What shall we send as an envoy?
Logically, for matters like announcing investiture to a foreign state and negotiating treaties, the Great Ming should have dispatched an official from the Court of Diplomatic Relations as the chief envoy, with a eunuch as the vice-envoy, and also some錦衣衛 (Jinyiwei) for escort.
The problem was that the eunuchs of the Great Ming were all within the Forbidden City, under the rule of the Great Qing.
Furthermore, actively sending envoys was an old custom. Now, with Zhu Jinsong in charge of the Great Ming, this custom should naturally be decided by Zhu Jinsong.
The current situation was clear: Japan requested the Great Ming to confer investiture, rather than the Great Ming eagerly seeking to do so. Therefore, even if there were matters of tributary relations and the "Seven Articles of Friendly Relations Tomorrow" to discuss, it should be Japan sending people to the Great Ming, not the Great Ming sending people to Japan.
After some thought, Zhu Jinsong commanded, "Have Zheng Jiangfu deliver a message to Tokugawa Ienari. Say that I have agreed to invest Japan as a country not to be conquered, but I have proposed these conditions. Zheng Jiangfu dares not act without authorization, so let Tokugawa Ienari send another envoy."
"Also, I have heard that there seems to be renewed trouble from Japanese pirates along the coast. Allocate a treasure ship from the South China Sea Fleet to the East China Sea Fleet, with the East China Sea Fleet escorting Zheng Jiangfu back to Japan. As for the matter of Japanese pirates, let Tokugawa Ienari handle it."
Hearing this, Zeng Cheng roughly understood Zhu Jinsong's intentions.
The claim of Japanese pirates causing trouble along the coast was utter nonsense; otherwise, he, the Grand Secretary of the Great Ming, would not have been unaware of it.
His Majesty was essentially using the pretext of Japanese pirates to put pressure on the Tokugawa Shogunate. Either they agreed to the "Seven Articles of Friendly Relations Tomorrow" proposed by His Majesty the Great Ming Emperor, or they would be beaten for the pirate issue.
Several countries had been beaten by the Great Ming and had survived, but there was no report of any country being able to thrive as before after being beaten.
After thinking, Zeng Cheng bowed again and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Shang clan of Ryukyu has always been respectful. However, during the Wanli era, they were suppressed by the Satsuma Domain of Japan. Although they repeatedly sought help from the Central Plains, the Great Ming was in turmoil at the time and could not attend to Ryukyu. Now that Your Majesty has re-established the Great Ming..."
Prompted by Zeng Cheng, Zhu Jinsong also remembered Ryukyu.
In the 37th year of Wanli, which was the 14th year of Keichō in Japan, the army of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma, led by Hisamori Hisakata, departed from Yamakawa Port in Kyushu Island, invaded and occupied Ryukyu.
Ryukyu King Shō Nei and over a hundred of his subjects and officials, who had always lacked combat effectiveness and relied on the Great Ming for protection, were also captured and taken to Kagoshima.
In the 39th year of Wanli, three months after Emperor Go-Yōzei abdicated in favor of Emperor Go-Mizunoo, Ryukyu King Shō Nei was forced to sign the "Fifteen Articles of Agreement" with the Satsuma Domain.
According to this treaty, Ryukyu King Shō Nei formally recognized Ryukyu as a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain and swore eternal loyalty to the Shimazu clan.
Subsequently, King Shō Nei and others were released and returned to Ryukyu, appointing Kikin, the abbot of Tennōji (a Japanese monk), as regent.
From then on, Ryukyu was in a state of "dual allegiance to the Ming and Japan (Satsuma Domain)."
In the 41st year of Wanli, King Shō Nei was forced to cede the Amami Islands to the Satsuma Domain.
Having been captured due to defeat in battle, King Shō Nei felt ashamed to face his ancestors and was not buried in the Tamudun, the royal mausoleum of the Second Shō Dynasty, but in the Gokuraku-ryō in Urasoe.
By the first year of Tianqi, Shō Hō, who had served as regent for several years and officially ascended the throne, submitted a petition requesting the Great Ming to act on his behalf and teach Japan a lesson.
However, the Emperor Tianqi at the time had just ascended the throne, and his Great Ming still had many issues to resolve, so he could not attend to such a godson.
Thus, the matter was put on hold.
It remained on hold until the Great Ming perished and the Jurchens rose to power.
Zeng Cheng's intention was simple: if the Tokugawa Shogunate obediently agreed to the "Seven Articles of Friendly Relations Tomorrow," then all would be well. If they did not agree, then the Great Ming could, from the old archives, retrieve the memorials of past Ryukyuan kings requesting the Great Ming to take action, and then legitimately send troops to Japan.
