I'm really not doing business

Chapter 723: The sun and the moon are dim and bright again, but some fires have gone out

When Shah Mamtim was going to arrange school admission for Akbar's children, he mocked Legashi, the special envoy sent by the Western countries to the Ming Dynasty, in the Ministry of Rites, saying that the Western countries were always so ungrateful. The Ming Dynasty had helped so much, but the Portuguese were ungrateful and even mocked the frugality of the Ming emperor.

Frugality is a virtue, although Shah Mamtim could not do it.

Shah Mamtim also wrote about this incident in his memorial. Zhu Yijun had read the miscellaneous newspaper "Overseas Chats" and was very clear about what happened in Portugal. The writing in "Overseas Chats" was not misleading, and it was indeed the case. However, Zhu Yijun did not have any special feelings about this, because under the prejudiced education he had received all along, Zhu Yijun never regarded the foreigners as human beings.

The dealings between the Ming Dynasty and Portugal were mainly based on interests, and the war reparations borrowed were mainly for the interest paid over a forty-year extension.

If we have to say that there is a favor, the biggest favor is that Antonio would search all over the world every year for crops and livestock that the emperor had never seen and send them to the Ming Dynasty. This played a vital role in Baoqi's breeding. Zhu Yijun's kindness to Antonio was mainly because of crops and livestock such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, sugarcane, rubber trees, forage seeds, palm trees, Rex rabbit breeding rabbits, turkeys, breeding pigs, breeding sheep, etc.

In exchanges between countries, interests come first.

Recognizing the advantages of high morals, Shah Mamtim mainly discussed the fight against corruption, the harmlessness of religion, integrity and loyalty.

Heroes exist in every civilization, but these civilizations do not have a heroic heritage. For example, Legashi likes to call the elite soldiers of the Beijing Camp Templars and Paladins. There have been such heroes in the West, but in the end they all became legends and became an inconspicuous ripple in the vast ocean.

The concept of integrity is a very interesting thing. For example, Ma Fang, the Earl of Yangcheng, was treated very well by Altan Khan, but Ma Fang finally chose to escape and returned to the Ming Dynasty. He started as a small soldier and eventually became Altan Khan's nightmare. He successfully saved the Ming Dynasty from its decline on the northwest front.

Jin Aizong Wanyan Shouxu and the abdicated Wanyan Chenglin, these people are Jin people. They are very unpopular historical figures that almost no one knows. After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, these Jin people went south and gradually became sinicized. At the last moment, they chose to die for the country, which surprisingly showed their integrity.

Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, colluded with the Japanese pirates after his abdication. In the 24th year of the Republic of China, Emperor Hirohito of Japan invited Puyi to visit Kyoto. Puyi knew very well that this meeting was a manipulation of public opinion by the Japanese pirates to seek legitimacy for their aggressive behavior.

Emperor Hirohito was waiting at the station, and Puyi walked out of the Phoenix compartment of the train. At that time, Puyi had a knife in his hand. The scabbard and the knife were filled with lead, which made it a bit heavy and he could not pull the knife out. Puyi walked to the station and greeted Emperor Hirohito.

When Puyi set out, he was very clear about the purpose of this trip. He followed Hirohito to visit the Kenkoku Shrine in Japan, which enshrined Amaterasu, watched the military parade with Hirohito, went to the Tama Mausoleum with Hirohito, paid homage to Emperor Taisho, and finally went to the Toilet Shrine, which smelled like a toilet and enshrined the war criminals of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

So in the end Puyi became a joke. The Aisin-Gioro clan had been the suzerain state in the world for more than two hundred years, but in the end Puyi changed the Aisin-Gioro clan to the last branch of the Genji clan in Tokyo, Japan, which means that the Aisin-Gioro clan was the child of the Japanese emperor who was stranded in the Northeast.

I don’t know what expressions Nurhaci, Huang Taiji, Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong would have when they learned the origin of their surnames.

If Puyi had chosen to smash Emperor Hirohito's forehead with his sword filled with lead at the moment of their meeting, what kind of evaluation would history have of Puyi?

Therefore, dying standing is indeed the last dignified act.

"Akbar should have made a wise decision, but there is a question, how did he convince the nobles under him? Korea, which is famous for its filial sons, has never sent its crown prince or prince to study in Ming Dynasty after Tianshun." Zhu Yijun was still a little confused.

