I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 283 Tokugawa Yoshimune
At the same time, the Ming army launched a war to fully annex Ryukyu.

The Ming Dynasty sent an envoy to hold Japan's diplomatic fleet accountable. They set off from the port of Ningbo, sailed smoothly on the sea, and finally arrived in Edo, Japan.

The shogun at this time was Tokugawa Yoshimune, who was known as the master of the revival of the Edo shogunate.During his reign, he launched the reform of the security system, encouraged people to cultivate new fields, and reintroduced Catholic classics.

His greatest contribution was to stabilize rice prices during his reign, so he was given the nickname General Rice by the Japanese people.

Coincidentally, the eighth shogun of the Edo shogunate also succeeded to the throne by a side branch. He also has a little-known nickname, Shinnosuke.

However, although Tokugawa Yoshimune succeeded to the throne from a side branch, he showed a strong desire for power and dismissed several shogunate veterans as soon as he came to power.

All reforms during his reign, in addition to improving people's livelihood, also strengthened Japan's seclusion and centralization of power, trying to return to the period when the shogunate had sole power in the early shogunate.

"These Japanese pirates won't let us dock. Mr. Li, if you ask me, we should just fight in." On the flagship, Tang Tongjiang, who led the fleet to escort Li Hong this time, was quite speechless.

Li Hong, the diplomat sent by Honglu Temple this time, smiled calmly and said: "Japan has been closed to the country for many years, and we came in a warship. It is normal that they will not let us dock."

Soon, a large ship arrived from Edo.

The ships from both sides gathered offshore and found a shoal to land on.

Li Hong was polite, raised his hands and said, "Li Hong, Shaoqing of Honglu Temple in the Ming Dynasty (right)."

The Shaoqing of Honglu Temple was divided into two groups: the left and the right. They insisted that Li Hong was equivalent to the third-in-command of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The envoy of the shogunate also returned the gift and said: "Tadayuki Mizuno, a veteran of the Edo shogunate in Japan and the financial officer of the shogunate."

The shogunate laozhong, like the previous Pan Laozhong Tanegashima Itoki, was equivalent to the prime minister of the Edo shogunate, especially during the Tokugawa Yoshimune era.

Although most of the reform measures implemented by Tokugawa Yoshimune ended in failure, some even further intensified class conflicts.

For example, loan lawsuits between samurai and civilians were no longer accepted, and samurai and civilians were allowed to negotiate on their own on loan issues.

But civilians had no political status and no shogunate to make the final decision. It was good to fight samurai with hammers and not be hacked to death.

This is basically equivalent to condoning the samurai's default on debts, and prohibiting private circulation and trading of farmland, which directly forced the people at the bottom to rebel.

But the Tokugawa Yoshimune era was indeed the golden age of the shogunate's senior officials, who even once had power as part-time financial officers.

Moreover, Tokugawa Yoshimune had a strong desire for power and knew that to ensure the concentration of power, a stronger army was needed.

Therefore, he further restored the banned eagle hunting system in an effort to strengthen the combat effectiveness of the shogunate army.

Mizuno Tadayuki himself could not speak Chinese, so he relied on the general officer on the side to translate for him: "Wang Shaoqing, your warship has entered our territorial waters without permission. Please give me an explanation!"

Li Hong refused to give in and said sternly: "The Satsuma clan of Japan invaded and occupied Ryukyu and forced Ryukyu to pay tribute. This move is also disrespectful to our Ming Emperor. I, the Ming Emperor, sent my envoy this time to ask questions. Responsibility [-]: What does Japan want? Is it to override me, the Ming Emperor?"

Tadayuki Mizuno was a little confused when he was slapped with a big hat.

Did Satsuma invade Ryukyu?
The Edo shogunate knew about this, and even tacitly approved of it. Even the Ryukyu King was abolished by order of the Edo shogunate.

The King of Ryukyu also sent congratulations to the Edo shogunate on every new year and festival.

But Mizuno Tadayuki never expected that the Chinese emperor would come to hold him accountable for this matter.

Is this full?
The shogunate had already heard about this Chinese emperor. At first, they heard that he was just a rebel leader, so they didn't pay much attention to him.

But the news that came back became more and more outrageous. From the Qing army's defeat after defeat, in recent months, the Chinese emperor who used to be a rebel has already controlled half of the Qing Dynasty, and is very likely to overthrow the Qing court. .

This shocked the shogunate.

The shogunate had no doubts about the accuracy of the news.

Because in the past few months, not only have more and more Chinese maritime merchants been doing business in Nagasaki, but they all have short hair or bald heads, and even long hair no longer has braids.

This is an asymmetry of information. Although the Edo shogunate had channels to obtain information about China, it was severely delayed and exaggerated. There were even many Ming maritime merchants who deliberately added fuel to the flames and pretended to be powerful.

Mizuno Tadayuki was stunned for a moment, then he quickly softened and said: "The angel misunderstood. Although the Satsuma Domain is under the jurisdiction of our Edo shogunate, we, the shogunate, have no knowledge of its rude behavior. Please calm down the emperor of China for the time being, and I, the shogunate, will give the order." Instead of reprimanding and punishing him, he will definitely give the Chinese Emperor a satisfactory answer."

