The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 244 "You are Japanese! You are a Japanese samurai!"

The hatamoto and retainers of the former Edo Shogun family, as well as the samurai under the daimyo who stayed in Edo to follow the Japanese king.

With the assistance of the Ming Dynasty's garrison in Japan, the reorganization was completed, forming a total of ten "Ming Dynasty Japanese Samurai Divisions".

Then Tian Yiming led a Ming Dynasty division stationed in Japan, supervised two Japanese samurai divisions, and escorted Tokugawa Jiyasu, the head of the Mito Tokugawa family, to the war.

He went to Mito Castle, one hundred kilometers east of Edo Castle, to recruit all the samurai of the Mito Tokugawa family.

When the army arrived outside Mito Castle, Tian Yiming asked Tokugawa Jiyasu to order all the samurai of Mito Domain to come out and assemble.

The news that the Shogun of the Edo Shogunate had become the King of Japan in the Ming Dynasty was announced, and all the samurai were required to follow the Japanese King Tokugawa Ienari to fight and capture the usurper emperor.

Tokugawa Jibao didn't want to cooperate in the first place, so he instinctively asked back when he heard this order:
"Tanuma Omiaki, what do you mean by asking 'all' of the samurai in Mito to leave their domain and follow the so-called king to fight?"

Tokugawa Jiyasu emphasized the words "all" and "all".

Tian Yiming immediately said with certainty:
"Yes, all warriors, go to war."

Tokugawa Jibao felt that something was wrong:
"If all the Mito samurai go to war, who will guard and manage the Mito Domain?"

Tian Yiming said as a matter of course:

"The Ming Dynasty's garrison in Japan will manage the Mito Domain for you."

Tokugawa Jiyasu was obviously stunned for a moment, and suddenly thought of many possibilities.

Now he has handed over the management of his fiefdom to the Ming Dynasty's garrison in Japan, and is following the king into battle with all his warriors.

Even if the king wins, after the war for kingship is over, can he still take back the management rights of the feudal state with his samurai?

Even a fool knows that it is unlikely to come back.

Japan still has a feudal system until now, and there is no particularly clear concept of reducing the power of the feudal lords.

Tokugawa Jiyasu did not directly think of the words "reducing the feudal domains", but instinctively thought of the words "abolishing the feudal domains and abolishing the country", which had very similar actual content.

The new King of Japan and even the Ming Dynasty court must take this opportunity to completely annex the Mito Domain!
As the feudal monarch, Tokugawa Jiyasu instinctively refused loudly:
"This is impossible! Absolutely impossible! Mito Domain should be guarded by its own samurai, and there is no need for the king and Ming to intervene."

Tian Yiming slightly raised his head and stared down at Tokugawa Jibao:

"You are resisting the orders of the Emperor of Ming and the King of Japan. Are you planning a rebellion?
"You are now declaring war on Ming and Japan on behalf of Mito Domain!"

Tokugawa Jibao was startled, and then continued to say with gritted teeth:

"Tanuma-chan, there is no need to make empty threats like this. There is no such thing as a country being destroyed without a fight in this world!

"You could consider this a declaration of war.

“I want to see how you and Ieyasu can defeat the daimyo who support the emperor even if you force all the daimyo to the other side.

"I also want to know to what extent the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty can support you.

"There is obviously a better way to make Japan as a whole loyal to the Emperor of Ming, but you insist on pushing us to death and forcing us to the opposite side of Ming.

"Then we can only stand on the side of the Emperor!

"At your age, you simply cannot understand the principles of governing a country, and you cannot understand that governing the world ultimately depends on people.

"If you continue like this, the so-called Ming Dynasty Japanese King will be deserted by his friends and relatives.

“No one came to help him rule Japan anymore.

"When Japan is in complete chaos and there is no way to clean it up, let's see if the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty will still allow you to continue messing around!"

Tian Yiming laughed after hearing this:
"I'll tell you a secret. My goal is to make all the nobles and samurai in Japan disappear.

"The more chaos Japan suffers, the faster I can achieve my goal!

"It's not that I don't understand the principles of governing a country. It's because I truly learned the principles of governing a country in Ming Dynasty that I must exterminate all of you insects.

"Then, I will invite teachers from the Ming Dynasty to teach Japanese farmers to read, take the Ming Dynasty's imperial examinations, and then come back to govern Japan.

"In the future Japan, there will be no place for the emperor and the nobles, nor for your samurai.

“So, you all will disappear in this melee.

"This is in line with the Ming Dynasty's concept of governing the country. His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will definitely support me unswervingly."

When Tokugawa Jiyasu heard these words, he was obviously stunned again.

Mito Domain was the center of Confucian scholarship in Japan. The second lord of Mito Domain, Tokugawa Mitsukuni, presided over the compilation of the "History of Great Japan" with reference to "Records of the Grand Historian" and "Zizheng Tongjian".

This book is nominally a general history of Japan, but in reality it is a "political essay" written by Tokugawa Mitsukuni to vent his resentment for not being able to become a shogun.

He wrote down the early myths and legends of Japan in the form of official history, and changed all the early kings and great kings of Japan into emperors.

