The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 321 Heavenly Punishment
The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the first year of the Tianqi reign.

Korean envoy Lee Seung-jae and his entourage traveled from Sekigahara to Edo and issued an ultimatum to the Tokugawa shogunate.

Edo must sign a friendly alliance with Ming before the fifth day of the first lunar month of the second year of Tianqi to end the hostility between the two sides.

Otherwise, a million-strong army (actually 150,000 people), including Catholics and surrendered feudal lords, would overthrow the shogunate and plunder Edo to make up for the losses suffered by the Ming Dynasty in this eastern expedition.

The messenger reminded the shogun that starting from the fifth day of the first lunar month, if the shogun delayed for one more day, he would have to pay an additional 50,000 taels of silver in military expenses.

"Marquis Ping Liao has also chosen the location for the alliance."

Edo, Honmaru Palace.

The tall Li Chengzao stood opposite the shogunate's senior councilor Tsuchikawa Toshikatsu, rolled up the wide sleeves of his court robe, and shouted with his arms raised as if no one was around.

The envoy adopted the unique Korean attitude of a bully ready to fight.

Behind a Ukiyo-e style screen, the Shogun's wife frowned and listened carefully to the noise outside.

A group of Tokugawa clan elders surrounded Lord Tsuchikawa, clenching their fists and bowing their heads in silence.

The old middle-class man with white hair and beard, Toshikatsu Tsuchikawa, was all smiles, and the wrinkles on his face were like cherry blossoms in full bloom in Ueno, blooming brilliantly towards the arrogant Koreans in front of him.

At least on the surface, it is not easy to see what this old minister of the shogunate is thinking.

Two foot soldiers knelt beside the entrance of the hall, their backs straight, their fingers pressing on the scabbards, ready to move, looking back at the arrogant and unreasonable Korean barbarian with murderous looks.

"Please come closer! Here, look here!"

Li Chengzao took out a detailed map of Japan from his arms and waved it in front of Tsuchikawa Toshikatsu.

Tsuchikawa moved closer, his eyes fixed on the position of the Nagato clan.

Li Chengzao is Li Tiran's younger brother. The two brothers are both officials of the Kingdom of Korea stationed in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

After the Kaiyuan army entered the pass to quell the rebellion, the Koreans who remained in the capital were recruited by Ping Liaohou, and many of them were responsible for foreign affairs.

Since the Eastern Expedition, Koreans were sent to negotiate with the shogunate.

Ping Liaohou had no deep hatred with Korea.

However, this ethnic group is stubborn and will not give in, making them best suited to appear in diplomatic settings and often having the upper hand in negotiations.

Of course, it is also easy to be beheaded.

Lee Seung-jae's three companions were beheaded by the shogunate during several previous peace talks.

Not only did his colleagues die tragically, but he himself also experienced the Imjin War, so he hated Tokugawa Hidetada to the core.

When Ping Liaohou sent him to Edo to negotiate peace, this tough Korean civil servant not only did not show any fear, but instead showed courage that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

In fact, Ping Liaohou's original intention was certainly not to send people to die.

The Japanese fear power rather than virtue. They are naturally attracted by strength, so sending a tough party to negotiate is more likely to succeed.

"Marquis Ping Liao is merciful and cannot bear to slaughter all of you. To save the shogunate's reputation, the alliance will be held at Niuguan Port! All daimyo must be present!"

Li Chengzao did not show any of the reserved and steady demeanor of an envoy from a great power.

Rather than being a messenger, he is more like a profiteer in a Seoul vegetable market.

The location of the covenant was set at Niuguan Port.

This place has towering mountains, lush forests, beautiful scenery and a gentle sea breeze, making it the perfect place to discuss something refreshing and enjoyable.

"Lord Tsuchikawa, you already know the contents of the covenant, right? The Marquis of Ping Liao is busy with military duties, and the fifth day is the last day! We cannot delay any longer."

On the first day of the first lunar month, Lee Seung-jae led two special envoys and continued to threaten and blackmail the shogunate in the posture of a victor.

The war reparations demanded by the Koreans had risen to 100 million taels of silver.

Tsuchikawa hesitated.

"The elders saw that I was being brief this time, and only said two words: yes or no."

Tsuchikawa family elder asked: "Are you not allowed to argue?"

Li Chengzao smiled and said:
"Just debate, but don't reduce it. The longer you delay, the more you have to pay!"

Although the Osaka coalition forces had been defeated at this time, the shogunate army still had strength in the Sekigahara and Edo areas.

Under the instruction of Ping Liaohou, Deng Changxiong prepared his troops in Yao, Osaka, recruited a large number of Catholics, gathered an army of 100,000, and advanced rapidly eastward with the Imperial Guard as the core.

In the Sekigahara area, Ping Liaohou personally led the main force of the First Guard Army to march northward. The army was invincible all the way, successively defeated the elite troops of Shimotsuke and Hitachi domains, and killed 15,000 Japanese pirates.

