prosperous age

The conquest of a nation and the capture of its king are military achievements second only to the sealing of the wolf's lair.

As for why the Fenglangjuxu site holds such a high status, it is naturally because the grasslands posed a great threat to the Central Plains dynasties.

In terms of military achievements against foreign enemies, the order of precedence in ancient China was greatly influenced by this, with the order being: sealing the wolf's lair, inscribing the Yanran Mountain, and finally destroying a country and capturing its king.

Huo Qubing's sealing of the wolf's lair and Dou Xian's inscription on Yanran Mountain are examples of the "highest honorary titles" that famous generals could possess. However, because of the strength of ancient China, the conquest of surrounding small countries did not demonstrate any particular value.

Huo Qubing wasn't the only one to "seal the wolf's lair," but he was the first and most famous, so people often use "seal the wolf's lair" to refer to him.

For the Ming Dynasty today, achieving the goals of sealing the wolf's lair or inscribing the Yanran Mountain is quite difficult, not only due to military challenges but also because of political obstacles.

However, sweeping away neighboring small countries was indeed the easiest thing for ancient China to do.

Naturally, Liu Ting knew all this, which is why he thought of destroying the Japanese.

Moreover, fighting the Japanese would bring the highest honor in the Ming Dynasty.

The people of Jiangnan have suffered from the Japanese pirates for a long time. Even though the pirate raids have been over for more than ten years, that generation is still alive.

After Liu Shouyou gave a general overview of the situation in Japan, Wei Guangde smiled and said, "General Liu, you should think about how to earn merits such as beheading generals, capturing flags, being the first to scale walls, and breaking through enemy lines."

As Commander Liu just mentioned, Japan has a population of 20 million. If our Great Ming Dynasty were to truly attempt to destroy the country, our 100,000-strong army would likely face considerable difficulties.

Japan can easily muster an army of two million, and if the war really escalates to that point, it could easily muster seven or eight million.

Therefore, the imperial court chose to take a slow and gradual approach towards Japan, cutting its flesh bit by bit.

"By conquering the Sato Gold Mine and the Iwami Silver Mine, we can replenish our national strength; everything else must be done step by step."

Military merit is of paramount importance to soldiers and generals. It is not only a symbol of honor, but also the key to promotion, advancement, and the acquisition of wealth and land rewards.

The four great military achievements in ancient times were beheading a general, capturing a flag, being the first to scale the enemy's defenses, and breaking into enemy lines.

"First to scale" refers to the first soldier to scale the enemy's city wall during a siege.

This military achievement was undoubtedly a courageous act that disregarded personal life and death.

In ancient times, city walls served as the most important defensive fortifications for the defending army. They were tall, sturdy, easy to defend, and difficult to attack.

Those who were the first to scale the walls had to face a barrage of arrows, heavy rolling logs and rocks, and deadly attacks such as molten metal. They had to use both hands and feet to climb the steep and slippery walls. A single misstep would send them tumbling to their deaths.

In ancient times, the rewards for those who were the first to scale the mountain were extremely generous, enough to tempt anyone. The merit of being the first to scale the mountain was considered the "greatest merit," and the reward often exceeded that for beheading generals and capturing flags.

"Charging into battle" refers to the act of bravely rushing into the enemy's position on the battlefield, using powerful impact and combat strength to disrupt the enemy's deployment and create opportunities for one's own side.

The merit of breaking through enemy lines lies not only in the direct attack on the enemy, but also in the tremendous shock to the enemy's morale and psychology.

When the vanguard plunges into the enemy ranks like a sharp blade, the enemy's defenses are torn apart, their formation is disrupted, and the soldiers' fear and panic spread rapidly, causing their fighting spirit to crumble.

"Slaying a general" refers to killing or capturing an enemy general on the battlefield.

Capturing the flag refers to seizing the enemy's military flag on the battlefield. This action may seem simple, but it is actually of great significance.

