I'm really not doing business

Chapter 715: Control of the sea means you can do whatever you want
Marginalization is the most dangerous situation, because once marginalized, it means no one cares about you. It means you become a stray dog ​​on the roadside, a stray dog ​​that anyone can kick a few times. The jailers know this best.

Jail guards are the weather vane of the Ming Dynasty's political struggles. If they are at the center of the vortex of the struggle, jailers often dare not bully the prisoners, because in the center of the vortex, everyone is watching, and no matter who passes the note, the jailers dare not act easily. But once they are marginalized and no one even comes to take a look at them, the jailers know that this person is the easiest to bully.

No one cares, which means absolute isolation of information, which is the most dangerous situation in political activities.

The grand secretaries, Hanlin scholars, censors, scholars, and literary figures who were detained by Zhu Yiliu had reached this point.

The Ming Dynasty literary world has already exhausted all its strength. When the situation is unclear, no one dares, is willing, or can express their opinions, because no one knows whether expressing their opinions will lead the emperor to make more brutal decisions. So they just keep them locked up like this, and at least they can survive.

Wait until the Imperial Preceptor has calmed down before testing him again.

Zhu Yijun actually didn't quite understand why Zhang Juzheng was so insistent on severe punishment, because Zhu Yijun was a young man, only twenty-three years old, full of fighting spirit and fearless. He was fearless, while the court officials who were on the southern tour were all very old. The older they were, the more they had no control over their own affairs and the more they were afraid of.

Zhang Juzheng believed that the future of the Ming Dynasty could be a world where everyone followed their own path and had their own goals, as long as His Majesty was wise. Those Confucian scholars who liked to confuse cause and effect had better shut up, because old ministers like Zhang Juzheng had really experienced that era.

The Emperor and Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty were both very persistent, but finally chose to put him aside and marginalize him.

Although Shi Maohua passed away, he was still buried in the Xishan Mausoleum, quietly looking at the capital and the Ming Dynasty, hoping that the Ming Dynasty would be peaceful and prosperous.

After Zhu Yijun issued an order to suspend court for three days, the court meeting began again.

"My dear ministers, there is a quick report from the Nagasaki Governor's Office that the Japanese pirates are making unusual movements." Zhu Yijun circulated a letter that was sent to the capital of the Ming Dynasty through the coastal defense inspector.

"Huh? Are the Japanese crazy?" Ningyuan Hou Li Chengliang said with a very serious expression after reading the newspaper.

Because all signs indicate that the Japanese pirates are gathering and their target is Korea. If the target is the Nagasaki Governor's Office, the Ming Dynasty should have made adequate preparations to deal with the Japanese pirates' counterattack on Nagasaki. But the other side's target is Korea, which is very intriguing.

This is a crazy decision no matter how you look at it.

After everyone had finished reading the report, Zhang Juzheng said solemnly, "Oda Nobunaga is indeed qualified to be the leader of Wa. Even though he was repeatedly assassinated, he still paid a huge price to unite the Wa people."

Oda Nobunaga was a tough guy sent from heaven to Japan. He never gave up his idea of ​​one official and two civilians. No matter how many times he failed, he was always pursuing this goal. The universal tax rate of eight officials and two civilians made it almost impossible for Japan to have civilians. All of them were slaves.

What is more interesting is that Oda Nobunaga was the King of Wa and the Shogun of the Azuchi Shogunate appointed by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty kept Ashikaga Yoshiaki in the capital as a neighbor of the King of Ryukyu, which actually greatly increased the legitimacy of Oda Nobunaga's ascension to the throne, because the Shogun of the Shogunate appointed by the Ming Dynasty had already moved to the Ming Dynasty.

There is no one in Japan who can be called the king, and Oda Nobunaga is the king of Japan recognized by the Ming Dynasty.

This is the second approach that the Ming Dynasty is trying, in addition to completely destroying Japan, to bring peace to Japan, if possible.

A peaceful and stable Japan is also extremely beneficial to the Ming Dynasty. If Japan can be stabilized, whether it is necessary to pay a huge price to completely destroy Japan, we have to carefully calculate the costs and benefits to see whether the gains outweigh the losses.

