Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 403: Raising Japanese as Dogs

"Array up!"

"Beep--"

In the camp, as Chen Chang spoke calmly, thousands of Ming troops formed a spear formation amidst the sound of wooden whistles and pressed forward step by step.

"Get out!"

Meng brother Timur looked at the scene of the forest of guns advancing slowly, and quickly shouted to evacuate the camp.

A large number of men from Jianzhou began to retreat following the fierce brother Timur. However, their retreat was unorganized, just like the gangs dispersed after a fierce battle and had no position.

"Haha..." Chen Chang laughed when he saw this scene, and then mocked the North Korean army in the south.

"North Korea is also known as a powerful country in the East, but it doesn't want even this kind of mob to disturb them."

Chen Chang shook his head as he spoke, and at the same time made a note of this matter in his mind, preparing to pass the news to His Highness after the war.

Timur, the fierce brother, led the Jianzhou men to start the charge. There was still no plan, and they relied entirely on personal enthusiasm to charge.

"Follow me and fight out, just like when we attacked Hezhou City!"

"Beep--"

"Follow me and fight out!"

It's just that no matter how good the soldiers are, without training, they are just a bunch of rabble.

After all, it is much easier for hunters to convert soldiers than for farmers to convert soldiers.

Obviously, North Korea's armaments have declined seriously, and now it can't even defeat such a ragtag group of people wearing armor.

"Yes!" The conductor Xu Zhen had an obvious smile on his face. Like Chen Chang, he did not take Meng Brother Timur in his eyes.

"Crack crack!"

Seeing this scene, Meng Brother Timur's scalp went numb, and he quickly shouted: "Retreat! Evacuate quickly!"

Meng brother Timur chose to personally lead the breakout in order to inspire people.

"It seems that what Fudaha said is true. When he went to plunder the North Korean market towns, his Udiha Jurchens were the main force. Otherwise, based on the performance of these guys, the North Korean soldiers and horses would be too useless."

Nearly a thousand musketeers pulled the trigger. In just a moment, countless Jianzhou men fell down. The morale of the entire team was shattered in less than ten steps.

"Beep--"

Without waiting for his reaction, he watched as the Ming army's spearmen squatted down, revealing the musketeer in the middle holding his matchlock flat.

When the wooden whistle sounded, matchlock guns were raised level and shot lead bullets.

Soon, Chen Chang's military order was conveyed in the army, and everyone knew that the Jurchen who was leading the charge and wearing a tiger skin around his waist could not be killed.

Such a charge, in front of the Liaodong soldiers who have experienced hundreds of battles, will undoubtedly lead to death...

Such pressure makes the leader Timur look overwhelmed, let alone ordinary men.

Facing the charge of five hundred cavalry and the thousands of Ming troops pressing forward from the camp gate, these two thousand Jianzhou men were unable to even organize themselves to protect themselves, let alone fight back.

Chen Chang drove his horse out of the camp gate and looked at the more than 2,000 Jianzhou men who were divided and strangled by 500 cavalry in front of Haiyang City, without any interest at all.

"kill!!"

Not only them, but also many Jurchens outside the customs have this reaction. Therefore, in terms of the quality of soldiers, fishing and hunting is definitely better than farming.

"Beep--"

After they gathered, the five hundred cavalry of the Ming Army did not attack them, but the mixed infantry of the Ming Army behind them cooperated with the cavalry and surrounded them on the plain.

"I surrender!"

Meng brother Timur blew his bone whistle, and the surrounding Jianzhou men heard the bone whistle and gathered towards him.

The five hundred Ming Army cavalry launched an attack without thinking, charging back and forth among the loose team that looked like an outing.

Even if the men of Jianzhou wear Ming Dynasty's standard armor, without training, they are just stronger ordinary people.

At a distance of less than twenty steps, the power of the matchlock guns of the Ming army does not need to be elaborated. Even though the Jianzhou men were wearing armor, they were still penetrated by projectiles. More than 2,000 Jianzhou men could not knock down more than 200 people at once.

"I will personally reward the person who captures him alive with a reward of ten guan."

He pointed the riding crop at the vague figure of Meng Brother Timur, and ordered to the left and right: "Tell the brothers below not to beat him to death. I am also planning to capture him alive and deliver him to His Highness."

