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Chapter 1280: Getting Ready 3
"I find that your ideas are somewhat limited. In such a vast Asia, can't we find dozens of large sailing ships other than the Dutch? Since the Portuguese in Macau have chosen to live in the Ming Dynasty, they must fulfill their obligations to the Ming Empire.

In addition, there are Korea, Japan, Ryukyu, Brunei, Malacca, Johor, Ayutthaya and other countries. They are usually protected by the empire. At this time, naturally, some people will contribute their manpower and ships to unite against the outside world. "

Hong Tao was still not satisfied with the astronaut's explanation. He tapped the table with his knuckles, speaking to emphasize his disappointment.

"This... Your Majesty, there are few large-tonnage sailboats in these countries, they cannot communicate with each other, and they have not undergone corresponding formation training. If there are too many of them sailing together, there may be accidents."

Hearing this, Tan Mingming could no longer sit still and stood up to refute. Everyone knows that there are a lot of small countries' ships in the Asian waters that can be requisitioned, but the actual effect cannot be guaranteed.

Once an accident happens at sea, at the very least there will be casualties, and at worst both people and goods will be lost. Not only can the transportation time not be guaranteed, but the transportation cost will also be greatly increased. It is really not a good idea.

"Let me ask you a question. Does the Empire have enough supplies for war?"

"…I am willing to guarantee with my life that all kinds of supplies are not only sufficient, but also abundant, and we will not be short of money even if there is another war!"

As he was talking about the expeditionary landing war, he suddenly asked about the material preparation, which made the astronaut and Tan Mingming really unable to guess what the emperor was thinking. They looked at each other, but neither of them saw the answer, so they could only answer truthfully.

"You are really stubborn! This is a national war, a decisive battle related to the fate of the Ming Dynasty for the next hundred years. How can you only focus on the cost and ignore the effect! I only care about the effect, not the process.

The more ships from various countries you can rent, the better. You can use the accumulated goods in your country to pay for the rent, and the rent should be calculated at one-third of the domestic rent. If there is any shipwreck, the leasing country will be responsible for compensation. Each time you send out a ship, you can double the cargo, leaving half a margin. If it is not enough, you can double it. Is there any problem with this?"

Hearing that the war supplies were so abundant, the emperor was not pleased but anxious. He slammed the table and pointed at the astronauts and Tan Mingming and scolded them. Judging from his expression, he was about to throw them out and chop them off.

"..." The hall suddenly fell silent. All the confidential advisers, eunuchs and warriors who served him were petrified. In their eyes, they looked at the emperor with awe and fear.

It was too cruel and too immoral. The emperor did not treat the people of Asian countries as human beings at all. He forced them to risk their lives to transport supplies to the front line. When they delivered the supplies to the place, they were only paid with some rags that could not be sold at home. If they failed to deliver the supplies, they would be held accountable.

If it were in the Ming Dynasty, such an order would immediately cause riots among the people. Everyone's life is life, why should we sail our own ship, take a route we have never taken, and risk the ship's destruction and the loss of people to gamble for a pile of worthless junk.

The problem is that such an unethical method can really be implemented, and it is not difficult. Every small country around the Ming Dynasty has long lost the ability to resist and has long been in a state of being destroyed at any time. This is not only known to the officials of the Ming Dynasty, but also to them. Now the Celestial Empire has a need, and there are only two options before them. If they do as they are told, they can continue to tyrannize over this small piece of land, and if they dare to say no, the dynasty will change in the blink of an eye.

Will the courts of these small countries rise up in rebellion? The answer is that as long as they have brains, they will not. After all, it is not the king and officials who are dying. Who would give up power for the life and death of a few sailors? No matter how small the power is, it is still power and must be cherished.

Then they would pass the risk on to their own people, and the conditions they proposed would certainly be several times more stringent than those of the Ming Empire, in order to ensure that they would not cause outrage. As for what the people should do, they could do whatever they wanted. Anyone who dared to say no would have their entire family beheaded immediately!

"I am not a butcher, so you don't have to look at me like that. I am teaching you how to govern a country, and this is a rare opportunity, so you must listen carefully and think carefully.

You are all pillars of the country. What you should think about is not how to become a saint, but how to make the empire more stable and the people more prosperous. Before this goal is achieved, all countries and people outside the empire are straw dogs, used and discarded. If you have any more pity, you are not worthy of sitting in this position.

You have asked me many times before why I did not include Korea, Japan, Ryukyu, and the Southeast Asian countries into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Most of the answers I got were that it was not the right time, which was obviously perfunctory. Now I can give you the correct answer, just for this moment!
If all these small countries are incorporated into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, who should I give up when the time comes for life and death? Giving up anyone would go against my consistent advocacy of protecting the people of the Ming Dynasty. Without this foundation, how can I win the trust of the people?
As the emperor of the empire, even if I slaughtered all the Asian countries, the people of the Ming Dynasty would at most say that I was brutal. If I could get enough benefits, they would praise me and sing my praises.

Remember, this is human nature. People are also human beings. What they really want is not a saint, but a leader who can bring them safety and food.

Is it possible for the saint to wait until victory comes, and then let the great scholars in the Hanlin Academy embellish it with rhetoric? Don't worry, there is no sin in this world that cannot be erased by words and language.

In addition, this is a war to protect Asia from invasion. All Asian countries are eligible to participate and must join. This is a question of stance. Anyone who does not join is a traitor and will be thoroughly liquidated after the war!
Now I am going to ask you a question. When you make a plan, how can you reduce the chances of drifting and escaping during transportation and ensure that as many supplies as possible are delivered?"

Hong Tao understood what was in everyone's eyes, and then he became even more disappointed. After receiving education since childhood and being exposed to the court for so many years, how could his awareness not be as good as that of the court officials who passed the imperial examination?
So the war meeting temporarily became a classroom, the teacher spoke passionately, spitting everywhere; the students listened with frowns and gnashing teeth. Fortunately, Hong Tao did not forget the serious matter, and did not expand on each small problem, but still left homework for the class, and the exam was about to start.

"The students thought that they only needed to use warships to escort the fleet, and once they were far enough away, the accompanying ships would have no choice. They did not know how to navigate, and could not tell the route in unfamiliar waters, so they could only follow the fleet step by step."

As the Chief of Staff, the astronaut would naturally be the first to answer. In fact, the answer was not difficult. As long as they had the ability to force the courts of various countries to join, without the empire having to work hard, they would release the pressure and put most of the responsibility on the shipowners and sailors.

It was difficult for an individual to resist under such heavy pressure, and the route was not over land but over the ocean. The route to Pearl Harbor was not even used by civilian ships of the Ming Empire. Once ships of various countries left the familiar waters, they would be blind. If they wanted to survive, they had to follow the fleet. There was no other way.

(End of this chapter)