The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 381 A Big Traitor Emerges from Japan

Just as Wanli had dealt with the problem of the craftsmen, Li Yuansheng returned from Japan.

It was still around 5 p.m. that day, and it was getting dark when Li Yuansheng quietly came to the palace.

Wanli had already been waiting for him in the Grand Council Hall.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli asked impatiently, "How is the situation in Japan now?"

He now has enough money to fight a big war, so naturally he has to start considering destroying Japan.

Li Yuansheng explained in detail: "Your Majesty, the Japanese daimyo are very dissatisfied with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, so Toyotomi Hideyoshi has no choice but to send 100,000 reserve troops to his vassal state, Korea.

They have already started shipping the goods across the sea, and it will probably take about two weeks to complete. Tokugawa Ieyasu has told me that Toyotomi Hideyoshi has gone all out this time and has ordered the casting of many iron shields.

In order to overthrow Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the biggest traitor in Japan.

What this guy meant was, you guys should be careful, Toyotomi Hideyoshi has cast a lot of iron shields, and arrows definitely can't penetrate them. Pouring kerosene on them probably won't be of much use either, so you guys should find a way to deal with it quickly.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Well, next time you go to deliver something, give Tokugawa Ieyasu a hint. The information he provided was very useful. The Ming court official you curried favor with was promoted because of it. If he runs out of kerosene cans in the future, perhaps you can get some."

This means that Tokugawa Ieyasu will continue to be a traitor and betray Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Li Yuansheng nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Next, we need to consider how to deal with the Iron Shield.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then asked, "Did he tell me how thick the iron shield that Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered was?"

Li Yuansheng raised his hand and gestured, "I told you it's probably a little thicker than an iron pot, but probably not much thicker, because if it's too thick most people can't lift it."

Such a thin cast iron shield is easy to deal with.

At that time, Japan had not yet used water wheels to forge wrought iron, and the iron shields were probably cast with only one round of wrought iron at most.

Arrows cannot penetrate this kind of iron shield, but it is very fragile. The artillery equipped by the Shenji Camp can easily blow this kind of iron shield into pieces.

The problem is that he cannot yet pull the Shenjiying to the vassal state of Korea to participate in the war.

The artillery of the Shenji Camp was real artillery, much more powerful than the Japanese pirates' iron cannons, with a much longer range, and it was breech-loaded, with a firing rate at least ten times faster than the Japanese pirates' iron cannons.

It can be said that the Japanese pirates' iron cannons are rubbish in front of the artillery of the Shenji Camp. They are useless and can only be beaten.

If they were to pull over now, Toyotomi Hideyoshi would definitely be frightened and would withdraw his troops immediately and prepare to defend Japan to the death.

At this moment, he still had to use the Twelve Battalions of his vassal state, Korea, to slap Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the face, so as to force Toyotomi Hideyoshi to continuously dispatch reinforcements to his vassal state, Korea.

What can the vassal state of Korea do to deal with this iron shield?
Could it be that he also provided a batch of artillery to the 12th Battalion of the vassal state of Korea?
This won’t work.

The artillery structure of the Ming Dynasty is now too advanced, and we must not allow others to learn it, not even the vassal states.

How can we break this iron shield without artillery?

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then suddenly an idea struck him: "This kind of iron shield should be able to be smashed with a hammer, the kind used for blacksmithing."

What made you think of using a hammer?

It will be destroyed with one artillery bombardment.

However, a hammer seems to work too.

Some farmers' iron pots were broken by accidentally dropping a brick or even a large stone into them.

It is natural for an iron hammer to hit an iron shield that is slightly thicker than an iron pot.

Li Yuansheng estimated, "If it was thrown, a five-jin hammer should be able to break it."

That's too simple.

This kind of hammer doesn't even need to be processed. It just needs to be cast and a wooden handle hammered into it. And it is enough to use one round of wrought iron to cast it.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I will order people to cast 100,000 large iron hammers weighing five pounds each and send them to Yi Sun-sin."

One hundred thousand?
The Japanese pirates will probably get hit on the head!

Li Yuansheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

This is not a big deal.

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "What are the current military strengths of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu?"

Li Yuansheng estimated, "Their forces should be around 70,000 to 80,000. Since their territories are all over 2 million dan of land, and we calculate at 300 soldiers for every 10,000 dan, that's around 70,000 to 80,000. If they're going all out with conscription, they can probably muster at least 600 men for every 10,000 dan, which would put them at 120,000 to 130,000."