From the beginning to the end, the Ming Dynasty hoped to resolve the Japanese threat. As for attacking the Japanese mainland, it was a bit radical.

If Oda Nobunaga's policy of "one public official and two civilians" had been successfully implemented, the number of refugees and wandering samurai in Japan would have been greatly reduced. The ban on piracy and the defense lines of Nagasaki, Jeju Island and Tsushima Island built by the Ming Dynasty would have formed a Great Wall on the sea, which would have ensured that Japanese pirates would not move out of the country. Coupled with the restrictions on Japanese ship technology, the Ming Dynasty's maritime borders would have been quiet for at least a hundred years.

Unfortunately, the road to peace was blocked from the very beginning.

The daimyo of Wa wanted Oda Nobunaga dead.

The daimyo of Japan would not accept the principle of one ruler and two common people, and they rose up in resistance. Political assassinations were as common as eating and drinking, and they united again and again to resist Oda Nobunaga.

"So, what price did Oda Nobunaga pay to make the Japanese people unite?" Wang Chonggu looked puzzled. In his opinion, the daimyo of Japan was like a mad dog and had completely lost his mind.

"It's famine." Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Wang Ci Fu, the price of grain in Japan has skyrocketed since last year. The result of a 10% food shortage is not a 10% increase in grain prices, but a continuous increase in prices until 10% of people starve to death. Grain is not like other commodities. If the supply decreases by 10%, the demand must decrease by 10% accordingly. Of course, in many cases, starving 10% to death is just the beginning."

From food shortage to famine, 10% starving to death is just the beginning.

Japan was short of food, and the Ming Dynasty imposed a maritime ban, absolutely prohibiting the sale of food to Japan.

Wang Chonggu looked at Zhang Juzheng, and Zhang Juzheng looked at His Majesty. The Prime Minister and the Second Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty could not understand at this time. Could the lack of food make the mad dogs calm down, talk to each other, and go out to grab food?
"When people are hungry, they have only one worry, and that is hunger. Food is different from salt, oil, steel and coal. The period of obtaining food is very long, usually several months." Zhu Yijun never regarded himself as a saint emperor. He felt that he was just a farmer on the throne.

The Ming court officials lacked experience in farming, but Zhu Yijun had reclaimed wasteland, held the plow, carried manure, planted rice seedlings, worked in desert land, built fire rooms, raised seeds, and turned up his trouser legs to work in the fields every year. Zhu Yijun knew very well that the acquisition of resources such as food is not determined by human will, and hunger is hunger.

The famine in Japan was a very complex contradiction. Militarily, years of wars consumed too much food, and these wars were often accompanied by looting, which made people live in poverty and production destroyed. Economically, the daimyo of Japan were unwilling to lower the general tax rate of eight officials and two commoners, resulting in a large amount of land being abandoned. Politically, there was a lack of actual top-down rule. After the Ming Dynasty intervened, the semi-colonial and semi-feudal system made everything worse.

This eventually led to a worsening famine, forcing the daimyo of all parties in Japan to sit down and have a good talk.

"Oda Nobunaga also paid a sufficient price. He promised to move all his sons out of Japan, and he has put it into practice. His sons have now arrived at the Nagasaki Governor's Office by boat and are coming to the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yijun told the court officials what price Oda Nobunaga paid.

This action is equivalent to giving up the hereditary succession of the Shogun. He will work until his death. After all, the Shogun of Japan will not be of his bloodline, and his policies will not continue.

Oda Nobunaga was indeed a tough guy sent from heaven to Japan, but it’s a pity that the Japanese people did not thank Oda Nobunaga.

"Are the Japanese planning to attack Korea?" Wang Chonggu let out a breath, still not quite clear about Oda Nobunaga's purpose.

How could the Ming Dynasty sit idly by when Japan attacked Korea? If the Japanese pirates really came ashore, the Ming Dynasty would never have peace. No matter what the reason, the Ming Dynasty would send troops.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the huge geomancy map placed in the Wenhua Hall and said, "What Oda Nobunaga was thinking was that if they won, Japan would get the vast plains in southeastern Korea as a granary. If they lost, they could eliminate enough samurai to reduce food consumption. Even if they lost, the problem of famine would be solved."

