Yang Kedong died mysteriously in Chongqing, and refused to canonize Hideyoshi and then transfer troops

Yang Yinglong's second son Yang Kedong was ordered to go to Chongqing as a hostage, Yang Yinglong has six sons, two daughters and two grandchildren, including Yang Chaodong, Yang Kedong, Yang Weidong, Yang Shengdong, Yang Kandong, and Yang Qidong; women have Yang Zhenhui and Yang Zhenrui; Sun is the eldest grandson Yang Yuanshou and grandson Yang Songshou. Yang Kedong is only in his early twenties, and the newlywed Yan'er, although he has been dressed and fed since he was a child, he is full of poetry and books, and is deeply influenced by Confucianism. Compared with the irascible and brave eldest brother Yang Chaodong, Yang Kedong is more well-behaved and elegant, and is deeply loved by the clan. Yang Yinglong was also reluctant to give up because of this, and he couldn't bear Yang Kedong to be hostage.

After Yang Kedong was sent to Chongqing, Chongqing Governor Wang Shiqi asked, "Young Master Yang, do you know why you came here?" After Yang Kedong replied briefly, Wang Shiqi said: "Your father Yang Yinglong has done a lot of evil and has a cunning temperament, and the court is always extrajudicial because of its sympathy for the hard work of the Yang family in Banzhou. But just in case, I had to temporarily wronged Yang Gongzi, and after the Banzhou fine was paid, I would let Gongzi go back. ”

Yang Kedong replied: "Thank you for your understanding, although the Yang family of Banzhou is not a famous family, it has also been a town for a long time, has its own family motto, and acts in a good way." I believe that all the accusations against my father and Banshu Yang are false, and they will disappear in the long run. It's just that people's hearts are unpredictable, and people with ulterior motives are ready to move. Please also pay more attention to the government. Wang Shiqi was displeased when he heard this, so he ordered someone to send Yang Kedong to rest and guard him closely.

In May, the Ming Dynasty proposed to canonize Toyotomi Hideyoshi again, and the Ministry of War Shangshu Shi Xing advocated the re-canonization, and the Wanli Emperor Zhuan and ordered Yang Fangheng and Shen Weijing to serve as the principal and deputy envoys to leave for Japan. coincided with the imminent wedding of the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo, and the court and the central government discussed this, but because the emperor's eldest son had not been canonized as the crown prince for a long time, the ministers did not know whether to use the princely rite system or the prince rite system, so they asked Wanli to make a decision on the one hand, and asked Wanli to make a decision on the other hand. Emperor Wanli was extremely tired of this.

In the face of the piles of songs, Emperor Wanli was in a depressed mood, and he couldn't help but smile and said: "My courtiers of the Ming Dynasty really know the etiquette, are full of loyalty, and perseverance, I really admire it very much." The people in this world and the people around me are all admired by me. Zhang Cheng, after a while, there will be a sense of sorrow, the world is uneasy, financial resources are embarrassed, and the wedding of the emperor's eldest son is postponed. ”

Zhang Cheng replied: "The slave maid still asks the master to think twice, I am afraid that this matter is prevaricated but not those courtiers, the marriage of the eldest son of the emperor is not only what the courtiers are looking forward to, the emperor's relatives, the queen mother and the people of the world are looking forward to it, and the marriage of the eldest son of the emperor has nothing to do with whether to establish the crown prince, so please be cautious and consider the overall situation." ”

Emperor Wanli saw that Zhang Cheng also admonished, he was angry, and asked about the recent situation of the Empress Dowager's biological father, Wuqinghou Li Wei, Zhang Cheng didn't know why Emperor Wanli had this question, so he replied: "Wuqinghou has lived in a simple house in recent years, and the slaves and maids don't know the details, so it should be okay to think about it." Emperor Wanli said: "I heard that this Marquis of Wuqing has a granddaughter under his knees, and she is a flower and moon appearance, which is lovely, and it seems that there is no marriage match so far, I don't know why?" After all, it belongs to the Queen Mother's family, and I am also related to each other, and there should be an endless stream of such families, and I know that you may have been ordered by the Queen Mother to visit Wu Qinghou, and you have talked a lot with Wu Qinghou's family. Is it true that no one came to the door to propose marriage, or is there another reason? ”

