After arriving in Dalian, Hotta Masamori of course could not meet the general at the first time, so he had to submit a letter to ask for a meeting first, and then wait for the summons.

Before that, he went to meet Fang Yizhi first, after all, this is an old acquaintance, and the "traitorous treaty" last time was signed with Fang Yizhi. After learning from Fang Yizhi that the general had just led the Northern Expedition and defeated more than 100,000 Jiannu, he confirmed that he had come to the right place.

It's still amazing!

It's really worthy of the Celestial Empire!

After two days of anxious waiting, Masamori Hotta, as the head of the mission, was finally summoned by the general.

When Hotta Masamori saw the soldiers wearing "Nanban armor" in front of the General's Mansion, he couldn't help but be surprised:

"Fang joined the army, why did the Celestial Empire army all use the "Southern Barbarian Armor"? ”

That's so expensive!

Unlike the last time we met in Japan, when Hotta Masamori spoke Japanese, this time he was proficient in Sinology, and he spoke Chinese, and it was also an authentic Ming official dialect, Fang Yizhi explained.

"This iron armor is all made of local steel, which can block bows and arrows and bullets, and with such excellent armor, it is natural that the soldiers should be equipped, what is strange about this."

"Ah, what a heavenly soldier!"

Hotta Masamori was very surprised by this, in his opinion, such a "Southern Barbarian armor" should only be worn by a shogun daimyo, but in the Celestial Empire, the expensive Southern Barbarian armor seems to have become a big road goods, and I think it is, when Toyotomi did not measure his strength to conquer Korea, he fought with the Ming army, and the Ming army was in excellent armor in addition to the fierce artillery fire.

"No wonder the Celestial Empire Soldiers were able to defeat the tyrannical Eastern Captives!"

Hotta Masamori says:

"There are heavenly soldiers coming out of the battle, and if you want to come to Dongyu, you must not be able to trouble all over the country anymore."

Speaking kung fu, Hotta Masamori was introduced into the main hall, and Zhu Guoqiang was sitting in the hall.

Hotta Masamori immediately knelt down and kowtowed:

"Hotta Masamori, the minister of the lower country, meet the general of the Celestial Empire!"

Zhu Guoqiang said with a smile:

"Excuse me, please get up."

Although the Shogun sat upright in the hall, Hotta Masamori was still shocked because the Shogun was too tall and taller than the other Akito he had ever seen. He looked up at the general Pingyu, as if there was a god sitting in front of him, and thought: No wonder he can defeat the Dongyu repeatedly, the general must be the first fierce general in the world.

The Japanese in this era are really too short, and the average height is 1.4 meters, 1.5 meters, and even 1.3 meters. Even during the conquest of Korea during the Wanli period, in many records of the Ming army, the Ming army felt that the Japanese were like children who had not grown up.

If you can't eat enough, where can you grow taller?

Zhu Guoqiang, who is 1.86 meters tall, is naturally tall like a god in front of them.

Hotta Masamori said very respectfully:

"My general, admiring the general's prestige, ordered his ministers to visit the general, and gave him 10,000 taels of gold, 100,000 taels of silver, and a famous knife as a gift......

After dealing with the Ming people for so many years, the Japanese certainly know the truth that many people are not to blame, and these gold and silver are "bribes".

"I don't want gold or silver,"

Zhu Guoqiang said with a smile,

"If the Ouchi clan is truly supportive, then donate it to the Relief Agency for the relief of the victims."

"The general really loves the people like a son!"

Hotta Masamori slapped a sycophant, and then hurriedly knelt down and said:

"General, the subordinate came to the Celestial Empire on the order of the general of our army this time to ask for help from the Celestial Empire, and I beg the general to save the Japanese people......"

As Hotta Masamori naturally cried silently about how tyrannical and brutal the Eastern pirates were, listening to his description, a thought came to Zhu Guoqiang's heart - as if you Japanese were kind, when you were a Japanese pirate, you were not soft on the people of the Ming Dynasty.

But even though he was thinking so in his heart, Zhu Guoqiang still listened to him with a solemn expression, and did not echo until he finished speaking.

"Jiannu is so tyrannical, it really makes people want to crush their bones and ashes, so as to eliminate the hatred in their hearts!"

