Chapter 204: Eastern Expedition to Japan (Eight)

"Sir, my father's army of 70,000 was trapped in Jiuzhou. The situation is extremely critical. I beg the Lord to send troops to rescue him. The number of Ming soldiers is not large. If the Lord sits aside and lets the Ming army rage Japan, he will become the sinner of Japan!"

In the lobby, Yoshihisa Ashikaga knelt on the ground and begged hard, but opposite him, the Northern Dynasty Guanbai Ashikaga seemed to hear nothing. He sat at the low table and was still ecstatically appreciating his porcelain cup. Behind him, more than a dozen Northern Dynasties ministers watched coldly, and many people had a hint of gloating in their hearts. Will Yoshihisa Ashikaga, who was powerful in the past, be there today?

Yi Jingsi was about fifty years old, with fair skin, gentle every move like a woman, and very gentle. Guan Bai had an official position like the Grand Tutor of the Ming Dynasty, with a noble status and not just a false position. Yi Jingsi's family was the leader of the four famous Japanese families and had tens of thousands of soldiers in his hands. In fact, he was a powerful minister second only to Ashikaga Yoshiman in the Northern Dynasties. If he nodded to save him, he could mobilize at least tens of thousands of troops.

But Yishiji had no intention of saving each other. He let the blood on Ashikaga Yoshiji's head blow blood, and he just smiled faintly, "The general, Yoshinobu, has his own appearance, so you don't have to worry."

Ashikaga Yoshihisa finally realized that these people not only did not want to save their father, but also wanted to put down the wrong person. He stood up and said angrily: "Okay, I'll recruit soldiers now, and I won't ask you!"

After saying that, he walked out of the hall with great strides. At this moment, a murderous intent burst out from the eyes of Yijiji. He waved his hand gently and saw dozens of burly swords and axes rushed out from the walls on both sides. They pressed Ashikaga Yoshiji to the ground, raised his axe and cut off his head. Ashikaga Yoshiji screamed and returned to the underworld.

When Yi Jingsi saw blood all over the ground, he frowned, wiped his hands with a white towel, and got up and went to the inner room. More than a dozen ministers looked at each other, and a trace of fear flashed in everyone's eyes. Killing Ashikaga Yoshiji, that meant that Guan Bai and the Minister of Taizheng had completely turned against each other.

Yishuiji came to the inner hall as if nothing had happened. A maid gave him a cup of tea. Yishuiji slowly sucked it, and a hint of pride finally appeared in his eyes. He had been waiting for a long time on this day. Over the years, Ashikaga Yoshimi's arrogance has become worse and he even stepped on the emperor. He claimed to be the king of Yuan Daoyi. There was no emperor in his heart. He was the master of Japan. As Guan Bai, he could only follow him like a dog. He had been killing him for a long time. This time, Ashikaga Yoshimi tied himself up and trapped himself in Kyushu. Isn't this God's eyes open?

Yijiji met with Emperor Komatsu last night and decided on a strategy that he must seize this opportunity to get rid of Ashikaga Yoshimatsu, abolish the shogunate system, and return the power to the Emperor. But he also knew that it was not so easy to get rid of Ashikaga Yoshima. After all, the initiative is not in their hands, but in the hands of the Ming army. The key here is to reach a compromise with the Ming army, meet their requirements, and use their hands to get rid of Ashikaga Yoshima.

"Sir, the head of the Chisong family is here." A guard whispered: "He said he had something important to ask for a meeting."

Chisong Guanglong was also one of the four famous families of the Northern Dynasties. He was appointed as the Minister of the Inner Dynasty and was the hard-core confidant of Yi Jingsi. Chisong Guanglong was of course Yao Ji's father. He had just received his daughter's letter and immediately ran to see Yi Jingsi in horror. He thought his daughter Yao Ji had died on Danluo Island, but she did not expect that she would become the concubine of the head commander of the Ming army. In fact, the letter he received was Li Weizheng's handwritten letter, but Yao Ji translated it under each sentence.

