Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 447: The Edge of the Upper Country
"So, the One Country, One City Order was actually requested by Tokugawa Ieyasu?"

In Shimizu Castle, the young So Yoshishige knelt in the hall. Among his retainers, only the captured Yanagawa Chosei and another old retainer knelt behind him, while the rest were outside the house.

Tian Le, who had just arrived at the Tajima Island, and Ma Gui's sons Ma Chengxun and Jin Jingrui sat in high positions.

Tian Le discovered that there were many more details about the current situation in Japan.

"The daimyo of various places dare not disobey." Another retainer of So Yoshishige answered on his behalf, "In addition to the one-country-one-castle order, the Genwa order also set thirteen articles. For example, last year, the sakura was transferred to replace the lord. This was because the lord was young and the shogunate had heard that the Celestial Empire would come to attack. Otherwise, every April, the daimyo of various places should go to Edo to sankin once..."

The new details that Denraku knew were, of course, that the Edo shogunate actually introduced many methods to control local daimyo. And these methods were not implemented by Tokugawa Hidetada, who had just taken power, but were actually the work of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

"All large ships with a capacity of more than 500 koku have been taken away by the shogunate?" Tian Le confirmed again.

"After the ban on religion and the country's closure, they were all taken away..."

Ma Chengxun's eyes couldn't help but become eager to try, and he looked at Tian Le.

This is good news!
Tian Le was concentrating on thinking.

According to them, the 13th article of the Genwa Order not only re-emphasized the one-country-one-castle order, but also exerted a strong control over the local daimyo: they were required to go to Edo every year to attend the memorial ceremony, and they were required to bear their own travel expenses, and during the trip they had to dress in a manner that was strictly in accordance with their status. They could not exceed the rules, nor could they be perfunctory and save money.

Any marriage must be approved by the shogunate.

"The so-called great names of various places, don't you dare disobey them?" Tian Le asked.

"How dare a foreign daimyo like Tsushima disobey? Outside the shogunate's territory, the daimyo of the relatives and hereditary daimyo occupy more and better territories..."

From their accounts, since this matter was the work of Tokugawa Ieyasu himself, and had the support of the daimyo of the related domains who were originally related to the shogunate by marriage and the hereditary daimyo who were the "founding ministers" of the Edo shogunate, the progress of this matter was actually quite rapid.

"Yanagawa Tiaoxing, right? You went to Edo last year and came back. As far as you know, how many mountain castles are left in the west of Honshu Island now?"

Yanagawa Choshinari's current status is even lower than So Yoshinari and other retainers. He was blocked and captured along with the shogunate's special samurai on his way to escape back to Honshu Island.

Those who strive for greater development space in this way now become prisoners, and their expressions of flattery are the strongest.

"Reporting to the Great General of the Heavenly Dynasty, the Western Kingdom originally had more than 3,000 cities, but now there are less than 1,000 cities..."

"...It was demolished so quickly?" Tian Le couldn't help but be surprised. Wasn't it only been a year or two?
The anticipation in Ma Chengxun's eyes grew even stronger.

"Humph! Just like this kid, there are countless daimyo who have ambitious traitors like him. It would be better to tear down the branch castles guarded by the retainers than to let them occupy them!"

After hearing the reply of another retainer of So Yoshinari who looked down on Yanagawa Tiaoxing, Denraku slowly understood everything.

Not what it used to be.

Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi was also a great hero, the Edo Shogunate seemed to have stronger skills.

On the one hand, he personally controlled the largest territory and distributed the benefits to his in-laws and direct descendants. On the other hand, he also seized a pain point of the daimyos in various places during the chaotic war: the so-called tradition of the lower ranks overthrowing the superiors in Japan.

In times of chaos, local daimyo would of course rely on retainers and samurai. But now that the Edo shogunate is stable, retainers who helped the Ming Dynasty control the power of the territory, at least some of them, need to be guarded against.

The one country, one castle order was certainly a way for the shogunate to control the daimyo, so that if they had any disloyalty, they would have fewer places to defend. But for the daimyo, the chaotic war period was over anyway, and their status was recognized by the shogunate, so the one country, one castle order made it easier for them to control their retainers.