"Isn't he afraid that the Ming Dynasty will send troops to attack Japan?" Wang Guoguang's mouth twitched and he sneered, "Although the national treasury is poor now, there is still 7 million silver in the old treasury, which is enough to destroy Japan."

As the accountant of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Guoguang always kept a sum of money. Even though the court's annual revenue and expenditure were balanced now, there was still a budget of 7 million silver to start the war. The Taoist was stuck at this link because there was not enough money to start the war and he could not recruit enough foreign soldiers to eliminate Altan Khan. The longer it was delayed, the bigger the hole became.

In fact, it is easy to fight. When you start the attack, everything will lean towards war.

"If he is not afraid, then let's destroy him. The Ming Dynasty's soft knife will hurt more. Oda Nobunaga is also doing this for the future of Japan. Even if the Ming Dynasty is good at killing people, can it kill more than 8 million people in Japan?" Zhang Juzheng could understand Oda Nobunaga's plan. This was his last dance. If he won, he would have everything. If he lost, he would be incorporated into the Ming Dynasty.

Anyway, the Ming Dynasty itself is the suzerain state of Japan. The Ming Dynasty is not like those red-haired barbarians in the West who kill, burn, plunder, and cut off the foundation of civilization. In this war, the most tragic outcome for Japan would be to be conquered by the Ming Dynasty, which is also an acceptable result.

The Ming Dynasty's soft knives mainly included silver, banknotes, goods, high walls, and the trade of Japanese women and slaves, especially the last one. The Ming Dynasty never had any moral burden in its policy toward Japan. It was Japan that was the first to commit the crime. In the middle of the Jiajing period, the Japanese invasion was rampant, and people suffered and the war was raging for thousands of miles.

"To put it bluntly, it's just a gamble on the fate of the country." Zhu Yijun said in summary. Oda Nobunaga's behavior is in line with the Japanese way of thinking. It's a gamble on the fate of the country. It's a big gamble that puts the entire Japan on the gambling table.

"There is the Ming Dynasty's Yamatai naval port on Tsushima Island. Your Majesty, the memorial from the Nagasaki Governor's Office is asking whether the troops at Yamatai naval port should be withdrawn." Qi Jiguang said with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, although Yamatai naval port is just an isolated city, if Your Majesty issues an order, the Ming army can guarantee that this isolated city will not fall without your order."

The city that will never fall is a lie, but Qi Jiguang said it and Zhu Yijun believed it.

Tsushima Island is a stepping stone between the Japanese archipelago and the Korean Peninsula. Whether attacking Japan from Korea or Japan attacking Korea, Tsushima Island is a place that must be fought for.

The Ming Dynasty's naval port on Tsushima Island is called Yamatai Naval Port. It is located in the central part of Tsushima Island. It is a good port, and it is surrounded by mountains and rivers, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. After Oda Nobunaga ceded Tsushima Island, the Ming army went to build the port and had a conflict with the Tsushima Island So clan. The Tsushima Island So clan was defeated by the Ming army and chose to surrender.

Now that the Tsushima clan has the support of mainland Japan, the Yamatai naval port, which has been a thorn in the side, has become the most dangerous battlefield for the Ming Dynasty.

“Your Majesty, when the Yamatai naval port was first built, we referred to the experience of the red-haired foreigners. It has high walls, camps, ditches, and sluices to facilitate the supply of ships. Japan’s firearms are weak, so as long as the Ming navy has the advantage, the Yamatai naval port can obtain supplies and Yamatai can be defended.” Qi Jiguang briefly explained the construction standards of the Yamatai naval port. As a key town at the throat of the enemy, as long as the Ming navy is strong and has supplies, no matter how many Japanese pirates come, they can be killed.

The Japanese pirates lacked heavy artillery when attacking the city.

"Let me think about it slowly." Zhu Yijun looked at the geomancy map, tapping his fingers on the table.

The withdrawal of troops from the Yamatai naval port meant that a crack had been opened in the high wall built by the Ming Dynasty, just like opening the door of a dog cage. A starving dog would rush out of the cage towards North Korea.

