prosperous age

"My lord, news has come from the Ministry of War that Admiral Yu of the South China Sea Fleet and Commander Xu Qiaoan of the East China Sea Fleet will be coming to the Ministry of War today to report on their duties."

In the cabinet office, Wei Guangde was processing memorials when Lu Bu appeared in front of his desk to report.

"I understand, I'll be there in a bit."

He received the news two days before Yu Dayou and Xu Qiaoan arrived in Tianjin, and as soon as they landed, they sent someone to deliver a letter to the Wei family.

Yu Dayou is one thing, but Xu Qiaoan is a recent addition to his faction.

Of course, otherwise, he might not have been able to hold the position of Commander of the East China Sea Fleet for long.

Of course, it was actually Yu Dayou's evaluation that had an effect.

Wei Guangde could turn a blind eye to some of the shortcomings of his subordinates, but their abilities had to be commendable.

Xu Qiaoan may not succeed in the attack, but she certainly has the ability to maintain the status quo.

Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances during the early days of the Dengzhou-Laizhou naval forces, he was still able to maintain complete control over the Shandong navy, demonstrating his exceptional abilities.

However, his understanding of naval warfare was still the most primitive kind. Even though the imperial court had allocated a lot of gunboats to the East China Sea Fleet, his combat thinking was still somewhat fundamental.

He was far from being a famous general; he could only be considered a mediocre officer.

However, the East China Sea Fleet he commanded was not the main naval force for the Ming Dynasty's external offensive, so Wei Guangde felt that his cautious nature was acceptable.

If war breaks out, we can just send a commander there.

Xu Qiaoan is a rare military talent among the nobility, and placing him in this position would save face for the nobility.

Although he is not a member of the main branch, he still maintains ties with the nobility group.

This trip to the Ministry of War was actually planned long ago.

Ostensibly, it was a report meeting of the chief officers of the two major naval forces of the Ming Dynasty, but it also involved major military operations in the next two years.

Wei Guangde processed the few memorials on the table, then shook his head when he saw that there were still more than ten left.

Important things will be placed on top, a fact that Lu Bu, who has been in the cabinet for many years, is already familiar with.

The two documents he had just seen were actually unimportant; they were just reports from local officials to the emperor about the year's situation. In reality, no one would have said anything about whether they were even there.

"Pack them up. If these are all unimportant, I'll have someone outside draft them for me."

Wei Guangde spoke up.

"Most of them were memorials to pay respects and report on the situation under their jurisdiction."

Lu Bu glanced at the remaining memorials and, having a better understanding of the situation, replied.

"Take it out, I'll go to the Ministry of War right now."

Wei Guangde got up, stretched his body, and felt uncomfortable all over after sitting for so long.

Once Wei Guangde left the imperial city and was carried to the Ministry of War in a sedan chair, the yamen runners at the gate naturally did not stop him.

However, Wei Guangde stopped at the entrance of the yamen and asked, "Have all the naval personnel arrived?"

"Reporting to Grand Secretary Wei, the people have been inside for almost half an hour."

The constable hurriedly replied.

"Oh, I'm late."

Wei Guangde smiled and then stepped into the Ministry of War.

In the main hall of the Ministry of War, Tan Lun leaned back in his chair, with Zhang Ke, the chief clerk, beside him.

As for those below, they were naturally the chief officers of the two major naval forces of the Ming Dynasty, Yu Dayou and Xu Qiaoan.

"Grand Secretary Wei."

When Wei Guangde walked to the outside of the main hall, the officials outside the door hurriedly bowed to him.

"Go about your business and don't worry about me."

Wei Guangde smiled and walked into the main hall of the Ministry of War.

Hearing the noise, the people inside turned around and looked at the door. Zhang Ke had already stood up and was ready to go out to greet them, but Tan Lun, who was in the main seat, had not yet risen, and he could not overstep his authority.