Akbar's decision was a good one, and Zhu Yijun was also happy about it. After all, a 3% reduction in the price of cotton, a bulk commodity, would mean a huge sum of money, and the cotton spinning business in the Southern Court of the Ming Dynasty would be able to make more money. But the problem was that Akbar was able to convince the nobles under him.

All the crown princes and princes of Joseon had to go to Ming Dynasty to study, and this continued until the seventh king of Joseon, Yi Seon. During the Tianshun period, Yi Seon no longer sent the crown princes and princes to Ming Dynasty to study. It was King Yi Seon of Joseon who first proposed the idea of ​​serving the great power and making friends with the neighboring countries. The reason why the crown princes and princes were no longer sent to Ming Dynasty to study was not because Yi Seon did not want to, but because his subordinates would not allow him to do so. He was seeking greater independence.

Akbar did the opposite.

"I used silver to convince the nobles under me. Whoever disagreed would be denied the distribution rights for selling cotton cloth. All of a sudden, all the nobles under Akbar agreed, and they also planned to send their children to the Ming Dynasty." Feng Bao explained the reason. This was asked by Chen Xuehui, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Rites. As the prime minister, Feng Bao had to answer the question from His Majesty.

Akbar was a Turkified Mongol. He was a ruler. He did not consider himself as excrement in a cesspool, nor did he want his descendants to become excrement in a cesspool.

"Next chapter, Ministry of Rites. When these noble children come to the Ming Dynasty to study, we must not be too lenient towards them. We must charge money, and a lot of money. At least we must make this a profitable business. The Ming Dynasty's benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness are very expensive." Zhu Yijun explained the details.

You can come, but you have to pay extra.

Feng Bao bowed his head and said, "I obey your order."

Zhu Yijun continued to deal with memorials. Ma Lin, as the vanguard of the cavalry camp, had rushed to Jiuliancheng at full speed. This border town at the mouth of the Yalu River, opposite Yizhou, was becoming lively and everything was going according to plan.

Liaodong shipped 120,000 shi of grain and fodder to Jiuliancheng. This was the grain and fodder raised by Liaodong. Not all of the grain and fodder transferred from the capital arrived in Liaodong. In order to prevent his eldest son from starving, Li Chengliang mobilized the grain and fodder from Liaodong to support the front line.

What interested Zhu Yijun was that Li Chengliang required all the slave chiefs of the seven tribes, namely Jianzhou Jurchen, Haixi Jurchen, Wild Jurchen and Outer Khalkha, to arrive in Jilin before the second day of the second month of the fourteenth year, and stay in Jilin until the end of the war. During this period, Li Chengliang provided water and food to the slave chiefs and their followers, and also provided a bottle of fine wine every day.

The reason why these slave chiefs were gathered together was to prevent them from causing trouble for the Ming Dynasty. If anyone did not come, the trade would be permanently stopped. In addition, they would have to endure the wrath of the Ming Dynasty after the war. If anyone was willing to come, they would be given enough salt for the tribe to live on for a year.

This behavior was extremely overbearing, but it was not even the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the Ming Spring Festival had not even ended yet, and these slave chiefs were already almost dead. The so-called offensive and defensive alliance had not taken effect at all, and Korea was almost destroyed by the Japanese pirates, and these slave chiefs who had sworn an oath of blood alliance had no intention of sending out troops.

"Is there any Guojiao left in the treasury?" Zhu Yijun inquired about the stock of Guojiao. Guojiao is actually sweet potato liquor, which does not taste very good. After more than ten years of brewing and improvement, it can barely be considered a fine wine for alcoholics.

"There are still 130,000 pieces." Feng Bao took out the memo from his sleeve, checked it and answered His Majesty's question.

"Send 30,000 bottles to Marquis Ningyuan. These slave chiefs are clamoring for wine. These 30,000 bottles are enough for Marquis Ningyuan to use for several years. Any remaining ones will belong to him. Liaodong is short of food, and we cannot use the grain of the Liaodong people to make wine." Zhu Yijun wrote an imperial edict and used the seal to send Liaodong Guojiao.

