prosperous age

"Captain, what should we do? People in Ming are saying that their army has already captured Kutaraja."

In a secluded courtyard within the city, the remaining spies from the Aceh operation, having naturally received the news, gathered to discuss the matter.

"We must find a way to get the news of the Ming army's surprise attack on the capital city out."

"But now the city gates are blocked, how can we send messages?"
We can't even afford it ourselves.

“There are Ming dogs around the city walls all day long now, so it’s impossible to send a message outside the city.”

Several people kept saying what they wanted to say, but they all knew it was pointless.

In the current situation, it is truly impossible to send messages out.

"If all else fails, the two of you can apply for jobs tomorrow and join their laborers."

"Let's take advantage of the opportunity to go up to the city wall and see if we can get the message out?"

The captain, who had been standing at the back, suddenly relaxed his brow.

He had, of course, heard the conversation between those people.

In fact, he was also struggling with getting close to the city wall.

Previously, there were concerns that joining the laborers' team would hinder their operations.

But now, they can't even get close to the city wall.

That won't do.

"To serve as their laborers?"

One of the spies, who was being watched by the captain, exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, your main task is to observe their city defenses and find opportunities to pass on information."

I'll write you all a few more notes and find a chance to send them out.

As for whether it can be delivered to the general, that's up to fate.

The captain immediately said, "For the next few days, when you come back each day, tell me about the situation on the city wall, and I will add it to the letter."

"But Captain, before..."

The man was about to speak when the captain stopped him, saying, "What happened before was before. I was worried about being exposed and also afraid that the laborers' work would affect the plan."

Things are different now. Now we're the only ones left in the city. I imagine the Ming dogs will think they've wiped us all out, which is why they didn't block the news and let it spread throughout the city.

If we're not worried about being exposed, we don't need to keep hiding.

Go out openly and honestly. The main purpose of going up to the city wall is to deliver information, understand?

"I understand, we'll register tomorrow."

Now he was completely convinced, thinking back to how they had been hiding and running away after their failed attempt to seize the house a couple of days ago.

Fortunately, they had prepared several small huts in the city beforehand, and they were able to sneak in and out without arousing suspicion.

What's happening inside the city is unknown to those outside.

The Aceh army is now putting on a show of besieging the city.

The offensive resulted in significant casualties.

As for the Ming army attacking, they are not afraid.

The area outside the city is open, so once the Ming army leaves the city, they will swarm in without giving them a chance to regroup.

The city walls were heavily armed; if he could withstand one or two rounds of fire, they would be able to get close.

Once you get close, everyone's fighting strength will be about the same.

Moreover, the Ming army's weapons were mainly firearms, which were less effective than their spears in close combat.

It's long enough.

The Aceh army's current advantage lies in its large numbers.

Now, they have assembled an army of nearly 50,000 men outside the old port city, which can be described as almost the entire nation going to war.

Moreover, various regions are recruiting young men to replenish the front lines.

If it weren't the season when people needed to tend the land, they could muster at least 100,000 people.

"General, there's no movement from inside the city, but it seems the men at the left-hand artillery position are taking measurements."

A scout who was monitoring the Ming army's movements returned from the Aceh artillery position to report.

"Heh, let them test it. I really don't believe their cannons can reach this far."

The commander of the Aceh army said something dismissive, which caused the surrounding officers to burst into laughter.

This location is far enough from the Ming army's artillery positions that it is absolutely impossible for any artillery to reach it.

As they said, the left-wing gun emplacements of the port could indeed see them, but after measuring the approximate distance, the gunners could only tell the defending guerrillas in disappointment, "We can't hook them."

"Unless the cannon is moved at least two miles away, it would be impossible to hit that position."

"Understood, let's go down."

The guerrilla leader shook his head upon hearing this.

Just kidding. There are two thousand Aceh troops outside the fort. Going out of the fort means a fierce battle. Who would want to do that?

Besides, his duty was to guard the fort; he didn't need to worry about anything else unless he received orders.

He was simply eager to make a name for himself after seeing the Aceh army's cannons.

Meanwhile, at the Zhenbei Pass in Liaodong, the city gate slowly opened, and a large troop of horsemen slowly rode out of the city.

This Ming cavalry unit was well-equipped, with one rider and three horses, far exceeding the best Ming cavalry.

The Ming Dynasty lacked high-quality warhorses. Although it had introduced many Persian warhorses, it would take time for the horse farms to truly develop.

Therefore, even the most elite Ming cavalry would be considered a luxurious configuration if each rider could ride two horses.

However, this cavalry unit, consisting of only a little over three hundred men and led by a guerrilla general, was equipped with as many as a thousand warhorses, which is undoubtedly a unique situation in the Ming Dynasty.

