Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Tokugawa Iemitsu's proposal was unanimously suppressed by Tokugawa Hidetada and others.

Having experienced the Korean War, they knew how powerful the Ming army was.

Not to mention anything else, Li Rusong's army of several thousand men was ambushed by tens of thousands of them, and they were forced to break out.

If 10,000 such troops were sent, it would be enough to disrupt the entire Japan.

Moreover, according to information obtained by the Matsumae clan, the fleet of the Ningyuan Marquisate was present in the joint forces of the Ming Dynasty and Korea.

However, Li Rusong’s descendants are now concentrating on dealing with the Jianlu and have not sent any land troops to help Han Fan.

But if they take the initiative to attack Ezo, the King of Han will definitely invite the troops of Ningyuan Earldom to come.

If the Ming army invades the island in anger, how will they respond?

What particularly worries the Tokugawa shogunate is that the current emperor is dishonest. Two years ago, he granted dozens of monks the right to wear purple robes without consulting the shogunate.

This incident may seem small, but it shows the emperor's disrespect for the shogunate and his attempt to seize power.

The Tokugawa shogunate's response was to establish various laws for monks' asceticism, which would have invalidated the monks' purple robes and caused the emperor to lose face.

The young and energetic Tokugawa Iemitsu even planned to let his wet nurse pay homage to the emperor. If the emperor could not bear this humiliation, he would have to abdicate voluntarily.

It can be said that this is a critical period for the struggle between the shogunate and the emperor, and they do not want to go to war with the Ming Dynasty, lest the Ming Dynasty be wooed by the emperor and start a war to overthrow the shogunate.

So after much discussion, the shogunate decided to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty and agree to the Ming Dynasty's conditions as long as the Ming army did not invade the main island.
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Jiang Yueguang, the Ming envoy, took the initiative to go to Japan after his mission to Korea because he had something to ask for and wanted to follow the path of Kong Zhenyun.

Thanks to his achievements in the mission to the grassland, Kong Zhenyun rose from a middle-level official in the Hanlin Academy to become a minister, and now he is in charge of the Lifanyuan.

Jiang Yueguang and Kong Zhenyun are from the same subject, and they also became famous through diplomatic missions. Naturally, they want to be the next Kong Zhenyun.

But what made him helpless was that the Korean monarch and his ministers were too weak, even worse than Ligdan Khan.

Lin Danhan at least had the ambition to become the Khan of the grassland, and he had always been at odds with the Jianlu.

The Korean monarchs and ministers did not even have the determination to resist, and would flee when faced with the invasion of the Jianlu.

Such performance was obviously not valued by the court. The court's biggest request to North Korea was to provide logistics for Dongjiang Town.

In addition, Korea had been subject to the Ming Dynasty before, so Jiang Yueguang's contribution to Korea could not be compared with Kong Zhenyun's.

Kong Zhenyun persuaded Lin Dan Khan, who was planning to go to war with the Shunyi King's tribe, to avoid a war on the grassland. Not to mention that Lin Dan Khan's tribe is now actively attacking Jianlu.

If Jiang Yueguang wanted to achieve such a feat, he naturally had to persuade a powerful foreign vassal to join him in dealing with the Jianlu.

After learning about the situation of the Wanli Korean War, the first thing he thought of was Japan. He believed that this country still had some strength.

If he could persuade Japan to send troops, he would naturally achieve great success.

Therefore, after arriving in Japan and informing the shogunate of the Ming Dynasty's conditions, Jiang Yueguang and his entourage collected intelligence on Japan to see if Japan had the strength to do so.

News about the prices of gold and silver in Japan was one of the pieces of information they collected and passed back to the Ming Dynasty.

Now, Jiang Yueguang has collected another important piece of intelligence, which has given him a deeper understanding of Japan's current situation:

"The Purple Clothes Incident, the conflict between the shogunate and the emperor, what's going on?"

"Does the Emperor still have power?"

Regarding Japan's political situation, the Ming Dynasty traditionally regarded the head of the shogunate as the king, and even granted the shogun the golden seal of the Japanese king.

However, before Jiang Yueguang's mission, he learned from the emperor that in addition to the shogun who was regarded as the king, Japan also had a nominal leader who called himself the emperor.

This title was probably influenced by Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty who proclaimed himself the Emperor. They considered themselves to be the "Son of the Sun" and changed the title of the King of Wa, who was canonized since the Han Dynasty, to the Emperor.

From the two titles of Japan and Emperor, we can see their ambitions:

This country has been seeking to stand on equal footing with the Central Plains and gain a considerable status.

The invasion of Japanese pirates since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty has made the people dislike them very much, and even the common people in the streets and alleys called each other "Japanese".

So after Jiang Yueguang came to Japan, he did not go to see the emperor at all, but negotiated directly with the Tokugawa shogunate, intending to enthrone the shogun as the king of Japan.

He even planned to designate the King of Japan as the retired emperor and suppress the status of the emperor, just like Ashikaga Yoshimitsu did.

However, Jiang Yueguang was very dissatisfied because the Tokugawa shogunate had not yet completely surrendered.

