Rule over Ming Dynasty

In September of the fifth year of Hongzhi, history seemed to be going through a process from quantitative change to qualitative change.

When Japan entered the Warring States Period, the Ming Dynasty, the most powerful dynasty in the world, also extended its hand to the East China Sea, as if it wanted to use the entire Japan as a chessboard.

In terms of strength, Japan is now in the most chaotic period, and there are few who can fight.

The Emperor of Japan, as a virtual king, is similar to the one in Shandong, mainly serving as a mascot.

As for the shogunate, which holds military power, power has now been scattered to the hands of various local daimyo, but there are serious disputes within the shogunate.

At this time, Ming Dynasty intervened through win-win methods and won over a practical daimyo like Ise Shinkuro. The entire Japanese society would have few opponents.

Some are happy, some are worried.

Ouchi Masahiro returned to his own territory after more than half a year. After handling some important matters of the Ouchi family, he led a team to inspect his territory.

After this cavalry team left Yamaguchi Castle, they headed in the direction of Iwami Country. In fact, Ouchi Masahiro wanted to go and have a look at the Iwami Silver Mine.

He rode slowly on a small road in a certain village. When he first entered the village, there was a heartbreaking despair in the air around him.

What he looked at turned out to be tragic pictures of villagers who were so hungry that they were as skinny as a stick.

The skin of an elderly woman is close to the bones, and the wrinkles on her face are like dry riverbeds, which are deeply engraved on her weathered face. The eyes sunken into the eye sockets reveal endless sadness and helplessness. . She stretched out her trembling hands and tried to pull up a few dry grass roots from a barren land in front of the village. This was the only food she could obtain.

A little boy in ragged clothes was at the edge of the grain drying field. His legs were as thin as two thin bamboo poles, and he was rummaging through the gravel with his dirty little hands. His eyes were full of longing and desperation. Even wanting to find edible bugs in the rubble seemed to be a luxury now.

A woman was walking along a path in the village carrying a baby on her back, her steps heavy and slow, and the baby behind her was covered in dried blood.

Seeing such a tragic situation, Ouchi Masahiro couldn't believe his eyes. He immediately came to the village chief in disbelief and asked: "What's going on?"

"Master, the harvest in our village this year is not good. We have been robbed by rogues many times in recent months. Please make the decision for us!" The village chief, a little old man, knelt down and cried.

Originally, their life was pretty good, but now the strong men in the family have been drafted to fight or build roads and mine. As a result, the fields in the village have been hit by natural disasters and their production has been reduced.

Unfortunately, due to the widespread disputes in Japan, there are now more and more ronin in the territory, causing their village to be plundered by rounds of Japanese ronin.

Even if they reported the tragic situation they suffered, the people above them ignored them at all, or they were no longer able to protect their safety.

It is under the influence of these multiple unfavorable factors that their village not only lost the ability to protect itself, but was also unable to guarantee basic production capabilities.

It was originally a village of several hundred people, but now it has less than 30% of the population, and those who remain are basically the old, weak, sick, and disabled, or people who have gone crazy.

"Master, there is a shortage of food everywhere in Shijian Kingdom now. Some small lords can't support so many ronin. Many wanderers from outside have fled to Shijian Kingdom, so now there is chaos everywhere!" Tao Hongquan, the retainer, is responsible for assisting the eldest family in governing Shijian Kingdom. , also sighed softly.

Ouchi Masahiro raised his hand to signal everyone to settle down temporarily in this village, realizing that the food problem was more serious than he thought.

Since Kyushu's food was cut off by the Ming Dynasty's navy, they relied on themselves to provide food.

Whether it was the frontline rations for the army he led, or the mining rations for his son and Jiangnan merchants, a large part came from the people in his territory.

Although he knew that the food supply was insufficient, he never thought that the food problem was so bad. The fact that there was no turmoil in the territory under his rule was God's favor.

That night, although they were at the village chief's house, they had the illusion that they were still in the wilderness. Every household in the village seemed to have died in the night, without any sound.

"Master, in fact, the crux of the matter is food! We have no food now, and the Self-Defense Forces are unwilling to go to the countryside. After all, going to the countryside also requires food support!" Tao Hongquan, the retainer, also saw the situation in the village and felt pity. The heart is authentic.

Da NaiMaShengHong knew that this was unfaithful advice, so he couldn't help but look to the west and said: "If everything was planned by the Ming Emperor, it would be too terrible!"

The more he learned about his actual situation, the more he felt how terrifying the Ming Dynasty was before it even used a single soldier.

