I'm really not doing business

Chapter 716: A memorial to the emperor, a humble scholar

"Kuroda Kotaka, how long do you think this battle will last?" Oda Nobunaga looked towards the west and asked to himself. It seemed that he was asking Kuroda Kotaka, but in fact he was asking himself.

Kuroda Xiaotaka thought for a long time, and finally shook his head and said: "Ten years? Twenty years? I don't know. We can decide the beginning of the war, but we cannot decide the end of the war."

Kuroda Kotaka considered himself a smart man, and judging from the advice he gave to Oda Nobunaga, he was indeed not stupid. He knew very well that the initiator of a war could not decide how to end it, and Oda Nobunaga, whom he served, was also worthy of Kuroda Kotaka's intelligence. From beginning to end, from birth to death, Oda Nobunaga insisted on his ideal of "one public and two private", and even received the support of the Ming court.

But it cannot affect the future of Japan.

Kuroda Takataka has read the theory of contradictions from the Ming Dynasty. In the short term, the protagonists of history are heroes, but in the long term, it is always the majority of people who determine history. Every choice made by every person determines the direction of history.

Without the Ming Dynasty, Japan would not be better off, unless these samurai and nobles were eliminated in a physical sense, in order to push forward those political decrees. These samurai and famous landowners were the real obstacles to the implementation of the new laws, and now a big battle to gamble on the country's destiny was inevitable as the situation developed.

Just as the information Kuroda Kotaka obtained, the attitude of the civil and military officials and soldiers of the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office and the Nagasaki Gyodosuji was that they had no attitude, and Your Majesty's attitude was their attitude.

Merchant ships continued to come and go in an endless stream to the Nagasaki Governor-General's Office. Before the war, the Ming Dynasty made a huge fortune. The long and short weapons and firearms from the Ming Dynasty were very popular. These firearms required a large amount of gunpowder, but Japan had no gunpowder. Even the price of black powder for fireworks and firecrackers was soaring.

"In other words, in just two months, Nagasaki Port sold more than two million silver worth of arms?" Xu Wei frowned and said, "They stopped selling weapons on the grounds of insufficient reserves."

Li Chengli, the general of Nagasaki, Ma Wenying, the commander of the Nagasaki Xingdusi, Wang Chao, the eunuch in charge of the Maritime Customs, and Luo Yinghe, the inspector, exchanged opinions with each other and highly approved of Xu Wei's decision. Sun Keyi, the first-class marquis of Kaituo, was appointed by the Maritime Customs to be responsible for its execution.

Sun Kehong left the title of Lord Kaituo to Sun Keyi. The elder brother always hoped that his younger brother could go back and inherit the family property. Sun Kehong always believed that all this should belong to his younger brother. After all, when the family was in the most difficult times, it was his younger brother who shouldered everything for their family.

Unfortunately, even after using all the tricks of deception, Sun Keyi still refused to go back and even refused to inherit the family property because he wanted to destroy the Japanese.

In May of the 35th year of Jiajing, 3,500 pirates invaded Songjiang Prefecture with more than a hundred ships. In just three days, even Huating County was in danger. If Luo Gongchen, the co-governor of coastal defense, had not arrived in time with his troops to repel the pirates, the fall of Songjiang Prefecture would have been only a matter of time.

During that period, the only two brothers Sun Kehong died in the Sun family. Later, Sun Kehong had his leg broken by Xu Jie.

When Japanese pirates invaded in the 35th year of Jiajing, the Xu family was unscathed. At that time, Sun Kehong always insisted that Xu Jie was in collusion with the Japanese pirates. Later, after strict investigation by the court, it was found that Xu Jie was not in collusion with the Japanese pirates. The Xu family survived, just because they were lucky to be in Huating instead of Shanghai.

"What does Sun Tiju think?" Xu Wei asked Sun Keyi's thoughts. Sun Keyi was sometimes like a madman. In order to destroy the Japanese pirates, he even set fire to the gunpowder depot and flew into the sky with the Japanese pirates.

"I agree." Sun Keyi said very seriously: "At this level, it's just right."

If we sell them again, these weapons will probably cause trouble to the Ming army when they intervene.

The intensity is just right now.

It was worth two million silvers, but not all of it was silver. It consisted of only about seven hundred thousand silvers, while the Japanese women, slaves, goods, etc. were worth one million three hundred thousand silvers.

