I'm really not doing business

Chapter 628 The enemy is in Honnoji!
The first treaty signed by Oda Nobunaga was a treaty to ban piracy. In the eyes of some Japanese, this treaty was not humiliating but equal, because as the suzerain state of Japan, it was natural for the Ming Dynasty to send troops to station there. In addition, banning piracy was also Oda Nobunaga's consistent political proposition, because most of the Japanese pirates were from the Mori family and the Shimazu family on Kyushu Island.

Oda Nobunaga never issued anything like a privateering license to encourage the proliferation of piracy.

The second treaty signed by Oda Nobunaga, the Treaty of Silver and Sulfur, was a forced intervention by the Ming Dynasty in the affairs of Japan. It was also highly humiliating, with a war indemnity of 1500 million silver and the cession of Tsushima Island. It was an extremely humiliating treaty.

These two treaties prompted Oda Nobunaga to request support from the Osaka Bay Defense Thousand Households immediately.

The first treaty reached a consensus that Oda Nobunaga was the shogun and king of Japan, and the second treaty represented that Oda Nobunaga was useful and could be a tool for the Ming Dynasty to extort silver from Japan.

The Ming Dynasty's greatest interest in Japan is silver, and Oda Nobunaga firmly believes that he is the most suitable person.

People are not afraid of being used by others, but they are afraid of being useless and no one using them. People who are useless are destined to be abandoned by everyone.

Japan was in the midst of war, and in such an extremely unstable society, military force was the guarantee of everything. What Oda Nobunaga lacked the least was military force. In the entire Japan, the most capable fighter was Oda Nobunaga. He had broken through Nobunaga's encirclement three times and was opposed by everyone, but Oda Nobunaga won in the end.

Oda Nobunaga was very sure that the Ming Dynasty needed him to be alive to ensure the smooth flow of silver into the Ming Dynasty. Because once he died, Japan, which was leaderless, would fall into chaos and it would take a long time for many heroes to fight for the leader. Once he died, there would be no entity to represent Japan and return the war reparations.

Oda Nobunaga was not surprised at all by Akechi Mitsuhide's rebellion. In fact, after his third son died for him, Nobunaga was not surprised no matter which of his retainers rebelled or rebelled together. Such things were extremely normal in Japan.

Oda Nobunaga asked Liu Changshan to hide himself, and he began to command his own troops to defend. He could only mobilize 154 samurai, while his opponent Akechi Mitsuhide had 13000 men. Akechi Mitsuhide had such strength because of Oda Nobunaga.

"General, we are surrounded. Nijo Castle is being attacked by Shihoda Tajima, with Murakami and Izumi as support, with a total of about 4000 people, and Akechi Mitsuhide is stationed in Horikawain with about 3000 people. General..." Mori Ranmaru said dully. He didn't finish his words, but no matter how you look at it, the game is hopeless.

Honnoji Temple is located in "Luoyang City" and is divided into Sanjo, Nibo and Jiumachi. Sanjo Castle was built by Emperor Sanjo and also has three layers of city walls. Once Nijo Castle was captured, it meant that the enemy could completely surround the entire Honnoji Temple. Nijo Castle was rebuilt once under Nobunaga. When Ashikaga Yoshiaki was still the general, he lived here. It was magnificent and also very strong.

"We're already at the door. There's no point in saying anything." Oda Nobunaga asked blankly, "Where's Nobutada?"

"Lieutenant General Gon is holding on in Nijo Castle and still resisting." Mori Ranmaru whispered.

Oda Nobutada was the illegitimate son of Oda Nobunaga, but because of his outstanding military achievements, he was adopted by Oda Nobunaga's wife and became the eldest son, Oda Nobunaga's heir, the lord of Owari Province, and the head of the Oda family. Oda Nobutada led two thousand people to station in Nijo Castle and is now resisting the offensive of Shihoda Tajima.

"Human life of fifty years is nothing compared to Heaven. Is today really the day I die?" Oda Nobunaga muttered to himself dejectedly when he heard that his son, whom he had high hopes for, was still alive.

"Akechi Mitsuhide sent news, he said..." Mori Ranmaru couldn't continue.

