The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 452: The Emperor Leads the Army in Person to Draw the Snake Out of Its Hole
All the Japanese prisoners were released.

Spring plowing also began on Kyushu and Shikoku.

These captives were originally there to help people plow the land in the Ming Dynasty, so there would naturally be no problem for them to go back and do spring plowing.

After they finished the spring plowing on Kyushu and Shikoku, they were even able to go to the western part of Honshu to do the spring plowing in the Mori clan's territory.

There is no need to worry about spring plowing in Kyushu, Shikoku and western Honshu.

Qi Jiguang and Mori Terumoto's advances were also smooth.

Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu were both destroyed by them within a month.

Although Date Masamune and Gamo Ujisato had not been completely destroyed, they were driven to the northernmost part of Honshu Island and had no influence on the spring plowing in Japan at all.

Qi Jiguang and Mori Terumoto only needed to release all the civilians in the city to do spring plowing.

It all seems to be going smoothly.

However, Wanli suddenly issued an edict, ordering the Beijing Camp, the Imperial Guards, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards to assemble quickly, ordering 50,000 cavalrymen from Liaodong Town to rush to the seaport terminal of Zhenjiang Fort, and ordering other border towns to quickly dispatch 200,000 cavalrymen to rush to the seaport terminal south of Liaodong Town.

At the beginning of June, he set off with 480,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp, 10,000 elite imperial guards, and 10,000 elite Jinyiwei.

This time, he seemed to have said nothing and led his army to fight in person.

However, those civil servants with ulterior motives in the Ming Dynasty court had a vague guess.

Something big must have happened in Japan. The war situation was probably unfavorable, so he had to immediately dispatch a large number of troops to reinforce.

At this time, Kyushu Island was already under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

Wanli did not prohibit Ming Dynasty's maritime merchants from doing business in Kyushu Island.

Although those civil servants with ulterior motives in the Ming Dynasty court are unable to seize the imperial power at the moment, they can still find out some news from Japan.

Although they had no way of sending people to Honshu Island to gather information, they knew that hundreds of thousands of Ming army soldiers had already landed on Honshu Island and started fighting against the Japanese pirates.

They still didn't know what the situation was like on Honshu Island, but judging from Wanli's performance, the situation should be extremely unfavorable to the Ming Dynasty.

This was obviously an illusion deliberately created by Wanli.

The war to destroy Japan is almost over.

As a result of his conspiracy and scheming, Kyushu Island had already been taken over by the Ming Dynasty, and Chosokabe Motochika of Shikoku Island had surrendered regardless of whether it was true or not.

The entire Honshu Island was almost taken, with only Tokugawa Ieyasu, Date Masamune, and Gamo Ujisato still struggling to survive.

The combined forces of these three armies were less than 100,000, and half of the twelve battalions of the vassal state of Korea could defeat them.

There is nothing wrong with Japan and no reinforcements are needed.

So why did he suddenly mobilize so many troops and lead the army in person like a madman?
Japan, Kitakyushu, Nagoya Castle.

Wanli stood on the top floor of the battlement where Toyotomi Hideyoshi once looked out at the sea, looking at the rising sun and the tents around him that looked like the ocean, and a mysterious smile appeared on his face.

Beside Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan, there was actually a young man standing beside him who looked a bit like him and was almost as tall as him.

This young man is the emperor’s eldest son, Prince Zhu Changluo of the East!
Zhu Changluo was fourteen years old at this time, which means he was fifteen according to his lunar age.

If we follow the old rules, he should be preparing to become a fiefdom.

The fate of this useless prince who was unpopular in the historical struggle for the throne has completely changed. Now he doesn't look like a useless person at all, and there is no sign of him indulging in alcohol and sex.

Under the careful teaching of his uncle Li Xuancheng, his skills are extraordinary. His lean body and lightning-like eyes are very similar to his uncle Li Xuancheng.

At this moment, he stood beside Wanli like a green pine, and he really looked like a master.

Seeing Wanli smile, he couldn't help but ask, "Father, judging from the battle report, Tokugawa Ieyasu is trapped in Edo Castle and can't get out. Date Masamune and Gamo Ujisato have been chased to the far north of Honshu and are powerless to recover.

We don't need reinforcements here, so why are we fussing over so many troops?"

You have learned martial arts well, but you are not good at military strategy, let alone governing the world.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then asked, "Luo'er, have you ever read Wei Zheng's 'Ten Thoughts to Admonish Emperor Taizong'? Do you understand the meaning of 'It is easy to take, but difficult to defend'?"

I know this.

Zhu Changluo said without hesitation: "The meaning of 'easy to take, hard to keep' is that it is easy to take the world but hard to keep it."

You really know this, kid?

Wanli nodded with satisfaction, and then patiently taught: "It is much easier to conquer the world than to keep it.

The war to destroy the Japanese nation is easier than I imagined. As for why it is so easy, it is because we have found the weakness of the Japanese pirates in Japan. The weakness of the Japanese pirates in Japan is their wolfish ambition.

To put it bluntly, these guys are just not satisfied with the status quo and like to use force to change the status quo. Therefore, they are brutal, violent, aggressive, and extremely belligerent.

If we want to conquer Japan, we can take advantage of their weakness and instigate chaos among the Japanese princes, so that we can reap the benefits. However, if we want to defend Japan, this weakness of the Japanese pirates will become a big problem for us.

It's not easy to hold on to the Japanese world. You need to learn more, observe more, and ponder more. Ordinary people have to think twice before acting, and as kings, it's not too much for us to think ten times before acting."

what?
Does this mean that Japan will be my world from now on?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changluo couldn't help but say excitedly, "Father, are you saying that Japan is my fiefdom?"

You're still a little rough.

