Chapter 1 The Shadow God

Ji Xiang watched this scene from the sidelines as the Shadow God.

He neither knew nor cared about the character of the successors to the Joseon throne.

As long as whoever became the King of Joseon did not involve themselves with the Gyeongnyeong Palace, anyone was acceptable.

Gwanghaegun was merely one of those who proactively showed goodwill. Moreover, his information was quite accurate. He knew that Ji Xiang's father had visited the Jongmyo Shrine before his disappearance. Although he didn't know what had happened, he was certain it was related to his own ancestral shrine. Initially, he had thought that Japanese onmyōji had laid down some kind of strange magic within the shrine.

When Ji Xiang met with him, and he hoped to gain Ji Xiang's support to secure his position as Crown Prince in exchange for Ming's recognition, the two sides immediately hit it off.

After hearing some secrets about the Gyeongnyeong Palace from Ji Xiang, the Crown Prince's expression became quite interesting.

A new emperor brings a new court. The former emperor is not the current emperor. The vassal state had just experienced a great war. Even if it wanted to reclaim its rights from the suzerain state, it had to wait for the right moment. Rushing out so rashly would only result in being crushed to pieces, so what future could there be?

Ji Xiang left the area, not caring about the chaotic farce of ascension that followed. The blood child followed Ji Xiang by his side. After dispersing the Shadow God form, a cloud descended from the sky.

"Shibo-gong, news from the court! His Majesty and the Celestial Master have issued a decree."

The Little Celestial Master had not been able to sense Ji Xiang's presence before, flying around aimlessly in the sky. Only now could he sense Ji Xiang's location.

"We cultivators are preparing to return home."

The Little Celestial Master's tone was strange: "However, the generals in charge of military farms are still stationed here. As for the arrangements after returning home, Shibo-gong... His Majesty and the Celestial Master want to discuss some matters with you in person."

"As for us, we will all remain in Shuntian, ready to be dispatched at any time."

The Little Celestial Master looked tired: "I almost kicked the bucket during the Joseon war. After returning home, it seems like there's another great battle to fight."

"Grandpa really knows how to order people around."

Ji Xiang looked puzzled: "Could it be... the problem of the Tatar invasion?"

Originally, the Ming Dynasty's fortunes were declining, and the nation's fate was in a precarious state, like Mount Tai collapsing and the sea drying up. Its destruction was not far off. However, later on, it forcibly extended its life, but although the national fortune was restored, the wars on all sides would not cease because of this.

What needed to be fought still had to be fought, and the foreign enemies had all sorts of reasons.

He had heard that the northern Tatars had repeatedly harassed the nine border towns in recent years, and not long ago, they had even charged directly to the vicinity of the Great Wall. That was why Li Rusong, who had been conquering Joseon, was transferred to the north to respond to the enemy, and the famous teammate-from-hell General Yang Hao was sent here to replace Li Rusong.

"I don't know, maybe. It's said that something big happened over there."

The Little Celestial Master's azure robe swayed, and he twisted his body left and right, looking around. He even used the technique of Qi observation. Then, he approached Ji Xiang. Ji Xiang leaned in, and the Little Celestial Master whispered: "Shibo-gong, don't spread this around."

"Li Rusong is dead."

Ji Xiang's gaze became slightly solemn.

Calculating the time, it seemed to be about this time. He hadn't paid attention to this matter before. Ji Xiang only remembered that he had died in a battle with the Tatars. He vaguely remembered the specific date, but he didn't expect him to die so quickly.

"Although I haven't met him, I've heard of him. Fifty years old is the prime of his life. Could he have been ambushed by the Tatars?"

The Little Celestial Master nodded: "Originally, he was going to strike directly at the Tatar's lair with three thousand light cavalry, but he encountered tens of thousands of Tatar troops. It is said that there were also incredible great cultivators participating in the battle. It was hard to fight with bare hands, so he died like that, without even figuring out who the other party was."

"If not a hero, at least a famous general of the dynasty, died so easily."

Generals inevitably die on the battlefield. Li Rusong was also one of the few famous generals who could shoulder heavy responsibilities during this period. He didn't expect to die at the hands of an unknown nobody without even meeting him. Ji Xiang also sighed, while the Little Celestial Master began to chatter endlessly:

"I used to read the folk version of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* when I had nothing to do. When Guan Yu and Zhang Fei died, it was like this. Those who killed them were originally unknown, but they became famous because they killed them."

"It's a pity that no one knows who killed General Li. The other party doesn't seek fame, but is afraid of being targeted by the great cultivators of our dynasty. He's quite cautious."

