I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 631 It is now p.m. in Jiegang

Lu Tan stood on the stern deck of the "Ningbo", looking at Jiegang in the distance, thinking about his own thoughts.

Wang Guoguang, this shameless old man, actually took a concubine openly, and someone reported him to the emperor.

What does the emperor mean?
Were the government bulletins delivered to Tsushima?
Not necessarily. It may take a few days.

After burning Jie Port, the navy split into two routes, one heading south and then east, delivering the rockets rewarded by the emperor to Hamamatsu, Sunpu, Odawara and other cities.

He led his troops westward along the Seto Inland Sea, delivering the rockets gifted by the emperor to cities such as Himeji.

It's been about fifteen days since I returned to Tsushima, and I should be able to see the political bulletin.

Will the emperor scold Wang Guoguang, the shameless old man?
Should!
Who told you to be so frivolous at the age of sixty!
I am completely different from him!

I am old, and my children and grandchildren are all working hard for the country and are not around to fulfill their filial duties, so I was forced to buy the house reluctantly and "hired" two maids to take care of me.

I'm old, I've fought in wars for half my life, and I'm injured all over. I always need someone to take care of me!

It's just that these two maids are a little younger, only seventeen years old, young and energetic. I feel the breath of youth, happy mood, and good health.

They happen to be twins, it’s really just a coincidence, and I was just kind-hearted!

At that time, the agent said that the sisters had a good relationship and how could he bear to separate them, so he hired them together.

Definitely not a Japanese maid!
If they were not from Ryukyu, they were from Korea. He knew that the two maids were clearly on a ship from Ganghwa Island and transferred to Dagu Port. They were holding passports issued by the Ganghwa Island Agency.

Yes, they are holding Ganghwa Island photos, which means they are undoubtedly North Korean citizens.

Even if I were to speak in front of the emperor, my argument would be convincing and much better than that old man Wang Guoguang's.

Lu T'an's mind turned a hundred and eight times and he felt a little relieved.

"Report to General Lu! The head of the Jiegang East Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Imai Munehisa, sent someone to inquire and said that he wanted to visit General Lu in person."

Lu Tong was absent-minded and waved his hand impatiently. "I don't know him well, so there's no need for him to get close to me. Send the messenger back, seal off the port, and don't let even a single piece of wood float out."

"As ordered!"

Lu Tong placed his right hand on his forehead and stared towards the northeast. "The Marines have been on land for two and a half days. They started marching early yesterday morning. According to the distance they have traveled, there should be some movement."

The adjutant comforted him, "General Lu, it should be time, but the fire is not burning well yet, and the black smoke has not risen high enough, so it cannot be seen.

We are about a hundred miles away from Kyoto, and we can’t see it unless the black smoke reaches a high enough position.”

Lu Tong nodded and looked at Jiegang, his mind involuntarily thinking of his troubles again.

I am different from that shameless old man Wang Guoguang, I am just different!
In the most luxurious and elegant mansion in Jiegang City, the head of Jiegang Chamber of Commerce, Sohisa Imai, listened to the report from his servant, his brows tightly furrowed, and the folding fan in his hand hit the palm of his left hand again and again.

He glanced at the merchants sitting below him and said, "Everyone, the Ming navy has gathered hundreds of huge ships outside the port without making a single move. What should we do?"

Merchant A said, "He must be here to investigate the incident at Jiegang where he beat up the Mingguo Merchants' employees last time."

Merchant B said, “They were the thugs sent by the Lord of Shigiyama Castle, Matsunaga Hisahide, to sow discord between Ming and the Ashikaga Shogun.

We have tied up the criminals and handed them over to the Ming people on Awaji Island, what else do you want?"

Merchant C said, "Yes, the real murderer has been found and handed over to the Ming people. We are also willing to compensate the Ming people with gold and silver. We have done our best, what else do you want?"

Merchant A said: "Jiegang has always stood on the side of General Ashikaga and tried his best to promote peace talks with Ming. Only by negotiating peace and lifting the blockade can business expand and we can get more benefits.

