prosperous age

Tsushima Island is located on a key sea route between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, about 50 kilometers from Busan, North Korea, and was formerly known as Tsushima Island.

The island has a complex coastline and defensive fortifications such as Kaneda Castle. During the Edo period, the stone weight was approximately 16 koku.

From the Kamakura period onwards, the So clan ruled for a long period and controlled trade with Korea.

When the Mongols attacked in 1274, he led troops to resist the invasion and died in battle.

During the Korean expedition in 1419, Mune Sadamori surrendered and promised to curb the Japanese pirates. As Japan entered the Sengoku period, Oda Nobunaga's power grew stronger. He further strengthened his naval power by merging the Oda Navy and the Kuki Navy, forcing the Mune clan to submit.

Kuki Yoshitaka was the commander of the Kumano navy during Japan's Sengoku period. Born in Shima Province, he was the eighth head of the Kuki family and served under Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

In 1574, he led his navy to support Oda's army in suppressing the Ikko-ikki uprising in Nagashima, Ise Province, and was highly valued for his merits.

In 1578, during the Second Battle of Kizugawa, he commanded armored ships to defeat the Mori navy.

Currently, in order to ensure trade between the Oda clan and Korea, a portion of the Kuki navy is stationed on Tsushima Island, while the main force is stationed in the Seto Inland Sea to guard against a surprise attack on the Kanto region by the Mori navy.

The small boat departed from Busan pier late at night, evading the patrol fleet of the Ming navy, and arrived at Tsushima Island the following afternoon.

The main problem was that the boats often deviated from their course at night, and after several adjustments and detours, we finally saw the outline of Tsushima Island.

"Hurry, hurry up."

The old man with the shaved head kept urging the two boatmen to row, hoping to reach the shore as soon as possible.

He was originally the manager sent by the main family to Busan to open a trading post, mainly to facilitate trade between Japanese and Korean merchants in Busan.

Everything was fine until a month ago when a part of the Ming navy entered Busan.

The Ming army placed all the Japanese in Busan under surveillance, prohibiting them from leaving, and ships were allowed to enter but not leave Busan docks.

Such a change naturally aroused the old man's suspicion.

Unfortunately, it was the Ming people who came. Although the Ming people and even the Ming navy have often appeared in Busan in recent years, and I heard that they were going to patrol the North Sea, which is the Sea of ​​Japan, the old man did not have many opportunities to deal with them.

The Korean officials he knew only received the Korean king's decree that they should obey the orders of the superior country in everything, and they knew nothing else.

At this time, news spread in Busan that the Ming army was going to pass through Busan to transport personnel and supplies to Nurgan, a city in the far north. In fact, there had been rumors about this last year.

Nurgan City is a harsh, northern land that the Ming Dynasty abandoned in its early years due to huge investments yielding meager returns, and chose to withdraw its troops there.

Now, they intend to rely on the sea route to redeploy troops there.

At this time, Japan had no interest in Kuyi Island, nor in the Nurgan region which was adjacent to it.

In that era, such places were considered forbidden zones for life. The lives of the Yi people or the Jurchens there were extremely difficult, so the daimyo of Japan naturally had no interest in such places.

In reality, Japan values ​​Korea and Ryukyu the most.

At the very least, everyone has land that they can live on and cultivate.

Influenced by this news, the Japanese trading company initially thought the same thing would happen, but a chance incident made them realize the truth.

Yes, a Ming Dynasty naval officer and his men went to a tavern in Busan while on leave, and after getting drunk, they mentioned Sado Island.

Coincidentally, the old man was also drinking in the tavern at that time.

In Japan and Korea, people of some status or education usually know a few words of Chinese, so he could naturally hear what these Ming Dynasty officials and soldiers were saying.

Upon hearing the name Sado Island, the elderly man, familiar with commerce, naturally thought of the territory belonging to the Honma clan.

It is important to know that Sado Island was controlled by the Honma clan during the Sengoku period. This family accumulated wealth through the mining of placer gold and silver, becoming an important pillar of local power.

According to the old man, Sado Island at that time produced tens of thousands of taels of gold and millions of taels of silver annually. Because the Honma clan was affiliated with the Oda clan, just like his lord's clan, they were able to know this information.

Much of this gold and silver was offered as tribute to the master, used to meet enormous military needs.

If the Ming army's lower-ranking officers and soldiers knew about the existence of Sado Island, does that mean that the recent changes in Busan Port are related to it?

The old man firmly believed that money could move people's hearts.

The vast gold and silver mines of Sado Island were a fortune that would surely tempt the Ming Dynasty.

Using a hidden small boat, the old man secretly led two of his trusted men to the vicinity of Busan Port that very night. After observing the patrol patterns of the Ming army, he seized the opportunity to escape.

The small boat quickly approached Tsushima Island, and the lookout post on the island naturally spotted it.

Soon, several small boats left the island and came to meet them.

