Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 140 The Emperor’s Dream

Beijing City Palace.

In the imperial study, the emperor enthusiastically took over "The Death of Toyotomi Hideji" and "The Tokugawa Shogunate" and started reading them.

"Zhang Xiao is really a genius. Every rumor he makes is just a nursery rhyme or a prophecy. He actually wrote a book with so many pages. The most important thing is that the Japanese people believed it. If it weren't for the current tensions on the border, I really want to Li Rusong led an army across the sea and fought over it, so why bother naming Toyotomi Hideyoshi a king?"

"Your Majesty, the Mongolian side has not stopped the harassment, and the Liaodong side is quite skilled in dealing with it. However, the sudden appearance of the Nurhaci army is really unexpected. However, now that the army aiding North Korea has returned to the capital, the overall situation is finally fine." Chen Moment replied.

"Read these two books carefully. What do you think of them?" the emperor asked.

"The writing is quite good. I just don't know how Zhang Xiao can write it so carefully. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was a real story. The writing has ups and downs, but when you think about it carefully, it becomes interconnected. For example, "Germany" The Sekigahara Battle described in the book "Kawa Shogunate" lists in detail the princes who participated in the Eastern Army and the Western Army. The reasons why these princes chose their camps are all reasonable. At the final moment of the decisive battle of the Sekigahara Battle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi again His adopted son Hideaki Kobayakawa did not trust the leader of the Western Army, Ishida Mitsunari, nor did he trust the Toyotomi family, so he temporarily defected. The story of the Sekigahara battle was full of ups and downs. No wonder the Japanese in Korea were unintentional after reading this book. They are stubbornly resisting in North Korea and have to rush back home."

"Then "The Death of Toyotomi Hideji" happened earlier, right? Which chapters in this book are better written?"

"Although the second half of the book "The Death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi" is full of fantasy content, the first half clearly analyzes Toyotomi Hideyoshi's entrepreneurial journey, so I read the first half more carefully. As for the second half, , what the ministers remember more deeply is that Toyotomi Hidetsu committed suicide, and his family members were also killed, especially there was a side room that had not passed through the door. Komahime, the daughter of the Japanese prince Yoshimitsu, did not really marry Toyotomi Hidetsu at all. When everyone arrived, they discovered that Toyotomi Hideji was involved in a rebellion, and he was also executed as a member of Toyotomi Hideji's family. According to the book, this Komahime was also a great beauty. I heard that "The Death of Toyotomi Hideji" This book spread to the Japanese country, and Toyotomi Hideji was so frightened that he ran away. If Mogami Yoshimitsu saw this book, he would probably feel resentful towards Toyotomi Hideyoshi."

"Oh? This Zhang Xiao, can he make up a rumor in such detail? Then I really need to take a closer look. But wasn't this story really made up by Zhang Xiao based on the story of Liu Feng and Liu Chan?" The emperor listened. After hearing Chen Ju's words, he became more interested.

The emperor couldn't bear it anymore, so he roared and rushed towards the eldest prince. The eldest prince turned and dodged, and a group of warriors directly held the emperor down.

"Why did you betray me? I have always treated my soldiers well." The emperor asked.

……

"Put these two books here with me first. I will study them carefully."

"The Supreme Emperor, the new emperor is about to ascend the throne. The Supreme Emperor has not obediently written down the imperial edict for the Zen throne. Do you want to die suddenly here?" A military general next to the emperor's eldest son said in a contemptuous tone.

"Father, are you really good to my son? I was finally protected by all the ministers, and then I got the position of prince. Ever since I became the prince, my father, you have never been happy. I feel that my father is born He is humble and unworthy of inheriting the great throne. Unfortunately, my father, you are still too indecisive and do not want to make your son a prince, but you cannot resist the invitation of the ministers, so you have a son. My father, you are too arrogant, thinking that your son will be obedient. I am waiting for you to depose the prince of my son. If you haven’t been in court for so many years, you probably don’t know that the army in the capital has been replaced by my crony.”

At this moment, the emperor suddenly opened his eyes and realized that he was still lying on the bed.

"What have you done? Are you planning to rebel?" the emperor asked in horror.

"Your Majesty, I don't dare to rebel. It was Empress Zheng who wanted to rebel with my good brothers. I have already killed them all." As the eldest son of the emperor said, he ordered his men to come up with plates. , the first plate placed was the head of his beloved concubine. The emperor did not dare to look up at the next few plates, but he felt that the head on the second plate looked particularly like what his third son Chang Xun would look like when he grew up.

