Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was indeed an excellent ruler.

In name, the Emperor of Japan ruled everything, but in reality all power was in the hands of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Although Japan was not originally a closed country, in fact all industries were restricted by the geographical environment.

Almost all of the culture of the former Japan originated from the Central Plains dynasties, especially the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

Today's Japanese samurai swords are basically imitated from Tang swords.

The most powerful soldiers in Japan are the samurai.

In a sense, they are professional soldiers and do not engage in production. Because of their hereditary nature, most of them have received strict military training since childhood.

They generally believe in Zen, are indifferent to life and death, and will fight against it if they are not convinced.

They consider it an honor to die on the battlefield, and if they fail to complete the task assigned by their master, they will even commit suicide by seppuku out of shame.

However, according to the deduction of some people, seppuku suicide became the highest honor for a samurai.

A samurai who committed seppuku could be forgiven for all his faults.

The first samurai to practice seppuku was Fujiwara Yoshi.

He is a nobleman of the Fujiwara family in Kyoto. He leads an elegant aristocratic life during the day, but turns into a vicious thief at night, harassing the streets of Kyoto.

After being discovered, he did not resist, but instead designed an act of seppuku to atone for his sins.

Even he himself did not expect that this would become the noblest way of death in Bushido in later generations.

In fact, seppuku suicide is a very painful process, and often during the process, the samurai cannot die quickly.

In later movies and TV shows, Japanese samurai committed seppuku and died immediately. That's all nonsense.

In actual practice, seppuku requires cutting open the abdomen and picking out all the internal organs to complete the ritual.

The process is bloody, cruel and extremely painful.

Later in the development, the need for assistance came into being.

The kaishakunin is the one who chops off the samurai's head with a single blow to reduce the pain after the samurai has committed seppuku.

Of course, in today's Japan, there are no kaishakunins yet, so when a samurai commits seppuku, he needs to complete this ritual alone.

Bloody cruelty is more likely to stimulate the spirit of Bushido.

In fact, the Japanese samurai were very strong in individual combat ability, and their physique was also different from that of ordinary Japanese people. They enjoyed the support of their families and never worried about food.

In fact, this kind of behavior is very similar to the death squads kept by aristocratic families during the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The reason why Bushido was so popular in Japan was that it was in line with the interests of those in power.

Whether it was the shogunate or the local daimyo, they all needed strong and loyal soldiers to consolidate their rule, and naturally they would highly respect Bushido.

The failure of the Mongol invasion was caused by the typhoon as the main factor, but the Japanese warriors also played a big role.

Japanese weapons, especially samurai swords, are actually superior to those of the Mongols. Even now, Japan's sword-forging technology is first-class in the world.

This is a product of special circumstances.

Samurai duels are popular in Japan, so a good weapon will naturally give you a huge advantage.

Therefore, Japanese craftsmen have a high status and are also very popular.

During the war against Japan, when the Mongolian iron sabers were used head-on to counter the Japanese swords, the blades would often bend or even break.

Even in today's Ming Dynasty, the sword-forging technology is still far behind that of Japan.

Before the conquest of Japan, Japanese samurai swords had always been a popular commodity in the smuggling trade. Now that the trade has been developed, they have become even more popular.

However, when the Ming army invaded Japan, they mainly used matchlock guns and artillery.

Even in small-scale combat, it was not a one-on-one duel, but an organized battle, and the soldiers were equipped with muskets.

The Japanese warriors were beaten to pieces before they even had a chance to get close.

Therefore, the Japanese samurai sword did not play a very good role in the war.

But this cannot deny the exquisite craftsmanship of Japanese samurai swords.

Now firearms are becoming popular in Japan, and the samurai sword, also known as the tachi, is very popular in the Ming Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, civilians were prohibited from using muskets.

Firearms and armor were strictly restricted items. Anyone who possessed them would be sentenced to fifty years of hard labor or death, depending on the circumstances.

There is no concept of life imprisonment in the laws of the Ming Dynasty, and fifty years of hard labor is the longest term.

In fact, even if one committed a crime at the age of ten, after fifty years of hard labor one would be sixty years old. It would not have much significance. Even if one survived, one would just experience the last years of old age.

War is the best catalyst.

When the Ming Dynasty used muskets and cannons to open the door to Japan and occupied Kyushu Island as the land of the Four Feudal Kings, it also brought many advanced technological systems to Japan.

For example, high-yield crops, cement, mineral mining technology, shipbuilding technology, firearms, etc.