Ji Xiang: "I have no friendship with Li Rusong, nor have I ever met him, but a great general has fallen, and the north is vacant and unguarded. Now that the Joseon war has ended for only two months, it is time to transfer people back to take care of the northern court."

The Little Celestial Master nodded, then suddenly put on a happy face, even saying with some schadenfreude:

"Shibo-gong, there's another big thing! Our Embroidered Uniform Guard spies in Japan sent news that there seems to be another war going on over there! They're fighting fiercely now!"

Originally, Hideyoshi in this world had not died, but had been made into a man-made deity. Ieyasu, Terumoto, and Masanori were one traitor and two rebels, who would jump out at any time to clear the emperor's name. The Battle of Sekigahara, which originally broke out in Japan after the defeat in the war and return to their country, was now out of the question.

But still, a new war had appeared.

"Oh, what's going on?"

Ji Xiang was very curious.

The Little Celestial Master then told the whole story of this new war, from beginning to end.

The reason was the "Purge War" caused by the betrayal of people such as "Kobayakawa Hideaki" and "Shimazu Yoshihiro."

"The specific situation is not very clear. It is difficult for the Embroidered Uniform Guard spies to obtain more accurate information. They only know that Ieyasu and others, on Hideyoshi's orders, are cleaning up the family forces of the rebels in the Joseon War. Those families are unwilling to sit still and wait for death, so they fought with Hideyoshi."

The Little Celestial Master's information was limited, but the general information, as well as the movements and reactions of the various forces, were still very clear.

.......

At this time, Japan.

Due to the sudden betrayal of many Japanese generals on the Joseon battlefield, all of their clan forces in their homeland were affected. Hideyoshi ordered Ieyasu and the other two to purge these betrayers. However, Ieyasu and others ostensibly led a large army to conquer them, but secretly gave these families and forces a huge break. Not only did they secretly send people to tip them off, but they also gave the other side time to organize their forces for a strategic retreat.

As for Xu Fu, he did not interfere with this matter, letting Hideyoshi handle it. After all, for the lord of a divine kingdom, betrayers should indeed be purged.

Hideyoshi was also worried that the population would decrease if too many people were killed, so he ordered Ieyasu to capture as many as possible alive, preferably allowing them to surrender in an organized manner.

Ieyasu replied that he had received the order, and then lost battle after battle, forcibly turning it into a fifty-fifty situation.

The supreme commander of the Eastern Army was still Ieyasu, but the supreme commander of the rebel army was the Kobayakawa family. When he received the news of "Hideaki's" rebellion, Takakage, the head of the Kobayakawa family, who was about to die, secretly asked people everywhere to find life-extending treasures. Now, after taking the longevity treasure, he dragged his dying body to take the position of supreme commander of the rebel army.

However, the purpose of the rebel army was not to defeat Ieyasu's army, but to escape across the sea.

"There is nothing to miss about Japan anymore. If we stay here, not to mention land and houses, even our own lives, and even our souls, cannot be preserved. While Emperor Jinmu is not paying attention to our small fight, secretly contact the Ming Dynasty, and use Joseon or Ryukyu as a transit point to escape to the Ming Dynasty."

"Only in this way can the family's fire be preserved. Remember to take revenge on Hideyoshi in the future."

The Kobayakawa family and the Kikkawa family were actually branches of the Mōri family, but Takakage was an extraordinary person to be able to sit as one of the Five Great Elders with the status of a branch family, on par with Terumoto Mōri, the head of the Mōri family. Facing his plan to escape to the Ming Dynasty, the head of the Kikkawa family was puzzled and somewhat complained:

"If Hideaki hadn't betrayed us in the position of commander of the Western Army in the Joseon expedition, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation! We just finished a war with the Ming Dynasty, and now we're escaping. If the Ming Dynasty doesn't accept us, where are we going to go?"

Takakage Kobayakawa responded in a weak voice: "It's okay, even if the Ming Dynasty doesn't accept us, we can go south to Nanyang, to the Jiugang Pacification Commission of the Ming Dynasty in Luzon. The Ming Dynasty has banned the sea for many years, and its control over the Jiugang Pacification Commission is extremely weak. We only say that we are sea merchants who escaped from Japan overseas, and no one there will be suspicious. Every year, there are sea fugitives to Luzon, from the East and the West, those red-bearded Franji people and Dutch people are everywhere."

"With our strength, we can live well in Luzon, but if we can enter the Ming Dynasty, there will be opportunities to use the Ming Dynasty to counterattack Honshu Island in the future. Once the purge is successful in the future, the family can continue for hundreds of years."