If the Ming army did not withdraw from Yamatai, then Oda Nobunaga and Mori Terumoto would not be able to bypass Tsushima Island and attack Korea. In other words, if the army did not withdraw, the Ming would bear everything for Korea. All the pressure from Japan would be borne by Yamatai. "Let's withdraw." Zhu Yijun thought for a while and shook his head and said, "Why? Why should the Ming army resist the attack of the mad dogs of Japan for Korea? And they are very hungry mad dogs?"

Ming Dynasty is the suzerain state of Korea and the parent country. The Japanese pirates attacked your own son, and you, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, actually want to withdraw your troops!

The mad dogs of Japan were already starving, but they still had food to eat. Zhu Yijun made up his mind and ordered the country to defend to the death. Within a year or two, Japan would fall into a complete famine, and by then, they would retreat without fighting.

Famine is also the Ming Dynasty’s soft knife, which kills people invisibly.

If the Ming Dynasty allowed the transportation of grain by sea, especially after the Ming Dynasty had the Taiyue (grain) box, the sea transportation of grain would no longer be a problem, and the famine in Japan could be partially alleviated. However, the Ming Dynasty did not allow Ming Dynasty maritime merchants to transport grain to Japan.

But now, the Ming Dynasty is going to withdraw its troops from the Yamatai military port, open the road and let go of the leash.

"What do you think, General Qi?" Zhu Yijun looked at Qi Jiguang. It was natural to seek the general's opinion for important military decisions. After all, military talent was something that you were born with or without.

"I think it doesn't matter whether we withdraw or not." Qi Jiguang said calmly, "It's all thanks to your majesty. Since the Ming Dynasty opened the sea, our navy has been strong and we have control of the sea. The initiative is in our hands. Even the war situation can be directly controlled by the Ming Dynasty. With control of the sea in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, no matter what Japan does, it is wrong, and no matter what the Ming Dynasty does, it is right."

Having control of the sea means having absolute initiative, which means you can do whatever you want, especially against an island country like Japan that is trapped on an island. You can do it even more arbitrarily. If it were an inland country that was closed to the outside world or if the distance was too far, the Ming Dynasty would really have no better solution. But island countries are not so lucky.

If the battlefield on the Korean Peninsula is compared to a card game, the Ming Dynasty, which has control of the sea, has all the cards in its hands.

"Ah, yes, control of the sea can even cut off Japan's logistical supplies and reinforcements at any time." Zhu Yijun was stunned. When he was thinking about it, he indeed overlooked the significant impact of control of the sea on the battlefield of the Korean Peninsula. When necessary, the Ming Dynasty could even close the door of the dog cage again, block the sea power of Tsushima Island, and beat the dog behind closed doors.

Qi Jiguang was telling the truth. It was all thanks to Your Majesty's virtue that the opening of the Ming Dynasty to the sea was led by Your Majesty. Songjiang Prefecture, a special bridgehead for the opening of the sea, was built with real money from the Ming Emperor. The initial investment of 3712 million silver, plus the 1300 million silver after the Southern Court collected salaries, the total scale of the investment in the opening of the sea has reached 5012 million silver.

All of this is the foundation of the Ming Dynasty Navy.

"Then withdraw our troops and let them fight." Zhu Yijun, the emperor who was lenient with his enemies, finally made a decision with confidence. He let go of the dog leash and let Korea and Japan fight to the death. It would be fun to watch the fun, and the more exciting the fight, the better.

"The King of Korea will definitely ask the Ming Dynasty for some assistance." Wan Shihe said with a frown.

Korea, the filial son of the Ming Dynasty, will certainly come to the Ming Dynasty holding up the banner of its parent country and morally blackmail the Ming Dynasty into sending troops to quell the Japanese invasion. How should the Ming Dynasty respond? This is also a problem that needs to be resolved in the court.

"Drag it out." Zhu Yijun gave a solution, which was to drag it out. Just like Wang Jiaping pretended to be confused in Guangdong, the Ming court also pretended to be confused, neither saying yes nor no, and just dragging it out, leaving North Korea to guess. It didn't matter if it couldn't guess, the Ming court would just clean up the mess then.

"I obey the order." Wan Shihe obeyed his leader's orders.