At least they did not have the confidence that some of the vassal states had in resisting the daimyo.

Tian Le looked at Yanagikawa Tiaoxing quietly: In this situation, he would rather be a shogunate retainer than a retainer. This is probably what the retainers of the Ming Dynasty in many places in Japan are thinking at this moment.

Imagine if daimyos from all over the country still had to go to Edo for "Sankinkotai" every year, who would take care of local affairs?

This guy might have actually seen clearly that the long-term goal of the shogunate is to sideline the local daimyo and hand over the local areas to the shogunate retainers who are loyal to the shogunate to actually manage.

"In your opinion, now that the Japanese army has arrived and Tsushima has surrendered, will the many daimyo of the western countries you mentioned continue to demolish the city?"

Tian Le asked the key question.

The so-called Western and Eastern countries are the names of their local areas. Apart from the five Kinki countries near Kyoto, the eastern countries are collectively called Eastern countries, and the other countries are called Western countries.

They have the so-called Five Capitals and Seven Provinces, and there were only 66 countries in the ancient times. According to the theory of one country and one city, doesn't it mean that there are less than a hundred cities left in the whole country?
But now it is divided into smaller pieces, and there are more than two hundred fiefdoms.

Some daimyo did not occupy a complete Ritsu-koku, so under the new rules they were not even qualified to own a city alone.

This is also one of the reasons why the castles were demolished so quickly in one or two years: the more powerful local daimyo had sufficient motivation to demolish the castles of those neighboring daimyo who did not have the qualifications to build castles first.

The shogunate would coordinate many of these conflicts through "change of fiefdom": dividing the territory and moving the daimyo of one place to another.

In fact, it was very effective in the end, and only about 150 cities were left. Most of the fortresses and mountain cities that were built in large numbers during the Warring States Period were demolished.

Yanagawa Choxing understood the purpose of Dango's question.

He thought for a moment and then replied, "It will be demolished, and it will be demolished faster!"

"Oh? Tell me."

Liuchuan Tiaoxing is now fighting for his life, and he has bigger ideas in his mind.

Therefore, he said seriously: "When the heavenly troops arrive, even a powerful domain like Satsuma will not be able to resist alone with only the local daimyo. The shogunate wants all the western domains to resist together, so it naturally needs to adopt a strategy. Many castles have been demolished. Since it is impossible to build a tighter defense line, it is better to concentrate our forces. In the end, the ones that are preserved are the truly strong castles. If the western domains lose their castles, it is equivalent to losing their domains. How can they not obey the shogunate's orders?"

Tian Le nodded: "Go on."

"Also, even if the Heavenly Soldiers are brave and can indeed easily break through the city, they will not be able to control the entire country with just the captured cities if they are on a long expedition. Leaving more branch cities will not only cause the disadvantage of having to divide the troops but make it difficult to defend, but will also help the Heavenly Soldiers control the captured vassal states with more branch cities. Therefore, it is better to demolish all those branch cities. In the future, the shogunate will be able to lure the Heavenly Soldiers to go deep into the country, and secondly, it can use its familiarity with the mountains and rivers to harass and delay the Heavenly Soldiers. The superior country... after all, is a long expedition with a lot of troops."

Tian Le knew that he was showing that he was useful.

He is indeed useful, and cannot be compared with the young So Yoshiinari and his retainers whose horizons are limited to Tsushima.

So he laughed and said, "Since you have met Tokugawa Hidetada, let me ask you: What is Edo's judgment on the Ming expedition? What does Tokugawa Hidetada think is the goal of the Ming expedition?"

"...Of course, we need to demonstrate the power of the superior country and then determine the status of the vassal..."

"Really?" Tian Le smiled.

It's not surprising that this guy said that.

If you look through history books, you will find that since the establishment of the so-called royal family and the emperor, Japan has actually been unwilling to submit to the Central Plains.

During the Sui Dynasty, they clearly wrote in the state letter that "the emperor of the place where the sun rises writes to the emperor of the place where the sun sets, wishing him good health."

