prosperous age

News of the attack on Datian Castle reached Shimane Castle in just two days. After receiving Liu Ting's military report, Qi Jiguang immediately went to Wang Xijue's headquarters to report.

The Japanese have already made contact with the Ming army at Daejeon Castle. Such an important matter must be reported to the governor-general as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if things go wrong, you could be wrongly accused of treason and collusion with the enemy.

Having witnessed the darkness of officialdom, Qi Jiguang would never have cared about the integrity of civil officials.

In fact, all documents from Daejeon City were recorded and reported by the General's Office.

The documents sent from the military governor's headquarters were all carefully preserved, for fear of any mistakes.

It can be said that the relationship between civil officials and military generals in the Ming Dynasty appeared to be good on the surface, but in reality they were both very wary of each other.

Soon, Qi Jiguang entered the military headquarters, announced his arrival, and went into Wang Xijue's room.

"This humble general greets Your Excellency."

Qi Jiguang entered the room and first bowed to Wang Xijue with clasped hands.

“Yuan Jing, there’s no need for formalities. It’s just the two of us here, so we’re comrades-in-arms and share the important task of conquering Japan.”

Wang Xijue walked over happily and took Qi Jiguang's hand to sit down in a chair.

Wang Xijue always treated Qi Jiguang very well, always with gentleness and refinement.

He knew in his heart that as long as he won this battle and returned to the capital in triumph, he would have a chance to become a cabinet minister.

Cabinet ministers, if they don't have a solid foundation in the court, can't really hold their positions securely.

The cabinet members in the late Ming Dynasty all died young, mainly because they did not have deep roots in government, especially the cabinet ministers promoted during the Chongzhen reign, who could be said to have very few people under their command.

Those with real power are deeply entangled in factional struggles and find it difficult to extricate themselves.

Often it's not that they can't, but that they are incapable.

So, they could only sink the ship together.

Although Wang Xijue knew that Qi Jiguang's connections were with Wei Guangde, it didn't mean he couldn't be Qi Jiguang's second choice.

For example, if Wei Guangde had an accident and retired, would Qi Jiguang need cabinet ministers in the court to continue supporting him?

The principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket is a simple truth that everyone understands; everyone should have a backup plan.

Qi Jiguang, of course, understood this, so he treated Wang Xijue with even greater respect.

To be honest, working together like this will lead to a very deep friendship in the future.

When Qi Jiguang was first transferred to the north, he actually hoped to establish a relationship with Gao Gong or Zhang Juzheng.

However, influenced by Tan Lun and considering that Yu Dayou was able to turn his life around, he eventually joined Wei Guangde's tutelage.

Military generals, in essence, just need a powerful backer, someone who can provide them with shelter and protection in the capital.

It doesn't matter who it is, as long as they can be that umbrella.

Of course, before Wei Guangde fell from power, Qi Jiguang would never have considered switching allegiances.

After all, Wei Guangde had a reputation for integrity; he had helped many military generals by providing them with protection.

When it comes to war, the imperial court will provide them with the best logistical supplies, and they only need to focus on leading their troops and fighting well; they don't need to worry about anything else.

This is the advantage of having a powerful backer.

And then there's Ma Fang. Whether in Xuanfu or Datong, the things he did, especially the takeover of the military farms, really provoked the nerves of many powerful figures.

But he was perfectly fine, and the army's pay and provisions in the capital were constantly and abundantly supplied, all because he was the first to join Wei Guangde's faction.

Even before he became a cabinet minister, he could help him procure provisions and military funds from the capital and handle affairs in the capital.

"Lord Wang, this is a military report from Liu Ting of Daejeon. Two days ago, he met with the Japanese general in Daejeon."

At this moment, Qi Jiguang finally took out the document sent by Liu Ting and respectfully handed it to Wang Xijue with both hands.

"Have talks already begun?"

Wang Xijue was delighted, reached out and took the book, and quickly began to read it.

"They are still probing our intentions. It seems that the Japanese intelligence is still inadequate. Several months have passed since the start of the war, and they still haven't figured out the imperial court's determination to occupy Sado and Iwami."

"Heh, they were thinking of just paying us a sum of money and sending us home."

As he watched, Wang Xijue burst out laughing.

Naturally, he saw a Japanese man say he was willing to fund the Ming army's campaign against the Japanese.

The common people of the Ming Dynasty didn't know what the Japanese pirates were all about, so how could he not understand?

The Jiangbei region where he lived also suffered greatly from the Japanese pirate raids, especially when Hu Zongxian levied exorbitant taxes to reward recruited soldiers to fight the pirates, which resulted in taxes being increased many times over.

Most of these military pay ended up in the pockets of certain individuals, with only a small portion reaching the recruited soldiers.

That was enough to feed Qi Jiguang's men.

Many Zhejiang soldiers followed Qi Jiguang to fight against Japanese pirates, and earned enough in one or two years to last a lifetime.

