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

Chapter 109: Prime Minister, please help me solve my doubts!
[A welcoming banquet ended in a thick fog...]

In the 69th year of the Chongzhen reign, the last shogun of the Tokugawa clan in Japan was defeated by the imperial guards and surrendered, offering thousands of miles of Japanese territory to the Ming Dynasty. From then on, Japan, which had been isolated overseas for a thousand years, was declared destroyed!

[That year, Ming Dynasty Prime Minister Zhou Liang, citing the Tokugawa Shogunate's surrender by offering land, renamed the Tokugawa Shogun "Duke of Donghai," placing him alongside the Joseon King's title of "Duke of Guiming." Both rulers of fallen nations sighed and settled in the Ming capital...]

The following year, the Prime Minister divided the four islands of Japan into four provincial governors, and applied Ming regulations to the Japanese people, changing their customs and habits, much like the Korean tradition.

[From then on, the Ming Dynasty had two capitals and eighteen provinces! ]

After conquering Korea and Japan, the Ming army and civilians, eager to expand their territory, began to anticipate further: "Since the Prime Minister is so determined to advance, which of the four corners of the world is invincible to the Ming?"

[Back then, the King of Qin conquered the world. Now, the Prime Minister should follow the example of King Ying Zheng of Qin and make all the lands that the sun and moon shine on and the rivers flow into Han territory!]

[Prime Minister, please give the order! ]

【Everyone cheered excitedly.】

[However, you rejected their request to expand the territory...]

This decision has been carefully considered: Ming is still an agricultural nation, and relying solely on the Imperial Guards is incapable of effectively controlling a vast territory.

The productivity of the times doesn't allow you to start a war recklessly. After all, the example of the Mongol Empire has already taught the world: eating too much land will really lead to death!

[Furthermore, your intention in expanding territory is neither to plunder wealth and population nor to establish colonies. Such meaningless expansion will only become a poverty alleviation campaign for the surrounding areas, which will not benefit the Ming Dynasty in any way.]

"Your purpose in conquering Korea and Japan was ultimately just to conduct an experiment on divine power and culture..."

In the 70th year of Chongzhen's reign, the Prime Minister issued an edict ordering all four provinces of Japan to learn the Ming language and writing system, and forbidding the Japanese from using Japanese characters.

[That year, the Prime Minister ordered the people of the four provinces to adopt Chinese surnames and names, and all customs were to be aligned with those of the Ming Dynasty!]

In the seventy-first year of Chongzhen's reign, the Prime Minister planted a large number of high-quality Ming rice in four provinces, increasing rice production in the four provinces.

[That year, the Prime Minister reduced all excessive taxes and levies in the four provinces and encouraged farming. All newly reclaimed land was exempt from tax for three years, just like in North Korea!]

[Then the people of the four provinces and Korea were overjoyed, and all said, "The Prime Minister's kindness is not over yet!"]

【…】

Changing customs and habits won't happen overnight, so don't rush it. Simply formulate a development strategy for the four provinces, and let them take their time.

[And after doing all this, you finally have time to resolve your own doubts...]

In the 72nd year of Chongzhen's reign, the Prime Minister ordered Korean and Japanese historians to come to the capital to co-edit the "History of China" with the imperial historians.

The historians brought their own materials to Beijing to compile the history books, and you made special trips to watch them compile the books in your free time, supervising them while earnestly asking them questions about various historical issues.

Through this diligent study, you gradually developed a new historical perspective...

The history of the Ming Dynasty is quite normal, not much different from what you know: the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties, followed by the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and then the Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and finally the Sui, Tang, Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.

The history of Korea is also quite normal. I won't mention Goguryeo or Goguryeo. The only thing to say is that Joseon was a vassal of the Ming Dynasty from the very beginning. Therefore, the relationship between the two sides has always been very good. After the Wanli Emperor's aid to Korea, this vassal relationship reached its peak. Korea can be considered an inner vassal of the Ming Dynasty!

[Only Japan is wrong...]

