Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 366 The prince is in Japan

Dong Xiaowan has already arrived in Japan.

The boat he built set off a few years ago and arrived in Nagasaki, Japan in about ten days.

This is a traditional route, which was opened up as early as the Tang Dynasty. It departs from the coast of Fujian, Zhejiang, China, and crosses the East China Sea with the help of the monsoon. It is extremely fast, but it only needs a large ship that can withstand wind and waves.

Ten days is not too fast, the fastest time recorded in history is three days!
Dong Xiaowan is naturally very popular in Nagasaki. There are a large number of Chinese businessmen gathered here. Most of them have heard of Dong Xiaowan's fame, so they enthusiastically visit this well-known fellow villager.

Dong Xiaowan also invited many Japanese colleagues according to Yang Chao's request, and handed over some of the Qinhuai River's technology to these geisha, allowing them to spread Chinese Yawen in Japan. Disciple's attitude, ask and learn from Dong Xiaowan.

Dong Xiaowan also sent a lot of high-end fabrics such as brocade to Japanese ladies, which were very popular.

But there is someone more popular than Dong Xiaowan.

That is King Fu!
Fu Wang also went to Japan this time.

Originally, according to Yang Chao's plan, he planned to invite a large number of people to Japan to spread culture, such as a group of extremely pedantic literati who were excellent in learning.

However, Emperor Zhu Cihong rejected Yang Chao's proposal, but he suggested to Yang Chao to send a group of honored children to Japan. He accepted it in a limited way. Go, but agreed to let Fu Wang, the vassal king, go to Japan.

The reason is probably because King Fu used to supervise the country before Zhu Cihong went south, and most of the officials in the court were appointed by King Fu. It would be strange if Zhu Cihong had no doubts, but he dared not move these officials because of the stability of the court situation.

The struggle for imperial power is extremely tragic, often winners and losers. I wish I could kill the grass and roots. It would be very kind to not kill Fu Wang. Sending Fu Wang to Japan to spread popular culture and education is not caring for him.

So there was such a vassal in the fleet to Japan.

King Fu went there in a low spirit, he didn't want to go, the fear brought by the sea to the traditional Ming Dynasty people was deeply rooted, it could almost be said that he was close to death, but he was unable to refuse the emperor's order, even if he had a very good relationship with him Lu Jiude didn't help him either. Not only did he dare not help him, but he advised him to obey the emperor.

Fu Wang did suffer a lot on the road. He was pampered and could not bear the wind and waves in the sea. He vomited and diarrhea as soon as he got on the boat, and half his life died when he arrived in Japan.

But when he arrived in Japan, Fukuo suddenly felt at ease.

Another reason why he didn't want to come to Japan is that this is the country of Japanese pirates.

But when I arrived in Japan, I found out that the Japanese country is not so scary. On the contrary, the scenery here is also unique.

The most important thing is the attitude of the Japanese pirates towards him, which made him relive the feeling when he was a prisoner.

The King of Fu Zhu Yousong came to Japan with the letter of credence. There were a large number of courtiers who opposed it. They thought it was unnecessary to send envoys to Japan. Agree, I think that a country like the Wa country is not worthy of Ming Dynasty to promote its national prestige.

But the emperor's attitude was very firm. This was a political struggle. For the purpose of crowding out a competitor, Zhu Cihong would not compromise. It has to be said that he had already begun to enter the state of an emperor.

So in the end, there was only one vassal king and one famous prostitute, and they came to Japan miserably with a letter of credence that said they hoped that the two countries would be friendly for generations.

King Fu was in a bad mood at first, but he was a majestic vassal king, but he was reduced to going to Japan, how could he be in a good mood.

Therefore, at the beginning when he handed over his credentials and met with Japanese officials, his attitude was extremely arrogant, putting on airs like a playboy, but Zhu Yousong soon discovered that the more arrogant he was, the more humble the Japanese would be.

For the Japanese, Zhu Yousong's visit to Japan was an epoch-making event. Since ancient times, no Chinese vassal king has ever visited Japan. This is of great political significance.

The Japanese have done such self-deceiving things. For example, when a merchant ship from a small country in Southeast Asia comes to Japan, they will immediately declare that they are here to pay tribute, and give a symbolic reward, so that the ship owner can meet their general. Most of the ship owners they encountered were Chinese, not enough to hold the credentials of Burma or Siam, but their power actually belonged to Zheng Zhilong.

In this way, Japan obtained "tributes" from North Korea, Ryukyu, Vietnam, Cambodia, Siam and Burma, but that was fake after all, the Japanese knew it clearly, and it was just an ordinary envoy from the other party, but that's all. The next time was a Daming vassal king, which is too prestigious to say it.

On the first day Fukuo arrived in Nagasaki, the whole of Nagasaki was shaken. The local officials didn't know how to receive this vassal, arranged the best room for him, sent him the best beauties, and then reported to the shogunate overnight.

On the third day, the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu sent Sakai Tadakatsu, the third-generation important official of the Tokugawa family. This person is the elder of the Tokugawa shogunate. He is second only to the general in status, and is equivalent to the emperor's prime minister. Of course, the shogun is not the emperor. , but he is the real power holder, so Sakai Tadakatsu is equivalent to the prime minister, the most important minister of the shogunate.

Tadakatsu Sakai immediately paid a visit to King Fu, with a very humble attitude, and brought a letter from the shogunate, as well as the emperor's letter of credence, and expressed his willingness to be friendly with the Ming Dynasty for generations.

