Ashikaga Yoshimitsu finally decided to pretend to negotiate peace to buy time for the construction of the ship.

The routine of procrastination is nothing more than arguing over the place, time, candidates, and terms of the negotiation, and repeatedly asking for instructions, as long as there is a deliberate delay, it is possible to negotiate for as long as possible.

It's a pity that the Ming people don't play their cards according to the routine, and while they send civilian officials to negotiate, the army is not idle. They launched a 'Spring Offensive' against the North, heading north along the west coast of Honshu, attacking all the ports they passed through and burning all the ships they encountered.

These are fine, but the worst thing is that as a large island formed by the movement of the earth's crust, most of the flat land is along the coast, and so are the towns and populations. And except for a small number of castles, which are basically wooden buildings, the Ming army threw sulfur bombs with return cannons, and then fired rockets to ignite, which soon turned into a sea of fire......

For example, more than a dozen towns were burned in a row, causing panic among the people of all countries on the island of Honshu, and no one dared to live by the sea, and all of them, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, hid in the mountains.

The guardian daimyo of each country were helpless and could only angrily challenge the shogunate, accusing the public of failing to protect the country.

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu also had no strength to do so, because the Ming army was operating along the coast and did not go deep into the interior at all, so he could only step up his efforts to urge the construction of ships on the one hand, and on the other hand, let General Spoyoshi, who was in charge of the negotiations, express the strongest protest and demand that the Ming army immediately stop the attack, so as not to undermine the overall situation of the peace talks.

In this regard, Han Yike, the negotiator of the Ming Dynasty, said that he could not help, saying that in my country, the military is respected and civilized, and our civilian officials cannot control the generals, if you want to avoid being attacked, it is better to hurry up the peace talks and reach an agreement as soon as possible.

Spoy is so depressed, if an agreement can be reached sooner, why should I delay the time? But if I delay time, the Ming army will continue to attack the coast and force me to death.

~~

The curtain side was in a hurry, but Da Ming's side was not in a hurry or impatient, and he held His Royal Highness the King of Chu, 'You talk about yours, I will beat mine.' Long-range strikes, safety first, the 16-character policy, carried out fire attacks on the Japanese coast in a step-by-step manner, and basically never landed ashore.

The only exception was the landing and occupation of Sado Island. Anyone who has played the Sengoku game knows the famous Sado Gold Mountain, if Iwami Ginzan supported Japan's Azuchi Momoyama period, Sado Gold Mountain supported the entire Edo period.

When this gold mountain was mined, the Tokugawa shogunate began to rule Japan. More than 200 years later, the mountain gradually dried up and the shogunate went into decline. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the cornerstone of Japan's long-term stability.

However, during the current Muromachi Shogunate, there was a history of silver mining here, but it is clear that the gold mountain that would later shock the whole of Japan has not yet been discovered, and it is still famous as the emperor's penal colony.

Therefore, the Ming army occupied this large island with a population of less than 10,000 people without much effort, and declared that Sado Island became the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the residents of the island automatically became the overseas subjects of the Ming Dynasty.

The people of Sado Islander were originally descendants of exiles, and they had no feelings for Japan, but now they can become the people of the Ming Dynasty, although they are inferior overseas people, it is also pie in the sky, and no one does not agree.

The islanders competed to provide various services such as food and drink for the Ming army, and when they heard that they were here to find the gold mines, they also actively provided clues and took the initiative to lead the way to find them. Ten times more enthusiastic than the serious Ming people.

At first, the Ming army was cautious, lest they hide their knives in their laughter and turn around and attack themselves. But then it turned out that they were genuine......

It seemed that overnight, Sado Island completely severed relations with Japan.

~~

Zhu Zhen was also very concerned about this chicken that could lay golden eggs, and specially asked Zhu He to hire a gold-seeking master from China and send him to Sado Island for a field trip.

After receiving the order of His Royal Highness, Zhu He did not dare to slack off, and within a month, he recruited a hundred gold-seeking masters from all over the country and personally sent them to Japan.

His Royal Highness the King of Chu also attaches great importance to these gold seekers, and even personally washes the dust for them, encouraging them to search for gold with their hearts, as long as they find gold mines, they will be rewarded.

Don't be moved by these masters who have never seen the world, and I can't wait to find out the gold mine for His Highness immediately.

The sixth naturally said that there was no hurry, let them rest in Dazaifu for a few days first, and then send them a task.

After the banquet, the sixth child met with Zhu He and Shen Rong who came with him alone.

"I can't find a gold mine for so many years, are these people reliable?" Only then did he have something to say, and he no longer hid it. He was mainly worried about the depletion of the Daming gold mine and the deterioration of the master's technology.

"Your Highness, rest assured." Shen Rong hurriedly gave him a reassuring pill and said: "It's not that the master's level is low, it's that after digging for many years, it's almost dawned." Now gold can still be mined from the residual mines in all provinces of the country, all thanks to the experience of these gold seekers. ”

"That's it." Zhu He hurriedly echoed: "Japan has only been mining gold and silver for a few years, and the mine is shallow, in the eyes of these gold seekers who often have to search for dozens of zhang deep in China, it is not the same as giving it for nothing?" Make sure to find one accurate. ”

"Well, then look for it first." The sixth thought about it, so he instructed Zhu Hedao: "The mining affairs on Japan's side will be handed over to you to be responsible." ”

"Your Highness rest assured, for the ministers, you will search Sado Island, and you will also find out the gold mines for Your Highness." Zhu He hurriedly patted his chest and said.

"We can't rush for quick success, we still have to take a long-term view and cultivate a strong gold-seeking team." Zhu Zhen said earnestly: "We are not only looking for gold and silver mines on Sado Island, but also in the whole of Japan, and we will go to the world in the future, so that the world's gold and silver can be used by us!" ”

"Your Highness always has such a long-term vision." Zhu He praised with admiration on his face: "It is really a privilege to be able to serve such a highness, and to be a minister." ”

"Okay, my own people will be less sycophants." The sixth laughed and scolded: "I've been sick to my stomach lately, and I need to neutralize the scolding of the reader." ”

"Hehehe......" Shen Rong and Zhu He could only laugh, how dare they take this kind of stubble.

"In addition, you will have to choose a site to build a large-scale metallurgical plant on Sado Island." Zhu Zhen also instructed Zhu Hedao: "Not only the gold and silver mines on Sado Island, but also the ores we mine all over Japan, after rough selection, will be sent here for centralized smelting. ”

"Yes." Zhu He nodded hurriedly.

"This makes it easier to manage, secondly, it is conducive to technical confidentiality, and thirdly, it can effectively prevent the mining areas from enriching their pockets." Zhu Zhen patiently explained to Zhu He.

"Understood." Zhu Heduo is a smart person, so he can naturally understand it. Leaving aside the first two points, but the third point, gold and silver ore itself is actually not very valuable, because the content is too low.

Generally, two thousand catties of silver ore contain only two taels of silver. The gold ore content is even lower. And with Japan's primitive smelting technology, refining is not as wasteful as it is, so no one will hit the ore with the idea.

You let them steal, and they don't bother to steal.

(End of chapter)