prosperous age

Later, battle reports from the Ming army's eastern expedition also spread from the Ministry of War.

Commander Qi Jiguang, leading the main force, has successfully controlled most of the Shijian area, and the acquisition of silver mountains is imminent.

At the same time, many people heard the name Sado Kinzan for the first time. Japan not only has silver mountains, but also gold mountains.

Undoubtedly, the names "Silver Mountain" and "Gold Mountain" alone are enough to evoke a wealth of thoughts.

After all, China has a long history of legends about mountains of gold and silver, and it is said that if you pick up any stone on the mountain, you might find a nugget of gold inside.

Without enormous gold reserves, it wouldn't be called a "gold mountain" or "silver mountain."

At this time, the area around Mount Sado was already under the control of the East Sea Navy, and it was only a matter of time before Mount Sado was captured.

"hiss"

For a moment, all the officials who had invited the Ministry of War officials to learn the details were shocked.

Only then did they realize that this small island could produce tens of thousands of taels of gold and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year.

Meanwhile, the Iwami Silver Mine produces around one million taels of silver annually.

Thinking that as long as the imperial court takes over these two places, it seems that there will be no shortage of money to spend in the future.

After all, right now, the imperial court is barely able to be self-sufficient, and even has a surplus, thanks to taxes and various commercial taxes.

With over two million taels of real gold and silver suddenly appearing, how should they spend it?

While everyone was praising the emperor's wisdom and the Grand Secretary's hard work, their hearts were filled with excitement.

It can be said that even before the Ming Dynasty had actually acquired its vast wealth, its officials were already discussing how to spend such a large sum of money.

"However, despite its small size and weak population, Japan is actually quite difficult to defeat."

"How to say?"

Intrigued by the Ministry of War officials, the officials of the Ming Dynasty also became interested in Japan for the first time.

The owner of the restaurant next door stood to one side, diligently pouring wine and serving tea to these officials, serving them respectfully, while his ears were also perked up.

"A general from Japan has summoned other feudal lords and is said to be gathering an army of 400,000 to retake the Iwami region."

Therefore, the Grand Secretary went to the Qianqing Palace today to report this matter to His Majesty.

Our Ming Dynasty only mobilized 60,000 troops to fight the Japanese pirates, while the enemy suddenly raised an army of 400,000. Commander Qi must be under great pressure.

Therefore, the plans previously prepared by our Ministry of War had to be implemented ahead of schedule.

The Ministry of War official said.

"What backup plan?"

"Where did Japan get 400,000 people? Are they starving?"

Upon hearing the doctor's words, his colleagues around him were not convinced.

"What do you know? These are all secrets of the imperial court."

Seeing the same expressions on the faces of his colleagues, many of whom were his peers, the doctor became dissatisfied and said directly, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard has long since infiltrated Japan to gather intelligence."

It is said that Wei Gonglao initially heard from maritime merchants that the King of Japan called himself Emperor in their country, which naturally displeased him.

"Your Majesty has just proclaimed yourself Emperor, and that little king of Japan dares to call himself Emperor? If we don't attack him, who will we attack? Don't you all agree?"

"Yes, yes, yes, they are arrogant and ignorant."

"Overestimating one's abilities is a lesson to be learned."

Everyone else echoed this sentiment, and it was genuine agreement, not just perfunctory words.

At this time, the Ming people did not treat the surrounding foreign countries well, and they were always bossy when they met them.

Of course, this excludes the Mongols, even though the current leader of the Mongols is the Prince of Shunyi, appointed by the imperial court.

The Jurchens were just little brothers, the kind you could bully at will.

The idea of ​​blindly worshipping foreign things is unfounded.

"This investigation revealed that it was indeed true. After discussion, the cabinet concluded that issuing an edict would be useless, as you should know."

The doctor deliberately kept everyone in suspense before speaking.

"what do you know?"

Some people asked in bewilderment, which is actually a question in the minds of most people.