After the two sides met, the old man revealed his identity. To these sailors who belonged to the royal family, the old man naturally held a very high position, so he escorted the small boat into a nearby harbor.

Soon, the news brought back by the old man caused a stir in the Zong family, and was immediately reported to the commander of the Kuki Navy.

"The Ming Dynasty might attack Sado Island? How could that be?"

The head of the Zong family and the commander of the Kuki Navy both looked incredulous, but the news that their retainers had risked their lives to bring back from Busan did not seem to be fake.

In the past two weeks, no Japanese ships have been seen returning to Honshu from Tsushima Island.

Previously, they were just curious but didn't think much of it. But with this news confirming that Busan had been blockaded by the Ming army, things were different.

Soon the Ming army will arrive in Busan. Although this is just speculation, it is almost certain that the Ming army is carrying out a major military operation in the vicinity, otherwise they would not have sealed off Busan.

"We must report to the head of the household as soon as possible."

Soon, the two reached a consensus: although Oda Nobunaga was dead, they still nominally belonged to the Oda clan, and the head of the clan was the young Oda Nobuhide.

Although they had also heard that the relationship between Hideyoshi Hashiba, who now held great power, and Katsuie Shibata and Hideyoshi Oda was very strained, and that there was even a possibility of a complete break at any time.

"Perhaps, this news will allow the family to temporarily abandon internal strife and instead work together to prepare for the Ming people's attack."

So the two quickly wrote a letter together and sent it to Kiyosu Castle, which was temporarily the Oda clan's headquarters, where the head of the clan, Oda Nobuhide, resided year-round.

However, Hideyoshi Hashiba, who truly held power, was not here at this time. Instead, he went to Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple to find a place to build a castle.

Hideyoshi Hashiba planned to build Osaka Castle near Ishiyama as his future base.

He also needs his own unique strength, and only after quelling the instability within the Oda clan can he truly rest easy.

In such a situation, having a city of one's own would undoubtedly provide stronger security when facing danger.

However, relying on the existing castles was too risky due to the complex and diverse population, which Hideyoshi couldn't trust. News traveled quickly; on the third day, the letter arrived at Kiyosu Castle. After all, Japan was only so big, and the messenger was risking his life to relay intelligence back.

Meanwhile, messengers from Kiyosu Castle were quickly dispatched to summon key retainers of the Oda clan, including Hideyoshi Hashiba and Katsuie Shibata, to discuss countermeasures.

The capital of the Ming Dynasty.

The day after the Ministry of War submitted its memorial, Emperor Wanli held court, where the Grand Eunuch Zhang Hong read out the imperial edict for the eastern expedition.

Immediately after the imperial decree was officially issued, firecrackers were set off all over the capital.

Some celebrations were spontaneous by merchants from the southeast, while others were arranged by Wei Guangde. In short, the aim was to create a sense from the bottom up that the people had suffered under the Japanese pirates for too long and had been waiting for this day for far too long.

Amidst the sound of firecrackers, news that the Ming Dynasty would send troops to conquer Japan and keep the pirates out of the country spread like wildfire throughout the capital and reached the ears of ordinary people.

The messenger from the Ministry of War had already prepared the documents. As soon as the decree was issued, he immediately rode away from the Ministry of War, carrying the documents to Tianjin, Dengzhou, Songjiang Prefecture, and other places.

They were completely unaware that Japan would receive intelligence in a few days. Even when the Japanese Imperial Guards received news that the Japanese pirates had already obtained some intelligence from Busan, it was too late to send it back.

However, war is ultimately a contest of strength.

Only the stronger side has a chance of winning the war.

The leak of intelligence does not seem to have any impact on the Ming Dynasty or Japan.

At 9:00 AM on the 18th day of the 10th month of the 10th year of the Wanli reign, the gates of the Dengzhou naval camp were opened, and warships loaded with weapons and soldiers filed out one after another.

The message was delivered five days ago, and three days ago all the first batch of provisions and military equipment that needed to be transported were loaded onto the ships, just waiting for the time to arrive so that the entire army could board.

Just before boarding the ship, at the final assembly, General Qi Jiguang, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition, read out the imperial edict. Only then did the Ming officers and soldiers, who had been assembled for many days, realize that their purpose was to launch an eastern expedition against Japan.

Then, following the pre-arranged order, the soldiers assembled and boarded the ships one by one to go out to sea.

After completing the formation of the naval fleet outside Dengzhou Water City, it headed towards the East China Sea.

At the same time, similar to the water city of Dengzhou, more than 20,000 Ming troops lined up again at the Songjiang Prefecture wharf. After Yu Dayou publicly read out the imperial edict to declare war, the South China Sea Navy warships carrying the army set sail for Japan.

At the dock, Yu Dayou saw Chen Lin and Deng Zilong off, repeatedly reminding them of the precautions they needed to take during the battle.

Although both men had combat experience in Luzon and Burma, and had participated in many counter-rebellion battles in China, this time was different from the past, as they were fighting against Japan thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty.

