Simulates history, but Chongzhen is the Divine Emperor at the beginning

Chapter 108: Strange Disharmony

Each country has its own unique political system. For example, the Ming Dynasty implemented a unified, centralized imperial system, which concentrated supreme power in the hands of a single emperor. This allowed the emperor, as the supreme ruler, to exercise absolute power. Military, political, and financial power were all under his control.

[However, before the Ming Dynasty, the centralized imperial system of the Central Plains dynasties was not so powerful. For example, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty could be sidelined by powerful ministers, the emperor of the Song Dynasty could be dragged into the battlefield by the prime minister by his sleeve, and the emperor of the Jin Dynasty was even severely beaten by the ministers of the royal family!]

[Going back further, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty might be raped to death by a eunuch, and the emperor of the Sui Dynasty was publicly humiliated by his wife...]

[In general, the evolution of the political structure of the Central Plains dynasties generally progressed from decentralization to centralization. The earlier the dynasty, the more unstable the imperial power became.]

[Once the imperial power fell into someone else's hands, the emperor would most likely "voluntarily abdicate" and be replaced by a powerful official who held actual power, thus changing the dynasty. For example, Emperor Xian of Han abdicated to Cao Pi, Emperor Yuan of Wei abdicated to Sima Yan, and Emperor Gong of Jin abdicated to Liu Yu...]

[It is precisely in light of the above historical lessons that successive dynasties have sought to patch up the imperial system, to make imperial power more centralized and prevent it from falling into the hands of powerful ministers.]

[This patch lasted until the Ming Taizu period, and finally reached a peak! ]

[Through a series of measures, including abolishing the prime minister, he finally brought the Ming Dynasty to the pinnacle of feudal centralization. In theory, it would be impossible for power to fall into the hands of others again...]

This was the path taken by the Central Plains dynasties. Influenced by the centralized system of the Central Plains dynasties, the neighboring states of the Ming Dynasty followed a similar path, concentrating national power in the hands of the monarch, making them supreme within their own country.

The influence of this path continued into later generations. The successive "single suns" on the peninsula in later generations were the best embodiment of centralized power...

[However, there is an outrageous country around the Ming Dynasty that does not follow the usual path. This is Wa! ]

Like its neighbors like Korea, Japan has clearly been influenced by the centralized power system of the Central Plains dynasties. Therefore, its rulers also seek to centralize power, making them unchallenged unless the dynasty changes... But their strange thing is that each change of dynasty is never thorough. After all this centralization, the "Emperor," the nominal first monarch, still exists!

Take Toyotomi Hideyoshi, for example. This ruler of Japan at the time was the ultimate authority, a true champion of the PUBG tournament. Yet, his highest position wasn't "Emperor," but "Regent"... In other words, Hideyoshi spent half his life as the ruler of Japan, yet in theory, he was still acting as regent for the "Emperor"!

[This is as absurd as if the descendants of Qin Shi Huang were still emperors during the Ming Dynasty...]

This is Japan's unique "dual monarchy," where there are two legitimate monarchs: the emperor, who reigns forever, and the shogun, who is subject to change.

[As a time traveler, you are of course aware of this knowledge, but it is precisely because of this knowledge that you feel strange, even shocked...]

Where is the Emperor?!

After all this fighting, how come the Imperial Guards only managed to capture a current shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate?! And what about the emperor?!

【…】

[In response to your shocked question, Shogun Tokugawa shook his head in bewilderment and replied cautiously in fluent Chinese: "What do you mean by the Emperor...?"]

"You don't know the Emperor?!"

Your eyes nearly popped out of your head. At this moment, no matter how skilled you were at cultivating your Qi, you couldn't help but sigh: How could a legitimate Japanese shogun not know what an emperor is?

"Your Excellency... Your Excellency truly does not know..."

[Shogun Tokugawa sweats profusely...]