The fact that Zhu Yuanzhang's envoy was killed by the Japanese was many years ago; we wouldn't even know that if we didn't investigate.

Nowadays, when officials take office, they often just look at the files from the last ten years and then handle government affairs according to the methods of their predecessors.

I have no interest in anything beyond that.

As for the Ministry of War, because they had prepared early, the officials below naturally checked the archives whenever they had free time and learned that the Ming Dynasty's imperial envoy had actually been killed by the Japanese.

To be honest, they found it unbelievable when they saw the record that the Hongwu Emperor had actually swallowed his anger and not vented it.

Considering the Mongol conquest of the east, they had some guesses.

The doctor began by recounting the events of the Hongwu era, noticing the curious looks on his colleagues' faces.

"No wonder the imperial court has always treated Japan with hostility; there's a story behind it."

Many people suddenly realized why the Japanese pirates had been so brazen in their evil deeds in the Ming Dynasty in earlier years; it turned out that this was how things had been since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

That's incredibly audacious.

"Why don't you tell me about the Ministry of War's backup plan first? It's not going to be about conscripting more soldiers to continue supporting them, is it?"

An official familiar with the matter recalled the previous question and immediately followed up with further inquiries.

"Indeed, the 20,000-strong army of Jizhou will gather in Tianjin in the next few days, and the remaining ships in the East China Sea will also go there to load up the Jizhou army and set off to land in Japan."

In addition, Jiangnan will also dispatch 10,000 troops from Songjiang Prefecture by sea to support the front lines.

The doctor said.

"He deserves to be punished. So his wolfish ambitions have been exposed long ago. He dared to defy the imperial court and deserves to be punished."

"Indeed, according to news from the Ministry of Rites, the imperial court had previously requisitioned grain from the Kingdom of Joseon, but they made excuses and only said that they had managed to collect 20% of the grain. They are really taking advantage of us."

Well, there was actually quite a bit of news from official circles today, but everyone's focus was still on Japan, especially drawn by the Sado Gold Mine, so everyone was concerned about Japan.

However, no one paid much attention to the pleas from North Korea.

However, considering the enormous expenses of the expedition to Japan, and the fact that the imperial court was demanding grain from Korea, the answer became clear.

The Ming Dynasty couldn't provide all the grain and fodder; they also had to involve Korea.

Who knows, this area is surrounded by only the Ming Dynasty and Korea.

There's also Ryukyu, but it's too far away, and most officials aren't actually familiar with maps. I never imagined there was a small country to the south of Japan.

But even if they knew, there was nothing they could do; Ryukyu was even poorer.

"Can 90,000 fight 400,000?"

Everyone knows that the Japanese pirates were ferocious, and the government army had less than 100,000 men, so fighting them would be very difficult.

Although Qi Jiguang accumulated great prestige by suppressing Japanese pirates, people were still unsure of his abilities.

"It's not a big problem. Although Japan has a large population, they don't have many cannons. The imperial court has equipped the government troops with a large number of cannons, so we can just bombard them directly."

The Ministry of War official said indifferently.

He had read the battle reports, which contained detailed descriptions of how the Ming army's artillery defeated the enemy, clearly indicating that they had found a winning formula. This scene was playing out repeatedly throughout the capital, a deliberate act by Zhang Ke.

These days, the city is in turmoil, and everyone is worried that the government army's eastern expedition will fail and repeat the mistakes of the Mongol Yuan dynasty.

Let's share some good news to get everyone excited.

Wei Guangde was reading in his study at the time, while Zhang Ji was reporting news from various places.

"Understood, you can go now. Report back if there are any new updates."

After Zhang Ji finished his report, Wei Guangde waved him away.

Wei Guangde had anticipated that the Sado Gold Mine and the Iwami Silver Mine would attract their attention, so it's not surprising.

However, he was actually more concerned about the progress of the Ming army in Japan. Since Qi Jiguang intended to capture Nagato, the Ming army only needed to seize a few fortified towns east of Iwami.