We have repeatedly mentioned this to the Ming country's Awaji agent and Tsushima general agent. They still refuse to give in. This is really unreasonable!"

Imai Munehisa sneered and said, "Can you win the argument with the Ming people?"

The folding fan flapped rapidly in his palm for a dozen times and suddenly stopped.

"I can understand the feelings of the Ming people. They are fickle, sometimes they want peace, sometimes they provoke. If I were in their place, I would also be annoyed. However, this matter is not our responsibility, and it is not something that General Ashikaga can control.

Shogun Ashikaga, we, and the daimyo of Kyushu and the west all hope to negotiate peace and end this semi-hostile state with the Ming.

However, the king of Kyoto and a group of ignorant nobles were unwilling to give in and deliberately opposed the Ashikaga Shogun. In addition, Matsunaga Hisahide, Rokkaku Shozo, and Asakura Yoshikage fanned the flames behind the scenes.

Oda Nobunaga in Gifu had an unclear attitude.

General Ashikaga cannot handle the situation alone, so there are such repeated changes."

Merchant A immediately agreed, "Yes, that's the truth. We and General Ashikaga can't be blamed. If the Ming people really want to negotiate peace with us, they can send troops to teach those evil-minded people a lesson, and those idiots will immediately behave themselves."

By the way, what did the Ming army that marched towards Kyoto yesterday want to do? Did they negotiate directly with the Heavenly King and General Ashikaga? "

Merchant B nodded repeatedly, with an undisguised gloating expression on his face: "It's possible. The Ming people don't want to wait any longer, so they just go to talk to General Ashikaga. Besides, they can also show off their power and intimidate the villains.

The king of Kyoto, I guess the Ming people don't want to talk to him. He is just an empty shell, the Ming people have already excluded him. That's why the king and those nobles are so angry, and they have colluded with Matsunaga Hisahide and others to disrupt the peace talks. "

Merchant C was anxious, "How can they leave us out of the negotiations? If they want to negotiate, they should do it at Jiegang. We have been busy all the time, and we can't let our hard work go in vain."

Imai Munehisa waved the folding fan in his hand and said confidently, "They won't abandon us. If the peace talks are successful, who will pay the gold and silver to the Ming Kingdom? They will have to come to us to borrow it!"

Everyone laughed, "Yes, they must be asking us to borrow. Who among those daimyo, including the Ashikaga Shogun, has extra money at home?

If you come to borrow money, we can set the conditions.

Imai-san, please help us get the best benefits."

Imai Munehisa became more and more confident, "Don't worry, everyone, I will not only get the greatest benefits for you from the Ashikaga Shogun and the daimyo, but I will also negotiate with the Ming people and get enough benefits."

The merchants were extremely surprised. "Can the Imai leader get benefits from the Ming people?"

Imai Munehisa said modestly: "The Ming people have been fighting with us without breaking, maintaining a semi-hostile and semi-commercial relationship with us, which shows that they cannot do without us and need our gold and silver.

We in Eastern Japan don’t have much, but we have a lot of gold and silver.

It is said that the Ming Dynasty has been developing its industry and commerce in recent years, and needs a large amount of gold and silver. The gold and silver of Iwami Silver Mine, as well as the gold and silver of Kai, Mutsu and other places, are all urgently needed. "

Imai Munehisa raised his folding fan high, then slashed it down fiercely, saying firmly: "I will use this as a support to get our benefits from the Ming people."

"吆西!"

"Imai Shujo, great advice!"

All the businessmen praised him.

"It's bad, sir. There's black smoke coming from the northeast."

"Nani?"

"Black smoke?"

Imai Munehisa and the other merchants were shocked and hurriedly ran out of the house. They stood on barefoot and stretched their heads out to look around, but they could not see anything except the wall and the trees.

"Damn! Where's the black smoke!" Imai Sohisa shouted loudly.

“Master, you need to climb up to a high place to see it.

