prosperous age

The memorial from the front lines and the opinions from the Ministry of War that Zhang Ke brought gave Shen Shixing a slight shock.

He also knew about the fortifications in the area, and even the news that the Portuguese were building fortifications there was known in the capital.

However, the fort was built during the time when Japanese pirates were rampant in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, and the entire coastal defense was being strengthened, so naturally no one paid attention to it.

Now, Japan has secretly purchased more than two hundred cannons from the barbarians, which, according to analysis, may have come from Haojing.

Cannons manufactured on Ming Dynasty soil have somehow ended up in Japan. Isn't this aiding the enemy?
They even helped the Japanese pirates.

"The Portuguese are building fortifications in the trenches. If the South China Sea Navy rashly enters, could it trigger a war?"

Shen Shixing frowned and said, "Right now, we are at war with Japan. If a conflict breaks out with the Portuguese, can we keep things stable in the South China Sea?"

Although the Ming Dynasty won both naval battles against Portugal, they were actually Pyrrhic victories, with the Guangdong navy suffering heavy losses.

Therefore, the imperial court has always attached great importance to the foreign fleets.

Although the Ming Dynasty's navy now dominates the South Seas, based on information that has entered the court through various channels over the years, Shen Shixing still believes that neither the Western barbarians nor the Portuguese are actually weak.

If the battlefield were chosen closer to Europe, the Ming navy might not have had the advantage.

Well, Shen Shixing was able to see the situation clearly and knew that the Ming Dynasty had more of the advantages of being a traditional suzerain state and having geographical advantages in Southeast Asia.

For the countries of Southeast Asia, the words of the Ming Dynasty were certainly more reliable than those of the barbarians, and they were more willing to obey the orders of the Ming Dynasty.

"Also, there's still no news from Datong."

If we take a hard line against the Portuguese now, and something happens in Datong, we'll be facing enemies on three sides.

Shen Shixing looked at Wei Guangde and reminded him.

"Regarding the matter of the luxury mirror, I think we should put it aside for now, at least until the Prince of Shunyi in Datong gives us his answer before making a decision?"

Finally, Shen Shixing gave his opinion: delay.

Let's delay for a while, and deal with the Mongolian issue first before targeting the Haojing.

“Ru Mo is right. We are currently at war with Japan, so Portuguese merchants would not dare to use Japanese shipping routes at this time.”

As for the luxury mirror, it's like meat on a chopping board; you can do whatever you want with it.

However, Ru Mo is mistaken about one thing.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, feeling that Shen Shixing was actually more comprehensive in his thinking than he was. He had just acted impulsively, thinking he could handle Hao Jing, but he forgot that Datong hadn't replied yet.

Moreover, even if they reply, the state of emergency will continue until the spring equinox, when everything comes back to life and the Mongol tribes will gradually return to their respective pastures as the weather warms up.

Only when the people dispersed could the border town truly be considered peaceful.

Shen Shixing looked at Wei Guangde, wondering what he had said wrong.

"The Portuguese are not as powerful as you think, and our Great Ming has the absolute strength to fight on multiple fronts without being at a disadvantage."

Furthermore, if the imperial court were willing to empty the Changying Treasury, we could even occupy Goa.

Wei Guangde spoke up.

Shen Shixing's intelligence was not as comprehensive as Wei Guangde's, especially the military intelligence about Spain and Portugal that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had collected through maritime merchants over the years.

Portugal could muster no more than a hundred warships throughout the entire Western Ocean, even including its armed merchant ships.

These merchant ships were roughly equivalent in strength to double-decker gunboats.

More than a hundred warships were not taken seriously by the Ming Dynasty at this time.

If needed, it can be built in just a few years.

"Although the Portuguese are still very powerful, so what? Their forces are scattered all over the place. Even if they wanted to mobilize so many warships, it would take at least half a year."

The crisis in Datong has long been resolved.

The war in Japan has also been decided, and it should basically be over.

Wei Guangde spoke up.

These days, sending messages across oceans is no easy task. It requires sending ships to various places to notify people, and the round trip takes a considerable amount of time.

For more than half a year, they had only managed to gather ships and set off for Southeast Asia, which took another month or two.

Moreover, if the Ming Dynasty and the Portuguese really broke off relations, they would no longer be able to obtain spices from Southeast Asia and would have to buy them from the Persians at high prices.

Another example is the Goa region. What if the Ming Dynasty mobilized its South China Sea and West China Sea naval forces to advance on Goa at that time?

As long as the Ming navy defeats the Portuguese fleet, they will not receive any reinforcements.

At that time, the situation in Portugal was in complete chaos.

