Daming: Apocalypse of Longevity

Chapter 217 Negotiation Conditions
At this time, Mao Wenlong was working on infrastructure construction on Tanegashima. Zhu Tianqi told him to take root on Tanegashima and operate well in this sea area in the future.

Mao Wenlong could tell that this place was different from Jeju Island. It was not a temporary base. It was probably his hometown in the future. Therefore, Mao Wenlong was much more attentive to the construction of Tanegashima than when he was on Jeju Island before.

Based on Mao Wenlong's current situation, the best defensive measure is naturally to expand the sphere of influence to the surrounding areas. With other surrounding islands as barriers, the safety factor of Tanegashima will be greatly improved.

However, the emperor had an order in advance, which prohibited him from going south to invade Ryukyu Island. He could only go north to invade Kagoshima of the Japanese country. Therefore, Mao Wenlong's actions were greatly restricted. Now Mao Wenlong is still more afraid of the Japanese army and is worried about it. The Japanese country encircled and suppressed him in retaliation.

But as the situation became clearer step by step, the energy of Japan had been completely restrained by the Ming army on Jeju Island, and Mao Wenlong also began to consider continuing to develop to the north.

The envoy Zheng Zhilong sent to Edo quickly came back and presented Tokugawa Iemitsu's reply to Zheng Zhilong. After reading the reply, Zheng Zhilong breathed a sigh of relief and immediately handed the letter to Li Banghua.

Li Banghua nodded and said: "Since Japan is willing to negotiate peace, let's stop attacking for the time being and wait for the outcome of the peace talks and the court's decision."

At this time, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, the envoy sent by the Japanese state for peace talks, had crossed the sea by boat and arrived at Jeju Island. Then he was sent to the capital on a boat arranged by Li Banghua.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna was still optimistic about the peace talks. After all, the Ming Dynasty still had a good attitude towards him, and even sent someone to send him to the capital. He believed that this was a friendly signal from the Ming Dynasty to him.

However, when Matsudaira Nobutsuna arrived in the capital, he realized that his idea was completely wrong.

The Ming Dynasty had indeed been prepared to negotiate with Japan for a long time, but "friendship" was completely out of the question.

The negotiator of the Ming Dynasty was Xu Guangqi, the chief minister of the cabinet and the Minister of Rites. Xu Guangqi had already prepared the conditions that the Ming Dynasty had drawn up in advance. As soon as the negotiations began, he directly pushed it to Matsudaira Nobutsuna and told him: "If the Japanese country If you can accept these conditions from the Ming Dynasty, then both parties can shake hands and make peace and get back together; if you are unwilling to accept it, then you can only fight to the end!"

When Matsudaira Nobutsuna heard this, his heart suddenly thumped. He took Mingguo's negotiation plan and carefully looked at the conditions listed above, and his face suddenly became ugly.

The Ming Dynasty put forward dozens of conditions for the Japanese state, but there were not many core items, which mainly involved the following:
First, the Japanese nation needs to solemnly apologize to the Ming Dynasty and North Korea for the Renshen Japanese Rebellion, and compensate the two countries for the losses they suffered during the war;

Secondly, Japan needs to immediately withdraw its personnel and troops from Ryukyu and compensate for the losses caused to Ryukyu by aggression over the years;
Third, Japan needs to solemnly apologize to the Ming Dynasty for the Battle of Nagasaki and compensate the Ming army for the losses it suffered during the war. The following is a detailed statistical table of the Ming Dynasty's battle losses in the Battle of Nagasaki;

Fourth, the Japanese state has always been a vassal of the Ming Dynasty. The restoration of relations between the two countries will naturally be a vassal relationship. The Japanese state needs to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty can also canonize and reward the Japanese king;
Fifth, as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, it needs to obey the orders of the Ming Dynasty and open garrison stations within the territory for the Ming army to garrison;

Sixth, Japan's agriculture, economy, military and other fields need to be reformed and operated in accordance with the decrees issued by the Ming Dynasty.

The first three conditions were basically expected by Matsudaira Nobutsuna. He was also ready to accept Ming's conditions, apologize to Ming, and compensate Ming for his losses.

Even if the Battle of Bunroku and Chokei was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's responsibility, it would be unfair for the Tokugawa shogunate to bear this responsibility and compensate the Ming Dynasty. But since the Tokugawa shogunate now takes the responsibility from Toyotomi Hideyoshi has captured the world in his hands, so he should have this responsibility.

The same goes for the Battle of Nagasaki. Although the losses of the Japanese army were very heavy, far exceeding the losses of the Ming army, it was the Japanese who made the first move, and the Japanese were not as powerful as the Ming Dynasty. If they wanted peace talks, they could only compromise.

