Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 173 Recover the beautiful island of Taiwan and convince people with reason!
After completely annihilating the Japanese pirates, Zhu Yunhuan ordered the army to rest for two days.

Firstly, it was the first time for the Ming Navy to go out to sea to fight, and they were not yet used to it.

After staying on the boat for a long time, the soldiers were looking forward to getting off the boat and resting.

Secondly, he was also waiting for the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Office and the Zhejiang Military Command to send people to escort Ye Ma to the capital.

This area has dangerous terrain and many islands.

The Ming army was not completely without defenses.

Just a few years ago, Tang He inspected the coastal defense on Zhu's orders and disbanded the troops of the Wengshan County Guard.

Therefore, the defense is left empty.

The Japanese pirates took the opportunity to build their nest in this area.

The reason why Tang He made such a decision was because the guards had to cultivate land, but there were not enough acres of land and insufficient food, making it difficult to support the people.

It would be too expensive to transport food from other places to support the army.

Moreover, there was no such practice in the Ming Dynasty.

Except for the troops temporarily dispatched to the front line to fight, the soldiers stationed in the Ming Dynasty's garrisons for a long time were all self-sufficient.

Otherwise, what is the point of the guards?
Based on this, Tang He dismissed the troops in Wengshan County, reducing its number to a level where it could basically be self-sufficient through farming.

After reporting to the court, Zhu Yuanzhang made another decision and issued an order that garrison officers and soldiers were not allowed to go out to sea without reason.

In other words, the Ming army stationed in Wengshan County was not allowed to send ships out to sea for patrols at will, let alone to arrest pirates at sea.

What they have to do is to defend the land from invasion.

As long as the Japanese pirates did not go ashore to attack the garrison, the garrison troops would just let it go.

After all, this was all done with Zhu's intention.

This is also the key reason why it is difficult to wipe out the Japanese pirates in the Ming Dynasty.

To put it bluntly, the Ming army only guarded on the shore and did not go out to sea to pursue.

After the Japanese pirates came ashore, they would fight if they could win, and run away if they couldn't.

This means that you are already invincible from birth.

Soon, nearby garrison commanders, captains, county magistrates and other officials all rushed over upon hearing the news.

Zhu Yunhuan immediately gave them orders.

The first is to strengthen the defense of Wengshan County and increase the garrison.

All the necessary food was provided by the imperial court.

Second, from now on, the ban on coastal border guards going out to sea at will will be abolished, and patrols and vigilance on the sea will be strengthened.

At the same time, Zhu Yunhuan also ordered the abolition of the maritime ban, allowing coastal residents to go fishing and engage in maritime trade activities.

He also ordered the Commissioner of Taxation to be responsible for collecting customs duties, and the Ming Manufacturing Bureau to build lighthouses along the coast to strengthen coastline defense and guide ships.

After making a series of arrangements, Zhu Yunhuan led the Ming navy and embarked on a new journey again, targeting the Dongyi, which is what later generations called Taiwan Island.

In fact, as early as the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan government set up the Penghu Inspection Office, which was responsible for managing the Dongyi and Penghu Islands.

But if we say that we attach much importance to it, it’s not necessarily the case.

Because the Xunjiansi of the Yuan Dynasty was just a ninth-rank official.

It goes without saying that letting a ninth-rank official manage the entire Taiwan shows his contempt.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the Yuan system was followed and the Inspection Office was still set up to manage it.

But later, Tang He was ordered to inspect the coastal defense. He believed that the Inspection Office was not making enough money and wasted expenses. The islanders were unruly and could not bring any benefits to the court. He suggested abolishing it and returning to the land.

By the 20th year of Hongwu, the Penghu Inspection Office was finally officially abolished.

Since then, the Penghu Islands have become a den of bandits.

The Japanese pirates in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas mainly hid in Wengshan County, which is the Zhoushan Islands in later generations.

The Japanese pirates in Fujian and other places used the Penghu Islands as their base.

At the same time, the imperial court lost control over the Dongyi.

This expedition, wiping out the Japanese pirates in the Penghu Islands is secondary.

After all, with the equipment of the Ming Navy, dealing with those Japanese pirates was just a piece of cake.

Even recovering the Dongyi is not the point.

The real priority is how to manage the Dongyi so that they do not become a burden to the Ming court.

Why did Tang He abolish the inspection office of the Penghu Islands and simply abandon Dongyi Island?

Why does Lao Zhu still support him?

After all, they just felt that this place could not generate income for the court.

The taxes collected were not enough to cover the expenses of the imperial garrison.

Because of the strait, it was impossible to conscript local people to perform labor service and work for the Ming court.

It's a pure loss-making business.

Lao Zhu was a man with a strong peasant mentality, so of course he refused to do it.

Zhu didn't care about making achievements or expanding territory.

What Zhu Yuanzhang wanted was that he should not drag down the imperial court and should not add burden to the people of Ming Dynasty for a piece of distant overseas land.

