My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 154: Southern Dynasty's Ambition

Zhu Yuanzhang was fully prepared for Japan to send envoys to the Ming Dynasty, but what he did not expect was that the envoys were sent by the Southern Dynasty court ruled by Dajue Temple.

Before he began to communicate with Li Han, he did not have a complete understanding of the political situation of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. As a result, he had always mistakenly believed that Japan had a "good king" who could be recognized by all the people and all forces.

In the second year of Hongwu, he sent envoy Yang Zai and others to Japan to present a letter to "King Lianghuai of Japan", asking him to stop the Japanese pirates from invading the Ming Dynasty's sea borders and let them pay tribute. However, "King Lianghuai" killed five people in the delegation and detained envoy Yang Zai for three months.

At that time, although Zhu Yuanzhang was furious about the killing and detention of envoys by the small country of Japanese pirates, he could only swallow his anger due to the vast ocean between the Ming Dynasty and Japan and the lessons learned from the Yuan Dynasty's three expeditions to Japan.

In the third year of Hongwu, because the Japanese pirates were so rampant, he had no choice but to send envoys again to try to resolve the Japanese rebellion through diplomatic means. Surprisingly, "King Lianghuai" readily agreed and pledged loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and paid tribute.

Just when he thought that the Japanese pirates had come to an end, he unexpectedly found that they became more and more rampant, so that he had to repeatedly strengthen the maritime ban and eventually severed the tributary relationship with Japan.

After corresponding with Li Han, he finally understood that the "King Lianghuai of Japan" was actually Prince Huailiang of the Southern Dynasty, and that Prince Huailiang had retired in the fourth year of Hongwu. The so-called "King Lianghuai" who subsequently contacted the Ming Dynasty was either an impostor from the Southern Dynasty or the Northern Dynasty.

The reason why the Japanese pirates continued to exist was that they were fooled by the Northern and Southern Dynasties!

Now that the Ming Dynasty is growing stronger and stronger, and after completely wiping out the Japanese pirates along the coast, the Northern and Southern Dynasties have also witnessed the power of the Ming Dynasty. These guys who fear power but not morality naturally hope to re-establish relations with the Ming Dynasty to show that they are the orthodox Japan.

This can be seen from the so-called letter of credence presented by the envoys of the Southern Dynasty.

The letter stated that the current Emperor Go-Murakami of the Southern Dynasty was a descendant of the 90th Emperor, Emperor Kameyama, and possessed the three sacred treasures handed down from generation to generation in the royal family. He was the legitimate emperor and was willing to accept the title bestowed by the Ming Dynasty, become a tributary state, and maintain friendly trade with the Ming Dynasty for generations.

After reading it, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed with disdain. When these uncivilized Japanese heard that the Ming Dynasty lifted the maritime ban and developed maritime trade, they rushed over like jackals smelling blood.

Trade is indeed a good thing!
However, these Japanese were eyeing the profits of the Ming Dynasty. What they didn’t expect was that the real money in their own country had been closely watched by the Ming Dynasty!
At the same time, the letter also wrote that the Japanese pirates all came from Shikoku and Hiroshima, which were ruled by the Muromachi shogunate.

The implication was that the Japanese pirates' harm to the Ming territory was entirely the Northern Dynasties' responsibility, and Zhu Yuanzhang scoffed at this.

He naturally knew that the Japanese pirates came from all over Japan, and both the Southern and Northern Dynasties were involved!

The letter was presented by an official from the Honglu Temple. He had no intention of meeting the envoys from the Southern Dynasty, at least not yet. He was waiting, waiting for the envoys from the Northern Dynasty.

As for the envoys from the Southern Dynasty, they submitted petitions every day requesting an audience with the emperor, but he dismissed them all on the grounds that he was busy with affairs. He then let the group of scholars from the Honglu Temple negotiate with the envoys.

Sure enough, a few days later, the envoys from the Northern Dynasty also arrived in Yingtian Prefecture and presented a letter of credence.

After reading the letter, Zhu Yuanzhang despised Japan even more. It is true that birds of a feather flock together. The letters from the two dynasties were almost identical.