Xu Wei began to continue to determine the direction, putting the Nagasaki Governor's Office into a state of preparation for war, reducing the number of merchant ships docking at Nagasaki Port, and transferring the Nagasaki Governor's Office's deposits of silver, grain, and armaments to Shuri Prefecture to prevent accidents in Nagasaki. At the same time, the entire Nagasaki Dusi and Xing Dusi began to prepare for war, and each city dug trenches to defend itself, etc. All of these required specific deployments.

Japan's main attack direction is indeed Korea, but what if the attack fails and they launch a surprise attack on Nagasaki?

These matters were specific and extremely complicated, so Xu Wei and the officials began to discuss them. After nearly an hour of discussions, the closed-door meeting finally ended.

"I'm only worried about the court." Sun Keyi closed the memo, put the pen on it, sighed, looked around and said, "I'm worried that the court will lose face. If North Korea cries and the court uses high hats like the motherland, it will decide to send troops. Then, the court will get nothing."

"We must provide aid, but we are afraid that if the granaries and the national treasury are emptied, the Ming army will die fighting for Korea, and we won't even get face."

"Does the promotion mean that if the Ming Dynasty easily joins the war, it will not even be able to keep a good reputation?" Ma Wenying had only been in Nagasaki from Zhejiang for six months, and he did not quite understand what Sun Keyi meant.

How come the Ming Dynasty has paid so much, but doesn’t even have a good reputation?
"Aren't all barbarians like this? Isn't Korea a barbarian?" Sun Keyi sighed and said, "You see, when the time comes, the scholars in Korea will definitely say that the heavenly soldiers crossed the river and entered the city to plunder. They were very violent and committed all kinds of evil. The people fled to the mountains and valleys, entered the villages, searched for people's property, and raped the village women. Some even killed people, killing innocent people to claim credit, just like the Japanese bandits. They ravaged their territory, plundered and raped, even more than the Japanese."

"This kind of weird talk is not something that only happened after the war. It is now spreading all over North Korea."

"Wasn't the blood of the loyal and brave heroes who died for Korea's resistance against the Japanese tyrants shed in vain?"

Sun Keyi was not slandering the Korean literati. When the King of Korea was preparing to ask the Ming Dynasty for help, this kind of public opinion had already started.

After the Ming army defeated Japan, these Korean literati would exaggerate the Ming army to be like Japanese pirates, or even more powerful than Japan. This was inevitable. If the Ming army rushed to help easily, it would not even get face in the end.

"Ah?" Ma Wenying was shocked. If the Ming army paid a huge price but did not gain enough benefits, and was even scolded, what was the purpose of the Ming army?

"For the sake of the rule of the royal family, scholars and nobles, they will definitely say so. To be honest, isn't everyone loyal to the Ming Dynasty?" Sun Keyi took out a memorial from his sleeve and said, "I plan to submit a memorial and act like a calculating scholar, asking the court to calculate the pros and cons. Don't just rush into the court to fight against the Japanese for the sake of face."

The Ming Dynasty must join Korea to fight against the Japanese pirates. The Ming Dynasty will not allow the Japanese pirates to go ashore, but the timing of action must be grasped. If it is too early, no one will thank you. If it is too late, the Japanese pirates will become too powerful.

"Let me see." Xu Wei took the memorial and looked at it for a moment before saying, "Add me in."

Soon, local officials in Nagasaki wrote their names on the memorial, which was a joint memorial, hoping that the court would consider the pros and cons and make a careful calculation of the gains and losses before making a decision.

Sun Keyi's memorial was quickly delivered to the Ming Dynasty, and before the Bohai Sea froze, the memorial was delivered to the emperor.

"What are you talking about, you actuary, you cheap scholar, that's nonsense. It's clearly to help the country!" Zhu Yijun criticized Sun Keyi's self-deprecation. The emperor's attitude was very clear. If the Korean royal family refused to submit, the Ming Dynasty would allow the Japanese invasion to harm Korea. At the very least, the Ming Dynasty would get the benefit of expanding its territory.

The decision to join the court to fight against the Japanese pirates must be made by the emperor himself, and all major military affairs require the emperor to give direct orders.

When will they enter Korea? As soon as the Joseon royal family moved away, the Ming army immediately entered Korea to fight.