The Honnoji Temple was surrounded, and Akechi Mitsuhide sent someone to shoot a letter into the temple, which contained Akechi Mitsuhide's ultimatum.

"What did he say?" Oda Nobunaga perked up and asked curiously.

"Please go to your death, General. I will not harm your family." Mori Ranmaru handed the letter to Oda Nobunaga.

After reading the handwritten letter, Oda Nobunaga said to Mori Ranmaru: "I was the one who taught him Chinese characters."

In Japan, Chinese was learned only by the upper class, a family structure formed by knowledge. Akechi Mitsuhide had excellent calligraphy, which was all taught by Oda Nobunaga.

"His father died in the war, and he was like a stray dog, wandering around the countries, begging for mercy at my door. I felt sorry for him, so I gave him a chance and appointed him as the Kinkyo Kanrei, entrusting him with important tasks. Now he is bringing the legion I gave him to surround me here. It is really a great irony." Oda Nobunaga said with a smile.

Akechi Mitsuhide was a well-known stray dog. His father died early and he was adopted by his uncle. Later, his uncle also died in battle. Akechi Mitsuhide had to wander around with nowhere to turn to. It was Oda Nobunaga who took him in and entrusted him with important tasks.

"The general thought he was a lost dog at first. Takenaka Shigeharu and I advised the general that this man came from an unknown background. The general thought that he had no one to rely on and had a clean background, so he was entrusted with an important task." Kuroda Kotaka finally couldn't help it. As the two most important advisers of Oda Nobunaga, he and Takenaka Shigeharu advised Oda Nobunaga more than once that Akechi Mitsuhide was not worth using.

Akechi Mitsuhide was indeed helpless, but it was this helplessness that was the most worrying thing. How could such an important position as the Governor of Kyoto be given to such a person of unknown origin?
Now, Akechi Mitsuhide blocked the door and forced Oda Nobunaga to commit suicide.

"So, now I can only wait for the soldiers from the Osaka Bay Defense Thousand Households to arrive? This is my last hope." Oda Nobunaga spread his hands, counted the six major armies in his hands, and found that he could not rely on any of them.

The Mori family was Oda Nobunaga's biggest enemy. He had now put all his troops on the front lines, and even sent out the newly formed Ming Dynasty outlaws. Akechi Mitsuhide chose a very good time to launch the rebellion. War is all-out and all chips must be put on the line. The winner takes all and the loser eats dust.

Now he only had two thousand men led by his son Nobutada at his disposal, and these two thousand men were besieged in Nijo Castle.

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has issued a clear order that no protection will be provided." Kuroda Kotaka reminded Oda Nobunaga that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had issued a clear order that the Osaka Bay Defense Thousand Households would not fight for Oda Nobunaga.

"It seems that we can only wait for death." Oda Nobunaga spread his hands and said to his two confidants. If the Ming army comes, he can live. If the Ming army does not come, he will die. It is that simple.

Will the Ming army come or not? This is not a question, the Ming army has already come.

Li Chengli, the commander of the Nagasaki Xingdusi, led an infantry battalion consisting of 3,000 guest soldiers and guards and arrived in Kyoto. They were even 200 steps away from Honnoji Temple. The reason why they had arrived was that the Ming Dynasty had already received the news in advance that Akechi Mitsuhide was going to rebel.

Six days ago, Akechi Mitsuhide swore an oath with his retainers at Atago Shrine, saying, "Today is the day when the world will fall."

Daming received the news, and after repeated considerations, Li Chengli rushed over.

The greatest benefit for the Ming Dynasty in Japan is the influx of silver, and now that Oda Nobunaga is alive, it is conducive to the influx of silver.

"No rush. Let Oda Nobunaga wait for a while. We will come out only when he is about to die and in the most desperate moment." Li Chengli observed the situation. Oda Nobunaga would not die for a while, so let him continue to wait anxiously. Only after experiencing the great terror of life and death will he think of the good of the Ming Dynasty.

"What if Oda Nobunaga committed suicide?" asked a general uncertainly.

"He committed suicide, so we will withdraw our troops. Whoever becomes the shogun will have to pay the 1500 million silver indemnity." Li Chengli said indifferently, "This is the debt owed by Japan. Oda Nobunaga is dead, and the debt cannot be paid. If there is no other way, we can take it ourselves."

