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

Chapter 288 Shogunate Envoy
The clan relationship between China and Japan was established as early as the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty.

In the second year after Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, his successor Tokugawa Ieyasu was eager to restore diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty, and even did not hesitate to call himself a "small country" and called the Ming Dynasty the "Great Kingdom of Heaven."

After several twists and turns, in the 44th year of Wanli (the first year of Tianming in the Later Jin Dynasty...), Wanli officially sent people to canonize Tokugawa Ieyasu as the "King of Japan".

Now, it is normal for Tokugawa Yoshimune to send a shogunate envoy to China to repair the problem.

However, although Tokugawa Yoshimune is known as the "Lord of the Restoration" of the Edo Shogunate.

But in fact, Japan under the rule of Tokugawa Yoshimune can only be described in four words.

First, the private leasing (sales and sales) of private land was prohibited in order to reduce land annexation.But the actual situation is that many Japanese farmers will starve to death if they do not lease their land to the powerful class.

As a result, Japanese farmers launched a riot against the shogunate, and Tokugawa Yoshimune was forced to withdraw this decree.

This is just a microcosm of the Yoshimune period, and there are many more, including the previously mentioned "encouraging" samurai to default on their debts.

It can be said that Tokugawa Yoshimune and Qianlong are very similar.

Not only did both of them pursue a policy of seclusion, but Qianlong also took the example of the Japanese shogunate's seclusion policy in a sense, leaving only one Guangzhou Thirteen Bank to facilitate management.

Tokugawa Yoshimune's nickname of "Mi no Kōkō" was also due to his unbridled taxation on the Japanese people during his reign.

Less than ten years after its success, it led to a great famine that swept through the Kansai region. Even in Edo Castle, people rebelled.

This "Kenho Famine" is similar to the "Kenei Great Famine" during the period of the third shogun Iemitsu, the "Tenmei Famine" during the [-]th shogun Ieki's period, and the "Tenho Famine" during the [-]th shogun Ieki's period. It was also called the "four major famines" in the Edo period.

According to convention, the leading ambassador of the Japanese mission must be a famous monk.

But Murojiucho belongs to Zhu Xi's school, and he is still an extremist. He hates gods and Buddhist religions (including local gods) very much.He also denounced him as a "national thief" and believed that Shintoism was in conflict with the way of saints.

Therefore, there was not a single monk in Murojiu Chao's envoy; they were all Japanese Confucian scholars of Zhu Xi's school.

The mission set out from Edo to Nagasaki. After picking up the people, it went to Kagoshima to deliver orders and messages, and finally arrived at the port of Ningbo, Zhejiang.

Seeing the bustling port and the accumulation of goods, Shi Jiuchao couldn't help but sigh: "It's true that the heaven is above the country!"

After some supplies in Ningbo, Shi Jiuchao took the envoy and set off again, entering the Qiantang River from Hangzhou Bay.

Enter the canal and take it all the way to Nanjing.

When I got off the ship in Nanjing, I was completely shocked. First, I saw the majesty of the huge city of Nanjing and its high walls.Moreover, Nanjing was the capital of the empire, with a large population and a prosperous economy that was far from comparable to Edo in Japan.

Of course, the most important thing is that along the way, there are very few temples and Taoist temples in China, and even fewer churches.

After consultation, Shijiuchao learned that it was the Chinese emperor who had sealed most of the domestic temples, Taoist temples, and churches.In particular, there are no churches left.

This made Shi Jiuchao agree: "These people who only know how to deceive the world and confuse the public with stories about gods and Buddhas are thieves of the country and should be executed."

After waiting for three days, officials from Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites came to receive him: "Envoys, please follow us to see His Majesty the Emperor!"

Shi Jiuchao didn't dare to neglect. When he came, he still wanted to explore the reality of China.

But now all I can think about is not to be an enemy of the Chinese emperor, to hold on tight, and to learn China's technology and political policies.

Zhu Yijiong's attack on Buddhism, Taoism and religion was mainly about standardization, which made Shi Jiuchao misunderstand that the Chinese emperor was also a supporter of Zhu Xi's school.

Since it is Zhu Xi's school, and the Chinese emperor is so powerful and defeated the barbaric Manchu Qing Dynasty, it proves that this path is correct.

When I go back, I must vigorously promote Zhu Xi's theory and urge the generals to use Zhu Xi's school to govern Japan.

Also, if we severely crack down on Buddhism and Taoism, the local gods will not be spared either.

On the way, Shijiu Chao noticed that the Chinese emperor's palace was very small and not the Forbidden City.But as an envoy to his country, he did not dare to ask.

He was led all the way to the side hall of the palace and saw Zhu Yijiong sitting on the dragon chair, wearing a robe.

Shi Jiuchao took the lead and knelt down to salute: "Official ministers of the lower country, pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the upper country."

