Chapter 203: Eastern Expedition to Japan (Seventh)

It is said that after Cao Cao received the Chen Lin's manifesto, his headache was cured without treatment. Regardless of whether it was true or false, even if it was true, it was Cao Cao's luck, but Zhu Yuanzhang was not so lucky. At the end of June, he killed five eunuchs and guards who concealed Lan Yu's call for the world, and finally saw this manifesto that made him almost crazy, a declaration of war that nakedly challenged his imperial power. Zhu Yuanzhang fainted in anger.

Lu Siyuan, the former Jinyiwei "Doxiu Scholar" who had been thinking about Zhu Yuanzhang for more than ten years, touched the door of the Ming emperor. He took action when Zhu Yuanzhang was the most sensitive and sick and weakest. He used the weapon that Zhu Yuanzhang was most taboo and feared, and used a sword to penetrate the heart.

Zhu Yuanzhang collapsed, without any sense below his chest, and all the imperial doctors were helpless, but if he just collapsed, it was still the luck of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang's illness became even more serious. He spent almost half of his time in a drowsy, and he was awake for only one or two hours a day. But even if he was awake, he did not have the energy and physical strength to handle the court affairs tirelessly as before.

"What's going on with Your Majesty's illness?"

Outside the ward, the new Minister of Personnel Ye Tianming asked the imperial physician worriedly that he took over as Minister of Personnel after Zhan Hui was wiped out. Seeing that the Feng Fu case was not extinguished because of the emperor's illness, it became more and more serious. The emperor only cared about this matter in his short awake time. He didn't even look at the list of the Jinyi Guardians, and he just trembled and wrote the next word with a red pen, "Behead!". Within a day, hundreds, or even thousands, were killed.

The court officials were in danger, and now the Jinyiwei Jiang Yan became the most powerful person in the world. Under the strict order that Zhu Yuanzhang would rather kill three thousand people by mistake than let one person miss the net, as long as he was willing, he could easily destroy any minister's family.

The officials at the beginning of secretly came to the door to bribe at night, but now they have publicly slapped gold and silver to Jiang Yan and other Jinyiwei Qianhu's family in broad daylight, stripping away their gentleness and dignity. They kowtowed and kowtowed to the Jinyiwei's family, only begging them to show mercy and leave their lives and their families.

Ye Tianming was undoubtedly lucky and had not suffered any impact so far. On the one hand, although he was the chief assistant minister left by Zhu Yuanzhang to Changsun Zhu Yunwen, the more important thing was that the Jinyiwei San was protecting him, because he was Li Weizheng's father-in-law, but now he no longer cared about his life and the Ming Dynasty court could no longer operate. He could only hope that the emperor could wake up earlier, realize the seriousness of the problem, stop massacre, and rebuild the court.

Listening to the inquiry from the Minister of Personnel, the chief imperial physician Han Changzhi sighed and said, "Mr. Ye, the ice is three feet long, not a day's cold. The emperor has actually accumulated the root of the disease. He has worked hard for decades and has eaten poorly. But he was irresistible in the illness, so..."

Han Changzhi shook, indicating that they were powerless.

"Can the emperor get a little better?" Ye Tianming still had a faint glimmer of hope.

"Get better?" Han Changzhi smiled bitterly and said sadly: "He can maintain his current state, and the sky has opened his eyes. What else can he hope for? "

At this time, the wards suddenly opened a crack, and an eunuch said anxiously: "Shangshu Ye, Your Majesty summons you to see you."

Ye Tianming hurriedly walked into the ward. Zhu Yuanzhang was lying quietly in a corner of the sick boat, his face was yellow and thin, with his tired and old eyes slightly open. There were several cabinet ministers sitting next to him. They were responsible for drafting imperial edicts for the emperor. It seemed that the emperor had made what decision today.

Ye Tianming's nose felt sore, and he knelt down and said respectfully: "I, Ye Tianming, come to see Your Majesty, I wish Your Majesty a long live! "

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand powerlessly and asked him to stand beside him. His voice was extremely weak: "Except for Lan Yu and Feng Fu's case, other court affairs can be handled by the East Palace."