"Oda Nobunaga's security is so bad that even General Ti will curse him when he comes!"

Li Chengli felt powerless when he saw Oda Nobunaga's behavior. The Japanese called Oda Nobunaga the Great Devil, but the behavior of this Great Devil was so naive and stupid.

Akechi Mitsuhide had been waiting, from the setting sun to the rising moon over the willows, but he never waited until Oda Nobunaga committed suicide, and finally he couldn't bear it any longer.

"The enemy is in Honnoji!"

Akechi Mitsuhide finally ordered the entire army to raid Honnoji Temple. Since he is unwilling to behave decently, let him behave decently!
Akechi Mitsuhide launched the attack. As many as 3200 samurai attacked Honnoji Temple which was defended by only 154 people. However, the attack was not very smooth. These 154 people stood on the courtyard wall and fired cannons to repel the first charge.

The walls of Honnoji Temple were extremely high, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. With the advantage of geographical location, and the fact that Akechi Mitsuhide was a rebel, the morale of the samurai and foot soldiers was not particularly high, and they were somewhat hesitant to move forward. Oda Nobunaga was famous, and the samurai and foot soldiers were rather afraid of an attack.

That's the big devil.

Akechi Mitsuhide ordered the teppo (a type of musket) team to climb up to the higher Imperial Palace, which was the emperor's bedroom, and attack from high above and below. Only then did they clear the defenders on the courtyard wall and finally break through the gate of Honnoji Temple and enter the temple.

Honnoji Temple has three courtyards, which means that in addition to the main gate, there are still two walls and several gates.

The battle of Honnoji started from the stable. After attacking the stable, Oda Nobunaga had no way to escape, and then the battle for each gate began.

After fighting for half an hour, Akechi Mitsuhide's troops finally reached the last courtyard wall, and Oda Nobunaga's confidants suffered heavy casualties. The last courtyard wall was guarded by Oda Nobunaga himself.

"Hinata no Kami, everything you have is given by me, how dare you betray me! Why did you betray me!" The moment Oda Nobunaga saw Akechi Mitsuhide, he was furious and asked harshly.

Akechi Mitsuhide's surname was "Koreto", which is an ancient surname. It was given to Akechi Mitsuhide by Oda Nobunaga after asking the emperor for it. With this surname, he could use the Kikyo flag seal. Akechi Mitsuhide achieved the class transition from a minor surname to a daimyo because of the bestowed surname; Hyuga no Kami was an official position, also given by Oda Nobunaga.

The position of Kinkyo Kanrei is similar to that of the Kyoying Sohei, and was granted to Akechi Mitsuhide by Oda Nobunaga after he became the Shogun. There were only three Kanrei in total: Akechi Mitsuhide, Hashiba (Toyotomi) Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Everything Akechi Mitsuhide had was given by Oda Nobunaga, but now they are at war.

Oda Nobunaga couldn't understand why Qi Jiguang, the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp, did not rebel. Most of Qi Jiguang's status was not given by the young emperor. Fighting against the Japanese pirates in the southeast and destroying the invaders in the southwest were great achievements he made when the emperor was still a child. But Qi Jiguang not only did not rebel, but he fought wherever the emperor pointed.

Oda Nobunaga was very kind to Akechi Mitsuhide and gave him everything he could, but Akechi Mitsuhide rebelled and forced him to this point.

It's totally unjust.

Zhu Yijun, the supreme emperor of the Ming Dynasty, once explicitly called Li Yashi a fart. High morality has never been a disadvantage, but an advantage! High morality plays a vital role in maintaining internal stability.

Given Japan's overall moral level, it would be impossible for it to produce capable ministers like Qi Jiguang and Zhang Juzheng who could save the country.

"How many of your retainers are honest? Liu Changshan, the shopkeeper Liu, and all your retainers do business with him. Haha." Akechi Mitsuhide laughed wildly. He said loudly, "If it's not me, it's Hashiba Hideyoshi. If it's not Hashiba Hideyoshi, it's Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ask shopkeeper Liu how many years we have been doing business with him."

"It's been six years." Oda Nobunaga looked at Liu Changshan, who was hiding in the corner, with an inquiring look in his eyes, even a little pleading, begging that this was not true, otherwise his life's hard work would seem like a joke.