Hirotsuka Chisong hurried into the inner hall and held the letter, "Sir, this is a letter written by the commander of the Ming army. Can you please read it?"

Yi Jingsi was stunned. He then stepped forward and grabbed the letter, and opened it in panic, "How could he write to you?"

"I didn't expect that Yao Ji, the little girl who has been missing for more than two years, would be his wife." Chisong Guanglong sighed, feeling disappointed and happy in his heart. Yao Ji was once his favorite daughter, but her marriage was unhappy. Although she is safe now, she has married to the Ming Dynasty.

Yi Jingsi didn't care about Chisong Yaoji's situation, so he opened the letter and read it in a hurry.

'His Majesty Komatsu, Lord Guan Baiyi, General of Liaodong and Commander of the Offshore Defense of the Ming Dynasty, Li Weizheng, was appointed to the East. At this time, I came to fight against Japanese pirates who invaded the coast of the Ming Dynasty, and had no intention of invading Japan. However, your country's general Yoshimatsu Yoshimatsu mobilized many troops and wanted to annihilate my righteous army to Kyushu. Who is unbearable? Weizheng then used his troops to protect himself. Yoshimatsu Yoshimatsu had been stopped by me in Kyushu. Now Weizheng came to the east and wanted to discuss the handling of Yoshimatsu Yoshimatsu Yoshimatsu, and our army ship had arrived three hundred miles away from Kyoto, and was waiting for him. I hope that your country would send special envoys to meet early, and Li Weizheng would come to the meeting.

Yi Jingsi was walking back and forth in the inner hall with his hands behind his back. Although Li Weizheng was polite and had no conditions to talk about, he also knew that the Ming army would come east, so how could he return empty-handed?

"I understand. I will go to see the Emperor immediately for this matter, and you can go with me."

As the emperor's envoy, Hirotaka Akamatsu went to the Ming army fleet. At this time, ten thousand Ming troops had already landed in Wakamasa Kingdom. The tent was continuous, with bright armor and bright swords and swords. Hirotaka Akamatsu and his group of dozens of people walked for two days before they arrived at the Ming army camp. He informed him at the door, and several soldiers immediately led him into the big tent. When he arrived at the central army tent, Hirotaka Akamatsu suddenly saw a woman running towards him. It was his missing daughter Yao Ji, who had been two years ago. Hirotaka Akamatsu took two steps and held his daughter. The two looked at each other for a while, and suddenly hugged their heads and cried bitterly.

"Yao Ji, my father thought you were dead, but he didn't expect you to be alive." Hirotsuka Chimatsu burst into tears. He looked up and down at his daughter and saw that she was already wearing the clothes of a Ming Dynasty woman. In addition to her appearance, her temperament and appearance were no longer Japanese women at all.

"Father, my daughter must die on Danluo Island, but she was rescued by General Li. He is now my husband, and I am doing well."

"Okay! OK! As long as you live well, it's fine." Hirotsuka Akatsuki wiped away his tears. He saw a young officer standing next to him and was nodding slightly.

"This is your husband, General Li!" Chisong Guanglong asked Yao Ji.

"Yes!" Yao Ji quickly pulled Li Weizheng and introduced him: "Dalang, this is my father, Hirotaka Akamatsu, who is currently the Minister of the Interior of the Northern Dynasties of Japan."

"Son-in-law, please see my father-in-law."

Li Wei was quickly giving him a deep tribute. He was his Japanese father-in-law after all. Although they will negotiate formally later, he has to give Yao Ji this face now.

Chisong Guangtou also had a little Chinese language and understood what Li Weizheng meant. He waved his hand quickly and said in very unskilled Chinese: "General Li, don't be polite. If you hadn't saved Yao Ji, she would have died long ago. I should be grateful to you."

After a pause, he said again: "General Li, let's start with public first and then private first, let's start now!"

