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"Let him in," Zhao Han said.

A merchant dressed in silk was soon brought in for an audience. Resisting the urge to kneel down, he cupped his hands and said, "Grassman Lin Wenyuan, pay homage to Your Majesty!"

"Give a seat."

Zhao Han smiled kindly: "According to the official report from Fujian, it is said that you are working as a liaison for the Japanese shogun?"

Lin Wenyuan replied: "Your Majesty, the Japanese shogunate closed the country, mainly blocking the big and small Francophones (Portugal, Spain). They always wanted to open sea trade with China, but they had an affair with Ming Dynasty because of the Japanese invasion. Today I heard that Ming Dynasty His Majesty has established a new dynasty, so he has plans to open the sea to China. However, Japan dare not send envoys rashly, and wants to make contact through Fujian maritime merchants."

Zhao Han asked, "Have you been doing business with Japan?"

Lin Wenyuan replied: "There is a city in Japan called Nagasaki. Nagasaki also has an island called Dejima. Chinese and Dutch merchants can only live and trade in Deshima, and they have to pay taxes to Nagasaki every year. It's similar... Macau is to Ming Dynasty."

Zhao Han's knowledge of world history was a bit lacking, and he asked, "Why did the Japanese shogunate close the country?"

Lin Wenyuan replied: "Religious chaos!"

"Religion chaos? Western Christianity?" Zhao Han was surprised.

Lin Wenyuan explained: "Especially because of the old Christianity, Spain and Portugal had prosperous trade with Japan. Christianity churches were built in many places along the coast of Japan, and the number of Christianity reached more than [-]. He was also the lord of various places. Cruel and inhumane, the people's life is miserable, some believers united with the peasants to revolt. In the eyes of the Japanese shogunate, the Western Christianity, just like the Chinese White Lotus Sect, is a sect that confuses the people to rebel!"

Zhao Han couldn't help smiling: "That's interesting."

Lin Wenyuan continued: "Four years ago, a 16-year-old boy named Amakusa Shiro led some homeless ronin and tens of thousands of civilians to revolt. Among the [-] rebels, not only were most of them peasants, but two-thirds They are old, weak, women and children. The famous Japanese general Itakura Shigemasa summoned soldiers and horses of several feudal lords to launch a fierce attack on Amakusa Shiro’s rebel army. The shogunate army suffered heavy casualties, and the commander Itakura Shigemasa was killed in battle.”

"So powerful?" Zhao Han was even more surprised. He knew Amakusa Shiro and had come into contact with it in Japanese games.

I don't know if the famous saying of Amakusa Shiro is true or not: Those who stick to this city now will be friends forever in the next life!

Lin Wenyuan said: "The shogunate sent a second commander, and also sent more troops to conquer, and dispatched more than a dozen feudal lords to form a coalition army. But they still couldn't break through the city of the rebel army, so they had to besiege the city and block it, trying to starve the rebel army to death."

Zhao Han asked, "Did you starve to death?"

Lin Wenyuan said: "Amakusa Shiro is a Christian believer. He sent people to break out and contact the Dutch, hoping to get the support of the Dutch. But he didn't know that he believed in the old religion, while the Netherlands believed in the Protestant religion. Instead of rescue, the Netherlands Send out the fleet to bombard the rebels."

"That's the truth." Zhao Han nodded.

Lin Wenyuan said: "More than 3 rebels fought to the death, and only [-] remained. The shogunate army killed [-] and injured tens of thousands. After breaking the city, they slaughtered all the living rebels. Since then, Japan has Close the country and cut off trade with Spain and Portugal. The shogunate ordered all churches to be destroyed, and if anyone who believed in Western religion was found, they would be arrested and sentenced to death."

Zhao Han sighed: "Officials force the people to rebel. This is the case in ancient and modern China and abroad. It's a pity that Shiro Amakusa has such courage at the age of 16, and can make tens of thousands of volunteers swear to die."