However, Matsudaira Nobutsuna found it difficult to accept the following three conditions. Not only was he unable to make the decision for the shogunate, but he believed that even if these three conditions were presented to the general Tokugawa Iemitsu, the general would definitely find it difficult to accept.

This third condition, which required the Japanese state to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, was actually acceptable. After all, the Japanese state had always hoped to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty again, so that it could continue to learn advanced culture and technology from the Ming Dynasty.

However, in line with the latter two conditions, becoming a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty seems to have paid a price that is too high. It is simply reduced to a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, with no sovereignty at all.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna stared at the plan in silence for a long time, then slowly raised his head, looked at Xu Guangqi across the negotiating table, and asked: "Master Xu, this item written by your country will grant the king of our country a canonization. This King means..."

"Of course he is the emperor of your Japanese country, not the shogun!" Xu Guangqi did not wait for Matsudaira Nobutsuna to finish his words before he replied decisively: "And in the future, as my vassal of the Ming Dynasty, you will no longer be able to call yourself the 'emperor'. You should use the title conferred by me in the Ming Dynasty instead!"

After hearing this, Matsudaira Nobutsuna suddenly felt even more embarrassed. This title of "Emperor" has been around for a long time and is linked to the religious beliefs of the Japanese country. It is convenient for controlling the subjects of the Japanese country. If this title is replaced, the political system of the Japanese country will be changed. There was great unrest.

Although the emperor of Japan had no real power, he was still a symbol of power and had great symbolic significance. The shogunate in power changed several generations from Kamakura to Tokugawa, but no one dared to remove the emperor. Now it is difficult to do so. Does Tokugawa Iemitsu dare to do this?

Matsudaira Nobutsuna dared to say that if Tokugawa Iemitsu really dared to agree to Ming Dynasty's conditions and change the title of emperor, it would surely arouse the anger of the people and make the Tokugawa shogunate the target of public criticism. It is very likely that the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate would eventually be overthrown. being threatened.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna looked at Xu Guangqi and asked tentatively: "The 'Emperor' of our country is just a symbolic head of state, not the real person in power. The power of national government has always been entrusted to the shogunate, and the title of 'Emperor' is not It is only used within the territory of our Japanese country, and I have never dared to declare it to the outside world, especially to your country. I have always called myself the 'Japanese Nu King'.

So can you change this item a little bit, ignore the 'emperor' thing, and instead canonize the shogunate as the Japanese slave king? In this way, in the future, as a vassal of your country, the Japanese country can better obey your orders! "Xu Guangqi couldn't help but smile after listening to Matsudaira Nobutsuna's words, and then shook his head and said: "No, all the conditions listed in this case will not be changed word by word! "

This matter was personally instructed by the emperor, and the emperor also said that there is no need to care about the feelings of the Japanese country. If you bargain with them, they will either agree to Ming's conditions or continue fighting!
Matsudaira Nobutsuna was speechless. This is not a negotiation. This is simply signing a surrender document. There is no favorable condition for the Japanese country. If he signs it, he will be scolded to death by the Japanese people when he returns and will be infamy for thousands of years. ah!

Seeing that Matsudaira Nobutsuna was having trouble making up his mind, Xu Guangqi stood up and said: "This matter should be discussed in the long term. Since you cannot make the decision for your country today, we will suspend the negotiations. You must discuss it with the head of your country first, and then give me an answer!" "

Matsudaira Nobutsuna had no choice but to agree. After sending Xu Guangqi away, Matsudaira Nobutsuna quickly sent someone to copy a copy of Ming's negotiation plan and brought it back to Japan to wait for Japan's reply.

At the same time, the Ming army stationed on Jeju Island was not idle either. Li Banghua had received the order from the court and sent a small fleet of 1000 people to drive [-] warships south to the Ryukyu Kingdom to expel the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Japanese on each island and those who refused to evacuate the Ryukyu Kingdom were to be killed without mercy.

Ryukyu Kingdom has also been in panic recently. Although Cai Jin brought back the news that Ming Dynasty was willing to send troops to help Ryukyu expel the Japanese, Ryukyu King Shangfeng and Ryukyu ministers were very excited.

However, before the Ming Dynasty's army arrived, they heard that the Osumi Islands of the Japanese Kingdom in the north had been invaded by the great pirate Mao Wenlong of Jeju Island. After hearing this news, everyone in the Ryukyu Kingdom became panicked.

After all, compared to the Japanese, Mao Wenlong is even more disgusting. The Japanese who invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom are regular troops after all, and they have a bottom line in doing things. They will not commit burning, killing, looting, or inhumane things, but Mao Wenlong kills people. Pirates who don't blink will leave no trace behind wherever they pass.