One piece is six bottles, one bottle weighs one kilogram, 30,000 pieces is 180,000 kilograms, one piece is sold for twelve silver coins, 30,000 pieces is 360,000 silver coins, enough for Li Chengliang to give wine to these slave chiefs. In Liaodong, strong liquor is hard currency. In cold weather, a glass of wine to warm the body is better than anything else.

These slave chiefs either wanted to drink it or take it back. In Liaodong, this thing is life-saving. If you are injured, you will spray it with it and feel so painful that you just want to die, but after the pain is over, you can survive.

Feng Bao obeyed the order and sold it at a high price, but the cost was actually not that high. After taking all the costs into account, one piece could be brewed for at most two silver coins.

Feng Bao didn't dare to fool the emperor. An egg cost one tael of silver. If he played like this, His Majesty would probably find all nine clans of his family and chop them up tomorrow.

Feng Bao himself didn't know where his nine clans were.

"Annam is really like an old man who wants to hang himself because he thinks his life is too long. He actually refuses to allow Laos to agree to the Ming Dynasty building an official road to Laos. This is simply outrageous!" After reading the memorial in his hand, Zhu Yijun slammed the table and the corner of his mouth twitched.

The memorial was written by Wang Jiaping, who sent people to Laos. He originally planned to discuss the matter of the official road with Laos. After all, the production of potassium salt increased, and only with potassium salt could the Ming Dynasty have good weather, peace and prosperity.

The salt lake in the Western Regions has not been found yet, but the potash fields in Laos are open-air and very easy to mine. With an official road to Laos, the Ming Dynasty will have water fertilizer and potash fertilizer, and an output of 1,800 per mu is not a dream. This is a major concern for the people's livelihood. Wang Jiaping really wants to make progress, and while making progress, he can do something practical for the people, which would be the best of both worlds.

However, this plan was blocked by the Kingdom of Annan. In his memorial, Wang Jiaping cursed all the ancestors of the King of Annan.

The Ming Dynasty did not intend to become wealthy all at once and build a highway directly to Laos. Instead, it planned to build an official road and post road to reach Vientiane for trade. It would first transform the area along the way from a sparsely populated area to a crowded place, and then it would not be too late to discuss the highway.

The official road and post road that would have been beneficial to both Ming Dynasty and Laos could not be built because the little overlord of Indochina, Annan, did not agree.

Laos was one of the Xuanwei offices of the Ming Dynasty. In the 44th year of Jiajing, a new Xuanwei envoy, Payalanzhang, was appointed. Every three years, Payalanzhang had to pay tribute to Yunnan, such as elephants, silverware, Burmese mats, rare treasures, etc.

Laos is the Xuanwei Office of the Ming Dynasty. Is it the turn of Annan to make a fuss about this affiliation?
"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty is too far away and Annan is too close." Feng Bao was also a little helpless. The Laotian envoy Payaramchang politely declined the Ming Dynasty's request. It was not that he did not want to, but that he did not dare to. If Payaramchang dared to agree today, the little bully would kill him tomorrow.

"Let this jumping clown of Annan jump around for a few more days. I am too busy to deal with him now." Zhu Yijun reviewed Wang Jiaping's memorial and approved Wang Jiaping's suggestion to increase the import of grain from Annan. The more imported grain, the less grain Annan would have. The country was already full of contradictions and the civil strife would become even more impossible to stop.

The Ming Dynasty was a behemoth. Just a simple change would cause unrest in Annan. The main reason was that the war against Toungoo had not yet ended and the Ming Dynasty was currently unable to spare any manpower.

"However, Payalanzhang had an unreasonable request, but he was too embarrassed to say it out loud so it was not written down. He hoped that the Ming Dynasty could give him his ancestral surname. His ancestor's original surname was Dao, and his real name was Dao Lansheng. He hoped that the court could give him this name. His current name, Payalanzhang, was given to him by the Kingdom of Annan." Feng Bao mentioned a detail. Payalanzhang asked the Ming Dynasty to give him a name.

"Your Majesty, this is very important to him. He must have an explanation to make the Lao people believe that the Ming Dynasty is now truly setting its sights on Laos." Feng Bao added that he thought he could bestow the name Dao Lansheng.

How did Annan and Toungoo become the little bullies of Indochina, and even demand tribute from the Ming Dynasty? It was because the Ming Dynasty ignored Indochina and had no desire to expand there, so these Xuanweisi and tribes could only swallow their anger and allow Annan and Toungoo to bully them.

