On the surface, Japan was taking advantage of Goryeo, and Goryeo was taking advantage of the grassland.

However, the same principle also applies in reverse. Everyone knows it and they are just taking advantage of each other.

Don't underestimate Japan during this period. You must know that before the Ming Dynasty invaded Japan, the only threat to Japan was the Mongols.

Apart from this, Japan does not have to worry about being threatened by other countries.

After several years of development, coupled with the high-yield crops brought by the Ming Dynasty, Japan is now in a period of population explosion. If Kyushu Island had not been occupied, within a dozen years, Japan's population is estimated to be close to 10 million.

A big country with a population of tens of millions is definitely at the top of the world in today's era.

You have to know that when Timur occupied the entire Central Asia, the population was only around 30 million.

In fact, even if Japan did not launch an attack at this time, Zhu Ying would free up his hands from the grassland to deal with Japan.

Goryeo was very close to Japan, and Lee Seong-gye's words soon reached Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.

At this time, the Ming Navy had not yet launched a blockade of Japan.

"General, Goryeo is simply going too far. They even dare to ask for 500,000 dan of grain. Is he really dreaming? How dare he ask for such a large amount of food?"

"That's right, General. Goryeo has already started an uprising. Even if they regret it now, it's too late. The Ming Dynasty will still deal with them. We can completely ignore Goryeo now."

"Five hundred thousand dan of grain, how many troops can we feed? Now many warriors are eating sweet potatoes, not even rice."

The temporary palace of Chikuzen Province.

The news from Goryeo came from Tsushima Island, and as soon as he received the news, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu convened a military meeting.

When the daimyo learned of Goryeo's conditions, there were voices of opposition, and no one was willing to give Goryeo 500,000 shi of grain.

Listening to the noise below, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu just remained silent, neither expressing any opposition nor rejection.

The confidant of the Daimyo Kuroda secretly observed the expression of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and guessed that the Shogun wanted to give the food, and would probably not refuse even if it was less.

The Kuroda clan was different from the Takeuchi clan in that they did not have many samurai on their payroll. Their fiefdom was previously on Kyushu Island, but they moved to Honshu Island because it was occupied by the Ming army.

There were many families like the Kuroda family who moved from Kyushu Island, but as Honshu Island was the political and cultural center of Japan, there were no fiefs left for them at that time.

In the end, it was Ashikaga Yoshimitsu who spoke up and asked the big families to squeeze out a small space for their survival.

Among these relocated families, the Kuroda family was considered to be doing well, as at least they still had the opportunity to fight together here.

Daimyo Kuroda relied on his ability to figure out Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's thoughts.

"I think we should give Goryeo grain, and try to give 500,000 dan of grain."

When Daimyo Kuroda's voice rang out in the room, everyone stopped talking.

When they saw that it was Kuroda who was speaking, everyone's faces turned bad.

Daimyo Oda was about to start scolding. In his eyes, the Kuroda clan was nothing. They dared to refute the opinions of so many daimyos on his side. They simply didn't know how to write the word death.

However, when he was about to speak, the daimyo next to him pulled his sleeve.

Oda turned his head and glared, only to see the daimyo next to him signaling to the Shogun with his eyes.

Oda followed his gaze and saw that the Shogun, who had been silent before, was now smiling and nodding. He was immediately shocked and looked at the daimyo next to him with gratitude.

"Oh, everyone said we can't give it, but why do you have to give it, and give enough? Daimyo Kuroda, you have to give a good explanation, otherwise it will go against the wishes of all the daimyo."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu said this with a smile, but anyone could hear that his tone was gentle, and even contained a hint of appreciation.

Now, even a fool can understand the general's inclination.

Daimyo Kuroda's eyes flashed with pride, knowing that he had figured out the general's intention, so he stood up and bowed, saying, "Five hundred thousand koku of grain is indeed a lot, and it is an inestimable number for any daimyo, but it is not impossible to get it together."

"The King of Goryeo said that the Ming Dynasty is going to blockade our sea areas now. Although we haven't received any definite news, according to the Ming Dynasty's previous practice, the blockade of the sea areas is a certainty."