Zhang Cheng replied that he didn't know, and Emperor Wanli said again: "It's okay, don't mention the family of Marquis Wuqing." Since I succeeded to the throne, you have been by my side, and you have worked hard and made great achievements, and your younger brother and nephew can also inspect and promote, or promote your merits or choose a family business, but there are many impeachments in the DPRK and the central government to impeach you for exercising power and authority, which is not good for your brother and nephew. It's hard for me to do, and I need to be careful about rewarding it. You should also be careful, don't say what you shouldn't say, and remember not to embarrass me. ”

Zhang Cheng knelt down and thanked him: "The master is gracious, the slave and the maid are sincerely afraid, the master has every opportunity to work on state affairs, and the slave and maid do not dare to bother the master in family affairs, and the slave and maid will deal with it properly." On the occasion of the eldest son's wedding, the fact that the slave maid's family is a drop in the bucket is not worth mentioning. It's just that the queen mother has been looking forward to the wedding of the emperor's eldest son for a long time, and then ask the master to take care of the overall situation. ”

Zhang Cheng has been arrogant to the outside world since he was appointed as the commander of the East Factory, and although Wanli was dissatisfied, he was still respectful to Zhang Cheng, so he never broke the crime. Today, I listened to Zhang Cheng also advise the country, and after a little mention, it still does not converge, and Wanli is difficult to be compatible. Emperor Wanli said: "You are very good at looking at the overall situation today, just like the officials in the court, and you also moved out of the queen mother, as cunning as the cabinet." Aren't you tired of doing so much? Since when have you not listened to my orders? Zhang Cheng was very frightened by what Wanli said, and immediately fell to his knees at a loss, and repeatedly complained of injustice.

Emperor Wanli was furious: "Don't act in front of me!" I have already given you enough face, and I have mentioned it one after another, you don't understand!? I miss that you have been with me for a long time, and you are loyal to let you take over the helm of the ceremonial supervisor and the East Factory, and you can be powerful in the palace on weekdays, after all, a group of slaves and maids in the palace also need to be strictly disciplined. I don't care if you take bribes and accumulate personal wealth. uses power for his own benefit, and I can turn a blind eye to my old feelings. But you, as the master of ceremonies, are so bold that you are forbidden to communicate with your relatives, and instruct the children of your family to secretly marry Wu Qinghou, what deal do you want to do with Wu Qinghou? Or does Wu Qinghou want to make a deal with you? Regarding the canonization of the emperor's eldest son, did Marquis Wu Qing say a word to you? I'll find out later! As for you, ignoring the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, a eunuch married a relative, was good at prestige, and intended to infiltrate the government, and there were already officials who impeached you. This matter is also intolerable, Feng Bao and Zhang Whale, the lessons of the previous car are not far away. I wanted to open the net to give you a chance, but you didn't have the slightest sense of awe, took my words as a deaf ear, and pretended to be in front of me! Keep talking about the country and the overall situation, and you are also worthy of talking about the country!? ”

Seeing this, Zhang Cheng hurriedly begged for mercy and begged Wanli Kai to forgive. Wanli said: "I will not let the minister appear in the court, and the master of ceremonies does not need the minister, I hope that the people around me can keep to themselves, Zhang Cheng, you are very disappointed in me, but I will not kill you, step down." Then Wanli called Jinyi Wei to send Zhang Cheng back to the celebrant supervisor. In the twenty-fourth year of Wanli, the Wanli Emperor married the Marquis of Wuqing with Zhang Cheng, who was good at Weifu, surrendered to the emperor, and Si Xiang Xiaoling, with his family, his younger brothers and nephews were all cut to be punished. Shengtian Yi was the palm seal of the celebrant supervisor, and Chen Ju was appointed as the chief of the ceremonial supervisor and was in charge of the East Factory.

Since Yang Kedong was detained in Chongqing, he has been well fed and clothed, and his books and pen and ink have also responded to his needs, but all words and the like are strictly investigated. But no one ever talked to Yang Kedong, and he was not allowed to go out, so he had to be confined to house arrest in a house. Yang Kedong was bored, so he had to read and practice calligraphy every day, and write poems for his own entertainment.