After learning about the so-called Purple Robe Incident, he planned to use it to force the shogunate to surrender:

"Bring me my first-class crown and robes, and meet the so-called emperor."

"If this person knows what's interesting, we can use him."

He ordered his attendants to bring the envoy's crown and clothes to meet the Japanese Emperor.

This was the authorization he received when he was on the diplomatic mission, which allowed him to temporarily ignore titles such as Emperor that offended the emperor and first achieve the purpose of the mission.

Jiang Yueguang had not met the emperor before because he was worried that it would be useless even if he did. Instead, he would be impeached after returning to China and would be considered to have lost the dignity of the country.

Now that he has realized the Emperor's intentions through the Purple Clothes incident, he plans to use him.

The current Emperor Zhengren was naturally overjoyed at the audience with the Ming envoys.

Since Prince Yoshiyoshi, the Japanese royal family has never had any contact with the Ming Dynasty. This time, the audience with the Ming Dynasty envoys gave the emperor a chance to fight against the shogunate.

If he had the support of the Ming Dynasty, he might have been able to turn from a figurehead to a real emperor and regain some power when the Tokugawa clan had just passed on to the third generation.

According to the etiquette of the Japanese court, only officials with a rank of fourth or above can go to the palace to meet the emperor.

Jiang Yueguang was wearing a first-class crown and robes, and he was also an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, so there was no doubt that he was qualified.

He met the Emperor according to the etiquette of meeting the King of Korea and had a very pleasant conversation with the court officials.

When the news reached the shogunate, the Tokugawa clan was greatly horrified. What they were most worried about was that the emperor and the Ming Dynasty would unite and start a war to overthrow the shogunate.

Now that the Emperor has met the Ming envoy, will closer ties emerge in the next step?
Tokugawa Hidetada could no longer sit still at this time, and ordered Tokugawa Iemitsu to summon Jiang Yueguang to discuss peace terms.

As a sign of sincerity, Tokugawa Hidetada took the lead and said:

"I have ordered the Hirado Domain to release Baron Zheng's wife, Ms. Weng."

"This is a private decision made by the Hirado clan. I have already ordered them to be reprimanded."

"As for Satsuma's invasion of Ryukyu, it was actually due to a misunderstanding."

"The order I gave to the Satsuma Domain was to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty through Ryukyu and restore trade between the two countries."

"But the Satsuma clan has become more ambitious and wants to control the Ryukyu Kingdom. I have also issued an order to reprimand them."

These two things were the reasons why the Ming Dynasty sent troops.

Jiang Yueguang heard Tokugawa Hidetada's explanation and said seriously:

"Ryukyu is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, and the Weng family is a Ming Dynasty imperial decree."

"What the Satsuma and Hirado clans did was an offense to the Ming Dynasty."

"If the general cannot control the two vassals, the Ming can teach them a lesson on his behalf."

Tokugawa Hidetada even said that it was not necessary, he would teach the two feudal states a lesson.

Jiang Yueguang kept asking, "General, what measures can we take to completely prevent this?"

"Ming Dynasty believes that a free trade zone should be established, and matters involving Ming Dynasty should be tried by the free trade zone court."

"Especially the nobles and officials of the Ming Dynasty. According to the law, they need to discuss their status and the decision needs to be made by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

This was something the Tokugawa shogunate was unwilling to agree to because it meant they could not control the Ming people.

If Zheng Zhilong and others plot to overthrow the shogunate again, how should they deal with it?
The young and energetic Tokugawa Iemitsu said:

"People from the Ming Dynasty who committed crimes in Japan should be tried according to Japanese law."

"Don't you think it's too much for people from your country to come to Japan and not abide by Japanese laws?"

Jiang Yueguang refused to give in and said:

"Japan is a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, so of course it must abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

"The people of the Ming Dynasty in Japan must be tried according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty."

He also threatened Tokugawa Iemitsu and others:

"Otherwise, Your Majesty will not enthrone the Shogun as the King of Japan and will forbid Japan to pay tribute."

"No one from the Ming Dynasty will come to Japan in the future."

These tough words made many people in the shogunate secretly happy.

Because the hidden meaning of these words is that the Ming Dynasty is willing to enthrone Tokugawa as the King of Japan and allow tribute trade.

This was what Tokugawa Ieyasu tried hard to achieve when he was alive. He even frankly accepted the title of King of Japan when dealing with Korea, seeking recognition from the Ming Dynasty and consolidating his rule.

By the time of Tokugawa Hidetada, the Edo shogunate had gradually stabilized and no longer craved for this. More importantly, private trade was on the rise, and the shogunate could trade with the Ming Dynasty without paying tribute.

This led to a change in Tokugawa Hidetada's attitude towards the Ming Dynasty. He no longer sought enthronement and even tried his best to avoid any contact with the Ming Dynasty officials.

However, there have been changes in recent years. The Ming Dynasty established customs, strengthened trade control, and expelled the Dutch from Dongning Island, cutting off trade between the Dutch and Japan.

