The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 248 We Didn’t Know His Majesty Was Going to Revolt
With the careful cooperation of Owari domain lord Tokugawa Tadamichi, Tian Yiming successfully took over the territory of the Owari Tokugawa family.

The more than 10,000 samurai who had gathered in Nagoya, plus the remaining samurai from other surrounding Owari branches, all assembled according to Tokugawa Tadamichi's orders.

After Tian Yiming purged a small number of samurai who could not accept reality, he incorporated them into the Japanese samurai division under his command.

The total number of this warrior division directly expanded to 40,000.

Afterwards, Tian Yiming led the team to turn southwest along the bay and attack another powerful domain in Ise Bay, the Tsu domain that belonged to Ise Province.

In Tsu Castle, the capital of Tsu Domain, the domain lord Fujido Takaki quickly decided to follow the King of Japan and be loyal to the Emperor of Ming after observing the current situation.

The founder of the Tsu domain was good at building cities, and Tsu Castle was originally a very strong fortress, but the Fujido family has been very aware of the times since the Warring States Period.

After Tian Yiming took over the various feudal domains in the eastern part of Ise Province, the size of the samurai division he led expanded to 46,000 people.

Tian Yiming handed over the important strongholds in Ise Bay to the troops coming from Edo for support.

He continued to lead his troops northward, passing through the valley where the famous Battle of Sekigahara took place, and continued to defeat, receive, and reorganize the nearby Omi and Yamashiro domains.

Arrived in Kyoto-Heian-kyo, where the Japanese emperor and his court were located.

First, he took over the surrounding shogunate armed forces, and then inspected the situation in Heiankyo City, the situation in Nijo Castle where the shogun lived when he entered the capital, and the situation in the Imperial Palace.

However, where these facilities were located, Heian-kyo, Japan's nominal capital, is now just a large area of ​​ruins.

In early 1788, an unprecedented huge fire broke out in Kyoto, almost razing the entire Heian capital to the ground.

In the original history, the Emperor Kanehito at that time completed the retro reconstruction of Heiankyo Castle through a series of means.

But in this world, Tokugawa Ieharu was still alive in 1788, and the key point was that he had already accepted the title of King of Japan conferred by the Ming Dynasty.

The Tokugawa family's status as Japanese kings began to be confirmed, and the Ming Dynasty's influence in Japan also grew rapidly.

The Japanese Emperor was the grudge between the Tokugawa family and the Ming Dynasty. Both sides had a tacit understanding not to mention this matter for the time being, but it does not mean that this matter does not exist.

Tokugawa Ieharu still relied on the Ming Dynasty's miraculous medicine and miracle doctors to prolong his life, and at that time he didn't want to see anything related to the emperor and Kyoto at all.

Tokugawa Ieharu ignored Kanehito's request to rebuild Heian-kyo.

They simply arranged for people to build some simple ordinary houses so that the emperor's family and court officials would have a place to live.

So until now, the city of Kyoto is still in ruins.

The emperor and court nobles were as miserable as they could be, becoming the most miserable emperor and court nobles since the Edo Shogunate.

During the Warring States Period, the Japanese emperor and court nobles had a total salary of only 10,000 koku, which was the same as the salary of a daimyo's hatamoto or retainer samurai.

However, the population of the emperor and the court nobles was much larger than that of a hatamoto samurai, and they also had to maintain the expenses of repairing the palace and ceremonial activities. It can be said that their lives were extremely miserable.

After Tokugawa Ieyasu became the shogun, he increased the salaries of the emperor and court nobles, and later gradually increased them to 120,000 koku, which was close to the income of a small or medium-sized daimyo.

The living standards of the Japanese emperors during the Edo period saw a leap forward compared to previous generations.

However, the emperor's authority was pushed to the limit during the Edo period. Tokugawa Ieyasu clearly stipulated that the emperor could only read books and study and preside over ceremonial and sacrificial activities.

You are not allowed to ask about other matters.

At this time, the Japanese Emperor Kenji could be considered an ambitious emperor.

He devoted his entire life to enhancing the emperor's influence, and then tentatively increasing the emperor's actual power.

But the Japanese emperor was a puppet after all. He had no way of doing anything practical and could only cause trouble at the sacrifices allowed by the shogunate.

After he ascended the throne, many sacrificial activities were added.

There is also a conspiracy theory that the great fire in 1788 was set by Emperor Kanehito.