If he could be captured alive, he would be rewarded with ten guans, which was a large amount of money.

In front of them, thousands of Ming troops held torches and surrounded them. The only gap was the Ming army's cavalry wandering outside.

The wooden whistle of the Ming army suddenly sounded, and Timur's scalp went numb instantly.

Seeing this scene, how could Chen Chang not know who the fierce brother Timur was.

"kill!!"

Under his urging, the formation of the Jianzhou men spread out even more. Many of them dispersed and retreated to Haiyang City as soon as they walked out of the camp gate. Such a loose formation was simply a piece of meat for the cavalry to be slaughtered.

"Crack, crackle, crackle!!"

This is their instinctive reaction to hunting in dense forests all year round. Once they hear the bone whistle, it means they have found prey, and then they will calm down and gather towards the bone whistle.

On the dark plain, the Jianzhou men who finally gathered together felt their mouths were dry.

"No fighting! No fighting!"

"Uh-huh!!"

For a time, the entire battlefield was filled with mourning. Even though Timur, the fierce brother, led dozens of men around him to rush to the front of the Ming army, what they faced were not musketeers, but spearmen who stood up to probe for their guns.

In just one encounter, seven or eight Jurchen men were knocked over by their spears. Several spearmen even abandoned their spears, pulled out their short knives and tried to capture the fierce brother Tamerlane alive.

Tamerlane, the fierce brother, was holding two swords and was put into the spear formation after the Ming army deliberately avoided it.

Before he could wave his swords a few times, he was thrown to the ground by five or six Ming soldiers and tied up like pigs during the New Year.

"Master Marquis, that fierce brother Timur was captured, and his tribe..."

Xu Zhen saw the fierce brother Timur who was tied up by the Ming army, and turned his head to ask about the treatment of Haiyang City and the current Jianzhou men.

"They are all good sources of soldiers, and it is not easy to migrate people to Donghai Mansion. With them here, it will be much easier to cultivate farmland."

"Anyway, they are just Jurchens from other tribes who were defeated and taken in by the fierce brother Timur. We won't have much burden to surrender."

After Chen Chang made his evaluation, he saw Meng Brother Timur who was kidnapped by Wu Huada.

He was quite energetic at the moment and was still struggling, but it was all to no avail.

He was brought to Chen Chang. Chen Chang looked at him and said with a smile in Haixi Jurchen dialect: "Brother Timur, who gave you the courage to think that you can resist the imperial court with the materials the imperial court gives you."

"Hmph!" Meng Brother Timur snorted coldly without saying anything.

Chen Chang didn't expect him to say anything literate. After all, judging from his ability to march and fight, he was no more than a grassroots bandit.

"Detain him, take Haiyang City, and send him to the capital together with his wife, children, and children, and hand him over to the imperial court for disposal."

"Yes!"

As Chen Chang ended the topic, the fierce brother Timur was taken away like a defeated rooster, and the two thousand Jianzhou men on the front battlefield were also baptized by three rounds of gunfire, and only those who squatted and surrendered were left. Hundreds of people, and more than a thousand people lying on the ground wailing.

The Ming army captured them and treated those who could be cured. Those who could not be cured had their bodies placed under Haiyang City.

The next morning, the Ming army launched an attack. Haiyang City, which had less than 300 men and 6,000 to 7,000 old and weak men, was unable to withstand it. The city was destroyed and defeated...

"Being captured alive like this?"

In early June, holding the memorial in his hand, Zhu Gaoxu felt as if he had punched cotton.

The memorial in his hand was about the results of Chen Chang's sending troops to fight against the fierce brother Timur, as well as the details of the pacification of Shuangcheng, Helan, Hezhou and other places in the south.

As always, Chen Chang wrote the memorial in great detail, including the details of how Timur, the fierce brother, led more than 2,000 people to fight.

In addition to Mengge Timur, Fudaha and Ahachu were very cooperative. The Korean troops in Hezhou and Shuangcheng in the south also withdrew their troops and immigrants early.

At the end, in addition to appending the population and cultivated land conditions of the four cities, Chen Chang also wrote in detail about his doubts about the combat effectiveness of the North Korean army.

