The Ming Dynasty's steam ironclad ship is about to be manufactured.

Meanwhile, great changes have also taken place in Japan.

The four feudal lords have now stabilized their base on Kyushu Island in Japan, but they clearly want to annex the entire Japan.

There hasn't been much change on the surface, but secretly the fighting is raging.

Small-scale local wars have basically never stopped.

It is obvious that it will be extremely difficult for Japan to defeat the four feudal lords.

However, Japan is also developing very rapidly now.

Especially the matchlock gun.

Japan was originally very wary of the matchlock gun, and the production method of the matchlock gun was not a big secret in Southeast Asia.

Japan's seagoing ships also learned manufacturing methods from Southeast Asia.

Seeing the four feudal lords frantically mining, Japan also paid more attention to silver and mined it vigorously.

At the grassroots level, the quality of life of the Japanese people has greatly improved compared to the past.

Especially the Japanese people on Kyushu Island.

At the beginning, Kyushu Island was occupied by the Ming Dynasty, and the Japanese people were in a state of panic, watching as the former noble lords were all demoted to commoners.

However, as time went by, the Japanese people were pleasantly surprised to find that being ruled by the Ming Dynasty was not so unbearable after all.

In recent years, as high-yield crops have been planted in Japan, the country's original food shortage has been alleviated a lot.

In the eyes of the Japanese people, although they have to mine for the officials of the Ming Dynasty, food is guaranteed.

When I worked for the masters of my country in the past, not only did I have very little to eat, but I also had to do a lot of hard work.

In comparison, it seems that the officials of the Ming Dynasty are pretty good.

Nakashu Island, Kyoto, Japan.

Kyoto is located in the central part of Nakashu Island. It is the capital of Japan and the most prosperous place in the entire country.

Apart from the palace where Emperor Go-Komatsu lived, the most magnificent one is the Shogun's Palace.

At this moment in the general's mansion.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was listening to reports from daimyos from various places.

"Your Excellency, the General, in accordance with the order of the General, forty-seven firearm workshops have been built in Fukui, Shiga, and Mie prefectures, and in the south in Nara, Osaka, and Hyogo prefectures."

"We produce nearly 500 matchlock rifles every day, and we can produce ten cannons every day. I believe it won't be long before we can equip the army on a large scale, and we won't have to worry about being threatened by the Ming army anymore."

"Under the leadership of the General, our country of Japan will certainly be able to recover Kyushu Island, expel the Ming people, and unify Japan."

The person who spoke was Takeuchi, a close confidant of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Japan had long coveted the Ming Dynasty's firearms. At the same time, they had suffered enough from the problems of firearms, so they tried every means to make firearms.

There was no way to get anything from the four great princes, so they directly used the national treasury, spent a large amount of gold and silver, and used sea transportation to recruit firearms craftsmen from Southeast Asia.

For this reason, no matter how much it costs, I will not feel sorry at all.

The matchlock gun is not a big secret nowadays. Basically, any country with some channels can get some, and it is not complicated to learn.

Japan spared no expense and finally brought back dozens of firearms craftsmen.

With a wave of his hand, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu ordered every firearms craftsman to open a firearms workshop and send a large number of apprentices to learn from them.

Crazy production of firearms and armaments.

Although Japan experienced the Northern and Southern Dynasties and its overall population declined, it still had five or six million people.

Although Japan is an island country with scarce resources, it has rarely fought external wars except for its civil war.

The last war was in the early Mongol Yuan Dynasty a hundred years ago.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu knew very well that the four feudal lords across the sea were always plotting against Japan. If it were not for the restrictions of the Ming Dynasty, the four feudal lords might have already attacked.

The Ming Dynasty was not merciful either.

The goal is to completely annex Japan.

He heard that on the current Kyushu Island, the four feudal lords had opened a large number of schools for learning Chinese and Chinese characters.

And etiquette education is also carried out simultaneously.

The Wa country itself had no written language, and all Wa characters came from the Central Plains dynasties.

It started in the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty.

In fact, even today's Japan, both in pronunciation and writing, is similar to the Chinese system.

Similar to the former dynasties in the Central Plains, in Japan today only nobles, monks and other upper-class people are qualified to learn writing, and ordinary people don’t even know how to write their own names.