"These guys are all old customers." Liu Changshan said with a slightly evasive look. This business has been going on for quite a few years, and these retainers have long been tired of the so-called ambition of spreading military power throughout the world and the so-called peaceful and happy land.

Ideal? How much is an ideal worth?
This was a typical rebellion of the lower class against the upper class, but it happened to be initiated by Akechi Mitsuhide. In fact, Oda Nobunaga's retainers had long been alienated from Oda Nobunaga. Meat eaters have to eat meat, and Oda Nobunaga could not blame his retainers for asking them to be vegetarians.

"Think it through and then get going." Akechi Mitsuhide roared angrily: "Kill!"

"Even if I die, I will never surrender to you!" Oda Nobunaga picked up his weapon, put on his beloved bright red cloak, and prepared to fight to the death.

"kill!"

"boom!"

A loud artillery roar suddenly rang out, and Li Chengli, the commander of the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office of the Ming Dynasty, arrived with the infantry battalion. The roar of the six-jin gunpowder cluster cannon sounded, and the shrapnel shells hit the path of Akechi Mitsuhide's charge and exploded with a loud bang. The caltrops in the shrapnel shells flew out in all directions under the explosion of gunpowder, raising a cloud of blood mist and wailing sounds one after another.

"Excuse me." Li Chengli's guards lined up in a row, their muskets were loaded, and a whole row of tiger squat cannons were looming in the flickering light of the torches. The Ming Emperor was afraid that the soldiers of the Nagasaki Xingdusi Qianhusuo would be wronged in Japan, so every three people were equipped with a tiger squat cannon, a musket and a flintlock gun, every ten people were equipped with a flat gun, every twenty people were equipped with a submachine gun, and every hundred people were equipped with a nine-jin gunpowder field cannon.

This equipment is better than that of the Beijing Camp, for fear that the Ming army will suffer injustice outside.

When a row of countless tiger-crouching cannons were placed on the ground, Akechi Mitsuhide had to calm down.

"General Li! Even if I become the Shogun, I still agree to provide 1500 million silver in military expenses. Please just stand by and watch!" Akechi Mitsuhide was stunned.

Li Chengli looked at Mitsuhide Akechi and said very seriously: "After comprehensive evaluation, you are unable to repay."

The Ming army came to rescue Oda Nobunaga after evaluation. The creditors' repayment ability was the most important assessment. Akechi Mitsuhide was not able to do so. He had no way of getting enough silver from other daimyos to repay the war reparations. This was the direct reason why the Ming army finally chose to take action.

"Hahaha!" Oda Nobunaga hid on the courtyard wall, holding on to the ladder and laughing, not sparing his ridicule of Akechi Mitsuhide.

Incompetence is the greatest mockery of a person.

Oda Nobunaga was able to control a vast territory and could hold down the heads of other daimyo and squeeze their marrow, but Akechi Mitsuhide could not do that. If the person who launched the rebellion today was Hashiba Hideyoshi or Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Ming army would most likely not take action, because Hashiba Hideyoshi was a lone wolf and Tokugawa Ieyasu was an old fox.

Both of them had enough ability to repay the war reparations, but Akechi Mitsuhide did not. This was also the reason why Akechi Mitsuhide took the initiative to launch a rebellion. The three regents betrayed Oda Nobunaga to varying degrees, but Akechi Mitsuhide could only launch a mutiny to seize the initiative. Akechi Mitsuhide, a stray dog ​​wandering in various countries, had neither the military talent of Hashiba Hideyoshi nor the shrewdness and huge power behind him of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

"Surrender." Li Chengli stood outside the courtyard wall, looking at Akechi Mitsuhide and other troops inside the wall, waiting for Akechi Mitsuhide's decision.

Akechi Mitsuhide had sworn an oath of rebellion at the Atago Shrine six days ago, so when the oath was established, there was no turning back for him. He knew the deployment of the Ming army very well, and he also knew that the Ming soldiers entered the city through the gate guarded by Murai Sadakatsu in the evening.

Akechi Mitsuhide knew very well the movements of the Ming army. He was gambling that the Ming army would abandon Oda Nobunaga and choose him; he was gambling that he could get rid of Oda Nobunaga before the Ming army intervened.