Li Hong said: "No need, our Ming Dynasty Emperor has sent troops to conquer Ryukyu a few days ago, and the Ryukyu Kingdom has been merged into Ryukyu County by our Ming Dynasty. Moreover, I am here on behalf of my Ming Dynasty Emperor. They are all crowned kings of Japan, so how come you, the shogunate, are talking about it? The shogunate is called a shogun, but in fact it is a traitor to Cao Cao. They hold the emperor hostage to order the princes. Do you think that I, the Ming Dynasty emperor, don't even know about it?" This is actually wrong. , because Wanli had twice canonized Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu as kings of Japan. The former was so angry that he cursed, and the latter suddenly died of illness in just three months.

When the general officer finished translating Li Hong's words, Mizuno Tadayuki suddenly became silent.

Because what Li Hong said was correct, nominally speaking, the official position of the Edo shogunate was the general of the conquering barbarians, and he had always been a minister of the Japanese emperor.

Now the other party came on behalf of the Emperor of China, but he himself represented the shogunate. Although the actual status was equal, and he even came in person as an old man, his status was completely insufficient.

After seeing this, Li Hong was too lazy to talk nonsense and went straight to the point: "If your Excellency comes to argue with me, there is no need to say anything. After my army recovers Ryukyu and severely defeats the Satsuma clan, I will send troops to the north and go to Edo in person to fight with Your Excellency, tell me something."

These words are purely to scare people. The Ming army's main sight is now on the Manqing.

The Satsuma clan does not intend to break out into a full-scale conflict. At most, it will only be a dozen. How could it possibly start a war with Japan?
Mizuno Tadayuki came to his senses, pondered for a moment and said: "Angel, please calm down. I, the Edo shogunate, and His Majesty the Emperor have always been in harmony with each other. The shogunate only manages the government on behalf of the emperor. Let's not mention this matter for now, but please tell me, angel, what exactly does your country want?" ?”

After repeated threats, Li Hong finally got to the point and said: "Ryukyu Kingdom is now our Ming Dynasty and Ryukyu County. Japan is no longer allowed to interfere in this matter. Moreover, this battle is the fault of the Satsuma Domain. The Satsuma Domain must pay compensation for this battle before the Korean army departs." Capital."

It's that simple?
Mizuno Tadayuki was a little surprised, but he did not show the bargaining behavior that a politician should have. Instead, he fully agreed: "What the angel said is reasonable. Ryukyu is a Chinese territory, so there is nothing wrong with it. Please explain the details clearly, and I will report the matter." Your Excellency, General, please give an order to reprimand and order the Satsuma Domain to pay compensation to the Chinese army."

Although the Satsuma clan invaded and occupied Ryukyu with the tacit approval of the Edo shogunate, Ryukyu was not very important to the shogunate and was just a little benefit from sea trade.

Moreover, Ryukyu in the hands of Satsuma Domain will only make Satsuma Domain stronger and stronger, which is not in the interest of the shogunate.

Especially now that the shogunate has replaced such a power-hungry general, as the leader of the shogunate's revival, he will definitely not sit back and watch the Satsuma Domain grow stronger.

Now that there is such a legitimate opportunity to weaken the Satsuma Domain, it is a good thing for the Edo Shogunate.

Moreover, now that the new Chinese emperor is opening up the sea, Nagasaki Port has no shortage of sea trade profits, and Ryukyu’s mosquito meat is no longer available.

Anyway, Ryukyu was only the territory of the Satsuma clan, and the shogunate sold it without feeling any distress at all.

As for whether the Satsuma Domain will obey the shogunate's orders, there is no need to worry.

Not to mention that the Chinese emperor has already sent troops, and the Satsuma clan will definitely not be able to stop him.

Moreover, the current lord of the Satsuma Domain, Shimazu Tsutoyo, was treated in Edo. Although Shimazu Tsutoyo was a bastard, he was also the only son of Shimazu Yoshiki.

As long as Shimazu Yoshiki dares to disobey, the extremely powerful Tokugawa Yoshimune will dare to wipe out the Satsuma clan.

Once Shimazu Yoshiki became extinct, the entire Satsuma Domain was reformed by Shimazu Yoshiki, and there were several Shimadzu branches with similar power.

To put it simply, it is like a Satsuma clan version of the "Eight Kings Rebellion".

What's more, Shimazu Yoshiki also asked to marry the shogunate Takehime, which was also a political bargaining chip.

Shimazu Yoshiki is such a smart person that he doesn't know what to choose.

"However, I would also like to ask the Emperor of China to grant the golden seal of the general who conquered the barbarians." Mizuno Tadayuki suddenly said.

Good guy, are you planning to use a Satsuma clan in exchange for political chips from the Ming Dynasty?
As long as the Ming Dynasty canonizes Tokugawa Yoshimune as the general to conquer the barbarians, the Tokugawa shogunate can get rid of the political shackles of the emperor.

Not only is it more legitimate in diplomacy, but it is even doubtful that it can go further in the future.

It's not that Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu didn't want to be emperor, they simply didn't have the conditions.

Li Hong, who came here with nothing to show for it, was also shocked, but he didn't show it. He only said: "This matter is very serious. I need to report it to His Majesty in person after I return home."

"That's what it should be." Tadayuki Mizuno nodded to express his understanding.

Li Hong added: "By the way, I also want to ask the shogunate for someone."

Mizuno Tadayuki's brows moved slightly: "Who is it?"

"Nagasaki Port Authority Commissioner Zheng Rui!"

(End of this chapter)