An emperor must never be ambitious and let the people suffer. This has been the motto that Zhu Yuanzhang has always believed in.

Therefore, after Zhu Yunhuan recovered Taiwan, he had to manage and build it well.

This is crucial.

Because only in this way can we convince Zhu Yuanzhang with ironclad facts that expanding overseas territories is beneficial to the country and the people for the Ming Dynasty.

Otherwise, if even the Dongyi, who were so close and not too far away, could not bring any actual benefits to the Ming court, but instead became a burden to the court, how could Zhu Yuanzhang believe that a long expedition to a distant overseas would be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world?
But Zhu Yunhuan also knew that it was not easy to do this. Even in later generations, the management of border areas was more based on political interests rather than pure economic benefits.

If we only consider the economic aspects, even in later societies, the border areas of many countries are loss-making for their countries.

But the political account is different.

The problem is that Zhu Yuanzhang and the officials in the court did not settle political accounts like later generations did.

Political accounts are difficult to settle.

Fortunately, the geographical environment of Dongyi is very superior, far from comparable to ordinary border areas.

As long as you manage and operate well, it is not difficult to be self-sufficient and generate profits.

Zhu Yunhuan began to think about how to govern the Dongyi people.

The northeast wind was strong in this season, and the Ming navy had a smooth journey from north to south, with the ships sailing very fast.

In just a few days, the treasure island was already in sight.

The Ming soldiers on the warships have been gearing up for a long time.

After the previous battle, everyone is now full of confidence and only wants to get to the island as soon as possible to achieve success.

Zhu Yunhuan was also filled with emotion.

Who has not thought about taking revenge on the Japanese pirates?
For things like this, of course I would do it myself if I had the chance.

But when he really got here, Zhu Yunhuan was not in a hurry.

"This place was once ruled by the Ming Dynasty, but it was later abandoned."

"Ma He, take a team of soldiers ashore."

"Take the guide with you and tell the local natives that the Ming army has arrived. Order them to surrender immediately."

Zhu Yunhuan instructed: "Remember, we must try our best to convince people with reason and not engage in war with the natives at will."

Ma He was a little surprised and said, "I heard that the natives here are all people who fear power but not morality. If we don't fight them, they probably won't surrender."

Zhu Yunxun smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry, just go and talk. I believe those natives know how to handle current affairs."

Although Ma He didn't understand the meaning, he still followed the order and left.

Zhu Yunhuan immediately said to the flag officer: "Do you see that barren mountain on the shore? Immediately pass the order and have all the warships fire at the barren mountain."

The flag officer was stunned for a moment.

Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu next to them opened their mouths wide.

The two looked at each other, and saw confusion in each other's eyes.

It was a deserted mountain with no one on it. The indigenous settlement on the island was some distance away.

Why fire at a barren mountain for no reason?

But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must have his reasons for giving such an order.

After a brief hesitation, the flag officer reacted and immediately went to pass the order.

The generals on other warships were all bewildered when they saw the orders conveyed by the flag officer on the command ship through flag signals.

I also suspected that the flag signal was wrong.

After all, flag language has complex coding rules and is more prone to errors than face-to-face language communication.

It was not until the order was repeated that they realized it was not a mistake and immediately began shelling.

……

Ma He led a team of Marines and sailed ashore in a small sampan.

Soon the natives gathered around.

They were dressed in tattered clothes, holding various steel forks and other weapons in their hands, with fierce eyes, and each of them looked malicious.

Obviously, they held deep hostility towards the Ming army that landed on the island.

Ma He led the guide forward and negotiated with the leader of the natives: "We are the Heavenly Army of the Ming Dynasty, and we are here to restore our rule over this place. We hope you can cooperate with us."

The native leader said contemptuously: "Listen, this is my territory, everything here belongs to me."

"I don't welcome you Ming people. Get out of here immediately, or I will order you all to be killed."

The voice just fell.

Sudden.

boom!
boom!
boom!
There was a loud bang.

Hundreds of cannons fired at the same time, and the entire barren mountain not far away was quickly engulfed in artillery fire.

The air was filled with smoke and debris, as if the end of the world had come.

"Heavenly punishment! Heavenly punishment!"

The indigenous chief had never seen such a horrific scene before, and his face was filled with fear. The other indigenous residents were trembling with fear.

Ma He laughed and said, "See? That's the power of the cannon. It's our weapon."

"If you cooperate with us, agree to restore the past rule, and become our friends, we will give you food, wine and meat."

"If not, the next time, the artillery fire will no longer be aimed at the top of the barren mountain, but at your settlement."

"By then, you will all be destroyed by heaven's punishment."

The native chief hesitated for a moment, then discussed with the people around him for a while.

Soon, he turned to look at Ma He. The fierce look on his face had disappeared and a bright smile appeared on his face:

"Welcome, the Heavenly Army of the Ming Dynasty, my most sincere friends! May we forge a deep friendship and live in peace forever."

……

(End of this chapter)