King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Most of them were businessmen who had drifted to Japan in the early years.

Or they could be the people who were captured by Japanese pirates.

At this moment, their eyes were filled with hope and excitement, and they looked at Zhu Tan eagerly as if they had seen a savior.

The second part is those Japanese people who can speak some Chinese. Most of them are merchants who have had trade relations with the Ming Dynasty.

Or scholars who have studied Chinese.

At this moment, their eyes were filled with anxiety and uneasiness, not knowing what fate would be waiting for them.

The last part consists of pure-blooded Japanese people, most of whom are civilians or low-level warriors.

Knowing nothing about the language and culture of the Ming Dynasty.

At this moment, their eyes were filled with fear and despair.

They trembled like animals being driven to the slaughterhouse.

Zhu Tan looked at the three clearly separated groups of people in front of him, a playful smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

"very good."

He walked up to the group of Han people, glanced at each of them gently, and said softly:
"You are all the people of my Ming Dynasty. Now you are stranded in a foreign land and suffering. This king feels deeply saddened."

"Now that I am here, I will take you home!"

As soon as these words came out, the Han people were immediately excited, and they all knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the prince!"

Zhu Tanxu raised his hands, motioning for everyone to stand up, and continued:

"You are proficient in Chinese and familiar with Ming culture, so stay with me and help me govern Japan."

When everyone heard this, they were overjoyed and immediately kowtowed to express their gratitude.

Zhu Tan then walked up to the Japanese who could speak Chinese and said indifferently:

"Although you are not citizens of the Ming Dynasty, you still have some connection with the Ming Dynasty."

"I can give you a chance to work for me, learn Chinese, and learn Ming culture. As long as you sincerely submit, I will forgive you for your past mistakes."

When the Japanese heard this, they felt relieved and immediately knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the king".

Finally, Zhu Tan's gaze fell on those trembling purebred Japanese people.

A cold light flashed in his eyes, and his tone was as cold as if it came from the Netherworld:
"As for you..."

He drawled out his words, his tone teasing like a cat playing with a mouse, "The Ming Dynasty doesn't need livestock that don't know the rules."

There was a sudden commotion among the crowd, and whispers of despair spread like a plague.

"You will become the cornerstone of Ming's expansion."

Zhu Tan's voice exploded like thunder, shocking the hearts of every Japanese. "Provide food and supplies to the Ming army, transport supplies, and when necessary, become the target of the swords of our Ming soldiers!"

As soon as he finished speaking, desperate cries broke out in the crowd.

Fear was like a flood that broke through a dam, instantly drowning everyone's reason.

"No! We don't want to be slaves!"

A young Japanese samurai drew the samurai sword from his waist and shouted at the top of his lungs, "We must fight! Fight for our homeland!"

His shout was like a spark, instantly igniting the long-suppressed anger among the crowd.

More and more Japanese people drew their weapons, with red eyes and wild beast-like roars, and rushed towards Zhu Tan.

"You don't know your own limitations." Zhu Tan snorted coldly, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes.

The guards behind him pounced on the crowd like tigers descending from the mountains. Amidst the flashes of swords and sabers, blood dyed the ground red.

The rebellious Japanese were like straw in a wheat field, their lives were easily harvested.

Zhu Tan watched everything happening in front of him with an expressionless face, as if he was enjoying a wonderful performance.

A Japanese warrior who tried to launch a sneak attack on Zhu Tan was chopped to the ground by the guards beside him.

Blood gushed out, splashing all over Zhu Tan.

"Your Highness, are you okay?" the guard asked with concern.

"It doesn't matter."

Zhu Tan shook his head gently, took out a silk handkerchief from his bosom, and slowly wiped the blood off his hands. "You are just a bunch of ants. Are you worthy of dirtying my hands?"

He threw the bloodstained handkerchief to the ground, glanced at the group of Japanese people who were already scared of killing, and said in a cold tone:

"This is the fate of rebelling against the Ming Dynasty! From now on, you only have one choice, and that is to obey! Obey the laws of the Ming Dynasty, obey the army of the Ming Dynasty, and obey the will of this king!"

He paused, his eyes fell on a trembling old man from Japan, and asked, "Old man, do you understand what I am saying?"

