Seeing that the Ming envoy Hideyoshi proposed conditions, Henan was flooded and gradually flooded

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was taking care of the pregnant Chacha at the Nagoya, Hideyoshi took good care of Chacha and looked forward to the birth of the heir, Hideyoshi knelt beside Chacha while stroking the pregnant belly and kept thinking: "Daddy is really anxious, I really want to see you soon, ah, why don't you come out now." Cha Cha said: "Your Highness, coming out now will not be conducive to growth." Hideyoshi smiled: "Yes, yes, then wait, I will always be by your side, I really don't know if it will be very strong after birth." Like me, rule the world. ”

The Daisesho Nene was also relieved to see Hideyoshi so happy, but out of the responsibility of the main room, he advised Hideyoshi not to lose his temper and reminded that the Maeda Toshiya was still on the side. Hideyoshi asked Maeda Toshiya if he had behaved out of shape? Maeda Toshiya replied embarrassedly: "That's not the case, I haven't seen His Royal Highness Taiko smile for a long time, and the minister is also very happy." ”

Hideyoshi said: "That's good, by the way, Kuroda Kanbei actually advocated to blackmail Ukita Hideya to order the entire army to withdraw from Hanyang without being asked, and Ishida Mitsunari reported the time I was still in disbelief for a while. That guy has always opposed the war in his heart, and it is by no means completely for the safety of the whole army, this time I can't bear it anymore, and it is useless to stay in Korea, so I ask him to come back and wait for disposal. "Maeda Toshiya took the order.

At this time, Konishi and Ishida Mitsunari asked to see Hideyoshi, and Konishi asked Hideyoshi if he could meet the Ming envoy as soon as possible, and Ishida Mitsunari said: "Your Royal Highness, the Ming envoy has been in Nagoya for many days, but I am afraid that after a long time, the Ming army and Korea may attack us through Jinju." Hideyoshi replied, "Well, since it's a peace, let's see you." ”

On May 8, the 21st year of Wanli, Toyotomi Hideyoshi convened his subordinates to formally meet with the Ming envoys Xie Yongzin and Xu Zheng. The two of them were fluent in Japanese, and with the help of Konishi Yukicho on the side, Hideyoshi spoke: "I don't like bloody wars, it's too cruel. But even for a peace-loving person like me, when he gets angry, he is terrified of himself, and that's the problem. Presumably, the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom also does not like swordsmen, so I and the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom really have something in common. Hideyoshi couldn't stop laughing, Xie Yongzin didn't know what he meant when he saw this?

Xie Yongzin said: "I don't know what His Royal Highness Taige means? The emperor specially ordered us to come and negotiate peace with your country, the truce of the three kingdoms, and the peace of the world, which is also the wish of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Xu also said: "The War of the Three Kingdoms is unnecessary, and now it is also the hope of all countries to stop the sword soldiers." I don't know what conditions your country has, but you can put it forward, and we will play the emperor as soon as possible. ”

Hideyoshi suddenly slapped the case and was angry: "North Korea is the problem, there is no need for this, the trade with the Ming State has been cut off for a long time, I just want to resume trade with the Ming State, but the North Korea is in the way, and there will be a war, isn't it!" Xie Yongzin and Xu were always frightened, and said yes again and again.

Maeda Toshiie said: "We have already seen the terms and conditions, and the most important thing is to divide Korea south of the Han River to Japan, otherwise our army will surely go north again to occupy the whole territory of Korea." It must be reported to the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom. In addition, Japan and the Ming developed exploration trade; North Korea needs to send a prince to stay in Japan as a hostage; The military attaches of the two countries have sworn an alliance forever; Korea will never betray Japan; In return, we will return the two Korean princes and other Korean officials we have captured; His Majesty the Emperor of Japan will marry Princess Daming as the Emperor and Empress. Only those who agree to the above conditions can they be dismissed. ”

Xie Yongzin said: "The princess in the palace is still young, is it too early to get married?" Hideyoshi said: "In the Ming Imperial Family, you can choose a person of the same age and appearance to enter into a marriage." His Majesty the Emperor is a living deity, and it is a privilege to be the Emperor and Empress for three lifetimes. "Xie Yongzinc and Xu have always dared not be.