Ye Tianming was frightened. The emperor was already so ill that he refused to let go of the Feng Fu case. However, he finally agreed to the East Palace to manage the government, which could at least make the paralyzed government work.

Ye Tianming breathed a sigh of relief again. At this time, Song Na, the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion, handed a golden box to him and whispered: "This is what Your Majesty gives you. If the Ming Dynasty is facing a crisis, you must open it on the spot in the court."

Ye Tianming heard his words quite obscurely. What does it mean to face a crisis? Isn’t the Ming Dynasty facing a murder crisis now? He didn’t dare to say too much, solemnly took the gold box and hid it in close proximity.

Zhu Yuanzhang barely showed a tired smile and waved his hand, "Go! Assist my grandson well."

"Your Majesty, take care of me, I will leave."

Looking at Ye Tianming retreating, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly took a few breaths and struggled to say to Song Na: "Transfer my secret order to Jiang Yan. If Li Wei returns to Liaodong, lure him into Beijing and kill him!"

Ye Mansion, Ye Tianming paced back and forth in the study with his hands behind his back, looking up at the golden box on the table from time to time. The gold box was sealed and integrated. He vaguely felt that there must be a great secret in the golden box that was related to the fate of the Ming Dynasty. A strong desire for exploration made him want to open the golden box, but he did not dare. This was the crime of extermination.

But he also knew that the emperor ordered him to open it in a critical moment, that is to say, the emperor also gave him the power to open the gold box, but it had to be opened in public in the court, and when was this crisis? He didn't know.

Ye Tianming struggled repeatedly in his heart, and finally he made up his mind, "Forget it, you can do another one at most."

He trembled with his hands and picked up the gold box and repeatedly looked for ways to open it, but he was disappointed. The gold box seemed to be cast in place, and there was no gap at all. If it was opened hard, it would damage the things inside. At this time, Mrs. Ye brought in a cup of tea. She didn't dare to disturb her husband, so she gently placed the tea cup behind him and was about to leave. But she saw her husband looking for it repeatedly, and she seemed to be unable to find a way to open it. She couldn't help saying, "It's a big dawn, you might as well scrape the surface with a knife and you can see the gap."

She often fiddled with gold jewelry and knew some tricks here. Ye Tianming was shocked. He turned around and shouted loudly: "Who wants you to come in, go out quickly!"

Mrs. Ye was so scared that she hurriedly left. Ye Tianming stepped forward and locked the door. Then she took out a dagger. He also felt that his wife's words were reasonable. He sat down and carefully scraped the side of the gold box. The gold powder fell to the ground, and it turned out to be applied later. Sure enough, when he scraped to the other side, he found a thin crack on the box. He took a long breath and gently inserted it into the gap with the tip of the dagger. With a pry, the golden box was opened with a slight sound.

A roll of white silk was neatly folded in the golden box. He slowly shook it open. This was actually Zhu Yuanzhang's handwritten handwriting, and the handwriting was hard, unlike what he had just written recently. When Ye Tianming saw the content on it, he was stunned and saw it: "In a hundred years, if all the kings support their troops and support themselves, the Duke and others can change the King of Yan to the new emperor."

Japan, Maguan Strait, Northern Dynasties Minister Ashikaga Yoshiman finally arrived at the strait. He had just received the news that the Ming army defeated his son. At this time, he was anxious and urgently transferred the ferry boats to come. There were only 50 ferry boats, which were imitated by the Tang Dynasty's sand-proof flat-bottomed boats. They had a large load and were stable, and they were not afraid of stranding. The Northern Dynasties also had their own military ships, but they were mainly deployed in the Seto Inland Sea to deal with the Southern Dynasties of the Four Kingdoms.

