Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 214: Sending Troops to Japan
Zhu Di looked at his elder brother saying this to Yang Chen and was completely confused as to what this meant.

Xu Da was assigned to the infirmary to take care of the patient.

This hospital building was specially built by Yang Chen, and only those who have made significant contributions can live there.

The Xu family members are here to take care of Xu Da.

At night, when everyone had just finished their meal, Yang Chen and Zhu Biao announced a piece of news together.

"Everyone! Yang Chen and I plan to take the initiative to vaccinate mature cowpox starting from the day after tomorrow. As a pioneer example, we want to let the people know that the Ming Dynasty has found a way to cure smallpox. From now on, smallpox is no longer a venomous snake or a ferocious beast, but a common disease.

I hope that my father and mother will support me when the time comes."

A long time has passed since Zhu Biao asked the Imperial Medical Bureau to go to the south to find experimental subjects for smallpox vaccination.

He had originally planned to start vaccinating against smallpox at this time, but unfortunately, the time was postponed again and again.

I'm only now starting to talk about this kid.

Faced with such a shocking news, everyone began to discuss it.

With the permission of Empress Ma and Zhu Yuanzhang, they decided to tell the news to the entire court so that the people would know about this.

This was a choice made out of necessity. If we didn't publicize cowpox while there was still time, then by then, Li Wenzhong would have returned to the Ming Dynasty with the good news from Japan.

However, no one in the Ming Dynasty was able to be immunized against smallpox as originally planned.

How could millions of soldiers go to Japan at the lowest cost and infect the Japanese with the smallpox virus?

Therefore, when Zhu Biao returned to the court, he told all officials that soon, the royal family would be the first to be vaccinated with cowpox, and he hoped that all officials who could make contributions would take the initiative to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau to be vaccinated with cowpox.

As long as the officials are vaccinated now, this year's year-end bonus can be awarded in advance.

Knowing that they could receive a year's salary if they were sick, these officials naturally began to sign up.

After all, they can get money. The moment they get the money, everyone thinks that the illness is worth it.

And then less than seven days passed.

This is how the historian recorded it.

The first day of February in the thirteenth year of Hongwu.

On this day, an extremely shocking event happened throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, discovered a miracle drug for curing smallpox, called cowpox. As long as people take the initiative to get vaccinated with cowpox, they will develop symptoms similar to smallpox, but not as serious.

You won't feel any discomfort on the first day of infection with cowpox, but you will experience some itching starting from the second day. You can use the [Prescription for Exorcising Evil Spirits and Strengthening Bones] to boil bath water and wipe your body to alleviate the symptoms.

The secret prescription is three grams of Astragalus, two grams of Atractylodes, three pounds of Mugwort, and six ounces of Radix Glehniae. Mix them together and boil them over high heat for one stick of incense, then simmer them over low heat for a cup of tea. Wipe the body with the juice to reduce itching symptoms.

Then starting from the third day, people with good health will gradually recover, but if you are not in good health, you can only see a doctor.

Reimbursement will only be made if you go to the medical area designated by the local county government for treatment.

It is said to be reimbursement, but in fact it is just a subsidy of thirty cents.

After these measures were promulgated, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and others were successfully vaccinated against cowpox. At the same time, all officials volunteered to be vaccinated, and the symptoms of cowpox infection on their bodies were visible and tangible to the people.

When the two men recovered, all the officials also recovered, and the people began to trust the court and the government and took the initiative to go to fixed places to interfere with the cowpox epidemic.

At the same time, the Ming border troops also received this news. They were disbelieving at first, but after repeated confirmation, they learned that their emperor was indeed infected with cowpox.

Not only the emperor, but also the concubines and generals of various military governorates told their subordinates to be more sensible and get vaccinated against cowpox as soon as possible, otherwise there would be no future for them in their official careers.

Fortunately, these people listened to the advice and did not waste time.

In this way, the news of cowpox infection in the court quickly spread throughout the Ming Dynasty.

The people went from initial panic to final acceptance.

During this process, Zhu Biao ordered the beheading of all those who embezzled subsidies.

Once again, the people saw how strict Zhu Biao's attitude towards corrupt officials was.

At the same time, in an unknown sea area about 400 nautical miles east of Jeju Island in the East China Sea.

Li Wenzhong stood on the deck of a Ming navy treasure ship led by three ships with an average draft of more than 2,000 tons. He looked into the distance and seemed to be able to vaguely see the silhouettes of Japanese islands.

