prosperous age

“I will write the letter myself, and you can take it to him to discuss it.”

Wei Guangde said, "Tell him that the Jurchen tribes who are loyal to the Ming Dynasty can be given a larger share."

The Qing Dynasty's strategy of "using barbarians to control barbarians" was actually already well-practiced during the Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, when the Jurchen tribes migrated south to surrender to the Ming, the Ming divided them into three parts, each independent of the others, with the aim of creating a system of checks and balances between them.

Similar practices were also applied to the chieftains of the southwestern Tusi (local chieftains).

The chieftains were made to check and balance each other in order to maintain their obedience to the imperial court.

Previously, he had the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate the distribution of power among the Japanese daimyo, for the same purpose.

The aim was to incite hostility among the Japanese daimyo, thereby causing them to overlook the Ming army's presence in China and plunging the daimyo into internal strife.

Japan is deeply influenced by Chinese culture and also has the idea of ​​"unification".

Therefore, it was impossible for those powerful figures not to fight for the title of "the people of the world".

According to intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Wei Guangde already knew that Oda Nobunaga had almost achieved his goal.

In reality, all the other daimyo in Japan had already submitted to Oda Nobunaga, except for two daimyo in the southwest who still refused to obey his orders.

For this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate.

Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty intervened in time to defeat Japan. Otherwise, if they had waited a few more years and allowed Hashiba Hideyoshi to grow up and transform into Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it might have been much more difficult to defeat them.

The timing of the Ming Dynasty's intervention coincided with a crucial period when Toyotomi Hideyoshi had failed to consolidate the power of the Oda clan and had not yet won over the other daimyo in the surrounding area.

This disrupted his unified situation, causing chaos in Japan, and it seemed that the Ming Dynasty could once again take advantage of the situation.

The same applies to the Jurchens' ginseng harvesting in the mountains.

When the Jurchens went up the mountain to collect ginseng, they ultimately had only one market: merchants from the Ming Dynasty.

As long as this sales channel is controlled, allowing ginseng gatherers from the Jurchen tribes who are loyal to the Ming Dynasty to profit from the trade with the Ming, while preventing those tribes that are not so subservient to the Ming from getting enough shares and having their ginseng hoarded, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction within the tribes.

The leader might disagree, but the subordinates would not.

They would be dissatisfied with the unequal distribution of benefits, not only with their own leaders but also with other tribes, believing that they had been deprived of the rights that were rightfully theirs.

Under such circumstances, it is conceivable what might happen, whether on the mountain or among the Jurchen tribes.

The men who can go up the mountain to collect ginseng are all the strongest and most capable men from their respective tribes.

This would not only incite hostility among the various Jurchen tribes, but also effectively weaken their young and strong forces.

Without sufficient strength, they naturally dared not oppose the Ming Dynasty.

The old saying "Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts" makes sense. At least from the secret reports sent back by the Embroidered Uniform Guard about the Jurchens, there were voices of dissatisfaction with the Ming Dynasty from the Jurchen tribes themselves.

Among them, the Han people occupied the most fertile land in Liaodong, while the Jurchen tribes could only live a difficult life in the northern mountains, which was the most dissatisfying aspect for them.

Moreover, legends about the glamorous world of Jiangnan circulated among the Jurchen tribes.

Through these secret reports, Wei Guangde realized that the Ming Dynasty's strategy of trapping the Jurchens in the mountainous region northeast of Liaodong had already generated discontent among them.

However, the policy of drawing lines on the ground to confine oneself was not his creation, but a rule established in the early Ming Dynasty, which is why travel permits were issued.

Not to mention the Jurchens, even the Han Chinese are the same.

Therefore, in this letter to Qi Jiguang, Wei Guangde would also point out this matter, urging the Liaodong government troops to increase pressure on the Jurchen tribes.

If there are grievances, it is necessary to find opportunities for them to release them.

Wei Guangde also worried that if he got old and this situation continued to accumulate, he really didn't know what would happen then.

Taking advantage of the high morale of the Liaodong government troops, a swift and decisive strike swept some Jurchen tribes into the dustbin of history.

"Jianzhou."

Wei Guangde muttered to himself.

Soon, news of the reform of the Ming Dynasty's money shops began to circulate among the people of the capital. In addition to the existing one-year deposits, one-month, three-month, and six-month deposit types were introduced, offering a monthly interest rate of one percent.

At the same time, if the deposit has not matured, you can request early repayment with the receipt, but there will be no interest.

Even if it's only one day in advance, no interest will be charged.

Wei Guangde's proposed demand deposit account was ultimately rejected by Manager Zhou.

It's not that I care about the interest, but rather that the interest settlement process is too complicated, and I'm worried about making mistakes.

So, after discussing it, the old managers of the money shop suggested cutting it off completely and not paying interest at all.

Wei Guangde accepted their suggestion, and thus this new regulation came into being.