Now the Ming Dynasty has set its sights on the Indochina Peninsula, wanting timber, jade, and potash. It's not that trade is impossible. Dao Lansheng knows that the Ming Dynasty wants something and wants to strengthen its control, but since even its own name is not under its control, Dao Lansheng has no way to convince the Laotians.

Strengthening the ties was also done step by step. Granting a name represented recognition, represented treating him as one of our own. It represented that Dao Lansheng had restored his ancestral surname with the support of the Ming Dynasty, and represented that he had truly become the Nanzhang of Laos.

Nan Zhang is the honorific title of the Laotian Envoy in Laos, which means the palm of the Ming Dynasty in the south.

"Okay." Zhu Yijun thought for a while and said, "Give them some bows and crossbows, long and short weapons. I have thought this matter too simply. I was busy fighting the Japanese pirates and forgot to fight Annan. If we don't fight for three days, they will tear down the roofs of the houses." In addition to giving a name, he also had to give some military force so that Laos would have some resistance. If the carnivores of Annan really wanted to deal with Laos, they would not be conquered by Annan without any chance of fighting back before the arrival of the Ming army.

Zhu Yijun did not give Laos armor, as the Ming Dynasty itself did not have enough of it. He allowed Laos to maintain a certain level of military strength, but not too strong.

"Has the Yu Gong Temple been repaired?" Zhu Yijun suddenly stopped writing and asked Feng Bao about his plan to repair the Yu Gong Temple by the West Lake. He just wanted to expand it and did not intend to disturb Yu Qian's peace.

"It has been renovated and expanded. When it was completed a few days ago, Yan Shixuan even submitted a special congratulatory message." Feng Bao hurriedly bowed his head and replied.

"Well, okay." Zhu Yijun then lowered his head and continued to review the memorials.

Loyalty, righteousness and integrity are not endless. The Han Dynasty had loyal and good people in every generation, and they also had to be deliberately cultivated in order to bear fruit.

Zhu Zaiyu, the president of the Imperial Academy of Studies, submitted a memorial to the emperor, revising a common perception. In the broad perception of the Ming Dynasty, distilled liquor and distiller appeared in the Yuan Dynasty. For example, Li Shizhen recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Shaojiu is not an ancient method; it was created in the Yuan Dynasty."

The Gewuyuan somehow got a distiller from the Western Han Dynasty and confirmed that distilled liquor has existed since the Western Han Dynasty and the tradition has never been broken.

Antiques were called epigraphy in the Ming Dynasty. Because they are so ancient and have been washed away by history, some antiques are only physical objects and it is unclear what they were used for. Some antiques are only records and cannot be restored, such as Zhang Heng's seismometer.

There were two doctors, one of whom was an expert at Jinshi Gewu, in the Royal Academy of Sciences. They were specialized in this research and eventually discovered the real thing. The entire distiller was divided into three parts: the top pot, the tube, and the kettle. The distillation efficiency was not low. Of course, compared with the distiller used in the Ming Dynasty, it was a bit backward.

The Southern Song Dynasty surrendered to Kublai Khan, and the Han Dynasty was destroyed, which cut off some of the inheritance. These studies on bronze and stone inscriptions are continuing the inheritance.

"Very good. Send a report to correct this misunderstanding. The emperor's uncle said it very well. The sun and the moon dim and then shine again, but some fires have been extinguished." Zhu Yijun's research in the Institute of Gewu is very necessary. For example, official factories are a new thing for the Ming Dynasty, but there were iron officials as early as the pre-Qin Dynasty. In the Han Dynasty, iron officials were everywhere. In the Ming Dynasty, there were no official factories in the court.

This is an important component of fiscal revenue. With state-owned factories, we will not be so poor.

The humiliating demise of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties caused many things that should have been the case to disappear without a trace. For example, the "Zhuishu" that Zhu Yijun had been looking for was lost. This was a loss for China and the birth pangs of civilization.

Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty really recovered and Rome never made a lightning comeback.

"I obey your order." Feng Bao accepted the order. Zhu Zaiyu was not making a fuss. Determining the time when the distiller appeared was conducive to building cohesion. Whether it was a glorious narrative or a tragic narrative, it could increase the cohesion of the dynasty.