More than ten years ago, North Korea was also a powerful Eastern country that could field 20,000 cavalry and tens of thousands of infantry.

At that time, not to mention grass bandits like Mengge Timur, even the generals of the Liaodong Ming Army such as Ma Yun and Ye Wang stationed in Liaodong had to worry about whether North Korea would make a surprise attack on Liaodong.

Now it seems that the combat effectiveness of the North Korean army has declined rapidly during the long-lasting peace and stability for more than ten years. The frontier army, which it was so proud of, could not even defeat the Ming army's hastily equipped Jianzhou guards.

Fortunately, it is poor enough, and the Ming Dynasty's population cannot be wasted casually. Otherwise, Zhu Gaoxu would really have the idea of ​​​​annexing North Korea.

North Korea has a population of at least three million. However, because the country has many mountains and few plains, and lacks sufficient metal veins, the country is very poor in both agricultural and commercial resources.

In the ninth year of Yongle alone, local money shortages and local grain shortages broke out many times in the country. The number of merchant ships going to Shandong to buy grain gradually decreased with the opening of the Ming Dynasty to Japanese shipping companies.

If Zhu Gaoxu annexes a country that does not produce precious metals as its main currency and needs to continuously import resources, then it really needs to make plans to alleviate poverty for its three million people.

And forget about poverty alleviation. Given the size of North Korea, there is no way to assimilate it in a short period of time without relocating millions of people.

But if Zhu Gaoxu can really move millions of people at will, then he might as well invest this population in Annan, Yunnan, and the Three Xuan and Ten Comforts. Zhu Gaoxu's position for North Korea is very clear, that is, to be a loyal dog of the Ming Dynasty and to be optimistic about the door for the Ming Dynasty.

Although the current money shortage problem in northern Ming Dynasty has been alleviated, there is still essentially a lack of currency.

The money shortage problem of the Ming Dynasty was not alleviated until the Jiajing period in history, and the reason was the inflow of overseas silver.

Today, Zhu Gaoxu really wants to mine overseas silver and gold, but the energy of the Ming Dynasty is bound to be limited.

Therefore, he designated Xiaoxiyang as a private trade zone.

Not only that, he was also planning to map the major mining areas he was familiar with in Kunlun Continent, and with the help of his voyage to the West, he would tell other countries about the gold and silver mines in Kunlun Continent.

Ming Dynasty could lay out its mining areas in Luzon, Southwest, and Australia close to Ming Dynasty step by step, but Kunlun Continent and America were really far away.

Therefore, whether it is Kunlun Continent or the Americas, they can support local forces to mine gold and silver and make the economic cake of the Ming Dynasty.

Countries in the traditional Confucian cultural circle usually assess the situation.

It is impossible to migrate the population to Kunlun Continent, but you can use the local population to mine gold, silver, and copper mines, and exchange them with handmade goods from renewable resources.

Even later Western countries could not tolerate this method. They could only watch the real gold and silver they had worked so hard to smelt flow into the Central Plains. In the end, they could only produce opium to fill the trade deficit.

If it were not for the Qing Dynasty's mentality of defending internally rather than externally and not daring to mobilize national forces to fight against Britain and France, then China would not have changed from a trade surplus country to a trade deficit country.

Now that the Ming Dynasty has a big fist, it should seize the world's economic market and population, and at the same time support the local forces in Kunlun and America to suppress Europe.

Zhu Gaoxu did not think that he could unify the world. In his lifetime, he would be very satisfied if he could conquer the Southwest, Northeast, and Nanyang regions, plus the Western Regions.

It would be even better if future generations could use this territory to expand the territory to actually control the three areas of Mobei, Australia, and Hezhong with the help of trains that may be developed in the future.

As for North Korea, had it not been for Western invasion, they would have gradually tended to and integrated into the Central Plains Dynasty over hundreds of years of cultural assimilation.

For North Korea and Japan, Zhu Gaoxu planned to use culture to assimilate them, but for the South and the West, he had to use both culture and military force.

