prosperous age

As I've said before, the Ming Dynasty's officialdom is like a giant sieve; no information can be kept secret. Even so-called secrets, unless they are only assigned to a few individuals, will quickly become known throughout the city.

Yesterday, the court was calm and peaceful, but this morning, so many impeachment memorials were delivered to the palace, and the news could not be kept secret.

In fact, everyone had a premonition that this day would come, so the officials are not focused on their work and are instead gathering in small groups with their colleagues to discuss the matter.

Even if they don't know the secrets of the power struggles at the top, they still have a general idea of ​​the situation.

Dou Wang Guoguang was aimed at former Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, and also involved the current Second Grand Secretary Zhang Siwei.

There were only two people who could actually do it: Wei Guangde and Feng Bao.

While there were all sorts of speculations before, after someone submitted a memorial impeaching Feng Bao, everyone had already guessed that this was a power struggle between the Grand Secretary Feng Bao and the Second Grand Secretary Zhang Siwei.

Such remarks were not only rampant in official circles, but also among the nobility who were sensitive to information, and even among merchants, who already knew what was going on.

Moreover, the two have long been at odds, an open secret in the capital.

In the past, with Zhang Juzheng around, these two groups could be kept in check.

Now, it's clear that Grand Secretary Wei doesn't have that kind of prestige and can't control people; they've already started fighting each other.

These remarks, especially those that exposed the power struggle between Feng Bao and Zhang Siwei, were naturally made by people on Wei Guangde's side.

Since Wei Guangde was to be in the middle, he naturally couldn't afford to have a bad reputation.

Fighting with other officials is dishonorable, whether you win or lose.

After all, he is the Grand Secretary, and he might end up with a reputation for being jealous and envious of talent.

The prevailing opinions in various government offices in the capital were occasionally passed into Wei Guangde's office via small notes.

Now that he has become the Grand Secretary, he values ​​his reputation even more.

"Sir, this is a note just sent by the Ministry of War. Please come over when you have time."

Lu Bu came in, still holding a slip of paper in his hand, and presented it to Wei Guangde with both hands.

Wei Guangde reached out and took it, then opened it and glanced at it.

Are there any other memorials being sent in from outside?

Wei Guangde glanced at the dozen or so memorials still on his desk and asked.

"No memorials have been sent from the Office of Transmission yet, nor have I heard of any important ones."

"I said in a low voice," Lu Bu said.

The Office of Transmission would typically send documents to the palace several times a day, depending on the number of memorials received.

In case of particularly urgent matters, they would be delivered to the palace immediately, so as not to delay important matters.

"Go and inform him that I will go to the Ministry of War in a little while."

Wei Guangde said to Lu Bu.

"Yes, sir."

When Wei Guangde said this, he was naturally informing both sides: firstly, the Secretariat scribes, that when distributing memorials, he should not send any to his side, since there was no one there.

Secondly, he instructed Lu Bu to have his men bring over the sedan chair.

It's impossible for the large square at Chengtianmen to be filled with sedan chairs. Officials were going to the palace on official business, so the sedan chairs or carriages were parked outside and couldn't block the palace gate.

After processing two more memorials, Wei Guangde finally got up.

The other memorials are not all important; dealing with them today or tomorrow makes little difference.

Before long, Wei Guangde's sedan chair stopped at the entrance of the Ministry of War.

When he came down, Liang Menglong, the Vice Minister of War, came out to greet him.

"Grand Secretary Wei, you've arrived. Please come in."

Liang Menglong remained respectful to Wei Guangde, but Wei Guangde did not underestimate him.

He hadn't noticed it before, but recently his subordinates realized that his relationship with Zhang Siwei seemed unusual.

Yes, the court has been in turmoil recently, and both Feng Bao and Zhang Siwei are mobilizing their subordinates, preparing for a decisive battle at any time.

As a result, many of his subordinates gradually revealed their true colors, and Liang Menglong was one of them.

Are all the people inside?

Wei Guangde asked a question.

"They're all here."

Liang Menglong bowed slightly and said respectfully.

"Let's go, lead the way."

Wei Guangde said something.

Although he was unfamiliar with the Ministry of War and did not usually use his power to intimidate others, he still had to put on airs at this moment.

Liang Menglong led Wei Guangde directly into the back hall of the Ministry of War. The main hall was where the Ministry of War discussed and handled important matters, while the back hall was where the Ministry of War deployed important military operations.

Because of the popularity of the novel "Water Margin", this place is also known as "White Tiger Hall" by enthusiasts.

In Chinese folklore, the White Tiger is a mythical beast representing the West and is also the name of an evil spirit.

The White Tiger is an ominous star, a symbol of death and desolation. Therefore, many important military locations in ancient times were named after the White Tiger Hall.

When Wei Guangde arrived, Zhang Ke naturally gave up the main seat and sat on the right.

“Yuan Jing is here too, please sit down.”

After Wei Guangde stepped in, the officials below all stood up, and Zhang Ke went straight to greet him.