Meanwhile, on Sumatra Island, gunfire roared.

After two days of ambush, the Ming army in Palembang finally found an opportunity. When an Aceh soldier threw a stone at the Ming army in dissatisfaction, the Ming border patrol soldiers decisively opened fire and wounded him.

Immediately, a conflict broke out between the patrol officers and soldiers of both sides.

After the gunfire, the Ming soldiers who were lying in ambush did not move, but waited quietly for the Aceh reinforcements.

Although the soldiers had been repeatedly ordered to exercise restraint, Aceh could not possibly turn a blind eye if a conflict were to break out.

Thus, an army of over a thousand from Aceh entered the ambush set by the Ming army.

Compared to the Ming army's border troops, which numbered in the hundreds, the Aceh army, with its size of over a thousand or two thousand men, was able to maintain a balance of power on the battlefield.

Of course, this is the balance of power they believe they can maintain.

After all, the conflict between the two countries was initially just a skirmish between patrol squads, and after the main force arrived, they would quickly gather their soldiers and begin a standoff.

Subsequent reinforcements were rarely deployed to combat, thus having little deterrent effect.

However, this time, when the Aceh army entered the Ming army's ambush, they were immediately met with a fierce bombardment of guns and cannons.

On both sides, rows of Ming soldiers with firearms gradually stood up and fired their muskets.

In front of them, the covering bushes were pulled aside, revealing dozens of artillery pieces inside.

When the cannons roared, the generals of the Aceh army realized they had been ambushed by the Ming army.

However, just as he was ordering his men to retreat, the sound of horses' hooves came from behind.

As a result, the Aceh army, which had managed to escape the Ming army's guns and cannons, was pursued and killed by the Ming cavalry. The force of more than 1700 men was almost completely wiped out.

On a small hill near the battlefield, Li Chonggui and Yu Shoubei stood side by side, both holding binoculars to observe the battlefield dynamics.

How many reinforcements will be sent to Aceh in the short term?

Li Chonggui asked.

"Within half an hour, we should be able to summon the remaining troops from that camp, which I estimate to be about three thousand men."

However, given the current situation, they will likely only hold their positions firmly and will not venture out to investigate.

Commander Yu immediately replied.

"There are four more camps. I guess the two on the far right are where they plan to send troops to raid the docks along the coastline."

The remaining one, along with the other two, might be planning to surround the city from three sides.

With these two enemy battalions in the dock area, the old port could be besieged on all four sides.

There are still three thousand men left. If we launch an attack now, troops from nearby camps will likely come to our aid immediately.

Li Chonggui spoke first.

"My lord, do you intend to engage the enemy in a direct battle in the open field? Our forces are insufficient."

Yu Shoubei thought that Li Chonggui wanted to change the battle tactics. After all, the low combat strength of the Acehnese army was easy for his deputy to think that two or three thousand men could withstand the siege of thousands of enemy troops.

"In the end, we succeeded because we caught the enemy off guard; the Southern Barbarians were completely unprepared," Commander Yu immediately emphasized.

"I know."

Li Chonggui said with a smile, "But we've already made our move, so how do you think they'll respond?"
Will they prepare for war while simultaneously investigating this matter in the old port city, demanding an explanation from us?

In that short while, Li Chonggui saw the performance of the Aceh army and realized that the enemy seemed to be all bark and no bite.

The fighting strength of the Aceh army was not even as strong as that of the Burmese army he had previously encountered.

With proper command, it is indeed possible to defeat tens of thousands of enemy troops with just a few thousand men.

He didn't say that the Burmese army was stronger than this Aceh army, after all, the South China Sea Navy had fought against the Burmese army before, and he wasn't sure if the garrison commander Yu in front of him had also been to the Burmese battlefield.

At this moment, he was thinking about what the Aceh army leadership would do.

This ambush by the Ming army against the Aceh forces cannot be explained by border skirmishes alone.

If they hadn't immediately raised an army to fight, but instead actually sent people into the city to demand an explanation, wouldn't it have been a good opportunity for him to lead his troops directly to attack the capital of Aceh?
Even if the Kingdom of Aceh is preparing for war, there is always time to buffer.

By the time they have this time, when they actually launch an attack on the old port city, their capital city will probably already be under the Ming Dynasty's sun and moon flag.

What Li Chonggui was thinking about was naturally that he would personally plant the flag representing the Ming Dynasty on the city wall of Aceh, demonstrating the power of the Ming army.

"Let's go back to the city and send messages to all the outposts. If the Southern Barbarians attack, tell them to retreat into the city according to plan and hold out for reinforcements."

Li Chonggui said to Yu Shoubei.

In Old Port, some strategies were also formulated after relations with Aceh became strained.

This includes holding outposts in place, dispersing them across the island, or, if there is an opportunity to withdraw, withdrawing all troops back to the old port city.

After all, the outpost was more than ten miles away from the old port city, and it was hard to be sure whether they would have a chance to retreat once the war started.