Suddenly, a wave hit the treasure ship. The ship that Li Wenzhong was on was the largest of the three treasure ships, with a draft of an astonishing 3,700 tons!
When he stood on the deck and steadied his feet, he quickly called the people around him to ask:

"How long do we have until Japan?"

An official from the Ming Dynasty dressed as an imperial astronomical bureau stepped forward, took out the Feng Shui instrument in his hand, and began to answer Li Wenzhong's questions using his own method of identification.

"Your Excellency, we have less than 200 nautical miles left. We will reach Fukue Island in five hours at most."

"Where is the information on the island of Fukue?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a man at the level of a thousand households appeared and stood beside Li Wenzhong. He opened the file he carried with him, which contained all the information he had obtained from the Japanese ronin.

"Your Excellency, according to what we learned from the people we captured in the coastal areas, Fukue Island was under the rule of the Southern Dynasty Emperor, but the whole of Japan was under the sway of the Muromachi shogunate. Although Fukue Island was under the influence of the Southern Dynasty Emperor Nagayoshi, it is located in the Goto Islands in the western part of Nagasaki Prefecture in the Kyushu region of Japan.

The real rulers above are the Fujiwara family, whose patriarch is Fujiwara Kotaro. They have people from six villages under their command. Each village has about one to two thousand adult males. All together, they have a guard of soldiers who can fight.

I heard that I already have Ming Dynasty firearms that were exiled overseas from the Yuan Dynasty."

Li Wenzhong nodded slightly, and he had a clear understanding of the sphere of influence on Fukue Island.

The reason why Li Wenzhong wanted to go to Fukue Island was mainly because he wanted to find out what the current situation in Japan was.

Because Emperor Chokei was in Nara and Yoshino, Japan, there were only two ways to get to these two places. Either go north and enter the sphere of influence of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Once this guy sees him, Li Wenzhong will need to communicate with him.

Once they communicate, wouldn’t their true purpose be exposed?

You must know that Li Wenzhong originally wanted to support Emperor Chokei, so that he could increase his strength, start a confrontation with the Northern Emperor, consume Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's strength, and wait for whoever wins in the end to do business with the Ming Dynasty.

During this process, the thousands of spies sent out by Li Wenzhong will take the opportunity to begin reconnaissance in various places in Japan.

Find out where the gold and silver mines are.

When Japan is infected with smallpox, we will take advantage of their weakness and conquer them all in one fell swoop.

Fukue Island is the southernmost island of Japan. The supplies on this island should be able to replenish the consumption of the Ming Navy in recent months.

It's not that the Ming navy has no reinforcements at all. Otherwise, if they want to reach Nara and Yoshino in their current state, I'm afraid the Ming soldiers on the navy will not have any spirit at all.

At the same time, Li Wenzhong also wanted Fukue Island to completely become the territory of the Ming Dynasty from now on.

To be precise, it was the base camp of the Ming Dynasty before launching the war.

According to the map, Fukue Island is surrounded by the sea on three sides. Except for a relatively shallow waterway in the north that leads to the entire Japanese island, the rest of the way can only be reached by boat.

It was so easy to capture it!
"Pass on my order, all soldiers, prepare to march to Fukue Island.

Send some of our captured men to Fukue Island to inform Fujiwara Kotaro and become Ming's slaves. If Fujiwara Kotaro is sensible and willing to submit to Ming, we will not use tough measures. If they are unwilling, don't blame Ming for being rude to them! "

"My subordinate understands!"

Li Wenzhong accepted it, saluted with both hands, and then left.

When the Ming Dynasty ships were only a few hundred meters away from the port of Fukue Island.

The Japanese farmers who were working next to the pirates put down their tools and looked up at the distant sea.

The Ming flag erected on the sea was so eye-catching and conspicuous.

"Are those envoys from the Eastern Power? How did they come to our territory?"

"Do they want to form an alliance with our empire?"

"It must be! Look at how luxurious their ships are. I think they must want us to sign an alliance!"

All these farmers were subordinates of the Fujiwara family. Although Fukue Island was the territory under the Southern Dynasty Emperor, the Emperor and the various families of the shogunate still shared the power equally and did not interfere with each other.

This is also the reason why the Southern Dynasty was eventually destroyed by the Muromachi shogunate. All power in the Northern Dynasty was in the hands of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the Shogun, who was able to unite all forces to accomplish great things, but the Southern Dynasty was independent.

The various forces will not obey the emperor's orders at all. In times of crisis, they are like birds in the forest, flying away on their own.

With only a few hundred meters left to the shore, the Ming fleet began to disperse under the command of Li Wenzhong.

