I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 351 Isn’t the silver of the Ming Dynasty silver?

On the twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month in the third year of the Longqing reign, the imperial court had already been in session for ten days.

Emperor Longqing's birthday celebration was also held grandly on the 23rd day of the first lunar month.

Sacrifice to heaven and earth and offer captives to the Taimiao.

Emperor Longqing, dressed in a royal robe, proudly presented the golden seal of the Great Khan of the "Northern Yuan Dynasty" and the nine-flag white banner said to have been passed down by Genghis Khan to the ancestors in the Taimiao.

From then on, his martial arts skills were comparable to those of the Second Ancestor, and he was ranked first among all the ancestors. Of course, he also knew that after a hundred years, his position would be moved down one level.

There is no problem that my son has surpassed me. I am still ahead of me!
Each generation is stronger than the previous one!
My dear father, your spirit in heaven must be very pleased.

Early in the morning of the 23rd, Emperor Longqing accepted congratulations from civil and military officials at Qianqing Gate, and then went to Chengtian Gate to accept congratulations from the military and civilians of the capital. More than 100,000 people shouted "Long live the Emperor" in front of Chengtian Gate, and the celebration reached its climax.

In the evening, there was a fireworks display that illuminated the entire capital city and lasted for half an hour.

The whole city is filled with lanterns, and the capital is shining with stars, as bright as day.

There were still a few days of celebrations after the 23rd, but the military, civilians, officials and common people in the capital gradually returned to normal.

The central cabinet, six ministries, five temples, two academies, as well as the Supervisory Office and the Five Military Headquarters were all busy under the influence of Zhu Yijun's invisible whip.

"Your Highness, this is an urgent report from the South China Sea that the Supervisory Office just received." Qi Yan handed over a swift letter from eight hundred miles away.

Zhu Yijun took it and looked at it. On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Admiral Li Chao led the Suzaku Navy to the north of Sulu Island and encountered the main force of the Spanish South China Sea Navy. They sank four Spanish warships, captured seven, and two escaped.

The Spanish commander Legazpi was seriously wounded and died, and his deputy Urdaneta was captured.

The Suzaku Navy took advantage of the situation to attack Cebu Harbor. The two Spanish warships left in the harbor, one was sunk and the other surrendered. The Suzaku Navy was chasing the two fleeing Spanish ships, determined to wipe them out completely.

"I congratulate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on your victories in both the northern and southern expeditions. Soon the Chahar tribe will be subdued and the South China Sea will be pacified."

Qi Yan and several eunuchs knelt on the ground and congratulated respectfully.

"Stand up." Zhu Yijun waved his hand.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Zhu Yijun stood up, put his hands in his sleeves, and paced around the room.

"The victory of the Liaodong war is already decided. We just need to wait for the spring to come, and then our army will launch a large-scale counterattack. The Spanish fleet in the South China Sea has been destroyed, and the Mo family is isolated and helpless. The day of their demise is just around the corner.

The time has come!

With this power, I have been unable to do many things in the past two years. In the third year of Longqing, I can do them freely! "

Qi Yan followed closely and reminded Zhu Yijun, "Your Highness, the victory report from the South China Sea seems to be a little late. We won the battle on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, but it has only arrived today, the twenty-sixth day of the first lunar month, a full month and twenty days. In the past, the battle report from the South China Sea would arrive in twenty days or a month."

There was such a long delay. Could it be that there was something wrong with the battle report, which took the people in the south some time to compile and fabricate? Or maybe something went wrong with Hu Zongxian?
All land and sea battle reports from Guangdong, Guangxi and the South China Sea were first summarized to him. The army battle reports were reported to the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the navy battle reports, including the Marine Battalion battle reports, were reported to the South China Sea Xuanwei Mission and then transmitted to the capital.

Zhu Yijun stretched out his right hand and said, "Show me the urgent report again."

Qi Yan quickly picked up the urgent report on the table and handed it over with both hands.

Zhu Yijun read it carefully and disagreed: "It is the time when the north wind is strong. Li Chao led the Suzaku Navy to win a victory in the south. The express ship that reported the news had to sail against the wind and took several times longer to reach Xiangjiang. It took more than a month here. It is the same. Xiangjiang did not take the sea route, but directly sent an express ship 800 miles by land.

It was freezing cold, and the roads in the Jiangbei area were difficult to travel, so it took more than ten days. In the end, there was no delay at all. "

"The prince is wise."