"You should have heard of the Japanese pirates' fighting strength. The Ministry of War's previous strategy was to use firearms to strike them hard and defeat them, rather than getting bogged down in a protracted battle. We should make good use of those two thousand wolf soldiers; in close combat, only they dare to fight and risk their lives."

As the Ming soldiers boarded their ships one after another, the ships left the port and headed out to sea. Yu Dayou stood on the dock and watched the warships sail away.

This was the first time he had known the government troops were going on an expedition but could not follow them; this had never happened since he joined the army.

The Ministry of War did not send him on this expedition, mainly because Yu Dayou's health was not up to the task.

He could only stand on the dock, watching the fleet sail away, from the moment the sails appeared to disappear completely, Yu Dayou stood there quietly.

Perhaps he knew in his heart that his era had ended, and all he could do was be a mascot for the Southern Army of the Ming Dynasty, to boost the morale of the soldiers.

At least, no matter what difficulties and obstacles they encountered, they knew that the Southern Army still had him as their backbone.

Meanwhile, in the capital city, a grand departure ceremony was underway in the Taiji Hall.

Wang Xijue is the focus of attention in the main hall today.

As a fellow townsman, Wei Guangde did not assign him a position immediately after recalling this second-place scholar from the 41st year of the Jiajing reign.

Entering the cabinet directly is too shocking. When he was forced to retire for stopping Zhang Juzheng from seizing the opportunity to mourn, he was only a vice minister.

Even if the court were recalled, this step could not be taken.

However, Wei Guangde chose to give him another chance: to lead an expedition to the east.

Qi Jiguang was the commander-in-chief of the army in this eastern expedition and had absolute command over the army. However, it was also necessary for a civil official to take on the role of the de facto supreme commander of the Ming army.

Wei Guangde had spoken with Wang Xijue beforehand about whether or not he wanted to participate in this eastern expedition.

In Wei Guangde's view, with Qi Jiguang leading the troops to conquer Japan, the credit was practically handed to him. He only needed to provide logistical support for the northern and southern armies, while the actual fighting could be left to Qi Jiguang, Liu Ting, and Chen Lin.

Even if Wang Xijue had never led troops or fought in battles, his contribution would still be significant, as long as he did not interfere with Qi Jiguang's orders.

With his great achievements in the Eastern Expedition, his status as the second-highest scorer in the imperial examination, and his past example of preventing Zhang Juzheng from seizing the opportunity to resign, Wei Guangde could guarantee his entry into the cabinet after his success.

It should be noted that at this time, his contemporary Shen Shixing had already been in the cabinet for many years, while Yu Youding was also constantly looking for an opportunity to join the cabinet.

Wei Guangde thus bestowed upon him tremendous credit, and within just one year, he could secure a place in the cabinet.

Wang Xijue did not refuse. Although he had previously refused to accept Wei Guangde during the interrogation and did not choose to stay out of it, it did not mean that he lacked wisdom.

However, there are some things he feels he should do, and some things he feels he shouldn't do.

He felt that he shouldn't have listened to Wei Guangde last time, and should have stuck to his own principles, so he did it.

And this time, he naturally wouldn't waste the credit that Wei Guangde offered him.

Thus, at 9:00 AM today, in the Taiji Hall, Wang Xijue received the imperial axe from the Wanli Emperor, becoming the de facto supreme military commander of the Ming army's eastern expedition.

The emperor's dispatch of generals to lead an expedition was certainly not as simple as a court assembly. Yesterday, Emperor Wanli had already fasted for a day, wearing a Tongtian crown and a crimson robe to perform sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and placed the six banners of the general's yamen on the north side of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Only now has it been granted to Wang Xijue, who is to take it to Tianjin and cross the sea to the east.

With no platform available for summons, nothing was suitable for the Wanli Emperor at this time.

Wei Guangde, along with Zhang Siwei and other important court officials, saw Wang Xijue off from the palace. His personal guards had already assembled outside the Meridian Gate and would then follow their commander on his expedition.

This departure ceremony was probably the simplest one for foreign war since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. In the early Ming Dynasty, when the army assembled in Nanjing to set off, tens of thousands of troops were assembled at once and set off with the general.

Even when Emperor Yingzong launched his northern expedition, tens of thousands of troops from the capital garrison accompanied him.

This time, Wang Xijue only took eight hundred guards with him from the capital. They were elite soldiers selected from the Beijing garrison to accompany and protect the military governor.

For this campaign against the Japanese pirates, the Beijing garrison mobilized a total of 1,800 men. The other 1,000 men were soldiers from the firearms battalion, who were incorporated into the Northern Army and had already been transferred to Dengzhou to sail with the main force.

This is also the first time in nearly thirty years that the Beijing Garrison has set out on a campaign.

The Beijing Garrison, this war machine, had been forgotten for far too long; it was only through the triennial military parade that it was barely revitalized. (End of Chapter)