The nobles, unwilling to accept the rule of the King of Spain, are plotting to overthrow him and are seeking support from countries such as England and France.

As for whether Spain will actively help them, it's only if they're not afraid of being attacked.

Wei Guangde was unaware that a few years later, the Spanish, dissatisfied with the British pirates' actions, would send their invincible Armada to attack Britain.

Although he knew of the existence of the Spanish Armada, he couldn't remember the exact time.

"So, does the Grand Secretary mean to proceed according to the Ministry of War's suggestion?"

Seeing Wei Guangde's attitude, Shen Shixing naturally softened and asked.

"According to the Ministry of War's opinion, Xiangshan County should first inform the Yi people of Haojing. In order to protect Haojing, the court will dispatch the South China Sea Navy to Haojing."

We've made our decision, but we still need to see their attitude. We might even have to report to the governor of Goa.

However, we can't wait that long.

The Haojing was never rented to the Portuguese, but to those merchants.

I recall that this was clearly stated in the lease agreement: they were allowed to dock and reside ashore, receiving rent in return, and that was all.

Wei Guangde spoke up.

The lease of Macau to Portugal actually occurred after the Opium War.

Prior to this, although the Portuguese had settled in large numbers in Haojing, it was merely a place leased by the Ming government to Portuguese merchants, not an agreement signed between the two countries, and therefore did not constitute a lease between nations.

There's actually a little side story here. In 1862, Britain, having already used its global dominance to open China's doors, took the opportunity to negotiate with the Qing government, intending to sign an agreement regarding Macau.

The original text explicitly stated that the Qing government could send officials to Macau with powers similar to those of foreign consuls, which essentially meant turning Macau into permanent Portuguese territory.

At the time, Qing government diplomats were unaware of these intricacies, and Hengqi failed to notice the infringement on sovereignty in the terms, so he signed them hastily. It was not until the British Robert Hart noticed the matter and intervened that the Treaty of Beijing between China and Portugal was born, confirming that Macau was a lease rather than a cession.

The British at the time may have wanted to turn China into a second India, making it a docile subject of the British Empire. Therefore, they prohibited other countries from dividing up Chinese territory, hoping to make it a complete country for them to exploit.

It's important to know that India, the world's seventh largest country, was created by the British.

At its peak, the Mughal Empire defeated and annexed several surrounding countries, but it only unified most of the Indian subcontinent.

The British, on the other hand, kept the entire Indian subcontinent as their backyard, ready to be exploited at any time. "Therefore, let Xiangshan County issue a document to them, to open their doors, without waiting for them to send messages outward."

Wei Guangde spoke up.

"Oh well."

Shen Shixing hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing.

Thus, the drafting of the memorial from the Ministry of War was quickly completed in Wei Guangde's hands.

After Shen Shixing read the draft and nodded, Wei Guangde summoned Lu Bu and instructed him to send the battle report and memorial directly to the Directorate of Ceremonial, asking Eunuch Zhang Hong to deliver them to the Qianqing Palace as soon as possible.

In these two battle reports from Japan, the details of the fighting became increasingly scarce, and the two sides had roughly demarcated their territories.

As for the great battle to come, both sides know this and are waiting.

Emperor Wanli knew that haste makes waste. If he were to issue an edict to the Japanese at this time, it might not only fail to help the Ming army win, but could actually make things worse. So he simply stopped looking and waited for the result.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty's cabinet system, after several reforms, was indeed very well-established. Although the emperor still had to deal with many memorials, it was much easier than it had been during Zhu Yuanzhang's time.

Moreover, the cabinet provided processing suggestions for each memorial, and the emperor only needed to nod or shake his head, requiring virtually no thought, making the processing quick.

When Wei Guangde saw Zhang Ke off from the cabinet, he was still instructing him, "Keep a close eye on Datong with the Ministry of War, and report back promptly if there is any news."

The most pressing matter right now is what's happening in Mongolia.

"I know, don't worry about Shandai."

Zhang Ke nodded, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, turned around, and strode out of the palace.

Meanwhile, the Six Ministries and other government offices in the capital also heard the news from Japan. With someone deliberately stirring things up, the news spread even faster.

"The cannon foundry in Haojing is actually secretly helping the Japanese to cast cannons to resist the government troops. This is simply outrageous."

"In my opinion, the Portuguese in Macau should be expelled and they should be allowed to reside in the four treaty ports."

"But after all, they signed a lease with Guangdong."

"The lease only allowed them to stop their boats, rest, and live there; it did not permit them to build forts or establish government offices there."

As the discussion intensified, many officials who knew the inside story of Haojing also shared what they knew with their colleagues. In particular, Xiangshan County had virtually no jurisdiction over Haojing; it was entirely managed by the Portuguese, even the judiciary. This made many officials in Beijing curse the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commission for being incompetent.

