The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 408: Japan cedes territory and pays compensation

Japan really ceded territory and paid compensation.

A few days after Xiaoxi flew back, the Japanese pirates on Tsushima Island began to retreat.

These guys even went to Busan Port and asked the Ming Navy to send ships to take over Tsushima Island.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi probably thought that Wanli had been fooled and would release the captives one after another.

He was ordering people to desperately strengthen the defenses of Kyushu, Shikoku and northwestern Honshu.

This guy is just planning to turn against us in the middle of negotiations and stop paying the compensation after one or two years.

This guy did the same thing in history. He suddenly turned hostile and started fighting while he was talking. At that time, the Ming Dynasty had not asked him to cede land or pay compensation!
Wanli naturally knew what kind of person this guy was.

He was also secretly planning and preparing to start.

At about 5 p.m. that afternoon, when it was getting dark, several navy speedboats quietly entered the imperial city under the cover of darkness.

At this time, the lights in the Grand Council Hall of the Qianqing Palace were already on. Wanli was staring at the map and thinking. Qi Jiguang, Qin Liangyu, Deng Zilong, Li Yuansheng and others had already entered together.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli asked, "Yuan Jing, how is it going? Have you finished counting the military achievements?"

This time it's not just a little bit of military merit, there are more than 400,000 Japanese pirates.

Qi Jiguang asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, does General Yi Sun-sin count as a military achievement?"

Well, that’s just right, I still need to give the King of Korea, our vassal state, a warning.

Wanli thought for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "He is the general appointed by our Ming Dynasty, so his military achievements must be counted."

That guy led the twelve battalions of the vassal state and killed and captured many Japanese pirates.

Qi Jiguang estimated, "If he counts, then he could have accumulated military merits and been promoted to a duke. Your Majesty, there are at least hundreds of people who have accumulated military merits and been promoted to a noble title this time, including several dukes."

This can be estimated by looking at the total number of captured Japanese pirates.

Wanli nodded without hesitation and said, "No problem, I will give them as many titles as they deserve. However, their fiefdoms will have to wait this time. I really want to distribute them to Japan. Please compile the list and submit it to me first. As well as the military merits for killing enemies and capturing prisoners, we can give them out first."

Oh my god, the prisoners will also be given military merit rewards this time!

Qi Jiguang said cautiously, "Your Majesty, this time we captured over 400,000 Japanese pirates. If we calculate each at 50 taels, that's over 20 million taels."

It doesn’t matter. The annual income from overseas trade is more than 30 million taels. I have saved money for nearly two years.

Wanli said generously: "More than 20 million taels is more than 20 million taels. This is the military merit they have fought hard for. I will not give them a single tael less. I will give it to them immediately after reporting it. Such a great victory, let the soldiers celebrate with great fanfare."

I’m afraid the morale will skyrocket this time!
When the time comes to attack the Japanese mainland, the soldiers will definitely be full of energy.

Qi Jiguang bowed repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I will report to you tomorrow."

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "How is it going? Have you made arrangements in Liaodong?"

It's not difficult over there, the key is where do so many guards come from.

Qi Jiguang nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty, I have already ordered all the captured Japanese pirates to be brought over, and the areas have been divided among them.

The Liao River and its tributaries were divided into more than 50 million mu, and the locations of 200 garrisons, 1,000 thousand-household garrisons, and 10,000 hundred-household garrisons were determined and construction began.

They are afraid that it will be difficult to dig out the fields and canals this year, so I order the craftsmen to lead them to build a courtyard for the garrison to live in. If the living quarters are built this year, there should still be time to dig the canals and fields in the spring of next year.

Your Majesty, the problem now is where to find over a million garrison troops to farm the land. Even if all the remaining garrison troops in Liaodong were taken there would only be over a hundred thousand."

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Don't worry about this. I have already asked the Five Military Commandery to count the number of military households. I will give each household willing to go to Liaodong to farm 50 mu of farmland, a yard, household items, daily necessities, and brand new farm tools.

They will be equipped with oxen later on, so it shouldn't be a problem for them to use the captured Japanese pirates to plow the land first.

In short, as long as the military households were willing to farm, they could bring their families with them, and from then on they would be able to live a life of plenty.

This is a perfect opportunity to reorganize all the military households. Those willing to farm can do so, and from now on, they'll be solely stationed in the military, without having to assemble for battle. Those who wish to join the Imperial Garrison, the Border Army, or the Navy will be concentrated in the capital and Nanzhili for training, and will be assigned to the Imperial Garrison, the Navy, or the Border Army based on their training. "All the artisan households are now being assigned to work in the workshops and factories under Wansheng Hall. So, are we going to reorganize all the military households next?"
Military households are different from artisan households.