Lin Wenyuan said: "Your Majesty, the Japanese shogunate vaguely proposed conditions. As long as Your Majesty approves of the shogunate rule, Japan is willing to respect Datong China as its suzerain, and all Japanese seaports are open to Chinese merchants."

Zhao Han nodded and said: "Go back and tell the shogunate that the grievances between them and Ming Dynasty are never to be blamed. As long as I promise not to cause Japanese chaos again, I can send envoys to Nanjing. After I receive the Japanese letter of credence, I will also send envoys to Canonize the king of Japan."

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

Lin Wenyuan was overjoyed. Once Japan opened its ports, Chinese merchants would do their own business—the Netherlands could only trade on Dejima in Nagasaki.

Chapter 460 [Fudge on both sides]

Fuzhou, Fujian.

Chen Ji, the son of a sea merchant, greeted Lin Wenyuan to disembark at the pier, and asked in a low voice, "Brother Kuidou, how is Nanjing?"

Lin Wenyuan said excitedly: "It's done, His Majesty really supports Haimao."

"That's good, that's good!" Chen Ji clenched his fists.

Japan's Tokugawa shogunate will never fully open its seaports to China.It is absolutely impossible for the shogunate Tokugawa Iemitsu to contact the Nanjing court on his own initiative.

Lin Wenyuan, or in other words, the Fujian maritime merchant who pushed Lin Wenyuan to do things, is bold and fooling around!

They first reached a consensus with Matsudaira Nobutsuna that Matsudaira Nobuzuna will take care of the Tokugawa shogunate, and Fujian Mariners will go to Nanjing to take care of Zhao Han.

If the Tokugawa shogunate is compared to the imperial court, then Nobuzuna Matsudaira is similar to the prime minister of the shogunate.

Behind Matsudaira Nobutsuna, there are still many pro-shogunate feudal lords, as well as Confucianism and Shintoism forces in Japan.

The rebellion caused by Amakusa Shiro was not completely subsided until this year!

Amakusa Shiro was just the beginning. Due to the poor suppression performance of the shogunate army, a large number of local lords who did not believe in Christianity also joined the war against the shogunate rule one after another. Almost all the feudal lords in Kyushu were fighting for independence.

Last year, the shogunate mobilized an army of 22, and the troops were divided into two groups to attack Kyushu, assisted by the Dutch fleet. The main combat target was the rebel forces of the Shimadzu domain.

By the end of the year, almost all of Kyushu's daimyos had been wiped out.

After learning from the pain, Tokugawa Iemitsu decided to change his ruling policy and ordered Matsudaira Nobutsuna to take the lead in researching policies with scholars.

Knowing Zhao Han's attitude, the Fujian maritime merchants immediately sailed to Japan on a sea ship and passed the news to Matsudaira Nobutsuna.

Matsudaira Nobutsuna then met Tokugawa Iemitsu and bowed to present a reform plan.

Tokugawa Iemitsu did not read through it himself, but asked, "Tell me about the main ones."

Matsudaira Nobuta replied: "It is impossible to completely close the country. In the previous battle, the Shimadzu Army had a large number of Western-style artillery, and the firepower was even more fierce than that of the Shogunate Army. Therefore, after collective discussion among the Shogunate ministers, they believed that Set up a trade zone. Foreign businessmen are not allowed to trade with local daimyo, but they can trade with the shogunate."

This policy of opening up a large number of ports has been successfully passed in history, but it was rejected after a period of implementation.

Japan is closed to the outside world, and religious chaos is only one of the reasons.

In the early days of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule, the feudal vassals were encouraged to open ports for trade, the reason being that it could enhance Japan's strength.Gradually, the shoguns discovered that sea trade had strengthened the power of the vassals, which was not conducive to centralized rule.

Therefore, a semi-trade port was established in Nagasaki, the territory directly under the shogunate.

Chinese and Dutch merchants are only allowed to trade with the shogunate, not with vassals everywhere!

In Tokugawa Iemitsu's later years, the country was locked up, opened up, locked down again, and the policy was changed repeatedly. Everything was based on maintaining the rule of the shogunate.

