prosperous age

To prevent the Portuguese from resorting to desperate measures, the capital made three preparations when planning to take over the Portuguese territory.

The document was not sent to Guangzhou Prefecture, but was instead delivered to Liu Yaohui, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, who handled it personally.

The Ministry of War documents were sent directly to Yu Dayou in Zhejiang, who was in charge of mobilizing troops and preparing to send them to garrison Haojing.

Finally, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, in the harbor district of Songjiang Prefecture, was busy gathering information to find out which foreign merchants were secretly selling cannons to Japan, and then purchasing new cannons from Haojing to make up for the shortage.

Because the Portuguese Governor-General of Goa had long ago issued a strict order prohibiting the sale of cannons to Japan, this business was not only prohibited by the Ming Dynasty, but also strictly forbidden by the Portuguese government.

However, foreign merchants were very cautious when doing this kind of business, so it was naturally difficult for them to find out about it.

As a result, the secret agents in the port area did not get any useful information in the past few days.

Although the sailors under those foreign merchants were fond of drinking, they were, after all, sailing across the ocean to make a living. Many of them saved the little money they earned, planning to return to their homeland and live a prosperous life, rather than squandering it abroad.

To be honest, the liquor supplied by Songjiang Prefecture to the port area is really not cheap, more than 50% more expensive than the price in Songjiang Prefecture city.

However, compared to Western wines and spirits, local wines and spirits in the Ming Dynasty were still cheaper, and the difference in shipping costs made a significant difference.

These days, shipping costs are really expensive, even for sea freight.

As Liu Yaohui received the imperial decree from the capital and hurried to Guangzhou with his entourage, a Ming Dynasty naval fleet was slowly sailing south along the Fujian coast.

Because the winds were blowing from the northeast at that time, it was quite difficult for the fleet to sail south. They kept taking zigzag routes, wasting a lot of time.

This is the helplessness of ships without their own power. It was only after the advent of steam engines and internal combustion engines that ocean-going ships were truly able to cut through the waves and overcome obstacles on the open ocean.

This fleet, naturally, was the motorized fleet that Yu Dayou had dispatched to Haojing, consisting of four double-decker gunboats, six single-decker gunboats, and more than ten large Fujian ships.

Haojing is a formidable military force; if the Ming navy were not strong enough, it might not be able to take it down easily.

Although Wei Guangde was certain that the Portuguese would not dare to truly break with the Ming Dynasty, he repeatedly instructed Yu Dayou in his letter to send out the strongest possible force.

At the same time, the Ministry of War authorized Yu Dayou to command the Guangdong General and mobilize all troops of the Guangdong garrison to encircle the moat by land and sea, putting pressure on the local Yi people and forcing them to submit.

In normal times, there should be more than ten armed merchant ships docked at Haojing at this time.

However, as the Ming Dynasty continued to open up Guangzhou Port, Yue Port, Songjiangfu Port, and Tianjin Port, many Portuguese merchant ships no longer entered Haojing for repairs in winter, but instead docked at nearby ports.

According to previous intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there were only five merchant ships at the docks of Haojing, which was the period when Haojing's armed forces were at their weakest.

Of course, three gun emplacements and five merchant ships were more than enough armed forces to protect the small territory of Haojing.

Liu Yaohui arrived in Guangzhou from Zhaoqing in just two days and immediately convened an emergency meeting at the Provincial Administration Office, bringing together officials including the Guangdong Provincial Governor, the Guangdong Military Commander, and the Guangdong General.

Outside the main hall, all the servants and guards were replaced by soldiers from the Governor's Office, in order to prevent the news from leaking out.

Such a display of force made the Guangzhou officials who entered uneasy, wondering what major event had occurred that warranted such a response.

"Lord Wang, Lord Li, General Zhao, and all the other officials, you may have been surprised when you came in to see why I would act in this way."

From the head seat, Liu Yaohui spoke to them with a serious expression.

Guangdong Provincial Treasurer Wang immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Lord Liu has his reasons for doing this, but I don't know why."

When Lord Wang spoke, everyone else stared intently at Liu Yaohui, waiting for him to explain.

Liu Yaohui's expression remained grim. He first gestured for Lord Wang to sit down before speaking, "You are all pillars of the court, and you should know about the recent major plans of the court. This is to punish the Japanese pirates who harassed the southeast in the past."

Liu Yaohui began to speak, and everyone else listened attentively.

When it comes to punishing Japan, everyone in the officialdom knows that it's because the court covets the gold and silver mountains on the Japanese islands. These officials are all of high rank and have old friends in the capital. They had already learned the real reason through correspondence.

"Who would have thought that when the government troops were suppressing the Japanese pirates, they would discover that some foreigners were secretly selling cannons and other prohibited firearms to the Japanese."

This Governor remembers that when foreign merchants came to Guangzhou or other ports to buy goods from our Great Ming, they all signed contracts not to trade with Japan. Such blatant collusion with the Japanese shows that they know our Great Ming as nothing.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard has confirmed that the cannons purchased by the Japanese from the barbarians originated from the Haojing Bujialao Cannon Foundry.