Wei Guangde waved his hand with a smile and said, "Jinqing, there's no need for formalities. You two can discuss it. I'm just here to take a look."

As he spoke, he walked to the head of the table with Zhang Ke and sat down on the left.

Today, the people here include not only the Minister of War and his vice ministers, but also officials such as the Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs and other senior officials. Among the officials are Qi Jiguang, the General Commander of Liaodong, and his deputy Liu Ting, Dong Yiyuan, the General Commander of Jizhou, Xu Qiaoan, the Admiral of the East China Sea Fleet, and Chen Lin and Deng Zilong, the deputy admirals of the South China Sea Fleet.

Chen and Deng came representing the Southern Route Army. After the Ministry of War selected generals, Chen Lin was chosen to command the South China Sea Navy support fleet, while Deng Zilong commanded the army troops in combat.

Yu Dayou is getting old, and now he spends most of his time on land and can no longer go out to sea.

As for the command of the Northern Route Army, it was Liu Ting, recommended by Qi Jiguang, who took on the role. The East China Sea Fleet was personally commanded by Xu Qiaoan, who also had command authority over the South China Sea Fleet.

As for the Grand Commander of the Eastern Expedition, it has not yet been determined, but there are not many candidates. Zhang Ke prefers Qi Jiguang to go.

Previously, Li Chengliang had also written to Wei Guangde from Myanmar, hoping that Li Rusong would join the Eastern Expeditionary Army to gain military merit.

However, with the recent unrest in various parts of Myanmar, Li Chengliang and his generals are currently preoccupied with mobilizing troops to suppress the disturbances and have no energy left to think about anything else.

Yes, the imperial court never sent anyone to govern Burma because in newly occupied areas, the court's foundation of rule was often weak, and it would take ten years or even longer to gradually stabilize.

In addition, their large-scale mining operations in Myanmar for profit also attracted many Burmese people. Because miners were treated very poorly and their lives were often in danger, riots became a common occurrence.

Fortunately, Burma's mineral resources were indeed excellent, and southern Burma was rich in resources. The tax revenue from the minerals was enough to support the Ming army's military expenses in the area, as well as the consumption of a large amount of food and supplies.

Overall, the Ming Dynasty was barely able to offset this loss.

Of course, in reality, the powerful and wealthy who went to Myanmar to mine made a fortune.

In order to stabilize the situation in Myanmar, the Li family naturally couldn't send any personnel this time.

However, Wei Guangde was actually quite satisfied with the current arrangement. Qi Jiguang was a flexible strategist who was good at adjusting his tactics according to the combat environment, and his skill in using firearms made Wei Guangde feel at ease.

At this time, Japan was actually in a similar situation to the Ming Dynasty, and everyone was developing firearms as a powerful tool for killing enemies.

In the Japanese daimyo army today, the number of arquebuses is like the number of bows and crossbows in ancient times; it is one of the standards for measuring the combat effectiveness of an army.

While Wei Guangde was observing the officers on the field one by one, the Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs was also explaining their preliminary battle plans.

Yes, the purpose of the Ministry of War summoning Qi Jiguang and others here was to roughly determine the battle plan for the Eastern Expedition.

On the left side of the back hall, a huge map was hanging, and the Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs was explaining the terrain of Japan with a long wooden stick.

On the map, two places are circled in red cinnabar: one is the Iwami region, and the other is Sado Island.

Following the approach of starting with the easy and then moving on to the difficult, the official first explained the overall operational objective, which was naturally to control the two areas circled in cinnabar.

By defeating the Japanese navy and controlling the seas, Sado Island would naturally fall without a fight.

Therefore, in the Ministry of War's view, eliminating the Japanese navy was extremely important. It could not only guarantee control of Sado Island, but also ensure the logistical security of the Iwami area during the invasion of Japan.

"Although the major daimyo of Japan all have large and small naval forces, the main ones at present are the Kumano Navy under Kuki Yoshitaka of the Oda clan and the Kurishima Murakami Navy."

However, their activity in the Seto Inland Sea has led to numerous conflicts over control of the area.

The Seto Inland Sea is essentially the strait between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Controlling this area allowed for the deployment of troops to these three locations, making it a historically coveted territory for daimyo aspiring to unify Japan.

In addition, the Mori navy and the Shimazu navy were slightly stronger.

However, during the explanation from the Ministry of War, Wei Guangde learned that their naval forces were actually quite weak, especially the Shimazu clan. Although they were located at the southernmost tip of Japan, facing the vast ocean, the Shimazu clan was actually more skilled in land warfare than naval warfare.

Therefore, even the Shimazu clan's navy, which ranked high among second-rate naval forces, was at best no better than the Ming Dynasty's garrison navy, with a few large ships and dozens of medium and small boats.

It can be said that the merchant fleet hastily assembled from either Tianjin or Songjiang Prefecture could easily overwhelm them.

"So, if we attack Japan, the navy will have to enter the Seto Inland Sea?"

Qi Jiguang frowned and asked.

The narrow strait between the three islands was clearly not the best choice for the Ming Dynasty's naval battleground.

