Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 224 Mercenaries

Once the news that Japan had taken the initiative to seek war was disclosed, it quickly caused a hurricane in Beijing.

The next morning, Emperor Wanli summoned all the cabinet ministers to discuss matters in Wenhua Hall. Emperor Wanli sat in the first seat, with Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, Shen Li and other cabinet ministers standing respectfully below him.

This was the first time that Emperor Wanli summoned cabinet ministers to discuss matters in such a formal manner.

Without further ado, Emperor Wanli got straight to the point: "My dear ministers, the Japanese pirates are so bold that they dared to attack our Ming garrison. Today I have summoned you to discuss how to deal with this matter. I hope you will speak freely."

As soon as Wanli started to speak, Shen Shixing understood what the emperor meant.

beat!
Or the kind that fights for life.

The blood feud was secondary, it was the silver mountain that Emperor Wanli was most worried about. You have to know that 30% of the silver in the silver mountain belonged directly to the inner treasury.

Sixty percent of the silver went to the national treasury.

The remaining 10% was divided among the local garrison and other officials.

Now that Emperor Wanli's interests have been violated, he is naturally more anxious than anyone else.

Shen Shixing understood the reason, but military affairs were not his forte, so he took the opportunity to pass the buck and said, "Your Majesty, Qi Yuanjing defeated the Japanese pirates last time we went to Japan. Why not let Qi Jiguang lead the troops to Japan again this time?"

"No." Shen Li frowned and retorted, "Marshal Qi is seriously ill now, how can he lead the troops to fight again?"

"Does Lord Shen have any candidates to recommend?" Shen Shixing asked, leaning sideways.

The other cabinet ministers cursed him secretly, and then they understood how cunning Shen Shixing was. He recommended a sick person first, and if anyone dared to object, he would take advantage of the situation to pass the buck.

If this person wins, I will also have some credit for the recommendation.

If he failed, the emperor would not be able to punish him.

Although Shen Li was unhappy, he didn't care too much because it was a matter of national importance. "Wei Xuezeng, the Minister of War, once led the army to Liaodong and has a lot of strategies. He should be the commander in chief of this battle and lead the army into the Japanese."

"What do you think, my ministers?" Emperor Wanli looked around and asked again.

Shen Shixing and the others looked at each other, and finally answered together: "We also think that what Lord Shen said makes sense."

"Okay then, let's appoint Wei Xueceng as the commander-in-chief and lead 50,000 troops to rescue Li Rusong." Emperor Wanli was immediately delighted to see that the big issue was resolved so easily.

"Your Majesty, most of our border troops are not used to naval warfare, and I'm afraid we won't be able to mobilize enough troops for the time being." Yu Shenxing, with his long flowing beard, reminded.

"How long will it take?"

"It will take at least half a year."

"It won't take too long, too long." Emperor Wanli shook his head. If it continued at this speed, Li Rusong would have been repelled by the Japanese pirates long ago.

"If we rush it, half a year is fine." Yu Shenxing thought for a moment and added.

Emperor Wanli still felt that it was too long, so he frowned and looked down. The ministers below the stage frowned, and now they knew Zhang Yunxiu's intention to train the navy.

It turns out that the navy is not only trying to protect itself, but also to get to other people's territory as quickly as possible.

If it weren’t for the 10,000 navy troops in the East China Sea Fleet.

The imperial court really has no troops to send in the short term.

The silence lasted for a moment, and the Wanli Emperor seemed to have thought of a good idea, so he asked excitedly: "Most of the coastal garrisons are familiar with naval warfare. Why not transfer troops from the coastal garrisons first? Do you think it is feasible?"

When they heard that the garrison troops were going to be mobilized, everyone's expressions immediately became strange.

Those soldiers in the coastal garrisons were chased and beaten by Japanese pirates in the past. Now there has been no war for decades, and I don’t know how corrupt the soldiers in the coastal garrisons have become.

"Your Majesty, the garrison soldiers have to protect the land and the people. If they are mobilized, there may be sudden unrest in the local area." Fortunately, Shen Shixing was quick-witted and immediately found a tolerable reason.

"Then why not just send fewer people?" Emperor Wanli said to himself, not knowing the inside story. "There are more than 100,000 soldiers in the coastal garrisons of our Ming Dynasty. It's nothing to send 30,000 or 40,000 people there."

Several people felt bitter on their faces.

Among the more than 100,000 garrison soldiers, if 10,000 of them could wield swords and guns, that would be considered good. In today's garrisons, either the old ones can serve as masters or the young ones can serve as grandsons.

The exact number has long been distorted.