Each cavalryman had at least two warhorses tied to their saddles, and the horses were carrying bulging bundles as they headed north, clearly indicating that they were going on a long journey.

Once outside the city, the cavalry quickly formed a square formation, demonstrating their high level of training.

On the city gate, Qi Jiguang stood there, addressing the guerrilla general in front of him.

"We must be cautious throughout this journey, comparing the surrounding terrain with the map, and making timely corrections if there are any changes."

Another important thing is to be wary of the Jurchen tribes along the way. They have not been in contact with the court for many years, and it is difficult to tell whether they are friends or enemies.

Most importantly, we must reach Nurgan before winter.

Otherwise, you should know what the consequences would be.

"I understand. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, we should be able to arrive within a month."

The guerrilla general bowed and clasped his hands in greeting to Qi Jiguang.

"Okay, get some rest after you arrive, and head north as soon as the first snow melts next year."

At this point, Qi Jiguang stretched out his palm and said, "You have at most five months to go north. If you can't find the dogs of the country, return to Nurgan immediately. Absolutely no accidents can happen."

This cavalry force can be considered an important force under Qi Jiguang's command.

Cavalry was already a precious commodity in the Ming Dynasty, let alone the hundreds of warhorses he transferred to supplement them.

These are enough to arm two cavalry units and appoint two new guerrilla generals.

They were, of course, the people Wei Guangde had mentioned earlier, who were sent north to search for the Dog Kingdom recorded in ancient texts on the Chukchi Peninsula.

Wei Guangde was determined to take the Chukchi Peninsula, but he would not send Han Chinese troops to garrison it for a long time. Instead, he planned to try to incorporate the Chukchi people.

Provide them with supplies, make them submit to the Ming Dynasty, and have them guard the cold northern regions for the Ming Dynasty.

They even wanted to take advantage of their cold-resistant characteristics to send them westward to continue acquiring more territory for the Ming Dynasty in Siberia.

Using barbarians to control barbarians—this is the attitude Wei Guangde is currently adopting in his external expansion.

We should try our best to subdue the local people and use them for our purposes, so as to expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Even if they recruited Mongols to develop that land, they would still feel distressed. In the capital, Wei Guangde could make decisions on a whim, but when the news reached Liaodong, Qi Jiguang had to personally take charge and find ways to get it done well.

"You must remember, you were not sent to attack the dog country, but rather to restore contact with them."

According to historical records, they were quite friendly to us Han people.

The imperial court wanted their submission and planned to provide them with continuous assistance over the next two years.

What you need to do is keep transportation open and maintain contact with them.

Qi Jiguang emphasized.

Upon returning from the eastern expedition, the soldiers were in high spirits.

This is a good thing, but it has also made the subordinates somewhat arrogant.

His biggest worry was that these people would run off to the dog country and cause trouble, and that he would end up offending them and ruining the court's plans.

"If anyone dares to disobey military regulations, I authorize you to act as you see fit, kill them if necessary, and show no mercy."

"When you lead troops alone in the field, you must be adept at making decisive decisions on the spot."

Qi Jiguang was speaking to the several squad leaders behind the guerrillas, hoping they would pass on the message to their subordinates and let them know the consequences.

"This humble general will obey orders and will certainly live up to the expectations of the Grand Commander."

The guerrilla general hurriedly shouted.

Qi Jiguang nodded slightly, glanced at the sun, and said, "Alright, let's set off then."

The Admiral has already instructed the navy to transport the remaining supplies directly to Nurgan.

The reason we don't let you travel by boat but by land is to open up the land route.

Once the people had descended the city wall, another small troop of cavalry quickly rushed out of the city.

They had barely left the city for a mile when the guerrilla and his men turned their horses around, heading towards the city wall to bow and say goodbye once more.

Qi Jiguang simply supported himself on the city wall with one hand and gently shook it with the other.

This marks the first time in over a century that the Ming Dynasty has dispatched troops northward to the Nurgan Regional Military Commission.

Although small teams had been sent to scout along the river and warships had been dispatched to sail down the river, they could not travel more than a hundred miles before withdrawing from almost all areas controlled by the Jurchens.

After all, at that time, the navy had not yet reached Nurgan. If the army had actually reached there by land, they would not have been able to survive the winter.

These actions are merely preliminary preparations for opening up the passage.

This time, because a battalion of officers and soldiers had been rotated into Nurgan City, the passage could be reopened.

Watching the departing cavalry, Qi Jiguang stood atop the city wall, remaining there for a long time.

He couldn't understand why Grand Secretary Wei was so attached to the land in the north.

