The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 341 The Prince of Ryukyu Reports
May marks the beginning of spring on the grasslands beyond the Great Wall. The climate is warm and comfortable, and the grass is gradually growing.

In the Laoha River Valley in the Beijing Xingdusi, 120,000 cavalrymen of the Shenwu Camp had already set up tents on both sides of the river bank. The area along the river for dozens of miles seemed to be covered with dense white flowers.

On the south bank of the Lamulun River, the 30,000 cavalrymen of Xuanfu Town also set up camp along the river and patrolled back and forth, apparently to prevent the Tuman from crossing the river to attack, and also to prevent the herdsmen of the former Doyan Three Guards from crossing the river to report the news.

In Liaodong Town, there were tents everywhere along the Liaohe River from Tielingwei to Kaiyuan, and the 50,000 cavalrymen of Liaodong Town had already assembled and were on standby.

On the Khorchin grassland, the Tuman cavalry had already gathered into groups, as if they were ready to attack at any time, or as if they were guarding against a surprise attack by the Ming cavalry.

There is also the south bank of the Heilongjiang River, the territory of the Haixi Jurchens, where tens of thousands of troops seem to be gathering.

There is also Changbai Mountain, and the Jiannu army seems to be secretly gathering between the White Mountains and Black Waters.

In the southeastern waters of Liaodong Town, the number of warships of the Ming Navy seemed to be gradually increasing.

In Japan, hundreds of thousands of Japanese pirates also seem to be gathering in the northern part of Kyushu Island.

A great war that could affect the Far East seems to be about to break out at any time, but Korea, a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty and the site of the battlefield, seems to be at a loss as to what is happening.

Both the Ming Dynasty and Japan have secretly prepared hundreds of thousands of troops, but they show no signs of mobilizing their forces.

Don’t they really know that there is going to be a war?
In fact, they know it very well in their hearts!
As for why they did not make preparations, this was related to the factional struggles in their court and also to the traitors within.

The factional struggles in Korea, a vassal state at this time, were even more intense than those in the Ming Dynasty during the Wanli, Taichang, Tianqi, and Chongzhen dynasties. There were also traitors within their ranks who were in secret contact with the Japanese pirates.

Those traitors who were in secret contact with the Japanese pirates naturally did not want their vassal state, Korea, to prepare for war. They even used various reasons to prevent those court officials who were inclined towards the Ming Dynasty from reporting to the Ming court.

However, even if they don't report the news, someone else will.

Early in the morning at about noon that day, Wanli had just arrived at the imperial study and was about to review the memorials when the chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Li, came in personally holding a stack of memorials.

After the emperor and his subjects exchanged greetings, Shen Li bowed and said, "Your Majesty, a letter from the vassal state of Ryukyu."

The vassal state of Ryukyu actually sent a letter to the country!

What's the big deal?
Wanli solemnly opened the letter at the top of the memorial and frowned slightly.

This letter was sent by the Crown Prince Shang Ning of Ryukyu. What the Crown Prince meant was that Shang Ning had already succeeded to the throne in Ryukyu, but the Ming Dynasty had not yet sent officials to enthrone Shang Ning as the King of Ryukyu.

The first important thing Shang Ning reported was to respectfully request the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to send officials to enthrone him as king.

The second important thing he reported was that Toyotomi Hideyoshi would use his vassal state Korea as a guide to attack the Ming Dynasty next year, because Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent a letter ordering Ryukyu to send troops to help!
The third thing is that in March this year, he had sent the Ryukyu merchant Chen Shen to Fuzhou to report that Japan was about to attack the Ming Dynasty. However, the Fuzhou officials threw the merchant Chen Shen into jail without any explanation and slandered Chen Shen as a Japanese spy!
The reason why Wanli frowned was because of this third thing. The first two things were nothing to him. It would be enough to send an official from the Ministry of Rites to enthrone the King of Ryukyu. He had already known that Japan wanted to attack the Ming Dynasty.

This third thing was a big problem for him.

The Crown Prince of Ryukyu sent someone to report the news, but the local officials not only did not believe it, they also falsely accused the person of being a Japanese spy and threw him directly into jail!

What does this mean?
It is obvious that both Zhejiang and Fujian are controlled by Zhejiang Party officials. These guys do not want the Ryukyu envoys to report the news that Japan is about to attack the Ming Dynasty.

You bunch of traitorous bastards, just wait for me!

He snorted inwardly, then asked, "Zhonghua, what rank of official is usually sent to enthrone the King of Ryukyu?"

Well, there is no level requirement.

Shen Li said carefully, "Your Majesty, usually the Ministry of Rites will be sent."

what?
Wanli was quite puzzled and asked, "Why is the level so low?"