If Korea refused, the Ming emperor would never care about public opinion or the nonsense about being the motherland. The Korean literati bribed Zhang Juzheng and let all the scholars in the Ming Dynasty stir up public opinion. Zhu Yijun would wait until the Korean royal family surrendered.

Zhu Yijun has never suffered any loss, so how could he do a business that would lose money!

"However, Sun Keyi's memorial reminded me that after a long period of peace, there are still many Japanese spies in the Ming Dynasty. I have ordered all places to arrest and interrogate these Japanese merchants, even if they were wrongly killed." Zhu Yijun issued a very cruel order, once again destroying the business environment.

All Japanese merchants in the Ming Dynasty will be arrested.

The merchants of the Ming Dynasty in Japan were all spies gathering intelligence, and the same was true for the merchants of Japan. If we beheaded them one by one, there would definitely be some innocent people, but if we beheaded every other one, there would be too many that slipped through the net, so we might as well just kill them all.

No one would accuse the Ming Emperor of being violent and speaking for the Japanese. No matter who talks nonsense, it is easy for political enemies to accuse him of collaborating with the Japanese. This hat is not easy to wear, as it will test the nine-family ties.

"Has no one from Korea come to Ming yet?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously. Korea's reaction was a bit slow. The Ming emperor had known for a long time that the Japanese could invade Korea at any time. It turned out that the King of Korea could sit still and had not sent anyone to ask for help until now.

"Your Majesty, I originally thought that King Yi Sun of Korea was stubborn, but later I found that he was slow to react." Feng Bao said with an unbearable expression, "It was not until the Ming Dynasty informed the King of Korea that the Ming Dynasty withdrew its troops from the Yamatai naval port that Yi Sun was ready to send people to the Ming Dynasty to hold him accountable."

"Wait a minute? Accountability? Who is he going to hold accountable? Me?!" Zhu Yijun looked at Feng Bao in disbelief, pointed at himself and said, "He is going to hold me accountable?"

"Anyway, that's what the Korean envoys said when they set out to enter the Ming Dynasty." Feng Bao said helplessly, "Your Majesty, don't blame Korea. It's because the Ming Dynasty gave too much before."

A pinch of rice is a favor, a pound of rice is a grudge. The Ming Dynasty gave too much, and North Korea took everything for granted.

Zhu Yijun slammed the table, took a deep breath, stood up and walked to the feng shui map, pointed at Tsushima Island and said to Feng Bao: "So the King of Korea, the Uijeongbu, the Military Department, and the Five Guards knew from the beginning that the Japanese pirates were gathering, but the reason they were able to sit still was because of the Yamatai military port. That's why they were so fearless and thought that the Ming Dynasty, as their biological father, should take care of everything for them?!"

"That's right." Feng Bao said with his head down.

"I am so angry!" Zhu Yijun threw his sleeves and said loudly: "Submit a decree to the Ministry of Rites, forbidding them to contact the Korean envoys and leaving them alone. By the way, the Korean delegation is self-sufficient in food, clothing, housing and transportation. The Ming Dynasty cannot give them a penny to spend!"

"Isn't this against the magnanimity of a great country?" Feng Bao asked in a low voice.

Zhu Yijun immediately said: "What a bullshit big country's magnanimity, I don't have magnanimity!"

In order to show the generosity of a great country, the Ming Dynasty paid for the food and drinks provided by the Korean envoys during their trip to the Ming Dynasty. Now, the court will not pay for them! You have to pay for it yourself.

Zhu Yijun held court meetings more than a dozen times to deal with the Japanese pirates invading Korea, but the Korean side was living in peace and harmony and even turned a deaf ear to the issue. They thought that the Ming Dynasty was in the front and no one took it seriously!

What Feng Bao meant was: if the supplies for the Korean envoys were cut, it would mean that all the envoys from foreign countries coming to the Ming Dynasty would no longer have this treatment, and would have to spend their own money to buy their food, clothing, housing and transportation. Moreover, due to the special status of the envoys, the Honglu Temple would have a monopoly on this business. By then, the cost of paying tribute to the Ming Dynasty alone would be an extremely huge expense.

"Who is the envoy from Korea?" Zhu Yijun asked the visitor.

"Yi Houbai was a civil official, and Yi Sun-sin was a military commander." Feng Bao immediately replied, "This Yi Sun-sin is now a white-robed man."