The Minister of Rites Wan Shihe submitted a new book on overseas countries, this volume was about the Kingdom of Rumi, also known as the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty many times in the 22nd, 27th, 33rd, 38th and 43rd years of the Jiajing reign. After the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign, until the 22nd year of the Wanli reign, the Ottomans again sent envoy Dosma to the Ming Dynasty.

In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, the Ottoman Empire was not a country that often paid tribute, so there was no need to have close relations with it. The Ming Dynasty was not clear about the location of the Rumi Kingdom, nor did it know who the king of the Rumi Kingdom was, let alone how big its territory was or how strong it was. It had never taken it seriously. Since the Ming Dynasty opened its seas, the Ministry of Rites spent a lot of time to figure out some things about the Rumi Kingdom. It believed that it was necessary to make friends with it, and transliterated the Rumi Kingdom into the Ottoman Kingdom.

After research by Ming Dynasty's Ministry of Rites, it was determined that green radish is not Luo.

The Ottoman Empire was undoubtedly a powerful country and a major concern for Felipe, but most of the information collected by the Ming Dynasty came from Westerners and was biased, so this volume needed to be revised and not published publicly.

"Blood tax." Zhu Yijun flipped through the book and read it for a long time before noticing a key word. Because the source of information mainly came from oral accounts by Westerners, there were more details about the military aspects. Most of this volume was about the Ottoman military.

The word "blood tax" is a concise summary of the Ministry of Rites. The Ottoman people's taxes were all bloody.

The military of the Ottoman Empire can be summarized as the fattest Janissaries in the world. The Janissary Corps is the Ottoman guards.

This legion had a strength of about 200,000 men, and their daily food and lodging conditions were excellent. Even white bread was supplied in unlimited quantities. White bread was very expensive in Thailand and only nobles could enjoy it. Commoners could only use hard, gritty black bread. The Janissary Legion was so good that when they went out on an expedition, they had to take a hot bath every three days.

With good weapons, extensive training, high status, and a Janissary School, the Ottoman Empire was simultaneously engaged in armed conflicts with Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Rus, with war almost every day.

Twenty million people support an army of 200,000. The Janissary Corps fought on three fronts and was able to win back and forth. This shows how strong its combat power was. Everything has cause and effect. The huge expenses of supporting the Janissary Corps and the cruel methods of taxation mean that every penny of silver is the flesh and blood of the Ottomans.

Everything has two sides, there are advantages and disadvantages to every coin. This rule of making the world lean and the imperial guards fat also has some minor problems, such as the imperial guards succession law.

This legion is often an extremely important participant in palace coups, or even the leader of palace coups, and they have a decisive influence on the succession to the throne.

The powerful combat capability of the Janissary Corps made them the largest violent organization of the Ottoman Empire. This violent organization would demand that their Sultan (king) hand over the head of the Grand Vizier (prime minister) to appease the anger of the soldiers as soon as there was a little problem. If the Sultan refused to hand over the head of the Grand Vizier, the soldiers would chop off the Sultan's head.

The influence of the Janissary Corps was by no means limited to political activities. According to Venetian merchants, the entire Ottoman grain trade was controlled by the 90th Corps. The entire legion also controlled 100% of the casinos, 80% of the cafes, 70% of the salt fields, % of the silver mines, etc., which could be said to be omnipresent.

A Venetian merchant once said painfully: In the Ottoman Empire, you have to pay taxes to the legion even for a sip of water.

It is precisely because of the control of these businesses that the legion has its own financial resources, allowing it to completely break away from the Sultan's control and do whatever it wants.

The violence has completely gotten out of control.

This is of great reference significance to the Ming Dynasty. For example, the Ming Dynasty had a population of 1.3 million. The previous tax revenue could not pay the salaries of the bureaucrats, let alone the soldiers. The Ming Dynasty should reflect on why it could not collect taxes. For example, since it was not allowed to engage in business, the Beijing Army should ensure its purity and must not allow the army to have its own financial resources, otherwise violence would get out of control sooner or later. For example, with a population of 1.3 million, the Ming Dynasty had more than enough money to support Beijing Army soldiers, naval forces, and million half-farmer and half-military soldiers in military garrisons.

