Chapter 116: Decisive Battle (Part 2)
On May 28th, a fleet led by the Emperor Xingen and Empress Xingen traveled thousands of miles and appeared outside Edo Castle. On May 30, the fleet sailed into Edo Bay and forced its way into Kanagawa, using the rockets on board to disperse the sailors who came to block the fleet. Some of the rockets that were out of range flew over the shallow bay of water, splashing outside the newly built Edo Castle, and spewing out a huge fire that was difficult to extinguish. The civilians who were summoned into Edo Castle were greatly frightened, and a small riot broke out that day.
But when the flames broke out, the one who was most frightened and even embarrassed was the shogunate stationed in the city. You know, over the past ten days or so, the shogunate has been gathering together the most powerful feudal lords in Japan to urgently discuss the issue of the severance of trade routes in the city, in order to put together an army to clear the overseas markets. But before they could even finish their discussion, the powerful enemy they feared so much actually crossed the sea and slapped the shogunate in the face!
More than a dozen rockets were launched into the sky, and the shogunate's face was completely stripped away. The funniest thing is that, at this point in the situation, none of the daimyo who were summoned to discuss important matters actually knew the details of the "black ships" outside the city - none of the warships they had sent out before had returned, as if an incredible black hole had appeared on the sea, easily swallowing up the precious ships that the daimyo had spent all their money to arm; only a few merchant ship sailors managed to escape back, but the news they revealed was also very absurd. If what they said was true, what the warships encountered overseas were not enemies but gods and demons. As soon as the black ships driven by the gods and demons raised their masts, the sea surface would immediately be ignited by the blue lotus fire born from hell!
Is this possible? Even the firearms sold by the Westerners in Luzon are not this powerful, right?
The daimyo would never believe such crazy talk. But today, when they climbed up the mountain and looked into the distance, they could not help but fall into silence, and then looked at each other awkwardly - under the watchful eyes of the public, the shogunate would definitely not swallow its anger; but in the current situation, how should they fight?
Still, the view is rewarding. A monk who was proficient in Chinese characters carefully distinguished at the top of the mountain and saw clearly the flag hanging high on the mast of the flagship. There were nine dragons dancing on the bright yellow silk, and in the middle were embroidered the two words "Xingxian". Even though the monk was knowledgeable, he still frowned and thought for a long time before he figured out the origin of these two words. He remembered that the so-called "Emperor Xingxian" was a pheasant emperor who was forced into the Taimiao by the Chinese emperor on the opposite side. He was the current illegitimate father who had no legitimate reason and was ignored by everyone.
Of course, whether it is a wild chicken or not also depends on the cards and the situation. When Emperor Gaozu had only one bowl, he was of course the most unremarkable character in the world; but when he came to power and restored China, there was no emperor more orthodox, more honorable, and more legitimate than him in the world. Similarly, when Master Feixuan and Emperor Wanshou forced their own father into the Taimiao more than ten years ago, none of the ministers inside and outside the court would look down on such illegal and disorderly behavior; but now that the flag of Emperor Xingxian has been planted outside Edo Castle, from now on all the great scholars, writers and historians will have to argue for Master Feixuan and his father, and firmly acknowledge that Emperor Xingxian is the legitimate emperor of our Da'an Datong Heavenly Mandate, and no doubt is allowed.
Therefore, it would be better for the great scholar of the Ministry of Rites to plant the flag outside Edo Castle than to spend his whole life debating the classics for ten thousand years. Big principles govern small principles, and the distinction between Chinese and barbarians is the greatest principle of etiquette and law; the prince helped Lao Deng to obtain such a big principle, so how can it not be considered that he has done his best and is truly loyal to Master Feixuan?
Unfortunately, the Japanese present could not appreciate this unspeakable sincerity. After recognizing the flag, the nobles gathered on the top of the mountain fell into a strange silence - it was not until this moment that they finally realized what they were facing.
Apart from the special permission of the Emperor of China, who can embroider a flag using the title of his own father? There is no doubt that the "black ships" that have now come out in full force and are stationed outside the city must have been obeying the orders of the "True Lord Feixuan" from the Middle-earth!
However, this was far beyond the common sense of everyone present. Ever since the theory of "East-West Enemies" arose more than ten years ago, the shogunate, with the help of Spanish and Dutch missionaries, gradually began to covet China; the powerful daimyo have been sending people to spy on the Central Plains court. According to their knowledge, the one who rules Da'an now should be an old man with a tangerine skin who is obsessed with mystical cultivation and has achieved nothing, is greedy, cruel, vicious and cunning, and hides in the so-called "Western Garden" and doesn't care about external affairs. It is simply impossible for such an old man to mobilize the forces to launch a naval battle across thousands of miles, and the vassal states around the Central Plains should be quite safe.
——So what is going on here?
Of course, if one thinks carefully, the Kusunoki Nishiki ninja who was previously sent as an envoy to the Central Plains did issue a similar warning after his return, reminding the general of all kinds of strange signs in the Central Plains; it was just that his words were too absurd (something like "alchemy furnace flying to the sky"), and were not taken seriously by the nobles; but now the confusion and contempt turned into panic, and the nobles watched in horror as the black ships adjusted their positions, and then dozens of flames shot up into the sky, blooming into enchanting datura flowers in the air; the drooping petals slowly fell, sweeping across the naval port deep in Kanagawa and the anchored Ataka ships. Standing on the mountain, the nobles could see thick smoke rising into the sky. The smoke was mixed with strange purple-blue flames, making the entire sea surface sparkle - with just one round of artillery fire, all the facilities that the shogunate had operated on the shore for ten years were destroyed!
