The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 172 An Unbroken Lineage for All Ages

Li Xianmu's resounding, almost sacred words echoed throughout the empty hall, while Yuan Yichi's heavy breathing never ceased.

He fully understood the purpose of Li Xianmu's visit to Japan.

If Japan continues its policy of isolationism, it will soon face the arrival of the Ming Dynasty's army. Whether for the silver mines or to eliminate the usurper emperor, a bloody war will break out between the two sides.

Besides the Emperor, the target of the bloody battle was the Shogunate, which was unwilling to trade with the Ming Dynasty, which was itself.

In such a bloody national war, the shogunate would inevitably suffer enormous losses, and whether it could continue to exist was difficult to determine, but there would certainly be great risks involved.

All options for closing the country must be eliminated.

If the country had not closed itself off, a bloody war would still have broken out, because the emperor would still be alive. At that time, he could have chosen to leave with his army and wait for the Ming army to exterminate the imperial family and completely sever the imperial lineage, so that he could become the true king of Japan.

However, at this time, the nobles and dignitaries in the country would surely attack him. Moreover, he might not be able to reap the benefits. If it were that easy to destroy the emperor, the imperial family would not have been able to continue for a thousand years.

That leaves only the solution offered by the Ming Dynasty: we will support you to become the true King of Japan, overthrow the Emperor, and subdue those unruly and disobedient local lords.

This is a genuine crown bestowed by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Just as we have taken care of the Kingdom of Annam, we will take care of your descendants and ensure that the throne is passed down through your family.

Yuan Yizhi was in turmoil, but he forced himself to remain calm. There are no free lunches in this world. He asked in a deep voice, "What support can the Ming Dynasty give me, and what do I need to give in return?"

Li Xianmu pointed eastward and said, "Let's talk about the Iwami silver mine first. The Ming Dynasty wants the entire land of Iwami Province."

The first thing they did was cede territory, but Minamoto Yoshichi remained calm and listened quietly.

"Of the silver mined, the Ming Dynasty will give 20% to Your Highness to replenish your finances. Secondly, the Ming Dynasty will station 10,000 armored elite troops in Iwami Province. These elite troops will protect the silver mines on a daily basis. They can be provided to Your Highness whenever needed. If Your Highness wishes, half of these elite troops can be stationed in Kyoto. However, the auxiliary troops and military service will be borne by the Japanese people."

Minamoto Yoshichi raised an eyebrow. If it really was 10,000 elite troops, their fighting power would be enough to sweep across half of Japan. Having such a fresh force under his command would indeed greatly enhance his strength.

"Secondly, the Ming Dynasty will strictly investigate smuggling from Japan, and anyone who dares to smuggle will be executed on the spot. The fleet docked in the port will continue to sail at sea."

This is an attempt to sever Japan's ties with the outside world through its powerful navy.

Li Xianmu smiled and said, "Only Your Highness's ships can go to sea and trade with the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty will grant three levels of passes, with different taxes levied. The number of these passes is limited and will be distributed to your subordinates by Your Highness."

Minamoto Yoshichi smiled. He could use these passes to win people's hearts, and once he had the money in his hands, his power would naturally increase.

Li Xianmu then spoke of many concessions, such as the Ming Dynasty opening up more trade with Japan and purchasing some Japanese specialties, all of which would be directly transferred to Minamoto no Yoshimochi.

His sole purpose was to expand Minamoto no Yoshichi's power to the point that it would be enough to suppress domestic opposition. With money, he would naturally have guns, and his rule would become more stable.

Meanwhile, the Ming Dynasty was building more ports while stationing troops in Japan, and cultivating more ministers who were close to the Ming Dynasty. Even if it could not be converted into a prefecture in a short period of time, it would not be inferior to Korea.

Minamoto no Yoshimochi thought about it more and more and felt that continuing to be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty was really a good thing, "It's just that those old ministers now..."

"Your Highness, why don't you tell them about the Emperor? If they remain stubborn, we will have no choice but to execute them all. Our Ming army of 20,000 has been stationed at the port for a long time and is ready to be deployed to the war at any time."

On the surface, what Li Xianmu said was no different from what Zheng He said, with Minamoto no Yoshichi agreeing while the conservative ministers disagreed. But in reality, they were completely different.

Previously, Minamoto no Yoshimochi had been prepared to agree with the ministers' ideas, but now he firmly disagrees, even at the cost of a complete falling out with them.

Because he truly saw a way to break free from the Emperor's rule, he had long since given up on it from within Japan. His father was so powerful that he even made the Emperor recognize his grandmother as his godmother and posthumously honored her as "Retired Emperor," but in the end, he still didn't dare to accept it.

And now the powerful Ming Dynasty is providing assistance from abroad.

He was truly confident.

"How does your dynasty plan to overthrow the Emperor's rule?"

"After the foreign envoy returns to the Ming Dynasty, he will send a letter to Japan, rebuking Japan and demanding that the Emperor and his entire family be sent to the Ming Dynasty immediately."

If they disagree, they will land in Korea and attack Japan, then rely on their powerful navy to cover the landing of a portion of their troops in Japan, proving that what they say is true.

