The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 173 The Treaty of Kyoto (Fourth Update)

Minamoto Yoshichi never dreamed that things would go so smoothly.

The pressure from the Ming Dynasty was too great, and he was too passive and showed no sign of resistance. So who would stop the Ming army?
Just because of the fame of those places?
They were easily torn apart by the Ming army.

Knowing he was truly about to be abandoned, the Emperor roared, "I am a descendant of Amaterasu, a god among men. You rebellious people will ultimately be punished by the gods!"

Ashikaga Yoshimochi, you were misled by the Ming Dynasty and accepted the throne bestowed upon you by them, thus committing such a rebellious act. The gods have cursed you, and your descendants will forever be denied the light of Amaterasu, forever dwelling in darkness.

Although Shintoism has a great influence in Japan, the top leadership does not believe that the Emperor is a god. Looking around the world, there is no country whose top leadership truly believes that the monarch is a god, or that the monarch's power is divinely ordained.

So Ashikaga Yoshimochi just sneered, "Your Majesty, you claim to be a god, and the Ming emperor across the sea also claims to be the Son of Heaven. Why don't you two meet, summon each other's gods, and see who is the true god among men?"

If you can truly summon Amaterasu, I believe that the incredibly powerful Amaterasu will surely restore your authority and restore your country.

Go ahead.

Go and demonstrate your power against the Ming army, demonstrate your divine strength against the Ming emperor, instead of spouting these ridiculous words here.

This is blatant mockery, even more severe than Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's ridicule of the Emperor.

The Emperor felt completely limp. Whether he possessed divine power or was human or divine, he knew best.

“Go and invite the Emperor and his entire family here, and then invite the Ming Dynasty envoy to tell them that Japan is willing to negotiate.”

……

At this moment, Li Xianmu and Zheng He, who were in charge, were looking out at the Japanese coastline not far away from the deck.

Zheng He asked, "Does Scholar Li believe that Japan will agree to the conditions of our Great Ming Dynasty and hand over their emperor directly?"

Li Xianmu pondered for a moment, then said, "If you think of the Emperor as an emperor, that's not accurate. If you see the Emperor as the Imperial Seal of the State, and now a country many times stronger than you is asking you for it, would you refuse?"

Zheng He was taken aback, then suddenly burst out laughing, “Scholar Li is right. The Emperor is not an emperor, but rather a jade seal.”

A jade seal, of course, would be handed over.

"After bringing the Japanese Emperor back to Ming China, we will then officially recognize Minamoto no Yoshimochi as the King of Japan. This mission can be considered a success."

"It's not that simple. If something happens to the Emperor, Japan will be thrown into turmoil. People in various regions who are already dissatisfied with the Shogunate will take this opportunity to provoke and rebel. And how could we possibly arrest the entire Japanese imperial family?"
They can only arrest close associates; someone will surely enthrone the emperor again, and Japan will be in chaos for a while. The war has only just begun.

"Could Minamoto no Yoshimochi have guessed it?"

"Of course he can. Without war, how can he weaken the power of those daimyo and expand his own directly controlled territories?"
Handing over the imperial family to the Ming Dynasty was his pledge of allegiance. After the Ming Dynasty helped him fight and consolidate his throne, the Iwami silver mine and other privileges in Japan could finally be realized.

He's a smart man.

Zheng He frowned upon hearing this. "Scholar Li, aren't we raising a tiger that will eventually turn on us? Japan has a large population; if we really let them..."

Li Xianmu shook his head and said, "Master Zheng, you are wrong. The enfeoffment system is the most stable. With the current system, it can be maintained for a hundred years without any problem."

However, if power were centralized even slightly, the entire ruling model would change, but Japan lacked the corresponding experience in governing. Things were alright while Minamoto no Yoshimochi was alive, but after his death, within two generations at most, the result was a Qin Dynasty-like situation.

Qin Dynasty...

Zheng He shuddered. Scholar Li was truly ruthless; he had dug such a huge pit.

"If Japan remains in chaos, how can the Ming Dynasty reap the greatest benefits? A unified Japan is not in the Ming Dynasty's interest!"

Li Xianmu smiled slightly, looking very kind.

"Moreover, when the Ming army intervenes to assist Minamoto no Yoshimochi, the feudal lords in Japan may retreat out of fear, and at that time the Ming army will become a force of great importance."

It's like a dog leash around Minamoto no Yoshimochi's neck, forcing him to obey only the will of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Xianmu's promise to Minamoto no Yoshimochi was true, but only on the condition that the Ashikaga clan was willing to be dogs of the Ming Dynasty, just like the Joseon Dynasty's Yi clan, who were loyal dogs of the Ming Dynasty.

If you don't want to, then you should die.

……

Minamoto no Yoshimochi and the Ming Dynasty reached a peace agreement and signed the Treaty of Kyoto in Kyoto.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Empire and His Highness the King of the Kingdom of Japan have entered into a peace treaty for the sake of restoring peace between the subjects of both countries and to prevent future disputes. His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Empire has specially appointed Li Xianmu, the Imperial Plenipotentiary Minister of the Great Ming Empire, Junior Chamberlain of the Crown Prince's Palace, and Grand Secretary of the Hall of Literary Glory, to sign the treaty with King Minamoto no Yoshimochi of the Kingdom of Japan.

