Kangxi, your Qing Dynasty is dead

Osaka Jodai, the lord of the Tsuchiura domain, and the son of the former Lao Naka Tsuchiya Sunao, Tsuchiya Masanao, stood on a pier in Kawaguchi Port, with his hands clenched into fists, glaring at a large old ship that had docked and was dropping anchor and casting cables. Boat.

This is a "giant ship" with a displacement of almost 1000 tons. The gun windows on the two gun decks are closed and not opened to show that it is not hostile.But Tsuchiya Masanao still dared not neglect at all. He had already deployed 1000 samurai and 10 "big barrels" at Kawaguchi Port. If this old lock ship docked in the name of "peace talks" dared to open the gun window, then Let them taste the power of Osaka Artillery!
The remaining 2000 samurai that Osaka Castle can mobilize have now all entered the fortified Osaka Castle!
Once the peace talks break down, the samurai under the jurisdiction of Osaka Castle must stick to Osaka Castle and wait for Edo to send reinforcements!
But Tsuchiya also knew very well in his heart that if the other party really planned to use force, he and the 1000 samurai at Kawaguchi Port would probably become gods soon - their role was just to fight for the defense of Osaka Castle. Just a little time!
Just when I was thinking about becoming a god, the springboard on the old lock ship had been put down.Then Tsuchiya saw an acquaintance!It was the "most loyal minister of the shogunate" Masatoshi Hota who just had the word "loyalty" engraved on his face - he was reused only because his father committed seppuku for Tokugawa Iemitsu!
How could such a loyal minister get off Ming's gunboat now?

Could it be possible that he has rebelled?

Thinking of this, Masaru Tsuchiya pointed at Hota's nose and shouted: "Marquis Hota Furukawa, why did you get off the Ming Dynasty's ship?"

He stopped mid-sentence. It turned out that he had seen that he was not the only Japanese who got off the old lock ship, but also many Japanese mercenary generals!
Although the status of these people is not as high as that of the military commander Hota Masatoshi, they are all figures such as Hatamoto of the Tokugawa Shogunate or the second son of a great master of the Dai Dynasty!

Why did they all rebel?
Could it be that the entire Japanese mercenary army has been bought by the Ming Dynasty?

How many benefits did Ming Dynasty give?

Hota Masatoshi seemed to be in a good mood when he saw Tsuchiya Masanao, and he went up to greet him with a smile: "Tsuchiura Hou, long time no see. You have become the Osaka Castle Representative? The next one should be the Kyoto Governor, and then you can be promoted to the senior high school, right? ?”

"Marquis Furukawa, what's going on?" Masanao Tsuchiya didn't have time to fight with Hota Masatoshi, "Aren't you leading troops to attack the Ming Kingdom? Why are you taking the Ming Kingdom's ship back to Japan now?"

"No more fighting," Hotta said with a smile. "The Spaniards don't keep their promises. We haven't been paid for three or four months. We are mercenaries. We get paid to fight. If the Spaniards don't pay us, then why fight? So we Make peace with the Ming Dynasty and return the territory we occupied in exchange for the Ming Dynasty sending a ship to take us back home."

"What?" Masanao Tsuchiya never dreamed that Hotta would answer him like this, "If Spain doesn't pay, you won't fight?"

"Of course!" Hota said matter-of-factly, "Mercenaries are paid to fight. Why fight if they don't have money?"

"Then Daming just let you come back?" Tsuchiya still couldn't believe it.

"If you don't let us come back, will you let us eat?" Hota Masatoshi asked with a smile, "Besides, Ming Dynasty and Japan did not go to war, we just used money to fight the war. As long as the price is right, we will also help Ming Dynasty fight the Spanish and Japanese It’s Dutch! This is a business!”

Upon hearing this, Tsuchiya felt that this was quite reasonable. The Ming Dynasty had indeed been mercenaries in Japan. Although the Ming Dynasty itself did not lack troops, they still invested tens of thousands of Japanese mercenaries when they attacked Luzon Island.After all, Japanese mercenaries can endure hardship, are not afraid of death, and can do dirty work. As long as they are given enough money, they can do any heinous thing!
I heard that President Geng in the Americas also had many Japanese mercenaries, all of whom were hired by the Ming Dynasty and sent there. They are very useful!
In the past two years in Japan, many "poor feudal lords" have been working as middlemen for the Ming Dynasty in recruiting soldiers in Japan, tricking the ronin in their own territory who had not enough to eat and dreamed of becoming samurai all day long to become soldiers.