Shen Li explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the journey to confer the title on the King of Ryukyu is long and takes too long, and most of the officials in the Ministry of Rites are busy, so they basically send censors who are not responsible for any specific affairs.

Besides, it doesn't matter who presides over the enthronement ceremony. What matters is His Majesty's edict of enthronement, and the King of Ryukyu wants your edict of enthronement."

Oh, it turns out it’s because we spent too much time on the road.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "What do you think of Zhu Guozuo?"

Uh, isn't this appropriate?

Shen Li reminded him, "Your Majesty, Zhaolong is now the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household Department."

I didn't ask about his official position.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "I am asking what kind of person he is."

Oh, that's what you're asking.

Shen Li thought about it carefully, then said solemnly: "Zhao Long is loyal and dedicated to the public. He is a loyal and good man."

That's all. Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Then promote him to be the Minister of Rites and Governor of Fujian, and have him preside over the enthronement ceremony."

The Minister of Rites becomes the Governor?
This is not impossible. When Yan Song and his son were messing around, Zhao Wenhua, the Minister of Works, could be appointed as the governor.

Shen Li was stunned for a moment, then asked carefully, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you why you sent Zhaolong to Fujian as governor?"

That is of course a matter of state letters.

Wanli said coldly: "The Ryukyu prince is loyal and clear, but the Fujian officials threw his envoy into prison and falsely accused him of being a Japanese spy.

We must give an explanation to the Crown Prince of Ryukyu about this matter, and those asshole officials in Fujian should also be dealt with properly.

I have assigned Zhaolong a thousand Jinyiwei. You should ask him to go to Nanjing first to order five 2,000-ton Fu ships, one hundred centipede ships and ten thousand naval officers and soldiers, and then rush to Fuzhou.

He went to Fuzhou to rescue the envoy sent by the Ryukyu Crown Prince first, and then investigate thoroughly who ordered the arrest of the Ryukyu envoy and who slandered the Ryukyu envoy.

All Fujian officials involved in this case will be beheaded in public, no matter who they are!

what?
Isn't this too cruel?

Shen Li thought for a moment, then carefully reminded him, "Your Majesty, the Ryukyu Kingdom is not even as big as Fuzhou Prefecture. Moreover, Fuzhou Prefecture has the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission, the Fujian Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Fujian Provincial Commission."

This means that it is a bit too much to execute a third-rank or even a second-rank local official just to give an explanation to the little Ryukyu prince.

You are really not as talented as me.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Zhonghua, don't you see the trick in this?

The Crown Prince of Ryukyu sent an envoy to report the news, so it would be fine if they didn't believe it. But why did they arrest the envoy sent by the Crown Prince of Ryukyu and why did they falsely accuse him of being a spy from Japan?
It is obvious that the envoys sent by the Crown Prince of Ryukyu were not Japanese spies, but they themselves were secretly communicating with the Japanese pirates, did you know?
Do you think I want to give an explanation to the Prince of Ryukyu?

I want to put an end to this evil trend!

The officials of the Ming Dynasty are secretly communicating with the northern barbarians and the Japanese pirates. They eat my food and want to smash my pot. They are really out of control!
I was being polite by not killing all nine of their clans."

Oh, that's what happened.

Upon hearing this, Shen Li bowed repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

I have to explain this matter myself.

Wanli thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Go and ask Zhaolong to prepare first, and come over when everything is almost ready.

Also, have someone copy the Ryukyu letter and send it to their vassal state, Korea, to ask them what's going on. Ryukyu has already reported it, but they haven't said a word."

Shen Li quickly bowed and took his leave.

Not long after, Zhu Guozuo walked in quickly.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli solemnly asked, "Zhaolong, do you dare to kill someone?"

Zhu Guozuo said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, if you say to chop it off, I will chop it off. I dare you to do it."

Yes, Not Bad.

Wanli nodded slightly and then warned: "If you go to rescue the Ryukyu envoys, I'm sure there will be people who will try to stop you for various reasons. If you go to kill them, there will probably be even more people who will come forward to stop you. Don't care what these guys say, but if anyone insists on stopping you, you will kill them all!

This time, I want to make them understand clearly what the consequences of collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country are."

Zhu Guozuo bowed without hesitation and said, "I obey your order."

Well, it’s really good.

Wanli reminded him again: "You have to be careful, that is the domain of the Zhejiang Party. If you go to kill their people, they will probably retaliate against you.

When you go ashore, you must bring more guards with you, including all the Jinyiwei and all the navy's musketeers.

Also, you must not spend the night in Fuzhou City. You should rest on the navy warships. Moreover, you must ensure that the navy officers and soldiers are on alert at all times."

Zhu Guozuo bowed repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Well, this kid can be trained well.

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Go."

(End of this chapter)