Otherwise, how could an uninhabited house suddenly catch fire in the spring?
The intention was to enhance the emperor's presence, especially in the process of planning and rebuilding Heian-kyo, to increase his own presence and influence.

Jianren also caused a series of incidents during the Tianming famine.

In the original history, he was forcibly suppressed by the powerful shogunate official Matsudaira Sadanobu and only achieved a few small goals.

However, Kanehito and Shogun Tokugawa Ienari had a similar pain point.

Both of them were adopted heirs. Their biological fathers were still alive when they succeeded to the throne, and both wanted to hold a "Grand Ceremony Debate."

Emperor Kanehito wanted to give his biological father the title of "Retired Emperor" corresponding to the Emperor's father.

Tokugawa Ienari wanted to give his biological father the title of "Ogosho" which corresponds to the Shogun's father.

Both of them had to suppress their obsessions because the powerful minister Matsudaira Sadanobu didn't want to make trouble.

So much so that a certain feeling of mutual sympathy developed between the two.

After Matsudaira Sadanobu was attacked by his political enemies and left the core power circle of the shogunate, the two began to cooperate naturally.

In the end, Kanehito gave Tokugawa Ienari the honorary position of Grand Minister.

Tokugawa Ienari gave Emperor Kanehito more annual salary and allowed Kanehito to restore the Kamishū-style posthumous title and honorific title that had been discontinued for hundreds of years.

The Japanese emperor began to restore more nominal status, which also laid the foundation for him to become the spiritual leader after the Meiji Restoration and to cooperate reasonably with the anti-shogunate faction to ultimately defeat the shogunate.

But in this world, all of that is gone.

The shogunate didn't even allow Heian-kyo to be rebuilt, turning Kanehito from an emperor with a throne into the most miserable emperor.

But this is far from the end.

Because the Ming Dynasty is coming.

In a low and simple wooden house, Tian Yiming met the then Japanese Emperor Kenji.

The somewhat haggard Kanehito knelt on the main seat, with the main Japanese court officials, headed by the Grand Minister, kneeling on both sides below him.

Tian Yiming stood in the middle of the house, looking down at the emperor's image.

His actions angered the ministers around him.

Kanehito's younger brother, Grand Minister Takashi Sukehei, directly questioned:
"Now that you have met the emperor, why don't you bow?"

Tian Yiming immediately asked back:
"Where is the emperor's holy carriage?"

Ying Si Fuping asked back in some surprise:
"The person sitting in the hall is the emperor. Can't you see it?"

Tian Yiming nodded lightly with a serious expression:

"So he is the traitor who usurped the throne! It is really rare to catch him red-handed!"

Then he immediately ordered the guards behind him:

"Someone come! Capture these rebels for me!"

A large group of guards immediately rushed in and arrested all the court nobles, including Emperor Kanehito and Takashi Sukehei.

Kanehito and Takashi Fuhei were both shocked:
"Aren't you a vassal of the shogunate? What are you going to do?"

"Is the general going to rebel?"

Most of the court nobles did not understand what was going on and thought that the shogunate wanted to punish Kanehito, who was more likely to cause trouble, or that Kanehito really had the idea of ​​rebellion.

Anyway, with the enemy at the doorstep, they dared not respond and could only beg for mercy and try to distance themselves from the matter.

"Excuse me, General—"

"We have absolutely no intention of rebelling."

"We didn't know His Majesty was going to rebel—"

Tian Yiming ignored Tian's questioning and pleas for mercy, and continued to instruct the guards around him:
“Arrest the traitors Jianren, Ying Sifuping and all their families, and put them in jail and put them under strict guard.

“Collect and seal all prohibited items, books, and documents here.

"After all the remnants of the rebels are wiped out, they will be sent to Shuntian Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty and the Crown Prince will make the decision."

Those responsible for the arrest were all members of the Ming Dynasty's garrison in Japan brought by Tian Yiming. They had all fought on the side of the Ming Dynasty for several years and had already considered themselves soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

They had no feelings towards the Japanese court headed by Emperor Kenjiro, and now they all felt that they had accomplished a great deed.

Everyone immediately agreed loudly and went to capture people and pack up their belongings according to Tian Yiming's request.

Tian Yiming took down the Japanese court headed by the Emperor and began to sort out the war events so far.

After countless battles and expansions along the way, the size of Tian Yiming's samurai division has continued to stabilize and now exceeds 50,000 people.