In recent years, under the leadership of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japan has developed rapidly.

A nation with a population of millions still has a lot of foundation as it devotes all its efforts to military development and construction.

That is to say, the current Ming Dynasty can suppress it steadily. In any other dynasty, it would not be possible to have such a strong suppression force.

In fact, if the Ming court had not intervened, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu would have mobilized the entire country's army and would have been able to drive the four feudal lords out of Japan and recover the lost territory on Kyushu Island.

However, with the pressure from a giant like the Ming Dynasty, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had no confidence at all.

There are now less than 200,000 Ming troops on Kyushu Island.

But the Ming Dynasty has a total military force of two million, and now with more ships, it would be easy to deploy another 200,000 troops.

Japan needs to mobilize the entire country's troops, while the Ming Dynasty only needs to mobilize the coastal navy and surrounding garrisons.

This gap is not a little bit.

Wakoku, Changfu.

This place is located at the junction of Honshu Island and Kyushu Island, and is across the sea from Kyushu Island, with the shortest distance being no more than three miles.

It only takes a few sticks of incense to set sail and arrive.

This place belongs to the territory of Nagato Province in Wa.

The guardian daimyo is the Ouchi family.

In today's Japan, there is no such title as feudal lord. Whether it is a tutelary state or a local area, they are all uniformly called daimyo.

The title of feudal lord was not introduced until the Edo period. The guardian daimyo who occupied a country was called a feudal lord.

Changfu is what later became Shimonoseki in Japan.

The current local daimyo here is the Mori family.

In the famous anime that circulated in Central China in later generations, Kogoro Mori is a descendant of the Mori family.

The land that the Mori family rented was not in Nagafu.

It is Sagami Province on the inner side of Honshu Island.

His original surname was Oe, and his ancestor was a descendant of Oe Kimitsu, the fourth son of Oe Hiromoto in the Kamakura period.

Later, due to regime changes and wars, they migrated here to avoid disaster.

The current daimyo is Maori Daisuke.

Maori Daisuke followed Ashikaga Yoshimitsu closely, humbly and respectfully.

In front of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the Mori family was just an insignificant ant.

However, now, because of the defense against the Ming Dynasty, Nagafu, where the Mori family is located, has become a very important strategic location.

The Mori family took on the task of building coastal defense.

"Not bad. It seems that the Maori Daimyo has indeed put a lot of thought into this in recent years."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu nodded with satisfaction.

We had walked along the beach for a long time before, and here we saw stone walls and fortresses more than ten feet high built with large stones.

The draft along the route is shallow, and there is no suitable landing point for Ming Dynasty ships.

If Ming Dynasty wants to attack Honshu Island, this is the best bridgehead. Once it is taken, it can quickly accumulate troops on Honshu Island.

"This is all due to the wise leadership of His Excellency the General." Mori Daisuke quickly bowed and replied.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu continued, "I heard that many of the Isshiki clan, Shibukawa clan, and Otomo clan are now taking refuge in Nagafu."

Maori Daisuke hesitated for a moment and replied, "Since the Ming Dynasty occupied Kyushu Island, many tribesmen have migrated to Changfu. Now the development of Changfu cannot be separated from the support of various families."

"In the construction of coastal defense, the Otomo clan played a very important role."

Hearing this, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu sighed and said, "Mr. Ujitsugu is a very good friend of mine. The Otomo family and the Ashikaga family have also been friends for generations. It's a pity that the Ming Dynasty is so cruel."

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Otomo clan surrendered to Ashikaga Takauji and thus actually ruled the northern Kyushu region.

That is, he was the actual ruler of the three countries of Bungo, Chikuzen, and Chikugo.

It was not very effective in fighting against the Ming Dynasty. The city gates were broken open by cannons, and the daimyo was naturally killed by the Ming army.

Maori Daisuke didn't dare to speak.

Because he knew that Otomo's death was actually indirectly related to Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

Although the Southern Dynasty was defeated, it actually still had a great ruling position in Kyushu Island. Many samurai daimyo here have long been loyal to the Southern Dynasty.

In the end, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu broke his promise to surrender to the Southern Dynasty.

From another perspective, the civil war between the Southern and Northern Dynasties was actually a struggle between royal power and military power.

But obviously the kingship was defeated in the end.

But this does not mean that the monarchy has no supporters.

Since the Ming army attacked Kyushu Island, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had actually never sent out elite warriors from Honshu Island to fight.