The old man raised his head in horror, looking at the devil-like man in front of him, and said tremblingly: "Your humble man...Your humble man understands..."

"Very good." Zhu Tan nodded with satisfaction. "Then convey my words to every Japanese! If anyone disobeys..."

He deliberately dragged out his voice, his eyes swept across the terrified faces around him, and a cruel smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Kill without mercy!"

In the following days, Zhu Tan promulgated a series of ruling policies targeting the Japanese.

He forced all Japanese to learn Chinese and use Chinese characters, and imposed Ming laws on the country.

In order to completely destroy the Japanese people's will to resist, Zhu Tan ordered the demolition of all shrines and temples.

Buddha statues and shrines were burned, and countless Japanese were forced to convert to Ming religion.

Those who dared to resist were labeled as "cultists" and brutally killed.

Cities were conquered one after another, and countless Japanese were reduced to slaves and transported to the Ming Dynasty to be used as tools for reclaiming wasteland and building cities.

The spark of resistance seemed to have been completely extinguished, and the shadow of despair enveloped the entire land of Japan.

As night fell, the palace was brightly lit.

Zhu Tan leaned on the couch, playing with an exquisite Japanese jade carving in his hand, but the desperate look of the Japanese people during the day echoed in his mind.

"A bunch of rubbish, they only know how to kneel down and beg for mercy, they have no spine at all!"

Zhu Tan casually dropped the jade carving onto the table, making a slight sound.

"My Lord, what are you worried about?"

The maidservant at the side asked softly, her voice sweet and with a hint of the soft Wu dialect unique to Jiangnan women.

Zhu Tan glanced at her. This maid was the one he had searched for from the mansion of a Japanese noble after he conquered Wangjing. She was beautiful and quite pretty.

It's a pity that now in his eyes, I'm just a plaything.

"I'm wondering how to make these Japanese monkeys willingly serve the Ming Dynasty."

A playful smile appeared on Zhu Tan's lips.

"Your Highness is very smart, but I am stupid and can't think of any good solution."

The maid obediently knelt at his feet, stretched out her hands to massage his legs, and gave him a seductive look.

"Humph, relying solely on force to suppress is not a long-term solution after all."

Zhu Tan pondered for a moment, "We have to think of a way to completely conquer them spiritually."

An idea gradually became clear in his mind. He sat up suddenly, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, "Got it! Use this!"

A few days later, a decree spread throughout Japan at lightning speed. The content of the decree was simple, but it was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves.

"As long as you work hard to learn Chinese and Chinese characters and pass the test, you can be exempted from corvée labor and even join the Ming army and become a glorious Ming soldier!"

When the news spread, people did not believe it at first and thought it was just another deception by the Ming army.

However, when the first group of Japanese people who passed the test truly got rid of their status as slaves and even put on Ming army armor, the fire of hope in people's hearts began to grow like weeds.

For a time, there was a craze for learning Chinese throughout Japan.

……

The originally dilapidated wooden house of the Matsushita family is now clean and tidy. A low-quality incense candle bought at a high price from a Ming Dynasty merchant is lit, and a strange smell is emitted from the smoke.

The old man took a deep breath, as if the choking smoke was some rare treasure, and then he scolded in a low voice:
"Taro! You wrote the five characters 'benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness' wrong again! The last stroke of the character 'righteousness' is a dot, not a downward stroke! You are so stupid!"

Matsushita Taro, who was about seven or eight years old, knelt on the tatami, his face wrinkled, and he muttered aggrievedly:

"But father, this Chinese character is too difficult to write. Why should we learn this?"

"Why? To survive, of course! To live a good life!"

The old man Matsushita knocked on Taro's head in frustration:

"Look at Chunhua next door. She's only five years old but she can recite several Ming Dynasty nursery rhymes. Her father no longer has to go to the docks to move stones. I heard he's working in some... some school and earning five kilograms of rice a month!"

Taro rubbed his head and reluctantly continued practicing Chinese characters.

Outside the window, Chunhua from the neighbor's house was reciting in a crisp voice:

"Geese, geese, geese, singing with their necks raised to the sky..."

There was a strange tone in the childish voice, which made the old man Songxia feel upset.

"No, I have to go find the village scholar and ask him how to learn Chinese so that I can pass the test as quickly as possible!"