Of course, only the lucky ones could obtain a real Japanese head, which was very valuable and could be exchanged for a reward of twenty taels of silver from Qi Jiguang.

In reality, what Qi Jiguang called the battalion soldiers he led were more like mercenaries, who earned money by taking heads. They were soldiers without pay.

"Yuan Jing, what do you think of this matter?"

After reading the military report, Wang Xijue looked at Qi Jiguang and asked a question.

"Now that peace talks have begun, we must first report this matter to the court as soon as possible to see if the court still has any conditions, and secondly, we must find out the true purpose of the Japanese pirates."

If they are also genuinely seeking peace, then they might as well have a proper talk.

With the army stationed far and wide, daily expenses were enormous, placing a heavy burden on the imperial court.

Even though the mines have resumed operations, production will be limited in the short term.

Ending the war sooner will also lighten the burden on the imperial court.

Qi Jiguang thought for a moment and then said.

"Well, we can wait for intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard regarding the true purpose of the Japanese pirates."

However, we can indeed talk to the Embroidered Uniform Guard before they get any information from us.

For example, Liu Ting's decision to have them withdraw their troops was quite good.

At the very least, the border town wouldn't have been attacked before the Japanese pirates.

Wang Xijue got up, paced back and forth in the room a couple of times, and then said to Qi Jiguang, "Take your cavalry to Datian City. If the Japanese want to negotiate, tell them to withdraw their troops thirty li."

Then he ordered the troops in the other towns and fortresses to send out scouts to investigate, giving us some warning time.

"Yes, but if the Japanese make demands for peace talks after we go there, how should I respond?"

Qi Jiguang was cautious and did not want to make decisions on his own, so he decided it was better to ask Wang Xijue for his opinion.

"The cession of territory and payment of reparations, the area already occupied by the government troops is the border between the two countries. This is a plan that the court has long ago decided, and naturally it cannot be changed."

We can discuss anything else freely.

However, there is one condition: Japanese troops are not allowed to assemble within thirty li of the border, while small detachments of government troops may patrol there at any time.

Wang Xijue's demands first and foremost satisfied the court's basic objectives for the war, and only then did he request a buffer zone between the two countries, allowing only small teams to enter.

In reality, once this buffer zone is established, no civilians will be found in the area.

This buffer zone, in essence, is a lawless area where neither side takes responsibility. Murder and robbery are minor matters; ordinary people would rather avoid it than linger there.

"Okay, adjust the defenses as soon as possible, then go to Daejeon Castle to meet the leader of the Japanese pirates."

I also set off to inspect the mine.

Now that we have control of Iwami, we must mine the silver mine here as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Wang Xijue not only arranged tasks for Qi Jiguang, but also assigned himself a job. As for the final peace negotiations, he would definitely be the one to sign them, while Qi Jiguang would merely be there to pave the way.

They roughly agreed that once the court consented, he would then make his appearance, thus ensuring everything would be foolproof.

"Yes, my lord."

Qi Jiguang hurriedly got up to accept the order.

"Someone, go and summon the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

At this moment, Wang Xijue also gave instructions to the outside.

He had liaisons arranged by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, whose roles were twofold: to relay intelligence obtained by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and to receive orders issued by the military governor.

Now, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's mission has arrived: to spy on the Japanese people's true intentions, whether they genuinely want to negotiate, and what their bottom line is.

Only with intelligence support could they negotiate with the Japanese.

Meanwhile, the Sanchakou Wharf on the north bank of the Haihe River was already heavily guarded by government troops, with guards every three steps and sentries every five steps.

On the dock, several officials dressed in various colored robes stood on the shore, gazing into the distance.

"Didn't they say the ship would arrive soon? Why is there still no sign of it?"

The speaker was a man dressed in a scarlet official robe, and beside him was an old eunuch dressed in a blue robe.

"Master Lao, you're in too much of a hurry. The Clippers will definitely arrive today, no doubt about it."

Lao Kan glanced at the eunuch beside him and said with a smile, "But I can't feel at ease until I see the ship."

"Lord Lao, let's not talk about ships. In my opinion, those are not ships, they are mountains of gold and silver."

The eunuch answered with a smile.

“What Eunuch Zhang said is true. A million taels of gold and silver, isn’t that exactly what you said?”

Lao Kan looked at Zhang Cheng and, unusually, offered a word of flattery.

Lao Kan and Zhang Cheng arrived in Tianjin yesterday because the news reports that the gold-carrying ships would arrive in Tianjin in the next two days, which immediately excited both the outer and inner courts.

Therefore, Lao Kan, representing the outer court, and Zhang Cheng, representing the inner court, rushed over in a hurry.

The gold and silver brought back from Japan certainly couldn't all go into the Ministry of Revenue's treasury; Zhang Cheng would take away the portion that was supposed to be allocated to the palace.

However, they received news last night that the ship would arrive at the port today, so they came to the dock early and sealed off the area, forbidding anyone except clean laborers from getting close to the dock.