Hideyoshi asked, "According to your opinion, can the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom agree to the conditions I offered?" Why do you only ask about marriage? Xie replied: "The above conditions are difficult for the ministers to call the shots, and they will report to the emperor according to the truth." Daming sincerely negotiated peace with your country, and the conditions issued by the Taige were not harmless to my Daming, and the minister thought that it should be okay. ”

Toyotomi Hideyoshi turned to Konishi Yukicho and stood up and said, "Konishi Yukicho, release the two captured Korean princes immediately after returning to Korea, and in addition, the sergeants must not be unarmed, and if the peace agreement breaks down, immediately use force to reoccupy Korea." "Governor Konishi received the order.

After the dispersal, Hideyoshi asked Maeda Toshiya: "Toshi, do you think it is true or false that Mingguo asked for peace?" Maeda Toshiie replied, "It's hard to determine, but according to Konishi, both armies are now in a difficult situation, and it makes sense to make peace." As Taige said, if peace is a holiday, our army is still unarmed and can go north at any time. If peace is true, it will be a great profit for us to occupy the south of the Han River after the agreement is made, and then we will recuperate and recuperate, and when the south of the Han River in Korea is completely restored, the war with Korea and the Ming Kingdom will be much smoother than this time. ”

Hideyoshi said, "What the Rika family said is exactly what I want, but just in case, Jeolla Province must now be completely under my control, and it just so happens that the whole army has withdrawn south to the three provinces, and immediately ordered Ukita Hideya to prepare to concentrate his forces to conquer Jinju and occupy Jeolla." Firmly located south of the Han River, whether it is divided or not is really under my rule. "The Li family took the order.

Hideyoshi sighed: "If the big thing is accomplished, it will usher in a prosperous era that Japan has not seen for a thousand years, and Oda Nobunaga's belief in the world will also be completed in my hands." I am the only one in the world. "Yes, His Royal Highness Taiko has endured hardships for a long time, and he can finally inherit the legacy of Oda Nobunaga, and he is already a man of destiny." The Emperor gave the surname Toyotomi, and the Toyotomi family will enjoy ten thousand years of eternity, and Nobunaga will also wish His Royal Highness Taiko prosperity in the spirit of heaven. ”

Hideyoshi smiled: "His Majesty the Emperor should enjoy ten thousand years forever, how dare Toyotomi compete with the Emperor." The Riki family must not talk nonsense, if His Majesty the Emperor knows, what should I think of my Hideyoshi? The Li family said with a smile: "Toyotomi is in charge of serving the emperor, and the world is in the heart." His Royal Highness Taiko has such humility, and His Majesty the Emperor will pray for your blessings. Hideyoshi laughed.

In May of the 21st year of Wanli, Henan suddenly flooded, among the eight prefectures and one state of Henan's political division, affecting Kaifeng, Guide, Henan, Zhangde, Weihui, Huaiqing, Ruzhou six prefectures and one state, the river in Henan burst the embankment, the crops rotted, the houses were washed away, and the people were displaced.

Zhao Shiqing, the governor of Henan at that time, had only been in office for a month, and when he heard that the flood had suddenly arrived, he urgently asked the vassal to have a division to discuss. Zhao Shiqing said: "The flood is very serious, and the political secretary and the judicial department immediately inform all provinces, and work with the affected prefectures and counties to verify the disaster, take refuge in the people, and then provide relief after checking the disaster." I can also play it in writing. ”

Henan according to the inspector sighed again and again: "Zhao Dutang, the flood is surging, the official roads in various places are blocked, the march is difficult, and the verification may be difficult to complete within a few months, the time limit for reporting disasters is clearly stipulated by the imperial court, the summer disaster is limited to May, and the autumn disaster is limited to July. ”