The treaty's contents are roughly as follows:

1. Both parties shall immediately cease hostilities upon the date of the exchange of the terms of this Treaty.

2: The Ming Empire and the Kingdom of Japan should completely restore peace and re-establish tributary relations. Japan should become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and its leader should be called "King of Japan". Ashikaga Yoshimochi/Minamoto no Yoshimochi should serve as King of Japan.

3. The investiture and succession of the Japanese king must be reported to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty for approval before it becomes officially effective and can be used for signing official documents and other political matters.

4: The Ming Empire and the Kingdom of Japan should send envoys to each other to garrison the capital to convey imperial edicts and to ensure that the King of Japan hears the sacred teachings.

5. The Japanese Imperial Family has an obligation to participate in military campaigns when the Ming Empire mobilizes troops, and the Ming Empire has an obligation to maintain the Japanese Imperial Family's rule over Japan.

The first four points were commonplace, but the fifth was the key point. Yuan Yichi realized that he was now being watched. He appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, countless people were already plotting against him.

But he doesn't regret it.

The Fujiwara clan used various methods to seize the emperor's power, but in the end the Fujiwara clan disappeared, while the emperor remained. Which nobleman in the future would not want to become a true king?
But the reality in Japan doesn't allow it.

Even if the Emperor were a pile of shit, no one would dare to throw him away; they would have to treat him with respect, otherwise the whole world would rise up against him.

But now that the Ming Dynasty has arrived, they are not afraid of the Emperor and can get rid of the most troublesome thing for him.

If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.

If he wants to become the true king of Japan, he must overcome this ordeal.

Lee Hyun-mok solemnly signed his name. This was only the first version of the agreement. Once the situation in Japan gradually calmed down, many supplementary clauses would be added to it.

For example, the Iwami Silver Mine, and the Ming Dynasty's construction of ports in Japan to organize trade.

June of the tenth year of the Yongle reign.

Li Xianmu met with the Emperor and his entire clan.

He looked at the imperial family with a disdainful expression.

Compared to the other two, he was so handsome that he seemed like a god, while the imperial family, who were supposed to be gods, were all short and ugly. Li Xianmu couldn't find any other word to describe them except "ugly".

"Is this the consequence of consanguineous marriage?"

Li Xianmu recalled his father's repeated admonitions: "In the future, the descendants of the Li family must never marry close relatives, especially cousins ​​who are more popular with the world. It is absolutely forbidden if the blood relationship is within three generations."

He didn't understand before, but now that he sees this bunch of deformed and broken fruits, he understands. It's terrifying. Could that prince have intellectual disabilities?

"Get them out of here right away, they're bad luck."

The Emperor, Empress, Princes, Imperial Princes, Princes, and Princesses all boarded the ship bound for the Ming Dynasty after Zheng He verified their identities one by one.

Of all the hardships throughout history, death is the only one.

In the end, the incompetent Japanese emperor did not die, and boarded a ship bound for the Central Plains amidst sorrow.

……

Li Qi watched the ship carrying the Emperor sail away and disappear into the azure horizon, feeling a surge of emotion within him.

Many people have asked, why would you want to travel back to those cruel ancient times?
Because there are regrets in my heart.
I want to change something!
I want to do something while there's still time!
Just like now.

An invisible wind stirred up waves on the sea, and the royal family, who lived on the island nation but had never seen anything like it before, were vomiting uncontrollably.

Li Xianmu once considered whether to sink them to the bottom of the sea, but in the end he decided against it, thinking that even if they returned to the Ming Dynasty, they would not fare well.

To usurp the throne is no different from treason.

Perhaps it would be better to offer them as sacrifices to Heaven in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

"Father, you must have seen this, right?"

Li Xianmu looked up at the sky. He was a very sensitive person. When he occasionally learned about Japan, he could hear the deep disgust hidden in his father's words.

Especially when talking about the Japanese Emperor, there was not only disgust, but also a deep-seated murderous intent.

He didn't understand, but he didn't need to understand.

His father is the only true god and immortal in this world, how could he be wrong?

"The tenth year of the Yongle reign."

Li Xianmu turned to look at Japan, "I hope that the first batch of silver can be transported out of the Iwami Silver Mine before the fifteenth year of Yongle's reign. The Ming Dynasty is desperately short of silver."

The sea of ​​clouds drifts eastward across the horizon.

The unbroken imperial line of Japan has thus come to an end.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The signing of the Treaty of Kyoto was a major turning point in the historical relationship between the Ming Dynasty and Japan. Its impact on Japan was self-evident, and its impact on the Ming Dynasty was also enormous.

This marks the first time the term "Great Ming Empire" as a political entity has appeared in a state document. It can be said that this was the first time an Eastern dynasty began to have a modern concept of a nation-state. This shift is very likely related to the rise of nationalist consciousness.

At the same time, the Ming Dynasty began to change the previously weak subordinate relationship with its vassal states, and began to use written documents and treaties to clarify the rights and obligations between the suzerain state and the vassal states. This marked the formation of a new system of foreign relations.

As mentioned earlier regarding the concept of the "Li Xianmu Reform Period," this dramatic change was initiated by Li Xianmu and fully matured under his leadership. — *The Evolution of Political Systems in the Ming Dynasty*

(End of this chapter)