Just now, the people in the fire alarm building saw it. Many people climbed up trees or ran outside the city to see it. In the city, the houses and trees blocked the view and it was impossible to see it. "

Like other eastern Japanese cities, Sakai Port was made entirely of wooden houses, and the most feared thing was fire. Many Japanese merchants had their shops and warehouses in the town, so the Chamber of Commerce spent a lot of money to build a fire alarm building and set up a fire brigade.

Moreover, their shops and warehouses were deliberately built at a distance from the densely populated residential areas and separated by canals.

But when they heard the black smoke and fire alarm, they were still frightened and panicked.

"Baga, do you want to ask Imai Shuzo to climb a tree like a monkey?" Merchant A shouted.

Imai Sohisa waved his hand and asked the servant with a dark face.

"Where is the black smoke coming from?" "Sir, it's from the northeast."

When the merchants heard this, they couldn't help but discuss: "Northeast direction, Kyoto and Nijo Castle?"

"Who did it?"

"Ming army? Are they marching so fast? They set out yesterday morning, and they're already in Kyoto?"

Imai Sohisa waved his hand to stop the merchants from chattering like sparrows and affecting his thinking.

After waiting for more than a minute, Imai Sohisa's face remained dark.

"The Ming army marches like the wind, and it is possible that they will arrive in Kyoto today. However, they started burning the city as soon as they arrived, which shows that they have no intention of negotiating at all."

Merchant A asked fearfully, "The Ming Dynasty sent troops to Kyoto to burn the city in order to impose punishment?"

Merchant B guessed, "Or maybe it's a warning to deter the scoundrels and promote peace talks. Otherwise, if there really is a punishment, it should be setting fire to the border port."

Imai Munehisa and everyone else turned to look at him.

You are really good at talking!
Merchant B quickly explained, "I think the Ming people still want to negotiate, so they are willing to march a hundred miles to punish Kyoto and spare the border port."

Merchant C suddenly asked, "Why was Kyoto burned instead of Nijo Castle?"

Everyone was silent. Imai Munehisa shook his head. "The Ming people know very well that it is the Heavenly King who has been hindering the peace talks. One of the conditions for the peace talks is to abolish the Heavenly King.

He and the nobles were unwilling to be abandoned and kept obstructing the peace talks. It was with the support of the king that people like Matsunaga Hisahide, Rokkaku Shojin, and Asakura Yoshikage dared to jump up and down to prevent the peace talks.

It was also because of the king's attitude that Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful man in Kinki, remained neutral and did not dare to act rashly.

The Ming people punished them by burning down the capital, killing the emperor and the ministers, which deterred the scoundrels and removed obstacles to peace talks, killing two birds with one stone.

"Master Imai's analysis is very thorough and brilliant!"

"Imai-san is indeed a man of great talent who has mastered both Eastern and Western learning!"

A businessman asked worriedly: "Will burning the king to death cause more trouble?"

"What twists and turns?" Merchant A said disdainfully, "For many daimyo, the Heavenly King is nothing more than a fig leaf. When they rebel against their superiors or annex their neighbors' land without reason, they come to the Heavenly King for a document to cover it up, and then pretend to be a monkey.

It's just toilet paper. If you have it, use it. If you don't, it's okay. The shogun of Nijo Castle also has the same effect.

"When you talk to these daimyo warriors, they all act like scoundrels. When you take out your knife and chop them a few times, they immediately fall to their knees, more loyal than believers for ten generations."

Yoshi, what you said is really clear.

The merchants felt much more relaxed. It seemed that the Ming army's burning of Kyoto was also a sign of peace talks.

Peace talks are good. With peace we can do big business and make a lot of money!
Yo West!

But Imai Sohisa felt a little uneasy.

"Ding ding", the Ming Dynasty clock standing in the living room rang, thirteen times, thirteen o'clock in the afternoon.

"Come here," Imai Munehisa called his confidant, "You go out to sea again in person, um, bring 500 gold coins, saying that it is a gift from our Chamber of Commerce to the general of the Ming Dynasty. You must find a way to meet their general, the General Lu who bombarded Hirado."