Although the lease was signed and the rent was collected by Xiangshan County, it was impossible for the officials in Guangdong, from top to bottom, not to know about it.

The fact that no measures have been taken for so long shows that the people in Guangzhou have been reaping considerable benefits from this.

Nima, if the Portuguese had sent the benefits to the capital so everyone could share the spoils, they probably would have already found another way to change the lease.

The officials in Beijing were outraged and said all sorts of things.

In the afternoon, the act of officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites submitting memorials through the Office of Transmission was like opening Pandora's box.

That afternoon, as the yamen was about to close, the usually quiet Tongzhengshi Si (Office of Transmission) suddenly became lively. Many officials handed over their newly completed memorials, keeping the clerks and registrars busy and overwhelmed.

With so many memorials to the throne, they had to repeatedly copy them for records and send them to the newspapers, which wore out their hands from writing so much.

When they left the yamen, the moon was already high in the sky. They then went home with their hands sore and numb, naturally cursing under their breath.

There was no such thing as overtime pay these days. They had been working so hard for so long, and the imperial court wouldn't give them even a single extra copper coin.

Meanwhile, in the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Wanli sat in his study with the Ministry of War's memorial in front of him.

He saw the memorial that afternoon. Zhang Hong would never handle such an important memorial casually, especially at this moment.

However, Emperor Wanli was no longer a novice; he had learned the ability to think critically from Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde, so his reaction at the time was exactly the same as Shen Shixing's.

The Ming Dynasty is already at war with Japan in the east, and the attitude of the Mongols in the north is unclear. Is it really a good idea to antagonize the Portuguese in the south at this time?

Although the Ming Dynasty was powerful enough, was the court capable of resolving conflicts that broke out in three directions at the same time?
Emperor Wanli had long known the true nature of the Ming Dynasty's garrison troops from Wei Guangde, so he never dared to claim in public that "I have a million soldiers," as he felt it would be a disgrace.

Of course, Emperor Wanli had thought about how to revitalize the military garrisons more than once, but he could not find a good solution no matter how hard he tried.

Wei Guangde was in charge of the Ministry of War, and Emperor Wanli had figured out his methods to some extent.

The garrison system was corrupt and unusable; it could only be used internally.

When it comes to waging war against foreign enemies, we have to rely on newly recruited troops and soldiers from various places. At most, we can select young men from the garrisons and train them before the war.

This method was actually Yu Dayou's battle strategy; it was a method of leading troops that Yu Dayou shared after discussing it with Wei Guangde.

There were still able-bodied men in the garrisons, but not many. So, young men were selected to form smaller garrison units. After one or two months of intensive training, they were sent to the battlefield. This was more effective than the garrison units fighting as a whole.

In fact, Jiujiangwei did exactly that back then.

The garrison of 5600 men could only muster a little over a thousand combat soldiers; the rest were peasant soldiers, or even worse.

However, a well-trained thousand men can be far more powerful in battle than a garrison of five or six thousand men, a mix of old and young.

"Your Majesty, we've found out."

At this moment, Zhang Jing jogged in from outside and came to the imperial desk.

"Oh, how did the cabinet discuss it?"

Emperor Wanli asked the question.

Instead of directly questioning Wei Guangde, he pondered the matter himself and then learned about the situation from the eunuchs working in the cabinet.

Wei Guangde summoned Shen Shixing to discuss matters in the morning without keeping it private, so many people naturally overheard their conversation, including officials and eunuchs from the cabinet.

Zhang Jing didn't cause any trouble; he told the whole story of what he had found out.

If he were to speak carelessly at this time, and the emperor were to summon Wei Guangde for an audience, he would be exposed.

"That means the most urgent situation is actually in Datong, then Japan, and finally the barbarians."

After pondering for a while, Emperor Wanli thought about the map again. In such a vast world, the Ming Dynasty only occupied a small corner.

"How long did it take for the mission that accompanied me on my wedding journey to return?"

The Wanli Emperor suddenly asked a question.

"It took about two years in total."

At that time, Zhang Jing was just a lowly eunuch following Zhang Hong around, but he was aware of the major events happening in the court.

The Emperor's wedding was postponed for two years because the cabinet believed that the Emperor and Empress were too young. During these two years, various preparations were made, including inviting envoys from vassal states to offer their congratulations and making the wedding ceremony extremely grand.

It can be said that Emperor Wanli's wedding ceremony was the largest among all emperors in history, with delegations from three European countries traveling thousands of miles to offer their congratulations.

"Bring out the World Map."

The Wanli Emperor gave his instructions. (End of Chapter)