Yang Kedong had not seen Banzhou come to donate money to ransom for a long time, let alone the officials of Qianshu who came here to visit and interrogate, he was worried about whether there had been a change, and he became increasingly anxious, and he was extremely concerned about Yang Yinglong, so he tried to find out the news again and again, and contacted the prefect to ask for a request but there was no response. Yang Kedong couldn't help but be a little cranky, restless all day long, increasingly depressed, not thinking about tea and rice, eating only a few mouthfuls, lifeless all day long, so that he often muttered to himself.

One day, Yang Kedong suddenly felt unwell, dizzy, chest panic and shortness of breath, weakness in his limbs, and then had an unbearable headache, fever, and cramps, and screamed unconscious. The guards heard Yang Kedong's screams, went to check, and saw Yang Kedong fall to the ground and hurriedly shouted for help and reported to Wang Shiqi to know. Wang Shiqi, the prefect of Chongqing, rushed to the scene when he heard the news, but saw that the doctors were helpless, and Yang Kedong died. Seeing this, Wang Shiqi had to inform Banzhou to ransom the corpse with gold.

In July of the twenty-fourth year of Wanli, Yang Kedong died of illness in Chongqing, and Yang Yinglong almost fainted when he heard the great mourning. When Yang Yinglong woke up, he asked Yang Kedong why he died. Clerk Ma Zhong said: "People said that the second son was depressed and unhappy, coupled with the water and soil, the heat was unbearable, and he suddenly contracted a disease and died. ”

His subordinate He Tingyu couldn't help but wonder about this: "It's ridiculous, the second son is hostage, waiting for a fine, he should be properly taken care of, and he will be closely monitored, if he is infected, he should also be treated immediately, how can he easily let the second son die?" In my opinion, there must be something strange in this. ”

He Hanliang seconded: "I also think that the second son must have another cause of death, so saying this is deliberate by Qianshu?" It is unreasonable, this is obviously in danger of forcing the rebellion against Banzhou, and the governors of the two provinces will never act like this, and it should be that someone among the subordinates instructed to do this without authorization. "The He brothers are the core members of Yang Yinglong's command, both civil and military, and they are very important to the affairs of Banzhou.

Yang Yinglong shouted: "It's the fifth division!" They did it! It's their secret hand! Fearing that the court would no longer hold me accountable for my crimes, they wanted to assassinate my son and set me and the court against each other completely, so that they could take the opportunity to replace him! It must be the case, how many of the wealthy families surnamed Zhang, Yuan, Tan, Luo, Wu, and Lu in the five divisions are involved in this matter to be carefully investigated! There are also governors of Sichuan and Guizhou provinces who have been secretly communicating with the five divisions and seven surnames for a long time, and they must know about this matter! It's all a conspiracy, but why haven't my son's corpse been returned?! ”

Sun Shitai replied: "The reply over there is that the fine will be paid and the corpse will be collected." It's really unbelievable and outrageous, how can it be justified! The bones of the second son are not cold, the cause of death is strange, and they regard it as a strange commodity to live in, but they use it to threaten it, it is really shameless, this is deliberately to provoke you! Don't think about the dead, change to the corpse first! Heaven and man are outraged! Is it tolerable or unbearable! ”

Yang Yinglong said angrily: "Sure enough, it must be because my son has another cause of death that he doesn't dare to hand over the body, and he uses this to threaten the fine to wantonly humiliate and bully people too much!" Tell them! If my son rises from the dead, the silver will come, or else I will return blood for blood." Five traitors, my Yang clan will definitely want you to pay for my son's blood debt! Kill until my son's body is returned. Yang Zhaolong and Yang Chaodong led the Yang family's relatives and cronies to collectively petition for Yang Kedong's revenge, and Yang Yinglong agreed.

Yang Yinglong set up a mourning hall to set up loyal ministers and filial piety, and sent more than 1,000 soldiers and horses to station at the junction of Songkan and Sichuan, before Sichuan was stable, to demonstrate and deter, and shout and cry spirits, and cast spells to summon spirits. He also summoned three hundred monks to do a great work to surpass the dead, which was known from far and near, and southern Sichuan was shaken. Yang Yinglong was determined to take revenge on the five divisions and seven surnames and was also extremely resentful of the Ming Dynasty, but in order to temporarily stabilize the Ming Dynasty, he threw forty golden silk nanmu plants.