Zhao Shiqing replied: "Knowing this, we should do our best to cross the water and mountains to investigate the disaster situation in detail, so that all prefectures and counties can report as soon as possible." According to the inspector, he said: "Dutang, the opinion of the lower officials is that they can estimate the disaster first, and urgently ask the imperial court to allocate money and grain, and the flood in Henan has affected six prefectures and one state, which can be described as a once-in-a-decade occurrence, and a rough estimate is not difficult." ”

Zhao Shiqing refused: "Isn't this the crime of deceiving the king, and the crime of falsely reporting the disaster is hard to escape." However, the matter is urgent, and it is forced to do so, and it is necessary to investigate part of the disaster before making a decision. The prefectures and counties should deposit silver, and the provincial governments should take out all the grain for disaster relief, but I don't know how much is left in the treasury of each prefecture? ”

The political envoy of Henan replied: "Back to the capital, the remaining money and grain in the provincial capital and the prefecture capital and county are only a drop in the ocean, and it is difficult to cope with the disaster at all. Zhao Shiqing was greatly puzzled: "Henan is a major grain producing land, how can the treasury be so barren?" The people are suffering from the floods, and they should immediately rescue the local government treasury. ”

The political envoy replied: "You don't know anything about the Dutang, you have been here for less than a month, but there have been disasters in various places before, Henan has full support, the emperor's relatives in Henan, and the places of the guards have repeatedly begged for money and food, and there are often requisitions in the palace. ”

Zhao Shiqing ordered: "Even if the government treasury is insufficient, it can survive for a while, the victims are waiting to be fed, and they urgently need to be resettled. The political envoy was afraid of adding crime to crime, and replied: "Think twice, the imperial court has its own disaster reporting regulations, and if there is no order for loans, you can't open a warehouse to give grain at will, otherwise you will be involved in the crime of arbitrariness." A long time ago, there was no such worry, and in the event of a disaster, the state capitals could also contain the disaster on their own, but now that the situation is like this, I hope that the capital will be cautious. ”

Zhao Shiqing was extremely displeased: "It takes a lot of time to report layer by layer, and the cabinet has been in trouble for a long time, and when the imperial court decrees that Henan has already been covered with corpses!" If the court asks for guilt, I will bear it with all my might, and each of them will do it immediately! "Although there was an order from the governor, most of the affected county officials had already abandoned the victims, fled with their families and belongings, and did not know where to hide. The officials were scattered, the garrison was timid, and the provincial officials were slow to act, and they had long been accustomed to exploiting the localities, and they had never done their best to do things.

Many grains of grain are missing from disaster preparedness warehouses in various places, and even barns have been destroyed. I saw that the land of Henan was a vast ocean, the victims were hungry and cold, there was no place to live, they fled for thousands of miles, their wives were separated, they were missing, the old and weak children died in an instant, and there were countless people who threw themselves into the river and hanged themselves.

After the verification, Zhao Shiqing was furious when he heard the report: "The registered people are only empty names, and the people in the warehouse are all imaginary, all of which are caused by the excessive corruption of officials in a province, deceiving the superiors and concealing the subordinates. The Yellow River is built every year, the waterways are dredged every year, and the silver asked for by the imperial court does not know where to use, so it should be punished for punishment! The officials were frightened and speechless for a while.

Since May, heavy rains have poured in, and the Huanghuai River has broken one after another, the Yellow River has broken at Huanggukou in Shanxian County, Shandong, and the Huai River has broken at 22 mouths on the east bank of Hongze Lake. If the rain hangs in the disaster-stricken place, the fish swim in the city, coupled with the thunderstorm, the water fills the mountainside, people and animals go down with the water, the water is deep, the boat travels through the treetops, people inhabit the wood, the houses are washed away, the wheat is rotten, and the autumn seedlings are damaged.

