eldest son of Ming dynasty

"So, this country of Japan is a country within a country everywhere, and the authority of the monarch has been completely lost?"

In the palace, Yan Song recounted everything he saw and heard in Japan in a serious manner. On the one hand, it was to show that he worked hard there, and on the other hand, he guessed that the emperor heard the same things from his courtiers every day. The thing must be boring and tight, so I wanted to change the emperor's mood.

If the public officials outside listen to this, they will probably receive another memorial.

"What your Majesty said is true. In Japan, evil is rampant, hierarchy is disordered, top and bottom are in chaos, and various forces are fighting each other. The level of fragmentation is even worse than during the Warring States Period."

"Don't they have an emperor?"

"Well, yes, but this emperor has no real power."

"I don't like this name. Emperor, Emperor, what does it mean? Emperor of heaven? The country is weak and the people are poor, but the title you call it is bold. If you go back, you will order the name to be changed. Outside the Ming Dynasty, how about Can there still be an emperor?"

Yan Song took the order and said, "This is not difficult. Once the army of our superior country arrives, no one will dare to disobey the emperor's order."

"What about the Silver Mountain?"

I had to say a few words when mentioning this Yan Song. He flattered him and said, "Fortunately, the emperor knows things like a god. Although Japan has a narrow land and poor materials, it is sitting on several silver mountains. The imperial court was the first to discover it. The locals call it Iwami Ginzan, which is a huge silver vein. By next year, Omi is determined to increase the output to four million taels per year. In addition, there are some smaller silver mines in other parts of Japan. pulse……"

Zhu Hou took care of him talking and had to cooperate with his performance. In fact, he knew it in his heart.

Japan Island, when Westerners first discovered it, actually had a nickname, Treasure Island.

"With this silver mountain, we can alleviate the money shortage problem that has plagued the imperial court for more than a hundred years. As an emperor, I am actually a shopkeeper. I have money in my hands and don't panic in my heart. Yan Song, you have made great contributions."

"I don't dare to take credit. I understand that all this is planned by His Majesty. I am just conveying His Majesty's words to the Japanese people and asking them to do what His Majesty wants."

Ignoring his 'nonsense', Zhu Houzhao said, "You have to think more about Japan. If you plunder too much, you will be squandering all the water, so you must always be careful not to really force people to a dead end. In the end, they will join forces." They got up and drove us away. Although they were not afraid of them, they would always affect the court's money income and they would not be able to continue this business for a long time. If appropriate, they should still be allowed to engage in some agriculture and other industries to make a living.

In addition, since they are sitting on the silver mountain, the imperial court will not allocate military rations next year. The garrison in Japan will use silver taels to purchase grains from local farmers, including other daily necessities, and purchase them locally. When purchasing, be careful to choose a knowledgeable ‘partner’. You already know the key to vertical and horizontal cooperation, so I don’t need to say more. "

Yan Song nodded naturally, "I know in my heart that I naturally buy them separately. This can be regarded as a support for the daimyo who are friendly to our country. What I want is to use Japanese to rule Japanese."

That's it, support some "Japanese traitors" and let them maintain a strong position. If someone opposes it, order them to go and suppress it.

After talking about this matter, Zhu Houzhao was in a good mood, so he thought about the three million taels of silver with him again, "It was too easy to get this windfall, and for two consecutive years, there must be many people who are jealous of it. But I have already made plans. Now you probably know the key to the navy. Without the navy, my imperial edict will be empty words overseas. Therefore, building ships and increasing troops is inevitable.

I have decreed that two new military ports will be built in the south and north of Taiwan Island, named Taipei and Tainan. According to the report from the governor of Fujian, although the island is mountainous, there is no shortage of flat land. I am ready to immigrate to the island. Grain is grown locally. This is the second place besides Japan that can supply food to the navy. "

Yan Song has been out at sea for a year and has already thought about this kind of thing, "Your Majesty, although the sea is endless and has no end, there are many islands scattered on the sea. If the Japanese example can be promoted and operated over the years, such an island will be able to If we extend our control, wouldn’t it be easy for our Ming Dynasty’s territory to far exceed that of previous dynasties?”

Zhu Houzhao nodded, "Yes. In fact, I have ordered the construction of a port in Taiwan a few years ago. However, the island is sparsely populated, so it is still not enough. However, this year we will send people to the island. And I have to think about this Taiwan governor. Fan, we must send a capable person."

Although Taiwan has more typhoons, it has fertile land and abundant products. Otherwise, it would not be called a treasure island, but it has been underdeveloped in the past.

But in the Age of Discovery, they have already started a new chapter. The value of this "unsinkable aircraft carrier" will be immediately apparent. As long as the central government manages it a little bit, agriculture and commerce will flourish, and it will surely become a new economic center soon. .

It's a pity that Yan Song can't survive.

"The Emperor is so talented and powerful that I can only admire him."

"okay."

When Zhu Houzhao saw Xie Pi walking in in a hurry, he probably knew something was going on, so he waved his hand, "Go out of the palace. I know you are also busy."

"Hey, I'll retire first." After sending the people away, Zhu Houzhao led Xie Pi inside, and opened the memorial on the way.