Li Chengli actually gave Akechi Mitsuhide a chance. Akechi Mitsuhide besieged Honnoji for three hours, but Akechi Mitsuhide failed to get rid of Oda Nobunaga. Since he was incompetent, he could not blame the Ming Dynasty for not choosing him.

On the one hand, Akechi Mitsuhide was besieging Honnoji Temple, and on the other hand, he wanted to annihilate Oda Nobutada. If this heir and the deputy admiral was not killed, killing Oda Nobunaga would lead to the destruction of the 2,000 people in Nijo Castle. This was not the situation that Akechi Mitsuhide wanted to see.

Akechi Mitsuhide had a total of 1.5 people. He had been trying every means to force the father and son to commit suicide. Once one of them committed suicide, the other one could be dealt with at a smaller cost. This way, he would be more confident when facing Hashiba Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

"Kill! Kill Oda Nobunaga!" Akechi Mitsuhide roared loudly and led his men to rush towards the last courtyard wall.

When Li Chengli saw this situation, he knew that Akechi Mitsuhide would never surrender, and he immediately ordered to open fire. For a moment, the place was filled with smoke, and the roars of muskets, tiger-crouching cannons, and submachine guns continued to sound. Soon, Akechi Mitsuhide and the more than 200 people he led were killed beyond recognition. The caltrops in the shrapnel shells caused great casualties, and the whole place was filled with wailing.

Akechi Mitsuhide was dead, and the dead were scattered all over the ground. He was hit in the face by a shrapnel bomb, and the power of the explosion blew him into pieces.

Li Chengli watched Oda Nobunaga walk out through the broken gate, then he frowned and said, "I can only help you up to this point, the rest of the matter is up to you to solve. If I do too much, it would be too much of an interference."

The Nagasaki Governor-General's Office did not want to become a transcendent force that was above the many forces in Japan and regulated social conflicts. The Nagasaki Governor-General's Office wished that as many Japanese people as possible would die, but the influx of silver was really important to the Ming Dynasty, so Li Chengli helped, but only to this extent.

"Okay, okay. Commander Li, please take a rest for a while. I'll be back soon." Oda Nobunaga thanked him hurriedly. He knew that now was not the time to chat. He needed to go and quell the rebellion. It would not be too late to thank him after the matter was settled.

Oda Nobunaga drew the short sword from his waist, cut off Akechi Mitsuhide's head, and walked towards Nijo Castle with it. The number of his trusted men decreased from 154 to only who could move, and everyone was injured, but Oda Nobunaga still went to Nijo Castle carrying Akechi Mitsuhide's head.

Twenty-three people went to Nijo Castle for support, but to no avail. However, Akechi Mitsuhide's head told the whole story.

Oda Nobunaga went to Nijo Castle in such a dignified manner. He was taking advantage of the power of the tiger. The real tiger, the Ming army, was stationed in Honnoji. As long as the Ming army was there, the fox Oda Nobunaga would be fine.

The rebels who attacked Nijo Castle were just working without putting in any effort. It looked very lively, but in fact it was all a pretense. There was no substantial attack at all. Only because of the results at Honnoji did these rebels put all their efforts into it.

Oda Nobunaga went to Kyoto from Owari Province and defeated Nobunaga's encirclement three times in a row. His prestige was so high that the reputation of the great devil was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Before confirming Oda Nobunaga's death, these samurai and foot soldiers were naturally timid and hesitant when they took action.

"The traitor has been killed, everyone put down your weapons!" Oda Nobunaga was covered in blood, holding Akechi Mitsuhide's head and roaring angrily.

When the first person among the rebels laid down his arms, the situation was reversed and the outcome was decided.

The Great Demon King is still alive. This is something that all the samurai and foot soldiers saw with their own eyes.

Akechi Mitsuhide failed.

Akechi Mitsuhide was a wandering samurai who had no soldiers under his command. All the rebels under his command were given to him by Oda Nobunaga. When Oda Nobunaga gave the order personally, everything was decided.

The next morning, Kyoto, covered in blood, welcomed the dawn again. Li Chengli, who had a good sleep, walked out of the tent yawning. He checked the records of yesterday's night patrol and checked the food, gunpowder, firearms and other supplies again. Then Li Chengli saw Oda Nobunaga, who had been busy all night and had red eyes.