Zhao Shiqing came to visit and inquire for many days, and felt that the people were miserable, but the government was powerless to provide relief, and when he arrived in office, he was suddenly at a loss when he was suddenly hit by a catastrophe. Zhao Shiqing said to his subordinates: "The flood occurred in Shandong, and the Henan embankment is also useless. Huanghuai is flooded at the same time, and I see that disasters in Xuzhou, Huai'an, Fengyang, Yangzhou and other places are inevitable. Here in Henan, he immediately sent people to inform the two prefectures of Runing and Nanyang to make preparations quickly, relocate the people, and protect the money and grain. Although the affected people have no food, they are lucky to have a place to live. If the two governments do not respond, they let the flood rise and invade wantonly, the chickens and dogs will be gone, and the people will have nothing to rely on, so they can only live on a raft and take a raft. "The subordinate is commanded.

Zhao Shiqing collected disaster reports day and night and stepped up the accounting of money and grain in various places, and ordered the provincial government to build more wooden boats, and personally led the people to go out by boat to rescue the victims and resettle them, so as not to be buried in the belly of the fish. Zhao Shiqing distributed all the remaining money and grain from the government treasury in various places, but it was a drop in the bucket, insignificant, the people could not have a meal for many days, the wind and rain day and night, the mud was unbearable, more than half of the Henan government institutions had been paralyzed, and it was difficult to effectively rescue the victims, Zhao Shiqing asked the imperial court to relieve the disaster.

In May, the new batch of reinforcements of the Ming Dynasty included 5,000 troops led by Liu Wei, the general soldier of Sichuan, and Dong Yikui's troops had just arrived in North Korea, and Song Yingchang received them in the royal capital of North Korea. Liu Wei pleaded guilty and said: "The last general is late, why do you need to greet him in person, the last general should have come to the door to ask for sin, but the last general is so embarrassed." Song Yingchang said: "Mr. Liu's words are serious, Shu is thousands of miles away, and Mr. Liu is traveling day and night, which makes Song admire." The enemy is outnumbered, and the Sichuan soldiers and Shaanxi troops come to help, which is exactly what I look forward to day and night. ”

Liu Wei asked: "I heard that the war is stalemate, I don't know what is going on now?" Song Yingchang replied: "The enemy's strength is several times that of mine, our army has turned to various roads, recovered Sandu, the soldiers and horses are tired, the strength and weakness are not comparable, the rain is muddy, the rice is deep, and the time and place are not in me." can only be temporarily rested, widely spread the voice of the army, more spies, tens of thousands of death posts, and recruit followers to disperse the rebel party. Now the Japanese want to surrender, has played the imperial court to wait for the will, I am afraid that it is a plan to delay the army do not dare to relax vigilance, but also to the court to show my intentions, I have a plan for the future war, will be able to annihilate the Japanese invaders, but wait for reinforcements and military food and grass. ”

Liu Wei asked what was the plan? Song Yingchang replied: "Once the main elite of the Japanese army makes any changes, I will go out of Jeolla and feint to attack Busan, attack what it must save, make its main elite come back to help, separate and slow down, set up an ambush in the middle of the road, and destroy its main force in a battle." Sun Bin's strategy is just that. If you want to divide and encircle and annihilate the enemy's main force, you must ask the imperial court to send reinforcements. I have ordered Luo Shangzhi to lead his troops to Jeonju, Nanyuan, Sangju, Suncheon and other places to prepare for the imperial defense, organize and train soldiers, and make preparations first. ”

Dong Yikui said: "The last general traveled all the way, and heard that the Huanghuai flood broke out, and the six provinces and one state in Henan became an ocean. The imperial court should do its best to provide relief for the disaster, and the last general is worried that the grain and grass will be lost because of this. The reinforcements may also be ......" Liu Wei also had the same worries, and Song Yingchang was also deeply worried after hearing this: "If this is the case, the war and peace are unpredictable, I hope the emperor and the first assistant can listen to the ministers." ”

After returning to Busan, Governor Konishi immediately made an appointment with Shen Weijing, and Shen Weijing looked at Japan's peace conditions: "It's really hard, but this official document is useless to me, and now it's time for you to send an envoy to prepare to follow me into Beijing to face the saint." ”

Governor Konishi said: "The candidates for the envoy have been selected, and they are all my confidants, and they are competent enough. Shen Weijing advised: "After entering Beijing with me, remember not to talk nonsense, I am not the only one who knows Japanese in Beijing, there must be someone to supervise at that time, and the detailed questions and answers can be discussed in detail later." President Konishi agreed.