In ancient warfare, the military flag was the soul and symbol of the army, representing its honor, morale, and command authority.

Once the military flag is captured, it's as if the army has lost its soul; the soldiers will fall into chaos and panic, and their fighting spirit will instantly collapse.

Wei Guangde's slightly teasing tone made Liu Ting blush slightly, and he lowered his head, not daring to speak.

He knew that Wei Guangde didn't mean anything by saying that.

Although he held a household registration certificate from Sichuan, he was actually from Jiangxi and a fellow townsman of Wei Guangde.

Commander Qi had mentioned this to him more than once.

After the young generals were selected, Wei Guangde specifically asked him to go to Liaodong to learn how to use firearms and the tactics of the new army from Qi Jiguang. He was being trained as a general of a garrison.

I realize I was a bit too hasty just now.

The Iwami region is located in the southern part of Honshu Island. The Ministry of War, following Wei Guangde's instructions, formulated a strategy to land simultaneously from the north and south, completely cutting off the country from the north to the south from the west.

The entire Iwami area was separated out, and then gradually encroached upon until the mine was completely under control.

To prevent the Mori clan from resorting to desperate measures after losing most of their land, a small piece of land was even left for them in the southern part of Honshu, allowing their family to continue to exist.

The Southern Route Army's strategy was to prevent reinforcements from the Mori clan and the Japanese pirates from Shikoku and Kyushu, while the Northern Route Army had to face the powerful Oda and Hojo clans.

The Tokugawa family was now under the Oda clan's control, so the Ministry of War did not mention them separately in its introduction.

In reality, the Tokugawa clan at this time could only be considered a relatively powerful warlord within the Oda clan system. They had their own territory and army, but were subject to the control of the Oda clan and later the Toyotomi clan.

Knowing that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had lost his bargaining chips in the invasion of Korea and was nearly driven mad, the Tokugawa clan seized the opportunity and took over the country that Toyotomi Hideyoshi had built.

During the invasion of Korea, the Tokugawa army was always kept in reserve and was not deployed in large numbers to the Korean battlefield.

While other daimyo and generals in Japan suffered heavy losses, the Tokugawa family became the dominant force in the country, a fact that is difficult to understand.

Logically speaking, even if Toyotomi Hideyoshi were foolish, he wouldn't leave such a huge hidden danger behind; instead, he would have urged the Tokugawa clan to send troops to Korea.

But that's how history is. Toyotomi Hideyoshi lost his main force in Korea, while the Tokugawa family suffered negligible losses, essentially doing all the work for someone else.

The ensuing discussion consisted mostly of Liu Ting and Deng Zilong inquiring about the terrain of Honshu Island, especially the fortresses they needed to capture.

The Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs and Liu Shouyou, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, both gave detailed answers. For those questions they could not answer, Liu Shouyou said he would arrange for someone to investigate as soon as possible.

"Does the imperial court still need the Japanese from the Iwami region?"

After they had finished their discussion and the generals of this operation had no objections to the battle plan formulated by the Ministry of War, Qi Jiguang finally spoke up and asked Zhang Ke a question.

“They are the best miners; otherwise, the court would have to recruit them from various provinces, which would inevitably encounter resistance.”

Zhang Ke laughed.

From the beginning of the university, the Ministry of War did not consider sending people from China to mine, but instead planned to use Japanese people.

Therefore, from the very beginning, the Japanese adopted an encirclement strategy to control the area around Iwami, in order to prevent them from fleeing.

"A very important reason for this eastern expedition is to recover the wealth lost by the Japanese pirates during their raids on our Great Ming Dynasty."

The Japanese pirate raids caused immense damage to the Ming Dynasty, resulting not only in the loss of vast wealth but also in the tragic suffering of countless people.

The Zuo Du Jinshan and Iwami Yinshan were Japan's compensation to our Ming Dynasty. After our Ming Dynasty takes control of these two mines, I also plan to propose gradually reducing taxes for the Jiangnan region, which was once harassed by Japanese pirates.

