The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 374 You Are Even More Poisonous Than Me
The Zhejiang Party frequently came up with vicious schemes.

How did Wanli deal with it?

He decided to come up with a more vicious plan, fighting poison with poison!
However, a lot of preparation is needed to carry out this evil plan.

Moreover, he didn't want Li Tingji and others to learn these dirty tricks in secret.

So, he took Luo Sigong and walked directly towards the Grand Council Hall.

At this moment, Luo Sigong was a little confused.

What map are you looking at when the craftsmen are causing trouble?

Aren’t the urgent reports about which states’ craftsmen are causing trouble?

You can tell where the capitals of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty are without looking at a map.

Unexpectedly, when Wanli arrived at the Grand Council Hall where maps were stored, what he found was not a map of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, but a map of the vassal state of Korea and its surrounding areas.

He couldn't understand this even more.

He could only stare blankly at the map, waiting for the Emperor to speak.

Wanli carefully examined the map and pointed to Lishan Road, the northernmost part of Jeolla Province. "Go and convey my secret order to Yuan Jing, asking him to organize a counterattack here."

what?
When the craftsmen in the southeast were causing trouble, you sent General Qi Jiguang to the vassal state of Korea to organize a counterattack!
Luo Sigong was even more confused after hearing this.

He simply didn't understand what this meant.

Wanli pointed at the map and continued, "We still have 40,000 to 50,000 troops from the First to Fourth Japanese Legions here, and the 12th Battalion of the Korean vassal state is still a rookie who hasn't been fully trained. If we let them fight back, we will probably suffer heavy casualties.

Therefore, this time we have to secretly send troops to help them fight back. You tell Yuan Jing to order Ma Qiancheng, Yang Yinglong, Chen Ce and Qi Zuoguo to each select 10,000 elite soldiers, take the navy's fast boats, secretly land near Quanzhou, and rush to Lishan.

Remember, make them all change into the military uniforms of the 12th Battalion of Korea, a vassal state. The counterattack should be scheduled at night, and the troops of the 12th Battalion of Korea, a vassal state, should also go up and shout. The more troops, the better.

Also, after the Japanese pirates are defeated, do not pursue them. Let them escape back to Gongju City. Do not attack them too hard. If you attack them too hard, they will be scared and dare not attack again, and then our strategy will fail."

What exactly do you want to do?

Don't be too harsh. You mobilized so many troops and launched a surprise attack at night. How can this not be cruel?

Also, right now we seem to be discussing how to solve the problem of unrest among craftsmen in the southeast, and you ordered people to raid the Japanese pirates in our vassal state, Korea!

This is totally irrelevant.

Luo Sigong thought about it carefully, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you, what is the purpose of our battle?"

That was naturally to completely resolve the problem of craftsmen causing unrest.

Wanli said ruthlessly, "Don't the craftsmen in the southeast owe the local gentry a lot of money and grain? I can't help them pay it back. The only way is to kill all the local gentry who borrowed money and grain, and then rob their houses and put an end to it once and for all!"

My God, that’s tens of thousands of local tyrants!

Those people are well-known locally, and local officials generally don't dare to provoke them.

You have to kill them all!

Upon hearing this, Luo Sigong couldn't help but say in shock, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this won't work, right?"

It definitely won’t work if you do it directly.

How could an emperor inexplicably arrest and kill and confiscate the property of thousands of local tyrants and gentry?

There has never been such an emperor from ancient times to the present.

Even the most brutal tyrants have never done this.

This kind of thing definitely requires a crime.

Wanli pointed at the map and explained in detail: "Aren't you asking about the purpose of this battle? The purpose of this battle is to frame someone!
I asked them to launch a counterattack in order to capture a large number of Japanese pirates, or to retrieve a large number of their bodies. You should quickly send more people to the southeast to investigate all those local tyrants and gentry who borrowed money and food.

At that time, we will stage a play, pretending to chase the Japanese pirates ashore overnight, and then stuff a Japanese pirate or the corpse of a Japanese pirate into the house of every local tyrant and gentry, and then rush in to catch them all.

If anyone dares to resist, they will be killed without mercy. They are colluding with the Japanese pirates, and the evidence is irrefutable. It's no problem to confiscate their property and execute them, right?"

It turns out it was a frame-up!
What a vicious plan!
Luo Sigong thought about it carefully, and then said carefully: "Your Majesty, I dare to say that just having the Japanese pirates or their corpses seems to be not enough. How did the Japanese pirates get away?
I think we should also seize some of the pirates' warships and set them on fire near the shore. This way, the pirates will scatter and flee ashore."

