Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 765 The crime of deceiving the emperor
He unfolded the petition again and read it again.

Zhu Yuanzhang had to admit that he was a little curious about this shogun named Minamoto no Yoshimitsu.

Although it is not known why, this Minamoto no Yoshimitsu is most likely the Ashikaga Yoshimitsu mentioned in later generations. Both the name and the title of general match each other.

Minamoto no Yoshimitsu had offered tribute every year since the seventh year of the Hongwu reign, but was rejected every time.

But even so, envoys were sent every year, which could be said to be tireless.

However, because the key points were pointed out by later generations, Zhu Yuanzhang had different feelings after breaking out of the rut that Minamoto no Yoshimitsu was not the leader of the country.

According to later generations, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu can definitely be considered a hero of Japan. The fact that he was so persistent shows how great the benefits of maritime trade were.

Moreover, having obtained intelligence about Japan from later generations, Zhu Yuanzhang now looked back on the various events between the Ming Dynasty and Japan since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and gradually recalled many strange things.

In the second year of Hongwu, he sent Yang Zai as an envoy to Japan to announce that the Yuan Dynasty had perished and China had been restored. He also asked Japan to recognize the Ming Dynasty as its overlord as it did during the Tang and Song dynasties, and to ban Japanese pirates and ensure the stability of the Ming Dynasty's maritime borders.

As a result, five of the seven envoys were killed by the Japanese, Yang Zai and Wu Wenhua were imprisoned, and the Japanese pirates continued to cause chaos.

Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally furious, and later the co-governor of Laizhou Prefecture went to Japan. This time, the progress seemed to be smooth. The two sides had a very pleasant talk. Not only was the imprisoned envoy released, but Prince Lianghuai also sent an envoy to Ming to return many people looted by the Japanese pirates.

However, even though the conversation was pleasant, the problem of the Japanese pirates causing chaos remained unresolved.

Moreover, during this period, the entire Ming Dynasty's energy was focused on the north. On the one hand, it had to recuperate and restore the Han people, and on the other hand, it had to use these limited resources to mobilize troops to ensure that the Mongols were unable to march south and invade Hebei again.

In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang had no good way to deal with the thorny issue of the Japanese pirates. He could only hope that Prince Lianghuai would know a little etiquette and fulfill the responsibilities of a vassal state.

As for what happened later... According to the news from Laizhou, many Japanese envoys entered the Ming Dynasty under the banner of Prince Lianghuai, but most of them did not come to Yingtian Prefecture to pay homage.

Among them, the kind ones would send back some Ming people, and then say hesitantly that the sea journey is long and they still need to look to the country above...

But there were also quite a few shameless people who, after returning five or six Chinese citizens, openly demanded seven or eight ships as rewards.

It was in this context that envoys carrying Minamoto no Yoshimitsu's memorial began to come to pay homage every year starting from the seventh year of Hongwu, without fail.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang was angry at the increasing greed of Prince Lianghuai's envoy, and at the same time he was troubled by the fact that the Laizhou Prefecture Tongzhi, who had made the second diplomatic mission, had actually brought back a memorial from Prince Lianghuai in which he recognized the Ming Dynasty as the overlord.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Yuanzhang would certainly not look favorably upon the memorial presented by Shogun Minamoto Yoshimitsu.

The ceremonial officials were all aware of the complicated inside story, so they couldn't help but be a little surprised when they saw that His Majesty did not throw the matter back and scold him as he did in previous years, but instead had an attitude of being willing to talk.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty were just surprised, but the Japanese envoy was completely ecstatic.

"Your Majesty the Emperor of China!"

The Japanese envoy spoke in a slightly awkward language, took a cautious step forward and said prostrating himself:

"General, you hate bandits as much as I do. Whenever the Chinese emperor issues an order, the general will certainly show his loyalty to the leader."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the Japanese envoy, adjusted his breathing rhythm, and spoke in a slow but clear voice: "Liang Huai... No, according to your Japanese name, it should be Huai Liang. I already know that he has retired. Now what is the situation in Japan? Summon him and tell him the truth!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice echoed in the hall. His words were simple and the Japanese envoy could hear them clearly.

There was no threat in the words, but the Japanese envoy's legs trembled for a moment, his face turned pale and he almost fell down.

The words of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty made the envoys from other vassal states look curious.

The officials from the Ministry of Rites also looked at each other, with thoughtful expressions on their faces. They had vaguely guessed something.

The Japanese envoy who was deliberately questioned by Zhu Yuanzhang did not have a strong will. After a few breaths, he began to tell everything he knew in a trembling voice. After all, judging from the tone of the Ming Emperor's questioning, it is likely that the Ming Dynasty must know a lot about Japan.

From Ashikaga Takauji's defection and forcing the King of Wa to abdicate, to the new King of Wa appointing him as the Shogun and then retreating south, to the Ashikaga clan establishing the shogunate in Kyoto, and to the third Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu now defeating the Southern Court army and reunifying Japan, although the Japanese envoy spoke incoherently due to panic, the Ming emperor and his ministers had already heard the general idea.

"How brave!"

Minister of Rites Li Shuzheng stepped out and shouted angrily:

"This is an act of deceiving the emperor! You all know that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has a lot of favor for the king, but you concealed the fact that the king had changed, disregarded the emperor's will and committed a fraud. Do you know what your crime is?"

Li Shuzheng is the new Minister of Rites. After the Tianshou Festival for the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the previous Acting Minister of Rites, Li Mian, thought over it again and again and finally submitted a petition to be transferred to another post. This resulted in the Minister of Rites being changed four times in one year. No wonder all officials felt that this year was a bit difficult.

Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly relieved by Li Shuzheng's words, and then glanced at Li Shuzheng with a commendatory look:

Talent!
China's history is so complex that even if they just applied it mechanically, the officials of the Ministry of Rites basically understood what happened in Japan.

Isn't what Minamoto no Yoshimitsu did the same old things as Cao Cao, Sima Yi, Zhao Kuangyin, etc.? Oh, no, he didn't usurp the throne and didn't do the things that Zhao Kuangyin did.

So if we investigate it seriously now, it can be said that it is a mess. If Your Majesty has already accepted Huailiang's memorial, then Minamoto no Yoshimitsu is now a complete traitor and a villain. As the suzerain state, you should punish the villain and support the orphan.

But now that he heard that Minamoto no Yoshimitsu had not usurped the throne, Li Shuzheng, the new Minister of Rites, accurately grasped the most appropriate scale.

The fact that the ruler of Japan had already been replaced was turned aside and the crime of deceiving the king was only punished.

"Chen...chen..."

The Japanese envoy was dumbfounded, and for a moment he was a little confused about his situation.

Before today, he thought that today would be the same as in previous years, with the Chinese Emperor throwing his tribute on his head. But it was also good this way. After all, it would save him a lot of work later. The free time would be just right for him to go to the Yingtianfu market to buy goods for the nobles in the country. He had only bought less than 20% of the list of goods he was forced to buy when he came to Ming Dynasty, which was far from enough.

But a moment ago, he thought that he had finally restored the relationship between Japan and Ming, and would become famous in front of the general and gain a distinguished reputation.

But now, seeing that his superior from the upper country was furious and wanted to punish him, and seeing that the other officials were also glaring at him, the Japanese envoy's heart suddenly felt a little unbearable.

But fortunately, the beloved Emperor of Ming Dynasty stood up:
"I think there are some things that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu may not have made clear."

(End of this chapter)