Masanao Tsuchiya quickly asked: "Marquis Furukawa, are there many people hired by the Ming army to fight against the Spanish and Dutch?"

"Yes!" Hota Masatoshi laughed, "About 2 people were hired by them. Ming Dynasty planned to send them to attack Java Island and Malacca. The remaining people were not selected, so they were sent back. But that’s fine, I’m back safely.”

I see!Tsuchiya Kokoro said: The Ming army needed mercenaries to attack the Dutch territory, so Hotta handed over more than 2 people at once in exchange for him and the remaining mercenaries returning to the country. It makes sense, it makes sense!

More than 2 Japanese mercenaries can definitely annihilate the [-] mercenaries of the Dutch East India Company!
Tsuchiya breathed a sigh of relief: "Marquis Furukawa, you scared me, I thought..."

"What do you think?" Masatoshi Hota asked with a smile, and then asked and answered his own question, "Marquis Tsuchiura, do you think that I, Hota, am going to Luo with my sword to honor the king and fight off the barbarians?"

"Hahaha, how is that possible?" Tsuchiya laughed, "Who doesn't know that you, Hota, are loyal ministers of the shogunate?"

While Tsuchiya and Hotta were chatting and laughing, a large number of Japanese mercenary soldiers carrying flintlock guns had already disembarked from this large 1000-ton old lock ship.This large old lock ship is quite capable of loading. A steady stream of soldiers came down from the top. They were all well-equipped and full of morale. After getting off the ship, they began to form a "queue to shoot" formation on the dock.

The closed gun window on the large old lock ship also quietly opened, and the muzzles of more than a dozen 18-pound and 12-pound cannons were pushed out of the gun window.

Masanao Tsuchiya had already noticed that something was wrong, and looked at Hota with a puzzled look on his face: "What does this mean, Marquis Furukawa?"

"It's nothing." Hotta said it was nothing, while he had already taken out a flintlock pistol and put it against Tsuchiya's head!

The Japanese mercenary officers who disembarked with Hotta also took out their pistols and controlled Tsuchiya Masanao's unresponsive men.

"Marquis Furukawa, what do you want to do? Do you want to rebel?" Tsuchiya Masanao's face was ashen and he stared at Hotta fiercely. But he just stared, without any intention of drawing a sword to kill anyone.

"Rebellion? How is it possible?" Hota Masatoshi waved his hand, and his men immediately began to take action. Some of Tsuchiya's men fired their samurai swords and tied them up and put them on the ship; the other group began to advance towards the periphery of the dock to drive away Tsuchiya. The 1000 samurai under the jurisdiction of Osaka Castle were placed outside the pier and were only equipped with matchlocks, katana swords, spears and 10 large barrels.There were also some Japanese mercenaries who formed a human wall behind Hota and Tsuchiya.

While directing his men to control Kawaguchi Port, Hota Masatoshi defended himself with a loyal face: "Marquis Tsuchiura, what are you talking about? I am a loyal minister, how can I rebel?"

"You" Tsuchiya glanced at the flintlock pistol pointed at his head and was speechless.

How could there be such a shameless samurai in the world?

"bang bang bang"

At this time, crisp and dense gunshots rang out, and the density of firepower made it clear that it could not be fired by a matchlock gun.
Hotta said to Tsuchiya with a serious face: "Tsuchiya Hou, you misunderstood. I don't want to oppose Lord Kongkata, nor do I want to go to King Luoqin. It's just that the 30000 warriors under me have not received a penny for several months. Money has been spent on military pay! There are still many samurai who were killed or disabled in battle and have not received their due pensions. I must take them to Kyoto to seek an explanation from His Majesty the Emperor!"

"What? Asking the Emperor for an explanation?" Masaru Tsuchiya stared at Hotta, "What does this matter have to do with His Majesty the Emperor? Besides, the Emperor doesn't have much money. If you really want to recover the unpaid wages for those mercenaries, Marquis Furukawa, You should go find Mr. Gongfang!”

"Marquis Tsuchiura," Hota said, "but I am a loyal minister of the Tokugawa family. How can I take [-] troops to Edo to ask for pay from the general? Moreover, there are tens of thousands of new shogunate troops in Edo... just in case. If they fight, there will be heavy casualties.