"Back then, our Japanese navy fought against the Ming navy with all its might, but ended up being completely defeated. Over the years, we have endured humiliation and redeveloped our navy, but you daimyo should also know that it is impossible to defeat the Ming navy."

"Once the sea area is blocked, we will be completely cut off from Goryeo, and we can only rely on our own strength."

"What we need now is a strong ally to help us share the pressure brought by Ming Dynasty. Goryeo is this ally now. Helping Goryeo is equivalent to helping ourselves."

"As long as we can recapture Kyushu Island and drive the Ming soldiers out of our country, I think even one million dan of grain, let alone 500,000 dan, would be worth it."

"If we don't send out this food now, when Goryeo is quickly defeated by Ming, how can we bear the threat of Ming alone?"

After he said this, the other daimyos fell silent. Some of them even had angry looks on their faces, staring at Kuroda Daimyo with ill intentions.

In fact, most daimyos also knew that Goryeo refused to give gold and jewelry and asked for food, so this food must be given.

However, there are many considerations as to how much should be contributed and who will bear the main responsibility.

The powerful and confident daimyo all wanted the general to take the lion's share, so they just wanted to show their appreciation, and that's why they raised their voices of opposition.

If no one stands up, the only one who will stand up in the end is the general himself, and in this case the general will definitely have to provide most of the food.

The Takeuchi clan, who was also a confidant and a long-time ally of the Ashikaga family, had not spoken before.

It’s hard to say whether he really doesn’t understand or he’s deliberately not understanding.

But I didn't expect Kuroda to stand up.

Now that Kuroda had spoken, the daimyo could no longer object. If they continued to object, it would be obvious that they were making things difficult for the Shogun.

"What Kuroda said makes some sense. In fact, I guess that Goryeo wants so much food, most likely not for its own use."

"Goryeo is also growing high-yield crops like the Ming Dynasty, and there have been no disasters in Goryeo in recent years, so there is no shortage of food."

"Now they don't want gold or silver, they just want food. I guess it's not for their own use."

"I heard that the Ming army has 600,000 troops hunting down Mongols on the grasslands. The Ming blockade of the grasslands has lasted for almost two years. There is even a saying on the grasslands that one ounce of gold is worth one ounce of rice."

"These 500,000 dan of grain should be for the Mongols."

"The King of Goryeo is also a smart man. He knows that Goryeo alone cannot deal with the Ming Dynasty. The only thing they can do is to unite with the Mongols."

"If Goryeo and Mongolia join forces, they might be able to stop the Ming army and buy us enough time."

"So these 500,000 dan of grain are crucial. With these grains, the Mongols can deal with the Ming Dynasty more easily. This is what the King of Goryeo is planning."

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu made the final decision and immediately arranged for the navy to deliver food to Goryeo.

The time is very tight, because no one knows how fast the Ming navy will blockade, or whether they are already on the way.

With Kuroda's support, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu forcefully arranged the amount of grain that each daimyo family would be responsible for.

Then he simply used the food in the army and sent it to Goryeo.

In order to successfully deliver the food to Goryeo, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu spent a lot of money this time and mobilized almost half of the Japanese navy, including the rations in the army, which were only left for less than ten days, waiting to be shipped from the rear.

The Ming Dynasty's East China Sea Navy was actually very fast. As soon as it received the imperial edict, it dispatched a fleet to cut off the connection between Goryeo and Japan.

However, it is still difficult to completely intercept the Japanese navy because they also have to undertake the task of transporting 200,000 troops to Kyushu Island.

The Japanese Navy cannot be compared with the East China Sea Navy in terms of equipment or other aspects.

But the East China Sea Navy did not dare to pull it too far, because in such a vast ocean, no matter how many warships there were, they would not be enough to pull it.

What's more, being too dispersed also has great risks. Even a large number of ants can kill an elephant. It would be embarrassing if we were defeated by the Japanese navy.

Even if Japan controlled Tsushima Island, it could still send ships from Honshu Island to reach Goryeo.

This was indeed the case, and Goryeo soon received the 500,000 shi of grain.

After receiving the grain, Li Chenggui did not intercept it, but sent it to Aruta intact.

After Aluta and the Tatars fled, they naturally retreated to the east. Their current temporary camp is in the place where the three guards of Wuliangha, or Doyan, stayed before.

