Inside the Heian-kyo Palace, the curtains were embroidered with cherry blossom patterns, and at first glance it looked like a boudoir, but a man was sitting on a chair inside. On the table in front, there were two things: a suicide note covered in blood, and a memorial filled with blood and tears of accusation.
On both sides of the palace, many court officials, including the regent Fujiwara no Tadahiro, stood bowing. Everyone was silent, and an atmosphere of sadness and mournfulness enveloped the entire palace.
Fujiwara no Mitsuyori learned about several land and sea wars from all sides. He knew very well that it was impossible to continue the war and maintain the existence of the Heian-kyo court.
If the war continues, the only result will be the loss of Heian-kyō. Heian-kyō is not only a capital city for the Japanese imperial court, but also the place where almost all the nobles live and where the power is based. If they lose Heian-kyō and temporarily move the capital, Fujiwara no Mitsuyori does not think that the current monarch and his subjects can maintain their rule over the country; their long-standing status will become as cheap as grass.
The complicated situation became very clear and understandable at this moment.
At this time, someone bowed and said: "Your Majesty can only issue an edict in the name of the emperor to all places to come to the rescue, and gather troops to the south of Heianjing to fight a decisive battle with the bandits of Xu's army."
No one of the ministers echoed the response. At this point, there are still people who hold such opinions. It is really hard to say something, so everyone has remained silent for so long.
At this moment, the mysterious supreme figure behind the curtain finally spoke. He slowly said: No matter what, the people of Japan will face great suffering, and my heart is very sad.
I cannot bear to see the warriors and civilians die in vain. Perhaps the prestige of the imperial court will be questioned, but Japan will still exist, and the Yamato people will still live.
His Majesty Fujiwara no Mitsuyori felt a little relieved after hearing this, but his face was filled with extreme pain, and he fell to his knees and cried. Immediately, many people knelt before the Emperor.
The emperor perhaps felt that his words were not clear and direct enough, so he paused and said: I just want to end the war and killing as soon as possible, so that the people can be freed from the suffering of being ravaged as soon as possible.
Inside and outside the palace, there were cries of grief one after another, as if the country was in mourning.
The ministers, who were sad and humiliated, gradually came to their senses and proposed to punish the entire family of Ono Yoshifuru and convict him of crimes that brought disaster to the country and the people. However, Cheng Ming said: The dead are gone, and it is not appropriate to humiliate Ono's soul again. There is no need to ask about his crimes. Since he died for the country, regardless of his merits and demerits, his spirit can still be enshrined in the shrine.
The emperor seldom made decisions, but after hearing this, no one objected and everyone agreed.
A few days later, Han Tong's navy approached the Naniwa Port in Osaka, and a magnificent ship with a white flag came towards them.
The officers and soldiers on the warships were all waiting to see what was happening. Han Tong went up to the deck and observed that the ship was not like the Japanese ships he usually saw. He guessed that it might be an envoy, so he ordered that no force should be used and that the envoy should be brought up first to ask about the situation.
After a long time, a warship lowered a small boat and rowed a messenger to the Mulan battleship for a body search.
The envoy was brought before Han Tong and others, and he immediately bowed and said in Chinese: "I am an envoy sent by my country's king to meet the honorable commander of the Daxu Navy. My country's king has prepared rice, fuel and other gifts at Naniwa Port to receive the Daxu soldiers. I hope the commander can restrain himself and discuss things in peace."
Ludoson on the side blurted out a surprised sound. Civil officials are very sensitive to etiquette, and this official called the Japanese emperor "king of the country" right away, which was very polite and humble, which surprised Ludoson a little.
Even the warrior Han Tong couldn't be so unreasonable. After all, you shouldn't hit someone who smiles at you.
Han Tong frowned and said: Japan came here to seek peace
The envoy looked slightly embarrassed and bowed, saying: "Our king and his subjects treat the Marshal with sincerity. All ships in Nanwa Port will be withdrawn from the port to allow the Daxu warships to dock. Supplies will be prepared in the port, and the Daxu soldiers can be stationed there. We also guarantee that there will be no hostile behavior on land and water. After the Marshal goes ashore and stations there, I will discuss with him in detail.
Han Tong tilted his head slightly, and the military supervisor Lu Duosun nodded gently. This offer was simply impossible to refuse. After all, the other party first gave up the important port to the navy's foothold on the shore and sent supplies. Even if the negotiations failed, it would not be too late to start a war.
Han Tong agreed without hesitation to the request of the Japanese envoy and sailed the fleet into the port and occupied the place first.
After entering Naniwa Port, they found that they had prepared a lot of food and firewood, and more officials came to receive them. Han Tong asked Lu Duosun to test the conditions of the Japanese court first.
The most important condition was that the emperor was willing to give up his imperial title and become the ruler of a country as soon as the envoys met. He also stated that he would accept the emperor's canonization as king and pay tribute every year.
With the relationship between the ruler and his subjects, mining and trade became legitimate.
Han Tong also proposed to lease the Omori area of Iwami Province and make it directly under the jurisdiction of the Okuryu court. The Japanese envoy was unexpectedly happy and agreed immediately. Perhaps there was no condition to be discussed with a knife on the neck.