They fabricated the concept that the Japanese emperor has been in the royal line for generations and has never had a change of dynasty. Then, based on these fabricated concepts, they claimed that Japan is superior to the mainland of China.

The Sui, Tang, Song and Ming dynasties of the Shenzhou Empire were included in the "Dai Nihonshi: Biographies of the Various Feudal Domains", which deconstructed the concept of the world centered on the Shenzhou mainland and reshaped the world view centered on Japan.

This political treatise, disguised as a history book, unexpectedly played a special role in the modern period of the shogunate, becoming a tool for building the national identity of the Japanese. This book was presented to the Edo shogunate in 1720, but it was not published or circulated to the outside world. However, the so-called Lord of Mito, Tokugawa Jiyasu, was very familiar with this history book compiled by his ancestors.

It was during the period of Tokugawa Jiyasu that Japan restarted the revision and compilation of the History of Japan and formally prepared for public publication, but it was not officially published until 1849.

If we were to look for Japan's earliest nationalists, they would most likely be among the lords and scholars of Mito Domain.

Tokugawa Jiyasu was familiar with the history of Japan, and had a keen understanding of many things and concepts that other Japanese were not aware of.

Tokugawa Jiyasu understood what would happen after Tian Yiming completed what he was going to do, which would make the concept of Japan disappear completely.

After realizing this, Tokugawa Jibao suddenly became uncontrollably angry:
"You lunatic! Do you know what you are doing!

"You bastard! You're Japanese!

"You are a Japanese samurai, how could you do such a thing!"

Tian Yiming was a little surprised. He didn't know why this guy was so excited:
"Of course I know what I am doing, I am indeed Japanese, I am a Ming Japanese.

"It is precisely because I am Japanese that I am eager to complete all this.

"We will completely wipe out these insects of yours, and help Japan get rid of its past chaos and ignorance, and truly become a part of the Ming Dynasty.

“Let all Japanese speak Chinese, wear Chinese clothes, and pass the exam to become true Ming people.

"I'll ask you one last time, are you willing to cooperate?

"If you cooperate, more of the samurai of Mito Domain will survive. If you refuse, it won't be surprising if all of them die."

Tokugawa Jibao was completely sure of Tian Yiming's purpose, and he suddenly jumped up and pounced on Tian Yiming:

"Go to hell you bastard!"

Tian Yiming had been fighting on the battlefield for four years, and he was not someone that a pampered daimyo like Tokugawa Jiyasu could attack by surprise.

Tian Yiming raised his foot and kicked Tokugawa Jiyasu to the ground.

Tokugawa Jiyasu immediately fell to the ground holding his stomach, his whole body bent like a big shrimp, and he let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Tian Yiming ordered the guards around him:

"Take it down and lock it up."

Without Tian Yiming's orders, the guards on both sides had already reacted and immediately held down the screaming Tokugawa Jibao.

Take out a rope and tie Tokugawa Jibao's hands.

The severe pain in Tokugawa Jibao's stomach eased a little, and he continued to curse at Tian Yiming loudly:
"You bastard! You traitor! You sinner of Japan! You will not die a good death, you will go to hell in the future!"

Tian Yiming didn't care about Tokugawa Jibao's insults, but he thought he was too noisy and affected his command.

He let the guard cut a piece of cloth from his clothes and stuffed it into his mouth, turning his crazy cursing into suppressed whimpers.

Tian Yiming turned around and asked his retainer, the samurai Yanagi, to go into Mito Castle and make a statement, telling them what Tokugawa Ienari was going to announce and demanding that all the samurai of the Mito domain leave the city.

The elders who stayed behind in Mito Domain were all shocked when they heard what Liu Wei said. The general wanted to rebel against the emperor and surrender to the Ming Dynasty. This was a very big thing.

Tokugawa Jiyasu's younger brother, who inherited the domain of the old Nakayama clan of the Imperial Household, was named Nakayama Nobukari. He directly asked Yanagi:
"Where is our master now? Why doesn't he come and summon us in person?"

Liu Wei said without disguising:

"The head of the Mito Tokugawa family refused the king's order and declared war on the Kingdom of Japan. He has now been captured and punished by the vanguard general.

“If you accept the king’s order, you and your master will still have a chance to survive.

"If you refuse orders, you will be annihilated by the king's warriors and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's Japanese garrison!"

The elders of Mito Domain were shocked again:

"What did you say? The head of the family was punished! We are the Mito Tokugawa family, one of the three great families of the Edo Shogunate!"

Liu Wei had been reorganizing the samurai division in Edo these days, and he had heard countless expressions of astonishment and disbelief. Now he simply ignored their astonishment:

"None of these things are important. The key is how are you going to decide?"

The other elders were a little hesitant, but the young and energetic Nakayama Nobuki said arrogantly:
"Since our lord has declared war on the general, we, as retainers, should naturally obey. From now on, we are the enemy!"

The other elders opened their mouths, but in the end they did not refute what Nobuaki Nakayama had already said.

They don't know how powerful the army from Ming Dynasty is.

Liu Wei didn't waste any more words:
"In that case, let's meet on the battlefield!"

Liu Wei got up and left on his own.

Nakayama Nobuki did not stop him, but shouted loudly:
"No delivery!"

(End of this chapter)