The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 288 Akamatsu Clan

Hyogozu (Kobe Port).

It was the most prosperous and wealthy port in Japan during the Kamakura period.

Hyogozu was the largest material distribution center in Japan at that time. As a base for Japan-Ming trade, it was very close to Kyoto, the core area of ​​Japan. At this time, it was still under the control of the Muromachi shogunate.

When the Ming army fleet appeared on the sea in a mighty manner, the entire port was shaken. All the Japanese ran out of the room, staring blankly at the huge Fu ships and the terrifying fleet on the sea, with horror written all over their faces.

"Big ship!"

"What a big boat!"

"How could there be such a big ship?"

It’s not that the Japanese are ignorant, but they have always been good at making small boats. There is no way that Japanese ships can be compared with the Ming Dynasty’s Fuzhou ships.

The huge Fu ships as tall as cities came into view, and one can imagine the shock they brought to the Japanese.

Soon, the daimyo Akamatsu clan, who was in charge of managing the port, rushed over with a large number of family warriors, and looked at the suddenly appearing Ming fleet with concern.

This place belongs to the Seto Inland Sea, is the core of the Kyoto area, and belongs to the Guanzhong Plain of Japan. Its geographical location is extremely important.

In addition, Hyogo-zu is currently the largest port and material distribution center in Japan, and the taxes collected here every year are an important source of income for the Akamatsu clan.

Now the Ming fleet appeared on the sea without any explanation, and was heading towards Hyogozu at a rapid speed. This was so awesome that it made people unable to doubt the motives of these Ming people!

Behind Hyogo-jin is Kyoto, which is the seat of the King of Wa. The core area of ​​Muromachi is also in Muromachi, not far from Kyoto. The Kyoto area is also the core of Wa.

Things are different now. The Muromachi shogunate's rule is weakened, and its influence and control over various places have been greatly reduced. The daimyo in various places are constantly fighting each other, and the daimyo are also fighting for power internally. It is common for retainers to seize the head of the family's property, and samurai to assassinate family heads.

The Akamatsu clan rose to prominence during the Genkō Rebellion and made great contributions to the main clan during the Genkō Rebellion and the Nanbokucho period. In addition, there are four powerful branches: the Bessho clan, the Sayo clan, the Uno clan, and the Kodera clan, collectively known as the "Akamatsu Four Heavenly Kings."

From the Muromachi period to the Warring States period, some still protected the main family, while more branches each occupied important places in Harima Province and became independent. However, in terms of custom, they were still a clan, called the 36 Akamatsu clans, so the overall strength of the Akamatsu clan was one of the best in the whole of Japan.

But the problem is that Japan is now in civil strife. The expelled tenth shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane has received the support of the Ouchi clan and is gathering a large army to counterattack Kyoto. The army has already reached the Gyeonggi region, and the shadows of Ming soldiers can be vaguely seen in Ashikaga Yoshitane's army.

At this moment, these Ming troops suddenly appeared on the sea of ​​Hyogo without any notice. Anyone with a little bit of common sense would find this extremely abnormal!

Akamatsu recognized at a glance that these warships were from the Ming Dynasty, because among the surrounding countries, only the Ming Dynasty had the strength and financial resources to build such terrifying warships as tall as a city.

Moreover, the flag flying on the ship, a bright yellow dragon flag, is not the color and flag that the Japanese families like to use at all.

The head of the Akamatsu clan, Akamatsu Goro, looked at the reckless Ming fleet in front of him with great concern, and his face gradually began to turn pale.

Ming Dynasty ships were not uncommon, and Ming Dynasty merchant ships arrived at Hyogo-jin every now and then, but such a large-scale fleet had never been seen before.

At this moment, the entire sea surface was covered by this huge fleet, and its momentum was so overwhelming that Japan's own small boats did not dare to approach this huge fleet. Even if they did, they would be forcibly knocked away.

The tyranny and brutality of the Ming people can be seen from this.

Goro Akamatsu hurriedly sent his men to meet them on a small boat, wanting to find out the real reason why these Ming people came.

At the same time, on the Fu ship.

Tang Hao was just leisurely watching these slightly panicked Japanese.

Previously, the imperial court sent Xie Duo, the Minister of Rites and a famous Confucian scholar, to Japan to try to mediate the civil war in Japan in the name of the Ming Dynasty, but it had no effect at all.

