The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 434: Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Final Madness

The autumn wind blows and the autumn air becomes cooler.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi felt even colder in his heart.

Tokugawa Ieyasu actually wanted to join forces with Uesugi Kagekatsu, Date Masamune and Gamo Ujisato to start an uprising!

After receiving the letter of accusation from Uesugi Kagekatsu, he had been sitting in the lobby on the top floor of the castle tower for most of the day.

The sun was setting in the west and the light was fading, but he still had no intention of getting up.

He was not afraid of the Ming Dynasty sending troops to attack the Japanese mainland. What he was most worried about was Tokugawa Ieyasu raising an army.

Because if the Ming Dynasty sent troops to attack the Japanese mainland, it would be a crisis of national destruction.

Even if other daimyos were dissatisfied with him, they had to put aside their prejudices and unite against the outside world.

Under such circumstances, his position as Taiko was actually stable.

If he did not want Japan to perish, the other daimyos would not have fought among themselves when the Ming invaded. Instead, he could have used the troops of the other daimyos to fight against the Ming.

This is his golden opportunity to turn the tables. Once the other daimyos and the Ming Dynasty have almost been defeated, he will launch a counterattack. Not only will the world of Japan be his, but also the vassal state of Korea and even the world of the Ming Dynasty will all be his.

It would be different if Tokugawa Ieyasu raised an army. The other daimyos would unite to deal with him.

This is a world of difference from the Ming Dynasty's invasion of Japan.

If nothing else, the military strength is clear at a glance.

If the Ming Dynasty invades, he can command all the troops in Japan to fight against the Ming Dynasty. Now, including all the able-bodied men, Japan has at least one million troops.

That is to say, when the Ming Dynasty invaded Japan, he could command at least one million troops.

If Tokugawa Ieyasu raised an army, most of the daimyos would probably unite to deal with him, and the remaining few would probably pretend to obey him but actually disobey him, not sending troops to help him at all, or just sending a few troops to deal with the problem casually.

In this way, the maximum number of troops he could command would be more than 100,000 or 200,000.

If Tokugawa Ieyasu chose this time to join forces with Uesugi Kagekatsu, Date Masamune and Gamo Ujisato to revolt, it would simply be the end of him!
He even wanted to take advantage of the opportunity when Tokugawa Ieyasu had no chance to send troops and order his men to attack Iki Island to lure the Ming Dynasty to attack.

Perhaps, some people would think that it is impossible for him to do such a crazy thing, or even have such a crazy idea.

This is because you don't understand Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Why did Toyotomi Hideyoshi send troops to attack his vassal state of Korea?
Doesn’t he know that the Ming Dynasty will send troops to beat them?

This is naturally impossible.

His goal was to let other daimyo fight against the Ming Dynasty, so as to consolidate his position as Taiko, and at the same time seize the vassal state of Korea and even the entire Ming Dynasty.

That's what he thinks.

This has been true throughout history and it is true today.

In his eyes, the Ming Dynasty was not so powerful that it was invincible. In his eyes, Tokugawa Ieyasu was the formidable rival.

He sat there cross-legged, frowning and thinking for a long time, then he actually picked up a pen and started writing a letter. Moreover, he kept writing, one letter after another.

Even when night fell, he ordered people to light the lights and continued writing.

The letters he wrote to Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, and even Uesugi Kagekatsu, Date Masamune, and Gamo Ujisato all had similar meanings, that is, the Ming Dynasty was about to send troops to attack the Japanese mainland, and everyone should value peace, quickly prepare for war, and be ready to resist foreign invasion.

This guy is just like someone with a mental illness.

Will the Ming Dynasty attack the Japanese mainland at this time?

Even if he asked Wanli to send troops, Wanli would not agree.

Wanli was waiting for them to start fighting each other first. To this end, Wanli published tabloids, released prisoners, and ordered the navy warships to circle around Honshu Island with colorful flags. Wanli just wanted to stir up a civil war among the Japanese princes before sending troops.

At this time, it would be impossible for Wanli to send troops to attack the Japanese mainland.

So why did he say that?
He was certainly not mentally ill when he said this. He even wrote a letter to Mori Terumoto, asking him to assemble an army to recapture Iki Island!
This Iki Island was actually his backup plan to lure the Ming Dynasty to send troops.

He had planned this long ago. As long as he wanted the Ming Dynasty to send troops to attack the Japanese mainland, he would order Mori Terumoto to assemble a large army to recapture Iki Island.

Under such circumstances, it would be strange if the Ming Dynasty did not become angry and send its army to attack the Japanese mainland.

Today's Iki Island is similar to the historical vassal state of Korea.

In history, he also negotiated and withdrew his troops after the first war with his vassal state, Korea.

In fact, he had planned this long ago. As long as he felt that he was almost ready and could continue fighting, he would send his troops to attack his vassal state, Korea, and then the Ming Dynasty would definitely send troops to attack him.

Historically, he succeeded. He successfully provoked the second war between the Ming Dynasty and Japan. He also used the Zhejiang Party, a traitor within the Ming Dynasty, to annihilate nearly 30,000 elite troops of the Ming Dynasty.

He is indeed very good at playing dirty tricks, but this time he missed something.

What he missed this time was the traitor.