Although the fortifications of Japan were not particularly well-constructed, relying on them to defend against enemies gave them a significant geographical advantage, making them far more fortified than setting up camp in the open and building defensive fortifications.

When fighting the Japanese for towns, it's manageable if it's just about attacking the city. But if it involves seizing the city gates, Qi Jiguang could easily make mistakes if he underestimated the enemy and acted rashly.

Wei Guangde vaguely remembered that during the Wanli era, the war to aid Korea had seen a battle known as the Battle of Byeokjegwan. Although the Ming army eventually rescued the vanguard cavalry unit that had been ambushed and surrounded, it suffered heavy casualties, especially the loss of the Liaodong Iron Cavalry, which greatly affected the combat strength of the Ming army in Liaodong.

In the subsequent major battles, the fighting was mainly carried out by Zhejiang troops and other armies.

Japan's terrain is actually similar to that of Korea, mainly consisting of mountains and hills.

Even a slight misstep could lead to an ambush.

Moreover, Japan is not as weak as people imagine; they are quite capable in battle.

Thinking about the Southern Army reinforcements that had been conscripted this time, Wei Guangde wondered if his family would scold him if they found out.

The Ming army in Jiangnan is now known for its fighting prowess, particularly the Jiujiang Guard, which earned its reputation during the anti-Japanese pirate campaign.

The Ministry of War originally planned to send reinforcements from Jiujiang Garrison, but Wei Guangde stopped it for his own selfish reasons.

In the end, the Southern Army's mobilization situation changed to the recruitment of 5,000 Zhejiang soldiers and the dispatch of 5,000 elite troops from the Southern Army's Beijing Garrison to provide reinforcements.

Previously, during the Southern Army's training camp, they also stationed themselves at the Southern Army's Grand Parade Ground, and even the Southern Army's Beijing Garrison conducted drills there.

The situation of the Southern Army's Beijing Garrison was even worse than that of the Beijing Garrison. They only had five or six thousand soldiers capable of fighting, which, according to Wei Guangde's plan, meant that they had all been mobilized.

However, the tens of thousands of Southern Army troops stationed in Beijing are far too corrupt; it would be better to disband them as soon as possible.

Wei Guangde recalled that more than ten years ago, over ten thousand civilian households were selected to join the military, but the Nanjing Garrison couldn't even muster ten thousand able-bodied men.

In reality, Wei Guangde's inner thoughts were definitely not as calm as he appeared.

On the battlefield, winning or losing isn't so easy to calculate.

If that were truly the case, then there would be no need for war; the generals from both sides could simply gather together, compare their troop strength, and the battle would be over.

Wei Guangde was worried about the situation at the front, and under the cover of night, a Ming army detachment broke through Ishimi and entered the Bihou region.

Their target was Tsuda-go and Ota-sou.

These two place names look just like those in the countryside of the Ming Dynasty, but they are not villages or towns. Instead, they are two strongholds and fortresses established by the Mori clan in Bingo Province, where a large amount of grain and fodder were stored. These were originally intended as supplies for a decisive battle with the Oda clan.

This Ming army was, of course, acting on Qi Jiguang's orders, to launch a surprise attack and capture the two cities, seize local grain and supplies, and hold the cities to the death.

Qi Jiguang was not a man to be trifled with. If he was asked to guard Shijian, he would not just concentrate his forces around Shijian. Instead, he would actively seek out garrison points based on the terrain and expand the Ming army's defense line as much as possible.

This is also why he wanted to take over Nagato, An'un, Suo, and other places in one fell swoop, and directly set up the defense line in Izumo and Bingo.

From Numata-sho in Izumo, northward through Ota-sho and Tsuda-go, all the way into Izumo, the Ming army had to capture several fortresses before the main Japanese forces could assemble.

As the middle section of the defense line, which was also likely the main area of ​​combat with the Japanese pirates, Qi Jiguang assigned the task to Liu Ting.