Of course Tang Hao understood the reason behind this.

The current King of Japan, or that damn Emperor, has no power or influence at all. It is said that the King of Japan even has problems with eating.

For example, after the death of the 103rd Emperor Go-Tsuchigumon, there was a lack of funeral expenses, resulting in his body being kept in the O-oku for forty days without being buried. In the end, several daimyo could not bear to see this and collected several hundred kan to give him a burial. His son, Emperor Go-Kashiwara, was also a poor emperor. After he succeeded his poor father, the court encountered financial difficulties after the "Onin War". As a result, he reigned for twenty-two years but was unable to hold a succession ceremony due to lack of money. In the end, the shogunate gave him 500 kan to hold his own enthronement ceremony. The same was true for his son, Emperor Go-Nara, who inherited an empty throne from his father, which prevented him from holding a succession ceremony until ten years after he took the throne. Emperor Go-Nara's son, Emperor Go-Omiya, was also a poor man. After becoming emperor, he was unable to hold a succession ceremony due to lack of money, and he even had no money to repair the Great Inner Palace. And because the Crown Prince died, Emperor Go-Omiya's successor, his grandson Emperor Go-Yōzei, was extremely poor. If it weren't for Toyotomi Hideyoshi's protection, it would have been a delusion for him to ascend the throne...

To put it bluntly, this so-called De Tian Huang is actually a joke, just a mascot put on the table.

However, it is worth mentioning that the emperor had an extremely important power that could make money during the Warring States Period. Because the Warring States Period was an era of power supremacy among the princes, some daimyo who finally won the war suddenly found out awkwardly after the victory that although they had won the victory and seized the territory, they had no official position and at best became an armed local tyrant or manor owner. The so-called daimyo was just a self-proclaimed title.

Therefore, for the sake of their so-called righteousness, they need the emperor to grant them a corresponding official position to ensure that they can legitimately rule the country. In this way, the official position granted by the emperor highlights its importance.

For example, the famous Toyotomi Hideyoshi, although he conquered a group of daimyo to serve him by force, he still used the power of the emperor to unify the world in the end. He rose from a commoner to a daimyo and a prime minister, until he finally commanded the world as a "Kanpaku" (equivalent to the prime minister of the Central Plains dynasty, and a prime minister who could supervise the country from behind the scenes). All these official positions required the emperor's "power to grant official positions", which shows that in this regard, the emperor's power is reflected in appearance and in reality.

In fact, the Japanese emperor and the royal family mainly relied on this "power to grant official positions" in exchange for tributes from local daimyos in order to maintain the superficial majesty of the royal family.

As for the Muromachi shogunate, its control over local daimyo has weakened rapidly since the Onin War. Seven years ago, the retainers of the Muromachi shogunate launched a coup d'état, abolished the former shogun Ashikaga Yoshizai of the Muromachi shogunate, and supported a puppet Ashikaga Yoshizumi to take power.

The current shogun, Ashikaga Yoshizumi, is just a puppet, and the real power is in the hands of important retainers such as Hosokawa Masamoto. Therefore, the daimyo from all over Japan will pay even less attention to the shogunate, not to mention that the shogunate is currently in the midst of a counterattack with Ashikaga Yoshitane and Ouchi Yoshioki.

Therefore, according to the ideas of the civil officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty, issuing an edict to reprimand Japan, whether it was to reprimand the King of Japan or the Shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, was actually useless, because the daimyo in various places simply did not listen to the orders of the emperor or the shogunate.

Of course, this was still the early days of the Warring States Period, and the Muromachi shogunate still had great control and influence over Japan, and even repeatedly tried to restore its previous influence.

Only after about a few decades, after the daimyo from all over the country conquered and annexed each other, some extremely powerful daimyo were born, which opened the prelude to the Warring States Period. For example, the rise and fall of heroes in troubled times such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, etc., staged the most exciting period in the history of Japan, which is also called the Warring States Period by the Japanese people.

In fact, because Japan has a small land area, its population is not large. Those daimyo seem to be local princes, but in fact they are relatively weak. They do not have many troops at all, only a few thousand people at most. The stronger Ouchi clan has only about ten thousand people at most.