Lee Sun-sin was the only Korean general who used his brain throughout the Korean War. It was obvious that the Korean side was also panicked when they heard that the Yamatai naval port had withdrawn its troops. Lee Sun-sin's greatest motivation for fighting bravely was to become an official in the Ming Dynasty based on his military exploits. Lee Sun-sin's position in the Korean War was roughly like Li Rusong and Chen Lin eating in the tent while Lee Sun-sin was guarding the camp gate. This was Lee Sun-sin's role.

Li Rusong and Chen Lin did not dare to send Yi Sun-sin to fight in important wars because they knew that he was unreliable and the Korean Hwarang led by him were also unreliable.

This man was later hailed as one of the world's five greatest admirals and three greatest generals, on par with Napoleon and Caesar, but he is nothing more than a derivative product of the culture of historical nihilism.

In later generations, the two countries on the Korean Peninsula had no choice but to support Yi Sun-sin. Who else could they support? During the entire Wanli War of Aid Korea and Anti-Japanese War, he was the only person who could be shown off. Otherwise, the fact that the Ming Dynasty was the parent country of the Korean Peninsula could not be avoided in any way.

After the Wanli Korean War, the Korean King Yi Sun abdicated the throne to his son, and ignored the promises made in the internal affairs to fool the Ming Emperor. In internal propaganda, the Korean literati did their best to portray the Ming army as thugs like the Japanese pirates. All the military achievements were attributed to Yi Sun-sin, just to avoid the Ming Dynasty from really becoming the biological father of the Korean Peninsula, even if that was the fact.

So much so that in later generations, a ridiculous narrative logic such as "Yi Sun-sin protected the weak Ming Dynasty" gradually formed.

"Yi Sun-sin is wearing white clothes now?" Zhu Yijun was stunned and asked in confusion.

"Korea was also good at both culture and military. Yi Sun-sin was considered a very capable general in Korea. However, due to his repeated outstanding achievements, he had a grudge with his immediate superior, Kim Woo-seo, the military governor of North Hamgyong Province, and was demoted to a commoner to join the army. This time, with the Japanese invasion at the doorstep, the Korean military officer Yi Il did not dare to come to Ming to discuss matters, and had to send Yi Sun-sin." Feng Bao explained why Yi Sun-sin was dressed in white.

Everyone in Joseon knew that Lee Sun-sin was a good fighter. The Sungkyunkwan of Joseon controlled the Uijeongbu. The more powerful Lee Sun-sin was, the more dangerous he was. As expected, he was suppressed. But now the Japanese pirates were coming, and everyone in Joseon was in a panic, so Lee Sun-sin was sent to Ming Dynasty.

Employ people forward and don't employ them backward; this is the way to promote culture and military power.

"Leave it alone for now." Zhu Yijun did not plan to meet him and just wait for further action from Japan.

A eunuch walked in, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, General Qi and Li Rusong, the deputy commander of the Beijing camp, have arrived and are waiting outside the palace."

"Xuan."

The court finally decided that Qi Jiguang would be given the seal of the General who Suppressed the Japanese, Li Rusong and Chen Lin would be given the seal of the Deputy General who Suppressed the Japanese, the Minister of Personnel Liang Menglong would be the Governor-General of Military Affairs, and Wang Rulong, Deng Zilong and others would be the Lieutenant Generals. They would lead 40,000 troops from the Ming Dynasty's capital camp to Liaodong, ready to enter Korea to fight at any time. Chen Lin would lead 50,000 naval forces, ready to intervene in the battlefield at any time.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty."

"No need to be so polite, just sit down." Zhu Yijun asked Feng Bao to serve tea. The important personnel appointments had been confirmed, but the Ming army needed to prepare for the expedition. This time was different from the past. It would be a war in Korea, and it would take at least two to three months to prepare before heading to Liaodong.

This was already very fast. If the capital did not have silver and grain, the preparation time would have been extended to six months to a year, otherwise failure would have been inevitable.

Logistics is the foundation for ensuring victory.

"I am so angry! Korea has such evil ambitions. It has known about the Japanese pirates' unusual movements long ago, but it thinks that the Ming army is stationed in Yamatai and can sit back and relax. It is ready to let the Ming army take on everything for them! It is so despicable!" Zhu Yijun was still furious and severely criticized the Korean side for its inaction.

"This..." Upon hearing the news, Qi Jiguang frowned and looked at Li Rusong. Li Rusong's face was also full of worry.