Now the Zhejiang Party, the traitors of the Ming Dynasty, have become weak and have no ability to join forces with him to harm the elite of the Ming army. However, the traitors in Japan are very powerful.

This traitor was naturally Mori Terumoto. He thought that Mori Terumoto would still be the same as before and would not dare to disobey his orders.

Doesn’t Mori Terumoto dare?
After receiving the secret letter from Toyotomi Hideyoshi, this guy immediately copied it and ordered someone to send it to Iki Island. He also ordered someone to send the original directly to Edo to Tokugawa Ieyasu!
It was naturally impossible for him to gather a large army to attack Iki Island. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's actions further strengthened his idea of ​​defecting to the Ming Dynasty.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted to use his Mori clan's troops to fight against the Ming Dynasty. If he really did this, it would be hard to say whether Japan could be preserved, and the Mori clan would definitely be finished.

What's the point of wasting time on Ming Dynasty? He just informed Ming Dynasty directly!
At this time in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the weather was clear and cool.

Wanli was also very comfortable at this moment.

He was not in a hurry at all, because as long as Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi started fighting, Japan would be in chaos, and it would be much easier for him to take advantage of the chaos to attack the Japanese mainland.

Now he is waiting for Mori Terumoto to instigate Tokugawa Ieyasu.

It doesn’t matter if this guy can’t be mobilized, he can still let Li Yuansheng take over.

He could also sell some more kerosene to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

He could even ask the Portuguese to sell some Portuguese cannons to Tokugawa Ieyasu!

In short, no matter what Tokugawa Ieyasu lacked for not taking action, he had a way.

What is he anxious about?
Early in the morning at about noon, he was humming an unknown tune and preparing to go to the imperial study to review memorials. Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked into the corridor of the Qianqing Palace, he found that Luo Sigong was already standing at the door of the imperial study waiting for him.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Si Gong, why are you back? Did something big happen in Japan?"

I just came back to deliver the letter.

Luo Sigong pulled out an envelope from his bosom and handed it over respectfully, then explained in detail: "Your Majesty, this is a secret letter that Mao Li Terumoto asked me to deliver."

Wanli took the envelope, tore it open and saw that a hint of joy appeared on his face.

Maori Terumoto is a pretty good guy.

This envelope contained not one letter, but three letters. One was written from Mori Terumoto to Tokugawa Ieyasu, one was written from Toyotomi Hideyoshi to Mori Terumoto, and one was written from Mori Terumoto to him.

It is obvious that Mori Terumoto has instigated Tokugawa Ieyasu.

No one knew what Tokugawa Ieyasu did, but he drove Toyotomi Hideyoshi crazy.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was actually preparing to stage a final act of madness, ordering his men to attack Iki Island in order to force him to send troops to attack the Japanese mainland.

This is the advantage of being a traitor.

If Mori Terumoto was not a traitor, he would have to pretend, send troops to surround Iki Island and shout, or even bombard it with cannons, to appease Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

It is possible that he fell into Toyotomi Hideyoshi's trap for some unknown reason. Even if he didn't, he would still lead his troops to rescue Iki Island.

By then, Toyotomi Hideyoshi would have told the Ming army that they had reached their doorstep, and everyone should quickly gather their troops and prepare to resist the Ming invasion!

However, it’s different when there’s a traitor.

He knew Toyotomi Hideyoshi's thoughts very well.

Does this guy want to stage a final act of madness?

Sorry, you don’t have the chance to act anymore, I am the protagonist now!

Wanli thought about it carefully, then asked, "What's going on with you recently?"

Luo Sigong said carefully: "I am fine, but Yuan Sheng's close associates may be in trouble.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is a sneaky guy. He sent people to disguise themselves as ronin and sneak into their ronin camp. My secret guards have already discovered many of these fake ronin.

This problem is not big.

Wanli pondered and said, "Even if Toyotomi Hideyoshi finds them, he must be able to catch them. You can let them hide in Northern Kyushu, and when they send money and food, don't go there in person, just send your men."
Kitakyushu is the territory of the Mori clan. Even if Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent spies to find out that they were the ones providing money and food, he would not be able to mobilize a large army to besiege the ronin camp in Kitakyushu. At that time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi would have to ask Mori Terumoto to send troops.

Did Mori Terumoto send troops to capture their people?

That's impossible.

Maori Terumoto would only inform them.

Upon hearing this, Luo Sigong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought about it carefully, then said solemnly: "Go and tell Maori Terumoto to mobilize a hundred warships, manned by ten thousand men, and use cannons to bombard the area around Iki Island."

what?
Luo Sigong was stunned for a moment, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, we have thousands of warships on Iki Island. If he sends a hundred warships over here to put on a show, shouldn't we fight?"

Wanli said without hesitation: "Fight, you should also pretend to send all the warships to besiege them, so that they can't defeat them and escape, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi will not suspect it.

Anyway, Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted Mori Terumoto to take action. As for the outcome, Toyotomi Hideyoshi did not specify. This scene still needs to be played out. If we don't, Mori Terumoto might be exposed, and our subsequent measures will be difficult to use. "

This traitor plays a very important role and must not be exposed.

Luo Sigong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand. After I return, I will ask Kobayakawa Takakage to come to the island to discuss the performance."

(End of this chapter)