He stuck the half-burnt incense candle on the table and hurried out.

The newly opened "Mingde School" was packed with people.

There were men, women, young and old, and everyone’s face was filled with a desire for knowledge.

Of course, it is also mixed with confusion and fear about the future.

"Shut up! Anyone who talks again will get out!"

On the podium, a skinny Japanese teacher shouted in stiff Chinese.

He used to be the most learned man in the village, but now, under the iron hoof of the Ming Dynasty, he had to humble himself and learn the language that he once regarded as a barbaric language.

"Today we are studying the laws of the Ming Dynasty..."

The teacher opened a tattered copy of the "Great Ming Code" and began to mutter, shaking his head.

The students below were drowsy after listening to the lecture, and only a few young people were still diligently taking notes.

"You idiots! You can't even learn this. You deserve to be a slave for the rest of your life!"

The teacher was so angry when he saw the sleepy students that he blew his beard and glared at them. He slammed the ruler in his hand on the table:

"Let me tell you, His Royal Highness Prince Lu of the Ming Dynasty has announced that as long as you learn Chinese and pass the test, you can be exempted from corvée labor, join the Ming army, and enjoy the best food and drink! If you don't study hard, you'll be caught and forced to work in the mines!"

Among the crowd, a tall figure caught his attention.

He was a young samurai named Ichiro Yamamoto, who used to be the bravest samurai under the lord, but now he was a prisoner like everyone else.

Although he tried hard to learn Chinese, it was difficult for someone who had practiced martial arts since childhood.

Learning a language is harder than climbing to the sky.

"Yamamoto! Tell me, according to the Ming Dynasty law, if a person steals more than how much silver, he will be beheaded."

The teacher suddenly called on the student and asked.

Ichiro Yamamoto was stunned for a moment. He was speechless and couldn't say anything for a long time. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Why? You can't speak?"

The teacher's eyes flashed with contempt, "You don't even know this, and you still have the nerve to call yourself a warrior? I think you are worse than a dog!"

Ichiro Yamamoto's face turned red, he clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into the flesh, but he was powerless to refute.

The people around him looked at him with mocking eyes, making him wish he could find a hole to crawl into.

"Waste! Next!" The teacher waved his hand impatiently and continued to call on students to ask questions.

Ichiro Yamamoto gritted his teeth. The humiliation was like a fishbone stuck in his throat, unable to go up or down.

He used to be a feared warrior on the battlefield, but now he has fallen to the point where a skinny teacher points at him and calls him "worse than a dog."

How he wanted to draw his samurai sword and split the humiliation and the teacher's head in half!
But he couldn't. Ever since he was captured by the Ming army, his samurai sword had been ruthlessly confiscated. He was now just a lowly prisoner, with no control over his life or death.

……

At this time, far away in the imperial palace of Yingtian Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat upright in the Golden Throne Hall, his majestic gaze sweeping over the crowd of civil and military officials below.

"If there is something to do, start the court, if there is nothing to do, leave the court -"

Before the eunuchs finished their sharp calls, a royal guard in a red flying fish suit quickly walked into the hall, knelt on the ground, and shouted:

"Your Majesty, urgent news from the front!"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and said, "Show it up!"

The eunuch took the bamboo tube from the Jinyiwei, walked quickly to Zhu Yuanzhang, and handed it to him respectfully.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened the bamboo tube, took out the silk cloth inside, unfolded it, and an expression of ecstasy suddenly appeared on his originally serious face.

"Hahaha! Okay! Okay! Okay!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said "good" three times in a row, his voice loud and clear, echoing throughout the hall.

Upon seeing this, all the civil and military officials of His Highness were puzzled and whispered to each other, guessing the content of this urgent report.

"My dear ministers, guess what kind of good news makes me so happy?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood and couldn't help but ask.

"Good news? Could it be that General Mu Ying won a great victory in Yunnan?"

"That must be the case..."

Listening to the ministers below, they looked at each other and talked.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly and said:

"My son Zhu Tan conquered the capital of Dongying seven days ago and killed the King of Dongying!"

"Moreover, he has now occupied Japan and promulgated the laws and policies of the Ming Dynasty in Japan."

This statement came out.

Everyone was stunned.

The civil officials and military generals looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in a daze.

I couldn't believe my ears. (End of this chapter)