Tian Yiming looked at the increasingly large number of warriors and recalled the increasingly easy battles in recent times. He knew that normal means would no longer be able to increase his own losses.

But Tian Yiming followed the instructions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty and could not deliberately set up a trap to send these warriors to their deaths. After a little consideration, he simply began to implement his idea in Nagoya.

On the pretext that the team had been fighting for many days and needed to rest, they stopped directly in Kyoto and no longer advanced on a large scale.

He simply sent a troop south to control Amagasaki Castle next to the Yodo River in Settsu Province, which was located on the opposite side of the later Osaka Port.

It is convenient for our troops, personnel and supplies to board and exit ships from here.

Then combat operations ceased altogether.

At the same time, he wrote letters to Liu Biao and Shen Chu in Edo, reporting the current situation of his troops.

It was suggested that they send away the families of the feudal lords west of Kyoto who remained in Edo, so that these western feudal lords could rebel with confidence.

Then he began to vigorously train these samurai divisions under his command, transforming them from military aristocratic troops in the era of cold weapons into line infantry in the era of line execution and shooting.

At the same time, gather all forces and personnel near Kyoto.

The people living in and around Kyoto were simply reorganized and sent to Amagasaki Castle in the form of garrisons, and then they boarded Ming passenger ships to open up wasteland in Africa.

The Japanese people in Kyoto and its vicinity have long been influenced by the Kyoto court.

Especially during the Tenmei famine, Emperor Kanehito repeatedly used sacrifices and rumors to carry out various small actions.

He also took the initiative to ask the shogunate to provide disaster relief, expanding his influence among the people.

Compared with Japanese people in other regions, ordinary people here also have knowledge of the Japanese emperor, and the key is that it is more real.

So these people can no longer stay in their homeland.

Clearing the city of Kyoto of its inhabitants now will also facilitate the deployment of a large number of troops to prepare for a decisive battle with the pro-imperial faction and the anti-Qing dynasty in the future.

It will also be convenient to reduce Japan’s population pressure in the future.
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Tian Yiming's troops were part of the Japanese Kingdom's campaign to reduce the feudal clans and reorganize the samurai, and were one of many combat routes.

When Tian Yiming took control of Kyoto, operations in other regions were basically completed.

Most of the land on the main island of Japan east of Kyoto has been brought under the control of the Ming Dynasty's garrison in Japan.

Of the 100,000 Ming troops stationed in Japan that initially arrived in Japan, 10,000 followed Tian Yiming to Kyoto, and 20,000 remained in Edo Castle.

During the operation, the 30,000 troops were gradually dispersed to various towns east of Kyoto, responsible for guarding the taken-over cities, implementing reforms, and training peasant servants.

The last 40,000 men, after defeating and reorganizing the samurai of the local feudal lords east of Kyoto, gathered a total of 200,000 Japanese samurai divisions.

According to the original plan, they went to Kyoto in batches by land or sea, waiting for the final decisive battle.

Liu Biao asked the deputy governor Zhou Dahu, who had already made great contributions, to stay in Edo to command 20,000 Ming troops stationed in Japan and 50,000 newly recruited Japanese servant soldiers.

Liu Biao himself prepared to leave for Kyoto to serve as the commander of the final battle.

After integrating the armies of the feudal lords in various places, the situation of each feudal lord would be reported to Edo so that Liu Biao and Shen Chu, the two civil and military officials in charge, would be informed of the local situation.

The two would decide how to deal with the houses and families they left in Edo based on reports from local feudal lords.

The Mito Tokugawa family can be considered a very typical representative.

After Shen Chu and Liu Biao learned of the victory of Mito Domain, they immediately sent people to raid the courtyard of the Mito Domain lord in Edo.

This includes Koishikawa Korakuen, where Tokugawa Mitsukuni wrote and taught.

During the seizure, they discovered a large number of Japanese scholars gathered in Koishikawa Korakuen.

There are also a large number of books and documents compiled and edited by these people.

Liu Biao and Shen Chu both knew Zhu Jianxuan's strategic goals towards Japan. They also knew that the Edo Shogunate in Japan had acted in a usurping, disloyal, and deceitful manner towards the Ming Dynasty.

To prove these charges, it would be best to find enough solid evidence.

The emperor in Kyoto is indisputable evidence, and various books and documents in Edo Castle can also serve as supporting evidence.

So Shen Chu specially arranged several civil servants to check these books in Koishikawa Korakuen, especially looking for books that were not available in the Ming Dynasty but were available in Japan.