After the voyage of the Pacific Fleet returned from this voyage, once North Korea learned that the local forces in Kunlun Continent were weak and there were a large number of gold mines, Zhu Gaoxu did not think that they would happily hire locals to mine gold and silver mines.

North Korea and Japan are essentially countries that are polite on the outside but dirty on the inside.

It would be a good idea to let them cause trouble overseas, and Ming Dynasty to reap the benefits through trade.

Of course, this method must be based on the fact that Ming's own force is strong, otherwise it will be easy to be devoured.

However, it is also a good thing to cultivate two vicious dogs to alert yourself at all times.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu also raised his head and looked at Yi Shiha who was waiting for him beside him: "Place Donghai Mansion under the jurisdiction of Liaodong Mansion."

"Also, look at how many criminals there are in the world this year. As long as it is confirmed that they are not unjust cases, they will all be sent to Donghai Mansion."

"About..." Yishiha thought for a while, then walked to the bookshelf, flipped through the documents handed over by the Ministry of Punishment, and then replied: "More than nine thousand people."

"Migrate all of them." Zhu Gaoxu ordered without thinking, and then lowered his head to deal with the memorial.

Since the last time Zhu Di wanted to go to the north, he was declined. After understanding the principle of the flintlock gun, he did not mention the northern expedition. He just asked Zhu Gaoxu to give it to him after he got the standard flintlock gun.

In addition, Zhu Di also processed 150 memorials at Xijiaomen every day, and the remaining ones that could be distributed to Zhu Gaoxu were about 140 on average.

This not only satisfied Zhu Di's desire to understand the government, but also relieved Zhu Gaoxu's own political pressure. Both parties were very satisfied.

"Your Highness, Muyang Bohu Lun wishes to see you..."

Suddenly, the eunuch on duty at the palace gate bowed and opened his mouth, and Zhu Gaoxu also raised his head: "Xuan!"

At his summons, Hu Lun walked into the palace and sang a salute as he walked towards the side hall: "Your Highness is a thousand years old..."

"If you have nothing to do, go to the Three Treasures Hall. What's the news from the West Factory?" Zhu Gaoxu got straight to the point, and Hu Lun also bowed and said:

"The Hundred Household Station in Japan has detected the news. Ashikaga Shogunate's general Ashikaga Yoshimachi seems to be preparing to unilaterally end the relationship with the imperial court, but the Ichibo Division can retain it."

Ashikaga Yoshimochi still made the same choice as in history. The difference was that he did not end the trade with Akira, but this is not surprising when you think about it.

The tax on Japan's shipping trade has already occupied a large part in the shogunate's financial system. If the relationship between the shipping trade is ended, the shogunate will lose a piece of its income.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

If Ashikaga Yoshimochi really dares to interrupt trade relations, even his subordinates who support his abolition of the relationship between monarch and ministers will object, and he will be left alone and helpless.

"Didn't the guardians of Kansai express any objection?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked about Hu Lun. After all, the guardians of the Kansai countries were also the ones who benefited from the ship trade.

"I objected, but Ashikaga Yoshimachi seems to be negotiating with them, insisting on ending the relationship between Japan and the imperial court."

"And this is probably just the first step. He should have seen the court's plan..."

Hu Lun respectfully told the information and analysis he had obtained, and Zhu Gaoxu also narrowed his eyes after hearing this.

The current ship trade has formed a closed economic loop. In addition to the silks and porcelain needed by the nobles, the goods sold to Japan in the Ming Dynasty also include tea, sugar, silk cloth, and rice needed by the middle-level warriors, as well as the needs of the lower class people. of whole grains.

Zhu Gaoxu investigated this clearly before Ashikaga Yoshimitsu died.

For example, in the current Iwami area, there are nearly 30,000 miners mining silver mines for the protection of various countries, and their daily wage is ten cents, and ten cents can buy two kilograms of coarse grains such as corn and brown rice sold from Ningbo to Japan.

Because there are few fields and small yields, highly processed rice is an unattainable luxury for ordinary Japanese people.

In the Ming Dynasty, ordinary rice was called "silver relics" in Japan. This elegant name elevated white rice to the same level of preciousness as Buddhist relics, which only nobles and warriors could eat.

But now, even if it is white rice, miners can occasionally eat it because its price is ten cents per catty.

