Chapter 1085
Chapter 1085
Chapter 1085
Pan Yun said quietly, "He is a subject of my Great Ming. No matter what he has done, hiding is not a solution. I respect his courage as a rebel, but hiding breeds darkness. While he is hiding, the Dai and Han people who are suffering because of his rebellion are still in the whirlpool. Is he determined to be a rat?"
Pan Yun said calmly, "You should send the person back."
The Lao envoy looked embarrassed and, under the oppressive gaze of the Ming officials, bowed his head and respectfully replied, "Yes."
Laos's decision to take in Sijifa was unexpected; he had been hiding in the Myanmar area.
When the late emperor died in Datong, Sijifa, who was hiding in Burma, immediately organized a force to launch a counterattack back to Luchuan. However, Wang Ji's army pressed in, not only deterring Sijifa from taking action, but also sending an envoy to Malaya to reprimand the Burmese governor.
At this time, the Burma region was divided into three divisions: the Burma Division, the Diwula Division, and the Dagula Division. The three divisions were not peaceful among themselves, and all three divisions submitted to the Ming Dynasty, recognizing the Ming Dynasty as their suzerain state.
The Diwu Cisi and Dagu Cisi were very dissatisfied with the reckless behavior of the Burmese Cisi, so during the period when Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, the three parties had several minor conflicts.
Among them, Da Gu Ci Si reacted fiercely and wanted to kill Si Ji Fa.
In a panic, Sijifa fled to Laos via Siam. The King of Laos, seeing the change of dynasties in the Ming Dynasty, wanted the land south of Chelisi in Yunnan, and disregarded the objections of his ministers to take in Sijifa.
They sent troops to probe, but suffered an initial defeat, being soundly defeated by the young prince of the Mu family in Yunnan.
The king immediately considered backing down, but since the words had already been spoken, he would find it difficult to explain to his ministers if he simply withdrew his troops; moreover, he would be embarrassed to drive away Sijifa.
The two sides remained in this awkward stalemate until the last time the emperor celebrated his birthday, when they took the opportunity to reconcile with the Ming Dynasty, and the matter was thus vaguely resolved.
The border, which had been fraught with conflict, enjoyed a honeymoon period for a time, and the Mu family of Yunnan even opened a border market between the two countries.
In the past two years, for some reason, the Ming Dynasty's military strength has been getting stronger and stronger.
Although they did not fight, both sides had military camps at both ends of the trade route, and they would occasionally visit each other and exchange information.
The morale of the Ming soldiers was improving almost daily, especially last year. Although the soldiers were still the same soldiers, they seemed to have changed drastically.
The Lao king, who had been secretly plotting to seize Chelis and Menggen, naturally sensed the difference and suppressed his intention to take action. Now, he no longer thought about taking action and only wanted to repair the relationship between the two sides.
Therefore, as soon as the letter from the Ming Dynasty was sent to Laos, the King of Laos ordered people to search for treasures among the people and send envoys to the capital.
The envoy received orders to repair relations between the two sides. As long as there was no cession of territory or replacement of the king, the other conditions could be answered with discretion.
Even if the Ming Dynasty demands an increase in annual tribute, that's acceptable.
However, the annual tributes demanded by the Ming Dynasty and these vassal states were always tokens, and they would reciprocate with generous gifts, so they had little impact on Laos.
The other side neither demanded the cession of territory nor the replacement of their king; they only requested the return of the traitor Sijifa.
Yes, we absolutely have to give it to them!
While wiping his sweat, Laotian glanced at the Burmese envoys not far away and muttered to himself, "However, only Sijifa and his thirty-two subordinates are in our country; his family members are not among them."
Pan Yun then looked at the Burmese envoy.
The Ming officials all turned to look at the three Burmese officials, their gazes pressing down on them.
Now it was the turn of the Burmese envoys from all three sides to sweat.
The region of Burma was also constantly at war. At this time, it was divided into three provinces, but they were not completely separated, somewhat similar to the Warring States period in the Central Plains, where the vassal states were related to each other, but were also competitors.
The Burmese have a deeper understanding of the changes in the Ming soldiers, as there have been frequent border conflicts in the past two years.
Why did Zhu Qizhen's campaigns against Luchuan fail to yield results after many years?
The complex terrain of Luchuan, with its dense forests and heavy miasma, is one reason for its problems, but another important reason is the covert support from Myanmar.
Sijifa's family would flee to Burma after each defeat, hide for a year or two, reorganize their army, and launch another counterattack. They were like an unkillable cockroach reborn.
It was precisely Burma's constant attempts to take them in and test them that made Zhu Qizhen determined to suppress the rebellion of Sijifa's family and refuse to accept Sijifa's surrender.
He ascended the throne at a young age and already had little say in the court. With both northern and southern vassal states eyeing him covetously, he desperately needed a war to consolidate his power, demonstrate the might of the Ming Dynasty, and deter his neighbors from easily offending him.