You are a really smart guy.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Well, I just thought of this idea, so it's inevitable that there are some omissions. You are right, we still need to get some warships from the Japanese pirates.

How about this, you go talk to Yun Qing and ask him to cooperate with the navy of the vassal state of Korea to ambush the Japanese pirate fleet that is transporting food and supplies to Gyeonggi Province and Chungcheong Province.

Remember, don't fight too hard. Just grab a few dozen of the pirates' warships. Don't let them run out of ships to bring reinforcements across the sea." Hearing this, Luo Sigong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought for a moment and then gave detailed instructions: "This time, let Wuyang lead a hundred thousand-ton Fuzhou ships to bring the captured pirates, the collected corpses, and the looted warships to the southeastern waters to perform a show with Kemai and Yuansheng.

Remember, it must also be performed at night. The three of them will be divided into three waves and perform simultaneously in Nanzhili, Zhejiang and Fujian. Don't give those local tyrants and gentry time to react, and try to catch them all in one go.

Also, have someone tell Yuan Sheng that after this performance, he can rush to Edo to deliver the goods. The timing is just right."

Luo Sigong bowed and said, "Your humble servant understands."

It seems that we need to send a capable person to the southeast to handle the follow-up matters.

This person must be ruthless, not afraid of offending others, and even less afraid of the wealthy maritime merchants in the southeast.

There just happened to be one such person.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then waved his hand to let Luo Sigong leave, and ordered someone to call over Zhu Guozuo, the Minister of Rites.

Zhu Guozuo looks gentle and refined, but he is really cruel when it comes to killing people. The last person he killed in Fujian was a member of a wealthy maritime merchant family.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli solemnly said, "Zhaolong, go to the southeast and deal with the unrest caused by the artisans gathering together."

what?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Guozuo couldn't help but look embarrassed.

He was from Jiaxing Prefecture, so he naturally knew why the craftsmen were making trouble.

Those craftsmen not only haven't received their wages for more than a year.

He thought about it carefully, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, I have heard a little about the reason why the craftsmen in the southeast are causing trouble. Not only have they not received their wages for more than a year, but they also seem to owe a lot of money and grain to the local tyrants and gentry.

I am ashamed to say that I am not able to handle this matter, as the money and grain involved are probably tens of millions of taels."

Oh, you know so much!

Wanli couldn't help but ask in surprise: "How do you know so clearly?"

Zhu Guozuo said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I am from Xiushui, which is a county attached to Jiaxing Prefecture."

Oh, you are also from Jiaxing Prefecture.

Wanli asked directly: "Did your relatives or friends lend money and food to those craftsmen?"

Zhu Guozuo shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, I won't let them do such a conscienceless thing. Besides, my family doesn't have much money or grain, so I can't be considered a local tycoon."

That's good.

Wanli nodded slightly, then explained in detail: "The money and grain involved here are indeed tens of millions of taels. This is the Zhejiang Party's vicious plan.

If I were to pay money and provide food to resolve the problem of the craftsmen causing unrest, the army would be short of food and wages, so it is impossible for me to pay the money and provide food.

The only solution now is to fight poison with poison, and kill all those unscrupulous local tyrants and plunder their houses."

what?
That’s not just a few, not dozens, but thousands and thousands!

Moreover, these guys have considerable influence in the local area.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Guozuo was shocked and said, "Your Majesty, if we do this, the Southeast will be in chaos."

They had no chance to mess up.

Wanli said ruthlessly: "I have already made arrangements. They are secretly communicating with the Japanese pirates. The evidence is irrefutable. Moreover, the navy officers and soldiers will arrest them all overnight. Anyone who dares to resist will be beheaded on the spot.

You will be responsible for killing people, confiscating houses, and appeasing the craftsmen. You can give some of the food you seize from the confiscated houses to the craftsmen first so that they can have enough to eat first.

As for the livelihood issues of the subsequent artisans, I will ask Zhang Guozhang to find a solution. When the time comes, you will just need to cooperate with Zhang Guozhang to build the workshop."

Is this a frame-up?

It's impossible that there are thousands of local tyrants and gentry secretly colluding with the Japanese pirates!
Forget it, let’s not dig into this matter. Just do whatever the Emperor says.

Zhu Guozuo was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he bowed and said, "I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly, then said in a clear voice: "Xiaoyong, draft an imperial decree to transfer Zhaolong to the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War and governor of Zhejiang, Zhili and Fujian provinces."

This time he was promoted to governor!
The governor is usually promoted to the six ministers.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Guozuo bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

(End of this chapter)