Therefore, the wars between these Japanese daimyos often involved only a few hundred people, and wars involving a few thousand people were rare. As for wars involving tens of thousands of people, there were only a few throughout history, and those were wars of national destiny that were enough to determine the fate of Japan.

That so-called "Warring States Period" is actually just a way for the Japanese to flatter themselves. It cannot be compared with the Warring States Period in Chinese history. It is just like a village fight in a state capital, with hundreds of people fighting with simple weapons.

Of course, these are all things that happened later. At this time, Tang Hao knew that the Muromachi shogunate's control over various parts of Japan had been greatly reduced due to the Onin War, and daimyos in various places were constantly rising. Ouchi Yoshioki and Ashikaga Yoshitane just took advantage of the great opportunity when Hosokawa Masato was assassinated, so they immediately chose to attack Kyoto.

This also gave the Ming Dynasty an opportunity.

The Japanese country was in chaos and could not unite to face the outside world even if it learned that the Ming army was coming to attack.

How to communicate with the outside world?

Should we listen to the emperor’s mascot or the shogun’s?

Which shogun should he listen to, Ashikaga Yoshitane who is about to march into Kyoto, or Ashikaga Yoshizumi who is a puppet himself?

So no matter what, even if the Ming army captured the Bingjin warehouse at this moment, the Japanese could only watch.

Although Ouchi Yoshioki could be considered a figure, he was just that. According to Tang Hao's prediction, even if this guy knew that the Ming army had launched an attack, he would definitely not give up Kyoto which was about to be taken. Instead, he would continue to advance at all costs, trying to seize Kyoto first, and then immediately support Ashikaga Yoshitane to take the throne. Only then would he call on the daimyos of the world to resist the invasion of the Ming army in the name of the shogunate.

However, don't forget that his army also includes two thousand Beijing soldiers led by Ma Yong and Deng Boyan, so this step is naturally impossible to succeed.

What Tang Hao has to do now is to immediately occupy the Bingjin warehouse, leave a group of soldiers to guard the fleet to ensure the retreat, and then march to the Japanese capital without stopping! As long as the Japanese capital is taken, the rest will be much easier.

If Ouchi Yoshioki could support a puppet, Tang Hao could naturally do the same, and he had already selected the candidate for this, Ashikaga Yoshihide, who had high aspirations but a fragile life!

While he was thinking about it, Tang Mu suddenly came to report.

"My Lord, the Akamatsu family, who are in charge of the Bingjin warehouse, have sent someone here."

"Pretty fast~" Tang Hao laughed when he heard it, then thought for a while and said: "You are responsible for contacting them, just say we are here to trade, bring out some goods to confuse them, and then send some brothers to carry the goods ashore to temporarily confuse the Japanese, and let the soldiers rest and have a good meal, and then start the landing operation late at night, and make sure to capture this Bingjin depot before dawn!"

The reason for launching a night attack was naturally to reduce casualties among soldiers.

I have to admit that the Japanese longbow is really powerful.

Although Tang Hao was worried about the safety of Ma Yong and Deng Boyan's two thousand soldiers, he could not ignore the lives of his men because of his impatience, so a night attack was the best option.

Hearing this, Tang Mu's mouth corners slightly raised.

Who doesn’t like a coach who cares for his soldiers?

So he immediately bowed and took the order and left.

Half an hour later, Akamatsu Goro was still communicating with his confidant.

He really couldn't calm down, because the purpose of the Ming fleet in front of him was unclear, and the sense of oppression was enough to make people lose their minds.

"These are indeed the Ming Dynasty's blessed ships."

"But I've never seen such large Fu ships, and there are ten of them at once. There are also those densely packed light warships next to them. I'm afraid they are here with bad intentions!"

The confidant nodded when he heard this. He was older and vaguely remembered seeing the Ming Dynasty's blessing ship once before.

However, they knew that the Ming Dynasty had a national policy of maritime ban, so it was basically impossible for the Fujian ships to go out to sea for trade, let alone such a large fleet with ten Fujian ships and hundreds of other warships.

Therefore, the possibility of this Ming fleet coming here to do business... is very low!
"Why do you think the Ming Dynasty ships are coming to our country in such a large force?"

Goro Akamatsu thought for a moment and asked again, hoping that his confidant could give a reasonable explanation.

"I don't know about that. The Ming Dynasty is a superior country with vast territories and abundant resources. It is naturally not comparable to our country of Japan."