Because the artisan households had basically not had enough food and clothing for nearly two hundred years, the number of households that reproduced was not large.

At the beginning, each military household had 50 mu of land. With more than 2 million military households, there would be at least 4 to 5 million households with surplus men.

Now they have recruited less than two million military households, because the 500,000 Sichuan troops are basically chieftain soldiers.

In other words, after the one million households in Liaodong were removed, there would still be at least three to four million households left.

So many people, all recruited to the battlefield!

How much food and wages was that year?
Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang said cautiously, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so nosy. We still have at least four to five million households left to recruit. Even if we subtract over a million, there are still three to four million households. If we recruit so many troops at once, I'm afraid we won't have enough food and wages."

Are you kidding me? Recruiting three or four million troops at a time?
Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Not that much. After all, there are still a lot of military farms left in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. I asked the Five Military Commandery to count them. Military households who don't want to go to Liaodong to farm can stay there to farm, but they can only be allocated 30 mu of land per household.

With this division, most of the remaining four to five million military households would be eliminated. If more than one million households were eliminated in Liaodong, there would only be more than one million households left.

I plan to expand my army by one million this time. The remaining troops can actually be used as personal guards for the newly promoted dukes, marquises, and nobles. With hundreds of newly promoted dukes, marquises, and nobles, I will need at least over 100,000 personal guards, right?"

Oh, it turns out there are only a little over one million left.

This is not a big problem.

Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I am sorry for speaking too much."

What's the big deal? You're just worried that I don't know how many military households there are.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then said solemnly: "Liangyu, these Japanese pirate captives can only be looked after by your own soldiers this year. In the spring of next year, the garrison troops can take them over. It will be no problem for two or three families to look after one Japanese pirate captive.

Have your officers and soldiers concentrate on guarding the granaries of the 100-household and 1,000-household units, and distribute food to these captured pirates on a regular basis, giving them enough for one or two days at a time. This will make it easier to control them. Normally, you only need to send a small team to supervise them while they work."

Qin Liangyu nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought for a moment, then said to Li Yuansheng, "Yuansheng, our plan has changed a bit.

I plan to release the Japanese pirate captives back to Japan in batches. This year, the first batch will include all the captives of the Mori clan. Next year, I can release 40,000 to 50,000 troops for Tokugawa Ieyasu.

You should ask Tokugawa Ieyasu which of these prisoners has the best relationship with him. If you release the next batch, he will probably have the strength to go to war with Toyotomi Hideyoshi."

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

Wanli said to Deng Zilong, "Yunqing, if we want to make the Japanese pirates relax their vigilance, we must stage a large-scale withdrawal.

You order Kemai and Wuyang to first withdraw the alert in the three sea areas of the vassal state of Korea, and then have Wuyang prepare, and as soon as the autumn wind blows, send all the 1,000-ton and 2,000-ton Fuchuan warships back to the naval base in Songjiang Prefecture, Nanzhili.

Remember, when he returns, try to stay within ten miles of the coastline so that people on the shore can see him. The Zhejiang Party will definitely pass the news to Japan.

Also, you let Kemai lead a thousand navy centipede ships to Liaodong to pick up more than 40,000 horses under the Mori clan, and then take them to Nagoya to get the 2 million taels of silver and 1.4 million shi of grain as compensation from Japan.

The silver just needs to be used as food and wages for the Sichuan Army. The food will be transported in three batches and all of it will be used as rations for the twelve battalions of the vassal state of Korea.

Don't keep too many naval centipede ships. Leave only a thousand to patrol the waters between Korea and Japan, and another thousand at the Jeju Island base, ready for support at any time. Let the soldiers row the rest to transport supplies, food, and other supplies."

Upon hearing this, Deng Zilong quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

Wanli thought about it carefully, and then said to Qi Jiguang: "Pick out half of the officers and soldiers from the Beijing camp and go to Nanzhili to prepare for the garrison training. The remaining half should also go to Nanyuan to prepare for the garrison training.

All the troops from the vassal state of Korea were withdrawn, and the border cavalry hurried back to their respective border towns. About 100,000 Sichuan Army soldiers were left behind to help defend the vassal state of Korea, and the rest, except for those guarding the prisoners, returned to Zhendong Fort to garrison.

Also, the defense of all cities in the vassal state of Korea must be handed over to Yi Sun-sin. Tell him to quickly expand his forces to 240,000, with each of the twelve battalions staffed with 20,000 soldiers. I will have uniforms and weapons and equipment delivered to him."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)