In addition, after Zheng was recruited, his power grew and he was blocked in the strait. The trade between Japanese and Portuguese merchants was also affected and became less and less.

This is also the reason why Zheng Zhilong was detained by Hirado Domain when he sent someone to pick up his wife and children.

The shogunate wanted to force Zheng to surrender and open up their trade with the Netherlands and Portugal.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Zhilong reported the matter to the imperial court, prompting the Ming Dynasty to send troops to teach Japan a lesson.

After realizing the threat from the Ming Dynasty, the shogunate quickly realized that it must establish official contact with the Ming Dynasty to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The previous enthronement and tribute trade were also brought up.

As the heads of the shogunate, Tokugawa Hidetada and Tokugawa Iemitsu were not very willing to accept the enthronement.

After all, they are in power now, who would want to have another master above them?

However, the threat of the Ming Dynasty cutting off trade and their ties with the Emperor forced them to face up to the matter and restart official ties with the Ming Dynasty.

Tokugawa Hidetada said:
"If we agree to establish a free trade zone and allow the free trade zone to conduct independent trials, will the Ming Dynasty enthrone the King of Japan and only give us a Kanho?"

Jiang Yueguang responded:
"If the generals accept the title, the Ming Dynasty will crown the two generals as kings and posthumously honor their ancestors."

"In terms of trade, we can also give the general a seal of approval, allowing him to pay tribute."

Tokugawa Hidetada was dissatisfied with this, because what he wanted was for the shogunate to monopolize trade with the Ming Dynasty. That's why he specifically proposed the Kanhofu to make the Ming Dynasty make a promise.

However, although Jiang Yueguang was well versed in the rules and regulations, he did not know much about trade.

After several rounds of talks, we were unable to reach a complete agreement as there were always differences on the terms.

Fortunately, at this time, Zheng Zhiyan finally arrived, bringing the emperor's order and coming on a speedboat.

After Jiang Yueguang knew the emperor's arrangement, he said happily:
"This way, Japan can be conquered!"

When he met the shogunate officials again the next day, he said:

"Where are the people from the Matsumae clan?"

"His Majesty has ordered it."

The shogunate officials were confused, but they still summoned the Matsumae clan.

Jiang Yueguang read out the decree and said:

"I have received the mandate from Heaven and have followed the rules of the previous kings. I have issued orders and rewards for good and punishment for evil."

"Matsumae clan obeyed the will of heaven and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. I will now pardon your sins, grant you the surname Matsu, and confer you the title of second-class viscount, which will be passed down to your descendants forever."

"Where are the people from the Matsumae clan? Why don't you come over to receive the order?"

After hesitating, Matsumae Kimihiro stepped forward and accepted the order.

He had been in Edo for more than a month, but the shogunate had not yet made any arrangements for him.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has awarded him the title of Viscount for his "merit of surrender", he cannot refuse.

Zheng Zhiyan, who was accompanying him, saw him receive the order and stepped forward and said:
"Congratulations, Lord Matsu!"

"This is one level higher than Brother Zheng's baronship, and can include a fief of 200 square miles."

"If there is no place in Japan, His Majesty will allow you to go to Southeast Asia with us and establish a fiefdom in Borneo."

After his explanation, Matsumae Munehiro learned that the 200-li fiefdom was larger than half of Shikoku Island, and he was so surprised that he could hardly close his mouth.

Shikoku Island has more than a dozen vassal states, and many of them have 100,000 or 200,000 koku of fiefdom. If he can find a good place to open up a fiefdom of 200 li square, he will be far superior to these people in the future.

So he was very excited at this moment, and he had no resentment at all about being driven out by the Ming Dynasty. He even took the initiative to say:

"I will move the people from Ezo over there. Please take care of them, Mr. Zheng."

He took the initiative to relocate those who had stayed on Beihai Island and planned to restore the fiefdom in the future, and recognized the Zheng family as his eldest brother.

Zheng Zhiyan was also very happy about this, because after all, the Matsumae domain had three to five hundred standing troops.

The Ming Dynasty court looked down upon such strength, but it was more than enough to help conquer the natives in Southeast Asia.

Borneo is such a big place, giving them 40,000 square miles is nothing, after all, it was a title granted by the imperial court.

The Zheng family now has a younger brother who can go together to establish a fiefdom.

Jiang Yueguang was also very happy, because this title could resolve the hostility of the Japanese daimyo and even let him see how to use the Japanese——

As long as you confer titles on some people, you can lure them into establishing their own fiefdoms.

This time the emperor gave the land of Southeast Asia to the Matsumae clan, so could he also give out some of the land of the Northeast?

If he could recruit tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in this way, he would also be able to make great contributions in pacifying the Jianlu and would not let Kong Zhenyun have all the credit.

The people of the Tokugawa shogunate were very unhappy because they saw the hidden threat of the Ming Dynasty from this incident:
If the Ming Dynasty could confer titles and fiefs on the Matsumae clan, could it do the same to other daimyo?

If someone is crowned as the King of Japan, how should the shogunate deal with it? (End of this chapter)