Meanwhile, Deng Zilong was leading the Southern Army in pursuit of the Mori clan into Nagato, with their forces aimed directly at Akama-kaku, Nagato's main city and a port city facing Kyushu Island across the sea.

At this time, the South Sea Fleet's warships had gathered in the waters outside Akama-kaku. If the Mori clan had evacuated any later, there was a high probability that they would have been completely left behind.

"General, Tsuda Village is just ahead, but the city gates are closed and there are many Japanese pirates patrolling the city walls. It's heavily guarded."

The scouts returned to report the enemy situation they had discovered, and then reported on the observations of the Tsuda Castle walls.

"Understood, keep a close watch."

After Liu Ting gave the order and everyone left, he instructed his personal guards to rest for half an hour and have something to eat.

This place is only a dozen miles away from Tsuda Township, and the army can reach it in an hour by marching at full speed.

He wasn't worried about failing to capture Tsuda, and didn't even plan to use artillery.

The thing was incredibly heavy, and the supply soldiers behind it were struggling to carry it.

Half an hour later, his two thousand soldiers had eaten, so he led his troops to continue their stealthy advance and quietly approached Datian Village.

On the way, Liu Ting called over a personal guard and whispered a few words to him.

After the guard nodded in agreement, he left the main group and quietly entered the woods on the side of the road. He then took out a carrier pigeon from a bamboo basket on his back and released it directly.

Liu Ting led his army and secretly hid in the mountains a few miles from Tsuda Township. After sending out scouts to keep watch, he began to wait.

He was waiting for news, waiting for a message from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Tsuda Township was a rendezvous point prepared by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, with more than a dozen people inside.

According to his initial communication with the other party, they would coordinate from the inside out tonight, with the Embroidered Uniform Guards infiltrating the city gates and opening them, while he would simply lead his troops to kill.

Tsuda Township was easy to take, but Ota Village was not so easy. The Imperial Guards were short-handed there, so they had to fight them head-on.

Fortunately, the two thousand men he brought this time were light and aggressive, and there were three thousand men behind him with artillery taking a shortcut directly to Datianzhuang.

Right there in the woods, two thousand Ming soldiers ate dry rations for a day, relieving themselves wherever they could, which caused a lot of complaints from the soldiers.

However, they could only think these things in their hearts. After all, they had seen blood along the way and knew that if they didn't want to die, they had to obey orders.

Finally, a day passed, and night fell.

Liu Ting led his household servants and a hundred or so elite soldiers to the gates of Tsuda Township to wait for an inside agent. Watching the Japanese pirates patrolling every quarter of an hour, he pondered whether, if the inside agent failed, he should have his men form a human wall and go directly to the city to kill inside.

It must be admitted that Liu Ting was rather reckless in battle, preferring to lead his troops in direct charges rather than using strategies.

This time, in order to quickly seize the two cities that Commander Qi wanted, he conspired with the Embroidered Uniform Guard to take them.

He had to rush to Ota after finishing up here; he didn't have much time to waste in Tsuda.

Finally, after midnight, there seemed to be movement in the city. After a brief shout of battle, the gates of Tsuda Township slowly opened.

Knowing that it was the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had succeeded, Liu Ting didn't think much of it and immediately led two teams of his servants toward the city gate, with dozens of scouts following closely behind.

Upon arriving at the city gate, one sees several burly men with swords guarding the gate, and several corpses lying on the ground.

"The wine dissipates under the cold moon over the river."

"Playing chess in an empty study at night."

"The wind is like ten thousand horses fighting."

"A person is like a chicken roosting."

Outside the city gate, Liu Ting shouted out a coded message to the people inside, who answered fluently.

Immediately, Liu Ting waved his hand, and a member of the scout team a dozen steps away shot a signal arrow into the sky, summoning troops to come.

"The guards will follow me up to the city wall, and the scouts will guard the city gate."

Liu Ting immediately ordered the troops to enter the city. (End of Chapter)