It’s better to go to Kyoto and find the Emperor to make the decision! "

"Your Majesty the Emperor! You'd better leave Kyoto as soon as possible and go east to hunt for Edo!"

"Damn it, how could your majesty leave Kyoto? Now you should issue an order to Lord Gongfang of Edo, asking him to immediately lead his troops to Luo to defend Kyoto!"

"It's too late. Edo is so far away from Kyoto. How could Mr. Gongfang come here in time?"

"Who is guarding Osaka, and why did they allow the Ming army to land?" "It was not the Ming army, but the Spanish-Japanese mercenary army led by veteran Hota Masatoshi. That's why Osaka Castle Representative Tsuchiya Takarazuki allowed them to land. shore!"

"Isn't this Tsuchiya too confused? How could he let the mercenaries on the Ming Dynasty's ship land? They were sent back by the Ming Dynasty's ship, which means they have joined the Ming Dynasty as lackeys!"

"It's impossible to stop it! The shogunate and feudal armies that Osaka Castle can mobilize are only 3000 people. How can they stop 30000 mercenaries? Those people are veterans who have fought hard on the beaches of Ming Dynasty for several months! And they After all, how could Lord Tsuchiura, who was led by Mr. Hotta and some other shogunate bannermen, think that they would actually come to trouble His Majesty?"

"What are the intentions of these bastards? They were sent to fight for the Spaniards by the Lord of Edo. What does they have to do with His Majesty the Emperor? The Spaniards do not pay military pay, so why should they ask for it from His Majesty the Emperor? His Majesty the Emperor I don’t owe them any money! Besides, His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t have much money either.”

In the dilapidated Zichen Palace of the Emperor of Japan, the group of Japanese ministers who used to hold their throats when speaking now no longer care about elegance and etiquette. They all yelled at each other, causing the court to be upset. There was a lot of noise.It can be said that since Emperor Go-Daigo was driven out of Kyoto by Ashikaga Takauji and fled to Mount Hiei for refuge, the Shichenden Hall of the Kyoto Imperial Palace has never been as lively as it is today!

After all, the emperor and ministers who appeared in the Purple Palace of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto after that were no longer the "real emperor" and "real ministers", but just a group of "actors" playing the roles of emperors and ministers.

The "actor" comes on stage and just acts according to the script. What are you talking about?It’s not in the book!

But the problem is, this time there is a plot that is not in the script. 30000 fully armed Japanese mercenaries suddenly broke into Osaka Castle. That is a new type of army!
The equipment is all flintlock muskets imported from the Netherlands and England!The training is also done by Western instructors, and the full set of Dutch and English-style "foreign exercises" is simply not comparable to the old-style samurai armies guarding Osaka and Kyoto.In the whole of Japan, the only thing that can compare with these 30000 new-style army is the backbone of the direct line of the Tokugawa shogunate - the shogunate's new army.

But the problem is that the shogunate only has tens of thousands of people. Most of them are used to defend Edo and its surrounding areas. A small number are placed in the Kumamoto clan and Kokura clan in Kyushu to help them resist Yang Qilong's new Korean army.As for other coastal areas in Japan, they cannot be defended at all!

This is probably the defense dilemma of an island country without a strong navy. The island country is surrounded by water. When it has a strong navy, it is surrounded by natural barriers and is unbreakable!

But if there is no strong navy to rely on, there will be leaks everywhere and it will be impossible to defend.What's more, Japan is a long and narrow island country with a particularly long coastline.
Thinking of these "scripted" plots, the smile on Emperor Reigen's face sitting behind the curtain was so much that he couldn't hide it.

The Emperor coughed vigorously. It was rare for the ministers in the Zichen Palace to hear the Emperor make such a loud noise, and they were a little confused for a moment. They quickly stopped talking and looked back at the Emperor who was "hiding" behind the curtain.