Just as Tan Lun sat up straight and was about to get up, Wei Guangde came in and said to him with a smile, "Brother Zili, there's no need for such formalities. We're all family."

After saying that, he strode in, walked straight past Yu Dayou and Xu Qiaoan to sit down to Tan Lun's right, without even going to sit in Zhang Ke's previous seat.

"You're quite late. I arrived early, despite being sick."

Tan Lun smiled and looked at Wei Guangde.

"We need to process some memorials before releasing them, otherwise it won't look good."

Wei Guangde smiled, then said seriously, "Where were we?"

"We've covered the navy's training over the past year. Would you like to hear more?"

Zhang Ke began to speak.

"No need to waste time. My purpose in coming here is actually very simple: to hand over some matters to the East China Sea Fleet and the South China Sea Fleet. I wonder how they are going."

As for training troops, that is the responsibility of the two generals, and I cannot comment further.

Wei Guangde replied.

"Alright, then tell me about it."

Zhang Ke nodded and looked at the two people sitting below.

Yu Dayou and Xu Qiaoan exchanged a glance, and finally Yu Dayou spoke first: "The South China Sea Navy dispatched three warships to patrol the east during the year. The fleet has been at sea for more than half a year, and no news has been sent back. Please punish us, sir."

"No news for half a year?"

Why go east?

Tan Lun and Zhang Ke, standing next to Wei Guangde, spoke up at the same time.

Tan Lun knew that Wei Guangde had sent ships to the east to search for the mainland, but Zhang Ke did not.

The fact that the fleet had been at sea for six months without any news was something Tan Lun had not anticipated.

Ultimately, I'm getting old, and my ability to accept new things is very weak. Now, sitting in the position of Minister of War, I'm more focused on "stability".

After all, with more experience, one can remain calm and composed no matter how big the situation.

Zhang Ke was younger, but he hadn't been to the imperial court for many years and lacked experience.

The fact that Tan Lun has been delayed until now is to give him time to gain seniority and accumulate experience.

At this moment, Wei Guangde waved his hand, without explaining why he had sent warships eastward, and said: "It is normal to have no news for half a year. According to the voyage schedule, we should have news by the end of next year."

If the ship hasn't returned by then, that would be a real problem.

Wei Guangde only now understood why he was so reluctant to mention in his letters the fact that ships had been sent east.

I guess they're hesitant to report back because they haven't received any information.

In fact, during the Age of Exploration, it was quite normal for a letter to take a year or even more to travel from a colony back to Europe.

It's just that the generals of the Ming Dynasty were used to receiving news from their dispatches within a few days to three months, which is why they felt uncomfortable.

Yu Dayou briefly explained the situation, and Wei Guangde immediately extended the deadline to the end of next year, so Tan Lun and Zhang Ke didn't ask any more questions.

When it was Xu Qiaoan's turn, he immediately reported on the dispatch of ships to patrol the North Sea and the arrival of the ships at Nurgan City and Kuyi Island.

In fact, these East China Sea naval forces had already reported back that Nurgan City was in ruins, with only a small number of wild Jurchen tribes living nearby, not even qualifying as tribes. Kuyi Island, on the other hand, had a relatively large population, estimated at three to four thousand Kuyi people.

The navy left them cloth, cotton, and some food, which was considered a way of re-establishing contact with them.

The Kuyi people were quite pleased with the appearance of the Ming fleet, as it was a tribal tradition that they knew of the Ming dynasty's existence and that the Ming people had withdrawn more than a hundred years ago.

Now that they have returned and brought them a lot of supplies, they are naturally extremely grateful.

The Jurchen people living near Nurgan City initially had a rather harsh attitude towards the Ming Dynasty, and only accepted it after multiple attempts at communication.

When the Ming army withdrew, the Jurchens in the surrounding area actually left with them, so these people were actually relocated here later.

They either got separated from their tribe or were driven out by their tribe, and eventually settled down in the dilapidated houses of Nurgan City, making a living by fishing at the river mouth and hunting nearby.