It looked like a phoenix spreading its wings, surrounding Fukue Island.

At the same time, three teams began to circle the entire island, trying their best to ensure that no one was missed. In this way, when the war broke out, no one on Fukue Island would be able to escape.

Following Li Wenzhong's orders, the Ming fleet successfully surrounded Fukue Island in less than two hours.

Whether on the sea or under the sea, anything that could possibly show a human figure will be intercepted.

The entire Fukue Island was surrounded tightly, and Fujiwara Kotaro on the island also received the news that Fukue Island was surrounded that night.

A city built with wood on all sides on the island. Although it is called a city, it is actually not as big as the fortress built spontaneously by the common people of the Ming Dynasty. It is probably only less than ten regular football fields in size.

Except for the gate which is seven or eight meters high, the highest point in other places is only four or five meters.

There are many short people living in the whole village.

The boys all have classic shogunate-era topknot hair styles.

What is a "moon-shaped haircut"? It means that the top of the head is shaved completely, leaving only the long hair around it and tying it up. If you look at it this way, you will find that the empty space on the top of the head forms a crescent moon, which is called a "moon-shaped haircut".

Most women were not allowed to go out on the streets and could only stay in the machimuro. During this period in Japan, the place where people lived was called the machimuro.

Without exception, most of these women wore kimonos made of various colors, smeared some unknown white fuel on their faces, and made their teeth very black, almost like coal.

White face and black teeth are one of the characteristic aesthetics of Japan. Logically, it should not appear in the natural era, but Fukue Island is too far away from Kyushu in Japan.

It is very likely that just like the residents in Peach Blossom Spring, except for the upper class, the rest of the lower class people have no idea what changes have taken place in the outside world.

Tsurugi Jingu Shrine is the only Shinto shrine on Fukue Island.

As the largest religious sect in Japan, Shintoism can be said to be the spiritual home of all the people.

They are willing to submit to the teachings preached by Shintoism.

Even the Shogun cannot desecrate Shintoism in front of everyone.

The main person in charge of Shintoism is called the chief priest, who claims to have the ability to communicate with the Japanese goddess Amaterasu, various natural gods and successive emperors.

At this moment.

Although Japan is very similar to the Ming Dynasty, the climate is completely different and they are two different types.

Generally speaking, shrines are built on mountains.

The shrine on Fukue Island is built on a mountain called Kiyomizuyama.

It is located behind the village built by the Fujiwara clan, and there is only one path leading to it.

In this gentle season, the foothills are gently covered with a tapestry of pure white cherry blossoms, like a dream. The wind gently opens its delicate brushstrokes, and a light touch causes the cherry blossoms to dance, fluttering in the wind, weaving a romantic pink rain curtain. This scene in front of you is so beautiful that it makes people intoxicated, as if it is the most gentle poem of nature, quietly telling the love song of spring.

It is no wonder why so many people go to Japan in later generations. Apart from the factor of death, Japan is a great place for tourism and sightseeing.

The only drawback is that there are many disasters on the island.

Early this morning, just as the sun rose, outside the door of a wooden house inside the shrine, Fujiwara Kotaro knelt on the ground devoutly, constantly making kneeling gestures towards the house, while muttering to himself, as if he was praying for something.

After half a day, a hoarse and low voice was heard from inside the wooden house.

"Kotaro, you are now the head of the Fujiwara clan and the ruler of the entire Fukue Island. Why did you come to my territory and do this?"

After receiving the reply, Fujiwara Kotaro, who was already in his thirties and in his prime, quickly knelt down, put his hands on his thighs, and said with a look of panic and worry:

“Mister Mikami, it was under your guidance when Taro was a child that he gradually became what he is today, surpassing my father and becoming the head of the Fujiwara clan.

Now, the eight major regions of Japan are in constant war, and the emperor is divided into two. The Northern Dynasty, under the control of the cruel guy Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, is gradually becoming more and more powerful, and more and more families are annexed by the Southern Dynasty.

If this continues, the Southern Dynasty will surely be destroyed, and then my Fujiwara family will inevitably be implicated.

I thought I could protect the Fujiwara clan leader and ensure peace on Fukue Island, but I was wrong.

Because just this morning, some prisoners came to me and told me that in the far western territory of the Tang Dynasty, a brand new dynasty had sent people to Fukue Island to command us.

Surrender or die!

I would like to ask the chief priest Mikami, please use the power of Shinto to ask our ancestors where our Fujiwara clan should go next!"

(End of this chapter)