"Japan is currently embroiled in internal strife. According to the initial plan, the navy's primary objective in this war was to capture Jeju Island and Tsushima Island."

Attacking Tsushima Island would inevitably draw the Kumano Navy into battle, where the largest Japanese navy could be annihilated.

Whether the Murakami Navy will come to the rescue remains to be seen.

However, regardless of the circumstances, as long as the Kumano Navy can be destroyed, half of Japan's naval power will be wiped out, essentially guaranteeing the security of Japan's western waters.

Liang Menglong then interjected to explain.

Using Jeju Island and Tsushima Island as springboards, the Ming army's provisions were mainly concentrated in these two places, a strategy that Wei Guangde had determined long ago.

The closer proximity makes it easier for the army to receive supplies.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang fell silent, while the Ministry of War continued, "The East China Sea Fleet will be responsible for the security between Tsushima Island and Sado Island, and will ensure the mining and transportation of gold and silver in the mountains of Sado."

Next, it will target the Iwami area.

After tapping the wooden stick on Sado Island, the wealthy man moved it to the Iwami area below.

"The Southern Route Army landed in the southern part of Honshu Island, cutting off reinforcements from Shikoku and Kyushu Island, while the Northern Route Army landed in the northern part of the Iwami area, forming a north-south barrier and dividing the Iwami area of ​​Japan."

After eliminating the main force of the Japanese army, the remaining enemy forces in the Iwami region will be gradually wiped out, with the aim of forcing the Japanese king to cede the Iwami region and Sado Island.

"So, the initial objective wasn't to capture the Iwami region, but rather to feign an attack on Kyoto?"

Liu Ting interrupted and asked.

Because the wooden stick was drawing horizontal lines in the northern part of the Iwami area, and one end of the line was marked as Kyoto.

The distinctive signage, highlighting the uniqueness of this place, along with the character "都" (du), naturally drew Liu Ting's attention.

"Several hundred miles to the east is indeed the royal city of the Japanese king."

The official explained.

Just then, a figure flashed outside the back hall door, and Liu Shouyou, dressed in a flying fish robe, quickly walked into the hall and then bowed to the person in charge.

Wei Guangde nodded at Liu Shou, then said to the Assistant Minister of War, "Continue."

Civil officials looked down on military officers, and this was true even in the Ministry of War.

What the Six Ministries looked down on even more was the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was more of a military garrison than a real military post, but in reality, even the Ministry of War did not recognize it, which gives you an idea of ​​the relationship between the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the imperial court.

Even though Liu Shouyou and Wei Guangde had some connections, some of their prejudices were so deeply ingrained that Wei Guangde was unable to ease them.

This time, it was clear that the Ministry of War was deliberately neglecting Liu Shouyou, hence the late notification.

It doesn't even matter whether they come or not.

As for the intelligence provided to them by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Ministry of War considered it meaningless.

Yes, we can win.

Even without it, we can still conquer Japan by feeling our way across the river.

The troops mobilized by the Ming Dynasty this time were not ordinary ragtag troops from garrisons; they were all carefully selected elite soldiers who had undergone six months of rigorous training.

With such elite troops deployed, conquering Japan was, in their eyes, a piece of cake, a chance to reap the rewards of war.

Next, Liu Ting debated with officials from the Bureau of Military Affairs about whether or not to commit the main force to attacking Kyoto.

Undoubtedly, the idea of ​​"capturing the king to catch the thief" was also deeply ingrained. In their eyes, capturing Kyoto and taking the Japanese king alive would mean victory, and the Ming Dynasty could then take whatever it wanted from Japan.

"Ha ha."

After listening for a while, Wei Guangde realized that not only Liu Ting thought so, but also Qi Jiguang, Dong Yiyuan, Deng Zilong and others had expressions of complete agreement. He finally couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, stop arguing."

Wei Guangde's laughter interrupted Liu Ting's narration. He looked at Wei Guangde, unsure of what to do.

"Back off."

Qi Jiguang then chuckled and reminded him, at which point he hurriedly stepped back two steps and stood behind Qi Jiguang.

"Siyun, tell me, what exactly is the status of the so-called King of Wa?"

Seeing that no one below was speaking, Wei Guangde then spoke to Liu Shouyou, who had just arrived.

"Japanese King?"

Liu Shouyi was taken aback, but he didn't delay and quickly began to explain the current power structure of Japan. The Japanese king was similar to the Zhou emperor in the late Spring and Autumn period, just a figurehead, a nominal overlord, a mere figurehead.

"Now you understand, right? The Japanese king actually has no power anymore, so capturing him is useless."

The main goal was to defeat the Japanese daimyo, especially their generals.

Then, if they fail, they'll summon the Japanese king to take the blame and bear the consequences of their defeat, making him fulfill our demands.

Wei Guangde then said to Liu Ting, "What's the use of arresting him? When those officers in charge of the troops can't find a scapegoat, they'll have no choice but to fight you to the death."

Therefore, Liu Ting no longer cared about the merit of conquering a country and capturing its king; it was truly meaningless. (End of Chapter)