"Going to Luzon is just a matter of leaving things to fate. That place is now nominally the Jiugang Pacification Commission, but in reality, it is already Franji territory. Although it is very prosperous because there are all kinds of people, that land is also very chaotic."

The two roads had their own advantages and disadvantages, but in short, the sea was so big that as long as they could leave the scope of the divine kingdom, they would not have to worry about Xu Fu's revenge. Hideyoshi could not let Ieyasu take so many fleets to sea to capture them. Of course, because there were quite a few rebels, tens of thousands of troops would have to gather many large ships to carry them away.

So the head of the Kikkawa family asked about this.

"This has also been arranged."

"A priest is willing to provide us with a fleet to escape."

There was also a bit of radiance on Takakage Kobayakawa's weak face: "When I knew that Hideaki had rebelled, I realized that something big was going to happen. Fortunately, that Ming immortal came here to make a big fuss, so Hideyoshi and others did not think of our situation for the time being. In addition, my adopted son from the Mōri family, Hidekane, is still fighting in Joseon and has not betrayed us, so they have not thought of moving us for the time being. It was not until now, after the war, that they began to purge us."

"In the eleventh year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty, a group of priests came here to preach. Later, when Hideyoshi sent people to capture the missionaries, a priest leader named Father Barvanji escaped. I don't know where he is hiding, but according to him, some kind of Catholic secret method protects him and allows him to hide here without leaving. He is no ordinary person either."

"Hideyoshi captured Christian priests, intending to obtain the Catholic secret techniques they possessed. Originally, these priests were unwilling to hand them over, so Hideyoshi used force to capture them."

"The oni-god path's desire demons, including the current oni-god path's magic, are often cultivated by referring to the Catholic secret techniques."

"All methods return to one, learning from each other's strengths, and those priests were of no use after being thoroughly studied, so they were naturally executed."

"There was no need to pursue the remaining priests. In order to ease relations with foreign countries, these people were no longer pursued. Many of Father Barvanji's companions were captured and killed. He hates Hideyoshi to the bone. This is one of the hidden dangers that Hideyoshi has planted for himself."

The head of the Kikkawa family looked happy: "That's great!"

Takakage continued: "This priest is willing to take us to Shuntian. It is said that he has a companion who is a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty, named Matteo Ricci. He can introduce us."

Everything had been arranged, and Ieyasu was also making various excuses for delaying the attack. Mōri and Kuroda were even slacking off, and the situation continued to evolve in an unknown direction in a strange atmosphere, which made Hideyoshi very angry.

"Ieyasu, listen to me! I'll give you ten days to prepare. Within this month, I want you to launch a decisive battle against the rebels, especially the Kobayakawa family! And crush them all! If you can't do it, I'll kill you and hang your body on the city wall of Kyoto Castle!"

Ieyasu did not meet Hideyoshi, but learned of this news from the messenger of the Ise Grand Shrine who came here.

After Mōri and Kuroda learned of this, they secretly talked in private, believing that Hideyoshi must have something important to do that was difficult to get away from. He had previously said that he wanted to attack Ryukyu, but now he was being held back by the rebels.

"I remember Hideyoshi said that he wanted to seize Ryukyu's national fortune. He must be doing something big related to the ascension of the divine kingdom. He has no way to deal with the rebels now. He must be repairing the national fortune of the divine kingdom."

"But if we anger him, perhaps he will really take action himself, which is a consequence we don't want to see."

Terumoto Mōri did not want to watch his own brother be killed by Hideyoshi, so he could not slack off anymore. Taking the initiative to attack was also a way for them to survive. At worst, they could let them go after fighting halfway.

And Ieyasu thought the same way.

"Their preparations should be almost ready. My various excuses for being sick are also almost used up. Taking this opportunity, I can communicate with the Ming Dynasty."

A priest dressed in Western style was here next to Ieyasu, listening to Ieyasu's inquiry, nodding constantly, indicating that everything had been arranged properly.

"Father Barvanji, I'm counting on you. If one day I can become Kanpaku and control the world, when Emperor Jinmu dies, I will definitely open the door for your Christianity. I swear here, there is no joking."

"I trust the morals of Mr. Tokugawa."

Barvanji assured Ieyasu Tokugawa of his navigation skills. Even sea monsters would not be able to get the Kobayakawa family into the sea.

"Then when will we launch the decisive battle? If we want Hideyoshi to see clearly and stabilize his restless and ferocious heart, we must attack as soon as possible and not delay, so that they can escape."

"Two days later! I will lead a large army across the sea, enter Shikoku and Kyushu, and launch a decisive battle."