Your Majesty has always been consistent in his work style. He has never wanted to be a great monarch who unifies the world, a khan of heaven, or a king of kings. Your Majesty is the monarch of the Ming Dynasty. The interests of the Ming Dynasty are the priority. The interests of the Ming Dynasty are above everything else. North Korea wants to use moral kidnapping to get free rides from the Ming army? Don't even think about it.

In fact, the ministers in the court were very disgusted with the offensive and defensive alliances that Korea had formed among various tribes. The Ming Dynasty was addicted to being a father to Korea, and it had been a father to Korea for two hundred years. But after giving too much, it became an enemy!

The father refused to give it to the son, but the son started to take advantage of it. It is indeed time to give him a good lecture so that the Korean royal family can understand a true truth: what the Ming Dynasty gives you is yours, and if the Ming Dynasty does not give it to you, you cannot snatch it.

The Japanese army was gathering, Tsushima Souji was flirting with Mori Terumoto, the Ming army was withdrawing from the Yamatai naval port, and Japanese ships were constantly gathering under Mori Terumoto's account. Everything seemed to be a sign of impending disaster, and the situation was becoming tense.

The Ming Dynasty sent twenty-three three-masted frigates to Korea. After half a month of searching, all Ming people in Korea were evacuated, and war seemed imminent.

Oda Nobunaga was very surprised by the withdrawal of the Ming army. In fact, the Ming court officials were thinking too much. Japan did not have such a long-term plan at all. Winning or losing was not important to Japan at that time. Oda Nobunaga, Mori Terumoto, Chosokabe Motochika, Hojo Ujinao, Uesugi Kagekatsu and other major Japanese daimyo faced a choice between two options.

Because of the food shortage, the crisis of famine was imminent, and the constant uprisings by the people had made all the daimyos extremely anxious.

Either you choose to find a way to consume the samurai and appease the people, or you find a way to suppress the uprising of the people.

At the same time as food prices soared, more than 200 popular uprisings broke out across Japan in less than a year. This was the basis for everyone to sit down and talk.

The Ming Dynasty was a behemoth. Any change it made would bring about countless impacts. After the Ming Dynasty began to open up the sea, many wealthy port cities appeared in the coastal areas of Japan.

These coastal areas are living in debauchery and consume huge amounts of food. This is also a contradiction. If you only look at the prosperity of these coastal areas, you would think that Japan has also risen to prominence by riding the east wind of the Ming Dynasty's opening up of the sea. However, there are more serious problems with distribution. There is one more place to suck blood. Except for these coastal areas, people in other places are already on the brink of life and death.

Oda Nobunaga summoned all the daimyo to discuss national affairs in Kyoto at the cost of giving up his son's succession to the shogunate. They eventually decided on a plan to attack Korea. From the very beginning, this plan did not intend to attack Korea. The Yamatai military port alone would be enough to consume enough samurai.

Oda Nobunaga was a very capable general. He knew very well that as long as the Ming Dynasty did not give up the Yamatai naval port, it would not be able to take it down no matter how many more people were sent in.

Now, the Ming Dynasty suddenly withdrew its troops, and before the withdrawal, it informed Tsushima Souji that the Ming army had left and taken away all the armaments. Tsushima Souji also sent 200 people into the naval port. Indeed, there was no Ming army left, and it withdrew completely. The meaning was very clear. The Ming Dynasty, as the referee, had left, and Japan could do what it wanted.

Kuroda Xiaogao said solemnly: "General, the Ming Dynasty has been fed up with the King of Korea's double-dealing. Because of the law established by our ancestors, a country that has not been conquered will still exist. The Ming Dynasty cannot directly admonish him, so we are the ones to admonish him. General, this battle cannot be fought!"

"Why?" Oda Nobunaga looked at Kuroda Kotaka and asked in confusion: "The Ming army has already evacuated the Yamatai naval port. Tell me, we can't fight?"

The waterway had been cleared, the sails had been hoisted, the horn had been blown, yet Kuroda Takataka said that we could not set sail.

"Because the purpose of the Ming Dynasty is obvious to everyone. The Ming Dynasty wants to destroy Japan, not to restrict it." Kuroda Xiaogao said with a gloomy face: "The Ming Dynasty cannot attack the Japanese mainland from the sea. It has learned the lesson of Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty. The water relationship made Emperor Shizu fail twice in Japan. Now the Ming Dynasty wants to attack from land, and Korea is the stepping stone!"