Under this kind of bombardment, the city defense forces had no chance to fight back. The oak cannons bought from the Spaniards at a high price did not have a long enough range and could only take hits but not fight back; the ships anchored in the port were destroyed before they even left, and the small boats that managed to break out would be hit by the fragments of the rocket explosion and could not even reach the flagship. The dignitaries all looked pale as they could only watch the black ships struggling to turn around and roll out the names of the remaining artillery batteries and barracks on the shore one by one - compared with the Spanish and Dutch, the operation of these Chinese sailors could be described as unfamiliar and clumsy; but no matter how unfamiliar and clumsy they were, as long as they could still spray out this endless hellfire, they would be almost invincible.
An hour later, the shogunate, which was terrified by the bombing, finally responded. The retainers dispatched personnel to control the situation in the city, and sent out hatamoto warriors to protect the monk Sakai, who was trusted by the general. They ran to the seaside with flags and met the commander of the flagship.
It was not until this moment that China and Japan, which had been fighting brazenly for several months, had their first formal contact recognized by history.
This contact was not smooth and the process was quite strange. Mr. Sakai was a well-known great man in Japan. He practiced various wonderful and subtle methods of Eastern Esoteric Buddhism and was able to subdue all desires of the six senses: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. However, after he stepped into the main cabin of the "Emperor Xingxian", he still felt quite stimulated. According to Mr. Sakai's recollections in his later years, what he smelled was not the common fishy odor of ocean-going ships, but a "spicy, mellow and quite delicious smell"; the sailors who were having a meal were not swallowing dry food, but blanching fish slices in a "boiling red soup."
Of course, we all know by now that this soup is the predecessor of the later "butter hotpot". The base made with butter, star anise, peppercorns, and chili peppers from foreign countries can be preserved for a long time and can be mixed and matched at will. It is one of the business cards of Chinese cuisine that spread along the seas. Because of this, Mr. Sakai's recollection of the negotiations is considered to be the earliest record of this famous delicacy. Even this round of negotiations for the first contact between China and Japan was jokingly called the "hot pot talks" by some gossipers.
Although the name is too humorous, beef hotpot did greatly affect the progress of the negotiations. At that time, Japan's cooking technology was still at a very primitive stage, and was even despised by the Goryeo envoys as "shallow". As a long-term vegetarian monk, it is conceivable that he would be stimulated by the sudden contact with the delicious aroma carefully extracted from spices, oils and proteins. In his memoirs, Sakai called hotpot "torture" and complained that the accompanying samurai were always swallowing their saliva, which greatly interfered with his thinking and seriously undermined his long-brewed emotions. As a result, the questions he raised to the Chinese officials had no momentum and he had no way to gain the upper hand.
In his recollections, the people who negotiated directly with him were Qi Yuanjing and Yu Zhifu, who commanded the fleet. Their words were very sharp, severely criticizing Japan for condoning the Japanese pirates to plunder a great country; Sakai, in turn, accused the other side of invading Edo with ulterior motives; the two sides clashed several times, and when it came to the most delicate and critical principles, Qi Yuanjing once stood up and went to the secret room inside the cabin to ask for instructions. After staying for a while, he took out a crumpled piece of rice paper; on it were claws and fangs, and the handwriting was so ugly that it was unbearable to look at:
"I've read it, it's bullshit!"
Thus, the negotiations officially broke down. This was not beyond Sakai's expectations. His so-called negotiations were just a stopgap measure to buy time for the city to mobilize troops. The shogun's retainers had already made plans, believing that the firepower of the black ships could roam the seas, but could not do anything to the warriors on land; as long as they mobilized the army to guard the dangerous places, they could still repel the powerful enemies overseas. As long as both sides can maintain a stalemate without winning or losing, they can always force these Chinese who have come from afar to submit.
Such a plot could not be concealed from anyone, and the shogunate did not want to conceal it. The bombardment of Edo by the black ships had severely damaged the Shogun's authority, and it was necessary to redeem it in an honorable manner. Therefore, after the negotiations broke down, Sakai repeatedly explained and finally stepped into the secret room where Qi Yuanjing had gone to ask for instructions. The secret room was small and tidy, with only a table and a couch. Sitting cross-legged on the couch was a pale and miserable young nobleman. The air was filled with the fragrance of tangerine peel, tea leaves and mint. This is a folk remedy used in the southeast to treat seasickness, but it doesn't seem to be effective.
Sakai no longer pretended and spoke in a stern voice: "The superior country has blatantly violated the border and bullied our country, has no one there?"
The young nobleman's lips twitched, as if he wanted to show his superiority, but his face was too pale and too weak, and his words lacked strength, making him sound weak:
"How do you do it?"
Sakai said, "Now that we have so many distinguished guests, our country will naturally mobilize 100,000 troops to hunt with you in Edo. Please see the might of our army."
The nobleman curled his lips, but could only smile weakly:
"Is that so... Judging from the reserves in the surrounding military camps, you can only mobilize 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers at most. Or maybe my intelligence is wrong, and the shogunate still has control of the secret tunnel?"
Sakai suddenly stopped talking.
The nobleman sighed deeply, then reached out and rubbed his forehead, as if he felt dizzy again. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them with difficulty, but the sound was already faint and slow, almost unrecognizable.
But it doesn't matter. A person who controls rockets, muskets, and even all firearms, will be able to hear clearly even if his voice is as low as the buzz of a mosquito or fly:
"...Since you have made up your mind, I will not refuse. I can give you time to mobilize the army and fully demonstrate your strength." He spoke softly, his voice intermittent, weak and cowardly: "Of course, I also have my decision. I have decided that in ten days at most, I will carry the flag of Emperor Xingxian to the five-story castle tower in Edo and offer sacrifices to the Xiaoling Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozu of Nanjing and the Changling Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong."
"Remember, Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong like the persimmons from Longxi and grapes from the Western Regions the most. You must prepare them in advance."
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