The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 397: Prince of Ying, Mao Li Terumoto

Mori Terumoto has come to the capital of the Ming Dynasty!
He risked everything to preserve the Mori family business.

Toyotomi Hide's guitar can be lowered.

He can also surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

At about 5 p.m. that afternoon, when it was almost dark, a dozen naval centipede ships quietly entered the Deshengmen water gate and sailed into the capital.

Mao Li Terumoto, wearing the military uniform of the Ming Dynasty navy, stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the brightly lit Ming Dynasty capital, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

I’m afraid Chang’an City during the heyday of the Tang Dynasty was no more than this?
The current Ming Dynasty is so powerful that it is awe-inspiring and even despairing.

He saw so many things along the way.

The complete equipment of the Ming army soldiers, the terrifying ships of the Ming navy, the prosperous water transportation on the Grand Canal, etc., are all incomparable to Japan.

In order to let him see the strength of the Ming Dynasty, Qi Jiguang specifically instructed Yang Yinglong to take him on horseback to Busan Port to see the huge warships there.

Although this would take two or three more days, it would allow Mori Terumoto to understand that the power of the Ming Dynasty was not comparable to that of the small Japan.

When Mori Terumoto saw the densely packed warships, he understood that Japan was definitely no match for the Ming Dynasty, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi was seeking death!

If he wants to preserve the Mori family business, surrender alone may not be enough.

If the Ming Dynasty took advantage of the situation to attack the Japanese mainland, it would be useless even if he could go back.

So, what should he do to save the Mori family business?

He stood at the bow, frowning and thinking for a while. The navy soldiers had already carried him into the imperial city and put him ashore, taking him to the brightly lit palace.

Wanli was already waiting for him in the imperial study with Li Xuancheng and Shan Sinan.

Maori Terumoto walked into the brightly lit imperial study and took a look. He immediately bowed to the Emperor Wanli, who was sitting there in his dragon robe, and said, "Head of the Maori family, Maori Terumoto, pays respect to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

You didn't say that you were the commander-in-chief of the Seventh Army of Japan, but you said that you were the head of the Mori family. Does this mean that you were forced to lead your army to attack the vassal state of Korea?

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slightly and then asked, "Master Maori, are you willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty?"

Is this even a question?
If I don't want to surrender, can I come here alone?
Looking for death!
Mao Li Terumoto nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I intend to surrender to the Ming Dynasty."

Is this guy worth training?
Wanli nodded slightly and asked, "Do you still want to return to Japan with your soldiers?"

Of course, what else could I talk to you about?
Maori Terumoto nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I want to take my soldiers back to Japan. I also want to take Kobayakawa Takakage of the Sixth Army with me. He is my uncle, and his men are also from our Maori clan. I also want to take them back."

You think a lot.

However, for me, the more you think about it, the better.

Wanli pretended to hesitate and said, "If I release all your men and horses, and you oppose me again, I will be asking for trouble."

How dare I go against you?

Maori Terumoto hastily swore, "Your Majesty, I promise I will never again oppose the Ming Dynasty. Our Maori clan will never again engage in battle with the Ming army."

What I need is not your promise to stop opposing the Ming Dynasty.

Wanli still pretended to hesitate and said, "Can you disobey Toyotomi Hideyoshi's orders? What if he asks you to fight against the Ming Dynasty?"

This one is simple.

Maori Terumoto said tactfully, "I have to obey his orders, but I can pretend and just send troops without fighting."

This is not enough.

Wanli thought for a moment, then suggested, "You don't have to obey Toyotomi Hideyoshi's orders."

what?
If I don't obey his orders, he will punish me.

Mao Li Terumoto said with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this won't work."

What's wrong?
Wanli simply said: "If you listen to me, we will kill him, then you can stop listening to him, right?"

what?
You are going to attack the Japanese mainland!
It is impossible for Toyotomi Hideyoshi to personally lead an army to attack the Ming Dynasty, and even the vassal state of Korea would not go.

If you want to kill him, the only way is to attack the Japanese mainland!
I listen to you?

This means I'm a traitor!

Upon hearing this, Mori Terumoto hesitated. He could accept surrender, but could he accept being a traitor?
What will be the consequences if he doesn't accept it?
He definitely can't go back.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty revealed to him the idea of ​​attacking the Japanese mainland. If he didn't do it, he would be dead.

What was even more terrifying was the strength of the Ming army. If he hadn't become a traitor, the more than 40,000 troops of the Mori clan in Korea, a vassal state, would have been finished, and the Mori clan would have been finished too!
How to do?
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was my enemy, so what's wrong with killing him?
As for Japan, the Mori clan is no longer around. Even if Japan is still there, what does it have to do with us, the Mori clan?