The military officers and civil officials knew about this, but the emperor was the only one who didn't know.

There was another long silence.

When Emperor Wanli saw that several of them had become stubborn, he was immediately dissatisfied: "I asked you to make decisions, but now you have become stubborn and asked me to make decisions instead. What is your intention?!"

"We acknowledge our guilt!" Several people knelt on the ground together.

"I asked you to make the decision, not to come and apologize to me." Emperor Wanli stamped his feet and gritted his teeth, "Think about it, think about it for me. If you don't want to come out, no one will leave this Wenhua Hall today."

"Wei Qing!"

"I'm here." Wei Qing on the side hurried forward.

"Go and tell the imperial kitchen to prepare a few more sets of bowls and chopsticks today, and have the food delivered directly to Wenhua Palace for me!"

"Yes."

When the ministers in the audience saw this, they were sure that Emperor Wanli was serious. They were both relieved and helpless. This was also the first time that the emperor took the initiative to care about military and national affairs.

But they couldn't find a solution.

In the crowd, Yu Shenxing frowned and concentrated, and suddenly thought of his useless disciple Zhang Yunxiu. A few days ago, he also came to lobby him to abolish the guard system and replace it with the recruitment system.

After explaining the pros and cons, Yu Shenxing immediately saw the benefits of this method.

But we can also see the difficulty in implementing it.

Most of the officers in those garrisons were hereditary, and the military households under their command were like their slaves.

As long as they don't run away, they will be military households under their command for generations.

How could they agree to reform?

In order to protect him, Yu Shenxing immediately rejected this decision.

Now it seems that it is not a bad idea to separate those strong men during this war between the two countries.

Thinking about it, Yu Shenxing stepped forward and suggested to Emperor Wanli: "Your Majesty, since the coastal guards have the responsibility to protect the country and the people, we cannot mobilize too many people. Why not recruit strong fishermen from the coast, train them for three months, and then rush to the Japanese islands."

"Fishermen, can they do it?" Emperor Wanli looked doubtful.

Yu Shenxing smiled and patiently explained to the emperor: "Marshal Qi's Qi Family Army was recruited from Yiwu, Zhejiang. This place has seven mountains, two rivers and one farmland, and the people are tough. Three months is enough to train a qualified army."

"Well, quickly send out proclamations to all coastal areas, ordering them to train new troops and join Japan to assist Li Rusong." Emperor Wanli nodded.

As they were talking, they didn't realize it was already noon.

Emperor Wanli felt a little hungry, so he waved his hand and signaled that they should eat first. After lunch, Emperor Wanli gave some more details, and then ordered them to go down and perform their duties.

Return to the cabinet hall.

The other people looked at Yu Shenxing with complicated expressions and slowly walked into their own duty rooms.

Yu Shenxing smiled carefreely, waved his sleeves, and entered the duty room.

the other side.

After learning that it would take more than half a year for the court to mobilize troops, Zhang Yunxiu did not hesitate at all and headed directly south on a large ship.

After drifting on the sea for half a month, we finally arrived in Malacca, which is located north of the Strait of Malacca.

The geographical location is strategic and unique.

It was originally colonized by the Spanish, but ever since Zhang Yunxiu established a fleet in the South China Sea, this area has been jointly governed by both parties.

Zhang Yunxiu stood on the deck and looked at the island city.

The sea is full of ships coming and going.

Among them were blond-haired, blue-eyed Portuguese people, as well as yellow-skinned, black-eyed Ming people.

At this moment, when they saw the fleet flying the Ming flag arriving, they immediately straightened up and looked at the newcomers with pride.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Zhang Yunxiu's fleet sailed into the port and docked on the embankment.

Without any hesitation, the sailors lowered the ladder and Zhang Yunxiu stepped on the ladder and walked down the warship.

A middle-aged scholar in a white robe, surrounded by several people, walked up with a smile and said, "Imperial Censor Zhang, I have wanted to invite you here for a long time, but you always said you didn't have time. Today you finally have time."

Middle-aged is no other than.

It was Song Ming, whom he had met before.

After the Kong family escaped the disaster that day, he distributed all his wealth and, at the instruction of Zhang Yunxiu, led a group of men here.

Because he is quick-witted, loyal, and has the support of Zhang Yunxiu.

Soon, there were huge winds and waves near Malacca.

"You also know about what's happening in Japan, right?" Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand and went straight to the point.

"I just heard it from a merchant from Japan yesterday." Song Ming replied.

Zhang Yunxiu nodded slightly, then frowned and said, "This time Toyotomi Hideyoshi is determined to break off relations with the Ming Dynasty. I am worried that Li Rusong, the Otomo family, and the Shimazu family will not be able to resist."