"We can't rely on North Korea, so the battle plan must be adjusted. I originally thought that the Ministry of Rites would force North Korea to provide food and fodder, but looking at North Korea's current situation, it seems that they can't provide much food and fodder. Logistical supply has become the most important thing in this battle." Qi Jiguang said solemnly.

According to the discussion between Qi Jiguang, Li Rusong and the lieutenant generals, they were originally counting on Korea for food and fodder, and the escort troops were mainly composed of Korean soldiers. But now it seems that Korea cannot be relied on at all, and this battle will be more difficult to fight.

"Do you want to bring 20,000 garrison troops from Liaodong? If there is an urgent shortage of food and fodder, we can raise food locally." Li Rusong proposed a solution. His subtext was very clear. If there is a shortage of food and fodder, let the Northern Army plunder the local area. Of course, to put it nicely, it means raising food locally.

Li Rusong was born in Liaodong and grew up in the Liaodong military camp. He knew the military discipline of the Liaodong Army very well.

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal. This is not a solution." Qi Jiguang agreed with Li Rusong's proposal.

When Qi Jiguang was in Jizhou, there was a very obvious contradiction between the Northern Army and the Southern Army. The Northern Army ensured its combat effectiveness with poor military discipline, using burning, killing, looting, and killing innocent people for credit as the main means of incentive, while the Southern Army ensured its combat effectiveness with strict military discipline, using a stable annual military salary of 18 silver coins as a guarantee of military discipline.

After Qi Jiguang arrived in Jizhou, he was always caught up in the conflict between the northern army and the southern soldiers.

Qi Jiguang, who always emphasized military discipline, had to lead 20,000 northern troops to raise food locally when necessary. Compared with military discipline, Qi Jiguang cared more about winning or losing. In case the supply of food and grass was not smooth, he had to find a way. If North Korea did not give it, he could only get it himself. Only when he was full could he win the battle.

It is certainly not good to collect food locally, but it is better than having no food at all.

"I will do my best to ensure the supply of military rations by land and sea." Zhu Yijun made a promise that the emperor would not suffer from hungry soldiers.

Zhu Yijun looked at Li Rusong, hesitated for a moment and said: "General Li, I am more worried about you. Remember not to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly. The Ming Dynasty controls the sea power. There is no need to act hastily or take military risks. Just advance steadily. If it really doesn't work, just blockade the Tsushima Strait and fight the dog behind closed doors. Just take your time."

"I don't know much about military affairs, but General Qi has made plans for this campaign and has been cautious at every step."

"You lead three battalions of the Ming Cavalry Battalion with 10,000 men. This is the most elite army of the Ming Dynasty, and you are also the most capable general of the Ming Dynasty right now."

Li Rusong's characteristic when fighting was to risk his life and always charge in the front. In the Battle of Pyeongyang, Li Rusong led 500 cavalrymen (later the number of troops increased to 5,000) against 50,000 Japanese pirates. In the end, the fish escaped and the net was broken. Li Rusong was really fierce, but the Ming Dynasty was now very confident and there was no need to fight desperately.

"I obey your command." Li Rusong did not defend himself in front of the emperor, nor was there any need. He would not act rashly. When he was in Liaodong before, Li Rusong developed the habit of fighting desperately, because at that time, if he did not fight, he would lose. Now he has no such concerns at all. He can win by taking steady steps. For the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, this is a blessing.

"Your Majesty, why don't you transfer Ningyuan Marquis Li Chengliang back to Liaodong?" Qi Jiguang leaned forward and said, "Even if there is a great defeat, Ningyuan Marquis will definitely be able to stop the enemy in Liaodong."

The battlefield was ever-changing. The Ming Dynasty was indeed strong, invincible, but what if it lost? Before thinking about victory, think about defeat first. This was Qi Jiguang's life motto. He fought throughout his life and was never arrogant, let alone underestimated the enemy.

If Li Chengliang was transferred back to Liaodong, even if the Ming Dynasty suffered a great defeat in the war against Korea, Li Chengliang would be able to stop the enemy outside the country and also plan for future effects.

"Okay." Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "I have to trouble Ningyuan Hou again."

Li Chengliang took the initiative to withdraw from Liaodong and followed His Majesty to Jiangnan for a few months. He was actively planning to retire at the Military Academy to train generals. Li Rusong had already taken over as the commander of the Beijing Camp. After Qi Jiguang stepped down, it was a foregone conclusion that Li Rusong would become the general. By training more generals who were close to the emperor's family, Li Rusong could also secure his position as the general of the Beijing Camp.