Wei Guangde's words were a deliberate attempt to spread the word that the gentry class in Jiangnan was very powerful, and many officials in the capital came from there.

If they knew that the Ming Dynasty would reduce Japan's taxes after its successful eastern expedition, they would likely fully support the court's military campaign abroad.

Especially in the Wu region, the Ming Dynasty had always levied extremely heavy taxes on the Jiangnan area because of Zhang Shicheng.

The saying "half of the nation's taxes come from Jiangnan" does not mean that Jiangnan is wealthy, but rather it is an indictment of the cruel exploitation by the imperial court.

Moreover, the Jiangnan region mentioned here does not refer to the actual area south of the Yangtze River, but only to the four prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Huzhou, and Jiaxing. The land tax levied on Suzhou alone was more than that of the entire Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commission next door.

After Zhang Juzheng implemented the land survey and the Single Whip Tax Reform, the tax burden in Jiangnan was not reduced; it was still levied according to the heavy taxes set by the Ming Taizu Emperor.

In reality, the land tax in the four prefectures of Jiangnan has not only not been reduced, but has become even heavier, which has already shown signs of causing local self-cultivating farmers to go bankrupt.

Wei Guangde knew these things, naturally because he owned property in Songjiang Prefecture.

Think about it, the "equalization of land tax and poll tax" policy was thought to benefit the masses.

Indeed, this is true, especially for those tenant farmers who have no land, the pure proletariat, who can be completely free from the shackles of taxes.

However, even though the Ming Dynasty had entered its "late stage," there were still a large number of self-cultivating farmers in Jiangnan.

The transfer of the poll tax to the land meant that these self-cultivating farmers bore a heavier tax burden.

As for the gentry, although they also had to bear some of the tax burden, their families included officials. The court was only exempting them from the corvée tax according to the rules, and the exempted corvée tax still had to be borne by other land, which further increased the tax burden on self-cultivating farmers.

As a result, the new tax law drove them to bankruptcy, forcing them to abandon their previous meager livelihoods.

This was clearly not what Wei Guangde wanted to see. The Jiangnan region was prosperous because of its thriving industry and commerce.

Farmers cultivate the land during busy seasons and work in the city during their off-seasons, but every penny they earn is hard-earned.

But now, even this hard-earned money isn't enough to cover the increased taxes, forcing them to sell their land and farmland.

Therefore, Wei Guangde put the appropriate reduction of taxes in Jiangnan and the entire southeastern coastal prefectures and counties on the agenda.

The tax reduction should not be limited to the four prefectures in Jiangnan, but only appropriately reduced. The four prefectures in Jiangnan could not have enjoyed such preferential policies from the imperial court before, but this time Wei Guangde is going to give them to them.

This tax reduction was linked to the Eastern Expedition.

After the successful eastern expedition and the commencement of tax collection, the coastal prefectures and counties of Jiangnan began to reduce taxes.

Wei Guangde believed that he was more experienced as the Grand Secretary than Zhang Juzheng. No matter what he did, he always chose to give some benefits to the local areas, or at least to some regions.

In this way, when such decrees are discussed in the court, there is at least a base of supporters who will agree with him for the sake of these benefits.

Jiangnan has always been the region with the most outstanding candidates in the imperial examinations during the Ming Dynasty. The candidates from here consistently achieve exceptional results, and over time, their influence in officialdom has become enormous.

This is also one of the important reasons why the Donglin Party later gained widespread support and was able to easily influence the political situation.

Imagine that most of the officials in the imperial court formed a "faction" because of common interests. Such power was not to be underestimated. Apart from retreating, who would be so stubborn as to choose to face the challenge head-on?

Sure enough, as soon as Wei Guangde finished speaking, several people in the hall were overjoyed.