As a result, multiple solutions were developed.

In Li Chonggui's view, once the sentries are dispersed and signs of a large army gathering in Aceh are detected, the outposts can begin to retreat. There is no need to wait until a knife is at their throat before reacting.

Li Chengliang did this very well.

Whether to fight or make peace with the Burmese army is up to them to decide.

As a result, there were many incidents of killing prisoners within the Ming army stationed in Burma, where prisoners were lured to surrender and then executed in a concentrated manner.

Especially in the later stages, the Ming army no longer needed so many prisoners of war, as they had already incorporated enough local troops.

Meanwhile, the mines also took in a lot of laborers.

At this time, it was much easier to deal with the Burmese people who had followed the old nobles in their rebellion than to spare their lives.

After all, if they stay, they'll have to arrange for food and drink.

trouble.

If the Ming army found that the enemy in front of them was too strong, they would retreat on their own initiative and would never fight to the death.

It was this flexible fighting style that allowed the Ming army to suffer almost no defeats on the Burmese battlefield.

As a result, the soldiers fought with increasing courage and their morale continued to rise.

Later on, due to their long-term accumulated victories, when facing the Burmese rebels, the Burmese army often lost morale and fell into chaos before the battle even began.

"Alright, I'll have someone pass on the order right away."

Yu Shoubei did not stick to his original ideas. After all, in recent years they had become more accustomed to fighting at sea, and their calculations focused on positioning, ship speed, and firing range.

Although they all came from the garrison, there are not many generals in the navy now who are also good at land warfare.

Therefore, seeing that a conflict was about to break out with the Kingdom of Aceh, they naturally obeyed Li Chonggui's orders.

Soon, they returned to the city.

Li Chonggui did not linger and went directly to the dock.

The area has been placed under martial law by the Ming army, and non-military personnel are no longer allowed to approach.

"Lord Zhang, how's the baggage loading going?"

Upon arriving at the destination, Li Chonggui immediately inquired about the commanding officer of the Western Sea Fleet.

This man is the deputy commander of the navy, a higher rank than him.

However, he refused to enter the old port city and participate in military affairs, citing the navy's lack of proficiency in land warfare.

His view was that the defense of the dock area was the only option.

Ignore everything else.

"Lieutenant General Li, I heard that the Southern Barbarians launched a surprise attack on the Ming army today?"

News of the battle in the west had already spread throughout the city.

Upon entering the old port city, Li Chonggui noticed the tension in the market.

Yesterday, the area had regained its popularity due to the arrival of Ming Dynasty reinforcements, but this has completely vanished.

After all, rumors had been circulating for some time that Aceh had amassed tens of thousands of troops and was pressing on the border.

Inside the city, the Ming army numbered only a few thousand at most.

"Lord Zhang, the southern barbarians are arrogant and have indeed launched a sneak attack on our army."

Therefore, this humble general and Commander Yu believe that it is necessary to carry out the decapitation strike.

Li Chonggui lowered his head slightly and spoke respectfully to General Zhang.

"I don't care about land warfare, and I'm not good at it."

I will do as you say.

The ships are all here, and your people can board them anytime.

Once you arrive at your destination, you and your people disembark.

If we encounter the enemy, I will provide artillery support as much as possible.

However, as I said before, I can't have my naval personnel disembark and participate in land battles.

Lord Zhang began to speak.

Okay, although they are all generals of the Ming Dynasty and all part of the Ming army, they have now been divided into land forces and naval forces, and they belong to the Western Navy and have nothing to do with the South China Sea Navy.

They deserve credit for holding Old Port and taking Sumatra, but not for it.

Even if you send sailors to the island, the result will be the same.

Therefore, the Western Sea Fleet's mission this time is simply to transport supplies; they will still receive credit for their contributions.

However, if they were to act recklessly and participate in land battles, they would not gain much benefit, so naturally they would not want to do it.

Unbeknownst to many, an invisible divide had already formed between the various units of the Ming army. Even the navy that had been separated from the South China Sea Navy had become clearly distinct from the South China Sea Navy.

The main reason for this was that Deng Zilong's promotion was somewhat difficult to accept, and it was Wei Guangde who orchestrated it.

If Yu Dayou were still the commander of the South China Sea Fleet, the West China Sea Fleet, as his old subordinate, would never dare to do such a thing.

The South China Sea Fleet was assigned the most lucrative positions, followed by the East China Sea Fleet. Recently, the imperial court has been focusing its efforts on strengthening the North China Sea Fleet, leaving the West China Sea Fleet as the least favored and neglected force, which has greatly displeased them.

Since the warships and equipment could not be replenished by the imperial court, and they dared not disobey the imperial decree, they could only respond passively.

"Lord Zhang, if I wish to cross the strait under cover of night, without anyone noticing, when should I set sail?"

Li Chonggui asked in a low voice. (End of this chapter)