This pretext would be more reliable than "wild boars rooting up cornfields" or similar trivial matters.
After consideration, Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "Have Zheng Jiangfu deliver this message as well, and let Tokugawa Ienari consider it himself."
After Zeng Cheng and the other important officials bowed in assent, Zhu Jinsong shifted the topic back to the Great Qing and the Koreans.
Ultimately, all these messy affairs were caused by the extreme incompetence of the Great Qing and the Koreans.
Zhu Jinsong had also lost patience with the Great Qing.
Or rather, after the Eighth Prince of the Great Qing, Aisin Gioro Yongxuan, led troops to retake Kyakhta and Yaksa, the Great Qing had no further use.
Of course, it could not be said that they were entirely useless, as the Great Qing still occupied territories like Gorkha, Kyakhta, and Yaksa.
After some thought, Zhu Jinsong spoke, "I plan to accept Korea's request for allegiance and also intend to campaign north to completely reclaim Zhili and Liaodong, and for now, to drive the Great Qing to the vicinity of Yaksa."
"Also, remember to publish the causes of death and the full story of Wang Gao, Jue Chang'an, Taksi, and others in the newspapers, so that no one will again think that my Great Ming oppressed the Jurchen tribes of Liaodong too severely, leading Nurhaci to rise in rebellion against the Ming with his Seven Grievances."
Figures like the "Qing history expert" Yan Chongnian and the various bondservants like Er Yue He, despite their constant lamentations like attending a funeral, crying out about Nurhaci's four grievances and ethnic vendettas, were in reality, purely fabricating lies.
For example, Wang Gao, a name rarely familiar, was actually Nurhaci's maternal grandfather and Taksi's father-in-law.
"Qing Dynasty Pre-History": Wang Gao ravaged the north, and Wang Wutang, Azhugu, Zhun Dta, and other tribes ravaged the east. In November of the 44th year of Jiajing, they invaded from Shichakou and captured Samachibao. In February of the 45th year of Jiajing, they attacked Yangbao and others from Shichakou. In August of the 4th year of Longqing, they raided the areas along the river from Dazhakou. In addition, raids on people and livestock in places like Caohe were too numerous to enumerate. Thus, with the opening of markets at Fushun, the chief officials first sat in the Fuyi Hall, and the chieftains came up to the hall in succession, offering local products, and the officials then inspected the horses. The tribute horses of the Jurchen people were often weak and sickly, and good prices were given to show leniency. Gao was particularly arrogant. When he arrived at the Fuyi Hall, he would seize wine and drink. After drinking, he would become insolent and abusive, and no one dared to reprimand him. When a new official suppressed them to a lower rank and inspected the horses for their plumpness, Gao grudgingly left and then led his troops to raid. The court dismissed the official for this. Gao became even more defiant.
Wang Gao and his group continuously plundered civilians and livestock in Liaodong, while the Great Ming, for the sake of peace in Liaodong, opened markets for trade in Fushun. Even though Wang Gao's tribute horses were often weak and sickly, the Ming Dynasty gave them good prices. At the "Fuyi Hall," Wang Gao would often snatch wine to drink, and after getting drunk, he would act out and curse, and after causing trouble, he would lead his troops to raid, yet it was the Ming officials who were dismissed.
This was the oppression of the Jianzhou Jurchens by the Great Ming and a typical depiction of the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchens.
Even Joseon, which claimed to be a filial son of the Great Ming, could not help but feel envious: "Among the vassal states of the Great Ming, the Jianzhou Jurchens received the most favor."
However, Wang Gao was not satisfied. A Ming official named Pei Chengzu went to Wang Gao's camp to demand the return of Ming subjects abducted by Wang Gao, but was instead gruelly disemboweled and killed by Wang Gao, along with over ten accompanying personnel. Even some of Wang Gao's subordinates could not tolerate his rule and fled to Fushun to surrender. Wang Gao used this as an excuse to break into Fushun and raid it, and later, citing the Ming Dynasty's suspension of tributary trade with him, he gathered the Tumet and other tribes to launch a large-scale attack on Liaoyang and Shenyang.
At this point, the war instigated by Wang Gao and his group fully erupted. Li Chengliang led his troops to attack and suppress them. Wang Gao was defeated and fled. Under the strict arrest warrant issued by the Ming government, the Jurchen tribe leader Wang Tai captured Wang Gao and presented him to the court, where he was eventually taken to the capital and dismembered.
After Wang Gao's death, his son Agai was unwilling to accept it and plundered the border regions and attacked Ming troops under the guise of revenge. He also attacked Wang Tai's tribe and was again attacked and suppressed by the Ming army. At this time, Nurhaci's grandfather and father, Jue Chang'an and Taksi, either acted as guides for the Ming army, or attempted to persuade Agai to surrender, or were concerned about their daughter, Agai's wife. In any case, they went to Agai's territory and stayed there, eventually being accidentally killed during the war.