In the current trade between Ming Dynasty and Japan, the largest import is undoubtedly food.

At least seven of the ten official merchant ships heading to Yinqi from Ningbo were grain ships.

Last year alone, the Jiangnan region transported nearly 200,000 shi of coarse grains and 100,000 shi of white rice to Japan, in exchange for more than 300,000 gu of silver, accounting for 25% of the total trade volume.

This was because we were worried that the food would get damp at sea, so we specially selected the favorable wind season to transport the food to Japan in less than five days.

Of course, there were also quite a few grain ships that capsized and sank. Often, out of a cargo of 500,000 shi, only 300,000 shi could be delivered.

But even so, the silver exchanged can buy nearly one million stones of grain on the market.

In the absence of a catastrophic year, it is still necessary to properly transport food to the outside world and keep food prices in some areas of the Ming Dynasty from being too low and harming the interests of farmers.

In addition to grain, grain and wine were also an important commodity exported to Japan by the Ming Dynasty.

Rice wine alone can bring an income of hundreds of thousands to Ming Dynasty every year, not to mention other various commodities.

The shipping trade between the two sides has only lasted for seven or eight years, and Ming's products have already occupied most of Japan's market.

Although there were also businessmen looking for connections during this period to talk about the current plight of Japanese businessmen, businessmen with real backgrounds had long received the talisman granted by the guardians of various countries.

It can be said that the most senior businessmen in Japan now are businessmen who serve as second-tier dealers for the protection of various countries.

Ashikaga Yoshimochi has realized that this will cause harm to Japanese businessmen and the economy, but not many guardians are willing to stop.

In the past, they had to maintain an administrative team to collect taxes, but now they don't need it at all.

The silver mines mined in various places will be taken to Yinqi City for trade. The prices of the goods brought back from the trade will be increased and then sold at high prices to the farmers and miners who have sold their physical strength.

The wages paid to the miners were taken back by them.

In the long run, this will definitely cause problems, but you can't stop the money from coming in too fast and the life that comes too moist.

The rice wine, which was once expensive, can now be drunk in big gulps without any regret even if it is spilled on the ground.

The so-called silver relics were eaten by warriors almost every day, and there were also desserts made from brown sugar and white sugar from the Ming Dynasty.

Even if they know that their economy is being drained, no one can stop.

If Ashikaga Yoshimochi wants to end it, it depends on whether he has the strength.

After touching his mustache, Zhu Gaoxu leaned on the chair and thought for a while, and then slowly said:

"Let your people contact the guardians of various countries in Kansai and tell them what Ashikaga Yoshimochi thinks."

"In addition, tell the guardians of various countries in Kansai that as long as they are willing to unite around Ming Dynasty, this business can still continue, and Ming Dynasty will not send troops to interfere with their internal problems."

"If it comes time to shed blood, I hope they can support Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, and Ming Dynasty will give them corresponding rewards."

Splitting the relationship between Guanxi, Gyeonggi, and Guandong is the first step in Zhu Gaoxu's plan.

As long as Kanto does not interfere, the power of the capital alone can only compete with Kansai. Once the Ming army joins the battlefield, Ashikaga Yoshimichi's defeat is just around the corner.

Once he dies, Zhu Gaoxu can use Ashikaga Yoshitsugu to regain all the forces in the Gyeonggi region, and then unite the forces in Gyeonggi and Kansai to completely pass on the emperor's line to Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, so that the so-called emperor's line has not changed for thousands of years. end.

Even if the various countries in the Kanto region are unwilling to protect him, they will never be Ashikaga Yoshitsugu's opponents.

Once Ashikaga Yoshitsugu becomes the emperor, he can support Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, who is also familiar with Akira, as the shogun. By then, both the shogun and the emperor are members of the Ashikaga family. Even if the guardians of various countries in Japan do not say it, they will be dissatisfied.

The Ashikaga family has gained power and fame, so naturally they are not willing to let it go so easily.

If you want to continue to maintain your rule, you need to rely on external forces, and Ming Dynasty is this external force.

As long as it lasts for more than a hundred years, Japan will become the loyal dog held by Ming Dynasty like North Korea...

(End of this chapter)