Now the Ming Dynasty has school education. No matter what your status is in Kyushu Island, you can go to school to learn writing.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu knew in his heart that this was an attempt to assimilate his people.

Let the people of Japan gradually forget themselves and become the people of the Ming Dynasty.

When the Ming Dynasty completely controls Kyushu Island, it will be time for the four major feudal lords to attack Honshu Island of Japan.

Even though he knew the Ming Dynasty's purpose, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had no way to do anything.

For the Ming Dynasty, it could now directly sweep across the entire Japan and nominally rule it, but this would lead to a large number of uprisings.

Gradual encroachment and slow assimilation are in the best interest of the Ming Dynasty.

As for Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, if he directly attacked the four feudal lords during this period, the chance of victory might not even be 10%.

Although it would disrupt the Ming Dynasty's plan, the Ashikaga family would definitely disappear, which is naturally not acceptable.

The current Japan is equivalent to engaging in a military competition with the four major feudal lords.

As time went by, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu believed that he could achieve final victory.

"The matchlock guns of the Ming Dynasty are very sophisticated. Even if they are fired dozens of times, there is no danger of the barrel exploding."

"How long will it take for our matchlock guns to reach this level?"

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu asked Takeuchi.

He didn't know anything about firearms before, but after seeing the power of the Ming Dynasty's firearms, he spent a lot of energy learning and understanding them.

Takeuchi quickly replied: "The skills of those craftsmen from overseas are not very advanced, and many of them are just apprentices, so the matchlock guns they made are not sophisticated, but they can be used to some extent."

"After learning this production method, our craftsmen have gradually improved the matchlock guns. Now, the rate of explosion of newly produced matchlock guns is less than 30%."

"I believe that given enough time, our craftsmen will be able to make matchlock guns like the ones used by the Ming Dynasty."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu nodded.

The current situation is already very good.

In fact, he had once been to the firearms workshop to check and found out that the so-called less than 30% was a completely fictitious number.

After the matchlock gun is manufactured, it is ignited and fired. As long as the first shot does not explode, it is considered qualified.

When the weapons were actually equipped to the army, the warriors holding muskets had to rely entirely on luck.

No one knows whether the next shot will hit the enemy or themselves.

Fortunately, Japan's mineral resources are very rich. Not only do they not have to worry about running out of ore, they also don't have to worry about the saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal needed to make gunpowder.

Japan has many volcanoes and is not short of saltpeter and sulfur, not to mention charcoal.

What made Ashikaga Yoshimitsu feel sorry was that they could only produce granular gunpowder but not fire bombs.

The bullets used for killing were replaced by the lead stones used in the previous Central Plains muskets.

Apart from Takeuchi's report.

Other daimyos also began to report their respective situations.

Nowadays, almost all the people in Japan are soldiers, and the total military strength has reached 800,000.

This is also the confidence of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu at present.

But he was also very clear that there was a lot of water in it.

Even farmers have to participate in soldier training during the slack season, and all men between the ages of fourteen and forty-five must obey military service according to today's requirements.

In comparison, the total number of troops currently under the hands of the four major vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty is less than 200,000.

However, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu knew very well that with his 800,000 troops facing the 200,000 troops of the four great feudal lords, his chance of winning was less than 40% at the moment.

If a war breaks out, the Ming Dynasty will certainly continue to send more troops, and Japan will not be able to achieve final victory.

Therefore, creating firearms is currently the most important thing for the entire Japan.

Inside the main room.

After the other daimyo left, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu left the Takeuchi clan alone.

"I heard that His Majesty the Emperor has other ideas now. Are you aware of this?" Ashikaga Yoshimitsu asked calmly.

When Takeuchi heard this, he suddenly became nervous.

"Reporting to His Excellency the General, I have heard some news, but there is no confirmed news."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu said bluntly: "I heard it from the monks. His Majesty the Emperor is very close to the merchants of Ming Dynasty. According to the news, these merchants are not real merchants. They are subordinates of the four feudal lords."

At this point, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu did not let Takeuchi continue, but said with some regret: "Your Majesty is already 22 years old this year. I understand very well that a young man desires more power."