"Donghua Records": The Ming sent an envoy to apologize, saying, "It was not intentional, but an accident!" They then returned the remains of the two grandfathers, along with thirty imperial decrees and thirty horses, and conferred the title of Dragon Tiger General, restoring the commandership edict.
"Veritable Records of the Qing Taizu" records: "The Ming, having accidentally killed the two ancestors, henceforth annually transmitted eight hundred taels of silver and fifteen bolts of brocade to maintain peace and friendship."
Nurhaci himself did nothing commendable in his entire life. He engaged in burning, killing, and plundering everywhere, massacring Nikan and his own Jurchen compatriots. How many innocent lives were lost? Did Nurhaci ever compensate anyone a single copper coin?
Wang Gao broke into Fushun, Liaoyang, and Shenyang, plundering civilians and livestock countless times. Did he ever compensate a single copper coin?
On the contrary, the Great Ming, which Nurhaci claimed oppressed the Liaodong Jurchens, had to provide compensation and indemnities even when they accidentally killed someone during the war.
Of course, this shameless behavior was a chronic problem inherited from the Tungusic tribes, and there was no good in them from the root.
"History of the Ming Dynasty - Biography of Joseon": "(King of Joseon) Sejong was a prominent ruler of the Yi dynasty, and he heavily coerced the Jurchens. The Jurchens repeatedly complained to the Ming. Examples include Li Manzhu's fear of residing in Bozhujiang, and the memorials submitted by Fancha, Tongshan, and others, all of which are indicative of this."
"Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty": "On the dingsi day of the eleventh month of the third year of Zhengtong, the commander of the Jianzhou Left Guard, Mengge Temür's son Tongshan (also known as Tongshan), memorialized: 'My father was killed by the seven-tribe barbarians. I, along with my uncle, Commander Fancha, and Hundred-Household Gao Zao Hua, and over five hundred households, have secretly resided in Joseon territory. We wish to leave Joseon and reside in Liaodong, but we fear being detained by Joseon. We beg for compassion!' The Emperor decreed that the commander of Maolian Guard, Rulangbu Erhan, should escort them out of the territory and not cause them harm."
"History of the Ming Dynasty - Biography of Joseon": "In the winter of the second year of Jingtai, because the Jianzhou chieftains secretly communicated with Joseon, a prohibition was placed on their envoys... In the third year of Tianshun, border generals reported that the commanders of the three Jianzhou Guards secretly colluded with Joseon, which could pose a threat to China." This Jianzhou commander was Dong Shan.
"Jianyi Kao": "During the Zhengtong period, Dong Shan, the commander of the Jianzhou Guard, incited the northern barbarians to invade, and raids and plunder were incessant. During Jingtai, the Governor-General Wang sent an envoy to persuade them. They gradually returned what they had plundered and reaffirmed their allegiance."
"Jianyi Kao": "Dong Shan gathered the Jianzhou, Maolian, and Haixi barbarians, and they raided the border without ceasing."
"Qing History Lecture Notes": "Before Nurhaci, they were vassals of the Ming and received unparalleled favor from the Ming. Mengge Temür (the founding ancestor of Qing) was assassinated by the Wudihai, and his brother Fancha and son Dongshan sought refuge in the Ming border, which was granted. These people, having resided within the border for a long time, eventually occupied it as their own territory. The Ming yielded to them, and instead retreated to Fushun as the border. Odoli was originally in the northeast of Joseon, and at this point, they all moved outside the Fushun border gate, occupying the land within the former Liaodong territory. From then on, they were able to escape the disaster of the Wudihai. The Ming's benevolence to its vassals was most profound for the Jianzhou Jurchens. The Qing dynasty deliberately concealed this, and it is not found in Qing historical materials. Although it is found in Ming historical materials, the Qing compilation of the 'History of the Ming Dynasty' sought to completely obscure it. Only today has it been fully revealed, and I have revealed the most, which can be said to be unprecedented."
However, these materials are never mentioned by those Qing history experts. Once the Ming Dynasty's treatment of the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes is mentioned, experts and scholars like Yan Chongnian would grittingly state: "The resentment and enmity between the Jurchens and the Ming Dynasty, between the border people and the Ming army, their anger and hatred, are all concentrated in their future leader, Nurhaci."
Therefore, before the northern expedition against the Great Qing, Zhu Jinsong had to post more materials. After all, the Great Qing had not yet perished, and if more materials were not posted to slap their faces, those bondservants would likely continue to cause trouble.
PS: There are quite a few materials posted, about 1000 words, so although this chapter is 3400 words, 1000 words are free.