Fortunately, these ferry boats were parked in a harbor not far away and were not attacked by the Ming army. Soon, the fleet came one after another. Two military ships were walking in the front, which were also imitating the Central Plains. This kind of boat not only has a tall and majestic appearance, but also has spears, flags, and is very vigilant, and is suitable for both offense and defense. It is a real water fortress. Because the boat is tall and large, it has deterrent power, but its disadvantages are also obvious. Its hull is bulky and its movements are not flexible enough. If the opponent's force exceeds it, it will become a target ship...

Ashikaga Yoshiman also considered the possibility that the Ming army would attack when the army crossed the sea, so he specially transferred two large military ships to block the sea entrance north of the Maguan Strait.

"Sir, since the Ming army has defeated Yoshiki, they will definitely intercept the Lord across the sea. Please be careful!"

The person who advised Ashikaga Yoshima was the second-rank official, Left Guard Major General Heiichiro Kitaji. He always felt that it was inappropriate for Ashikaga Yoshima to occupy Kyushu Island with heavy troops, but he couldn't tell the reason. But now he understood that there was a loophole in Ashikaga Yoshima's deployment, that is, once the Ming army defeated Ashikaga Yoshima, the natural danger of the Strait would trap the main force of the Japanese army on Kyushu Island. Although it was unlikely, it was a loophole after all, but what he was worried about now happened.

As the Taizheng of the Northern Dynasty, Ashikaga Yoshiman was powerful for a long time. Of course, he knew that there was a possibility of being intercepted by the Ming army, but he could no longer care about it. He saw more serious political consequences. Once Li Wei was leading troops to attack Kyoto, Emperor Komatsu and Akatsuki Kanbai, who had been dissatisfied with him, would they not take advantage of this opportunity? They would not fight their troops with the Ming army. They would find a political compromise and take the opportunity to use the Ming army to completely trap themselves in Kyushu Island. By the time they killed themselves, the heavens of the Northern Dynasties might have changed.

Ashikaga Yoshiman knew that Li Wei was not interested in Japanese territory, so they had a greater chance of reaching a compromise. He had to take all his own political future.

He glared at Beihuang Heiichiro and said, "Don't cross the sea, do you want me to be trapped in Kyushu?"

Of course, he would not admit his decision-making mistake in landing in Jiuzhou. He immediately turned around and shouted to the officers: "Have you ever thought that the wandering soldiers and sanchang of the Da Nei family could defeat the Ming Dynasty with only some broken ships. What strength would they have in the Ming Dynasty? At least not at sea. I have sent military ships to stop it. They will not be able to break through in a short time. Let's cross the strait and drive the Ming army out of the Japanese archipelago!"

"Fight! Fight!"

The officers and soldiers echoed in groups, raising their arms and shouting. Ashikaga Yoshino nodded with satisfaction and ordered decisively: "Go on the boat and cross the sea!"

Countless Japanese soldiers lined up onto the ferry. The ferry shook for a while. The first eight ferries were loaded with 3,000 soldiers and began to start slowly. Although the narrowest part of the Maguan Strait was less than two miles, the narrowest part was turbulent, with reefs densely packed, and there was no place to land. So Ashikaga Yoshiman did not choose the narrowest part, but chose a sea area about five miles wide, with shallows on both sides, which was the best place to cross the sea.

Ashikaga Yoshiman had made the worst plan. The first army in his life held a shield and a spear. As long as he could pass half of it, he could get a weight on the balance. After all, Li Wei was about to attack Kyoto and would not leave too many soldiers on the other side. As long as more and more soldiers landed, one would rise and the other would disappear, he would definitely retake the strait.

Ashikaga Yoshiman took all the possibilities into consideration, but he ignored one detail, that is, his son Ashikaga Yoshiki was defeated three days ago, and it took him three days to get from Nagasaki to the Strait of Maguan. Why didn't the Ming army destroy the ferry ships during these three days?

As the drum sounded, the Japanese army with high morale began to cross the sea. Ashikaga Yoshima grabbed the drumsticks and personally encouraged the army.