The emperor was asleep when he felt the sound of killing and the clash of weapons coming from nearby. The emperor woke up from his dream and saw his eldest son Zhu Changluo wearing a golden helmet and armor, his body stained with blood. The emperor was startled, but looking at Zhu Changluo, he always felt that something was wrong. He originally wanted to reprimand him, but his words changed again: "Chang Luo, why have you grown so big? I remember that you were not so big before. So high."

However, the emperor's anger had not disappeared, so he started shouting again: "Come here, bring up my rebellious son Zhu Changluo."

"Your Majesty, the deposed prince Zhu Changluo has a grudge and has been ordered by your majesty to take his family into custody. The deposed prince will be ordered to commit suicide today, and the deposed prince's family members will all be killed. Has your majesty forgotten?" replied a eunuch leader.

"What are you going to do now?" the emperor roared.

"Your Majesty, the chamberlain feels that Zhang Shidu may have also learned from the story of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but Toyotomi Hidetsu is no better than Liu Feng. Liu Feng is just an adopted son and has no blood relatives with Emperor Zhaolie of the Han Dynasty. Even if Toyotomi Hidetsu is not Toyotomi Hideyoshi's adopted son, who was also Toyotomi Hideyoshi's nephew, also held the position of Guanbai. If Toyotomi Hideji was really killed, the Toyotomi regime would be on the verge of collapse. As long as Toyotomi Hideyoshi dies, the Toyotomi regime will indeed It just fell apart.”

At night, the emperor was sleeping alone. He originally just wanted to have a simple sleep, but he suddenly fell into insomnia for some reason. He simply picked up "The Death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi" on the bedside and read it. After all, it had been several years since the early dynasty. Now that it's open, the emperor doesn't have to worry about waking up early. No one dares to urge the emperor on this matter. Of course, the sleepiness still hit him, and the emperor didn't know when he fell asleep.

"Chen Ju has repeatedly defended the deposed prince and has been exiled by your majesty. What happened to your majesty today?"

"Why do you want to rebel? I treat you badly? Why do you want to kill your mother and concubine, and also kill your brother." The emperor didn't know where he got the courage to roar at his eldest son.

The emperor had not recovered from the shock because he had never seen this eunuch before: "Who are you and where is Chen Ju?"

"Your Majesty has really begun to forget. I am already thirty years old this year. How can I not grow taller? It seems that Your Majesty has never remembered how old I am. It's okay, Your Majesty, you will remember it in the future, because you only I have only one son left," the eldest son of the emperor said with a hearty laugh.

……

"The Emperor is still so funny when he talks. Since ancient times, it has been a natural thing for soldiers to eat food. Your Majesty, you have defaulted on military pay many times, and our soldiers have long been resentful. To take action today, we are already out of consideration for love. The eldest prince has said that if he fails this time If we can ascend the throne, all of us will be promoted to three levels, and we can choose from the six ministers at will." The military commander next to him continued.

"What's wrong with Zhu Changluo? Bring him to me." The emperor ordered.

After hearing the emperor's order, the eunuch leader hurriedly ran out, but after a while, the eunuch leader ran back panting.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the deposed prince has committed suicide by hanging from a beam, and all the deposed prince's family members have also taken poison."

"Take me to have a look." The emperor began to panic at this time. The leader of the eunuchs helped the emperor to the East Palace. When he opened the door and took a look, the scene inside was horrific.

"Luo'er!" The emperor couldn't help shouting.

The whole room was silent, no one answered.

The emperor walked to the main hall and saw a large letter written in blood on the ground. There are only two big words "Unjust" written on it. The red letters on it became more glaring, and the emperor became more and more upset as he looked at it. He wanted to drop the paper, but he couldn't get rid of it. His hands seemed to be stained with smelly blood.

The emperor looked at the silent surroundings, filled with infinite terror in his heart...

"Oh? I was dreaming just now." The emperor suddenly opened his eyes. Everything was fine, but his clothes were soaked with sweat.

"Come here, serve me," the emperor shouted.

Several personal eunuchs and maids rushed in.

"What time is it now?" asked the emperor.

"Your Majesty, it is Yin Shi now."

"It's still so early. Did you hear what I said just now?"

Several eunuchs and maids looked at each other, and an older eunuch said: "Your Majesty, we just heard that you asked us to serve you, but we didn't hear anything else."

"Oh, my quilt is a bit thick. Please change my clothes. I still need to rest." The emperor said.

The emperor naturally lay back down again, but naturally he had no sleep all night.