After saying this, Xu Qiaoan shut up and remained silent.

Wei Guangde asked helplessly, "What about the situation in Japan?"

Upon hearing Wei Guangde's question, Xu Qiaoan continued, "This subordinate dispatched two fleets to escort the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Japan, and also to investigate the Japanese navy along the way, um..."
Despite the internal strife in Japan, there was no real royal navy; however, some daimyo did have sizable naval forces under their command.

For example, the Oda clan possessed the Kuki Navy, as well as the Murakami Navy, the Kurushima Navy, and the Mori Navy.

Investigations revealed that they were mostly pirates from the Seto Inland Sea and surrounding waters, recruited by the daimyo. Their fleets ranged from over a hundred ships to twenty or thirty, mostly small boats, practically devoid of any fighting capability.

"Have the grain reserves in Dengzhou and Songjiang Prefecture been prepared properly?"

Wei Guangde continued to ask.

When Wei Guangde asked the question, he looked at Zhang Ke.

Zhang Ke nodded and said, "Songjiang Prefecture has already stored 800,000 shi of grain for transport, and Dengzhou has also stored 300,000 shi, which is enough to supply the needs of an army of 80,000 for a year."

In previous years, the Ming Dynasty transported only about four million shi of grain to the north. However, this year, in addition to the normal grain transport, an additional one million shi was allocated from taxes and corvée labor. Most of it was stored in Songjiang Prefecture, and a small amount was transported to Dengzhou. In fact, all of this was in preparation for the war against Japanese pirates in the next two years.

Despite its small size, Japan is currently experiencing a significant civil war.

Although the Chinese jokingly referred to it as a village war or county war, that was in the early stages.

With the completion of the wars and the unification, the Ming Dynasty emerged in various regions, and the wars that broke out in the late Warring States period often involved large-scale battles with more than 100,000 troops.

This intelligence was compiled by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who concluded that Japan was able to mobilize nearly a million troops.

The Ming Dynasty deployed 100,000 troops to Burma, all of whom were drawn from the southwestern provinces, and also exhausted the grain reserves accumulated over many years.

This simple comparison alone made the Ming court reconsider its low opinion of the tiny island nation of Japan.

In fact, Shen Shixing had privately spoken to Wei Guangde about this matter.

In particular, when the Mongol Yuan dynasty was at its peak, it sent troops eastward, but they returned defeated.

Although the monsoon season played a role, the fact that the Mongol cavalry were ultimately defeated after landing in Japan still proves that Japan's military strength was not weak, not to mention the Japanese invasion of Jiangnan twenty years ago.

Of course, all of this was in vain, as Wei Guangde didn't listen at all.

"How is the Marine Corps training going?"

At this moment, Wei Guangde looked at Yu Dayou and asked.

He was quite satisfied with the Ministry of War's preparations. After handing over the matter, he didn't interfere anymore; it was the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue that were communicating about grain storage.

The Ming Dynasty has now prepared a million shi of grain for the war, which he believes should be enough.

During the Korean War, the Ming Dynasty deployed roughly the same number of troops to defeat the hundreds of thousands of Japanese troops sent to fight in Korea.

"I have already organized two thousand soldiers and have been training them on the west coast of Dongfan Island. However, since it is still in its early stages, it will take some time for it to become a fully-fledged army."

Yu Dayou replied.

After Wei Guangde proposed the concept of a marine corps, which would eliminate the need for temporary troop deployments from various ships during naval amphibious operations, he returned to Zhejiang and began drawing sharpshooters from his command to form a marine corps.

Because the number of troops was limited, soldiers who were good at using firearms were naturally selected to fill the ranks.

"Ah."

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, then turned to Tan Lun and Zhang Ke and said, "No matter what the final result is, the Ministry of War must order the previously selected coastal garrisons to train diligently so that they can be deployed at any time."