Wanli nodded slowly and said: "You can say that I intend to hand over Japan to you to guard. Don't be too happy too soon, Japan is not easy to defend." Oh, I am going to be the ruler of a country too!

Although Japan is small, it is still a country.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changluo couldn't help but excitedly bowed and said, "Thank you, father."

You boy.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Let's go, Yuan Jing and the others are here, let's go discuss it."

After saying that, he took the lead and walked into the house.

Zhu Changluo followed quickly.

Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan looked at his back, and a hint of excitement appeared in her eyes.

Only now did she understand why Wanli gave the four princes the titles of King of the East, King of the West, King of the South, and King of the North.

He originally thought that Wanli was too lazy to think about it. After all, the Zhu family had conferred so many titles on the throne that all the commonly used names for the country had been used up.

Now it seems that Wanli did not mean this. What Wanli meant was to divide the four princes into four parts of the east, south, west and north to guard the four directions for the Ming Dynasty!
She already has two sons, the King of the North and the King of the South. In the future, her sons will be the King of the Northern and Southern Borders of the Ming Dynasty!

Wanli did want to divide the four princes born now into fiefs in the east, south, west and north to guard the four directions for the Ming Dynasty.

Now that Japan has been taken, the next step is the northern border.

The reason why he brought so many troops here was not to guard Japan, but to lure the snake out of its hole!
The Tatars and the Haixi Jurchens endured the suppression of the 50,000 cavalry from Liaodong, but Nurhaci continued to plunder the people of the Donghai Jurchens, and his strength grew stronger and stronger.

These guys have long wanted to form an alliance to fight Nurhaci. He transferred the Liaodong cavalry here because he wanted to let these guys break free from their constraints and fight against the Jiannu!
Qi Jiguang, Qin Liangyu, Ma Qiancheng and Luo Sigong didn't understand what he meant.

The war in Japan is almost over. What on earth does he want to do by suddenly bringing so many troops here?

In the formation room, the four people respectfully paid their respects to Wanli, Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan and the eldest prince Zhu Changluo. Wanli then raised his hand and asked them to sit down cross-legged at four empty small tables.

The customs in Japan are a little different from those in the Ming Dynasty. The tables and beds are shorter than those in the Ming Dynasty. There are no half-person-high tables like those in the Ming Dynasty.

The Japanese pirates were used to sitting on the ground.

Fortunately, everyone had practiced martial arts, so sitting cross-legged was not uncomfortable.

Seeing that everyone was seated, Wanli said solemnly, "Yuan Jing, how do you think the war to destroy Japan will last?"

It’s hard to say.

Qi Jiguang said cautiously, "Your Majesty, we have chased Date Masamune and Gamo Ujisato across the sea and forced them to flee north to Ezo. If we want to eradicate them completely, it will probably take several months.

Also, the Ezo and the Japanese pirates seem to be sworn enemies. Should we charge forward and confront the Ezo, should we fight or make peace? Your Majesty, please give us your instructions."

Ezo is Hokkaido in later generations, and there are many plains and resources there.

Upon hearing this, Wanli pondered, "It depends on the attitude of the Ezo people. We must also take their big island. Whether to fight or make peace depends on their choice.

Yuan Jing, don't worry about this. You must return quickly and hide all the conscripted border cavalry in the Laoha River Valley, block the news, and wait for the Tatars to attack."

what?
It turns out that His Majesty personally led the army not to attack Japan, but to lure the Tatars and Haixi Jurchens to attack!

Once the Tatars and Haixi Jurchens launch an attack, there will be few troops in the area from the north of the Ximulun River to the south of the Heilongjiang River. When the border cavalry rushes over, they can easily capture an area larger than Japan!
This trick of luring the snake out of its hole is really great.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang bowed repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise, I understand."

Wanli said solemnly: "Liangyu, don't worry about this. Let Chen Ce and Yi Sun-sin fight in Ezo. You will gather the remaining 300,000 troops at the coastal port and prepare to return to Zhendong Fort, hide, and prepare to attack.

The Tatars and Haixi Jurchens would certainly not be able to defeat the Jiannu in mountain warfare. Once the Tatar and Haixi Jurchen coalition forces were defeated, the Jiannu would certainly take advantage of the situation and attack the Haixi Jurchens' territory.

"You should quietly prepare yourself. Once the main force of the Jiannu army reaches the territory of the Haixi Jurchens, you will seize the opportunity to strike and destroy the Jiannu lair."

Oh, this is preparation for Yin Jiannu.

Upon hearing this, Qin Liangyu bowed repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Qi Jiguang cautiously reminded him, "Your Majesty, Edo Castle has not yet been taken, and the vassal state of Korea's twelve battalions cannot be moved. General Chen's 100,000 troops alone seem insufficient to attack Ezo."

Do you really think that my 500,000 troops are here to watch the show?

Wanli said without hesitation: "It's okay, just leave Edo Castle to the Jingying. I will take Luo'er with me to take Edo Castle. Then the 12 battalions of the vassal state of Korea can go to Ezo. As for the troops of the Mori clan, they can also be brought over to make up the numbers."

Oh, the Beijing camp is really going to take action.

Then it'll be fine.

Qi Jiguang bowed repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I understand."

Wanli nodded slightly and asked, "Sigong, how are the secret guard arrangements going? Are the released daimyo and generals being secretly watched?"

Luo Sigong nodded repeatedly and said, "The secret guards are all disguised as ronin and serving as servants to the daimyo and generals. If they make any unusual movements, the secret guards will definitely be able to detect them."

That's good.

Wanli nodded slightly and said coldly, "Tell the secret guards to thoroughly investigate their nine clans and retainers."

Is this a plan to kill all nine generations of your clan?
Luo Sigong nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)