"General, Japan is a small state and a widow, and the Eastern Captives come from all over the sea, and they are elusive, and they are really not the enemy of Japan, and I also ask the General to send troops to Korea, which can not only save the old feudal Korea of the Celestial Dynasty from the enslavement of the Eastern Captives, but also save Japan from fire and water, so that Japan can be saved from being attacked by the Eastern Captives......"

Hotta Masamori kowtowed again.

"Please ask the general to be so obedient to the Celestial Empire in Japan, and send troops to save me!"

Faced with his request, Zhu Guoqiang groaned.

"Sending troops? The name is not right! ”

Belch?

What the?

"Not to mention anything else, North Korea has abandoned China and betrayed its name, which is really not rebellious, how can I know how to rescue the rebel? As for Japan......"

Staring at Hotta Masamori, Zhu Guoqiang asked rhetorically.

"Hotta, you tell me, why did my Ming send out to save Japan? Is Japan a part of the Ming Dynasty? ”

"This ......"

The question of the general made Hotta Masamori mute.

Although for the shogunate of the previous dynasties in the future, obtaining the small seal of the Ming canonization is an extremely desirable thing, but they never admit that Japan is a Ming vassal. After all, there are still emperors in Japan, and of course, for the shoguns, they are more than happy to further strengthen their authority through the generals appointed by the "emperor" and the "kings of Japan" canonized by the Celestial Empire.

In fact, for the Tokugawa shogunate, for so many years, they have been trying to get the canonization of the Celestial Empire, and even in the eyes of many foreign daimyos, the canonization of the Celestial Empire is also one of the bases that shows the legitimacy of the shogunate.

But the problem is, the Ming Dynasty is not canonized!

But now the problem comes, in the past, the shoguns begged for canonization, and it was the shoguns who were sealed, which does not mean that Japan is a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, at least they comfort themselves so much.

Now the question asked by the general, Hotta Masamori really can't answer it for a while.

Seeing that Hotta Masamori had become mute, Zhu Guoqiang continued.

"If Japan is not, then why should I save Japan?"

"General, at the end of last year, my general has signed a trade treaty with the general to open up a concession in the Celestial Empire, so it is not inferior to the Korean affairs of Da Muhua, and the heart of my general's fist is really from the bottom of my heart!"

"It's just a concession, when the East invaded Liaodong at the beginning, when I opened up a new town in North Korea, the king of Korea not only promised to rip the soil, but also levied food to help my army, and directly sent tens of thousands of troops to help the war, so how can Da Muhua be compared with Japan!"

Hey, it's better than filial piety?

Among the godsons of the Ming Dynasty, who is more filial than the North Koreans, although the King of the Joseon is inevitably selfish, but he is indeed filial to the Ming Dynasty. Not only was the king of Joseon filial, but the ministers were also filial, King Li surrendered to the Qing Dynasty here, and some ministers began to plan a coup d'état.

How good is such a son......

Japan, that is, a rebel!

"Besides, in the past, the merchant ships of our Celestial Empire could enter and leave various ports in Japan at will, but now they can only enter and leave Nagasaki, and goods can only be sold to designated merchants, is this the great heart of the Tokugawa shogun?"

The general's rhetorical question made Hotta Masamori's back sweat, the last time Fang Yizhi negotiated in Edo, he tried to open up a few commercial ports, and the general naturally couldn't agree to this kind of thing that would break the general's monopoly on overseas trade profits.

Even, the reason why the general made so many concessions in the concession was to avoid opening other commercial ports.

But now, all this has become a clear proof of Japan's "insincerity and big things".

Now what?

In fact, before coming to the Ming Dynasty, when they discussed with the general to ask the Celestial Empire to send troops to Korea, they had already expected this situation - how could the Ming Dynasty take advantage of Japan's fire?

Dongyu ...... That's also the mortal enemy of the Ming Dynasty!

Hotta Masamori kowtowed.

"General Qiyu, the reason why the Eastern Captives will plunder Japan is actually to increase their strength, in order to plot to invade the Celestial Empire again, if the Great General allows them to plunder Japan, it will definitely grow further over time, and then it will be a disaster for the Ming Dynasty......

For him, this seems to be the only reason to convince Ming Guo, after all, this is also a fact, you sent troops just to save Japan, and it is also for your own sake.

"Truth, it's true, it's just that now my 100,000-strong army has just finished the Northern Expedition, and I need time to recuperate......"

Staring at Hotta Masamori, Zhu Guoqiang shook his head and said.

"I really can't find a reason to send troops to help Japan right now!"