King Shangfeng of Ryukyu suddenly became anxious. He never expected that sending Cai Jin to the Ming Dynasty to ask for help would create such a chain reaction. The Ming army went south and frightened Mao Wenlong, who occupied Jeju Island, so much that he could not escape here. As a result, the Ryukyu Kingdom was directly exposed to Mao Wenlong's military front.

And the news that came later made Shang Feng even more troubled. Originally, he thought that the Ming army would arrive in Ryukyu soon. As long as the Ming army arrived, Mao Wenlong would flee far away, and Ryukyu would be safe. .

But now the Ming army actually started fighting with the Japanese country in Nagasaki, and it seems that the dispute between the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese country will not be resolved for a while, and the Ryukyu Kingdom has been left alone. I don’t know when it will be Mao Wenlong from the north attacked.

And just when the monarchs and ministers of the Ryukyu Kingdom were in panic all day long, the Ming army arrived. After hearing the news that the Ming army had arrived in Ryukyu, Shang Feng suddenly turned from worry to joy, and personally led people to greet them.

Subsequently, the Ming army began to follow the lead of Cai Jin, the minister of Ryukyu, and began to expel and arrest Japanese people throughout Ryukyu. Later, a thousand Ming troops were stationed on various islands of Ryukyu. King Shangfeng of Ryukyu specifically asked Cai Jin must entertain the Ming army well and provide favorable food and salary support.

The crisis in the Ryukyu Kingdom was finally resolved, but the dispute between the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese Kingdom continued, and the shogunate once again quarreled because of the negotiation conditions proposed by the Ming Dynasty.

The current emperor of Japan is Emperor Meisho Oiko. She is the second imperial daughter of the previous empress, Emperor Mizuo, and Nakamiya Tokugawa Kazuko. She is only nine years old now.

Her mother, Tokugawa Kazuko, was the daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada, the second-generation shogunate of the Tokugawa shogunate, who was also the sister of Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third-generation general of the current Tokugawa shogunate. In this way, Emperor Akiko Tokugawa was the niece of Tokugawa Iemitsu. Becoming a family with the Emperor is the result of the efforts of three generations of the Tokugawa family since Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Because of this emotional relationship, it actually made no difference to the Tokugawa shogunate whether the Ming Dynasty should consecrate the emperor or the shogun. However, the only thing that was difficult for the Tokugawa shogunate to accept was that the Ming Dynasty asked Japan to cancel the title of "emperor". This item.

The "Emperor" has been passed down for hundreds of generations and has a sacred and lofty status in the hearts of the Japanese people. No matter who is the leader of the Japanese country, they cannot shake the status of the "Emperor", let alone ban it.

Even the Tokugawa shogunate could only improve its political status by integrating its bloodline with the emperor through marriage with the imperial family, but did not dare to directly replace him.

So in the final analysis, the Tokugawa shogunate simply did not dare to agree to this condition proposed by the Ming Dynasty, unless they did not want to continue to be in power in the Japanese country and continue to hang around in the Japanese country.

Zhu Tianqi's purpose was to make the Tokugawa shogunate embarrassed and unable to accept the Ming Dynasty's negotiation conditions, because Zhu Tianqi did not want to negotiate peace with the Japanese country at all. He just wanted to completely destroy the Japanese country through war, so this negotiation plan Every condition was listed out after careful consideration, and it can be said that every one of them was straight to the point.

And because the conditions listed by Zhu Tianqi are too harsh, even if the Tokugawa shogunate can overcome all difficulties and insists on agreeing to all the conditions, Zhu Tianqi is not worried, because if the Tokugawa shogunate really dares to do that, Zhu Tianqi has just guaranteed that the Japanese country will Then there will be chaos in the world, even without the intervention of the Ming army, they can destroy the country and their families, and Ming can just wait to "pick peaches".

While waiting for Japan's reply, Zhu Tianqi was also paying attention to the situation in the north. He had already given an order to Yuan Chonghuan, asking Yuan Chonghuan to urge Zhao Lijiao and Zu Dashou to continue marching eastward and northward to occupy the entire territory of Eastern Siberia. .

On the Western Siberian side, the confrontation between the Manchurian and Guangxi armies and the Russian army finally came to an end. The Russians finally couldn't hold on anymore. They abandoned the bastion city built under the Ural Mountains and withdrew their troops back to Moscow.

Mangui was not polite. He even sent a team of troops down the mountain to capture the bastion as the forward position of the Ming army. Since then, the defense line of the Ural Mountains has become more stable.

At this time, the Rus' State no longer had the ability or energy to deal with the Ming army in the east. New situations emerged in the west and south of the Rus' State, forcing them to withdraw the Rus' army from the Ural Mountains in the east. , in order to cope with the situation in Moscow that the Romanov dynasty paid more attention to it.

(End of this chapter)