Tokugawa Iemitsu was noncommittal and asked, "What else?"

Matsudaira Nobuta continued: "The reasons for the rebellion between daimyo and civilians are very complicated. Ministers and scholars believe that they should be educated. You can learn from China's experience and set up schools in the local area. The shogunate should provide money for the schools so that The samurai received education from an early age, knew the truth of loyalty to the emperor, and knew the truth of supporting the shogunate. In addition to using Confucianism to deal with Western religions, they also need to use Japanese Shinto to deal with Western religions. Some schools can be merged with shrines, and Confucianism and Shinto can be integrated. Destroyed by red hair Buddhist temples, the original population of the temple, marriage registration, these rights and responsibilities can be transferred to the shrine."

Tokugawa Iemitsu finally cheered up: "This method is very good."

This is how Bushido thought was formed!

Matsudaira Nobuzuna also said: "The entire Kyushu no longer has daimyo. In the future, Kyushu will be directly under the jurisdiction of the shogunate, and the shogunate will select officials to serve in Kyushu."

Tokugawa Iemitsu became more and more satisfied: "You are all the pillars of the country, and you can formulate very good national policies."

Matsudaira Nobuzuna continued: "China's Ming court has been wiped out by the rebels..."

"What? Is such a powerful Ming Dynasty also destroyed? Who is the new Chinese emperor?" Tokugawa Iemitsu was shocked. This was the first time he had heard of it.

Nobuzuna Matsudaira replied: "In the new China, there are three emperors. One is the Datong Emperor Zhao Han, the second is the Dashun Emperor Li Zicheng, and the third is the Qing Emperor Fulin. In fact, there are two more, both of whom are the Ming clan who fled. One has been destroyed, and the other is in Yunnan."

Tokugawa Iemitsu said with emotion: "China has entered the Three Kingdoms era again. Tell me about these emperors."

Matsudaira Nobuta said in detail: "The Emperor of Datong, Zhao Han, has his capital in Nanjing, China. He is the most powerful and owns the most affluent province in China. The Emperor of Dashun, Li Zicheng, made his capital in Taiyuan, China, and it was he who overthrew the Ming Dynasty. Li Zicheng led the army Invaded Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen of Ming Dynasty hanged himself..."

"Li Zicheng is very bad," Tokugawa Iemitsu interrupted, "As a citizen, you should not betray your own emperor."

Matsudaira Nobuta also said: "Fulin, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, made his capital in Shenyang, China. They were Houjin barbarians, a group of uneducated savages, but they were said to be very brave in battle. After Li Zicheng destroyed Ming Dynasty, Houjin barbarians quickly sent troops and almost killed them. Li Zicheng is eliminated."

"Wait a minute," Tokugawa Iemitsu asked in confusion, "Why is no one setting their capital in Beijing, China?"

Nobuzuna Matsudaira explained: "The post-Jin barbarians once made their capital in Beijing, but they were defeated by the Datong Emperor in Nanjing and returned to Liaodong with their population and food. Even the king of Korea is now a vassal to the Post-Jin barbarians."

Tokugawa Iemitsu shook his head and said, "It's not good, it's not good. Li Zicheng who betrayed the emperor is not good, and neither is the uncivilized barbarian. If anyone can unify China, it must be the Datong Emperor. What is the name of the Datong Emperor?"

Matsudaira Nobuzuna said: "It's called Zhao Han, and I heard that he is a descendant of the royal family of the Song Dynasty."

Tokugawa Iemitsu praised: "Only a descendant of the royal family can truly be the emperor. How did he grow strong?"

Matsudaira Nobuzuna said: "Natural disasters happened in successive years in the Ming Dynasty. Zhao Han's family starved to death. There were only three brothers and sisters left, and the eldest sister was also sold. Zhao Han and his younger sister begged to the south and became slaves to a Confucian scholar. He was very intelligent. He was more than ten years old. He was admitted as a scholar, and he could have been an official. People from the same village were very jealous of Zhao Han's talent and learning, so they colluded with the county magistrate's staff to frame him, and lured him to the county government to kill him."

