After a brief period of feigned pleasantries, Tokugawa Ienari cautiously inquired, "Did the Ming Emperor mention the consequences should Japan refuse to sign the 'Seven Articles of Ming-Japan Friendship'?"
Zheng Jiangfu shook his head. "The Ming Emperor presented this treaty through his Grand Secretary, but he did not specify the consequences of refusal. He did not seem particularly concerned whether Japan would sign it."
Continuing, Zheng Jiangfu produced an imperial decree from his robes and informed Tokugawa Ienari, "Moreover, the Ming Emperor, owing to the Great Ming's Prince of Yanping, has enfeoffed me as the Count of Changyi of the Great Ming. This is the imperial edict of investiture."
Seeing that Tokugawa Ienari did not take the decree, Zheng Jiangfu added, "Furthermore, the Ming Grand Secretary promised that if the Shogun were to sign this treaty on behalf of Japan, the Ming Emperor would bestow upon the Shogun the title of Prince of Shunyi."
Upon hearing this, Tokugawa Ienari could not help but feel tempted.
Regardless of how Japan conducted itself in isolation, or whether it chose to acknowledge it, the fact that Japan was once a vassal state enfeoffed by the Great Ming could never be changed.
In other words, if Japan signed this treaty, continuing to recognize itself as a vassal state of the Ming, and the Ming Emperor genuinely issued an edict enfeoffing him as the Prince of Shunyi, then he would be the Prince of Shunyi of the Great Ming. In Japan, his status would not be significantly lower than that of the Emperor.
More importantly, in the third year of Tianming (1783), the eruptions of Mount Iwaki and Mount Asama led to a five-year "Great Tianming Famine" in Japan, and the Shogunate's rule showed signs of instability.
If...
After Zheng Jiangfu departed the Shogunate, Tokugawa Ienari hastily convened a meeting of the Shogunate's high officials to discuss countermeasures.
Tokugawa Ienari first briefly recounted the news brought back by Zheng Jiangfu and then directly posed the question, "The 'Seven Articles of Ming-Japan Friendship' proposed by the Ming Emperor—should we sign it or not?"
Matsudaira Sadanobu's face was grim. "If we sign it, Japan will slowly be drained of its lifeblood by the Ming. If we do not sign it, Japan can muddle along for a few more years, and then there will be no more Japan, unless the Shogunate can surpass the Ming in all aspects within a few years, or even just two or three."
As Matsudaira Sadanobu finished speaking, the faces of the other senior councilors, the officials of temples and shrines, the junior councilors, the inspectors general, the town magistrates, the finance officials, the guards of the Great Barracks, and other dignitaries of the Tokugawa Shogunate turned grim.
Then, a silence fell.
What could be said at this point?
Stating the consequences of signing or not signing was the only opportunity to avoid expressing an opinion. Now that Matsudaira Sadanobu had stated them, they could only choose to agree or disagree.
The problem was that either choice was deeply troubling.
Choosing to agree would make them criminals in Japan, as this so-called 'Seven Articles of Ming-Japan Friendship' treated Japan like fish on a cutting board. Whoever agreed would bear the infamy.
Choosing to disagree would also make them criminals in Japan, because if they did not sign this humiliating treaty, the Ming would surely find an excuse to destroy Japan.
Perhaps the Ming's whale swimming to Japan would serve as a good excuse, or perhaps Japan's past invasion of Joseon would provide the Ming with an opportunity to punish the wicked.
After a long period of silence, Sakai Tadakatsu, the current Great Elder of the Tokugawa Shogunate (the Shogunate's temporary highest position), finally made a decision. He let out a long sigh and said, "I believe we should sign this treaty."
"If we sign this treaty, Japan may yet have a chance to turn things around. If we do not sign, then there will truly be no chance."
"We cannot place all our hopes on whether the Ming Emperor will attack Japan, because we simply cannot afford to gamble."
"Unless we are to follow the old path of Toyotomi Hideyoshi."