Even though the Ouchi family and the Jiangnan Group jointly mined silver, the food was choked by the Ming Dynasty, and the current situation can be said to be precarious.

This is the first time in many years that he has seen such a severe living situation in his territory, and it is also the first time that he feels that the Ouchi family has too much to take care of itself.

"Master, the Ming Dynasty purchased our dry seafood in large quantities from the beginning, and deliberately sold grain at low prices to destroy our production enthusiasm. I'm afraid this has been planned for a long time!" Tao Hongquan, the retainer, sighed softly, looking bitter.

Nauchi Masahiro knew that everything was probably the Ming Emperor's plan, so he looked at the adviser in front of him and said, "Do you think we can defeat the Ming Dynasty?"

"Master, if our family insists on going against Ming Dynasty, I will be very pessimistic!" Tao Hongquan, the retainer, expressed his opinion implicitly.

Not only is he not optimistic, he may be able to predict the future of the Ouchi family.

Ouchi Masahiro had his own opinion, and his eyes suddenly became sharp and said: "Why don't I know how powerful the Ming Dynasty is? They have huge ships and cannons, and they are already invincible! It's just that no one can say what the Ming Dynasty plans. Qing, he can’t say he wants the territory in northern Kyushu, and I want to give it to them, right?”

Although their docks and ships were destroyed, they still maintained some intelligence networks, but they knew that the Ming Dynasty was dispatching troops and would be eyeing Kyushu Island.

It's just that the northern part of Kyushu is an important granary for his Ouchi family, and it is also the territory they fought hard to capture. Naturally, it is impossible to give it to the Ming Dynasty.

Although he was ready to negotiate with Ming Dynasty, it was impossible to cede territory.

"Master, the food situation on Kyushu Island is far worse than that of Ishijian Country. If the Ming Dynasty wants it, I'm afraid we really can't save it!" Tao Hongquan, the retainer, hesitated for a moment, and finally expressed his judgment.

In fact, the most serious food problem is Kyushu Island, which was originally the area with the greatest disputes. However, it suffered a major earthquake this year and was even subject to a food blockade by the Ming Dynasty.

Now that food cannot be transported from Honshu Island, the troops stationed in the northern part of Kyushu Island may be eaten alive by the refugees.

The Ming Dynasty has done so much work over the years. It is said that there is a strong voice in the Ming Dynasty to save the female weavers trapped on Kyushu Island, so there must be a fierce battle on Kyushu Island.

Although he knew that it was difficult for Ouchi Masahiro to make territorial concessions, the current situation no longer depended on the attitude of the Ouchi family.

Da Nei Zhenghong thought he knew something about the Ming Dynasty, but he gently shook his head: "The Ming Dynasty ruled the world with benevolence and filial piety. They have always preached that they share the blessings of the world. I'm afraid you are too worried!"

Tao Hongquan's mouth moved, and finally he let out a long sigh. Maybe something needs to happen so that everyone can truly see clearly how powerful the Ming Dynasty is now, and also be able to see clearly the bloodthirsty side of the Ming Dynasty. And he always believed that Kyushu Island would be hit by a big storm.

In fact, what they didn't know was that while they were chatting here, a certain village on Kyushu Island suffered a catastrophe.

Six ronin broke into the village like hungry wolves, their faces full of ferocity and violence.

Every time they kicked open a door, they rushed in like wild beasts, without caring about the residents in the house, and even laughed wildly.

In a simple hut, an old woman was holding her grandson and hiding tremblingly in the corner.

When a ronin broke in, she screamed in terror and tried to protect her grandson with her body. However, the ronin slashed at her with his knife inhumanely, and the blood immediately dyed her clothes red.

A ronin broke into the largest house in the village. When he saw a middle-aged man trying to escape with his belongings, he first kicked the man to the ground, and then slashed at the middle-aged man with a knife.

The middle-aged man held the belongings he had accumulated in one hand and protected his body with the other, but he felt a heartbreaking pain in his arm, and then he was stabbed again in the abdomen.

He covered his wounds and watched helplessly as the ronin snatched away his belongings, his heart filled with despair.

A young woman jumped from the window to escape, but was soon caught up by a ronin, who grabbed the woman's hair and dragged her into a room.

The six rogues acted wantonly. They not only robbed the villagers of their belongings, but also brutally injured them. Bloodstains were left on the land of the village, and the air was filled with a suffocating smell of blood.

A few days later, Ouchi Hongji passed by a village that had been bloodbathed, but the blood in the village had not yet dried.

After learning that the seven ronin had disappeared, Ouchi Masahiro led his men to pursue them immediately. When he learned that the seven ronin were resting by the river, they quietly surrounded them.