Zhu Yijiong did not say anything, but stared at it for a moment and said, "Japan invaded Ryukyu and forced it to become a vassal state. What is the purpose of this?"

Murojiatochao was well prepared, knelt on the ground, and spoke respectfully: "Those are all done privately by the Shimazu family of the Satsuma Domain and have nothing to do with our Edo shogunate. We, the Edo shogunate, have always respected the heavenly kingdom. This time the shogun sent us I have come here to pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the Celestial Empire, in order to re-establish tributary relations with the Celestial Empire." "Is that so? But I missed you and waited."

Zhu Yijiong raised his hand: "Sit down and give me a seat."

Shi Jiuchao and the others stood up to express gratitude, and Zheng Rui, who was dressed in Japanese robes, was also among them.This guy is in his forties, and apart from his name, he has no trace of Han family appearance at all.

Zhu Yijiong searched around and found that he couldn't recognize him at all, so he simply said: "Where is Zheng Rui?"

Zheng Rui, who was in the envoy, heard this and quickly came out.

He is a general officer and a descendant of the Zheng family, so he can naturally understand Chinese: "Zheng Rui, the general officer of the shogunate, pays homage to your majesty!"

This guy also shaved his Japanese-style Tsukiyo head. It is impossible to verify how this hairstyle originally came about, but Ise Sadao, an expert on Edo etiquette, put forward a widely accepted statement that "it makes it easier to wear a helmet and prevent stuffiness."

However, by the Edo shogunate period, the Tsukiyo haircut had become commonplace. Commoners and samurai who had the conditions liked to shave their heads with this style.

Zhu Yijiong frowned slightly, but nodded and said: "Well, yes, he is worthy of being a descendant of the Prince of Yanping County."

Zheng Rui didn't know how to answer, so he had to bow: "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijiong didn't say anything more, and said to Jiuchao when he returned home: "I like the gift that General Tokugawa sent me very much. As for what he said, 'use small things to make big things (pay tribute), use big things to make small things (the adults don't remember the villains)'" (pass)', it depends on how he does it."

The envoy sent by Tokugawa Yoshimune naturally brought gifts, nothing more than samurai swords and folding fans.The value is not high, it is just a formality, even if the Emperor of Japan gave it as a gift, it would only be these two things.

Along with the gift, there was also an official diplomatic document from the shogunate.

What it means is that the shogunate wants to restore the tributary relationship like that of the former Ming Dynasty, where small things are big, and it also hopes that China will be magnanimous on big things.

"Your Majesty said, I will bring back the general." Shi Jiuchao heard that the Chinese emperor accepted the gift and knew that the restoration of relations between the two countries was almost certain.

After a pause, he said: "Japan, my country, is willing to be a vassal state of the Kingdom of Heaven and will always pay tribute. Please, Your Majesty, grant the Shogun the Golden Seal."

This is also the core goal of Shijiu Chao who volunteered to go to China as an envoy.

Shijiu Chao was a great Japanese Confucian who studied Zhu Xi's teachings.

Not only did he dislike religious superstition, but he also respected the rule of the shogunate and placed it above the emperor in terms of social and political thought.

Moreover, he also disapproved of Yamaga Sogo's profit-oriented scholarly theory, and put forward the scholarly theory of "righteousness" first, advocating great justice and maintaining the dominance of the shogunate.

To put it simply, this is a die-hard shogunate who dreams of the shogunate deposing the emperor and becoming independent.

It had been agreed upon long ago. Zhu Yijiong did not hesitate and agreed generously: "If so, then I will give the shogunate the golden seal."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Muro Jiuchao was very happy.

In this way, the purpose of this trip to the Dove's Nest has been basically achieved, and the remaining thing is to determine the trade quota between the two countries.

The Yoshimune shogunate meant that it would be best for both countries to work together to restrict sea trade.But Zhu Yijiong will definitely refuse, and this trade quota will definitely not be limited.

Just a Satsuma clan would be crazy about smuggling, and Chinese merchants had just opened the sea, and the Manchu and Qing Dynasty and the maritime ban in the pre-Ming period had already frightened them.

Now that the sea is open, we naturally have to seize every opportunity to do business and make money. God knows when we will be banned again.

As a country that has long-term maritime trade with China, Japan has borne the brunt. The Edo shogunate could not stop these smugglers.

Shijiucho resigned with the envoy, and he would stay in Nanjing for a few more days.

The cabinet will also select a canonized envoy, just like the North Korean side, and they will return to Japan with Muro Hatochao and the others.

As for Zheng Rui, you can also get in touch with him.

Of course, it's best to keep it in Japan for now.

　The Japanese mission to China was led by famous monks for three reasons: First, for the purpose of preserving Japan’s national system, a monk’s mission to China was not considered a formal surrender.Second, out of the practice of using monks to ease diplomatic conflicts between China and Japan, that is, to achieve civilian communication.Third, in many cases, monks were the elite group of talents in Japan at that time.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)