"Sir, please have some tea first."

At the dock, water was boiled and tea was brewed, and tables and chairs were thoughtfully set up for Lao Kan and his companions to rest.

It's just that the wind is strong by the sea, and the tea gets cold in no time.

So, every time the water boils, they come over to ask for it.

Lao Kan gazed at the boundless sea once more and said, "Eunuch Zhang, let's sit and wait, while we drink tea."

"well."

Zhang Cheng happily followed them back to the back and sat down with Lao Kan to drink tea.

Other officials of lower rank naturally did not have seats, but they were still provided with tea and could only stand and hold their teacups.

"Eunuch Zhang, are these watermelon seeds you brought from the palace?"

They couldn't just drink tea; there were also melon seeds brought by Zhang Cheng's eunuch on the table.

However, the seeds people ate during the Ming Dynasty were not sunflower seeds, but mainly watermelon seeds.

The sunflower seeds that modern people eat are actually sunflower seeds, which only appeared during the Republic of China era.

Although ancient books record that people used to eat melon seeds, they were generally the seeds of various fruits, mainly watermelon seeds.

Sunflowers were introduced to my country as ornamental plants in the mid-Ming Dynasty, and by the late Qing Dynasty, the value of sunflower seeds had not yet been discovered.

It wasn't until the early years of the Republic of China that records appeared stating, "Sunflowers have edible seeds, and some people plant them by the acre."

As a result, eating sunflower seeds became a snack that ordinary people could enjoy.

Previously, sunflower seeds were a luxury enjoyed only by wealthy families.

Of course, it wasn't that no one was eating sunflower seeds at this time; that was in Wei Guangde's residence.

Wei Guangde, being from a later era, naturally knew that sunflower seeds were edible, but just like chili peppers earlier, they were temporarily all grown and produced in the fields of Weijiazhuang.

However, for some reasons, the production of this product is still not high.

Actually, growing sunflowers is quite troublesome, otherwise it wouldn't have taken hundreds of years for their edible value to be discovered.

Sunflowers are a crop rotation plant. Continuous planting can lead to soil nutrient imbalance, accumulation of pests and diseases, and weed growth. Crop rotation can break these harmful cycles, improve soil structure, and enhance nutrient utilization efficiency.

Wei Guangde didn't understand these things, so someone had to study the habits of sunflowers.

Therefore, Weifu's current production is limited and cannot achieve the goal of promotion.

Elsewhere, sunflowers are still used as ornamental plants, just as chili peppers were originally introduced for the same purpose.

Because it was scarce, Wei Guangde usually wouldn't take it out to eat; he would hide at home and eat it secretly.

However, Lao Kan knew about it, but he also knew that the item was rare, so he did not go to ask for it.

The seeds he ate were mainly watermelon seeds and pumpkin seeds.

As they were casually chatting and eating sunflower seeds, someone in front suddenly shouted, "Sir, the boat is here!"

Upon hearing this, Lao Kan and Zhang Cheng dropped the melon seeds they were holding and rushed to the shore to look ahead.

Sure enough, sails appeared on the horizon, indicating that a large fleet was heading towards the dock.

"We've finally arrived. Once we've done the inventory, our job will be done."

Lao Kan clapped his hands and laughed loudly.

God knows, if something goes wrong at sea, they'll be the ones to take the blame.

Yes, people in this era are unfamiliar with the sea and have great awe for it.

They knew the sea was unpredictable and were afraid something might happen that would sink the ships.

If gold and silver worth millions of taels were to sink with the ship, no one could bear the responsibility.

Those who didn't come will only think that they were incredibly audacious and embezzled the gold and silver, which will inevitably cause a stir.

Now that the boat is on shore, it's safe. Even if there are storms, we can still retrieve our belongings.

"Thank goodness, the task assigned by His Majesty has finally been completed."

Despite his calm demeanor, Zhang Cheng was secretly worried that something might go wrong.

The higher one's position, the more afraid they are of taking responsibility.

This is no small matter; a moment's carelessness could render a lifetime of hard work futile.

Soon, more than twenty large Fujian ships docked in the port one after another, while more than a dozen warships stood guard in the distance.

Once contact was made with the people on the boat, ropes were tied, and a gangplank was set up, and the process proceeded in an orderly manner.

On each boat, someone disembarks first, coordinates the area with dock officials, and then leads laborers onto the boat to unload the cargo.

As the boxes filled with gold and silver were neatly arranged, the people on both sides began to settle accounts and hand over the goods.

Lao Kan and Zhang Cheng could handle these matters from the sidelines; they didn't need to personally coordinate. However, they still opened the boxes one by one, looking at the gold and silver bricks stacked inside.

"Oh dear, sir, how much silver is this?"

While Zhang Cheng was still marveling, Lao Kan laughed and said, "Eunuch Zhang, we'll divide it up after the handover is complete."

"Alright, alright." (End of Chapter)