prosperous age

Time passed quietly, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard continued to spread the news in various wards and markets of the capital that Japan might once again send out pirates to harass the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, they also released information that the cabinet and the Ministry of War were considering a preemptive strike, using the established navy to launch a preemptive attack on Japan, in order to prevent the flames of war from ravaging the Ming Dynasty again.

When this news spread, it's no surprise that the people of the capital applauded.

Being able to spread the war to other countries would naturally be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

From the very beginning, there was a lot of anxiety and fear, especially among the merchants in Beijing and the wealthy merchants living along the coast, who naturally offered their full support.

Although they each have their own channels to obtain information, they naturally all have to express their support under the general trend.

Despite the general public's support for the imperial court's military campaign against Japan, some old scholars still believed that the court should send an envoy to Japan to ease tensions through exchanges.

They do not want war because it would be a waste of resources and manpower.

Moreover, judging from the early period of the Jiajing reign, it was not that Japan did not want to establish contact with the Ming Dynasty; it was only because of the Jiajing Emperor's involvement with the Japanese pirate raids that the two sides completely severed ties.

The fact that the Ming Dynasty still prohibits maritime trade with Japan to this day is clear evidence of this.

On the tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the Wanli reign, a memorial from the Ministry of War finally broke the chaotic situation, requesting that troops be dispatched to conquer Japan.

The memorial listed the disobedient acts of Japan since the founding of the dynasty, including the incident in 1370 AD when Emperor Hongwu sent an envoy named Zhao Zhi to Japan, but Zhao Zhi was killed by the Japanese emperor.

After Zhao Zhi was killed, Zhu Yuanzhang realized Japan's hostility towards the Ming Dynasty and considered them "stubborn and unyielding." He then decided to strengthen coastal defenses and restrict trade between the people and Japanese pirates.

In the subsequent dynasties, Japanese pirates repeatedly invaded. Although Zhu Yuanzhang issued a strongly worded imperial edict in vernacular Chinese and granted local officials and the people the right to "tell the people to prepare their knives, because when these guys come, kill them first. So be it."

The Wokou (Japanese pirates) raids continued from the early Ming Dynasty to the Longqing reign. In particular, during the Jiajing reign, due to the stricter maritime ban policy, a large number of refugees from the southeast joined the Wokou raids, which increased their strength and formed the peak of the Wokou raids.

"The Ministry of War believes that the threat of Japanese pirates, which have infiltrated our inner circle, can only be resolved by eradicating them at their root."
"It is no longer appropriate to merely defend the seas against the Japanese pirates; we must attack Japan and force its king and nobles to surrender and plead guilty."

Before the memorial was even sent to the Grand Secretariat, it spread throughout the various government offices in the outer court and then into the streets and towns of the common people.

This memorial from the Ministry of War clearly demonstrated the court's determination to preemptively attack Japan.

Although most court officials were uneasy after hearing the news.

Previously, everyone was just bragging in private that they could wipe out not only Japanese pirates, but also enemy cavalry with a laugh.

But when it came to actually fighting and going into battle, most officials thought of the weak Ming Dynasty garrisons.

Can we win this battle?

This idea almost simultaneously lingered in the minds of most officials.

What everyone was talking about before was "strategically despise the enemy, but tactically take the enemy seriously." They were all all talk and no action, but when it came to actually getting the imperial court to send troops to conquer Japan, not many people had the confidence.

The generals and commanders for the expedition had not yet been announced, but even though it was rumored that Qi Jiguang would be the commander-in-chief in charge of the battle against the Japanese pirates, everyone was still worried.

Ultimately, the painful lessons learned from the two Mongol invasions of Japan were too profound for anyone not to know.

Japan believed it was protected by divine winds, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty naturally did as well. With the sea as a barrier, it was not easy to easily resort to war.

Just as the court and the public were discussing the matter, Wei Guangde finally received the memorial from the cabinet.