External forces are used to suppress internal changes.

"At this point, Your Highness will have to stir things up from within. If Japan descends into chaos, the opportunity will arise. This is the worst-case scenario, and it's highly likely that if Your Highness refuses to go to war with the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor himself will be forced to abandon the country."

When he heard Li Xianmu mention launching an attack on Japan from Korea, Minamoto no Yoshimochi couldn't help but tremble. If the Ming army really did land in Japan from Korea, it would inevitably cause a huge uproar. He could even imagine countless people flooding his residence, asking what to do. His mind raced, almost every possible outcome flashing through his mind, but ultimately, everything settled on that crown.

"As Mr. Li said."

Minamoto no Yoshimochi was certain that there would never be another opportunity for him to eliminate not only the Emperor and court nobles of the old era, but also the powerful daimyo who held sway over their armies.

Anyone familiar with the Ming Dynasty's system would envy the power to command counties thousands of miles away with a single imperial edict.

A smile crept into Li Xianmu's eyes. It's good to have ambition; how can one be driven without it?

After Li Xianmu left Kyoto, the old retainers under Minamoto no Yoshimochi entered the Muromachi Palace again with deep dissatisfaction. "General, are you still going to bow down to the Ming Dynasty? We have our own emperor, and we don't need to worship another emperor for the sake of trade."

To their surprise, this time the general did not refute the benefits of trade, but instead smiled wryly and said, "Yes, we Japanese have our own emperor, and now we're going to bring disaster upon ourselves because of him?"

A retainer of the Ashikaga clan asked suspiciously, "What calamity?"

Minamoto Yoshimochi sighed and said, "The Ming Dynasty was furious when it learned that Japan had an emperor. That's why they sent Li Jun. Li Jun said that there can only be one emperor in the world, and that the emperor is usurping power. The Ming Dynasty will fight Japan to the death."

what?
"It must be an envoy from the Ming Dynasty making threats, right?"

These words completely surprised everyone. They were fairly familiar with the style of the Ming Dynasty, and they thought it was impossible for them to do this. At most, they would just ignore each other. How could they suddenly go to the point of no return?

……

When the official letter from the Ming Dynasty was actually sent to Japan, and when Ming warships filled the seas, and two or three thousand well-trained troops landed at the port, and when news of Ming troops appeared from the direction of Korea, the Japanese emperor and his ministers realized that the Ming Dynasty was not joking after all!

When the Ming Dynasty defeated an army of 10,000 men guarding a daimyo, and even executed the entire daimyo clan, panic swept through Japan.

The Lê Dynasty king who killed the king of Annam did not believe he would be a match for the Ming Dynasty. He killed the Ming envoy with the thought that "the Ming Dynasty is so far away, they might not risk attacking me."

Those old ministers who encouraged Minamoto no Yoshimochi to sever ties with the Ming Dynasty thought the same way: they were separated from the Ming Dynasty by the sea, so it was impossible for them to attack them.

But now the Ming army has really arrived...

The Japanese court was in an uproar almost instantly, with the Emperor, court nobles, and daimyo from the Kyoto area flocking to the Muromachi Palace.

Everyone was waiting for Minamoto no Yoshimochi to speak. As the Shogun, what should you do in the face of the Ming invasion?
Minamoto no Yoshimochi thought to himself: I am the King of Japan, who is your Shogun?

But faced with the current situation in the country, he still slowly said, "The Ming Dynasty came from Korea and is even building a city. It is clear that they intend to wage a protracted war."

The root cause is…

As he spoke, he looked at the Emperor and said, "The strength of the Ming Dynasty is beyond our reach. Their population is ten times that of ours, and their army is also ten times larger."

When Li Jun visited Japan before, he said that as long as the Emperor was willing to abdicate and relocate to Ming China, he would not hold grudges against the other Japanese nobles, daimyo, samurai, and commoners, and peace between the two countries could still be maintained.

He had barely finished speaking when the Emperor shrieked, "Absurd! A minister abandoning his lord in the face of battle—does he even remember the loyalty of a samurai to his lord?"

Silence reigned in the Muromachi Palace, as if the air itself had frozen. No one had expected the shogun to be so blatant as to betray the emperor.

There wasn't even the slightest hesitation.

Many daimyo secretly thought, "At least come up with a reason. Isn't this too un-samurai-like?"

Minamoto no Yoshimochi was not one to tolerate the Emperor's behavior and retorted sarcastically, "Since His Majesty the Emperor is unwilling, then please organize your own army to fight against the Ming army."

This is a calamity caused by the Emperor; how can we possibly pay for it with our lives?

The Emperor surveyed the assembled nobles and dignitaries in the hall; apart from a few of his close confidants, almost all of them bowed their heads deeply.

The Ming Dynasty stated that only the Emperor would be held responsible, and no one else would be implicated.

Some things are difficult to handle internally in Japan, but become much easier once external forces are introduced. In the past life, there was the retired Empress America and a five-star general; in this life, there is the Ming Dynasty.

The Emperor felt utterly weak, pointing at the crowd, barely able to speak, "You..."

(End of this chapter)