Xie Pi may have been in the attendant's room for many years, and he has always been steady. If it is not a big deal, he probably won't be anxious.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at them and couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth, "It was Yang Yiqing who reported that from October of the 10th year of Zhengde to March of this year, our Ming army braved the cold and greeted the Seven Guards of Guanxi except Hami Guards along the way."

Xie Pi was overjoyed. He only knew it was a military situation, but he didn't expect another victory. "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

This is indeed a happy event.

The Yerqiang Khanate is now Zhu Houzhao's concern, and everyone in the court knows that the emperor has plans to use troops against it.

So this is indeed a major event that Xie Pi should be nervous about.

The Xinjiang established by the Ming Dynasty at this time was actually not the concept of Xinjiang in later generations. To be precise, it should be the northern Xinjiang north of the Tianshan Mountains.

Anyone familiar with Xinjiang knows that such a large territory is divided into southern Xinjiang and northern Xinjiang by the Tianshan Mountains. The so-called Turpan Khanate is actually the northern Xinjiang region, while the southern Xinjiang region is under the rule of the Yarkand Khanate at this time. .

This area was finally classified as the Central Plains, thanks to one person, Emperor Qianlong, who was often ridiculed by later generations for being a prodigal and poor at writing poems.

But it was precisely because of his dictatorship that he resolutely used troops against the Junggar Khanate that occupied the northern Xinjiang area and the Hezhuo brothers who occupied the southern Xinjiang area. Starting from the 20th year of Qianlong's reign, he used troops at a high intensity for four to five consecutive years. , finally got this place.

During this process, Emperor Qianlong was rude to the Kazakh Khanate, which was hosting the Junggar rebel generals at that time. If he refused to give the request, he would directly send troops into the country and threaten to destroy the country. Eventually, the entire Kazakh Khanate surrendered.

This person later ran away overnight and fled to Russia. Emperor Qianlong ignored the obstruction of hundreds of officials and forced the frontline generals to threaten Russia with a large army.

What's even more cruel is that all the old and weak in the Junggar Khanate were slaughtered by the Qing army, so that some people in later generations ridiculed why the "History of the Qing Dynasty" could not be compiled, because they thought that the Qing-Zhun War could not be written.

At that time, it had reached a certain level. Before the Qing army was about to pacify southern Xinjiang, it was discovered. Hey, why are there more than 10,000 people hiding in the mountains? Then a large army was sent over to kill them all.

All in all, you have to look at that period of history to think, damn, we Han people should also have this courage.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao has always been very concerned about reports coming from Xinjiang.

In fact, this place is indeed not as suitable for survival as the Central Plains. The so-called khanates are actually tribes and cities, which are equivalent to strongholds. Each stronghold may only have a few thousand defenders.

Moreover, the Yerqiang Khanate and the Turpan Khanate were not very prosperous super empires, and they did not have very strong combat effectiveness. With the national strength of the Ming Dynasty during the Jiajing period, if these khanates were really powerful, Jiayuguan would not be able to hold it at all. .

Therefore, the Ming army's biggest enemies when fighting here are weather and supplies.

Xinjiang is now under the general control of Yang Yiqing. Across thousands of mountains and rivers, the central government has given three guardsmen and horses, and Zhu Feng, Ma Rong and Ling Weifeng, the second son of Cheng Guogong, are respectively the commanders. With only 20,000 men and horses, Ye Erqiang If the Khanate wants to take over, it must unite the power of various tribes within the territory.

The reason why the Ming army has not sent troops is because they have been cleaning up the remaining seven Kansai guards for more than half a year, namely Quxian guard, Anding guard, Chijin Mongolian guard, etc.

These guards were originally part of Ji Su's rule. When the Ming Dynasty was strong, it was easy to deal with them, because they would choose to surrender without any psychological burden.

In his previous memorials, Zhu Houzhao asked why a certain conductor did not listen to the announcement during the Hongzhi period. What did he mean? In short, they just want to cause trouble for them. These guys are always rebellious, so it is not difficult to cause trouble.

This time it was another letter of surrender.

Zhu Houzhao still did not intend to let go of these foreign tribes who were not loyal enough, so after thinking for a while, he picked up the Zhu pen and said to Xie Pi: "The Ming Dynasty originally gave these tribes opportunities, but since this dynasty established barriers, From the beginning of the Western Seven Guards, for more than a hundred years, has my Ming Dynasty violated the covenant more times? Or has they betrayed my Ming Dynasty more times?

Now I want to end all the old things with just a letter of submission, but I cannot easily agree to it. Therefore, if you want to surrender, you need to do three things. Article 1: I dare not claim to be a gentleman, but I must also beware of villains. Since I am willing to surrender, I will send my son as a hostage to the capital. The second article is to obey the orders and attack the Yarkand Khanate together! If there is anyone who is afraid of fighting and refuses to fight, he should be killed on the spot! In the end, the imperial court was planning to form the fourth guard of Xinjiang. Since they were subjects of the Ming Dynasty, how could they not come out? "

Move the best soldiers in these guards around to prevent them from gathering together and having different intentions!