"Is Censor Zhang here to borrow troops?" Song Ming smiled, and a gleam of light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"Tell me the truth, how many people can you mobilize?"

Zhang Yunxiu nodded slightly and asked eagerly. Song Ming stroked his beard and answered modestly but arrogantly: "Not many, just a hundred warships and tens of thousands of boatmen."

so much! ?

It's only been four years since we last met, and this guy has gathered such a large group of people.

You should know that the South China Sea Fleet has only 300 warships and a little over 10,000 people at full strength.

Suddenly, he became more wary of Song Ming, as if he was a dog that was about to break free from its leash.

Song Ming also immediately noticed that Zhang Yunxiu's attitude had cooled. He cursed himself as an "idiot" and quickly tried to make excuses for himself, "Don't worry, Censor Zhang. Without you, there would be no me. You can transfer these people as you like."

"Hahaha, you, Mr. Song, are still straightforward." Zhang Yunxiu's face warmed and he hooked Song Ming's shoulders.

Song Ming laughed along with them, and the merchants around them were secretly shocked when they saw the two of them like this. They didn't know Zhang Yunxiu, but they were familiar with Song Ming's name.

As this great man respected him so much, one could imagine the identity of this young man.

Ignoring everyone's gaze, Song Ming pulled Zhang Yunxiu into the city. Walking on the bluestone-paved streets, the group wandered around and came to a large mansion.

Enter the mansion.

Song Ming first sent someone to arrange for Han San and others, and then personally led Zhang Yunxiu to an attic overlooking the garden to rest.

The attic is very large. In addition to the main hall, there are two small compartments inside.

The furnishings are elegant and the windows are bright.

From here, you can have a panoramic view of the layout of the entire garden.

Zhang Yunxiu sat facing south, and the two of them sat opposite each other. Suddenly, Song Ming clapped his hands.

The door of the small compartment slowly opened, and two scantily clad women walked out from inside. There were not only women from the Ming Dynasty, but also women from Japan, and even a blonde and blue-eyed foreign woman.

As soon as they stood still, the four of them saluted in unison: "Greetings, Master. Greetings, Master."

"Cough cough."

Zhang Yunxiu choked on his saliva and glared at Song Ming fiercely: "Song hero, let these girls go first and finish the business first."

"Alright."

Song Ming smiled and waved his hand to let the few people leave first.

Then, Song Ming began to complain: "Zhang Yushi, Malacca is in chaos. The Japanese, the local natives, the Ming people, the Portuguese, they are all fighting for territory and want to beat their brains out."

"It's the same everywhere. The cake is so big. If you eat one more bite, others will have to eat less." Zhang Yunxiu curled his lips, not impressed by his acting skills at all.

Seeing that playing the victim didn't work, Song Ming changed his mind: "I have a small request. I hope Censor Zhang can help me."

"explain."

"Can you give us more of the muskets and cannons from the Armament Bureau this year? Not many, how about two hundred more muskets and thirty cannons?"

Zhang Yunxiu heard this and his face turned cold: "Song hero, the Arms Bureau is an assignment for the imperial court. I can give you 800 bird guns every year, which is already a huge responsibility. If it's more, I can't do anything."

Song Ming didn't believe a word Zhang Yunxiu said.

What does it have to do with you?
As long as the price is right, you even sold the Japanese pirates and Koreans in Kyushu Island. Do you still have anything to worry about?
Song Ming knew that Zhang Yunxiu was just preparing to raise the price.

But then again, as a merchant caravan that sails on the sea all year round, money is not money, only the guns in their hands are money.

"Well, for the extra 200 muskets, I'll add three silver dollars for each one."

"How about thirty-three silver dollars?"

"Thirty-five."

"make a deal!"

Song Ming agreed readily.

Zhang Yunxiu immediately regretted lowering the price, but the words had already been spoken and he didn't have the nerve to change them.

He looked at Song Ming and got down to business: "This time, in addition to recruiting some of your troops to Japan, I also plan to recruit the Portuguese as well."

"How?" Song Ming looked curious.

"Give me money."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled.

Most of these Portuguese who were able to come outside were born as pirates. They would follow whoever feeds them. When they heard that they were going to Japan to rob silver, most of them would agree.

They are mercenaries anyway, so why not use them?

Song Ming was stunned at first, then he understood the reason and smiled and reminded: "These French people are not short of silver dollars, they are short of tea, silk, and porcelain."

"As long as you are willing to give them these, they will definitely go."

"Well, go call some of the French leaders tomorrow and we'll discuss this."

(End of this chapter)