Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The temporary governors-general and governors were appointed by the Nine Ministers, so their voices were naturally the strongest.

However, when Zhu Youjian was vying for the power of court recommendation, he threatened civil officials by threatening to involve the Five Military Commissions in the court recommendation process.

The nobles thus realized that the current emperor did not oppose their recommendation of officials, and that they too had a say on this matter.

As long as the emperor can be persuaded, and another candidate recommended by one of the Nine Ministers can be appointed, the person recommended by them can also become a governor-general.

Previously, this power was rarely used, as most nobles did not want to participate in politics, which attracted the attention of civil officials.

However, the position of Governor of Guangxi was related to the establishment of Annam, and nobles such as Zhang Weixian and Xu Yunzhen immediately began to take action after learning about it.

Despite his advanced age and illness, Zhang Weixian entered the palace and addressed the emperor:

"Your Majesty, the Governor of Guangxi is to preside over the establishment of Annam."

"I believe that capable officials should be dispatched."

Zhu Youjian nodded in agreement and said to Zhang Weixian in a very kind manner:
"Has Lord Zhang come here to recommend talented individuals to me?"

"I am all ears!"

Zhang Weixian was overjoyed when he saw the emperor's attitude.

He knew that the current emperor was resolute and not a fickle person who was easily swayed.

He usually speaks directly with his ministers, rarely using cryptic language that leaves them guessing.

Now that the emperor says he will listen attentively, he truly is listening attentively.

As long as the person he recommends isn't too bad, they'll get the appointment.

Thinking of the message sent by his grandson Zhang Shize, Zhang Weixian said:
“Li Yun, the military governor of Annam, is very dedicated.”

“He has been in Guangdong and Guangxi for a long time and is familiar with the local situation.”

"I believe that he can concurrently serve as the Governor of Guangxi and preside over the establishment of Annam."

This person was sent by Zhu Youjian last year and is a hero of the defense of Guiyang.

Upon hearing Zhang Weixian's recommendation, Zhu Youjian immediately guessed that Li Yun must be very cooperative with the nobles in establishing fiefdoms, which might also be related to his decision to let him choose a fiefdom in Annam.

This position has little influence on the court, and it's impossible for them to rebel and march on the capital, so Zhu Youjian wasn't particularly concerned. He nodded and said:

"Li Yun certainly had the ability to serve as governor."

"Someone needs to take charge of things in Annam as well."

"If any of the Nine Ministers recommend someone, I will appoint that person."

He promised Zhang Weixian that he would appoint Li Yun as governor.

However, whether he can actually sit in this position depends on whether he is recommended by the Nine Ministers.

This was not difficult for Zhang Weixian. As a hereditary duke of the Ming Dynasty, the Zhang family had deep roots in the court.

Soon, through his connections in the Five Military Commissions, he persuaded Xue Fengxiang, the Minister of War, to recommend Li Yun as the Governor of Guangxi.

Zhu Youjian was not surprised after learning about the situation.

Although the Five Military Commissions were very weak, they still wielded some power.

If the nobles don't cooperate and cause trouble, the Ministry of War will also have a headache.

Not to mention that the Ministry of War and the Privy Council have been busy with the reform of the Beijing Garrison over the past year, and the influence of the nobility on the Beijing Garrison and the Beijing Garrison cannot be ignored by anyone.

If you want their cooperation, you naturally have to make concessions in other areas.

After confirming Li Yun's concurrent appointment as Governor of Guangxi, Zhu Youjian, at the regular meeting of the Ministry of War, pointed to the map hanging in the Wuying Hall and said:
"Most of the area bordering Annam to the Ming Dynasty belongs to Guangxi, but there is also a part in Guangdong."

"This means that affairs in Annam are divided between two provinces, which is quite inconvenient."

"I believe that Lianzhou Prefecture should be placed under the jurisdiction of Guangxi, and all areas west of Yong'an should be under the jurisdiction of Guangxi."

This involves adjustments to administrative divisions and is also related to household registration and taxation. Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Revenue, said:

"Your Majesty, Guangxi now has eleven prefectures, and Guangdong has ten prefectures and one state."

"The transfer of Lianzhou Prefecture to Guangxi has created an imbalance between the two provinces."

"I believe that the affairs of Annam should be entrusted to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi."

Zhu Youjian smiled upon hearing this:

"How can the tax-paying population of those prefectures and counties in Guangxi compare with that of Guangdong?"

"Moreover, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi concurrently served as the Governor of Guangdong, so his main focus was on the east and he couldn't take care of Lianzhou Prefecture at all."

"Issue an imperial edict to Nan Juyi and Li Yun, instructing them to redraw the boundaries according to the actual situation. The prefectures and chief administrative offices in Guangxi also need to establish military and civilian garrisons as appropriate."

"We must reorganize Guangxi well, so as to serve as the basis for establishing Annam."

The emperor insisted, and Bi Ziyan was powerless to change anything. He could only sigh inwardly and prepare to instruct the Ministry of Revenue to make the necessary adjustments.