By the Tang Dynasty, Japan even considered itself the "Heavenly Kingdom". But when they sent troops to Silla at that time, they were taught a lesson by the Tang Dynasty at Baekgang. After that, they officially pledged loyalty to the Tang Dynasty and sent a large number of envoys to the Tang Dynasty.

But the Zhao Song Dynasty could only pay tribute to the Liao and Jin Dynasties, so how could Japan pay tribute to the Zhao Song Dynasty?

After the Mongols entered the Central Plains, the Kamakura shogunate firmly refused to submit to them, and then the Mongols launched an expedition to the east, which made the arrogant Mongols return empty-handed, and they naturally became even more arrogant.

Even Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty for the sake of the interests of the "Warring States Period", was regarded as "treason".

The Tokugawa family's primary goal after the Edo period was to control the interior, which led to the "ban on religion and isolation of the country". They did not try to establish a new relationship with the Ming Dynasty, and they were also worried that maritime trade would only strengthen the power of the powerful western feudal lords.

Now that the Ming army is approaching, their first judgment is that the Ming army is coming to demonstrate its majesty and make them submit to it. This is not surprising at all.

Tian Le thought this was fine.

"You are still useful." Tian Le said, "Since you are familiar with the local details, you can serve under General Jin first. Go down first."

When the "outsiders" were gone, Ma Chengxun immediately said impatiently: "General, the opportunity cannot be missed..." "Don't worry, General Ma." Tian Le raised his hand to suppress him, "Didn't you hear him say that the city will be demolished."

"But what he said makes sense. If all the strongholds are demolished, then..."

"After the strongholds are demolished, won't that be the place that the tribes on the grassland are most familiar with? Just plunder, don't attack the city." Tian Le shook his head, "Just follow the established plan. Since the shogunate thinks that the Ming Dynasty is only here to show its power, it will only use it to seize local power. The war still needs to be fought, but... since they have already started the system of changing fiefs, can't they use the Ming Dynasty to first cripple the powerful vassal states on the western border, and then change the fiefs of their relatives and retainers to here? At that time..."

At that time, I'm afraid we will negotiate with the Ming Dynasty.

On the one hand, they did resist the Ming army and achieved peace. On the other hand, although they might be forced to submit, it was actually no big deal, and on the contrary, they could keep the tribute trade with the Ming firmly in their own hands.

As for the dissatisfaction of other local daimyo? When there are foreign enemies, it is actually more conducive for the shogunate to further control the local areas.

Who can resist?

Since they had already demolished most of the city before the Ming soldiers arrived, it is clear that the situation now is completely different from when Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was still there.

Besides, what kind of emperor do they have? The one who pays homage is the emperor, what does that have to do with the shogun?
Tian Le had absolute say in the Eastern Expedition army. Ma Chengxun was just greedy for merit, but he did not dare to advance rashly without orders.

The Ming Dynasty first settled on Tsushima Island and began to build sea and land defense lines, and also began to build Tsushima Island.

There are not many civilians on the island, and they are about to be completely replaced.

They were transported back to North Korea and could be considered "trophies".

Those who replaced them were craftsmen, civil and military officials, and soldiers.

Denraku was just paying attention to what Edo would do, but he didn't care.

Their misjudgment has its merits.

They thought that negotiation and submission was the worst outcome, so how could they unite against the enemy? Moreover, there were conflicts between them and the local daimyo in this process.

The Ming Dynasty did need time to build a more powerful Oriental fleet.

The shogunate was probably thinking that they could buy enough time by relying on this long and narrow terrain. A normal expedition would naturally become increasingly difficult if it encountered such a deep terrain.

By then, the Ming Dynasty would be willing to negotiate, and the shogunate might not have to lose too much dignity. Playing some literary tricks, but what you get is a firm grasp on the western region.

The front line? Just a chessboard.

But what Tian Le was thinking in his mind was a thunderous force.

It seems that we still have to wait for Shen Yourong and the Oriental Fleet.

At that time, the fleet will go straight to Edo. The Ming Dynasty will attack the shogunate, the head of the real power in Japan.

As for the rest of the daimyo in the western countries, it all depends on who is smart in the end.

……

From the end of the 16th year of Taichang and the beginning of the 17th year of Taichang, the Ming Dynasty began to fight on two fronts, but the consumption of the Ming Dynasty's finances by these two expeditions was miraculously controllable.