Subsequent events proved that his policies were not entirely wrong. Once the Ming Dynasty weakened or faced a crisis of transition, neighboring countries on all sides looked at it with hawkish eyes.
Japan is separated from us by the East China Sea. Even though the Ming Dynasty changed emperors irregularly, Japan dared to organize a fleet to attack the coast.
Not to mention the northern barbarians and the southwestern vassal states, all of whom wished they could bite a piece of flesh off the Ming Dynasty.
This is the outside, but the inside...
The power struggle within the Ming Dynasty may not have been obvious, but it did exist; it was just hidden in the shadows.
Finally, what was truly unexpected was that Deng Maoqi and his group, who represented the peasant uprising, did not take advantage of the chaos to rise up. Instead, they slowed down their offensive, allowing the court to focus its attention on the defense of the north.
In short, these vassal states may seem very respectful to the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty cannot afford to be weak. If it becomes weak, it will inevitably be attacked by all of them.
Even now, when Joseon is extremely respectful and treats the Ming Dynasty like a second parent, if the Ming Dynasty faces a crisis, their attention will turn to Liaodong, which borders them and has abundant forests, medicinal herbs, and arable land.
Because of their frequent clashes, the Burmese three commanders keenly noticed that last year, the soldiers on the Ming border looked increasingly better, their signs of defeat had vanished, and they exuded an indescribable vitality.
It's like a rice seedling that was originally lacking in soil and water, but was planted in a rocky place and suddenly received water, fine soil and manure. The rice stalks became thick and strong, the leaves stretched out and turned green, and every vein was full of vitality.
The Burmese three officials spent a long time investigating before they learned that the Ming Dynasty had not only made up for their back pay for the past few years, but also allowed them to quickly contact their families. Every day, they could contact their families through something.
Wounded and older soldiers were sent back to their hometowns and put to work in workshops run by the Ministry of War. The money they earned was not only enough to treat themselves, but also to support their families.
In just three short months, the Ming Dynasty's military camps had become a completely different place.
That was the military camp that Sijifa's son, Silufa, felt had no chance of winning.
Their morale was so high, so dazzling.
Therefore, this time the three Burmese officials were particularly obedient. Upon receiving the letter of credence, they immediately sent envoys to come with them.
Seeing everyone's attention on them, the three exchanged glances, stood up, walked to the center of the hall, bowed their heads and kowtowed respectfully, indicating that they would return Sijifa's wife and children to the Ming Dynasty, as well as all the Luchuan people who had fled to Burma.
Pan Jun then raised the corners of his mouth slightly and nodded slightly to the emperor.
Zhu Qiyu, who had been keeping a low profile, immediately praised them for their understanding of righteousness and publicly rewarded the four with wine.
Oh, including the Lao envoys who have already quieted down.
After finishing his drink, Zhu Qiyu was wondering if he should say something to ease the tension when Pan Yun suddenly looked at the Japanese envoy: "And how did you get here?" Everyone looked at the Japanese envoy, and even the Laotian and Burmese group of four, who were still sweating profusely, couldn't help but look at each other with schadenfreude.
The various tribes on the grasslands were also watching the spectacle.
Although they also lost, they lost to the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty dispatched three routes, boasting an army of 600,000 to fight them.
As for Japan, they lost in the Korean War, and I heard that the Ming Dynasty sent 5,000 troops to assist them.
Therefore, although the various tribes of the grasslands lost, they swept the Japanese envoy with a disdainful attitude of the strong.
The vassal states in the southwest, especially Siam and the Le Dynasty, were also frequently harassed by Japanese pirates and were extremely resentful of this Ming Dynasty vassal state that was very far away from them.
Nowadays, many people don't know where Japan is; they just happen to encounter it in the capital when people pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty every now and then.
Many Japanese pirates were heading towards Guangzhou and Quanzhou in the Ming Dynasty. They stayed in the southeastern coastal areas and occupied islands at sea. They then used the islands as bases to move south. Countries such as Luzon, Le Dynasty, and Siam, which are located by the sea, were inevitably harassed by them.
Because it was too far for these countries to travel overland to reach the prosperous Jiangnan, Central Plains and capital of the Ming Dynasty, the sea route was much more convenient.
Since Emperor Yongle Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean, these countries have been accustomed to sending tribute to the Ming Dynasty by sea.
Moreover, these countries, like Japan, were conducting maritime trade with the Ming Dynasty using the tally edicts issued by the Ming court.
It can be said that the reason why the pirates in the Quanzhou area were so serious was largely because ships from these countries would dock at Quanzhou Port before heading to Beijing, and the Japanese pirates would then plunder merchant ships at sea or on land.
Later, they chose Guangzhou Port to avoid danger, and these Japanese pirates followed them to Guangzhou Port like sharks smelling blood.
And it got out of control.
They discovered that it was easier to plunder merchant ships from various countries by going out from Guangzhou Port, but it was not so convenient to transport the treasures back to their own countries.