In the past, Japan and the Ming Dynasty were on opposite sides of the country, and local Japanese scholars were very independent and did not care much about the taboos of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the officials in charge of the search did not need to specifically look for quotes. They just flipped through the Japanese books and found a lot of content that was extremely treasonous.

In particular, there are the first part of the manuscript of "Dai Nihonshi" which was carefully collected by Tokugawa Jiyasu, as well as the new manuscript which is being proofread.

The officials in charge of the search and seizure took a quick look at the catalog and realized that they had caught a real culprit.

Send this book and related manuscripts to Shen Chu immediately.

After Shen Chu briefly read the Great History of Japan, he was not only shocked but also puzzled:

“Is there something wrong with the Japanese?
"Why are you so ignorant of your own limitations? You actually consider the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties as your vassal states?

“Why can they fabricate stories without regard to the facts?
"It's not like Shenzhou has never had any exchanges with Japan throughout the dynasties.

"The imperial edict of the Celestial Empire and the tribute table submitted by Japan can all be consulted.

“How come in this book, we are treated equally?
"The Japanese emperor was a king before. He clearly borrowed the title from Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. How come he became the emperor of the dynasty that lasted for eternity?"

The more Shen Chu read it, the more he found it unreasonable, so he asked someone to move the books to the Japanese palace to meet the Japanese King Tokugawa Ienari.

This time, Shen Chu lost his most basic respect for Tokugawa Ienari and directly questioned loudly:
"What's up with this book?"

Tokugawa Ienari was shocked:
"Why is Mr. Shen so excited? I don't know what book this is."

Shen Chu directly took out a book and opened the catalog to Tokugawa Ienari:
"Look for yourself, this is so outrageous, so against the principles of heaven and morality, and such nonsense."

Tokugawa Ienari was also visibly shocked when he saw the catalog:
"Ah... where did you get this book from, sir? I really don't know..."

Shen Chu didn't want to pretend seeing Tokugawa Ienari's reaction, but he couldn't admit it either:
"According to the report of the Japanese scholar who is in charge of this book, it was compiled and presented to the King of Japan several decades ago. And the record was left.

"Why didn't you stop it? Why didn't you punish the relevant personnel? Why didn't you inform Ming Dynasty about it? And why did you even plan to continue compiling it?"

Shen Chu said this and turned to the guards and clerical staff around him:

"Go to the palace library and see if there is a submitted copy of this book."

The clerk and the guards went to search immediately, and they found the result very quickly. The set of books really was inside the palace.

They quickly brought out the Great History of Japan from the palace.

Shen Chu asked the clerks to open it and show it to Tokugawa Ieharu:

"This is from your palace collection. How do you explain it now?"

Tokugawa Ienari continued to explain in a panic:
"I didn't grow up in the Edo… royal palace, so I really don't know where this book came from, and I haven't even read it.

"Since this book was presented by the Mito clan, it should be Mito clan's business, and has nothing to do with our Ichihashi family."

Tokugawa Ienari was adopted, and he really didn't know about this book.

The point is that Tokugawa Ienari’s political thinking was not mature enough to realize that it didn’t matter whether he knew about the book or not.

The task of Liu Biao, Shen Chu and others was to abolish the feudal domains and establish provinces in Japan.

Therefore, they would certainly attack the King of Japan, whether there was a book called Japanese National History or not.

With this book, it is easier to make a solid case.

Shen Chu suddenly sighed:

"The Mito Tokugawa family must verify whether the king is really unaware of the situation. I dare not jump to conclusions.

"When the war in Japan is over, Your Majesty will go to Shuntian Prefecture to pay homage to His Majesty and explain things to His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Tokugawa Ienari didn't think too much about it.

He felt that now that he was the King of Japan and an official subject of the Ming Emperor, he should indeed go to pay homage to the Ming Emperor.

The Ming imperial family was a real royal court, not a troupe like the Japanese emperor.

I really don't know anything about the history of Japan. As long as I explain it clearly to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, it shouldn't be a big deal.

The key point is that given the current relationship between Japan and the Ming Dynasty, it is really impossible not to go.

Tokugawa Ieharu agreed with some trepidation:

"I understand... I will go and apologize to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty..."

I am really speechless about my brain and eyes. I just found out that I selected the wrong time when I set the schedule last night. It should have been set to send at 8 o'clock last night, but I chose 8 o'clock this evening.

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(End of this chapter)