Because the fight was very rhythmic, and because the Duke of Qian, Prince of Lu, and many civil and military officials, chieftains, and local clans, who had accumulated a lot of wealth long ago, were fighting for their future power.

At the same time, new ten-year government bonds were launched. They wanted cash, but gave interest and more shares in the Takumi Tuanlian Foreign Company and the Ming Dynasty's official factories in the northern border.

The Xingang Xuanwei Division was being established, and the entire Nanyang situation was undergoing a new change.

The Ming Dynasty's attitude towards outer Yunnan was already clear, and except for a few countries such as Jiaozhi and Siam, most other countries in Southeast Asia were still very primitive.

The Java, Luzon and other islands were already quite familiar to the maritime merchants. There were already some sultanates and Buddhist countries on them. The Ming Dynasty encouraged the Takuhai Tuanlian Trading Company to cooperate with and intermarry with the powerful people there to help them govern more standardizedly.

But the emperor offered another great temptation: south of the South Sea, there is a huge island, which is as vast as the one capital, three capitals, nine borders and eighteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Anyone who dares to explore there will be granted permission!

Is this reliable?
Three hundred years ago, Wang Dayuan, who lived in Nanchang, Jiangxi, left a book called "A Brief Account of the Island Barbarians". This person's footprints were so far that it is shocking.

When he was only twenty years old, he traveled to the Mediterranean area on a merchant ship from Quanzhou at that time.

In his book, he recorded a place called Manali, and the emperor said that it was a huge island south of the South China Sea.

No matter whether it is true or not. Wang Dayuan lived in the vast Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Thanks to the Mongol Yuan Dynasty's territory that spanned the continent at that time, he could move around.

So they took his book as evidence, and added the emperor’s own general knowledge of being a learned man.

Then, a huge island that is as vast as the Ming Dynasty is acceptable...

Zhu Changluo was not afraid of what they would do there.

Let them go, they will be discovered sooner or later anyway. It is so far away, it is better to let them go than to be found by Westerners who are now forced to look for other sources of income.

From there to Xingang, it is not too far. When they go there, they will discover the pastures and iron mines there.

There has to be something to motivate the Ming people who are becoming more and more excited.

What is there that you can’t visit in Ming Dynasty?
At this moment, as the construction of the East Ocean Fleet was put on the agenda, in addition to the many government-run shipyards along the coast of the Ming Dynasty, private shipyards were also extremely busy.

But they had to put the Weiyuan warships under the Privy Council’s Military Preparations Hall first, rather than the cargo ships ordered by other big families.

As for the government-run shipyards in Zhejiang and Fujian, Zou Jin, who had just been elected as an academician of the Academy of Science and Technology, has already come.

It's a bit of a waste of talent to let him only be the chief engineer of the coal plant.

His current identity is: Chief Engineer of the Dragon King-class steam battleship.

Inside the dry dock, a monster has begun to take shape.

"...The chimney must be this big?" Shen Yourong was worried, "Will it burn the sails?"

“That’s why we have to build it so big and farther away.”

"…Isn't that as slow as a turtle?"

Zou Jin was unhappy: "Lord Shen, do you understand this steam engine, or do I?"

"... Thank you, Chief Engineer Zou, for your help in repairing my ship."

Zou Jin didn't know how to build a ship, but there were already many skilled people in shipbuilding.

He was only responsible for adding a new heart to this Dragon King-class steam battleship.

When the day it enters the sea, the Ming Dynasty’s naval master will be renewed.

Shen Yourong has received a new order from the Privy Council: Old Master Tian said that he could personally lead the fleet to attack Edo, Japan.

Who asked them to build the capital of the shogunate on the seaside?
That was the achievement of destroying a country in one battle!
The elite cavalry from the northern borders have already set out. The Ming Dynasty has already seized an island in Japan. After boarding the Ming Dynasty ship, they can go to Japan to plunder as much as they want.

Lindan Batur's eyes flashed coldly: If we can't capture the Ming Dynasty, how can we capture Japan?
He has been holding back his anger for almost ten years!

(End of this chapter)