At noon the next day, when the emperor looked at Chen Ju who was waiting in front of him, he actually had the illusion that he had been apart for a long time.

"Chen Ju, where are the troops aiding the DPRK now?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the army has entered Shanhaiguan and will arrive in Beijing soon."

"This battle was fought well, but unfortunately our army was still a little weak, so we let the main force of Japan break through."

"Yes, after all, the Japanese army raised an army to offend our inner vassal, and now they are able to retreat with all their troops. It is really a bit of a fluke. However, Taira Hideyoshi raised an unjust army and offended our great power. Now there is a major rebellion in the country. It’s your own fault.”

"Yes, I have ordered the cabinet to draft an edict to pacify the Japanese. When the time comes, I will announce it to the world and spread my Ming Dynasty's civil, political and military power to all barbarians."

Outside the Desheng Gate in the capital, the emperor and his civil and military officials were already waiting outside to welcome the army's triumphant return.

"Rusong, you are the first to contribute to the aid of Korea and the war against the Japanese. I told you when you went on the expedition that when you return in triumph, I will give you a lively triumphal ceremony."

"This expedition was successful because the imperial court made good arrangements and all the soldiers served their orders and did not dare to be greedy for the merits of heaven."

"Sure enough, a tiger father has no dog son. All generals in the army have rewards, and your reward must be the most generous. This is what you deserve."

"I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness."

After following the army back to the capital, Zhang Xiao had a solid sleep and didn't go anywhere. He ignored every greeting letter and was busy organizing materials.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Zhang Xiao to receive an order from the palace, asking Zhang Xiao to go to the imperial study room to meet the saint.

"Zhang Xiao, I see that you have become much more radiant after your trip to North Korea. It seems that the courtesy of the North Korean royal court is enough for you."

"The scholar behind Zhang Xiao was able to receive such courtesy from the North Korean court because there was a powerful Ming Dynasty standing behind Wei Chen. When Wei Chen was in North Korea, every time he thought about the vastness of the Ming Dynasty, his heart was filled with endless fighting spirit."

"Okay, okay, if I want to hear something nice, there is someone else who can praise me. I summoned you here today because I still want to ask you something, especially things related to North Korea and the Jianzhou Ministry."

"Whatever your Majesty asks, I should tell you everything I know."

"Some time ago, North Korea went to court and accused Li Rusong of bullying the North Korean royal family. You were ordered to go to North Korea as an envoy. You should have a clear understanding of this matter. What is going on?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Admiral Li marched too fast, and North Korea had no time to supply military supplies, and the information about Japan was also inaccurate. In anger, Admiral Li made some inappropriate remarks to North Korea's Prime Minister Liu Chengyong. At that time, North Korea had Wang Ting had just returned to the country and was in shock. He was a little scared after hearing some of Admiral Li's words. When I arrived in North Korea, Admiral Li and North Korean Liu Chenglong had already apologized to each other. Later, our army and the North Korean army cooperated tacitly on the sea and land battlefields. Otherwise, the Japanese would not have suddenly withdrawn so quickly."

"That being the case, I'm relieved. After this battle, the Japanese should no longer dare to covet North Korea."

"After several battles in Japan, there were tens of thousands of casualties. Although most of the main forces withdrew to Japan in the end, the great prince Tokugawa Ieyasu of Japan is currently raising troops to resist Toyotomi Hideyoshi. They will definitely be involved in the civil war when they return. .So even if the Japanese people have a thief heart, they don’t have the courage to do so.”

"Your strategy is very good. It will make the princes of the Japanese country feel in danger and disorganize themselves."

"If our soldiers hadn't severely damaged the Japanese on the battlefield, and the Japanese wouldn't have had other ideas, my strategies wouldn't have been implemented at all."

"No matter what, your strategy is effective very quickly and the effect is large enough. However, these strategies are all secret and cannot be rewarded as merit. When the time comes, I will add some rewards to you in other names, and you can Don’t worry, I will never forget your contribution.”

"I would like to thank Your Majesty for His grace. When I was in Korea, I convened a group of Korean scribes, collected a number of books and classics, and wrote down the story of the Mongolian Yuan's conquest of Japan and the founding of the Ashikaga Shogunate in Japan. This is a sample book. Your Majesty, please review it." Zhang Xiao patted the two books next to him.

"I have accepted your letter. But apart from the Korean affairs, what else do you know about the Jurchen affairs in Jianzhou? Tell me." The emperor said.

(End of this chapter)