Although he had seen it before, he still wanted to go all the way, so he immediately asked Lu Bu to invite Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing to discuss it.

"As the memorial states, the only way to deal with this threat from within is to conquer Japan. Only then can we truly instill fear in them and prevent them from daring to offend the might of our Great Ming Dynasty."

After reading the memorial, Shen Shixing immediately expressed his support.

“After Japan submitted to the Tang Dynasty, it sent Tang envoys to China to learn its culture and skills. However, as the Tang Dynasty declined, it ceased to govern Japan.”

This is all because, after the Tang Dynasty, no dynasty was able to truly deter Japan.

Since the founding of this dynasty, the Japanese pirates have become increasingly arrogant, even killing our Ming Dynasty envoys.

This score needs to be settled.

Zhang Siwei chimed in, first expressing his support, but then changing the subject and saying, "But with the Mongol Yuan dynasty as an example, I think we should have the coastal garrisons strengthen their defenses and have the navy patrol around the Japanese islands for an extended period."

If we send troops to quell the rebellion, we risk repeating the mistakes of the Mongol Yuan dynasty; we must proceed with caution.

Zhang Siwei's words revealed his stance: he did not oppose sending troops, but believed that a more proactive defense was needed, with the navy directly patrolling the Japanese islands to strangle them from within.

In fact, Zhang Siwei knew a lot about many of the strategies. Even if everyone couldn't control the Six Ministries, it wouldn't be a problem to plant a few people in to gather information.

However, Zhang Siwei had just received a message from Zhang Jing yesterday, saying that as the date of the military expedition approached, Emperor Wanli had been restless in the Qianqing Palace for the past two days.

Yes, at the beginning, Emperor Wanli was naturally full of confidence and wanted to establish his military prowess by conquering Japan.

But when the time came, he couldn't help but feel anxious and worried that if he repeated the same mistake and tens of thousands of troops were lost to Japan, the defeat would be a huge blow to his image.

Therefore, after weighing the options, Zhang Siwei chose to take a shortcut, neither opposing nor supporting a proactive defense approach.

Wei Guangde gave Zhang Siwei a deep look. He had his own channels for information from the Qianqing Palace and naturally knew about His Majesty's unusual reactions these past two days.

However, at this point, the die was cast and had to be cast, otherwise the consequences for him would be enormous.

To say that Wei Guangde wasn't nervous would be nonsense.

Warfare in this era differed from that of later periods, relying instead on well-equipped, rigorously trained armies and ample supplies.

Wei Guangde believed he had satisfied all his needs and used his power to prepare a large number of firearms for the eastern expeditionary army.

Such an army would be a top-tier force, not only against Japan, but also if deployed to Europe.

As for military training, it wasn't his usual job, but with Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou overseeing it, he figured there wouldn't be any problems.

If the matter is delayed any longer, and both of them grow old, Wei Guangde will feel even more uneasy about handing it over to other generals.

Thus, this problem will continue into future generations, and who knows when another disaster like the Sino-Japanese War might occur.

During this period, Wei Guangde also read some ancient books, not just "Jin Ping Mei," which he only read twice before putting it down.

My understanding of Japan is that it is a nation that only submits to being conquered, and only acknowledges the status of the strong.

The Heavenly Khan of the Tang Dynasty was a figure whose achievements were backed by real military exploits. The Tang army was so powerful that, apart from the Tibetan Empire, it had no rivals in the surrounding areas.

The fact that they couldn't defeat the Tibetans was both true and false. The main reason was that the people of the Central Plains simply couldn't adapt to the altitude of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Unless they were willing to spend money and supplies to gradually wear down the army as it climbed the plateau, taking several years for the Tang army to adapt to fighting in high-altitude areas, there was no chance of victory.

Japan only submitted to the Tang Dynasty after being defeated by the Tang army.

This time, if we can replicate the Battle of Baekgang, we should be able to completely subdue Japan.