Two million soldiers who were half farmers and half soldiers only received eight million silver coins a year, because most of their wages came from the output of the land.

"I've seen that Wan Shihe has been talking in circles for a long time just to convince me to expand the navy by 100,000, to a terrifying size of 200,000." Zhu Yijun watched for a long time before he suddenly realized that Wan Shihe, this extremely conservative royalist, was lobbying the emperor in a roundabout way to expand the navy by 100,000.

Radicals think 50,000, conservatives think 30,000, and ultra-conservatives think 100,000.

The Ottoman Empire, with a population of less than 1.3 million, could afford to support pampered Janissary Corps. The Ming Dynasty, with a population of million, could support imperial troops and naval forces. How could it not afford to expand?
Let the Ottomans know, they will think that our Ming Dynasty cannot expand!

If they can't afford it, they can learn the Ottoman blood tax system and collect it from whoever has money. It was only after Zhang Juzheng carried out land surveys and population censuses that the extreme conservatives had the confidence to do so.

What Wan Shihe meant by this was that the imperial court was sometimes too proud, and when it came to financial taxes, it should put on the ugly face of a businessman, impose taxes on the right amount and be very meticulous, and not try to smooth things over or play the role of a master of balancing the two. When it comes to taxation, the Ming imperial court should learn a thing or two from the barbarians.

"Your Majesty, one hundred thousand is not impossible. If we expand it by one hundred thousand, it will be almost the same as during the Yongle period." Feng Bao carefully put forward his opinion.

"One hundred thousand is not enough." Zhu Yijun said to Feng Bao while writing in red on the memorial: "Fifty thousand is enough for now. A hundred thousand is too mixed. The Ming navy is elite and cannot be filled with mediocre troops. General Qi said that for the sake of caution, thirty thousand is appropriate. The court needs to use troops to build the Grand Canal and does not have that much money."

Qi Jiguang was mainly worried that the court would not be able to make ends meet and the finances would not be able to support it.

Zhu Yijun was already very radical. To expand the navy by 50,000 troops, the court would have to increase annual expenditures by nearly one million silver coins. Zhu Yijun was willing to pay for the silver, and the Ming court also had it. However, the expansion of the navy was not only a matter of money, but also issues of manpower, ships, and generals. The training of grassroots officers in the navy also required time.

Blindly expanding the military, like blindly expanding the scale of production, will result in failure because of taking too big a step. Not only will it fail to form combat effectiveness, but it will also hinder the development of the navy.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the fourteenth year, the Ming Emperor received a report from the coastal defense inspector Chen Tiande that the Japanese pirates continued their advance towards Pyongyang from Seoul.

Oda Nobunaga promised to divide the country by the river, and the Han River in Seoul would be the border. The Ming Dynasty even sent a formal reply, and the Japanese pirates started to move again. This was the Japanese people. It was not that Oda Nobunaga was deceiving the emperor. It was that he was in the Japanese mainland and was unable to effectively command Mori Terumoto, Konishi Yukinaga and others fighting on the front line.

"The Koreans are going to be in trouble again." Wan Shihe sighed during the court discussion. When people get old, they will have some compassion. Even though he has always criticized the barbarians, the Koreans are also human beings.

In less than a month, the Japanese pirates turned the bustling Seoul into a deserted city.

"Your Majesty, issue an order to let Ningyuan Hou mobilize the Jiuliancheng army to enter Yizhou. The Japanese pirates' behavior is condemned by both humans and gods!" Zeng Xingwu made a suggestion that if the King of Korea could not defend it, he should hand it over to the Ming Dynasty.

The brutal acts of the Japanese pirates awakened the painful memories of the Ming officials. The tragic situation during the Japanese invasion in the southeast seemed to be replayed in Korea.

Zeng Xingwu said with a serious face: "We can't let the Japanese pirates gain a foothold. Kaesong is in danger. Pyongyang will fall in more than a month at the longest and ten days at the shortest. If the Ming army enters Korea, without Yizhou, there will be no way to open up the situation."

Zeng Xingwu believed that the army should be sent in immediately not only out of emotion or sympathy, but also out of strategic considerations for the Ming Dynasty. After the crushing defeat, no one could predict how long Pyongyang could hold out. If it was too late, the Ming Dynasty would have no foothold in Korea.

(End of this chapter)