He was using the Ming Dynasty to cleanse the defeated forces on Kyushu Island that resisted him.

Unfortunately, he didn't know that the Ming Dynasty was so powerful. After all, he had killed the Ming envoys before. More than ten years had passed, and the Ming Dynasty had never dared to attack Japan.

This time I really miscalculated.

The entire Kyushu Island was actually flattened by the Ming Dynasty, which was no match at all. By the time Ashikaga Yoshimitsu reacted, it was already too late.

Including the allies of the Ashikaga family, the Otomo family was also killed.

"The King of Qin of the Ming Dynasty!"

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu felt a little sad.

In fact, nothing happened to the Otomo family at the beginning. It was when the King of Qin of the Ming Dynasty came that he directly massacred the city, without giving anyone a chance to survive.

When Ashikaga Yoshimitsu heard the news, he was a little confused.

But even if I knew it, what could I do? I could only bury the hatred in my heart.

There is definitely no hope of seeking revenge on the King of Qin.

"Then let's use the blood of the Ming army soldiers to commemorate Lord Ujitsugu."

This is the limit of what Ashikaga Yoshimitsu can do for the time being.

If the King of Qin of the Ming Dynasty died in his hands, the entire Japan would be overthrown.

After the inspection, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu began to deploy the plan.

Because there was no clear time agreement between Emperor Go-Komatsu and Prince of Yan, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had no way of knowing when Prince of Yan would gather troops, so he could only make preparations in advance.

Changfu is just a line away from Kyushu Island.

There is no stone wall fortress like the one in Changfu on Kyushu Island. Perhaps in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, this is completely unnecessary.

It also gave Ashikaga Yoshimitsu an opportunity.

He wanted to take advantage of the cover of night to secretly transport the warriors to the coast of Kyushu Island and go around to the rear.

When Prince Yan arrived, they would form a pincer attack from the front and back.

It is definitely not possible to transport them directly to the other side. In order to avoid being exposed, the troop transport ship must circle around the sea, avoid the other side's patrol, and then hide secretly.

He knew that the number of Prince Yan's personal guards was only 40,000 on paper, but in reality there must be more.

Many warriors defected to the Ming Dynasty and formed an army.

These warriors did not enjoy the treatment of the Ming Dynasty, but were equivalent to the private soldiers of the vassal kings.

They usually farm and mine, and when there is a war, they participate in the war.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu estimated that the Prince of Yan would have a total force of at least 100,000.

After all, it is impossible to completely evacuate Yancheng. At most, they can bring 30,000 soldiers, and the remaining warriors can be at most 60,000. If there are more, problems will easily arise.

He prepared to dispatch 50,000 warriors to lurk in the rear.

In order to stabilize the situation, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the main force here, decided to bring 300,000 samurai.

With a number of 350,000, we should attack by surprise.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu felt that he could not lose.

…

Similarly, Zhu Di did not think he would lose.

After Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui delivered the message.

Zhu Chong, the King of Qin, Zhu Gang, the King of Jin, and Zhu Gui, the King of Qi, came to Yancheng together to discuss matters.

"Fourth Brother, you are so brave. Our father has issued a clear order that we cannot start a war with Japan, but you are still trying your best to stir up trouble."

"Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to stop and a national war will really start? If that happens, will your father blame you? Can you bear it?"

As soon as Zhu Gang entered the hall, he spoke to Zhu Di sarcastically.

Zhu Di's face was calm, and he replied: "If Second Brother feels that it is impossible, there is no need to come. I think with Big Brother and Seventh Brother here, there will be no problem this time."

Zhu Gang snorted coldly upon hearing this, but did not respond to the conversation.

That being said, this is a good opportunity. Although they are fighting together, on the surface it is equivalent to lending troops to Zhu Di.

There are benefits to be gained, and Zhu Di can also take the blame. Why would Zhu Gang refuse such a thing?

"Alright, we are all brothers, don't quarrel as soon as you meet, it just makes me upset."

"Fourth Brother, what Third Brother said is true. Although you are responsible for this matter, Father may not think so. If he really wants to punish you, I don't know what the result will be."

King Qin Zhu Chong said that as the second elder brother, it was very necessary to reconcile the conflicts among his brothers.

Besides, nothing will get done by arguing like this.

Zhu Di heard this and replied with a smile: "Don't worry, second brother, the emperor can't blame me."

"After all, we are going there for the King of Japan. He is the one who invited us."

"It's just that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu planned this, and I just played along with him. Even if I suffer a loss, who can say anything?"