These seven ronin were obviously not aware of the coming danger and were resting leisurely by the river, talking about the previous plunder and arrogant "interesting stories".

Their laughter echoed by the empty river, but they didn't know that death had quietly arrived.

"kill!"

With an order from Ouchi Hiro, his men quickly swarmed towards the seven ronin from all directions.

They had no unnecessary nonsense, they were like cheetahs, fast and agile, giving Ronin no chance to react. The six ronin panicked and tried to escape, but it was too late.

Masahiro Ouchi's men had already killed him, their swords were unsheathed and gleaming with cold light.

A fierce encirclement and suppression battle began. Masahiro Ouchi's men had experienced the baptism of the battlefield, and they cooperated tacitly, and their offense and defense were orderly, making the seven ronin overwhelmed.

Although the seven ronin are fierce, they are gradually overwhelmed by the siege of Ouchi Masahiro's men. Wounds opened on their bodies, and their clothes were dyed red with blood.

In the end, all seven ronin were killed in the encirclement and suppression, and their bodies fell in a pool of blood. They no longer had the arrogance and arrogance they had before.

There was no joy of victory on Ouchi Masahiro's face. They met by chance this time, but how many villages had been looted by ronin and had no choice but to do anything?

In fact, the biggest problem that caused the ronin to rob everywhere was their own food shortage, in addition to the increasing unrest in Japan.

Once their food cannot meet everyone's basic survival, then this chaos will definitely continue.

Incidentally, it is not that a small number of people can solve the food problem, but if there are fewer and fewer people, the number of people engaged in production will also decrease.

When Da Nai Zhenghong thought about food, he couldn't help but think of Da Ming who seemed to have everything, so he said to Tao Hong: "Do you think Tao Qiandao can successfully persuade Da Ming to reconcile with our family? We can successfully purchase grain from Da Ming. ?"

"I'm afraid it won't succeed!" Tao Hongquan didn't expect that Da Nai Zhenghong still had such unrealistic fantasies, and he shook his head with certainty.

Ouchi Masahiro frowned, and suddenly asked in confusion: "Why?"

"I know that you sent Tao Qiandao over and agreed to buy grain from Ming Dynasty at a high price, but I'm afraid we won't be able to impress Ming Dynasty by offering reconciliation terms!" Tao Hongquan knew what Nauchi Masahiro was thinking, but he shook his head directly.

Although one million taels of silver is indeed full of temptation, but for a super dynasty, it is not necessary to change the entire plan for a mere one million taels of silver?

What's more, that batch of silver all came from the Shijian Silver Mine. The Shijian Silver Mine originally belonged to the Imperial Mine of the Ming Dynasty. People may not really believe that the one million taels of silver belongs to the Ouchi family.

The most important thing is that after the last bloodbath in the Shijian Silver Mine, people did not go to the Shijian Silver Mine to mine silver again. This attitude also proves that the Ming Dynasty did not pay attention to silver.

Silver was a treasure in the eyes of Jiangnan merchants, but it was probably worthless in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty.

Da NaiMasahiro also silently accepted this cruel reality, but said bitterly: "If you don't want that one million taels of silver, then what do you want Da Ming?"

"Master, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty wants Kyushu Island!" Tao Hongquan hesitated for a moment, but still expressed his judgment.

Having spoken to this extent, he has done his duty.

Whether it is the silver in their hands or the eldest lady who is the most beautiful woman in Japan, I am afraid that they can no longer satisfy the appetite of the talented and powerful emperor.

Now that people have laid it out like this, all directions are pointing to Kyushu Island, which is across the sea from Honshu Island, so that must be what the Ming Emperor really wants to plot.

In fact, if there is anything that can surpass the value of the Iwami Silver Mine, it is the island closest to the Ming Dynasty.

Although Da Naizhenghong had been shaken, he still couldn't believe that the Ming Dynasty had such a conspiracy. This was completely inconsistent with his impression of the humble and gentleman-like Ming Dynasty.

At this time, a fast horse galloped away from the direction of Yamaguchi City, but it delivered an urgent message.

Ouchi Masahiro opened the letter, his face suddenly became solemn.

"Master, what happened?" Tao Hongquan's heart skipped a beat, but he knew something big had happened.

Da NaiMaShengHong handed the urgent message to Tao Hongquan and said bitterly: "Tao Qian Dao is back. The Ming Dynasty has sent us an ultimatum, asking us to hand over the territory in the northern part of Kyushu Island, otherwise our Kyushu garrison will be massacred in three days!" ( End of this chapter)