Shen Weijing asked where the table was lowered? President Konishi did not prepare to lower the table in advance, so he could only write and ask Shen Weijing to dictate, and Shen Weijing said: "First of all, Japan is willing to be the son of the Ming Dynasty." Without waiting for Shen Weijing to finish speaking, Konishi stopped writing and asked what he meant! Shen Weijing explained: "You don't have to be angry, you always respond to the story, you don't have to take it seriously." Konishi had no choice but to continue writing.

Shen Weijing continued to dictate: "I wanted to convey the matter of canonization and tribute for my son-in-law to the Ming Dynasty through North Korea, but North Korea got in the way, so Toyotomi Hideyoshi used force to vent his anger because of this. At the time of Pyongyang, there was already a truce, but North Korea ignored its credibility and provoked war again, and now it is willing to return all the territories it occupies in Korea, and then ask the Ming Dynasty to be canonized as king and tributary trade. This is a general idea, do you think it is appropriate? ”

Governor Konishi said: "I will make more embellishments, and it should be no problem to use this table to deceive the emperor." What about just the land of Korea? In the end, when he learned that he had failed to cede the south of the Han River, His Highness Taeko would definitely start the war again. Shen Weijing said frankly: "After all, this matter involves a country in North Korea, and it should be difficult for the king of North Korea to agree." Konishi said, "Isn't it extremely normal for any king to be willing to cede his land?" Can you solve this problem? ”

Shen Weijing said: "Didn't you and I already agree on this, and at that time, I don't know what year and month, the world is changing, how can it be easy to start a war again?" Governor Konishi reminded sharply: "As long as Taiko is still there, after the peace agreement fails, you and I can escape the culpability according to your plan, but it is not my wish to start a war again, and this matter will return to the starting point." ”

Shen Weijing thought for a while and said: "It's not impossible to cut the land, just look at how to make a statement to the emperor, after all, Yu Daming is not damaged, if you persuade each other skillfully, guide the holy will, and the emperor will decree, the land can also come true." Konishi Yukichang was puzzled: "The Ming Dynasty is here to save North Korea, can the Ming Emperor agree to this matter?" ”

Shen Weijing replied: "First, I have already said that only the emperor can decide this matter, and secondly, I also said that it is not easy to see how to persuade each other, and I will do my best." Moreover, North Korea has indeed been rescued, and the post-war disposal will also be presided over by the Ming Dynasty. If the emperor allows the division of the south of the Han River, it is a good thing, but if not, he can also do other things. ”

Governor Konishi asked, "Even if the Ming Emperor allows it, will the King of Joseon be willing to obey his orders?" Shen Weijing replied: "Joseon is only a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, and the king of Joseon is also a minister of my Son of Heaven." If the king of Joseon insists on resisting, it is enough to change someone to be the king, and the DPRK is a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, and it is easy to abolish the old and establish the new, and replace it with a king who obeys his words. Besides, you and I have thought all kinds of situations in mind, and even if we go to war again, I will never worry about being questioned, so I don't have to worry. "President Konishi agreed.

After sending Shen Weijing out, Governor Konishi found Zong Yizhi and Konishi Ru'an and said to the two: "Zong Yizhi, Konishi Ru'an, you can also communicate with the Ming Kingdom, from now on you two are no longer my retainers, but the envoys of His Royal Highness Taige, after entering the Ming Dynasty, they will pretend to surrender, no matter what conditions they propose, they will agree." But in this process, you must not be too cheerful, you need to show sincerity and a little embarrassment, so that the Ming monarchs and ministers are convinced. The stakes are so high that we must act in secrecy, so that we can return to our hometown and enjoy peace forever. The two of them took the order. Governor Konishi ordered Zong Yizhi and Konishi Ruan to prepare for accompanying Shen Weijing to Beijing and wait for orders.