At the same time, Yang Yinglong was in charge of four people in Banzhou, and two brothers, Tian Yipeng and Tian Feipeng, who were in charge of the Banzhou Internal Division, were in charge of the military of Gao'an Road and Shaxi Road. He Hanliang is the head of the Banzhou Foreign Affairs Department, and is in charge of the affairs of the seedlings. He Tingyu served as the governor of Banzhou, in charge of the eight divisions and fifty-four miles of grain.

With Sun Shitai as the military advisor, He Hanliang, He Tingyu, and the clerk Ma Zhong as the strategists. Divide the troops and horses into 12 roads, take Longyan hoarding as the base camp, and vigorously fight the troops and horses, and rectify the internal affairs. On the occasion of rebuilding the key passes in the territory, Yang Yinglong waved his troops straight out of the southeast in the autumn of the twenty-fourth year of Wanli, liquidated the old department of the five divisions and seven surnames, and the Banzhou army attacked and plundered Yuqing, Dahu, Duba, burned and robbed the two divisions of Caotang and Xinglong, Duyun and each guard, and surrounded Huangping; Slaughter the house of the chief of Chong'an.

In September, Yang Fangheng and Shen Weijing arrived in Japan to meet Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but Shen Weijing did not see Konishi Yuki, and he was suspicious. Toyotomi Hideyoshi summoned the Ming envoy and changed the interpreter separately and said: "The last time the Ming envoy came, he should have known what he meant, but he never expected that the Ming Emperor would be so gracious that he would be canonized again." Hideyoshi was grateful. ”

Yang Fangheng immediately read out the edict of canonization, and Hideyoshi said after hearing it: "The Japanese emperor wants to marry Princess Daming, why hasn't the princess arrived?" Why is there only canonization and no exploration trade? When will the south of the Han River in Korea be ceded to Japan? Where is the oath of Japan, which the Korean monarch vowed never to betray? Why didn't the Joseon prince come with him to hostage Japan? ”

According to the translator, Hideyoshi's series of questions made Shen Weijing feel bad, and Yang Fangheng replied: "I have never heard of this matter, I don't know where you learned about it?" My Celestial Empire has never heard of these conditions, let alone granted them. We are waiting for the order of the Son of Heaven to come to canonize Japan, this is the emperor's grace, and we must not slack off. In addition, you are a small state, how dare you encroach on me if you want to pay tribute! Therefore, I think you are ignorant, but you can not be held accountable for the time being, and do not commit it again, Taira Hideyoshi is not quick to kneel down to receive the holy decree! ”

Hideyoshi sat upright, and replied: "This is the condition we submitted when the first batch of envoys Xie Yongzin and Xu Yi came, but we agreed to it at that time, could it be that they didn't report to your emperor after they went back?" Yang Fangheng replied: "I have never heard of the names of Xie Yongzin and Xu Yicheng in Beijing, and the Ming Dynasty will know to everyone in the future, who is so bold and dares to pretend to be an envoy of the Celestial Empire!" Is there any evidence for what you say?! ”

Hideyoshi was furious: "Sure enough! You've been teasing me all the time! What a peace! I will now take Goryeo and the Tang Dynasty, and make your emperor submit to my feet! I will let you know the consequences of playing with me. ”

Yang Fangheng was shocked after hearing this, and Shen Weijing immediately said: "His Royal Highness Taige is angry, there may be a misunderstanding in this matter, the person who has been talking to us has been Japan's Konishi Yuki, and all the conditions and information about Japan are obtained from Konishi Yuki, the Celestial Empire is famous for its faithfulness and righteousness, and the four Yi are obedient, how can there be such a shameless act?" Thinking like this, it must be that Governor Konishi who is getting in the way, and he is teasing His Royal Highness Taige! ”

Toyotomi Hideyoshi laughed and said: "Hahaha, Governor Konishi, Shen Weijing, you want to put all the blame on him, treacherous villain, it seems that there are some secrets between you and Governor Konishi, you might as well tell me, otherwise I will execute you all now!" Maeda Toshiya persuaded: "His Royal Highness Taiko is angry, please put the two envoys under house arrest first, and spy on intelligence, so that the news of our preparations for war will not leak out, and we can deploy immediately." ”

Toyotomi Hideyoshi said, "No, you should put the two back at once, go back and tell your emperor that I will definitely go to his palace to meet him in person." Let him be prepared, and don't just run away like the king of Joseon. He then ordered the expulsion of the envoy. Maeda Toshiie asked Toyotomi Hideyoshi why he wanted to release the Ming envoy to leak the news?