It is worth mentioning that the Ming Dynasty still refers to it as Wa (倭国), while Wa itself has come to call itself Japan.

In fact, the name Wa (倭) was bestowed by Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In the Shuowen Jiezi (a dictionary of Chinese characters), the character “倭” is defined as “顺儿，从人，委声”, meaning “obedient”. Therefore, the country of 倭 can be interpreted as “a country that obeys”.

Furthermore, the character “倭” also means wretched and short, which is practically a derogatory term.

The name "Wa" first appeared in the book "Lunheng": "During the reign of King Cheng, Yue often presented pheasants, and the Wa people offered tribute." This shows that as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty, Wa was one of the tributary states of the Zhou Dynasty. However, due to the sea barrier, exchanges between the two sides were not frequent.

The Book of the Later Han Dynasty records that Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty bestowed a gold seal upon the King of Wa, which was inscribed with the five characters "King of Wa of Han".

During the Sui Dynasty, Wa (Japan) intended to change its name. The Book of Sui, Biography of the Eastern Barbarians, records that during the third year of the Daye era of Emperor Yang of Sui, the King of Wa, Torisbigu, sent an envoy to the Sui Dynasty with a letter that read, "The Emperor of the Land of the Rising Sun sends a letter to the Emperor of the Land of the Setting Sun, wishing him well."

Such writing naturally enraged Emperor Yang of Sui, who told the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, "Do not report any more of the impolite writings of barbarians."

It is evident that after dealing with the Central Plains dynasties for a long time, the Japanese high-ranking officials also understood some Chinese. They probably felt that always calling their country "Japan" was an insult to their civility and elegance, so they wanted to change the country's name, and thus the word "Japan" came to mind.

In the Battle of Baekgang, over 10,000 Tang troops with over 100 warships defeated 40,000 Japanese troops. After losing a thousand warships, Japan once again chose to submit to the Tang Dynasty.

So in the first year of Xianheng reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, which is 670 AD, the Japanese sent envoys to congratulate the Tang Empire on its conquest of Goguryeo. They also took the opportunity to say that they disliked the name "Wa" and wanted to change their country's name to "Japan," hoping to obtain the approval of the Tang Empire.

However, the Tang Dynasty did not recognize it at the time, so Japan continued to use the name "Wa" internally.

When Guo Wuzong later went on a diplomatic mission to Japan, his letter still contained the phrase "The Emperor of the Great Tang respectfully inquires of the King of Japan," showing that he did not take the name change of Japan seriously at all.

It wasn't until the reign of Empress Wu Zetian that the then-ruling Wu Zhou emperor acknowledged the change of Wa's name to "Japan".

However, due to Wu Zetian's special status, the Central Plains dynasties continued to use the Japanese name for her and did not actually change it.

As for when Chinese people started using "Japan" to refer to their country, it's obvious without even thinking about it.

Inside the cabinet, after Zhang Siwei finished speaking, Wei Guangde leisurely said, "Since Ziwei has objections, why don't you come with me to the Qianqing Palace to explain your true intentions, and let His Majesty decide everything."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Siwei thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

"Rumo, since we agree, let's stay in the cabinet to handle the affairs for now."

The Ministry of War's memorial has arrived today. I don't know if officials from other ministries will come to inquire about it. You should handle things within the cabinet.

Wei Guangde said to Shen Shixing.

Shen Shixing cupped his hands and bowed slightly to indicate his approval.

Immediately afterwards, Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei took the Ministry of War's memorial directly to the Qianqing Palace.

In the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Wanli summoned two Grand Secretaries.

After the ceremony, Emperor Wanli offered him a seat, and Wei Guangde had already presented the Ministry of War's memorial to the emperor.

"This matter is of great importance, and we dare not make a decision on our own. We have come to pay our respects to Your Majesty."

Wei Guangde bowed and said.

"Master Wei, please have a seat. I will first take a look at the memorial from the Ministry of War."