His Majesty and the Cabinet have secretly decreed to this Governor-General to reclaim the management of Haojing and have the South China Sea Fleet stationed there to strengthen the supervision of the flow of artillery from the cannon foundry.

The Guangdong Provincial Military Command and the Guangdong General Commander are temporarily under the command of Admiral Yu Dayou, and are to be surrounded by land and sea forces.

When Liu Yaohui mentioned that the imperial court was going to send troops to Haojing and implement supervision, the Guangzhou prefect's face turned the most unpleasant.

It can be said that this is where the problem arose under his rule.

When he first arrived in Guangzhou, he learned about the situation in Xiangshan County and considered taking action.

However, through constant lobbying from the Provincial Administration Commissioner to Xiangshan County, he finally decided to turn a blind eye.

Unexpectedly, the barbarians of Haojing made such a huge mistake by supplying cannons to the Japanese.

"Right now, besides Lord Wang and General Zhao acting expediently to mobilize troops from nearby garrisons in Guangdong to Xiangshan County, Prefect Guan also needs to rush to Xiangshan as soon as possible and do everything he can to call back the villagers working in Haojing."

At this time, there was a special instruction in the capital that everything must be carefully considered and that people should be evacuated within one or two days.

If people keep leaving, the barbarians might notice and stop our Ming people from leaving the fortified area. This could easily cause trouble when our army is pressing in.

Governor Liu looked at the group of men, and they all immediately bowed their heads in agreement.

In particular, the prefect of Guan was sweating profusely at this moment.

He knew that if he handled this matter well, perhaps the past would be forgiven; if he handled it poorly, he might lose his official position.

Although he didn't open the door, he still has to bear the consequences himself when things go wrong.

At most, the magistrate of Xiangshan County will be held responsible, but the Provincial Administration Commission and other government offices will definitely be kept in the dark and unaware of the situation.

"I will go to Xiangshan County immediately to make arrangements. Once the government troops are stationed in Xiangshan County, we can block communication with Haojing."

After a quick calculation, Prefect Guan immediately knew what he should do.

"The evacuation of the villagers is of utmost importance. In his letter to this governor, Grand Secretary Wei repeatedly stressed the need to prevent the barbarians from using the people of our Great Ming as a shield to stop the government troops from besieging Haojing."

Liu Yaohui reminded them again, "And gentlemen, today's matter is confidential. Anyone who leaks even the slightest bit of information beforehand will be subject to the merciless law."

The following period was for the Provincial Governor and the Military Commissioner to discuss the procurement of military supplies, and for the Military Commander and the General to consider the deployment of troops.

Despite the dilapidated state of the Ming Dynasty's garrisons, the coastal garrisons still retained some fighting capacity due to the early Japanese pirate raids.

This time, Guangdong mobilized all the troops that could be gathered around Guangzhou Prefecture, assembling a force of over 7,000 men from five garrisons to prepare for stationing in Xiangshan County.

Guangdong officials began discussing how to handle the matter of the trenches, while the Ministry of War in the capital finally received news from Datong.

Upon seeing Zheng Luo's memorial, Zhang Ke immediately took it to the palace and found Wei Guangde.

"ShanDai, we've received news from Datong."

As Zhang Ke strode into the duty room, he spoke to Wei Guangde.

"How to say?"

Wei Guangde put down the memorial he was writing, walked around the desk to Zhang Ke, and snatched the memorial from his hand.

"Hey, you're even more anxious than I am. I brought this all the way here, and I haven't even gotten a sip of water yet."

Zhang Ke joked, "Oh, it seems Huang Taiji has bowed his head."

Seeing that Zhang Ke was still in the mood to joke, Wei Guangde immediately guessed that the situation in Datong should not be bad, otherwise Zhang Ke would not be like this.

"Lubu, quickly bring Lord Zhang some water, he's thirsty."

Wei Guangde gave instructions to Lu Bu, who was standing at the door.

"Yes, sir."

Lu Bu agreed and hurriedly turned around and went out of the house to prepare tea by the stove next door.

"Please sit wherever you like."

Wei Guangde gestured for Zhang Ke to sit down, then found a chair nearby and began to read Zheng Luo's memorial.

After reading the report from Datong, a smile finally appeared on his face.

"It seems that the disaster on the grassland is more serious than we imagined, which is why Huang Taiji is so impatient."

Wei Guangde looked at Zhang Ke and said, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard failed to investigate the true situation on the grassland in time, which can be considered a dereliction of duty."

"Does Shandai think that our Great Ming can take this opportunity to blackmail us and gain even greater benefits?"

Zhang Ke frowned and asked.

"If we knew that the disaster on the grasslands was very serious, we might be able to make further demands, such as forcing them to exchange warhorses for grain."

Wei Guangde only belatedly realized what was happening and said...

At the time, he was worried that the conditions were too harsh and would affect the overall situation, so he did not plan to go any further.