"If it was in the past, there would be no problem, but now is the most dangerous time since the establishment of our country. Once we fail, the entire country will cease to exist and will completely become the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

"I know that many people have been bewitched by the Ming Dynasty. They gave them some benefits and let them sell out their country, but Your Majesty the Emperor should not do this."

"The entire country of Japan belongs to His Majesty the Emperor. The shogunate is just a shepherd who shepherds the sheep on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor. He should trust, not be suspicious, and certainly not sow discord."

When Takeuchi heard this, he trembled all over and immediately prostrated himself on the ground and said, "Sir, the Takeuchi family has always been your most loyal servant. Please believe me, Sir."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu glanced at Takeuchi who was lying on the ground and said, "I watched the Emperor grow up. I know exactly what he is thinking."

"I don't want to know what he said to you in the pagoda yesterday, but you have to tell him that human life is very fragile. Even His Majesty the Emperor will grow old, get sick and die. He should pay more attention to his words and actions."

"The Takeuchi family and the Ashikaga family have always been the most loyal allies. I believe you will make the right choice."

At this point, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's tone had become extremely cold and harsh.

The Takeuchi clan gritted their teeth and replied: "The Takeuchi clan will always obey the orders of the general, at all times."

Hearing Takeuchi's firm tone, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu sighed and said, "Your Majesty is young and will always be bewitched by others. In this matter, I think you can better help the emperor and deal with those villains around him."

At this moment, Takeuchi dared not hesitate, and replied: "I will obey the orders of His Excellency the General, and I will go and get rid of all those villains around His Majesty the Emperor."

"It's just that now His Majesty the Emperor has announced that Princess Xiangzi has become the consort of the Ming Crown Prince, who loves Princess Xiangzi very much. If..."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu snorted coldly: "Nothing."

"Yes, Your Excellency the General." Takeuchi didn't dare to say anything more.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu finally explained: "The Ming Dynasty's grandson has many concubines, and Princess Xiangzi is just one of them."

Takeuchi said, "I understand, Your Excellency the General."

…

Inside the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

A large number of nobles, ministers, and monks gathered together, nearly a hundred people.

They are all supporters of the current Emperor Go-Komatsu.

Many of them are even relics of the Southern Dynasties.

In the 25th year of Hongwu, Emperor Go-Kameyama of the Southern Dynasty accepted Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's conditions and returned the sacred artifacts to the Northern Dynasty, thus ending the division between the North and the South.

After the unification of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu did not fulfill his original promise to restore the tradition of succession of emperors from the Daikakuji and Jimyōin factions.

The so-called Daikakuji school and the Jimyōin school symbolize Emperor Go-Komatsu of the Northern Dynasty and Emperor Go-Kameyama of the Southern Dynasty.

In the late Kamakura period, the 88th Emperor Gosaga had two sons, the eldest son Hisahito and the second son Tsunehito.

Both of them wanted to be emperor.

Under the arrangement of Emperor Saga, the eldest brother Hisahito was the first to succeed to the throne and became the 89th Emperor Gofukakusa.

More than ten years later, under the arrangement of Emperor Saga, Hisahito gave the throne to his younger brother Tsunehito, the 90th Emperor Kameyama.

Later, the conflict deepened, and under the "friendly persuasion" of the Kamakura shogunate, the two factions reached an agreement to take turns to be emperor and give up the throne to each other's sons.

However, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu obviously did not want to continue this agreement.

Because he wanted his son to inherit the throne.

If this continues, how can there be any chance?

Hou Xiaosong and Hou Guishan are related by blood, after all.

Because of the threat from the Ming Dynasty, the power of the Muromachi shogunate continued to expand, and the current emperor has been completely sidelined.

Because of the war, all the daimyo obeyed the orders of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

It was nothing originally, but at this moment, Emperor Go-Komatsu had been forced to adopt Ashikaga Yoshimochi, the son of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, as his godson.

This means that Ashikaga Yoshimochi also has the possibility of inheriting the throne.

This was something that Emperor Go-Komatsu could no longer accept.

So Emperor Go-Komatsu secretly contacted Emperor Go-Kameyama to discuss how to maintain the continuation of the imperial bloodline.

And all of these naturally require the support of more daimyos.