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The Japanese throne has changed several times in the past twenty years.
After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated the Toyotomi family in the 43rd year of the Wanli reign (1615 AD) and established the Tokugawa shogunate.
Since the shogunate was just established, it needed the righteousness of the Emperor of Kyoto as a backing, and the court in Kyoto needed financial assistance from the shogunate, so it had no choice but to submit to the power of the shogunate.
In the same year, the Tokugawa shogunate formulated and promulgated the "Laws for the Imperial Court and the Court Nobles", which stated on the surface that the emperor should put the study of knowledge and the mastery of waka first, but in fact it was to limit the emperor's interference in politics.
The only one of the 17 articles of the law that recognizes the emperor's power is Article 8 - the emperor has the right to decide the era name according to "previous rules of this dynasty."
In 1619, the news that Emperor Go-Mizunoo's favorite female official had given birth to a son and a daughter was reported to the then Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, causing Hidetada's strong dissatisfaction.
The following year, because the Kyoto court was forced to provide financial support to the Tokugawa family, the emperor was forced to marry Hidetada's daughter Tokugawa Kazuko into the palace.
In 1627 AD, the "Purple Robe Incident" occurred in Japan. For financial reasons, the Kyoto court allowed dozens of monks from Daitoku-ji and Myoshin-ji to wear purple robes without consulting the shogunate in advance.
However, the "Laws of the Imperial Court and the Court Officials" formulated by the shogunate stipulated that all the laws for monks to leave the secular world must be approved by the shogunate. The shogunate used this as a reason to declare that the purple robes of Daitoku-ji Temple and Myoshin-ji Temple in Kyoto were invalid and exiled these monks. This made the Japanese Emperor Masahito lose face.
In 1629, Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu actually sent his wet nurse Kasuga Tsubone to meet the emperor. Since Kasuga Tsubone had no official position, she went to meet the emperor and even pointed fingers at the emperor, which was considered a great humiliation by the emperor.
So in the same year, the angry emperor abdicated the throne to Princess Okiko, who was less than seven years old, without any warning, in order to put an end to the shogunate's ambition to have his grandson inherit the throne.
Xingzi was the Empress of Tenno for more than ten years. At the age of 20, she gave up the throne to her half-brother Shaoren.
It can be said that this series of changes in the throne were the result of the struggle between the emperor and the Tokugawa shogunate.
This time, the Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu died suddenly, and his son was only ten years old. Immediately, the military scholar Yui Masayuki instigated the ronin to rebel, and the entire Edo was in chaos.
This incident came too suddenly and might have a huge impact on Qin's policy toward Japan. Qin Mu had to urgently summon important officials in the court to discuss the matter.
In the Huagai Palace, Huang Zhenlin further introduced to the ministers who came: "The ronin rebellion instigated by the military scholar Yu Jing Zhengxue has caused chaos in Edo. There are many casualties, and there is a possibility of turning into a civil war.
At present, Tokugawa Iemitsu's son is still young, and he is mainly assisted by his uncle Hoshina Masayuki and the elder Sakai Tadakatsu, and the elders Matsudaira Nobutsuna and Abe Tadaki, who are trying their best to quell the rebellion. "
The Minister of War He Liang immediately asked, "Has our Great Qin embassy in Japan, and the people who went to Japan for trade, been harmed?"
"The embassy is trying its best to collect information. We have not received any news of Daqin people being killed, but trade has been greatly affected."
Admiral Di Zhongxing said, "Your Majesty, I suggest that the North Sea Fleet be dispatched immediately to cruise the waters near Japan to deal with this crisis."
This was indeed a big crisis for Daqin, and Daqin intended to retain the Tokugawa shogunate in order to cause internal friction between the shogunate and the emperor.
At the same time, Japan is now the largest trading partner of Daqin. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Revenue are promoting two plans. One is to promote the use of Daqin's currency in Japan and completely control Japan's financial currency. The other is to exchange food for cash crops and control Japan's food.
All of these were promoted by the Tokugawa shogunate. Once the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed or a major change occurred, it would be difficult to guarantee that the advancement of these strategic concepts would not be affected.
Qin Mu nodded and said, "Then let's pass the order and have the North Sea Fleet go out of port for patrol. Once the situation in Edo gets out of control and our embassy in Japan or the people of Daqin are harmed, the North Sea Fleet will immediately go to Edo to protect our Daqin embassy and merchants."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Huang Zhenlin continued, "Your Majesty, this sudden change may be an opportunity for our Great Qin. I think that if Jing Zhengxue's rebellion can deal a heavy blow to the Tokugawa Shogunate, then the Tokugawa Shogunate will inevitably become dependent on our Great Qin under internal pressure. If it is handled well, it may be possible to completely control the Tokugawa Shogunate and make it an agent of the Great Qin in Japan."
