicts in the Kanto region. Ashikaga Mitsukane had to take action against the Uesugi clan, and in this process, the attitude of the Ming Dynasty was very important to Ashikaga Mitsukane.

At present, the Ming Dynasty has shown a clear non-interference. Of course, there is also the factor of lack of power.

Moreover, he strongly supported Ashikaga Mitsukane's expansion, which was enough to ignite Ashikaga Mitsukane's ambition.

After all, if the Ming Dynasty did not recognize him, even if Ashikaga Mitsukane had reorganized the Ten Kingdoms of Kanto and completed the purge of hostile forces, he would still have great concerns about leaving Kyoto to the west.

And now, Daming has relieved him of this worry.

The Uesugi clan's territories included Ueno, Musashi, and Izu. Ashikaga Mitsukane must have been coveting them for a long time. When he was able to truly control the ten provinces of Kanto, it would be natural for Ashikaga Mitsukane to expand westwards. It would be equivalent to retracing the path of the Kamakura shogunate and the Muromachi shogunate.

As for the so-called military supplies, they are all misleading.

Not to mention that the two sides are far apart, the Ming Dynasty has limited transportation capacity and cannot provide much. Even if there is real supply, there are a thousand ways to shirk it. The most important thing at the moment is to let Ashikaga Mitsukane quickly turn against the Uesugi clan, because turning against the Uesugi clan, the supervisor of the Kanto Shogun, is equivalent to turning against the Muromachi shogunate.

After the falling out, it was no longer the Ming Dynasty that needed Ashikaga Mitsukane to bravely stand up and disrupt the situation, but it was Ashikaga Mitsukane who needed to beg the Ming Dynasty for his further expansion.

Whether Ashikaga Mitsukane will be kept in the end or Kanto will be divided depends on the final outcome of this war.

But no matter what, the starting point remains unchanged: to plunge Japan into greater chaos and divide it more thoroughly so that the Ming Dynasty can reap the benefits.

After all, if Japan is really reunified, then referring to Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea, it is entirely conceivable that it will still pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty in the future.

Therefore, we must act early and let Japan enter the Warring States Period ahead of time.

In fact, Japan's Warring States Period was not long after the end of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and Japan had the potential to be in chaos for hundreds of years without stopping.

(End of this chapter)