Besides, the Ming army was so powerful that it would be no problem to take over Japan, but by then Japan would be finished.

If he didn't do this as a traitor, not only would Japan be finished, but the Mori clan would also be finished.

If he becomes a traitor, at least Japan will be destroyed but the Mori clan will still be there.

He is neither a selfish person nor a selfless person. He has only one goal, which is to preserve the Mori family business.

If I can save the Mori family business, what does it matter if I become a traitor?

Maori Terumoto hesitated for a while before carefully asking, "Your Majesty, if I listen to you, can our Maori clan retain its territory?"

You really have the potential to be a traitor.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then nodded slowly and said, "If you listen to me, I will do my best to preserve your Maori clan's territory. If that doesn't work, I will also exchange territory of the same size with you in other places. How do you think?"

Does this mean that the Mori clan might leave Japan?
This doesn’t seem to be a bad thing.

Since he was a traitor, he had no face to stay in Japan.

Maori Terumoto thought about it carefully, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, it is okay to exchange territory, but we, the Maori clan, still need to survive, so the exchanged territory must have enough farmland."

What I mean is that if you don’t give me a piece of mountain land, the Maori family will have no food to eat.

Wanli pondered for a moment after hearing this, then nodded and said, "Okay, I guarantee that the arable land in the exchanged territory will be more than your current territory."

That's enough, we can't be greedy anymore.

If His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty becomes impatient, then there will be trouble.

Maori Terumoto thought about it carefully, then gritted his teeth and nodded, "Okay, I will listen to the emperor. Now all of our Maori clan's troops can be released, right?"

well.

Wanli nodded slightly, then pondered: "I can't openly release your Maori people, because if you release your people, others will also ask for their release.

Let’s put it this way. When you go back, I will use my navy warships to secretly send your Mori clan’s troops back in batches.

However, let me be frank. I can release the troops, but I also need hostages to ensure that you will not go back on your word. Your Majesty will send the next heads of your Mori, Kobayakawa, and Yoshikawa families to the Ming Dynasty as hostages. For every ten thousand troops, I will exchange them for one hostage from each of your three families.

As for the rest, your retainers can provide hostages. Each hostage can be exchanged for a thousand soldiers. Is that a problem?"

You want so many more protons?

This time I can't play the tactic of pretending to obey but actually disobeying.

Well, Japan will be destroyed sooner or later anyway, so there is no point in me playing those games.

Mao Li Terumoto hesitated for a moment after hearing this, but still gritted his teeth and nodded, "No problem."

well.

Now it's your turn to perform.

Wanli said solemnly: "I cannot let you go back now. You must help me persuade all the Japanese generals in my vassal state of Korea to surrender before I can let you go. Otherwise, if you run back before this battle is over, Toyotomi Hideyoshi will not forgive you."

I can't go back now, but aren't your demands too high?
Upon hearing this, Mao Li Terumoto said in embarrassment: "Your Majesty, I may not be able to persuade some people to surrender, such as Konishi Yukinaga of the First Army, Kato Kiyomasa of the Second Army, Kuroda Nagamasa of the Third Army, Fukushima Masanori of the Fifth Army, and Ukita Hideie of the Eighth Army."

There is no rush. Take them one by one. If you cannot persuade some people to surrender, you may be able to persuade other people who need to be persuaded to surrender.

Wanli nodded slightly and then asked, "The Sixth and Ninth Armies are now surrounded in Haeju Castle in Hwanghae Province. The Ninth Army's commander-in-chief, Toyotomi Hidekatsu, seems to be Toyotomi Hideyoshi's adopted son and nephew. Can he persuade your uncle Kobayakawa Takakage to surrender?"

That guy is a piece of shit.

Mao Li Terumoto said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, Toyotomi Hidekatsu is a playboy in the words of the Ming Dynasty. He is useless. If my uncle wants to lead his army to surrender, he will definitely not be able to stop him."

well.

This traitor is really worth training.

I'll try to win them over first.

Wanli pondered, "If we calculate based on the current territory of your Maori clan, your fiefdom is larger than that of the Duke of Daming. I will first confer upon you the title of Duke of Ying, a hereditary title. I will also confer upon your two uncles the title of Duke of Ying. I will also confer upon you the title of Duke of Ying. First, you should take a fast navy ship to Liaodong and persuade Duke Peng to surrender."

You also give me the title of Duke!
It seems that following you is much better than following Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Upon hearing this, Mao Li Terumoto hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)