Emperor Lingyuan said: "I already know everything you have said! I am the emperor of Japan, and Kyoto is the capital of Japan. Since ancient times, the emperor has not been allowed to leave the capital! How can I now blame [-] soldiers who have not received military pay? And what about escaping Kyoto?
Besides, these [-] soldiers are also Japanese samurai!He was a retainer of General Liang Tokugawa, the pillar of the military family.It makes no sense for me to flee to Edo to avoid them.Moreover, if I escape from Kyoto, won't it be confirmed that the loyal and brave men of these countries are rebellious officials and traitors?If [-] loyal and brave men become traitors and traitors, they will have to go to war with the shogunate to clean themselves up!I must never do anything to trap loyal ministers in injustice and plunge the world into chaos!Winter Scripture, how much are these [-] loyal and brave men owed?Can you use the court's savings to make up for them first? "

Not to mention, this Emperor Reigen is quite righteous!Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and Tokugawa Mitsukuni would probably be more moved if they knew this!
"His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty," the newly-appointed Guan Bai Ichidō Sutra began to play at this time, "According to the report from the Kyoto Secretary, a total of about one hundred thousand ding of silver is owed for the thirty thousand loyal and brave people!"

"One hundred thousand dings of silver?" the emperor asked, "is that a lot?"

Idiot Dongjing shook his head: "Reporting to Your Majesty, one hundred thousand ding of silver is ten times more than the imperial court's savings. It is impossible to get it out."

"Then I can borrow it!"

As soon as the emperor's words came out, the ministers in the Zichen Palace were all stunned.

That’s 10 Ding silver!Equivalent to 40 taels of silver!

The brown rice used to buy it can be sold for almost 30 stone... which is equivalent to 60 stone, which is the total income of the 60 stone territory in the first year.

The emperor owes so much money, and the court's little income cannot afford to pay it back with interest alone.

Will the imperial court still have trouble living after this?Will everyone’s salaries be paid yet?
"Your Majesty!" A Dongjing hurriedly advised, "Although His Majesty's benevolence is enough to move the world, the moneylending businessmen are short-sighted and cannot see His Majesty's light. Therefore, they will definitely not lend so much money to Your Majesty... "

"Winter Sutra," the emperor said, "you have to try it before you know how to borrow money. Generally, moneylender businessmen are shallow people, but I know that the businessmen of Osaka Uigintang are different from them. They should be able to lend me money." !”

UBS in Osaka is a bank jointly controlled by Li Zhongshan, Chen Jinnan, and Lu Sanhao. It not only opened many semicolons in the land of Ming Dynasty, but also opened semicolons in Nagasaki and Osaka, Japan.

The emperor actually wanted to borrow money from this bank... and he was very confident!
Have they already agreed in private?
And the emperor borrowed money from the Ming Dynasty's bank account to buy the [-] Japanese mercenaries sent back by the Ming Dynasty... What is he going to do?Do you want to imitate the fall of Emperor Go-Daigo?

A group of ministers who had long since resigned themselves to their fate looked at the emperor behind the curtain and didn't know what to say for a moment.

However, Emperor Reigen just said leisurely: "They will be arriving soon... If you, your ministers, still want to keep your family business in Kyoto and restore the authority of the imperial court one day, then please fight with me!"

The Emperor actually wants to bring down the curtain...

The ministers below were all a little panicked!
At this time, the emperor added: "The Ming Dynasty supports me."

……

Edo Castle.

"Bastard, traitor... a person with no faith!"

The man who was cursing loudly and seemed to be a little bit defensive was the Japanese General Tokugawa Tsunayoshi!
This "dog man" who loves dogs more than people has been having a hard time lately!
The Spanish Armada has been determined to be "none", so the word "enemy" can be removed directly, leaving only a Spanish "none" fleet.

And the great Qing Dynasty has completely collapsed, and almost all its territory has been annexed by the Ming Dynasty!
Yang Qilong, who could occupy millions of territories in northern Kyushu, also became the king of North Korea with the support of Ming Dynasty!
Now in the entire East, Japan seems to be the only country still fighting against the Ming Dynasty!

Now this Ming Dynasty is a Ming Dynasty that controls the Pacific Ocean!

And there seems to be a big problem in Japan... Masatoshi Hotta actually came to Luo with a knife to ask for unpaid wages!
Thirty thousand troops!He landed in Osaka in such a swaggering manner, and then drove directly into Kyoto... What did he want to do?
The even more terrifying thing was that the emperor actually borrowed 40 taels from Damingrui Bank to pay the [-] Japanese mercenaries.

What is he trying to do?Does the Emperor want to rebel?Did he also want to imitate Emperor Go-Daiko's rebellion against the shogunate?
And he also colluded with the Ming Dynasty to rebel... He was really the first anti-emperor in history! (End of chapter)