The territories of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi were similar?
Wanli pondered, "So, whoever the other daimyo support will gain the upper hand, right?"

Li Yuansheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, so Toyotomi Hideyoshi must have been very afraid that the daimyo would lose confidence in him."

well.

Under such circumstances, Toyotomi Hideyoshi absolutely could not afford to lose the war against his vassal state, Korea.

He could also use this to lure more Japanese pirates into his vassal state, Korea.

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you know what Japan's current shipbuilding capabilities are like?"

Li Yuansheng estimated: "If they put all their efforts into building 800-ton warships, they could probably build 300 to 400 ships a year."

This is nothing.

Now, the Xinbao Shipyard in Longjiangzhou builds three to four hundred Fu ships a year, and there are more than two thousand 800-ton centipede ships. The Japanese navy will definitely not be able to catch up with the Ming navy.

However, at this moment, the navy is only docked at a harbor on the west side of the Yalu River estuary, which is more than 2,000 miles away from the Tsushima Strait.

If the navy fleet set out from there to block the main force of the Japanese pirates when they were fleeing, it would definitely not work. Even if the 1,000-ton and 2,000-ton Fuzhou ships had favorable winds and currents, it would take at least two or three days to get there. If there were neither favorable winds nor currents, they would not be able to get there at all.

Although the navy's centipede boats do not rely on wind power, they still have to be rowed there, and it may take four or five days to reach the destination.

It seems that he has to consider how to block the Japanese pirates' retreat route at sea. If he waits until Toyotomi Hideyoshi feels that he can no longer win and is ready to withdraw his troops, it will be too late to consider it then.

Wanli stared at the map carefully, then asked, "How many cargo ships do you need to deliver goods to Nanyang now? I mean, after the business in Nanyang expands, how many additional naval vessels will you need to bring to deliver all the goods there?"

This actually does not require too many naval ships.

Li Yuansheng explained in detail: "Your Majesty, our expansion in Nanyang is mainly focused on the business of valuable goods such as cloth, silk, porcelain, tea, and medicine.

These goods are not heavy and can be loaded in pairs, and they don't take up much space. I estimate that if we have 1,000-ton ships, we only need 200 more, and if we have 2,000-ton ships, we only need 100 more."

Then just equip you with them, and the navy ships will not follow you to the South Seas.

I have to mobilize the navy ships to block the Japanese pirates, so I don't have time to go with you to deliver the goods.

Wanli thought about it carefully and then asked, "If I give you a hundred 2,000-ton Fuzhou ships, do you have enough manpower to operate them?"

Are you going to equip me with the 2,000-ton Fu ship?

Li Yuansheng asked excitedly, "Your Majesty, are they all equipped with artillery?"

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Of course. You are also a lieutenant general of the navy, and you may also have to lead the fleet into battle. What's the point of a 2,000-ton Fu ship if you don't equip it with artillery? What's the point? Don't you have enough artillerymen?"

Li Yuansheng shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, no, the navy's artillery is very easy to control, much easier to control than the old-fashioned artillery. I was just asking. I have enough artillerymen under my command."

That's good.

Wanli said decisively: "Okay, when you go to Nanzhili to pick up the goods this time, tell Kemai that I will first give you 100 2,000-ton Fuzhou ships.

Anyway, by the end of the year, the Longjiangzhou Treasure Shipyard will produce another 100 2,000-ton Fuzhou ships. The naval officers and soldiers who operate the Fuzhou ships can rest in Longjiangzhou for a month or two before they can take over those new ships."

This is matched immediately!
Li Yuansheng bowed repeatedly and said, "I understand. Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Look how excited you are.

This little benefit is nothing. As long as you follow me obediently, there will be plenty of benefits.

Wanli nodded slightly, and then said solemnly: "Don't let outsiders see these 2,000-ton Fu ships. Our artillery structure cannot be known to outsiders.

Although this structure is advanced and not difficult to imitate, you must be extremely careful to keep it confidential. Instruct the gunners and the ship's operators in every detail. It is strictly forbidden to discuss our new artillery with outsiders. Do you understand?"

The navy’s artillery structure is indeed very advanced now.

Breech-loading shells are at least ten times faster than muzzle-loading ammunition.

In other words, the attack power of one of their artillery pieces is equivalent to that of more than ten artillery pieces of others.

This structure really cannot be known to outsiders. If they knew it, others would definitely imitate it and change it to breech-loading artillery shells, and their advantage would be gone.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuansheng nodded solemnly and said, "I understand. I will explain everything to them."

(End of this chapter)