Without needing to ask further, they were undoubtedly officials from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Upon hearing that Wei Guangde intended to seize the wealth of Japan to benefit his hometown, they naturally offered their full support.

Zhang Ke had heard Wei Guangde mention this before, two years ago, when the court had just begun to consider an expedition against Japan. Wei Guangde used the promise of gold and silver mountains to provoke Zhang Juzheng and the inner court.

When they hesitated, fearing opposition from the court, Wei Guangde said that reducing taxes based on the amount of wealth one acquires would gain wider support.

This is also why Zhang Ke and her team have always believed that this battle will be won.

With the promise of tax cuts, officials in Jiangnan wouldn't care about the dangers of the battlefield. They only hoped that the imperial court would win and obtain money from Japan, so that they could openly reduce their national taxes.

"Has the Ministry of War compiled all the intelligence on Japan into a book?"

Wei Guangde looked at Zhang Ke and asked.

"Several copies have already been made."

Zhang Ke nodded.

"One copy for each of the generals."

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, he looked at the people below the hall and said, "You can only read the intelligence about Japan yourselves after you get it. You are not allowed to reveal a single bit to anyone else."

The records about Japan in the booklet are all classified information from the imperial court, obtained by the Embroidered Uniform Guard at great risk; they are extremely valuable.

At this point, Wei Guangde stared at Qi Jiguang and said, "For this eastern expedition, I prefer Yuan Jing to serve as the commander-in-chief and oversee both the northern and southern armies."

Yuan Jing should be well aware of the fighting strength of the Japanese pirates, which is the main reason why he sent you.

Moreover, the Japanese mainland army is different from the pirates you wiped out in Zhejiang and Fujian. They are more organized, especially in their large-scale use of arquebuses, and their tactical capabilities are in no way inferior to those of the infantry musketeers.

Wei Guangde reminded him.

From the intelligence gathered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Wei Guangde witnessed battles between Japanese daimyo on more than one occasion, with firearms being widely used to kill enemy soldiers on a large scale and over a wide area.

There was even a trace of a car formation among them.

For example, there are records of Oda Nobunaga setting up a wooden fence half a person's height and then using arquebusiers to attack the Takeda clan's cavalry.

In this battle, the arquebusiers achieved a great victory, shocking the entire country of Japan and prompting the daimyo of Japan to expand their arquebus units even more frantically.

Seeing that Qi Jiguang, Deng Zilong and others all looked serious, Wei Guangde smiled again and said, "Even so, it is just a small country with few people, not worth mentioning."

Although they could forge iron cannons that were in no way inferior to arquebuses, they were far behind in artillery.

The large breech-loading cannons that were widely used in the Ming army were called "national collapse" by the Japanese because they could not build powerful cannons.

Therefore, during this eastern expedition, all generals must pay close attention to the use of artillery.

They are no rabble; don't think you can rout the enemy with musket formations.

The cannon, in terms of both power and range, far surpasses the musket.

Therefore, Wei Guangde emphasized the use of artillery to repel the enemy during the Ming army's eastern expedition.

"Grand Secretary Wei, what is the strength of the Japanese cavalry?"

Qi Jiguang asked.

"Generally speaking, the Japanese cavalry is not very strong. It is enough for the northern and southern armies to each prepare one cavalry battalion to deal with them."

Wei Guangde spoke up, "The battlefield is relatively small, which is not conducive to the deployment of cavalry."

While they were talking, Liang Menglong had already had someone bring out basic booklets and handed them to several generals.

"The wagon and infantry garrisons of Jizhou must be ready at any time to board ships and provide support should the eastern expedition encounter setbacks."

Wei Guangde looked at Dong Yiyuan, the general of Jizhou, and said.

This time, the Jizhou Garrison was considered the general reserve force prepared for the eastern expedition, with more than 10,000 officers and soldiers ready to provide support at any time.

"The general will obey the order."

Dong Yiyuan quickly clasped his hands in a fist and replied. (End of Chapter)