The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 171 Bestowing the Crown
Years later, when he was bedridden, Minamoto no Yoshimochi would always recall the morning when he first met Lee Hyun-mok. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly, the cold winds of Hokkaido had not yet reached Kyoto, the geisha's waist was slender and supple, and he was twenty-three years old, in the prime of his life.

This was the first time Li Xianmu had met a monarch from another country, not one of those small tribes with a population of less than 100,000, but the monarch of a medium-sized country with a population of tens of millions.

Yuan Yizhi looked at Li Xianmu and immediately felt that he was noble. His eyebrows and eyes were as bright as the sun, and his posture from head to toe exuded nobility, making him countless times better than those corrupt nobles.

Minamoto no Yoshimochi had an ordinary appearance, but his arms looked very strong. He carried the humility and wildness unique to the samurai class, wearing wooden clogs that had long been obsolete in the Central Plains and a tall hat.

Withdrawing his gaze, Li Xianmu bowed respectfully and said, "Li Xianmu, a foreign subject of the Great Ming Dynasty, pays his respects to His Highness the King of Japan."

"Please have a seat, Mr. Li."

Li Xianmu knew that Japan followed the kneeling etiquette of ancient China, but the problem was that the Chinese kneeling etiquette had support under the buttocks, while the Japanese were truly kneeling, so they all ended up with bowlegs.

Adhering to the principle of respecting local customs, Li Xianmu knelt down at the lower end and bowed again, saying, "His Majesty the Emperor of our dynasty has kindly inquired about the situation in Japan. As the suzerain, if Your Highness is in trouble, you may seek help from our dynasty."

Although both sides knew the purpose of Li Xianmu's trip, they still exchanged pleasantries. Yuan Yizhi thanked the emperor and then sighed slightly.

"Please speak frankly, Lord Li. I will do my best to assist you."

Upon hearing this, Li Xianmu's eyes immediately became solemn. "I have indeed come to Japan this time to ask Your Highness for a favor, but I am also here to assist Your Highness."

Help me?
Upon hearing this, Minamoto no Yoshichi was somewhat bewildered. "What do you mean by that, Lord Li? I have not made any requests of the Great Court."

"Your Highness is well-versed in the culture of the Central Plains and must know what it means to plan ahead. After the Annam affair, our dynasty has been even more dedicated to the internal affairs of our vassal state."

The King of Annam, whom our dynasty had initially appointed, was assassinated by a powerful minister who even forged documents claiming that the previous king had abdicated in his favor. This deceived our dynasty, leading us to appoint a treacherous minister as king.

Minamoto Yoshichi was even more confused. What did this have to do with him?
But he quickly realized, "Does Lord Li mean that I will be assassinated? If so, Lord Li is overthinking it."

Li Xianmu calmly replied, “As far as I know, Your Highness is not the first Shogun of Japan. There were several eras before the Muromachi period. Your Highness is not worried about the strength of your subjects.”

"If Your Highness is truly not worried, why, despite being willing to engage in trade with our Great Ming, do you heed the advice of those old ministers and close your borders?"

One sentence struck a nerve with Minamoto Yoshichi, causing his expression to change instantly. "This is a matter within Japan, so I won't trouble you, Mr. Lee."

"The Kamakura Genji clan went through three generations, then two generations of Fujiwara, and finally four princes. Your Highness's ancestors established the current Muromachi regime. Your Highness is the fourth generation. How many more years do you think Your Highness has left?"
"Is it Your Highness's wish that one day the Ashikaga family name will be forgotten?"

Minamoto no Yoshimochi and Ashikaga no Yoshimochi frowned deeply. They scrutinized the young nobleman from the Ming Dynasty once more and said sternly, "It seems that Mr. Li has come prepared. Could it be that he intends to disrupt the affairs of our Japanese state?"

Li Xianmu felt a little numb in his legs, so he moved them slightly. Facing Minamoto no Yoshimochi's stern questioning, he smiled lightly, temporarily setting aside the topic, and instead asked, "Does Your Highness know that there are silver mines in Iwami Province?"

According to the book "Iwami Silver Mine Old Records", as early as 1309 (the second year of the Yuan Dynasty's Zhida era), when the daimyo of Suo Province, Ōuchi Hiroyuki, visited Iwami Province, there is a record of him collecting silver while worshipping Hokuto Myōken Daibosatsu.

Lee Hyun-mok's sudden change of topic startled Minamoto Yoshichi. After hearing what Lee Hyun-mok said, he frowned and said, "I overheard that someone is digging for silver in there. Could it be that the Great Court is after the silver mines of Iwami Province?"

In fact, Japan doesn't know how much the Iwami Silver Mine produces. Of course, with Japan's current mining and smelting technology, even if they did know, it wouldn't matter.

Li Xianmu directly informed Yuan Yichi about the silver mine. The reason was simple: he had to make Yuan Yichi understand the Ming Dynasty's determination, which was called forcing him with overwhelming force.

"The Ming Dynasty is in dire need of silver, so it is searching for silver mines all over the world. Your Highness should know that the Ming Dynasty launched a campaign against Yunnan as soon as it was established because Yunnan has gold, silver and copper. Anyone who dares to stop us will be met with our utmost resistance."

Now that our dynasty knows that Japan's Iwami Province has silver, we must obtain it. When Minister Zheng first came, His Highness refused. This time, an official from outside the capital has come, still for this matter. If His Highness refuses again, the next time it will be His Majesty the Emperor of our dynasty who will come in person, and it will not be the 20,000 people currently docked in the port.

Rather, it was the 500,000 troops deployed during the campaign against the Mongols.

Yuan Yichi's hand trembled, and he shouted sternly, "Is Lord Li threatening me?"