Zhang Ke and Tan Lun exchanged a glance and smiled, "Of course. Supervising the training of troops in various units is the responsibility of the Ministry of War, so we will not slack off."

I will explain this matter to each garrison in the future.”

Wei Guangde nodded, then looked up at the roof and suddenly asked, "What about Da Ning? Has there been any reaction from the grasslands towards Da Ning recently?"

Earlier, Wei Guangde proposed that the Ministry of War formulate a plan to send troops to Daming after Altan Khan's death.

Altan Khan died in the middle of the year, and the cabinet stepped in to balance the various forces on the grasslands. The Ministry of War then brought out this plan.

The purpose of re-stationing troops in Daning was to add a barrier before Jizhou, while also protecting the Liaoxi Corridor from the flank, greatly increasing the strength of the Ming Dynasty's northern defenses.

Moreover, the Ming army had been out of Daming for many years, and the various tribes of the grasslands dared not enter Daming. They could only graze sheep or pass through the surrounding area. The Liaodong army had sent people to patrol there every year for the past two years.

Later generations have a saying about the Ming Dynasty "abandoning territory and shrinking the borders", but in fact the court never issued such an document.

Wei Guangde had previously analyzed that Yongle's purpose in abandoning Daming was likely to fish.

Unfortunately, none of the big fish took the bait.

Later, as the Ming army's combat strength declined, the various factions on the grasslands remained hesitant to enter Daming, indicating that Emperor Yongle's judgment at the time was somewhat flawed.

The deployment of over 10,000 officers and soldiers, along with 30,000 family members, to Daning has revitalized this ancient city.

However, the move itself is one thing; the most important thing is the reaction of all parties on the grasslands.

Fortunately, it seems that the Tumet and Doyan tribes are turning a blind eye and have not shown any intention of threatening Da Ning.

According to previous reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there was a heated dispute in Guihua City over this matter, but most people were worried that it would damage the current trade relations with the Ming Dynasty.

The Mongol nobility became increasingly reliant on the products of the Ming Dynasty, and therefore were reluctant to resort to war lightly.

After all, history has shown that when the Central Plains are not in turmoil, it is actually very difficult for them to cross the border and penetrate deep into the interior.

However, this was the attitude of Guihua City, but the Mongol tribes in Liaodong were disobedient. They often engaged in small-scale battles with the Liaodong government troops and did not obey the Khan's orders at all.

Even Altan Khan didn't listen back then, let alone Huang Taiji, who hasn't even settled into his position yet.

"We need to settle them down as soon as possible, because the imperial court can't keep providing them with food and provisions indefinitely."

However, weapons and provisions must be supplied in full for the next two years to allow them to maintain their foothold.

Wei Guangde was actually more worried about the lack of supplies for the military supply route. This gamble was a success, and Daming was brought back under the control of the imperial court.

But if this advantage is lost because of the bad habits of officials, then Wei Guangde will have nowhere to turn to cry.

Bringing this up in front of Zhang Ke was meant to encourage him to take it more seriously.

"Da Ning?"

When he heard them talking about it, Yu Dayou opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.

Wei Guangde saw it, but just smiled.

He knew what Yu Dayou wanted to say. Yu Dayou had mentioned in a previous letter that since the court had recovered Daming, why not use the Yansui and Xuanda armies to advance from the east and west to regain control of the Hetao region and build border fortresses on the south bank of the Yellow River?

However, after doing the math, Wei Guangde realized that it was impossible to do, because rebuilding the border forts along the Yellow River would require a huge amount of money and grain, and the imperial court was unable to undertake such a massive project.

Guihua City will not turn a blind eye, and the consequences are unpredictable.

Not to mention that even the military towns of Yansui might not be happy about the border troops moving forward.

It can only be said that Emperor Jiajing's decision to halt the plan to recover the Hetao region was farsighted, not a mistake. (End of Chapter)