The Japanese themselves are unaware of their own history, knowing only that their interactions with the Central Plains dynasties were very limited. At least based on their records, their history dates back to the Tang Dynasty at most, with little clarity before that.

[But what is certain is that they never had a monarch called "Emperor", at most they had "King of Wa".]

The "King of Wa" had already fallen in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, and Japan was subsequently plagued by internal strife throughout the country until the Wanli period... It was not until Oda Nobunaga that Japan began to show signs of unity. It was only through the efforts of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu that Japan was reunited and the Tokugawa shogunate was established...

When you curiously ask a Japanese historian why the shogunate was called the shogunate, the historian's answer agrees with the Tokugawa Shogun's: Tokugawa Ieyasu admired the might of the Ming Dynasty, so he remotely honored the Ming Emperor as the monarch, calling himself simply "Shogun" and governing Japan on behalf of the Emperor...

You then ask: If there was no emperor, why was Toyotomi Hideyoshi called "Regent Kanpaku"? Whose government was he acting as regent for? [Answer: The Ming Emperor!]

The historian respectfully replied: Toyotomi Hideyoshi also admired the Ming Emperor, so he called himself "Regent Kanpaku" and acted as the emperor's governor of Japan...

【You: ...Defying Heaven!】

"What about the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates?"

You continue to ask: These two shogunates predate Oda Nobunaga, especially the Kamakura shogunate, which predates even the Ming Dynasty. They can't possibly be admirers of the Ming emperor, right?

[Historians are confused: What are the Kamakura and Muromachi shogunates?]

【You: Huh?】

[As you stare in amazement, the Japanese historian tells you clearly: Japan did not have two shogunates. In the past, there was only the "King of Wa". After the last King of Wa fell in the early Ming Dynasty, Japan was divided until Oda Nobunaga began to unify...]

【You are stupid! 】

[Hearing these things about Japan that are completely different from what you know, you can't shake the strange and inconsistent feeling in your heart...]

[Earlier, you suspected that the Tokugawa Shogun was lying to you, deliberately claiming that Japan had no emperor... Or perhaps, it was actually a fabrication of history by later generations, and you just didn't know it...]

[Now it seems that this is definitely not a scam, nor is it fake history... but a real Lostbelt world line! ]

[In this dimension, only the history of Ming Dynasty and Korea is normal, while the history of foreign nations represented by Japan is not normal at all!]

Not only did the title of "Emperor" disappear, but also the "Kamakura Shogunate" and the "Muromachi Shogunate" disappeared. Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu became the crystal fans of the Ming Emperor. For the sake of the noble Emperor, they dared not even call themselves the King of Japan, but only the Shogun...

【What the hell is this! 】

The more you think about it, the more confused you become, and you can't help but feel distressed: Ming Dynasty history was broken by a punch from the Divine Emperor in the 17th year of Chongzhen, and Japan's history is also very strange... What about other countries?

What has become of the West? What about India? What about the Middle East? Africa? The Americas?

[What exactly caused this plane to become what it is now? ]

After much thought, an answer emerged: "The Divine Emperor!"

As the tangible hand that personally broke the history of the Ming Dynasty, He must know many things that ordinary people don't know, and you really want to ask Him in person...

[So, you came to the Imperial Palace alone, filled with doubts, and asked the Divine Emperor a direct question!]

"Your Majesty, I would like to know whether the world has always been like this, or whether it became like this later. If it became like this later, why did it become like this? Does it have anything to do with Your Majesty?"

Your questions are more to the point than the last. Because you ask them so urgently, you even sound a bit aggressive, much like those powerful ministers in history who, after wielding immense power, would act tyrannically towards the emperor...

[However, the Divine Emperor not only showed no sign of anger, but instead had a look of understanding on his face.]

[“Originally… then it became…”]

"Prime Minister, you are truly not an ordinary person..."

He smiled, his eyes filled with infinite curiosity: "Actually, I also want to know, Prime Minister, who exactly are you? Why do you always know everything?"

[“Prime Minister, please help me clear up my confusion first…”]

[For a moment, you were stunned...]

……

(End of this chapter)