‘Dong! dong! dong!’ The Wuzhang drum made a shocking sound of drums. The Japanese army shouted loudly on the sea, striving for the first place. The Wuli Sea area could pass in just a quarter of an hour, but the other side was still quiet and there was no movement.

At this moment, the two tower ships blocking Ming army ships in the north of the strait made a sharp sound of gongs, and then the explosion came. The Ming army did as expected. As expected, Yoshiman Ashikaga stood at a high place and looked at the north sea surface. Sure enough, he saw dozens of Ming army warships of Kurotongtong. His two tower ships were loaded with soldiers, shooting with bows and arrows nearby and using catapults to defend in the distance. Although the Ming army cheered with cannons and there were many, they were frightened by the power of the catapults and could not get close to their tower ships, and the cannons had no effect.

Ashikaga Yoshiman smiled coldly, and it was indeed as expected that although the Ming army had advanced weapons, their morale was not as good as themselves. They cherished their lives and did not dare to fight against the Japanese army who were desperate for life. The war was against people, so what's the use of sharp weapons alone?

"Terr another twenty big ships!" Ashikaga Yoshiman gave up the temptation. He wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to land as fast as possible.

At this time, the Ming army on the other side also appeared. They fired guns and bombarded with cannons. The bullets were dense, making the Japanese army unable to raise their heads and using shields was useless. Some people kept screaming and falling off the boat. The shells fired by the cannons either landed on the sea, causing surging white waves, overturned the big ship, or hit the ship directly, shattering the big ship. The overwhelming advantage of the Ming army appeared. In just a moment, eight ferry boats were sunk three, and the sea was filled with Japanese corpses, but other military ships were less than 500 steps away from the shore.

Ashikaga Yoshi's face was expressionless. This was completely within his tolerance. He had already figured out the reality of the Ming army. He resolutely swung the drumstick and hit it hard, "Tell me the order, all ferry ships will be activated."

All fifty sea ships have set out, and nearly 20,000 Japanese troops appeared on the sea, densely packed and overwhelming, as if they had also covered the sea.

On a small hill, Chen Wanli saw that the Japanese ferry had been pressed up, and he suddenly ordered: "Change the tactics and take action!"

As the black flags roared on the hill, the Ming army warships attacking the two tower ships suddenly changed. They lined up, tearing off their camouflage and began to bombard the tower ships with the sharpest cannons. The shells fell on the two ships like raindrops. Suddenly, the hulls were torn apart, and the wood splashed, and the flames soared into the sky. Although there were cattered machines on the tower ship, the firing speed was far from keeping up with the cannons. With just one round of cannons, the two tower ships were blown into pieces and quickly sank to the bottom of the sea.

Dozens of warships broke through the blockade in one fell swoop. When the troops arrived at the ferry boats, they stopped the strait first and bombed them with dense cannons. The ferry boats were overturned and destroyed. In an instant, more than a dozen sea boats overturned. The sea surface was densely filled with Japanese soldiers asking for help. The remaining sea boats were shocked and turned around, but it was too late. There was no time interval between the Ming army's new artillery. Hundreds of various cannons bombed the sea ruthlessly. The sea surface was covered with fire. Only countless screams of despair were heard. The scorched stench filled the sky above the strait, and the entire Maguan Strait was stained with blood.

The Ming army on the shore also showed its power at the same time, changing more than a dozen artillery pieces into more than 100. In cooperation with the Ming army's warships to attack the ferry that was about to reach the shore, the Japanese army suffered heavy casualties. As the last ferry was sunk, the sea surface became deserted, and the sea breeze blew, and all the Japanese troops crossing the sea were buried in the belly of fish.

On the shore, all the Japanese officers and soldiers were stunned. Ashikaga Yoshi's face was pale and he stared at all. Suddenly, the drumstick in his hand fell to the ground, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, and fell softly to the ground.

This is the strategy that Li Wei is deploying. He cuts the rope when Ashikaga Yoshima is about to climb into the trap, and then kicks him down...
Chapter completed!