At this moment, Yuan Keli, the Privy Councilor who was present, suddenly said:
“Lianzhou Prefecture is close to the sea. After it was incorporated into Guangxi, Guangxi needed to have coastal defense.”

"Guangxi is already under enough pressure to defend against Annam. I believe that Guangxi should not be required to take on coastal defense as well."

This is indeed a problem. After careful consideration, Zhu Youjian said:
"The world today is in the Age of Exploration."

"Through the Age of Exploration, the Western countries acquired unprecedented wealth and land."

"The hundreds of millions of taels of silver that the Ming Dynasty has earned over the years came from the sea."

Zheng He once said: "If a country wants to become rich and powerful, it cannot ignore the ocean. Wealth comes from the ocean, and danger also comes from the sea."

"If Guangxi is to become prosperous and strong in the future, it must be located by the sea, and at the same time, it must bear the risks."

"From now on, Guangxi will establish a special military commander to be responsible for the Lianzhou coastal defense area and maritime affairs."

These words illustrate the importance of the ocean and also explain his governance strategy.

The courtiers, considering the emperor's encouragement of overseas expansion and the establishment of shipping groups, understood that the emperor valued the ocean.

So much so that they were willing to take some risks to ensure that Guangxi could be located near the coast.

Fearing that his ministers lacked sufficient awareness of maritime affairs, Zhu Youjian specifically stated:

"Sea transport is far more convenient than land transport, and the next few centuries will belong to the ocean."

"All provinces of the Ming Dynasty should strive to be located near the sea and have access to the ocean for trade."

“Those that are really far away also need to be connected by canals, railways, highways, and seaside ports.”

"In the future, more inspectors will be appointed to be responsible for matters related to maritime access and to coordinate regional development. This will ensure that goods from all regions can be exported overseas."

This is the general guideline for economic and commercial policies, enabling the Ming Dynasty to embrace the maritime era.

Some of the ministers were still confused, while others understood that maritime merchants were wealthy and the ocean was of great importance.

Shang Zhouzuo, former Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and now Minister of Works:

"What your Majesty said is true."

"When I was in Guangzhou, I noticed that most of the wealthy prefectures and counties were located by the sea."

"In the future, we need to enable more prefectures and counties to access seaports and engage in maritime trade."

"Otherwise, relying solely on land transport, it would be difficult to transport products from Lingnan to Beijing."

Zhu Youjian nodded approvingly and said:
"exactly!"

"Even without overseas trade, we can still connect the North and the South."

"With current navigation technology, the risks of maritime transport are no longer that great and are completely acceptable."

"In the future, products from Lingnan can be transported here more conveniently via sea."

"I hope that one day in the future, lychees from Lingnan can be transported to Beijing by sea before they spoil."

This expectation made all the ministers laugh.

They all knew that given the current emperor's benevolence, he would not demand that Lingnan send lychees as tribute.

These words are simply an expression of hope for maritime transport.

As ships become faster in the future, it is indeed possible to transport lychees to the north.

After making a few jokes, Zhu Youjian addressed his ministers, especially Yuan Keli:

"With Yuan Qing in charge of the Privy Council, he must pay even more attention to the ocean."

"The advantage of the Ming Dynasty over the Jurchens lies in its stronger navy."

"Whether it's Dongjiang or Andong, it's all based on this."

"In the future, we should strive to conquer any place that has access to the sea, so that the Ming Navy and Marine Corps can capture it."

"No matter how fierce the enemy's land battle is, if they cannot defeat the navy, they will face the attack of the Ming Dynasty." "This is what is meant by 'standing in an invincible position without missing the opportunity to defeat the enemy.'"

The courtiers listened to the emperor's vision and were filled with longing.

They began to realize that the navy was more convenient for offensive operations than the army.

Whoever controls the ocean controls the initiative.

Thinking about the situation in Liaodong over the past few years, Yuan Keli understood the emperor's thoughts to some extent.

It turns out that the emperor ordered the defense of Shanhaiguan and the Great Wall so that he could defeat the enemy by sea.

If it weren't for the uproar caused by the troop reduction, the emperor probably wouldn't have wanted the Guan Ning army to go to war.

However, in terms of overall strategy, the emperor still focused on maintaining stability on the border, while regarding the coastal areas of Liaonan, Dongjiang, and Andong as offensive forces.
-

Mao Wenlong had long been aware of this strategy.

Therefore, he kept sending troops to harass the court, just to demonstrate his value to the imperial court.

After talking with him, Governor-General Hong Chengchou of Andong gradually understood this point:
The emperor didn't care how many people died in Korea; he only cared about how many Jurchens he eliminated and how much Jurchen power he tied down.

If he cannot demonstrate his value, everything he currently possesses will be taken away by the emperor.

Therefore, after news of the Liaodong War arrived, Hong Chengchou actively prepared and mobilized all available troops.

In addition to controlling the Korean troops, he also sent Jiang Yiguang to Japan to recruit Japanese people.

According to the Koreans, these Japanese were extremely cruel by nature.

His battles with the Matsumae Domain when he helped the King of Han open his domain also made him realize that Japanese soldiers were more capable of fighting than Korean soldiers.