However, judging from the current situation, there does seem to be room for negotiation, and the Mongols don't seem to have much time to discuss with the Ming Dynasty.

At this moment, Lu Bu had already served the tea and was standing at the door waiting for orders.

As soon as Wei Guangde called out, Lu Bu entered and bowed.

"Quickly invite a few senior officials over to see Datong's report."

Wei Guangde gave the instructions.

Yesterday, Wei Guangde and Shen Shixing went out of the city to see Zhang Siwei off. Today, the three newly appointed cabinet ministers have officially entered the cabinet to perform their duties. They have all been assigned rooms and are familiarizing themselves with the environment.

However, since they are cabinet ministers, even if they haven't officially started handling official business yet, it's still necessary for them to take a look at such an important matter.

Soon, Shen Shixing brought Yu Youding, Wang Jiaping, and Xu Guo to the duty room, and was not surprised to see Zhang Ke inside.

When Lu Bu went to invite people, they knew that the Ministry of War had received news from Datong, so Grand Secretary Wei invited them all to come.

"Today marks the first gathering of our cabinet. Rumo, Bingzhong, Weizhen, and Zhongbo are all here. However, the Ministry of War has just received a report from Datong that Prince Shunyi, Huang Taiji, has accepted the imperial decree allowing the court to conduct a census of the population of the various Mongol tribes and issue household registration certificates."

Wei Guangde handed the memorial in his hand to Shen Shixing, and briefly explained its contents to them.

"This is a good thing, because now the court knows the inside story of Mongolia and their true strength."

Yu Youding immediately spoke up.

"Yes, with the registration of households, Mongolia will have no secrets left."

Wang Jiaping echoed this sentiment.

"However, the court will also have to bear the blame for the Mongols. If disasters break out on the grasslands again, it will be difficult to stand idly by."

Although Xu Guo's face showed joy, he still frowned as he spoke.

"The court has long been prepared to deal with the small amount of grain."

Shen Shixing was already reviewing the memorials when he heard Xu Guo say this, and he immediately retorted.

Indeed, while the Ming Dynasty gained a better understanding of the strength of the grasslands through this, it also meant promising to provide relief to the grasslands after disasters, which certainly increased the burden on the imperial court.

However, if we consider the bigger picture, it will still benefit the Ming Dynasty. At least the Ming Dynasty will have a clearer understanding of the Mongols' resources than Huang Taiji.

Registering a household registration doesn't just mean recording population information; it also includes recording their assets.

This is different from the household registration system of later generations.

Of course, this is also closely related to the limited types of wealth and the fiscal and tax system of this era.

Based on the property situation of each household, one can roughly estimate the Mongol's war potential and how long they can sustain a war.

These resources are all consumable during wartime.

"Speaking of which, it seems we should also invite Minister Zhang Xueyan over, as he is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue."

Wei Guangde spoke up.

Shen Shixing nodded slightly, "We should invite Ziyu over, as the Ministry of Revenue will need to contribute to the subsequent relief efforts."

"Minister Xu of the Ministry of Rites also requests that the Imperial Academy and its students be sent to Miyun and Datong. The Ministry of Rites will also need to issue a document to assist in this."

Yu Youding interjected.

"Lubu, quickly send someone to invite Minister Xu and Minister Zhang from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue to the Cabinet Office for a meeting."

Shen Shixing and Yu Youding's words make sense. The Ministry of Revenue had already transported a large amount of grain from Tongzhou to Miyun, and the accompanying Beijing garrison had also mobilized a lot of troops.

However, the previous discussion about having students from the Imperial College and various regions participate in household registration has been delayed because there has been no news from Datong.

It is indeed necessary for the Ministry of Rites to issue a directive to allow them to travel north.

The Imperial Academy was an office under the Ministry of Rites, and the Grand Secretariat could not bypass the Ministry of Rites to issue orders directly to it.

After Ministers Xu and Zhang arrived, Wei Guangde showed them the report from Datong before speaking: "The Prince of Shunyi has already agreed to the previous request, so the most urgent task now is to provide disaster relief to the victims and register households, and issue household registration certificates."

As we just discussed, we should transfer as many people as possible from the Imperial Academy, Shanxi, and Beizhili.

Clerks in various government offices in the capital can also apply for transfer if they wish.

Those who participate in this northern frontier campaign and achieve excellent results in the three phases of evaluation, including students who pass the imperial examinations, will be given priority for positions in the two capitals; the same applies to students of the Imperial Academy.

Wei Guangde spoke up.

These are the results of their discussion.

The imperial court could use some means to get students from the Imperial Academy in Beijing to go there, but if it came to transferring students, they might not be willing.

Students are participants in the imperial examinations; you can't promise to cheat on the exams to improve their rankings.

Thus, making empty promises became a last resort, guaranteeing a good job assignment for those who succeeded in the imperial examinations.

As for clerks, they receive preferential treatment in performance evaluations, which allows them to be promoted and receive a raise as soon as possible.

This matter had already been decided in the Qianqing Palace, so Xu Xuemo could only nod in agreement. (End of Chapter)