Emperor Wanli knew this, but he hadn't issued an edict yet, so everything was still uncertain, which was why he had been so uneasy these past few days.

After waiting for about half a cup of tea's time, Emperor Wanli had finished reading the Ministry of War's memorial. His face was clearly filled with anger, obviously angered by the descriptions in it, especially the various acts of disloyalty by Japan since the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu.

He knew some things, but he didn't know others.

For example, the Wanli Emperor was unaware that the Ming Taizu Emperor had sent an envoy to Japan to deliver an imperial edict, only to be killed.

After all, it was a Ming Dynasty envoy, and it would be somewhat shameful to say that he wasn't killed.

It is quite surprising that Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, did not send troops to Japan to punish them, given his character.

Without a doubt, it is related to the Mongol Yuan dynasty.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty had only been established for a short time. Facing the powerful remnants of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in the north, it naturally had no time to spare. Therefore, it adopted a defensive posture, ordering the military and civilians along the coast to prepare for Japanese pirates. This was actually the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's policy of prohibiting the sea.

What is the Cabinet's opinion?

Emperor Wanli put down the memorial and waited a moment before asking the question.

Therefore, Wei Guangde revealed his and Shen Shixing's stance of favoring the Ministry of War's recommendation to send troops to conquer Japan.

Wei Guangde only mentioned that it was his and Shen Shixing's opinion, without mentioning Zhang Siwei. Emperor Wanli knew that the second-in-command had other opinions on this matter, so he asked, "Minister Zhang, do you have other opinions?"

At this moment, Zhang Siwei dared not think too much. Now that things had come to this, he naturally repeated what he had said in the cabinet.

"In other words, you are not against the Ministry of War, but you are worried about the unpredictable risks of a large-scale naval expedition to the east. Therefore, you hope that coastal defenses against Japanese pirates will be maintained, with the navy as the main force to contain them."

Emperor Wanli had relaxed by now and looked at Zhang Siwei with a smile, asking him a question.

"Yes, I believe that it would be too risky to send troops to attack the Japanese so rashly."

At its peak, the Mongol Yuan dynasty twice launched military campaigns against Japan, both of which ended in disastrous defeats. This should serve as a warning.

Before Zhang Siwei could finish speaking, the Wanli Emperor said, "How dare the ruler of such a small country call himself the Emperor and allow his servants to invade our borders? I cannot swallow this insult."

Upon hearing Emperor Wanli's words, Zhang Siwei nearly fell off his stool.

He was only sitting halfway down, so the shock naturally made his body tremble.

However, in the eyes of the Wanli Emperor, it was the imperial authority that intimidated Zhang Siwei.

In reality, what truly shocked Zhang Siwei was not his words, but the realization that he had made the wrong bet.

He originally thought that the emperor's intention to launch the expedition was more due to Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, and he thought that he could give the emperor a way out and slow down the attack on the Japanese pirates, which would definitely be a great blow to Wei Guangde's prestige.

Although it's somewhat risky, judging from the information Zhang Jing sent, it's possible.

The outside world may not know, but which powerful official in the court doesn't know the inside story?

When Zhang Juzheng was still alive, the Ministry of War had already planned this matter, but everyone kept quiet about it.

Indeed, if the emperor hadn't made up his mind, they wouldn't have put on such a grand show.

unwise.

As for the emperor's reaction these days, it's actually quite understandable.

Despite my worries, once I've made up my mind to do something, I'll definitely do it when the time comes.

He rose, knelt down, and did so in one swift motion, saying, "Your Majesty, I am guilty; I cannot share Your Majesty's burdens."

"Zhang Qing, please rise. Your opinion is actually quite good."

However, the Japanese pirates plundered China, and the crime lay with the Japanese king, who should be severely punished.

The cabinet drafted an edict ordering the Ministry of War to mobilize a large army for an eastern expedition to punish the rebellious subjects.

The Wanli Emperor rose and stood before his throne, speaking as follows. (End of Chapter)