"Once we attack, it will give the Ming Dynasty a reason to enter Korea. If the Ming Dynasty actually occupies Korea, Japan will surely perish!"

It was not until now that Kuroda Takataka understood the intentions of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty's consistent idea of ​​solving the Japanese problem was to destroy Japan!
Oda Nobunaga thought for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "The arrow has been put on the string and has to be shot. You know, it is not easy to take care of the present. Now we have to find a way to consume the samurai and not let them eat food in Japan. It is no different to either die in the Yamatai naval port or go to Korea to eat food."

"Isn't it? A small country like yours has never had the power to choose. During the Jiajing period, Japanese pirates frequently invaded, which was a life-and-death feud."

What can we do if we understand the plan of the Ming Dynasty? We can only die under the will of the Ming Dynasty. As the Celestial Empire, the Ming Dynasty has recovered and has to avenge this blood feud. The Ming Dynasty was founded on military power and has been at war for more than 200 years.

"The general is right." Kuroda Kotaka pondered for a moment and gave a bitter smile. He considered himself a smart man and believed that there was a way out for everything in the world, but after looking around, this was just a dead end where there seemed to be many choices but nothing could be decided by one's will.

The road that the Ming Dynasty gave Japan was a dead end. The only way out was to defeat Korea, defeat the Ming army in Korea, and defeat the Ming navy at sea. This was the destiny of the country that had to be gambled!

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually gave us another way, which is the order to return the land that the Ming Dynasty has been talking about recently. The land will be distributed to the people, and the landlords will not be allowed to collect excessive rent. The land tax will be reduced to one for the public and two for the people. But the daimyos of Japan are unwilling to agree to it... Moreover, the Ming Dynasty has not figured out this order to return the land, let alone Japan." Kuroda Kotaka felt a little helpless.

The Ming emperor was very lenient and did not leave no way out, but the Japanese could not do that. Not to mention one Oda Nobunaga, could ten, one hundred, or ten thousand Oda Nobunagas do that? It was impossible.

"What is the attitude of the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office and the Osaka Bay Defense Thousand Households?" Oda Nobunaga inquired about the attitude of the Special Investigation Department of the Kyoto District Public Prosecutors Office.

The Ming Dynasty stationed troops in the Osaka Bay Guarding Thousand Households Office, and also had a government office in Kyoto called the District Inspectorate and Special Investigation Department. The soldiers of the Guarding Thousand Households Office were generally not mobilized, mainly because the District Inspectorate and Special Investigation Department interfered in the affairs of Japan. In Kyoto, Japan, the District Inspectorate and Special Investigation Department was like the emperor who held military power, and their attitude was very important.

"No attitude." The young surname Mori Ranmaru bowed his head and said, "The Governor and the Guard General are pretending to be confused."

The scholars of the Ming Dynasty were very good at pretending to be confused. When asked, they would always say, "What's the matter?", "I don't know, let me ask for you." They would not make a clear statement, and even if a huge disaster happened, it would have nothing to do with them.

"Then prepare for the attack." Oda Nobunaga let out a breath, and the gears of fate began to turn from this moment. He didn't know what the future would be like, he only knew that if he delayed any further, there would be no future.

Kuroda Kotaka didn't say it, but according to the Ming Dynasty's contradiction theory, it would have been okay not to attack Korea.

According to the basic methodology of the Ming Dynasty's Contradiction Theory, if Japan did not attack Korea, it would have been in internal turmoil. The people's uprising was a manifestation of the full intensification of internal contradictions. After decades of chaos and conflicts, they would continue to reach a consensus, and finally there would be a reconciliation answer, which would lead to destruction and then reconstruction.

Everyone understands the truth, but the time from destruction to reconstruction is too long, so long that even if these daimyo are healthy and have no disasters, they cannot survive to see the day of peace. The Japanese daimyo are more inclined to gamble on the fate of the country because the crisis at hand is more imminent.

The long-term strategy of a country is a very, very luxurious thing for any country at any time.

Although the Ming Dynasty is extremely powerful, Japan is still not without a glimmer of hope!
(End of this chapter)