"Hi!"

The confidant responded and immediately went to prepare. Soon he went out with his entourage, carrying two boxes.

After waiting for more than half an hour, the servant suddenly pointed to the northeast and shouted in horror: "Black smoke, Buddha, half of the sky is full of black smoke!"

Imai Munehisa and others ran to the middle of the yard again and looked towards the northeast.

Black smoke gathered in the sky over there, just like a bunch of dark clouds gathered together. It was not so heavy, but floating lightly, but like a wandering god of death with a hideous smile.

Everyone stared in amazement. After a long while, a businessman said, "How big a fire must it be to produce so much black smoke?"

Imai Munehisa became even more uneasy. He turned to ask the servant, "Did Tose go out to sea?"

"My lord, it's time to get on board."

Seeing the usually calm Imai Munehisa so panicked, other merchants couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, Master?"

"I was worried that something serious might happen."

"The chief is worrying too much, what can happen?"

Before he could finish his words, a sharp whistling sound cut through the sky and reached their ears.

Looking up, they saw hundreds of dense black smoke trails in the sky above Jiegang, like sharp arrows flying in from the open sea, and then landing in Jiegang and around them.

Someone let out a heart-wrenching howl: "The Sixth Heavenly Devil's Fiery Bomb!"

The sound was so shrill that even the Buddha statues in the nearby temples were frightened and quickly packed up their bags and ran away.

The North Sea Navy used more than 30,000 rockets in East Japan, attacking salt fields, docks, shipyards, bridges, farmlands and a few castles.

There were dozens of bullets in scattered pieces, ranging from a dozen to dozens. The power was enough to terrify the Eastern Japanese soldiers and civilians who had seen it. They named it the Sixth Heaven Demon King's Fire Bomb, which was as famous as the Sixth Heaven Demon King Oda Nobunaga.

Boom boom!

Explosions continued to sound around them, and everyone was terrified and ran around. The yard that was full of people just now was suddenly left with only Imai Sohyu.

His face turned pale and he sat down on the wooden floor of the corridor.

Peace talks?

The inconsistency on his side has exhausted the last bit of patience of the Emperor of Ming.

The emperor’s wrath will result in millions of corpses and thousands of miles of blood!

Now the Ming navy has come, not to promote peace through fighting. They don't want to talk at all. They just want to show the wrath of the Ming emperor and completely destroy the three islands of Japan.

Jie Port, Japan's last hope and the last hope left by the Ming people to the Japanese, is now about to be destroyed.

Countless voices were heard from inside and outside the courtyard wall.

With cries of panic, curses, and screams, the entire Jiegang port instantly turned into a living hell.

There is no need to run. With so many huge ships coming from the Ming navy, it is not just a matter of launching hundreds of the Sixth Heavenly Demon King's fire bombs. They will definitely launch thousands or even tens of thousands of them. Only in this way can they be worthy of the majestic power of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Dozens of the Sixth Heaven Demon King's fire bombs can turn Jiegang into a sea of ​​fire. Thousands or tens of thousands of them will not allow even the Buddha to escape.

The sky was covered with black smoke. The sun was shining brightly just now, but now it was completely dark. However, the ground was brighter than the sky and looked a fiery red.

It was as if the sun was setting and the world was turned upside down.

The sharp whistling sound continued overhead, drowning out the burning sounds and screaming and crying that were everywhere in the town. The rockets were like a summer rainstorm, continuous.

Even though Jie Port turned into a sea of ​​fire, the rockets continued to fall like meteorites.

Sohisa Imai felt the burning heat. The surrounding houses had already turned into a sea of ​​fire. His own house was also half burned. The fire was blown by the wind and swept over madly. In less than a minute, it burned to the living room.

Sohisa Imai sat upright in the living room, surrounded by the fire, with his eyes slightly closed and his brows lowered.

Clang!

Fourteen o'clock in the afternoon.

The sound of the Ming-made clock chiming was the last sound he heard.

(End of this chapter)