Moreover, their arrival also stirred up the evil and desires in the hearts of many coastal fishermen, who followed them to sea to become pirates, either by joining the pirates or by establishing their own gangs.
It can be said that at this time there was not much ethnic prejudice and hatred, and a large number of pirates followed the Japanese pirates to live in Japan because the probability of the pirates being wiped out there was very small.
These Han Chinese would marry and have children locally, and the children would either stay in Japan or be sent back to the Ming Dynasty.
Regardless of which side they were on, aside from those who actually accumulated enough funds to leave, the rest basically continued their pirate life with their children.
Moreover, brothers led their brothers, fathers led their sons, and families, clans, and villages all went to sea to become pirates.
Therefore, the people along the coast who suffered greatly from this did not only hate the Japanese pirates, but hated all pirates.
The same applies to the other vassal states.
In fact, they believed that since Japan was also a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, they should all be considered as people of the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming dynasty was unjustly killed.
But today, the envoys of the southwestern vassal states finally felt the difference clearly, and then turned their hatred for the years of plundering by pirates towards Japan.
The Japanese envoy, having anticipated this, calmly replied, "In response to the Grand Preceptor, I have come by sea."
Which port will it dock at?
The Japanese envoy paused for a moment before saying, "Our vassal state of Japan has sent two delegations. I am from the first one, and we landed at Quanzhou. This is Koizumi Taro, who was sent to deliver a letter of apology and landed at Tianjin Port."
Pan Yun sighed softly, "Quanzhou..."
The Japanese envoy broke out in a cold sweat.
The Quanzhou massacre was the root cause of the feud between Japan and Pan Jun.
Pan Yun only sighed softly and did not bring up the matter again. After all, those who know, know; as long as both sides understand, that's enough. She tapped the table lightly with her finger and asked with a smile, "Your Grand General Ashikaga Yoshikatsu is getting old. Has he assumed personal rule?"
The envoy was sweating profusely. He was not the general's man, but the one in charge of Tayama Chikuni.
"The Grand General is not yet an adult and has not yet married, so he has not yet assumed personal rule."
Pan Yun then turned to Zhu Qiyu and said, “The General is not like an ordinary person. Although he is only fourteen years old, he is mature and I think he is ready to get married and take charge of the government. Why don’t Your Majesty grant him a marriage and order him to take charge of the government after he gets married?”
The emperor was taken aback, then leaned forward and asked in a low voice, "Grand Preceptor, whom should be bestowed upon him?"
Pan Jun then asked Cheng Jing to bring him a pen and ink, and wrote down a person's name and birth date and time. He smiled and said, "When I was traveling in Japan, I saw a beautiful woman in the Ōuchi clan. Although it was just a fleeting glance, she had the air of an empress and an extremely noble face. At the time, I didn't know who she was, but now that I think about it, it turns out she was Ashikaga Yoshikatsu. Your Majesty, do you think this is fate?"
Before the emperor could react, the officials below, led by Yu Qian, echoed in unison: "Yes, yes, it really is a match made in heaven."
"The Imperial Preceptor's judgment is naturally correct."
Some people even clasped their hands in a fist and palm salute to the Japanese envoy, saying, "Hahaha, congratulations!"
Of course, congratulations! It's not like she's marrying a woman from the Ming Dynasty. It's more fitting for a Japanese woman to marry a Japanese general.
What's even more interesting is that everyone knows that the Ōuchi clan was once a member of Tayama Mochikuni's faction, but because the previous head of the clan was killed by Pan Yun, the Ōuchi clan lost its territory and reputation and was abandoned by Tayama Mochikuni. The two sides have become enemies and have been fighting fiercely for the past few years, but the Ōuchi clan has been suppressed.
And the pressure was extremely intense.
Thanks to Omori-go's intelligence network, the Ming Dynasty had the most detailed intelligence on Japan among all its vassal states, except for the Oirats and the Tatars.
At this time, arranging a marriage between Ashikaga Yoshikatsu and a woman from the Ōuchi clan was a way to unite the two sides against Tayama Mochikuni. With the covert support of the Ming Dynasty, Ashikaga Yoshikatsu should be able to win as long as he wasn't stupid.
The most intriguing part is what happened next. Even if Ashikaga Yoshikatsu defeated Tayama Mochikuni and seized power with the Ōuchi clan, could he and his wife, who had a blood feud with the Ming Dynasty's Grand Preceptor, live in harmony?
and……
Upon seeing the birth date and time sent down by the emperor, even the usually shameless and pretentious Hu Ying fell silent.
Yu Qian leaned over and glanced at the birth chart, then paused, surprised by the age...
No more, no less, exactly twice the age of Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, fourteen years old.
Yu Qian opened his mouth, but finally said dryly, "A man of talent and a woman of beauty, they are indeed a perfect match."
I wonder how old Ashikaga Yoshikatsu's mother is this year. I've heard that Japanese women tend to marry young. I wonder if the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are the same age?
Wait a minute, judging from her birth date and time, could this woman already be married?
(End of this chapter)