Huang Zhenlin's words made many ministers nod their heads frequently.
Cabinet Minister Li Yuan said: "The Tokugawa shogunate has ruled Japan for more than 30 years, and its emperor has always been in name only. This time, Jing Zhengxue instigated the ronin rebellion. Even if the emperor is really supporting it, it is not certain that it can last long. Once the power structure of the Tokugawa shogunate can be straightened out, the Tokugawa shogunate with a large number of troops should be able to easily quell the rebellion. Therefore, this ronin rebellion may not cause much damage to the Tokugawa shogunate."
Qin Mu thought for a while and asked Huang Zhenlin: "What does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs know about Hoshina Masayuki, Sakai Tadakatsu, Matsudaira Nobutsuna, and Abe Tadaki?"
Huang Zhenlin replied: "Your Majesty, Hoshina Masayuki is the half-brother of Tokugawa Iemitsu. The reason why he does not have the surname Tokugawa is because the previous head of the family, Tokugawa Hidetada, was henpecked and secretly took advantage of Hoshina Masayuki's mother's child, but he did not dare to take him into the palace, so he kept him outside the palace.
When his brother Tokugawa Iemitsu inherited the position of head of the family, he valued him very much, first letting him be the governor of the Yamagata Domain of Dewa Province with 200,000 koku, and later he was appointed as the governor of the Kunitsu Domain of Mutsu with 230,000 koku. When Tokugawa Iemitsu was dying, he also called Hoshina Masayuki to his bedside and entrusted him with his care.
Hoshina Masayuki was quite accomplished in Confucianism, but he was also obsessed with Shintoism. He had little knowledge of politics and military affairs and his talents were mediocre.
Sakai Tadakatsu and Matsudaira Nobunaga were loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate, but they had no political talent. They only knew how to do things according to Tokugawa Iemitsu's wishes. Only Abe Tadaki was very skilled in politics and military affairs. In addition, he was sympathetic to the lower classes and had a high reputation among the people. "
According to this, the real pillar of the Tokugawa shogunate is now the senior councilor Abe Tadayu. What will be the consequences if this pillar is removed
Sima An said: "Your Majesty, the strength of the Tokugawa shogunate should not be underestimated. If something goes wrong, it may backfire or even ruin all the previous efforts."
Qin Mu did not comment on this, and turned to ask others: "Do you agree with Minister Huang's plan to weaken the Tokugawa shogunate first so that our Great Qin can further control it?"
Lu Zhenfei, the deputy internal assistant, said: "Your Majesty, Minister Huang's plan is indeed good, but it is not easy to implement. Japan is far away from Nanjing. Once something happens, it will be difficult for Daqin to control it in time.
Your Majesty, the Tokugawa Shogunate is like a building. It may be easier to destroy it, but once the building collapses, it will be difficult to support it. "
Liu Meng, the commander-in-chief of the Central Army, immediately said, "Don't blame me for contradicting you, Lord Lu. I just can't figure it out. If the Tokugawa Shogunate really falls, does the Great Qin have to support it? Can we give it a push?"
Li Guo, the commander-in-chief of the Right Army, also said: "Your Majesty, I also think that instead of wasting time to support the Tokugawa shogunate, it is better to push it along and let Japan fall into a state of disunity again."
Gu Jun'en, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, immediately objected: "I do not agree with the views of the two great governors. A relatively weak Tokugawa shogunate and a relatively stable Japan are most conducive to our Great Qin's control of Japan and the implementation of the established policy towards Japan.
If Japan falls into a state of disintegration again, it will be difficult for our Great Qin to control it one by one. By then, I am afraid that many vassal states will become dependent on the emperor for their own survival. If that happens, the situation will be even worse. "
What everyone said made some sense. Qin Mu felt that the key issue still lay in the distance. Because of the long distance, it was difficult to respond in real time. Therefore, a turbulent Japan would be very difficult for Daqin to control.
If Japan were relatively stable, many plans could be implemented slowly, but the contradiction lies in that if the opportunity could not be taken to weaken the Tokugawa shogunate, those policies would be implemented very slowly and would most likely be resisted by the Tokugawa shogunate along the way.
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.(To be continued..)
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