Hideyoshi replied: "Li family, have you forgotten, this matter was planned by Governor Konishi and this Shen Weijing from beginning to end, it was the two of them who didn't want me and the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom to know the truth, what were they afraid of?" Regardless of why they lied in the first place, they were afraid of being killed in the end. Shen Weijing is the same, Xiaoxi still has military strategy and martial bravery, and he can also contribute to the expedition, and he can dispose of it after the war. But what use did Shen Weijing have for the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom? He is just a treacherous man with a flamboyant tongue, and he will definitely be executed if the truth is revealed, so he will definitely do everything in his power to continue to hide it. ”

Maeda Toshiya was worried that another envoy, Yang Fangheng, would leak the military information, and Hideyoshi said: "I think Shen Weijing will do his best to stop that person, even if Ming Guo knows the truth, it doesn't matter, I am already determined to fight this battle, all the troops of Ming Guo are coming, let me destroy them at one time, and then drive straight in!" ”

Maeda Toshiie suggested: "Our army is still holding on to Busan, we can first collect intelligence, formulate a military strategy, we must go all out, this battle will definitely be more fierce than the last time, and there must be no confrontation, but if the Tang army is exhausted, it may as well go straight to its national capital division from the sea." ”

Hideyoshi agreed, thinking that the first thing to do was to solve the Korean naval army general Yi Sunsin, just as he said that Hideyoshi's eyes suddenly darkened, and he couldn't sit on the ground, the Toshiya hurriedly helped, and when he saw that Hideyoshi was weak, he asked Hideyoshi to go into the room to rest, and Hideyoshi instructed Maeda Toshiya to make Ukita Hideya the captain of the army, gather the lords and daimyo, and assemble the army. Maeda Toshiya received the order.

After the Ming Dynasty mission was expelled, the Ming envoy Yang Fangheng panicked, but still thought that it should be played truthfully. Seeing this, Shen Weijing hurriedly persuaded: "By all means, this canonization failed, and we were deported back to China, which is extremely embarrassing. The prestige of the Celestial Empire has been lost by both you and me, so in this way, although the emperor will know the ambition of Hideyoshi's wolf, he will also condemn you and me because of the humiliation of the Son of Heaven, and the officials in the court will even criticize and write. And now that you and I are publicly demonstrating in front of you, you and I are even more guilty of doing things unfavorably, and our death is a small matter, and our reputation will be ruined in one fell swoop, and the old and young in the family will be blamed, and life is better than death. ”

Yang Fangheng trembled and said: "But you can't just sit idly by, as a courtier, you should play truthfully, otherwise the court is defenseless, and it won't make the Japanese traitorous plan succeed." Shen Weijing said: "This matter is so that there is no need to worry, the Ming Dynasty and North Korea often have secret agents who forget to return to the sea, and there are also businessmen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who are trafficked in Japan. But you and I don't know, so we can save our lives. ”

Yang Fangheng asked again: "Shen Weijing, are you really secretly in contact with the Japanese Konishi Yuki, doing things that betray the country to seek glory?" Shen Weijing replied: "Oh, why are you saying this? Can you believe the words of the wolf? The Japanese are mad and shameless, and they only hate me for having no power to restrain the chicken, otherwise they will definitely behead Konishi Yukicho from his relatives. Now that the thieves are treacherous, you and I are facing a big crime of being unable to argue and returning to China to be beheaded. In order to save the life of the family and fulfill the righteousness of the monarch and ministers, please listen to my advice. ”

Yang Fangheng asked Shen Weijing for advice, and Shen Weijing offered advice: "Japan will conquer Korea again even if it does not pass through you and me, it will be known by the imperial court, but you and I don't know that Japan is preparing for war again, so we forged a Toyotomi Hideyoshi's thanksgiving and submitted it, so as to prove that the Japanese chief was deliberately deceived and took the lead in breaking the contract." In this way, you and I will have the emperor's mercy and will not be held accountable. Please also ask the envoy to bring the thank you watch back to Beijing to present it to the emperor, and then stay in Korea to wait for news and observe the movements of the Japanese invaders, so that you and I can cooperate and be safe. Yang Fangheng was afraid that the crime would be full of evil, so he had to agree with this proposal.