The so-called old path of Toyotomi Hideyoshi naturally referred to initiating an attack, first invading Joseon, and then using Joseon as a springboard to attack the Central Plains.
Unfortunately, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ending proved the consequences of actively attacking the Central Plains—even the Great Ming, which was already in decline, could defeat Toyotomi Hideyoshi. To actively attack the current prosperous Great Ming would be like a mouse licking a cat's paw, inviting trouble.
As Sakai Tadakatsu finished speaking, the assembled Shogunate dignitaries also let out long sighs of relief.
"Indeed, we should sign this treaty, for it is not without its benefits for the Shogunate."
"Yes, by signing this treaty, Japan will have a father, and henceforth we can trade with our Ming father, no longer relying on those Western barbarians."
"The money earned by the common people will be settled with the Shogunate, which is greatly beneficial!"
"Our Ming father treats Japan very well. If we do not sign this treaty, will not Japan become an unfilial child?"
"Our Ming father values face greatly and will not arbitrarily oppress us Japanese. On the contrary, father intends to lead Japan towards common prosperity and progress!"
However, as the dignitaries expressed their agreement, Shimazu Shigehide, the current lord of the Satsuma Domain, cursed with a dark expression, "You fools! Your hearts are tremendously wicked!"
"The Shimazu Domain spent generations to finally turn the Ryukyu Kingdom into a vassal of Satsuma, expanding the territory of Great Japan southward. Yet, with just a few casual words, you intend to hand over the Ryukyu Kingdom and even cede the island of Kyushu to the Ming!"
"I ask you, if Kyushu is ceded to the Ming, where will the Shimazu family live? Will they live with your Sakai family? Or your Hotta family? Or perhaps, your Doi family? or II family?"
Upon being cursed and questioned by Shimazu Shigehide, the faces of the other dignitaries also darkened.
Yes, Shimazu Shigehide was powerful, and he was the father-in-law of the Shogun. His status was supreme, and the Shimazu clan governed the Satsuma Domain quite well, possessing considerable strength.
However!
If the Satsuma Domain was so powerful, why didn't he raise an army to attack the Great Ming? If he could defeat the Great Ming, he could then sign a 'Thirty Articles of Capitulation' with the Ming, twice as many as the 'Fifteen Articles of Capitulation' signed between the Satsuma Domain and the Sho dynasty of Ryukyu. How glorious would that be?
It was likely that the Satsuma Domain could not defeat the Great Ming and might instead be defeated by the Ming, ending up like Akita!
After a long period of silence, Tokugawa Ienari coughed and said, "This treaty, the Shogunate actually does not have the authority to sign."
Upon hearing Tokugawa Ienari's words, the dignitaries present suddenly had a spark in their eyes.
That was right. Although the Shogunate was the de facto ruler of Japan, the nominal head of Japan was the Emperor of Japan, who resided in the Imperial Palace.
To sign or not to sign was a decision for the Shogunate. However, the final signing of this treaty...
The Emperor, being a god of Takamagahara, of an unbroken lineage, could bear this burden.
More importantly, the current Emperor Kōkaku was always finding ways to annoy the Shogunate. It was now time for the Shogunate to annoy Emperor Kōkaku.
Seeing that all the dignitaries understood his intentions, Tokugawa Ienari coughed again and said, "I will first go to the palace to discuss this matter with His Majesty the Emperor."
...
Emperor Kōkaku was the great-grandson of Emperor Higashiyama, the sixth son of Prince Kan'in Sukehito. Initially, his name was Sukehito, later changed to Tomohito.
If nothing unexpected had happened, Tomohito would not have had the opportunity to become the Emperor of Japan. His ultimate path would have been to become a monk in a monastery, as the Kan'in Palace had been separated from the Japanese imperial family since his grandfather's generation.
However, an unexpected event occurred.
In 1779, the forty-fourth year of Qianlong's reign, the 118th Emperor of Japan, Emperor Momozono, suddenly passed away. Emperor Momozono had only one daughter and no sons, meaning the direct imperial line was broken. This necessitated the selection of an imperial successor from the four princely families.