Everyone gathered their energy and prepared to fight hard, but they were surprised by the opponent's attitude. They were stunned for a while.
That night, after the central army deployed defenses and scouts, the military officials discussed countermeasures in a courtyard at the port. Even Zan Jurun, who was almost killed by the Japanese army, said: Japan has paid tribute and handed over a mountain of silver. There is no reason for our dynasty to continue fighting. I think we should send someone back to the court to report to the emperor first, and then make a decision.
Everyone agreed that the purpose of war was to get the other side to agree to one's demands. Now that Japan is in this attitude, I really don't know why we should continue fighting.
The generals sighed, and some said: The Japanese warships are not strong enough for fighting, but they are very ferocious when they charge. We thought we had encountered a group of stubborn donkeys, but we didn't expect them to become so submissive all of a sudden.
Someone nearby immediately said: This is really a bit strange and hard to understand.
So Han Tong immediately sent a light boat back to the country with the memorial.
The next day, a new official came to Heian-kyō. After meeting Han Tong and other senior officials, they discussed and proposed to recruit civilian women to serve as camp prostitutes to reward the army. This greatly surprised Han Tong and others. He was very cautious for a while and did not dare to agree. He refused on the grounds of military discipline.
Zan Jurun thought of the fierce battle at Ishimiya Castle and agreed with Han Tong's decision: the two countries have a blood feud, so be careful of any fraud.
However, Lu Dosun disagreed and said: "What should a group of women be afraid of? This is done by the government of our country. If they dare to cheat, they will be retaliated. There is no reason for the government to use such useless and despicable tricks."
After hearing this, all the generals and warriors wanted to raise their hands in approval. Some people murmured: "It's really possible for that official to kill so many of them on the battlefield."
Han Tong coldly stopped everyone's discussion and said: "You have an important task ahead of you, so you should be cautious and play safe. Now you are still in the enemy's country. If you want to have fun, when you return to Tokyo to receive your reward, no one will control you."
Obey orders
In October, in the study of Jinxiang Hall in Tokyo, Guo Shao opened the memorial written by Han Tong in the distant East Island. He read it quietly, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, his face flushed with excitement.
Summon the cabinet ministers and several dukes to the Council Hall to discuss matters. Guo Shaoxian gave an order.
Eunuch Cao Tai bowed in response and immediately left the study.
Guo Shao paced back and forth between several large pictures and the files on the imperial desk, looking a little anxious.
In fact, it was not only Japan that wanted to end the war as soon as possible, Guo Shao also wanted to end the war because he had no money.
Negotiating peace at this time of victory and taking the opportunity to demand the greatest benefits are what Guo Shao would like to see. He is not venting his anger for some emotion, and he cannot only consider Dongdao, because more things need to be solved urgently.
If the war dragged on like this, Guo Shao would feel really screwed. On the one hand, he had no money, and on the other hand, the expeditionary force could not kill so many East Island natives, and if they got stuck in the quagmire, they would lose control of the situation.
Guo Shao walked in front of the map and pondered for a long time. He thought: if we dig silver from Iwami Province and mint a large amount of currency, from Hexi to Liaodong, the whole chessboard will come alive.
As for Japan, it needs time and skills to slowly lay out its plans. Being too radical can easily backfire. In later generations, Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to capture the capital of Jiaozhi, but he acted too hastily and ultimately failed. Guo Shao believed that force was the foundation, but relying solely on force would not necessarily lead to success.
Guo Shao immediately went to the Council Hall and showed Han Tong's memorial to the ministers.
He agreed with the peace terms written by Han Tong in his memorial, but wanted to make some changes to the peace agreement. Not only did he want to lease and directly govern the Omori area where the Iwami Province Silver Mine was located, but he also wanted to control the Naniwa Port. Guo Shao looked at the location described in front and guessed that it was probably the area of Osaka Port, the gateway to Kyoto.
Xu's army was stationed at the southern port of Heian-kyō and promised to protect the safety of Heian-kyō.
Shi Yanchao immediately looked puzzled, and finally did not speak a word. But Guo Shao saw his expression.
Guo Shao knew Shi Yanchao's puzzlement. Not long ago, Guo Shao was furious in public and wanted to raze Heian-kyō to the ground. In the blink of an eye, his attitude was completely reversed. Instead, he wanted to protect Heian-kyō.
Guo Shao was too lazy to explain. Anyway, most of the civil and military officials should understand that practical benefits are the most important. He just mentioned it casually without making any expression. The Japanese monarch and his ministers surrendered and asked for peace, but rebellion and uprising were difficult to predict.
If we can reach cooperation with the Heian-kyo court and become mutually dependent, we can work together to suppress the domestic rebellion in Toujima, which will greatly reduce the Daxu court's military expenditure in Toujima.
The decision was made in the Council Hall, and no one opposed the peace agreement with Japan. The ministers were all waiting to dig up the gold and silver as soon as possible. The Ministry of Rites then prepared the golden book, the royal decree and other items, and selected envoys to go to Heian-kyō to formally confer the title and establish the ceremony between the monarch and his subjects.
Guo Shao also ordered the Privy Council to send people to commend Han Tong, Shi Jianbao and Zhang Jiankui for their command, and ordered them to return to the court to celebrate their success after they had deployed the affairs of Dongdao.