The confidant shook his head slightly and said that he knew more about the Ming Dynasty from books. He had never been to the Ming Dynasty and had never met any Ming people.

However, due to the rise of the Kango trade during the Yongle period, Ming Dynasty goods became hot commodities in Japan and were even sought after, so the Japanese people also clearly realized the strength and prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.

Except for a few beasts like the Matsuura clan who deliberately disguised themselves as Japanese pirates and went to the Ming Dynasty to plunder, the rest of the local daimyos still maintained a certain degree of awe towards the Ming Dynasty. After all, this was the suzerain state of Japan.

Hearing his words, Akamatsu Goro did not object at all, because it was the fact. In the eyes of the surrounding countries at that time, the Ming Dynasty was a superior country and an existence that needed to be looked up to. It was not something that a local daimyo of Japan could provoke.

Just as they were speculating, the boat that had approached the Fuchuan to inquire quickly rowed back to the port and respectfully reported to Akamatsu Goro: "Master, they are from the fleet of the Ming Dynasty. It is said that this is the fleet of the Ming Dynasty Zhongshan Marquis, so it is large in scale."

"This time they came here to do business, hoping to buy and sell goods and replenish supplies. They have previously completed trade with North Korea, and now it is our turn."

When he said these words, the young man from the Akamatsu family was so excited that his face turned red.

There is no other way. Ming Dynasty goods are well-known hard currency. As long as you buy them and resell them, you can make huge profits!

"What? It's actually a merchant ship? I thought it was an envoy ship from the Ming Dynasty."

Hearing this, Akamatsu Goro frowned immediately.

It's a bit abnormal that such a large fleet is just merchant ships.

"Who is the Great Ming Zhongshan Marquis?"

"Didn't the Ming Dynasty have a maritime ban? How come his fleet was able to go out to sea to trade?"

This incident revealed a lot of unusual things, so Goro Akamatsu did not dare to let the Ming fleet get close for a while.

However, when his confidant heard the title of Marquis Zhongshan, his expression brightened.

"Master, this is a great joyous event!"

The confidant explained excitedly: "This Marquis Zhongshan is the latest rising noble in the court of the Ming Dynasty. It is rumored that he saved the Ming Emperor from a tiger's mouth. He is highly respected and trusted by the Ming Emperor. He is in charge of the Ming Dynasty's Beijing Army and is an undoubted important official of the Ming Dynasty."

"In addition, this Zhongshan Marquis was greedy for money and lustful. He once personally led a fleet to sea and directly seized the Jeju Horse Farm of Korea, forcing Korea to give the Jeju Horse Farm to the Ming Dynasty. I heard these things from a Korean merchant. Now the Jeju Horse Farm has already belonged to the Ming Dynasty!"

After hearing this, Akamatsu Goro came back to his senses.

It seems to be true.

At that time, Jeju Racecourse was presented to Ming Dynasty by Korea, and this incident also caused quite a stir in Japan.

After all, North Korea is very close to Japan, and the two countries are considered to be the closest neighbors. North Korea's actions have also caused ridicule from the Japanese dignitaries.

However, Goro Akamatsu did not expect that there was another reason behind it.

So it seems understandable.

The Marquis of Zhongshan in the Ming Dynasty was greedy for money and lustful, and because of his high position of power, he was able to send his own fleet out to sea for trade, bypassing the Ming court directly and making profits.

When he thought of this, Goro Akamatsu became excited.

He doesn't care how much the Marquis of Zhongshan can earn. What matters is how much the Chisong family can earn.

Why is the Ouchi clan so powerful?
Wasn't it because of the participation in the trade with the Ming Dynasty that he made a fortune and became the overlord of the West?
If the Akamatsu clan could rely on the Hyojin Treasury to directly connect with the Ming Dynasty's Zhongshan Marquis, then they wouldn't have to share profits with other daimyo or the shogunate!
What a huge profit this is?

For a moment, Goro Akamatsu was extremely excited!
"quick!"

"Welcome the Ming fleet to the port!"

"Prepare fine wine, delicious food and beautiful women. We must make this deal a success!"

Goro Akamatsu looked at his family members excitedly and shouted in high spirits.

"Whether the Akamatsu clan can rise completely depends on whether we can get hold of the Marquis of Zhongshan this time!"

(End of this chapter)