Similarly, the Northern Dynasty declared itself the orthodox one in its letter to the emperor and also blamed the Southern Dynasty for the Japanese invasion.

After the envoys from the Northern Dynasty arrived, he was not in a hurry to meet them, but handed them all over to the Honglu Temple to be dealt with. This made the envoys from the two dynasties feel nervous and uneasy. They could only continue to write letters every day, begging for an audience with the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

In order to show its sincerity, the Southern Dynasty sent a delegation of several people headed by the Grand Minister of State and assisted by the left and right ministers. At this time, in the Huitong Hall in Yingtian Prefecture, the Left Minister Ono Hideyo was pacing back and forth in the room, while the Grand Minister of State Sugawara Tadatsugu beside him was also restless.

I just sent off the junior official of the Honglu Temple. Although Ono Hideyo repeatedly expressed his wish to meet the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the junior official still told me not to worry, saying that the Emperor was busy with official duties and would summon him when the time came. But how could I not worry? Now the Northern Dynasty delegation has also arrived, and it is obvious that they are also here for the royal orthodoxy.

Ono Hideyo knew very well that as long as Emperor Go-Murakami of the Southern Dynasty was enthroned by the Ming Dynasty, his legal status would be unshakable!

Moreover, obtaining the title from the Ming Dynasty and re-establishing the tribute system would allow the Southern Dynasty to obtain the qualifications to trade with the Ming Dynasty, which would mean that the Southern Dynasty would obtain an endless supply of wealth.

With wealth, military strength can be expanded, and then even the powerful Muromachi shogunate will have to submit to the Southern Dynasty.

But the Muromachi shogunate also understood this principle, otherwise it would not have hurriedly sent an envoy after its own envoy to the Ming Dynasty.

Fortunately, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not summon himself, nor did he summon the Northern Dynasty delegation.

Therefore, who will be the first to see the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has become the key among the keys!

"Lord Sugawara, why has the Emperor of Ming Dynasty still refused to summon us after so many days? Although Ming Dynasty is powerful, it is too arrogant!"

Ono Hideyo couldn't help complaining to Sugawara Chuji.

"Shut up! How can the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty allow you to have your say?"

Sugawara Tadatsugu scolded the Left Minister, but his eyes were full of resentment.

It's not just hatred towards the Ming Dynasty, but hatred towards the Muromachi shogunate. If it weren't for those damn ronin causing Japanese rebellion in the Ming Dynasty, I would have been summoned long ago!
It is more likely that the Muromachi shogunate's delegation will put the blame on the Southern Dynasty.

How hateful that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty used the ronin from Shikoku and other places who were kept by the Muromachi shogunate to punish himself!

"Mr. Ono, there is an old saying in the Ming Dynasty that a little impatience will ruin a great plan. Now we have a request from the Ming Dynasty, so we can only continue to be patient."

"Lord Sugawara has taught us that the Ming Dynasty is strong now, and we can only show weakness. I have heard that the Ming Dynasty's muskets are extremely sharp, and the ships that can sail without sails are even more amazing. If the Ming Dynasty can teach us these skills, the Muromachi shogunate of the Northern Dynasty will kneel down at our feet!"

Ono Hideyo's eyes were filled with endless greed. "With our wisdom, after acquiring the skills, we will definitely be able to build better muskets and ships than the Ming Dynasty. By then, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty will also surrender to us obediently!"

"That's right. The Central Plains has a lot of fertile land, and Jiangnan is the richest place in the world. In the future, all of these will belong to us!"

Sugawara Tadatsugu said viciously: "Therefore, we must be patient now and must be the first to see the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and complete our mission. When the time comes, we will definitely make the Ming Dynasty pay back this humiliation twice as much!"

The same conversation also took place in the residence of the Northern Dynasty delegation. Everyone in the delegation was racking their brains to think about how to be the first to see the emperor.

The envoys from the two dynasties continued to write to Zhu Yuanzhang, but he ignored them altogether. He had more important things to do now.

He wanted to see someone, a monk who had been captured by Mao Xiang and imprisoned in the Jinyiwei prison for a long time - Daoyan!
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(End of this chapter)