"Thank you Commander Li for saving my life!" Oda Nobunaga knelt down and bowed his head. This was indeed a life-saving grace.

"I took Liu Changshan away. He was one of the traitors of the Ming Dynasty." Li Chengli talked about the businessman from yesterday. This businessman was a wanted criminal who was wanted by the Ming Dynasty. He was going to be sent to the prison. Liu Changshan's crime was trafficking in Han people. Liu Changshan not only bought and sold Japanese slaves, but also sold Han people to the Yuanxu Islands as slaves.

This is strictly prohibited and anyone caught committing this serious crime will be sent to the execution ground.

In the Ming Dynasty, people did not have the freedom to become slaves or enslave others.

"That's as it should be." Oda Nobunaga said hurriedly.

"How was yesterday's rebellion handled?" Li Chengli asked about yesterday's battle situation. Even if they fought hard, no one dared to provoke the Ming Dynasty. Li Chengli had already helped Oda Nobunaga. If he still lost, it would be his own fault.

"The generals have been captured, and the samurai and foot soldiers have all been under the command of Nobutada." Oda Nobunaga said hurriedly, "The generals are the ones who have sworn the oath. The lower-level samurai and foot soldiers have no idea who they are attacking, so the samurai and foot soldiers who surrendered will be given lenient sentences."

Oda Nobunaga was explaining why he could not punish the masses. In fact, the samurai class in Japan was solidified. Oda Nobunaga could only do this: kill the rebellious generals and transfer the samurai and foot soldiers to others. The complete solidification of the class was also the reason why the rebellion of the lower class could occur so commonly in Japan.

Whoever becomes the shogun will have to use these samurai.

"After what you did here, I'm afraid that Mori Terumoto will be grinning so hard that his mouth will be crooked." Li Chengli said sincerely. The Honnoji Incident happened when Oda Nobunaga and Mori Terumoto were at war. An internal conflict at this time would be extremely disadvantageous to the front line. The first to suffer would be Hashiba Hideyoshi. Regardless of whether Hashiba Hideyoshi had any intention of rebelling or not, he would be feared.

"But fortunately, Mori Terumoto is not my opponent." Oda Nobunaga was still very confident about this. They were old rivals, and Mori Terumoto had never won in several battles.

"Now that I've seen it, I have something to say to you." Li Chengli frowned and said, "Why did you bring Oda Nobutada with you to Kyoto? You, the general and the crown prince, have left the old nest of Azuchi Castle. Isn't this exposing your weakness? As long as your crown prince is in Azuchi Castle, Akechi Mitsuhide would not dare to rebel, because if he rebelled, the crown prince would succeed to the throne and then lead the Azuchi Castle garrison to suppress the rebellion."

"Commander Li is right." Oda Nobunaga wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "This is Kyoto. I have been running the city for twelve years. I was indeed careless."

It was Li Chengli's reminder that made Oda Nobunaga realize this problem. After a rebellion, Li Chengli pointed out the loophole that Oda Nobunaga had not thought of.

"Also, how did Akechi Mitsuhide do it? He mobilized 13,000 people from his hometown Kameyama Castle into Kyoto, and you didn't know anything about it? You should know that in the Ming Dynasty, the mobilization of more than 100 people requires the approval of the Ministry of War, and in local areas it requires approval from the Dusi Yamen, the Jinglüe, and the Governor. He mobilized 13,000 people and it took them six days to enter Kyoto, and you didn't know anything about it?" Li Chengli watched the entire process of the mutiny and felt that it was just a joke.

It took Akechi Mitsuhide six full days to walk from Kameyama Castle to Kyoto. It should have taken three days to arrive, but heavy rain delayed him for three days.

If this isn’t a joke, what is it? Akechi Mitsuhide’s rebellion was a joke, and Oda Nobunaga’s defense was also a joke. In Li Chengli’s opinion, the entire Japanese country was just a makeshift team.

"Commander Li is right." Oda Nobunaga said in a daze. What seemed natural to the Ming generals was a brilliant strategy that had never been heard of in Japan.

(End of this chapter)