Li Xianmu remained calm and said, "This humble subject dares not, but silver is a matter of life and death for our dynasty. As this humble subject said before, if anyone dares to obstruct it, our Great Ming will fight to the death. This is not directed at Your Highness."

Minamoto no Yoshichi's hands trembled as he spoke, "What if I say no?"

"Your Highness's refusal would simply mean war between the Ming Dynasty and Japan. But I wonder if Your Highness's army is wiped out in the war with the Ming Dynasty, will you still be able to retain the throne of the King of Japan and the position of Shogun?"

Minamoto no Yoshimochi paused for a moment. Li Xianmu had seized upon the biggest flaw in the feudal system and struck this blow. Minamoto no Yoshimochi was the supreme ruler of Japan, but in reality, he was the largest feudal lord, relying on his directly controlled territories and the daimyo loyal to him, all of which were built upon his army. "Your Highness, there is no need for such tension between you and your minister. Your minister remembers that you were very willing to maintain trade relations with the Ming Dynasty, but it was only because your ministers were dissatisfied that you had to reject the Ming Dynasty's proposal. This is what your minister meant when he said that you have come here to help Your Highness."

Li Xianmu used a trick commonly used by strategists: "Your Highness is willing to trade with the Ming Dynasty, and you will naturally gain enough benefits from it. But in my opinion, those benefits are not enough, far from enough. Your Highness should gain more."

If Your Highness is willing to sincerely become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty and help the Ming Dynasty obtain the Iwami silver mine, this foreign subject will promise Your Highness ten times more benefits than you currently receive!

Upon hearing Li Xianmu speak of interests, Yuan Yichi calmed his previously agitated emotions and said expressionlessly, "Lord Li is joking. I really don't know what benefits the Ming Dynasty can bring to me."

Li Xianmu, never one to shy away from a potentially shocking statement, threw another bombshell into the conversation, stirring up a storm: "Does Your Highness know that if Japan continues as it is, a war of annihilation between the Ming Dynasty and Japan is inevitable?"

!!!

Minamoto no Yoshimochi's previously listless expression instantly turned into goosebumps. He widened his eyes in disbelief at what he had just heard. If his sword hadn't been out of reach, he would have drawn it immediately. Even so, he roared in an unprecedentedly stern tone, "Li-kun, what are you saying? Why would a war of annihilation occur between Japan and the Ming Dynasty when we have no enmity between us?"

Although Minamoto no Yoshichi was furious, Li Xianmu could hear a deep-seated fear in his voice. In this world, no country could be indifferent to the war of annihilation launched by the Ming Dynasty!
"Just because of a silver mine with unknown yield..."

"Of course not!" Li Xianmu stood up abruptly, looked solemnly at Minamoto no Yoshichi, and said sternly, "It is because there are rebellious people in your country who dare to call themselves Emperor!"

what?
Minamoto no Yoshimochi was stunned. As a Japanese, he was used to the existence of the Emperor and did not find anything wrong with it. He did not understand the legitimacy of the Central Plains dynasties, so he naturally did not understand Li Xianmu's anger, and he did not understand why a war of annihilation was launched for this reason.

"There is only one sun in the sky and only one emperor on earth, that is my Great Ming Emperor. All other countries and vassal states are subject to the orders and decrees of the Central Plains Emperor."

Whoever dares to call himself emperor is daring to challenge the Central Plains and fight to the death until one of our crowns falls to the ground!
Does Your Highness understand?

Your Japanese Emperor has violated the greatest taboo of our dynasty. If he does not abdicate, he must die!
There's absolutely no chance of that happening!

Li Xianmu spoke each word slowly and deliberately to Yuan Yichi, his voice filled with intense killing intent and unwavering resolve to show no mercy. Yuan Yichi knew this was no joke, but rather the will of everyone in the Ming Dynasty.

Minamoto no Yoshimochi naturally didn't care about the Emperor's life or death, but facing the murderous-looking Lee Hyun-moku, he couldn't help but mutter, "This is too domineering..."

"My Great Ming territory stretches eight thousand li from north to south and eight thousand li from east to west, with a population of one hundred million and two million armored soldiers. Is there a problem with the Emperor of Great Ming sitting on a divine throne?"
Now that someone dares to usurp the throne, does Your Highness think they deserve to die?

Minamoto no Yoshimochi remained silent. What business was it of his that the feud between the emperor of the Central Plains and the Japanese emperor? The emperor's death actually saved him some trouble.

Eh?
His eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked urgently, "Just now, Mr. Li said that the Ming Dynasty would launch a war against Japan because of the Japanese Emperor, but what if Japan had no emperor?"

Li Xianmu gave Minamoto no Yoshimochi a deep look, and seeing that he was indeed savvy, said calmly, "You may abdicate and become a king. However, I have heard that the Emperor calls himself a god. Can he truly abdicate?"

In fact, it cannot be refunded.

The Japanese Emperors have long been essentially a priestly family, so stripping them of their divinity is the most unlikely thing to do.

Minamoto Yoshichi was even more excited. He had roughly guessed what the Ming Dynasty meant. "Is the Great Ming willing to give me more support?"

Li Xianmu finally smiled again, "Your Highness has great wisdom. As I said when I arrived, I came to help Your Highness."

Does Your Highness still feel that you don't need the Ming Dynasty's help?

"What did His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming say?" Minamoto Yoshichi wanted to know the Emperor's explicit meaning, not just Li Xianmu's.

Li Xianmu solemnly said, "Our emperor has said: I hereby confer upon you the title of king, bestow upon you the true crown, and the country of Fusang shall respectfully submit to your name!"

Those who overstep your authority will pay with their blood!

The Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, Heaven and Earth bear witness!

It was as if it were sacred.

It was displayed prominently in the palace.

(End of this chapter)