On the fourth day of the first lunar month, the army advanced to 50 miles south of Edo Castle. Meanwhile, a joint fleet consisting of Wu Aheng, Li Dan, and Portuguese merchant ships began bombarding ports along the Honshu coast, including Kamakura, Kashima, and Tomita. Shogunate ships along the coast either sank themselves or were captured by the joint fleet.

As the Eastern Expedition army won victory after victory, Catholics hiding in the various domains in Kanto responded one after another. They killed deputies and burned the shogunate army's food and supplies, and the Kanto domains fell into unprecedented panic.

Since October last year, the price of rice in Edo Castle has skyrocketed, and the lives of townspeople and samurai have fallen into hardship. On New Year's Eve last year, many families could not even afford to eat buckwheat.

In order to support the expulsion of foreigners, the shogunate continuously raised the rents of townspeople, causing public resentment.

On the third day of the first lunar month, a mid-level samurai named Koshio Heishi Shichiro, who settled in Edo, spent all his family wealth and received 830 taels of silver.

He distributed all the silver to more than 10,000 citizens and poor people in the suburbs, secretly informing them of the signal for uprising. At the same time, he issued a manifesto, listing the reasons for his uprising, calling on citizens and nearby farmers to fight together, and at the same time inviting Ping Liaohou to attack Edo as soon as possible to save the people from their predicament.

Due to a traitor's betrayal, Koshiro Heishi was arrested and executed.

However, the situation of the shogunate was precarious. It was rumored that the Shogun was unwilling to negotiate peace with the barbarians and expressed his willingness to "die with honor at the cost of 30 million lives" and fight the barbarians to the end.

The fourth day of the first lunar month, the East Garden of the Great Inner Palace.

"Asshole! Get out of the way!!"

Tsuchikawa Toshikatsu, who was fully armored, suddenly pushed away the guard who was blocking the door, and suddenly slashed at the guard's neck with a samurai sword. Several guards nearby swung their swords to fight back, but were immediately stabbed to death with a spear by the foot soldier general who followed closely behind Lord Tsuchikawa.

"Changmatsumaru! Changmatsumaru!"

The elder of the Tsuchikawa family, along with four fierce generals, hacked and killed all those who stood in their way.

As he walked, the elder Tsuchikawa called out the Shogun's nickname.

On the Imperial Bell Corridor, women (similar to palace maids) were running and screaming, and from time to time someone was killed by the oncoming spears.

Covered in blood, Tsuchikawa walked to the innermost attic, tidied up his bloody armor, and climbed up to the second floor.

A trail of fresh bloody footprints was left on the stairs.

In the attic, the second Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada sat on the tatami in a daze.

Asai E, the most powerful woman in the O-oku, sat elegantly on the tatami, looking at the elder Tsuchikawa who had broken in. Regardless of the other party's murderous aura, she bowed slightly and chuckled.

"Lord Tsuchikawa is a step too late."

Outside the palace came the shouts of foot soldiers and the screams of townspeople.

The flames shooting up from the street turned the attic walls blood red.

She suddenly took out a cloth bag from behind her and threw it forward with force.

"Just look at it, hahaha."

Tsuchikawa was shocked. He picked up the cloth bag with a knife and drops of blood fell from the bag onto the tatami.

"Whose head?!"

"You'll know when you open it and take a look."

The elder Tsuchikawa glanced at the Shogun, who was still staring at the floor in a daze.

The katana cut open the bag.

The old minister, who was over fifty years old, exclaimed.

"what!"

Li Chengzao and Tsuchikawa looked at each other. The Korean opened his eyes wide, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and even after his death, he still showed the expression of looking down on the world during the negotiations.

"You! You vixen! You're causing chaos in the shogunate! Damn it!"

Tsuchikawa dropped the head and rushed towards Ajiang with his samurai sword raised.

Ah Jiang remained calm and sneered loudly:
"Hahaha! The Tokugawa family is finished, the dog owner is dead, and you, an old dog, should also..."

The laughter stopped abruptly, and with a "puff" sound, a column of blood more than three feet high spurted onto the tatami.

Ajiang's blood flew high and splattered all over Tuchuan's body.

Tsuchikawa kicked the headless female corpse over, turned around and bowed to his lord:
"General, the townspeople in the city are rioting, and the barbarians outside are forcing us. Now that things have come to this, please accept your fate! I will fight to the death to repay you and Tosho-jin (Tokugawa Ieyasu) for their kindness. Take care!"

After saying this, Tsuchikawa called the samurai who were accompanying him, stood up and went downstairs.

They had just taken a few steps when they heard the Shogun's steady voice from behind:
"Tsuchikawa family elders, you don't have to die. Leave the city now and agree to negotiate peace. I will immediately go to Nagato to explain the death of the Korean envoy to Ping Liaohou. At the same time, sign the Niuguan Treaty with Ming! Save Japan."

(End of this chapter)