Li Wei nodded, invited him into the tent, and ordered his personal soldiers to serve tea. Yao Ji also sat in the middle seriously. There was no ambiguity in the negotiations between the two countries. Akamatsu Hirotsuka's Chinese is not competent, and he must use Japanese.

Hirotaka Akamatsu took a sip of tea. Seeing that the time had come, he asked, "I don't know how General Yoshiman Ashikaga is doing?"

Li Weizheng had just received Chen Wanli's expedition report. After hearing Yao Ji's translation, he smiled slightly and said, "Five days ago, Ashikaga Yoshiman forced his crossing of the Maguan Strait and was hit by our army head-on. He suffered nearly 20,000 troops and has already retreated. He is still in Kyushu. I have ordered the removal of the coastal ships along Kyushu. Please rest assured, he can't get out."

Akamatsu Hirotaka was silent and silent. No matter what, Ashikaga Yoshiman was the Minister of the Taizheng in Japan. Li Weizheng in front of him was the invader. He talked to him in this way, as if Japan welcomed him to invade.

He sighed and said, "I have already read the letter from the General Guan Bai and His Majesty the Emperor. We really hope to keep Ashikaga Yoshiman in Kyushu. This depends more on General Li. Of course, we will also give some appropriate compensation so that General Li will not work hard in vain."

Speaking of this, Hirotaka Akamatsu glanced at Li Weizheng's expression and asked tentatively: "I wonder what General Li has to ask?"

He discussed with Yi Jingsi and the Emperor that he was preparing to compensate the Ming army for one million silver strips, but this was the bottom line and could not be said. He wanted to hear Li Weizheng's request.

Li Weizheng's expedition for thousands of miles was of course for wealth. He needed Japanese money to develop his Liaodong. In addition, he had decided to occupy Tsushima Island and build it into his own base on the coast of Japan. After listening to Yao Ji's translation, he lowered his head and pondered and said, "I came to wipe out the pirates and bandits who raided the coast of the Ming Dynasty by His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty. But every time after the suppression, the spring breeze reappeared soon, so I decided to temporarily rent Tsushima Island from your country. One is to completely destroy the bandits, and the other is to guard Ashikaga Yoshima for your country. This is my first condition."

Rental is a relatively euphemistic term. If you don’t pay it back, you will have to rent it for a thousand years. Of course, there is no rent. Or you can give Japan a symbolic silver or silver every year. Hirotaka Akamatsu heard that he made a territorial request, which was beyond his expectations. His Majesty the Emperor did not mention this matter to him in advance. He hesitated and said, "I can’t make the decision on this matter. I have to go back and ask His Majesty the Emperor. I wonder if General Li has any other conditions?"

‘Other conditions?’ Li Wei was smiling faintly, and he stretched out five fingers and said, “In addition, I need five million taels of silver to compensate for military expenses.”

"How many?" Achisong Hirotsuki thought he had heard it wrong, so he quickly said to Yao Ji: "If you ask him again, how much is it?"

"Father, I heard it very clearly. It's five million taels of silver." Yao Ji also sighed secretly. Her husband was too dark.

Chi Song Guanglong felt a slump in his heart. He felt that he had to pee out even if he had urinated. Five million taels of silver. Isn’t this just emptying the treasury of the Northern Dynasties?

"We don't have that much silver."

Li Weizheng shook his head and said, "I have a basis to make this condition. I got one million and two million taels of silver from him in a small local warlord in the Kyushu official warehouse. I also copied nearly nine hundred thousand taels of silver. Your great Japanese power is rich in silver, how could it not be?"

"This, this!" Akamatsu Hirotaka said two 'this' in a row. The bottom line between the Emperor and Guan Bai was one million taels of silver. Unexpectedly, Li Weizheng spoke out loudly and asked for five million taels of silver. This was not his authority at all.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "General Li, I want to go back and discuss this with the Emperor."