This is already similar to a legendary story. Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly became more interested and asked, "How did he escape?"

Matsudaira Nobuzuna said: "Although this intelligent Emperor Datong was only a young man at the time, he already knew the enemy's tricks. He did not choose to run for his life. Instead, he carried a long gun and went to the county government alone to question his staff. The magistrate's staff colluded County government officials, hundreds of people besieged him, but the Datong Emperor was a unparalleled general, he killed all the enemies with a gun, and then burned the county government, and then fled to another country.”

"A real hero!" Tokugawa Iemitsu praised.

Tokugawa Iemitsu, who grew up with a golden key in his mouth, has never experienced the hardships of the people.At the same time, he is ambitious, ruthless, and dictatorial with an iron fist, and a little faint in his later years.I insist on making a metaphor, similar to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in China (only in terms of character and means).

Nobuzuna Matsudaira continued: "Emperor Datong was wandering in other lands, and greedy officials and landlords made it impossible for him to make a living. So he took some ronin warriors and raised troops in Jiangxi, China. To this day, Emperor Datong has never fought He lost the battle, and he wiped out tens of thousands of enemy troops. It is said that he now has 10 troops and will be able to unify China in the next few years. Moreover, the Emperor Datong and the Nanman have fought several times. He is just like us, They are all restricting the spread of Western religion."

The Nanban referred to by the Japanese refers to the European colonists.

Tokugawa Iemitsu asked, "Are there many Western Christians in China?"

Matsudaira Nobutsuna said: "Compared to Japan, it is only a lot more."

Iemitsu Tokugawa slapped his knees: "Western religions are indeed a serious problem for my confidants in the East. Emperor Datong did the right thing. Western religions should not only be restricted, but should also be expelled and exterminated!"

Matsudaira Nobutsuna said: "According to the news from the Chinese businessman, the Emperor of Datong admired the general's demeanor very much."

Tokugawa Iemitsu suddenly stared into Matsudaira Nobuzuna's eyes, and said with a playful smile, "Emperor Datong has also heard of this general?"

"Of course I've heard of it," Matsudaira Nobutsuna said flatteringly, "The general's literary and martial arts have long surpassed those of his predecessors, and they have already spread to China and North Korea."

Tokugawa Iemitsu was dubious about this, but he was unavoidably complacent and had a cheerful smile on his face.

Matsudaira Nobuzuna took the opportunity to say: "Emperor Datong of China wants to restore diplomatic relations with Japan. The grievances between Japan and Ming Dynasty have nothing to do with Emperor Datong. General, Emperor Datong will soon unify China. It is also extremely beneficial. In the future, if troubles arise in the Nanban, the shogunate and China can join forces to deal with the Nanban."

Tokugawa Iemitsu remained silent, thinking about the pros and cons of this matter.

Matsudaira Nobuzuna also said: "The daimyo rebelled against the common people, and some people shouted the slogan of respecting the king. You can ask the Chinese emperor to grant the seal of the Japanese king, and then the seal of the shogun. In this way, the rule of the shogunate will be more justified."

Tokugawa Iemitsu sneered: "Are you going to ask me to submit to the Emperor of Datong?"

Matsudaira Nobuzuna said: "China has always been the suzerain. There is nothing wrong with this, and it will not affect the prestige of the general. China is as big as ten Japan, and its population is as large as ten Japan. Being friendly with China will only make the The shogunate is more stable. You can first send envoys to China to contact the Emperor of Datong. As a gesture of goodwill, you can open a few ports to Chinese businessmen first.”

This suggestion represents the interests of many people.

Daimyo who are close to the shogunate, officials of the shogunate, Japanese Confucian scholars, and those Chinese maritime merchants.They connected with each other and planned together for a long time, nothing more than fooling Zhao Han and Tokugawa Iemitsu to expand trade.

As for Japanese Shintoism, it is still relatively weak at this time, and needs to be integrated and developed together with Japanese Confucian scholars.