Fukuo made a show and rewarded Tadakatsu Sakai with a few bolts of silk and satin. Sakai immediately thanked him, and also sent a large number of gifts from the shogunate and the emperor to Fukuo, and invited Fukuo to Hirado (Tokyo) as a guest.

So Fukuo traveled all the way from Nagasaki to Tokyo in a small Japanese sedan chair for two people with a grand reliance.

The road was not so peaceful. Sakai Tadakatsu took Fu Wang to stay overnight in the homes of various famous people along the way.

The opposite of politicians like Sakai Tadakatsu is very simple, that is, to promote the legitimacy of the shogunate. After all, the shogunate is not the emperor, but it steals the greatest power and subdues all the big names by force. But these people may not be convinced, let them see now , Come to the Ming Dynasty and send vassals to interact with the shogunate, how dare you disobey the rule of the shogunate?
So it's a political act.

But it was different for King Fu. He saw that the famous lords offered beauties and treasures one after another, and it felt good.

I even endured the discomfort of sitting in a rough Japanese sedan chair along the way.

When they finally arrived in Hirado, the shogunate sent a large number of samurai [-] miles out of the city to meet them. They also sent senior middlemen with civil officials ten miles away to meet them. Tokugawa Iemitsu greeted them at the gate of the city.

In the General's Mansion, the Japanese held a grand banquet to welcome them, and even tried their best to invite the Dutch to accompany them, which was actually showing off.

But Fu Wang did not give the Japanese face. The Japanese sent an old Noh artist to play the piano for Fu Wang. Although Zhu Yousong was ignorant, and although he was not good at poetry and poetry, his ability to play was first-rate. He listened impatiently. After the old artist performed the boring ancient music from China, he pointed out on the spot that the old artist made several pitch mistakes.

This old artist is a master-level entertainer in Japan. His disciples and grandchildren are all over Japan. Ordinary people can't invite them. This time, he was a little nervous to play for the vassal king from Ming Dynasty. In addition to his age, there were only a few mistakes and omissions, which were pointed out on the spot. After coming here, he was very annoyed, and burned the qin after returning home, saying that he would never play the qin again.

There were also Japanese warriors performing sword dances at the banquet, and several soldiers sent by Yang Chao to protect Dong Xiaowan were so eager for skills that they even asked for a sparring session with the Japanese. Samurai contest.

The result made them very frustrated, and they lost more than they won.

The few Japanese who lost respectfully presented their sabers to their opponents, and Yang Chao's soldiers proudly accepted them.

Seeing this, those who failed also gave their single swords to their opponents. At the same time, they did not forget to say "this sword was stained with barbarian blood" and immediately won the respect of the Japanese. They bowed and said that they must wipe it every day to prevent it from being stained dust.

The result of the contest really hit the hundred soldiers. These are the most elite soldiers under Yang Chao's command. Facing the Japanese samurai, several people were defeated, and these guys who usually have their nostrils turned upside down were hit hard.

In fact, they don't need to be inferior, this is not a contest in the same sense at all.

These Japanese are also masters selected from all over the country, and all of them have received strict Bushido training since they were five years old. All of them are masters of swordsmanship, immersed in cultivation all day long, and their fighting skills have long been perfected .

However, Yang Chao's soldiers were all half-way monks. If it weren't for their rich practical experience, it is estimated that none of them could win. Those who won did not win in technology, but in experience.

The opponents of these Japanese samurai should be Shaolin monks. Unfortunately, Yang Chao didn't know that this kind of thing would happen, otherwise he might invite a group of monks from Southern Shaolin to exchange ideas.

Although they are not good in fighting, if they are pulled on the battlefield, Yang Chao's soldiers will definitely overwhelm the Japanese samurai, just like the peasants trained by Qi Jiguang back then held bamboo wolves and chased out Japanese pirates everywhere.

After the fighting, the banquet came to an end.

Fu Wang said something to the Japanese: "Gu Wang thought that the Japanese country was a country of foreign culture, but today I saw that the Japanese country also has a Chinese style, and it can be called a country of etiquette!"

Fu Wang was just being polite to the Japanese. After receiving so many beauties from people, he naturally felt that the Japanese were very polite, but the Japanese were overjoyed when they heard it. The general immediately asked the historian to record it, and the historian wrote it down with a trembling pen. On a certain day in a certain year, a certain month, Daming Fukuo praised Japan for having a Chinese style and being a country of etiquette. Of course, he used the spring and autumn brushwork to conceal the words of the Japanese country and the foreign country.

After a few days of luxurious and lustful life in Hirado, the Japanese invited Fukuo to meet the emperor in Kyoto.

At this time, the Japanese had already figured out the details of King Fu, and confirmed that this was indeed a vassal king of the Ming Dynasty, and the vassal king with an extremely important status was the grandson of Emperor Wanli, the cousin of Emperor Chongzhen, and the cousin of the current emperor. Uncle, and almost sat on the emperor's seat.

The Japanese were very satisfied that Ming sent a vassal of this status.

So there were some changes in Kyoto. Tokugawa Iemitsu expressed through the emperor's mouth that he hoped to marry a daughter to Fu Wang, and Fu Wang became the son-in-law of the shogun.

The trip to Japan made Fu Wang very satisfied both physically and mentally. In the end, he was so happy that he didn't even want to go back to China.

But the happy days were short-lived. In early February, the whole fleet returned to sail.

(End of this chapter)