After passing the provincial examination in Nanjing, Jiang Yueguang didn't even have time to attend the banquet before heading to Japan to recruit samurai and ronin.

After months of hard work, they finally managed to gather 10,000 people.

They used fleets from the vassal states of Han and the principality of Gangneung to transport them to the vicinity of Gyeongseong.

Hong Chengchou personally received Liu Xingzuo, but was quite dissatisfied upon seeing the Japanese soldiers:

"How could someone so short defeat the Jurchens?"

"Why not recruit more valiant warriors?"

Jiang Yueguang explained with a wry smile:
"Most Japanese are short, hence their name."

"These are already the best selected; otherwise, there would be even shorter ones."

"As long as you have firearms, being short is not a disadvantage."

Hong Chengchou nodded slightly, agreeing with this.

His reason for recruiting Japanese soldiers was that the Ming army had now entered the age of firearms, and the compiled training manuals could be used to quickly train the army.

Even if such an army cannot compare to the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty, it still possesses some fighting strength.

As long as they can inflict casualties on the Jurchens, a ten-for-one exchange is worthwhile.

While considering these matters, Hong Chengchou asked again:
Do all these people have families?

"What if they defect to the enemy?"

Jiang said Guangdao:

"Most of them are from the lower class; some have families, while others are all alone."

"But we don't need to worry about these things; it was agreed upon during recruitment. If they die in battle, they will receive a compensation payment."

"Whether to give it to family members or other beneficiaries is up to them."

This action made Hong Chengchou frown slightly, and he said:

"not enough!"

"They should be promised that if they die in battle, they will be granted citizenship of the Ming Dynasty, or even the status of a Ming Dynasty nobleman."

"Their family members or heirs have the opportunity to take the exam to become citizens of the Ming Dynasty."

"If they go overseas to serve as military households, they can be allocated land directly as citizens of the Ming Dynasty."

"These Japanese should be treated as military households!"

This statement startled Jiang Yueguang, who had never considered such a thing.

He thought he was already heartless enough by only issuing pensions to the deceased, but he didn't expect that Hong Chengchou would also want their descendants to serve in the military.

In his view, this was even more cruel than dying in battle, as military households had to serve in the army for generations.

For a moment, he hesitated, worried that his actions might be criticized.

Looking at his expression, Hong Chengchou smiled and said:

"What? You can't bear it?"

"The imperial court has stated that barbarians are beasts, not humans."

"It is our responsibility to educate them into citizens of the Ming Dynasty."

"These people were born in a barbarian country; where would they find the opportunity to be human?"

He explained to Jiang Yueguang the policies toward the barbarians that the imperial court had set at the beginning of the year.

Jiang Yueguang never imagined that the imperial court had set so many policies. Only now does he realize that the court's foreign policy has changed.

If in the past the focus was on winning over and valuing peace, now it has turned into contempt, and even incitement of generals to start wars.

This made him feel somewhat uncomfortable for a moment, and he said with some unease:
"Will this... will this work?"

"What if we clash with the grasslands, Korea, or Japan, and they become enemies of the Ming Dynasty?"

Hong Chengchou chuckled:
"An enemy?"

"What can we use to fight against the Ming Dynasty?"

"The southern grasslands have been ravaged by the Jurchens, and the northern grasslands have been swept away by Prince Shunli."

"North Korea is busy becoming a semi-Chinese country and shedding its barbarian identity."

"If Japan doesn't behave, we'll send troops to teach them a lesson."

He stated in a strong tone that he could lead his fleet to attack Japan again.

Knowing the power of the trapdoor musket, he was eager to try it out.

He even wanted to conquer Japan and achieve the feat of destroying the country.

The so-called Japanese military households were his preparations for this.

The plan is to appoint these Japanese as hereditary officials and establish garrisons in Japan in the future.

Therefore, he then said to Jiang Yueguang:

"We still need to recruit Japanese soldiers."

"If all these people die in battle, we need to have reserve troops."

"Ideally, we should have 50,000 troops, no less than the North Korean forces."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yueguang shook his head, looking quite troubled, and said:
"The recruitment of 10,000 people this time has already displeased the shogunate."

"If we continue recruiting, the shogunate might detain the people."

"There are also some vassal states that are dissatisfied with our large-scale recruitment of warriors."

Hong Chengchou smiled and said:
"dissatisfied?"

"What are they complaining about?"

"If anyone dares to obstruct us, send our fleet over and destroy their ships."

"As long as the Ming Dynasty controls the seas, they will only be able to take a beating."

Having a clear understanding of this, Hong Chengchou applied the same strategies the imperial court used against the Jurchens to deal with Japan.

Moreover, the effect is even more pronounced for Japan, an island nation.

At the very least, Japan had absolutely no ability to threaten the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty could starve them out by simply blockading the surrounding seas.

If Japan can bear this loss, that's fine; if not, then it will have no choice but to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty.

Hong Chengchou had already decided that if Japan dared to violate the treaty and obstruct recruitment, he would seize the opportunity to send troops and force them to sign a better treaty. (End of Chapter)