Unable to resist any longer, you continued to ask him many questions about Japanese politics and history, particularly about the stories of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. After all, Japan's recent dynastic transition involved direct interaction with the Ming Dynasty. If there were any flaws in the historical information, you would have discovered them quickly.

[And seeing that you, the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty, were interested in this, General Tokugawa recounted the story of his ancestors' rise to power in detail...]

During the Wanli reign, the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga conquered much of the country's core through military force and vowed to unify it. However, before he could achieve his goal, he died in the Honnoji Incident... His subordinate, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, subsequently inherited his legacy and, after years of war, successfully unified much of Japan. [This victory in the war of unification fueled Hideyoshi's growing ambitions, leading him to set his sights on Korea and the Ming Dynasty...]

Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi didn't have a clear understanding of the Ming Dynasty's strength, and didn't even know how big it was, he still confidently attacked with the help of hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers from across the country.

During the Korean War, Toyotomi Hideyoshi mobilized over 100,000 troops and easily defeated the Korean army, severely oppressing the Liaodong region of the Ming Dynasty. It should be said that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was truly powerful at this time. If it weren't for the reform legacy left by Zhang Juzheng during the reign of Emperor Wanli, he would have suffered a great loss.

Finally, under the attack of the Ming Dynasty's elite troops, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gradually realized the strength of the Ming army. He no longer wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty and his attitude towards the Ming Dynasty turned to peace talks.

Wanli also wanted to negotiate peace, so he took advantage of the situation and proposed to crown Toyotomi Hideyoshi as "King of Japan" to end the war. However, there was a misunderstanding on both sides. Hideyoshi thought Wanli would acknowledge his occupation of Korea, while Wanli believed Hideyoshi wanted to surrender and become a vassal state. Naturally, the negotiations broke down, and the two sides continued fighting.

[Eventually, Toyotomi Hideyoshi died of illness, and Japan voluntarily withdrew its troops, marking the end of the war... Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu took advantage of the Toyotomi regime being severely weakened by the Ming Dynasty to overthrow the Toyotomi clan and establish his own "Tokugawa Shogunate" in Japan...]

[After the story was told, General Tokugawa was still not satisfied, as if he was still immersed in the glorious days of his ancestors a hundred years ago...]

[But you, the listener, didn't pay attention to the second half of the story. You just frowned: It seems to be similar to what you already know.]

But you still ask in confusion: "If you don't have an emperor, then why is your family called the Shogunate?"

The shogunate was originally an institution that governed on behalf of the emperor, but Japan didn't have an emperor, so why was it called a shogunate? Wouldn't it be better to just call themselves kings or emperors?

Upon hearing this, General Tokugawa slapped his chest repeatedly and said solemnly, "Prime Minister, you don't know that the reason my family is called the Shogunate is because my ancestors were loyal ministers of the Ming Emperor!"

"My shogunate is actually the shogunate that governs Japan for the Ming Emperor! The Ming Emperor is my monarch!"

"There are no two suns in the sky, and in my heart there is only one sun, Your Majesty!"

The King of Joseon: ...You're using my words! Asiba!

[And you can't help but scratch your head: The Japanese shogunate isn't loyal to the emperor, but to the Ming emperor? Sounds amazing...]

【Furthermore, if this is true, then the problem is very serious! 】

[Or perhaps the later Japanese were fabricating history, not only fabricating an emperor who would remain unchanged for eternity, but also massively tampering with historical documents, successfully deceiving everyone in the world.]

[Or, the plane you are in is not the "real historical plane" you have always believed it to be, but a real alternate dimension, a Lostbelt, whose historical background is quite different from reality...]

Then, you, still distraught, asked again, "Is there really no emperor? Do you really not have two monarchs?"

"Really not!"

[General Tokugawa shook his head and spoke cautiously.]

“Prime Minister… In my opinion, the Ming Dynasty today is more in line with what you described…”

"You are the Shogun, and Your Majesty is the Emperor..."

……

(End of this chapter)