It was the religious chaos in recent years that led to the decline of Buddhist power in Japan.

Especially in the coastal areas, Christians burned down a large number of temples - Shinto shrines, because they had little incense and little influence, and even the rebel Christians didn't bother to burn them.

After careful consideration, Tokugawa Iemitsu said, "Send an envoy to Nanjing first."

Chapter 461 [Japanese Mission]

The Tokugawa shogunate really intends to directly govern Kyushu, just like opening a large number of ports after closing the door.

But it is one thing to want to do it, another thing to be able to do it, and another thing to do it.

The first step is naturally to cut down the vassals. For example, small vassal lords such as Tangjin Fan were eliminated.

Some feudal lords are lobbying in series everywhere, naturally to organize Tokugawa Iemitsu.

Tokugawa Iemitsu finally gave up directly governing Kyushu. In addition to too much local resistance, another reason is that the "Kan'ei Great Famine" has begun.

Amakusa Shiro's rebellion was able to attract a large number of farmers precisely because of the famine in Japan.

And just this year, a bigger famine broke out, and it will continue for several years. This is the Kanei famine in Japan.Facing the famine, Tokugawa Iemitsu, who had always advocated dictatorship, could only be forced to loosen his control over the local area, and the Karatsu domain, which was brought under the direct control of the shogunate, was also re-partitioned.

In the Little Ice Age, no one will get better.

There was famine in Ming Dynasty, famine in Europe, and famine in Japan.

The Tokugawa shogunate has even decided to promulgate a decree in the first month of next year: prohibiting the sale of land across the country and prohibiting the separation of farmers with less than ten people, so as to protect farmers and agricultural production.

In the first month of the new year, before the Spring Festival, Lin Luoshan led a delegation to visit China.

Lin Luoshan is Japan's "Emperor Teacher", who has educated two shoguns in succession, and is already educating the third and fourth generations.

Throughout the Edo period, the ideological system constructed by Lin Luoshan was the main idea of ​​Japanese society, and it was not abandoned until the Meiji Restoration.

This person is a crazy supporter of Zhu Xi, while criticizing Lu Wang's Xinxue, while absorbing Xinxue's thoughts.He fused psychology with Neo-Confucianism, and Neo-Confucianism with Shinto, redefining Japanese Shintoism.He also advocated the rejection of Buddhism and the expulsion of Christianity, making Shintoism the official religion of Japan.

This time the Tokugawa shogunate set up a government school, and the entire plan came from Lin Luoshan!

According to tradition, the leading envoy of a mission sent by Japan to China must be a Buddhist monk.But Lin Luoshan hated monks very much. Not only were most of the members of the envoys Confucianists, but also no monks were brought along.

From Edo to Nagasaki, and from Nagasaki to Ryukyu by boat, Lin Luoshan came to Fuzhou.

Looking at the huge city of Fuzhou and witnessing the bustling port, Lin Luoshan not only sighed: "This is the true kingdom of heaven!"

Resting in Fuzhou for three days, Lin Luoshan took a boat to Ningbo again.Encountering a patrol by the Fuzhou Navy on the way, Lin Luoshan said: "The giant ship is not inferior to the Nanban (Netherlands), and it must not be defeated."

All the way to Shanghai, they were finally received by local officials and sent a boat to take them to Nanjing.

When Lin Luoshan disembarked in Nanjing, he was numb by the shock along the way.He was arranged to go to the foreign ambassador's hotel. After staying in the hotel, he couldn't calm down and asked the guards around him: "What did you see?"

The bodyguard is called Yagyu Jubingwei, and his father, Yagyu Sokichi, is the intelligence chief of the shogunate.

Yagyu Juhei was only 13 years old, and he had already become Tokugawa Iemitsu's attendant.After becoming an adult, he was sent to various places to monitor and inquire about the words and deeds of the local daimyo, and belonged to Tokugawa Iemitsu's absolute confidant.

"Sir, I saw prosperity." Yagyu Juhei replied.