As the Kan'in Palace was closer in bloodline to the direct imperial line, and the Japanese officials wished for Emperor Momozono's only daughter to become Empress, after a strict selection process, only the unmarried Tomohito was found to be most suitable.
Thus, Tomohito became the 119th Emperor of Japan. After his death, he was given the posthumous title of "Kōkaku," reviving the Sinic style posthumous title that had not been used for nearly a thousand years since Emperor Kōkō. He was buried in the Sōrin-in Imperial Mausoleum.
Doesn't this resemble the process of Jiajing becoming emperor?
Even more similar was that Tomohito also initiated a Japanese version of the Great Rites Controversy. However, Tomohito did not possess Jiajing's abilities, and the Japanese version of the Great Rites Controversy ultimately ended in disarray—
After Tomohito ascended the throne, his biological father, Prince Kan'in Sukehito, was still alive. Under these circumstances, a situation arose where the son's status was higher than the father's.
Furthermore, according to the "Regulations Concerning the Court and the Aristocracy," there was a clause stating, "Princes are below the Three Ministers," meaning that there were three ministers in the court whose status was higher than that of a prince.
Just as Jiajing wished to bestow posthumous titles upon his parents, Tomohito also wanted to grant his father the title of "Grand Emperor."
In 1788, Tomohito directly applied to the Shogunate, requesting that his biological father be granted the title of "Grand Emperor."
At this time, the regent of the Shogunate happened to be the combination of the newly enthroned Tokugawa Ienari and Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Tokugawa Ienari and Matsudaira Sadanobu's attitude towards Tomohito's request was resolute; they firmly rejected it.
However, Tomohito was not one to be trifled with. Seeing that negotiations with the Shogunate were unfruitful, he invoked the Shogunate's official ideology—Neo-Confucianism—and convened a conference. The result was that out of 40 court nobles, 35 agreed to bestow the title of "Grand Emperor" upon Prince Kan'in Sukehito.
Upon receiving this news, Tomohito's uncle, Takatsukasa Sumihira, became somewhat alarmed, as the confirmation of the posthumous title would inevitably lead to conflict between the Japanese court and the Shogunate.
While calming Tomohito and urging him not to act rashly, Takatsukasa Sumihira also contacted the Shogunate, expressing his willingness to abandon the matter of granting the posthumous title and hoping that the Shogunate would appropriately increase the treatment of princes.
Upon receiving the letters, Tokugawa Ienari and Matsudaira Sadanobu realized that the court nobles were not unanimous. They then initiated a large-scale purge.
First, based on the "Theory of Mandated Government," they punished the court nobles who unanimously supported the bestowal of the title "Grand Emperor" upon the Emperor. As for Emperor Kōkaku's biological father, they appeased him by increasing his stipends.
The attempt to secure a title for his father ended with a small increase in stipends. This marked the beginning of a feud between Tomohito and the Shogunate.
Tomohito occasionally caused trouble to annoy the Shogunate, and the Shogunate also occasionally caused trouble for Tomohito.
Of course, to say that Tomohito acted out of filial piety when he tried to get the title of "Grand Emperor" for his father would be pure nonsense.
In essence, Tomohito was imitating the tactics Jiajing had used, attempting to gain control of the Japanese court by bestowing titles upon his father and reclaiming the power that rightfully belonged to the Emperor.
This power was precisely what Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate, had consolidated within the Shogunate.
Now, Tokugawa Ienari was preparing to return this power to Tomohito.
Upon seeing Tomohito, Tokugawa Ienari performed the proper etiquette for meeting an Emperor, bowed, and then prostrated himself, saying, "This matter is of great importance. Your subject dare not presume to decide. I humbly request His Majesty the Emperor's decree!"
Tomohito's face twitched involuntarily.
The ability to engage in the Great Rites Controversy, similar to Jiajing, indicated that Tomohito was not an uninformed political novice.
Was Tokugawa Ienari returning power to the Emperor?
No, this scoundrel was asking him to take the blame!