"Okay, I won't keep the adults." Li Wei was standing up to see him off.

Chisong Guanglong looked at Yao Ji again and said, "Do you want to go home with your dad?"

Yao Ji glanced at Li Weizheng, shook her head and said, "I won't go anymore. Please tell my family that I'm fine."

Hirotaka Akamatsu sighed, and without even taking a sip of water, he hurried back.

That night, Li Wei ordered the entire army to march towards Kyoto. Wherever the Ming army passed, the property of famous Japanese families was wiped out. Two days later, ten thousand Ming troops came to the city of Kyoto. That night, the sound of cannons and the flames soared into the sky. The people in Kyoto were frightened and did not sleep all night. In the early morning of the next day, the northern wall of the capital collapsed, and the gate of the ancient Japanese capital had been blown open. However, the Ming army did not enter the city, but stood outside the city wall and waited coldly for the Japanese reply.

Overnight, Yijiji's hair turned almost white. He walked back and forth like an ant on a hot pan with his hands behind his back. He didn't expect that as soon as Akamatsu Hirotaka returned, the Ming army came to his back. His army was in Mino, and it would take at least five days to transfer it. The troops in Kyoto were all Ashikaga Yoshiman's troops. The main force had all gone to Kyushu Island, with only a few thousand people left, and he didn't listen to his orders.

Yijingsi was so angry that he clenched his teeth. He went to meet the Emperor several times, but the Emperor only said one thing, "This matter is that Lord Bai can handle it with all his own rights, and I will not interfere."

How could he handle the law and agree to the conditions of the Ming army? He cedes Tsushima Island and pays five million taels of silver. He was allowed to sign this kind of shame and humiliation. In the future, the Emperor will settle the accounts after the fall, and he will die without a single sutra.

"No! The Emperor must agree to this in person."

He didn't bother to change his clothes, so he got into the carriage and headed towards the palace. At the entrance of the palace, Yishuo waited for half an hour. Finally, when an old guard walked out in a crooked manner, he met him and said, "How is it? Does Your Majesty the Emperor want to see me?"

"Your Majesty was frightened all night and fell ill. He would still say something to Lord Guan Bai. This matter is all about Lord Bai's own right."

After saying that, the old guard twisted and turned back. Yi Jingsi was stunned. He stood there for a while. Suddenly a soldier ran to report: "Sir, General Ozawa led 3,000 people to attack the Ming army, and the entire army was wiped out. The Ming army spoke and gave another half an hour, otherwise they would kill into the city without leaving any chickens and dogs."

Yi Jingsi was dizzy in front of him. He had no time. Finally, he pondered for a while, and suddenly stomped his feet and said, "This is all a disaster caused by Ashikaga Yoshima. I will copy his property to compensate the Ming army."

In early September of the 26th year of Hongwu, Li Weizheng finally ended the Eastern Expedition to Japan and turned around to return to the Ming Dynasty. In this battle, together with Japanese official compensation and civilian plundering, he received nearly ten million taels of silver and returned with a full load. At the same time, Li Weizheng ordered two thousand troops and ten warship captains to station in Tsushima Island.

In October, Ashikaga Yoshima's last 40,000 remaining troops finally crossed the Strait of Maguan. When he learned that his son was killed and his family property was lost, he couldn't help but be furious and led his army to question Kyoto. Yishi immediately joined forces with other famous Japanese families to confront Ashikaga Yoshima with a 120,000 army, and finally defeated Ashikaga Yoshima. Ashikaga Yoshima retreated to Kyushu Island and proclaimed himself the King of Kyushu. The Japanese archipelago had a three-legged situation.

In October of the 26th year of Hongwu, Li Wei, who was walking halfway through, suddenly encountered a ship from the Ryukyu Kingdom. He learned that tens of thousands of Han people stranded in Ryukyu Kingdom had occupied Ryukyu Kingdom and turned Ryukyu Kingdom into another island country ruled by the Han people.
Chapter completed!