"Spring is here, flowers are blooming, the south wind is blowing, the roads are open again, and other urgent and secret reports will arrive one after another. I still trust Hu Ruzhen and Qi Yuanjing. When leading troops outside, you may not obey the king's orders. The greatest support I can give them is trust!"

After Zhu Yijun finished speaking, he began to think about the situation in the South China Sea. "The Spanish South China Sea Fleet has been destroyed. It will be difficult to arrange the Suzaku Navy as the strategic mobile navy in the South China Sea."

"Your Highness, the Spanish will continue to send ships from the east, and the Suzaku Navy will just stop them."

"Spain's New World ports are far away from the South China Sea. Besides, that is their base. The South China Sea is just a new way for them to make money.

The more than 20 warships they had in the South China Sea were also continuously dispatched westwards over the past few years to gather so many. According to the oral accounts of the Spanish prisoners, they all set out from their port of Acapulco in Mexico in November of the second half of the previous year, crossed the ocean, and arrived at the port of Cebu in April of the following year.

Their calendar is different from that of our dynasty and is about one month earlier.

The fleet coming from the New World should arrive at Cebu Port in March. Well, we can send a message to Li Chao, asking him to wait and see, and weed out the weeds as much as possible. "

Qi Yan immediately replied: "I'll remember that."

"We can't just keep such a large navy there for nothing, fishing in the South China Sea."

Zhu Yijun walked to the South China Sea map, looked at it for a while, and suddenly turned around: "Qi Yan, check how many sailing ships the prince returned to the navy in the third year of Longqing?"

"Yes." Qi Yan immediately went to the warehouse next door to check the information of the Navy Bureau.

Soon, he came back with a roll of documents: "Your Highness, in the second year of Longqing, Wusong Shipyard launched five Class B battleships, five frigates, and six cruisers; Letang Shipyard launched seven Class B battleships, nine escort ships, and eleven cruisers.

After nine months of seaworthiness, it is expected to return to the navy in April.”

"Send a message to the Navy Bureau, have these warships return to the Suzaku Navy immediately. Take advantage of the strong north wind and quickly sail south, so that they can sail in the South China Sea and participate in the ambush on the Spanish fleet in March."

Qi Yan wrote down everything.

"Secret order Li Chao," Qi Yan immediately changed a piece of paper and circled a secret word on it.

"Tell him to select sixteen battleships as the main force, and the remaining frigates and cruisers to form the Qinglong Navy. Prepare to go north, follow the route the Spaniards took back to Mexico, and go to Mexico to bombard their nests one by one.

If the invaders can go, I can go too. Since these old people dare to come to the gate of our Daming, they must bear the consequences of Daming kicking their nests!
He captured the Spanish lieutenant Urdaneta, saying that he was an experienced navigator, so he tried to win him over and asked him to lead the way. But we also have to be on guard. Among the captured Spanish, there must be people who have been on this route before. We should select a few who are experienced and willing to cooperate with our Ming Dynasty, and control them separately to control the Indian route.

Tell Li Chao that I said it. Tell the Spanish captives to lead the Ming navy to attack the Spanish lair, and they will be rewarded when they come back. As long as you have money, you can be a superior person anywhere, so why bother about whether it is the East or the West.

These pirates traveled thousands of miles across the sea. Did they really do it for the sake of human civilization? They just wanted money!
Isn’t the silver of the Ming Dynasty silver? Ask Li Chao to explain it to them clearly! "

"As ordered!"

Qi Yan wrote quickly and responded.

After dealing with military affairs, Zhu Yijun stood outside the window and thought about other things.

I started to launch a counterattack militarily, and I will also start a counterattack politically. Every now and then, I will be asked questions by these conservatives, crying at the Meridian Gate and questioning them in the morning court. Even if you are not annoyed, I am annoyed.

Can't you use this time to do something else? Even if you can't do the heavy practical work, you can sort out the national history, edit the laws, or even write propaganda articles to give full play to your writing skills.

But no, he only knows how to mix flour, but he insists on selling cocaine.

In the third year of the Longqing reign, I will let you know what true rectification of official conduct and political discipline means, and what criticism and self-criticism means!
What Zhao Zhenji did in the Censorate before was just a warm-up for you. It’s time for you to witness some novel political tactics!
"Qi Yan, bring Yang Jinshui over here."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)