This place happens to be adjacent to Goryeo.

At the beginning, it was not Lee Seong-gye who contacted Arutae, but Arutae who contacted Lee Seong-gye.

Because of the blockade, the grassland people had no food, so they naturally thought of Goryeo.

At that time, Lee Seong-gye secretly sent food to the grassland. On the one hand, he relied on Goryeo's own reserves, and on the other hand, they could buy it from Ming Dynasty at a high price.

The Ming Dynasty only banned exports to the grasslands, but did not ban exports to Goryeo.

Lee Seong-gye was still very cautious in his actions. He didn't buy much each time and paid most of the money out of his own pocket.

Aluta and Tatar had a lot of gold, silver and jewelry, which could not be eaten and most of which were looted. Now they were all trading with Goryeo.

They bought from Goryeo at a low price, then sold it to Ming to make a profit from the difference, and then purchased grain and transferred it to the grassland.

Over the past year, Lee Seong-gye made a fortune from the war.

This was also the source of his confidence in winning over ministers and establishing himself as king.

Asut tribe.

Ben Yashili looked at the carts of grain being delivered continuously and couldn't help but exclaimed loudly: "The Grand Master is really amazing. Goryeo actually gave us 500,000 dan of grain. If I hadn't seen it in person, I would never have believed it."

"With these grains, we can deal with the Ming Dynasty for longer. I don't believe that the Ming Dynasty's treasury has mountains of gold and silver, so we can't keep fighting for long."

"Now Korea and Japan are both against the Ming Dynasty, which has relieved a lot of pressure for us. I believe that in a few months, the Ming Dynasty will definitely find it difficult to gain a foothold on the grassland. As long as we survive this period of time, the grassland will still belong to us."

Ben Ya Shi Li's words made the surrounding clan leaders extremely excited.

At this time, they finally saw hope.

Over the past year or so, the Ming Dynasty really chased them around like chasing dogs. Every time they finally found a pasture, the Ming Dynasty army would come.

Now the war horses of each tribe are losing weight seriously, and most of the elderly in the tribe can no longer hold on and volunteer to serve as marching rations.

With these 500,000 shi of grain, they would no longer have to worry about food problems in the short term. Besides, now that people are rebelling against the Ming Dynasty everywhere, they might be able to drag the Ming Dynasty to death. Taking back the grassland would not be a dream.

Alutai was not too happy when he heard what Ben Ya Shi Li said. Instead, he sighed, "The Ming Dynasty is really too rich. I heard from the intelligence that the Ming Dynasty is not only fighting us on the grasslands, but they have also sent troops to Southeast Asia and even to the islands in more distant areas."

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is not a fool. He dared to attack other countries while fighting on the grasslands. This shows that the Ming Dynasty's treasury is full of grain and can no longer store it."

"Five hundred thousand dan of grain may sound like a lot, but it's not enough for us to eat for too long. We still need to send a message to the King of Goryeo and ask him to find a way to get us more grain."

"We don't have much gold, silver, and jewelry left. We'll give them all to the King of Goryeo. If we can escape the Ming's encirclement and suppression this time, we'll be able to get these gold and silver back one day. It's a burden to carry them now, so don't be stingy."

"Food alone is not enough. We need Goryeo to provide us with some more muskets and artillery. Otherwise, how can we help them hold back the Ming Dynasty?"

"If we lose, Lee Seong-gye won't live for many days."

Aluta sees things very clearly. Now everyone's situation is exposed. The so-called "prosperity together is prosperity, and adversity together is adversity together" is just like this.

Therefore, Aluta asked for as much as he could and wanted to get as much as he could from Goryeo.

The tribes on the grassland are having a hard time making a living now. They and the Tatars are relatively well off, at least they have Goryeo to help them.

I heard that the life of the Oirat people is even more difficult. They were chased by the Ming army all the way and now they can only flee to their ancestral land, which is the primeval forest.

The Wala originally came out of the primeval forest, and now they have to go back to being forest people again. It sounds a bit ironic.

However, the primeval forest may seem like a huge barrier, but in fact it is also a prison.

If they were still trapped inside in winter, I'm afraid Wala would be completely devastated.