It can be said that in the eyes of the Ming people at this time, the north was synonymous with desolation and utterly worthless.

Yes, there is vast land there.

But what use is it if it can't be cultivated?
This may be the ingrained mindset of agrarian societies, where land is associated with cultivation.

Whenever the climate is harsh and unsuitable for farming, they regard it as wasteland or abandoned land.

Don't think our ancestors were foolish for not knowing how to expand their territory to the north. In the eyes of people of this era, those lands were simply useless.

Europeans established colonies around the world, focusing on habitable areas around the equator rather than venturing into high-latitude regions.

That's a thankless job.

Only Russia, a small, marginalized country that has long been discriminated against, would choose to develop eastward after being unable to penetrate the core of Europe.

Even though that land was barren and showed no value whatsoever.

Yes, perhaps the animal pelts from the forest are worth some money.

What would later become great powers were at this time merely peripheral states on the political map of Europe, regarded as barbaric frontiers.

This is why Russia is viewed with hostility by European countries; Europeans never even considered conquering the cold northern lands.

Napoleon's expedition to Russia was not for the purpose of unifying Europe.

They didn't even look at that piece of land of Tsarist Russia.

The reason for attacking him is that he wanted to blockade Britain and force Britain to submit.

At that time, Russia was secretly doing business with Britain, providing them with food and timber, which is why Napoleon chose to launch an expedition against Russia.

At that time, in all of Europe, only Russia, a country desperately poor, chose to cooperate with Britain in trade activities in pursuit of huge commercial profits.

It can be said that no country would actively expand its territory into the polar regions unless forced to do so.

Wei Guangde's plan to expand northward was naturally incomprehensible to many in the court.

However, due to his position as Grand Secretary and the fact that he did indeed bring money and grain to the court, he was able to secure his position.

If we don't organize more activities, how will we get the money and grain out of the warehouse after they're deposited?

The national funds spent are only able to benefit everyone after they have been siphoned off through various layers of corruption.

Therefore, the reason why officials in the capital agreed to expand northward was that a portion of these expenditures would end up in their own pockets.

Otherwise, if things had turned out like they did at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, they would have already raised their fists to oppose the Grand Secretary's decisions.

Wei Guangde was well aware of this, so he pretended not to know about the subsequent underhanded actions as long as they didn't cross the line he had drawn.

As long as the soldiers sent north were fed and clothed, their basic rights were guaranteed, and the northward expansion plan was not affected, he would not interfere.

Once these expenditures form a stable chain of interests over time, naturally no one will object anymore.

If there's too little, it will actually affect everyone's income.

Of course, this is on the premise that the imperial court has sufficient financial resources to support such expansion.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the civil service group was unable to maintain its finances, so it both annexed its northern territories and cut off its voyages to the Western Ocean.

Ultimately, making money was the fundamental way for Wei Guangde to stabilize his base of support in the court.

As long as he continuously supplies the Ming court with taxes, both the inner and outer courts will choose to support him.

The bigger the cake, the more everyone can share the profits.

If a new Grand Secretary is appointed, but he lacks the vision and methods to expand the pie for the court, what use would such a Grand Secretary be?

It wasn't that no one wanted to take over Wei Guangde's position, but no one dared to say they had a way to further increase the court's revenue and make the pie bigger.

Once a country experiences the benefits of external expansion, it often becomes addicted and unable to stop.

However, China's ancient feudal dynasties lacked attempts in this regard.

In foreign relations, the costs are too high while the gains are too low, and we should consider issues with a political mindset rather than an economic one.

Therefore, politics is actually useless in diplomatic affairs; it will only make you a sucker.

Western countries, on the other hand, lay out their conditions and obligations and engage in a trade-off of interests, which is acceptable to both sides regardless of the outcome.

"Master, Wang Xijue and Yu Youding went to Grand Secretary Shen's place during lunch and stayed for a long time."

He Shun stood guard at the door the whole time, and no one knew what they were talking about inside.

In the afternoon, Lu Bu cautiously entered the duty room and reported to Wei Guangde what had happened in the cabinet that day.

"Oh?"

Wei Guangde merely looked up at him, then lowered his head again to continue reading the memorial in front of him.

Two breaths later, he finally spoke, "I understand, you may leave."

As Lu Bu left, Wei Guangde withdrew his gaze, picked up the teacup beside him, and smiled nonchalantly.

The plan to build Daming City on the western coast of Africa is facing setbacks because no suitable site has been found near Djibouti on the Honghai coast.

Wei Guangde had no good solution and passed the matter on to Shen Shixing.

They've gathered together, presumably to discuss solutions. (End of Chapter)