Zhu Yijun never disliked these little tricks. It was a great achievement for Li Chengliang to take the initiative to give up his base in Liaodong and completely eliminate the possibility of Liaodong becoming a warlord.

But as the situation changed, the court had to re-employ the old general to ensure that the Ming Dynasty would not lose everything after the great defeat.

Zhu Yijun's nature of being lenient in anticipating the enemy's defeat was probably borrowed from Qi Jiguang's combat style of considering defeat first. Under the influence of Qi Jiguang, Li Rusong gradually became like this. Being impatient for quick success and rushing forward would only ruin the situation.

"Are the armaments sufficient this time? Do we need to prepare more?" Zhu Yijun looked at Qi Jiguang and asked whether the firearms provided by the court were sufficient.

Qi Jiguang frowned and said, "Uh, aren't these firearms a bit too much?"

The Beijing camp went into battle this time, with a total of one regiment and three cavalry battalions. One regiment consisted of ten infantry battalions, totaling 30,000 people. His Majesty the Emperor provided them with 120 15-jin cannons, 900 9-jin cannons, 7,000 tiger squat cannons, 4,000 flat-footed guns, 12,000 flintlock cavalry guns, 12,000 flintlock guns, 30,000 bird guns, and 1.5 million kilograms of gunpowder.

There are twelve people in a team, and there are nine muskets in this team. If we only count the bird guns, the firearm coverage rate is as high as 75%. Four thousand Pingyi guns mean that each team of twelve people has a Pingyi gun. Even the Ming Dynasty's iron armor will be penetrated by the Pingyi gun's bullets within sixty steps.

The most terrifying thing here is the 120 15-jin cannons. With one salvo fire from this thing, it can completely break down one of the walls of Seoul. Li Rusong couldn't even imagine the scene of the Japanese pirates rushing up and the Ming Dynasty opening fire at full power. It was really a continuous artillery fire.

There were 1.5 million jin of gunpowder, which meant that each soldier could have 37 jin of gunpowder on average. Of course, these 1.5 million jin of gunpowder were brought to the court in batches. 700,000 jin were left in the capital, 500,000 jin were placed in Liaodong, and only 300,000 jin were brought to the court.

Li Rusong felt that if they could use up these 300,000 kilograms of gunpowder, they would have already adopted a completely firearms-based warfare, and His Majesty had prepared five times the amount.

In today's world, the Spanish Phalanx, which was invincible in the West, had a firearms coverage rate of only 45% when all firearms were taken into account, while the firearms coverage rate of the Dutch Phalanx was 51%. With a 6% lead in firearms, the Netherlands drove the Spanish Phalanx into the sea.

The coverage rate of firearms in the Ming Dynasty has led the world.

"If possible, I hope that the firearms coverage rate of the Ming Dynasty is 100%. It is still too dangerous to charge into battle. Every soldier in the Beijing camp is equivalent to sixteen cows. We should bomb them again and again until the enemy has no resistance. Then it is better to advance." Zhu Yijun knew that he could not command the army.

A kind person cannot command an army. The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty loved his soldiers so much that he was extremely sad to lose one of them.

The more firearms there are, the less losses there will be, so this time Zhu Yijun directly provided enough armaments, nearly half of the stock in the arsenal.

The Ming Dynasty produced 1.5 million kilograms of gunpowder every year. This time, Zhu Yijun directly took out a year's amount to fight this war.

"The Japanese pirates are having a great time! The results of the Ming army's gradual advancement in firearms are being tested by the Japanese pirates." Although Li Rusong's face was serious, his words revealed a sense of gloating.

In the twelfth year of Zhenwu in the Ming Dynasty, a monster finally appeared in Zhenwu. Li Rusong often lamented that the emergence of firearms made the personal bravery of generals no longer important. The Ming Dynasty's iron armor was already a very strong protective armor, and even the Tiger Power Bow could not penetrate it, but the Pingyi Gun could. It was the turn of the Japanese to have a taste of this feeling of changing times.

Moreover, the emperor was still not satisfied with the firearms coverage rate of only 75%, and hoped to push it to 100% or even more. The Ming Dynasty's abundant foundation guaranteed such extravagance.

(End of this chapter)